Chapter Sixty-Three: We'll Be Ready

Spike shook Buffy awake, "Almost home, luv."

Buffy opened her eyes, "Already? How long have I been asleep?"

"The second we hit the road," Spike said. "Thought I'd let you sleep."

"Thanks," Buffy said, knowing the chaos that woud greet them the second that they got home. "Do they know that we're coming home?"

Spike nodded, "I called the bit while you were sleeping."

"Everything okay at home?" Buffy asked.

Spike shrugged, "Guess so, they haven't said anything."

"Well the house is still standing," Buffy said as Spike turned into the driveway. "Guess they didn't do too much damage."

"I'll wait 'till we get inside," Spike said, as he helped Buffy out of the car. "Who knows what it looks like."

"Isn't Giles staying with Dawn?" Buffy asked. "He'll make sure that no one destroys the house too much."

They walked up to the door and went inside. They went into the living room. "They must have been waiting for us," Spike whispered. Dawn was curled up in the chair. Xander, Anya, Willow and Tara were on the couch and Giles was sitting at the desk. All were asleep.

"Think we should wake them?" Buffy asked.

"Allow me," Spike said. He leaned over Xander, making sure not to make a sound. Spike slipped into vamp face. Then he whispered, "Xander... Xander....time to wake up..."

Xander mumbled something, opened his eyes and saw Spike's vampire face in front of him. He screamed and backed into the couch cushions, terror stricken.

"What?" Willow said, jumping to her feet.

"Are we under attack?" Dawn said, trying to get out of the chair.

"Vampire," Xander stammered. "Inside, without an invite."

Anya, angry at being woken up, hit Xander on the arm, "It's Spike."

"Spike," Xander said, trying to catch his breath.

"Miss me?" Spike asked, grinning as his face slipped back to normal.

Xander glared at him and started to speak but he was interrupted by Dawn as she ran to Buffy.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked as she hugged her sister.

"I'm fine," Buffy assured her.

"Oh my gosh," Dawn said, standing back and looking at Buffy. "You're huge. I mean you've doubled in size."

"Dawn's right," Willow said, she and Tara joining in the hugs. "You're enormous..I mean..."

"Okay," Buffy said, stepping back and protecting her stomach with her hands. "Enough, I know I'm the size of a blimp."

"Well," Giles said, breaking through the crowd. "Blimp or not, I'm glad that you're back safely." He hugged Buffy and then looked at Spike, "Exactly how did you get back here?"

"Don't worry," Spike said, leaning against the living room doorway. "Captain Cardboard and his friends won't be bothering us, ever again."

"And how do you know that?" Xander asked, still mad about Spike's method of waking him up.

"Riley is alive, right?" Willow asked.

"He's alive," Spike assured her. "He and I have an understanding of what will happen if he comes near Sunnydale, ever again."

"It's okay," Buffy said, seeing the worried looks. "No one was killed."

"Good," Giles said. He'd have to get the rest of the story from Spike later.

"Sit down," Willow told Buffy. "Anya, move over and let Buffy sit." Once the couch had been vacated Anya had stretched out and was laying down. Anya opened her eyes and glared at Willow. "Come on," Willow urged. "Buffy's pregnant. She shouldn't be standing around."

Anya opened her mouth, shut it and slowly sat up, glaring at Willow the whole time.

"That's okay," Buffy said. "I've been sitting down for awhile. I need to stretch my legs a little."

"Are you hungry?" Tara asked. "It's morning so I can make breakfast. What do you want? Pancakes, waffles, eggs, suasage, bacon, anything."

"I can eat all of that," Buffy said.

"I'll make everything," Tara said, disapearing into the kitchen.

Spike started to head towards the kitchen too. He wanted to grab a mug of blood. The drive had been long and he was feeling peckish.

"Spike," Giles said, following him into the hall.

Spike rolled his eyes, "Can't a bloke get a mug of blood in peace?"

"Not until I know what happened in L.A."

"What do you want to know?" Spike asked, exasperated. "I went there, got Buffy back and made sure they'll never bother us again, what else is there to talk about?"

"Your method," Giles said. "You said that Riley is alive, that you didn't kill him but you and I both know what you can do to a person without killing him."

"I didn't harm a bloody hair on his head," Spike said annoyed. "Couldn't even if I wanted to." He pointed to his head, "Chip, remember?"

"Then how did you persuade him to let Buffy go and to leave her alone?" Giles asked.

"Rupert," Spike said, annoyed. "It's a long story and I'll tell all the juicy details later. Now your turn, what's happening with Dru and her plans?"

"There's not much to tell," Giles said. "She's assembled her army and is just waiting for the stars to align."

"And that's not very far away," Spike said.

"No," Giles agreed. "She's after something, something more than this army, other than just opening the Hellmouth. I just can't figure out what. I was hoping that you might have some insights."

"No idea," Spike said. "There's no pattern to her way of thinking and with the idiots that she's working for..."

"We just need to be ready," Giles said. "We have a plan worked out."

"Do I want to know?" Spike asked. He shook his head, "Never mind, just fill me in later and make sure that Buffy stays out of this fight."

"Of course," Giles said, insulted. "I'm not going to let her fight in her condition."

"Who says that it's up to you," said a voice behind Spike.

"Buffy," Giles said, startled by her appearance.

"You're not leaving me out of this," Buffy said.

"And how do you plan on fighting?" Spike asked. "You haven't trained or patroled in months. You're not up to fighting speed."

"I can still fight," Buffy said. "And you're going to need everyone you can get."

"That doesn't include you," Spike said. "You're in no condition to be fighting."

"Prove it," Buffy said.

"Fine," Spike snapped. He lunged at Buffy. She grabbed him and flipped him onto his back.

"Seen enough?" Buffy asked.

"How did you do that?" Spike asked from the floor.

"Just a matter of distributing the weight," Buffy explained.

"Yeah well, I wasn't trying to hurt you," Spike pointed out as he got to his feet. "These guys will."

"You're not leaving me out of this," Buffy said. "I stayed out of the fight in L.A. because someone had to protect Connor."

"And you'll protect our son by staying behind."

"I'll be unprotected then," Buffy said. "If I'm as helpless as you think I am."

"Actually Anya's already volunteered to stay behind," Giles said.

"Anya?" Buffy said, suprised.

"Yes, she offered to stay here with you and make sure that you're safe."

Buffy shook her head, "No, I'm not staying behind and neither is Anya." She looked at Spike and Giles. "This discussion is over." Then she went back to the living room.

Spike and Giles followed her into the living room. Tara handed Giles a plate with pancakes on it and Spike a mug of blood.

In the living room Dawn was having a whispered conversation with Willow. They both looked excited.

"So can we do it now?" Dawn asked.

"Do what?" Buffy asked.

"We ah have a surprise for you," Willow said.

"What is it?" Buffy asked

"Can we show her?" Dawn asked again.

"Sure," Willow agreed. She put down her plate and grabbed Buffy's hand. "Come on, you too Spike, you're going to love this."

Buffy and Spike followed Willow up the stairs, followed by the rest of the Scoobies.

"What's going on, Red?" Spike asked.

"Just wait," Willow said. She led Buffy and Spike to Buffy's old room. Willow put her hand on the doorknow, paused and said, "Shut your eyes."

Buffy obeyed but Spike refused. None of Willow's pleas could convince him to close his eyes so Willow finally gave in and opened the door. "Okay," Willow said to Buffy. "Open."

Buffy opened her eyes and looked around her former room. She gasped and tried to blink back tears, "Oh my gosh, when did you guys do this?"

The room had been transformed from Buffy's teenage bedroom into a nursery. It was exactly the room that Buffy and Spike had picked out. The walls were blue with stars. There was a crib done in the same pattern. There was even a matching chest of drawers and a fully stocked changing table. Buffy walked over the drawers and opened one. It was full of baby clothes. Buffy reached in and pulled out a small white sleeper. She looked at Spike, who was leaning at against the doorframe, and trying not to look affected by the nursery. "Isn't this perfect?"

"Looks good, luv," Spike agreed.

"When did you do this?" Buffy asked again.

"We didn't think that there'd be time for a baby shower before you know...the latest apoclypse," Willow said. "So we just did this."

"It's great," Buffy said, hugging Willow. "Thank you."

"Hey," Dawn said, looking around the room. "Where's the..."

Xander covered her mouth with his hand. "It's downstairs, remember?"

"What's downstairs?" Buffy asked eagerly.

"Wait here," Xander ordered. He and everyone else went downstairs, leaving Buffy and Spike in the nursery.

"So," Buffy asked. "What do you think?"

"Nice," Spike said. "Just what we wanted." He started to speak again but suddenly Buffy gasped and grabbed onto the crib railing, her other hand going to her stomach. "Buffy?" Spike asked, hurrying to her side. "Are you okay?"

Buffy shut her eyes, let out the breath she'd been holding and nodded, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Spike asked, unconvinced.

"Yeah," Buffy said. "It's just Braxton-Hicks."

"Braxton-what?" Spike asked.

"It's a contraction but it's not real," Buffy said, trying to explain. "It's not the real thing, it's just a warm-up."

"So when's the real thing?" Spike asked, suddenly eying Buffy like she was a time bomb.

"I don't know," Buffy said, annoyed. "I'll let you know when it is."

"I'd appreciate that." Spike said. He looked at Buffy intensly, "This is why I want you to sit out this fight. What if you get one of these Braxton- whatever things while you're fighting?"

"I'll be fine," Buffy said, trying to reassure him. "I won't be fighting alone. You and my friends will be there if I need help."

Spike pulled Buffy into his arms, "I don't like this pet," Spike admitted. "I just got you back and I'm not too keen on losing either one of you."

"You won't lose us," Buffy promised. She pulled Spike's face down to hers and for a few minutes they forgot all about armies, demons and everything else.

"Buffy!" Dawn called from downstairs, interrupting Bufy and Spike.

"Bloody hell," Spike said, breaking away.

"Come on," Buffy said. "Let's go see what they want to show us."

Buffy and Spike went down the stairs and into the living room, "What did you guys do now?" Buffy asked.

"Ta dah," Xander said, stepping aside. He had been standing in front of a cradle. It was wooden with carvings and even had already been made up with blankets.

Buffy gasped, "It's beautiful. Where did you find that?"

"I made it," Xander said, proudly. "I found designs of ones that were used in the 1800's and I just copied those."

"That was my idea, to make one like Spike would have had, " Dawn said proudly. She looked at Spike. "Did he do a good job?"

Spike nodded, stunned. "It looks like the one we used."

"There's a rocking chair too," Xander said. "But I haven't finished that yet."

"Thank you," Buffy said, hugging Xander. "It's perfect."

Xander shook his head, "It was no problem. I had fun making it." He looked at Anya, "And Anya did the blanket part."

"Thanks," Buffy told Anya. Buffy grinned and said, "You guys are going to make great parents someday."

Anya brightened, Willow rolled her eyes and Xander paled, "Major emphasis on the someday," Xander said. "It was fun doing this for your baby but there is no way I want to have kids for a long time." He looked at Anya, "Right?"

"Wrong," Anya said. "You don't want to have a baby right now."

"And you do," Willow said, annoyed. She looked at Buffy and Spike. "She's been going on and on about babies the whole time you've been gone."

"So?" Anya said. "All you've been talking about is Buffy's baby. Why can't I talk about a baby of my own?"

"Because Buffy's actually pregnant," Xander said. "You're not and we agreed that you wouldn't be for awhile. I've already told you that I don't want kids right now. We're....I'm not ready for them and it's not fair to them or us if we have kids before we're both ready."

"And my feelings don't count?" Anya asked.

"Yes, but I'm asking you to respect my feelings too," Xander said.

"Why?" Anya asked, angrily. "You don't respect my feelings."

"Okay," Buffy said, breaking into Xander and Anya's arguement. "So what's new on the local demon front?"

"Nothing really," Giles said, gratefull for the interruption. Xander and Anya had been arguing about children non-stop and it was getting tiresome. "The local demons are laying low for now. They're waiting for Drusilla's army to win."

"Scavengers," Spike said.

"Most likely," Giles agreed. "We've been trying to find the location of Drusilla's army but we haven't been able to yet."

"They're not all in one place," Spike explained. "They're all hiding in different places, just waiting for Dru's call."

"And that'll be soon," Willow said. "But we have a plan."

"What?" Spike aske skeptically.

"Don't worry," Dawn said. "It'll work."

"What exactly is this plan?" Buffy asked.

"We split into two groups," Willow explained. "One takes on the army and the other goes to the old high school and makes sure that the Hellmouth stays closed."

"Whose on what team?" Buffy asked.

Willow looked around the room, "Me, Dawn and Giles go to the old high school. Spike, Xander and Tara take on the army.

"What about me and Anya?" Buffy asked.

"You're staying here," Anya said. "And I'm staying here to protect you."

"I heard that," Buffy said. "And I already said that that's not going to happen. I'm fighting this fight, so you and I are both in. I'll go to the Hellmouth and you'll help take on Drusilla's army."

"We figured that you would want to stay behind," Anya said, looking startled at the change in plans. "You know, to protect your baby."

"We'll be fine," Buffy said. "Plus I don't think there's going to be much fighting at the high school. It'll probably be just Andrew, Jonathan, Warren and Drusilla, and I think we can handle them."

"Fine," Anya said, obviously annoyed at the change. "Then I want to switch places with Dawn or Giles and go to the high school."

"Why do you..." Xander started to say but Willow interrupted him.

"No, you and Spike know the most about demons and how to defeat them. You guys have to be on the team that goes after them."

"Willow's right," Giles said. "Your knowledge of demons and their armies will be valuable in this fight, that's why we need your help fighting the army instead of trying to stop the ritual."

Anya glared at him, stood up and stormed out of the living room. There was a brief silence and then Buffy asked, "What just happened here?"

"No idea," Xander said. "She's been acting really strange lately. Every little thing makes her mad."

"Well hopefully she'll take some of that anger out on the demons, we're going to need everything we have to defeat them," Giles said.

"Any idea what demons Dru's got signed up?" Spike asked.

"Some idea," Giles admitted. "We know she's got Fayral demons and Wraiths. It sounds like there's a chaos demon, and several vampires involved."

"We can take those," Spike said.

"Right," Giles continued. "And after you've dealt with them, get to the high school as quickly as you can. We're still not sure what to expect there."

"There are no prophecies about this," Tara said. "About the Hellmouth opening again."

"So this is just another one of Dru's crazy ideas," Spike said.

"Probably," Giles agreed. "Unless this wasn't her idea."

"You think this whole thing was Warren's idea?" Buffy asked.

"It's possible," Giles said. "Drusilla isn't known to be very good at long- range plans. This has taken time and planning, two things that she's not capable of."

Spike shook his head, "She's capable of those. Who do you think got the idea to bring the Judge back? She could come up with some of the most creative plans sometimes. And she's a bloody psychic, her visions kept the two of us alive more times than I can count." Spike grinned, thinking back to when he and Drusilla had cut a swath across Europe, leaving a blood bath in their wake.

"Do you think that this has been because of a vision she's had?" Giles asked.

"Possible," Spike said. "Or she might have discovered something that she wants to resurect and it resides in the hellmouth."

"I thought she just wanted to open the hellmouth," Xander said.

"Maybe she doesn't want it opened, maybe she just wants it opened so that she can take someone or something out," Willow said.

"Whatever it is we have to stop her," Buffy said.

While the Scoobies were discussing their battle plans, Spike glanced down at his mug. It was empty and he was still hungry so he quietly left the living room for another mug of blood.

He got a blood bag from the fridge and after pouring it into a mug, put it in the microwave to heat. Then he began rummaging through the cupboards, looking for some Weetabix to mix with the blood. Suddenly he tripped over something on the floor.

"Ow," He said, turning to see what had tripped him. "Bloody hell demon girl, do watch where you're sitting." Anya was sitting on the kitchen floor. Spike hadn't noticed her until he had tripped over her.

"Go away," Anya said. "I want to be alone."

"Good luck in this house," Spike said, ignoring Anya and continuing his search of the cupboards.

Anya stood up, "Can you go away?"

Something in Anya's voice made Spike turn to look at her. He was startled to see her staring out the window, tears running down her cheeks.