I have a challenge for my readers. I still haven't decided on a name for
Spike and Buffy's baby. I have a few ideas but nothing set in stone. So if
you can think of a good name, send it to me. My only requirements are that
it has to fit into the story and make sense for them to pick that name.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Nightmare that Goes On
Spike leaned back against the wall of the van. They'd been traveling for two hours. Giles had been driving as fast he could. Xander was in the passenger's seat next to him. He wasn't carsick as he'd been on their last flight from a demon. Anya was sitting behind Xander, across from Spike and Buffy. Anya was curled up in a ball, her arms around her stomach and her eyes shut. Spike knew that she wasn't feeling well but he was more concerned about Buffy.
Buffy was resting against him, her head on his shoulder. Spike had one arm around her shoulders and the other one resting on her stomach. Suddenly she inhaled sharply, buried her face in Spike's shirt, one hand gripped his shirt while the other one tightened around her stomach. Spike had his hand on her stomach too and he felt the familiar tensing of Buffy's stomach muscles. He moved his hand over to hold her hand. She grabbed onto it and held on with a grip that almost crushed his hand. Then slowly both her grip and the contraction eased.
Buffy let out the breath that she had been holding. She looked up at Spike, a question on her face.
"Steady at 15," Spike said, softly enough so that only she could hear. He'd been monitoring the time between contractions using the clock on the van. "Want to pull over?"
"No," Buffy said, quietly. Spike had asked that question after every contraction from the moment he'd known that she was having them. She kept insisting that they keep going. They weren't very far from L.A. now and there was still time before the baby would be born. "We'll make it," She told Spike.
"You're sure?" Spike asked.
Buffy nodded, "He has your patience and your sense of timing, though. Only your son would decide to be born in the middle of an apocalypse."
"He wants to get in on all the action," Spike said, smiling in spite of the situation. "Gets that from you."
"What are you two talking about?" Dawn asked. Spike and Buffy had been talking quietly so that no one would hear what they were saying. Buffy didn't want anyone to know that she'd gone into labor.
"Nothing for your ears, Nibblet," Spike said. Dawn was sitting in a corner of the van with Tara and Willow. They were looking through some books that they'd brought with them from the Magic Box. Spike nodded towards them, "You found anything new?" "No," Willow said. "There's no reference to Dante in any of these books. They don't mention the stone either."
Tara looked at Spike, "Did Dante ever use a different name or was he ever called by something different?"
Spike tried hard to think, "I don't know," He admitted. He only knew that basics of the legend and the rest was lost in a haze of alcohol.
Willow hesitated and then said, "Spike, I know you said that I couldn't pull the memory from your mind, but what about hypnotizing you? You might remember something that you forgot."
"No," Spike said. "We're not far from L.A. and once we get there Angel can tell you what he knows."
"But..." Willow started to protest.
"No," Spike said. Then he felt Buffy stiffen, her hand grab his and she buried her face in his shirt. Spike quickly said, "Why don't you ask them?" He pointed to Andrew and Jonathan, cowering in another corner of the van.
His distraction worked. Willow, Tara and Dawn turned their attention to seeing if there was anything they remembered. Buffy was able to get through the contraction without anyone noticing what was going on.
After it was over Buffy looked at Spike for the time and he said, "10 minutes, luv, sure you don't want to pull over at the next town?"
"No," Buffy insisted. "We're almost there now."
Spike started to object but then stopped. She was right. They weren't that far from L.A.
The van hit a bump. The shocks weren't very good so every bump in the road was felt and this one had been bad. Buffy winced and Anya moaned loudly, not even opening her eyes.
"Anya?" Xander asked, turning around in the seat to see if she was alright. "Are you okay?"
Anya slowly opened her eyes and looked up, "If Dante showed up right now, I'd say, kill me now."
"Since when do you get carsick?" Xander asked.
"It started around the time..."Anya started to say but then she was interrupted.
"I found something," Willow said, excitedly. She pointed to a page in a book she was holding.
"What'd you find, Will?" Xander asked. Anya was forgotten in the excitement. She shut her eyes and stayed curled into a ball, trying to fit the nausea.
Willow looked at the book in front of her, "It's talking about the stone but it's using a different names." She looked at Spike, "Did Angel ever say anything about Dante going by another name?
"Not to me," Spike said. He started to say more but then Buffy dug her nails into his hand as another contraction hit. Everyone was focused on Willow and the book she was holding. That combined with the darkness of the van kept anyone from noticing what was happening. . After the contraction was over Spike reported back that they were still 10 minutes. But both Buffy and Spike knew that they couldn't hide what was happening for much longer.
"Does it say anything about the stone?" Dawn asked, bending over the book with Willow and Tara. They had been reading Willow's book, trying to find what Willow was pointing out.
"This talks about the stone, but it call Dante by another name," Willow explaned.
"What name?" Tara asked.
"It refers to the stone but uses the name Grendel," Willow explained.
"What?!" Giles said, taking his eyes off the road to stare at Willow. "What did you just say?"
"I said that Dante's been called Grendel too," Willow started to say. Then she let out a cry, "Watch out!"
Giles quickly turned back to the road and saw that he had drifted onto the other side of the road. He jerked on the wheel just in time to avoid an oncoming car. He overcorrected and the van drove off the road. It came to a stop several yards from the road, almost hitting a rock formation. Giles turned off the engine and turned around, "What did you say?" He asked Willow.
Spike swore, "Bloody hell, Watcher, why don't you watch where the hell you're going?" He looked down at Buffy, "You okay?"
Buffy nodded, "I think so." She looked over at Giles, "What happened?"
Giles had not taken his eyes off of Willow, "What did you say his other name was?" Giles asked, his face turning pale.
"Grendel," Willow said, rubbing her arm where she'd banged it when the van had swerved.
"What's the difference?" Spike said. "Dante, Grendel, it's all the same. Now let's get out of here before he finds us."
"I didn't know," Giles said, almost to himself. "If they're the same then he must have been....it couldn't be....no...oh no.."
"Would you stop babbling and tell us what's going on?" Spike asked. "And let's get going. If we stay here too long then Dante, Grendel or whatever the hell his name is going to find us."
"What does the name Grendel mean?" Willow asked.
"Grendel was the name used in a ghost story that we used to tell at the Watcher's Academy," Giles said. "It was used to scare the younger students but even the older ones respected the legend. It's almost the same story as Spike told us just a few details missing. We all thought that it was some story used to frighten us. I never really believed it and I had forgotten it until now."
"Does knowing that he used the name Grendel help us find that stone?" Tara asked Willow.
Willow shook her head, "All that's here is the same story, only using both names."
"So all we've accomplished is scaring us more than we already are," Anya snapped. "And we could have been killed when Giles decided to play chicken."
No one said anything. They all knew deep down that Anya was right but no one wanted to admit it. Giles quietly turned to face the road and tried to start the engine. It sputtered a few times and then died.
"What's wrong with this thing?" Xander asked. He looked at Jonathan and Andrew. It was their van. If there was something wrong then they should know about it.
"It might be out of gas," Andrew suggested.
"Impossible," Giles said. "There's still a half a tank left."
"The gauge's broken," Andrew admitted. "And we didn't fill it this week because we thought that Drusilla was going to turn us into vampire gods and we wouldn't need a van."
"Great," Spike said. "We're stuck out in the middle of no where because these two gits thought that Drusilla would make them vampires and they wouldn't need a van. Don't they know that vampires need wheels too?"
"We'll deal with them later," Buffy said quietly. "We have other things to deal with right now."
"Like a demon-god who wants to kill us all," Anya said. She was still laying on the floor of the van. Her face had lost its green tinge since they'd stopped moving but she was still very pale.
"That too," Buffy agreed. "That and my water just broke."
Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Nightmare that Goes On
Spike leaned back against the wall of the van. They'd been traveling for two hours. Giles had been driving as fast he could. Xander was in the passenger's seat next to him. He wasn't carsick as he'd been on their last flight from a demon. Anya was sitting behind Xander, across from Spike and Buffy. Anya was curled up in a ball, her arms around her stomach and her eyes shut. Spike knew that she wasn't feeling well but he was more concerned about Buffy.
Buffy was resting against him, her head on his shoulder. Spike had one arm around her shoulders and the other one resting on her stomach. Suddenly she inhaled sharply, buried her face in Spike's shirt, one hand gripped his shirt while the other one tightened around her stomach. Spike had his hand on her stomach too and he felt the familiar tensing of Buffy's stomach muscles. He moved his hand over to hold her hand. She grabbed onto it and held on with a grip that almost crushed his hand. Then slowly both her grip and the contraction eased.
Buffy let out the breath that she had been holding. She looked up at Spike, a question on her face.
"Steady at 15," Spike said, softly enough so that only she could hear. He'd been monitoring the time between contractions using the clock on the van. "Want to pull over?"
"No," Buffy said, quietly. Spike had asked that question after every contraction from the moment he'd known that she was having them. She kept insisting that they keep going. They weren't very far from L.A. now and there was still time before the baby would be born. "We'll make it," She told Spike.
"You're sure?" Spike asked.
Buffy nodded, "He has your patience and your sense of timing, though. Only your son would decide to be born in the middle of an apocalypse."
"He wants to get in on all the action," Spike said, smiling in spite of the situation. "Gets that from you."
"What are you two talking about?" Dawn asked. Spike and Buffy had been talking quietly so that no one would hear what they were saying. Buffy didn't want anyone to know that she'd gone into labor.
"Nothing for your ears, Nibblet," Spike said. Dawn was sitting in a corner of the van with Tara and Willow. They were looking through some books that they'd brought with them from the Magic Box. Spike nodded towards them, "You found anything new?" "No," Willow said. "There's no reference to Dante in any of these books. They don't mention the stone either."
Tara looked at Spike, "Did Dante ever use a different name or was he ever called by something different?"
Spike tried hard to think, "I don't know," He admitted. He only knew that basics of the legend and the rest was lost in a haze of alcohol.
Willow hesitated and then said, "Spike, I know you said that I couldn't pull the memory from your mind, but what about hypnotizing you? You might remember something that you forgot."
"No," Spike said. "We're not far from L.A. and once we get there Angel can tell you what he knows."
"But..." Willow started to protest.
"No," Spike said. Then he felt Buffy stiffen, her hand grab his and she buried her face in his shirt. Spike quickly said, "Why don't you ask them?" He pointed to Andrew and Jonathan, cowering in another corner of the van.
His distraction worked. Willow, Tara and Dawn turned their attention to seeing if there was anything they remembered. Buffy was able to get through the contraction without anyone noticing what was going on.
After it was over Buffy looked at Spike for the time and he said, "10 minutes, luv, sure you don't want to pull over at the next town?"
"No," Buffy insisted. "We're almost there now."
Spike started to object but then stopped. She was right. They weren't that far from L.A.
The van hit a bump. The shocks weren't very good so every bump in the road was felt and this one had been bad. Buffy winced and Anya moaned loudly, not even opening her eyes.
"Anya?" Xander asked, turning around in the seat to see if she was alright. "Are you okay?"
Anya slowly opened her eyes and looked up, "If Dante showed up right now, I'd say, kill me now."
"Since when do you get carsick?" Xander asked.
"It started around the time..."Anya started to say but then she was interrupted.
"I found something," Willow said, excitedly. She pointed to a page in a book she was holding.
"What'd you find, Will?" Xander asked. Anya was forgotten in the excitement. She shut her eyes and stayed curled into a ball, trying to fit the nausea.
Willow looked at the book in front of her, "It's talking about the stone but it's using a different names." She looked at Spike, "Did Angel ever say anything about Dante going by another name?
"Not to me," Spike said. He started to say more but then Buffy dug her nails into his hand as another contraction hit. Everyone was focused on Willow and the book she was holding. That combined with the darkness of the van kept anyone from noticing what was happening. . After the contraction was over Spike reported back that they were still 10 minutes. But both Buffy and Spike knew that they couldn't hide what was happening for much longer.
"Does it say anything about the stone?" Dawn asked, bending over the book with Willow and Tara. They had been reading Willow's book, trying to find what Willow was pointing out.
"This talks about the stone, but it call Dante by another name," Willow explaned.
"What name?" Tara asked.
"It refers to the stone but uses the name Grendel," Willow explained.
"What?!" Giles said, taking his eyes off the road to stare at Willow. "What did you just say?"
"I said that Dante's been called Grendel too," Willow started to say. Then she let out a cry, "Watch out!"
Giles quickly turned back to the road and saw that he had drifted onto the other side of the road. He jerked on the wheel just in time to avoid an oncoming car. He overcorrected and the van drove off the road. It came to a stop several yards from the road, almost hitting a rock formation. Giles turned off the engine and turned around, "What did you say?" He asked Willow.
Spike swore, "Bloody hell, Watcher, why don't you watch where the hell you're going?" He looked down at Buffy, "You okay?"
Buffy nodded, "I think so." She looked over at Giles, "What happened?"
Giles had not taken his eyes off of Willow, "What did you say his other name was?" Giles asked, his face turning pale.
"Grendel," Willow said, rubbing her arm where she'd banged it when the van had swerved.
"What's the difference?" Spike said. "Dante, Grendel, it's all the same. Now let's get out of here before he finds us."
"I didn't know," Giles said, almost to himself. "If they're the same then he must have been....it couldn't be....no...oh no.."
"Would you stop babbling and tell us what's going on?" Spike asked. "And let's get going. If we stay here too long then Dante, Grendel or whatever the hell his name is going to find us."
"What does the name Grendel mean?" Willow asked.
"Grendel was the name used in a ghost story that we used to tell at the Watcher's Academy," Giles said. "It was used to scare the younger students but even the older ones respected the legend. It's almost the same story as Spike told us just a few details missing. We all thought that it was some story used to frighten us. I never really believed it and I had forgotten it until now."
"Does knowing that he used the name Grendel help us find that stone?" Tara asked Willow.
Willow shook her head, "All that's here is the same story, only using both names."
"So all we've accomplished is scaring us more than we already are," Anya snapped. "And we could have been killed when Giles decided to play chicken."
No one said anything. They all knew deep down that Anya was right but no one wanted to admit it. Giles quietly turned to face the road and tried to start the engine. It sputtered a few times and then died.
"What's wrong with this thing?" Xander asked. He looked at Jonathan and Andrew. It was their van. If there was something wrong then they should know about it.
"It might be out of gas," Andrew suggested.
"Impossible," Giles said. "There's still a half a tank left."
"The gauge's broken," Andrew admitted. "And we didn't fill it this week because we thought that Drusilla was going to turn us into vampire gods and we wouldn't need a van."
"Great," Spike said. "We're stuck out in the middle of no where because these two gits thought that Drusilla would make them vampires and they wouldn't need a van. Don't they know that vampires need wheels too?"
"We'll deal with them later," Buffy said quietly. "We have other things to deal with right now."
"Like a demon-god who wants to kill us all," Anya said. She was still laying on the floor of the van. Her face had lost its green tinge since they'd stopped moving but she was still very pale.
"That too," Buffy agreed. "That and my water just broke."