Chapter Seventy-Three: This Was Unexpected
Spike struggled to his feet, ignoring the burning pain in his hand as he looked around what had previously been the cave. Rocks, dust and debris were scattered everywhere except for a large black spot on the ground where Dante had been.
"Buffy! Dawn!" Spike yelled. He used every bit of his vampire hearing to listen for them. If anything had happened to them or the baby…..
"Over here," Buffy called, coughing from the settling dust.
Spike ran to her side and helped her to her feet, "Are you okay?" He asked, scanning her and looking for any signs of injuries. "The bit?" He looked down at the baby in Buffy's arms and saw that the baby was looking right back at him.
"He's fine," Buffy assured him. She looked over at Dawn who was struggling to her feet. "We were able to keep anything from hitting him but," Buffy kissed her son on his head. "He's still had a pretty rough day."
"Haven't we all?" Spike said, helping Dawn to stand up. He inspected both Buffy and Dawn. They both had cuts and bruises but appeared to be free of any major injuries.
"Is everyone else okay?" Buffy asked, looking around what had been the cave.
"We are," Tara said, coughing as she and Willow pushed debris and rocks off themselves as they got to their feet. "Just a little banged up."
"I'll live," Xander said, standing up and brushing the dirt off of himself. He looked around, "Anya?"
Everyone looked to where Anya had fallen. She still lay there, motionless. Unlike the rest of them she wasn't covered in debris. The blast from when Dante had been destroyed had blown any debris covering her away.
"Anya," Xander cried. He ran to her and knelt down beside her. "Honey, can you hear me?"
Anya moaned but didn't move. Tara quickly knelt beside Xander and ran her hands over Anya's head.
"It doesn't feel like a head injury," Tara said. "Her pupils are normal too." She checked Anya's chest and stomach for any signs of injury but found no signs there, either. "No bones broken," Tara said as she finished her exam. "I don't know…"
"What about that diagnostic spell," Buffy suggested. "The one you used when you found out that I was pregnant."
Tara shook her head, "I don't have what I need for the spell and even if I did, it would take too much time to cast the spell. We need to know what's wrong with her now."
"That stunning spell that Willow cast," Dawn suggested. "That's when she collapsed, before Dante even showed up."
"That shouldn't have affected her," Willow said, defensively. "Once I lifted the spell, she would have returned to normal."
Anya moaned again and her lips moved but no one heard what she said. Xander bent closer to her and said, "What, sweetie, what is it?"
Anya spoke again and this time Spike heard her say, "Baby."
"What?" Xander said. He had also heard what Anya had said and now the color was rapidly draining out of his face. "Did she just say…..?"
Tara quickly asked, "What did she say?"
"She said," Xander said shakily, "'Baby.'"
Tara stared at him for a second and then quickly felt Anya's lower abdomen, "Is she pregnant?"
"I don't know," Xander admitted.
"Yes," Spike said.
"You're sure?" Tara said, still examining Anya.
Spike nodded, "She told me."
"But why.." Xander started to say but Tara interrupted him.
"Did she say how far along she is?"
Spike shook his head, "No."
Tara looked up from Anya and at Xander, who was obviously still trying to process all the information, "I can't find anything, if the baby's alright or not." She looked at Spike, "Could you hear a heartbeat?"
"I don't know," Spike admitted. "Might be too soon…." But he bent over and put his ear directly on Anya's lower abdomen, listening for any sign of a heartbeat. He listened closely for a few minutes and then raised his head. "I don't hear anything but," He shot a glance at Xander. "That might not mean anything. I didn't smell any blood…."
"We need to get her to a hospital," Tara said. "There's nothing we can do here."
Spike looked in the direction of where the van had been. The van was now laying under a large rock and there was no sign of Jonathan or Andrew. They had most likely fled long ago. He could see lights in the distance but no other signs of life. "The Watcher still isn't back," He said, thinking out loud.
"We'll have to walk then," Buffy said. She was tired and sore but now there was no choice. They had to get Anya and both their babies to a doctor.
"Wouldn't moving her…"Xander asked.
"Waiting here would be worse," Tara said. "We'll go carefully but we need to get to a doctor."
Spike got to his feet, took the baby from Buffy and handed him to Dawn, "Make sure he stays warm," He instructed her. Then he reached down and lifted Buffy into his arms. "You okay?" He asked.
Buffy rested her head against his shoulder and said, "I'll be okay, lets just get out of here."
Spike grinned, "Sounds good to me." HE looked over his shoulder and saw Xander was carrying Anya, with Tara standing right beside them. Willow was standing behind them, with an expression of horror on her face. Spike knew that she was remembering Dante's words about a pure sacrifice and her own knowledge of the consequences of a stunning spell.
"Let's go," Spike said. He started walking towards the lights of what he hoped was the nearest town.
They hadn't gone far when they spotted the lights from a car. They continued walking towards it until the lights got bigger and a pick-up truck pulled up next to them.
"Hey," Spike said, walking up to the driver's window. "Can we get a ride..oh it's you. What took you so long?"
"Lovely to see you too, Spike," Giles said. He took in the rest of the group. "Did I miss something?"
Spike opened the door of the pick-up. Xander laid Anya across the backseat. Spike got Buffy and the baby settled in the front seat and then he, Dawn, Willow and Tara climbed into the back of the pickup. Giles didn't have to be told that they needed a doctor and as soon as everyone was settled he turned around and drove as fast as he could towards the town.
Once they arrived at the hospital, Anya and Buffy, along with the baby were both rushed into examining rooms, leaving the rest to wait in the waiting room.
"What happened?" Giles asked.
Spike sank down into a chair, "Let's just say that Dante won't be bothering us anytime soon."
"How?" Giles asked, shocked.
"Long story," Spike snapped. "And I'll tell you sometime about how my mum's necklace saved the world." He glanced down at his hand, now that things had settled a bit he was more aware of the pain in his hand. There was a perfect imprint of the stone burned into his hand. He grabbed a piece of cloth from his pocket and wrapped it around his hand. It would heal.
He had just leaned back against the wall and shut his eyes when he felt someone grab him and throw him up against the wall. "What the bloody hell," Spike yelled.
"She told YOU?" Xander yelled, as he pinned Spike to the wall.