Chapter 30

August 5th, 2002…

"Kara, we need to leave for your appointment!" Spike bellowed up the stairs.

"It's not for 45 minutes, Spike! It will only take 10 minutes to get there, so relax!" She came downstairs in shorts and a tank top. "This is only a check-up, honey. All she's going to do is ask me some questions, take some blood, and listen to their heartbeats through her stethoscope. It's sweet that you're so excited, though."

"Yeah, yeah…I jus' want to make sure there's time to ask the doc questions, too. Are you sure she's the best to take care of our twins? I've been readin' up, you know. Having multiples is not exactly the same as having one-"

"I know, Spike. And yes, I trust Dr. Lee implicitly. She's been my doctor for 8 years, and has always answered my questions with an educated answer. I thought I was the worrywart in our relationship," she teased.

He looked a bit chagrined. "I just want everything to go perfect. Can you bloody blame me?"

"Of course not. I love your protective streak. Let's just get going. Then, you can take me for food afterwards."

"Couldn't eat anything this morning, again?" he asked sympathetically.

"Nope. Just the thought of food made me want to throw up."

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Dawn's 16th birthday was on the 19th. Her party this year was actually a dinner with her friends at a trendy restaurant all the kids were on about at the time. It was hard for Joyce not to celebrate her daughter's birthday with her, but she compromised by sitting at a table with Giles in view of the group of teens. The gift exchange with family had been the day before.

It had been an interesting gathering. There were still tensions between Kara and Spike, and Giles and Buffy. When they had first informed the group of their bonding, the week after they came back, and Kara's pregnancy, Giles and Buffy had been clearly uncomfortable with the news. It was clear, that after all this time, and all that he'd done to help out, they still didn't trust Spike. They hadn't come out and said it, but Kara could tell by their faces that they thought the babies might not come out human. She'd shown around the image from the ultrasound, receiving coos and 'ahhhs' from the women in the group, and that helped. Tara relayed how it had touched her to listen to the heartbeats, and Buffy was swayed. The claim wigged her out, but she was cool with Kara's pregnancy.

Giles was not so easy. He hardly said a word, which meant that he was refraining from speaking an opinion that would not be popular with the rest. Seeing Kara's dismay at Giles not lending his support had Spike cornering his fellow Brit for a moment alone. "You say one thing to hurt her, and I'll rip your bloody throat out, chip be damned," he said calmly. Giles didn't doubt for one second that the vampire meant it.

And that brought them to today. Kara and Giles had still to settle their differences, and so, the rest of the group felt awkward, not knowing whom to support on what. They rallied together to give Dawn a happy birthday, Joyce doing her best to keep the atmosphere cheerful. The gathering hadn't lasted long, with the uncomfortable air in the room, and Dawn had quickly thanked her guests and ushered them out the door.

"Dawnie, I'm sorry this is all going on around your birthday. You should have a happy 16," Kara said.

"I did, enough, anyway. I got good presents, and tomorrow night is my real party, with my friends. Don't sweat it. I'm just glad you and Spike came."

"Wouldn't miss it, Bit. You're one of my best girls."

"I know. I love you guys," she gushed. Dawn placed her hand on Kara's belly. "And I can't wait to meet you two. You guys are going to have such cute kids! You'll drop by before driving back down to the house, right?"

"Definitely. Goodnight, Dawn."

Spike kissed her cheek. "'Night, Niblet. Be careful around those boys tomorrow night, hear?"

"Yeah, I will."

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Dawn and Michael snuck off to a private corner of the dance floor to talk.

"How long are you in town?" she asked.

"Just a couple days. My parents finally got sick of me complaining about missing my friends, and my aunt was happy to see me again."

"I missed you. It's been totally sucky being stuck with e-mailing."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I do plan to go to college back down here, if I can get in."

"It's definitely better than nothing! At least you know what you want to do with your life. I still haven't got a clue."

"You'll figure it out, Dawnie. You're one of the brightest girls I know. How does it feel to be 16?"

"Pretty much the same as yesterday, but I also feel like I've been waiting forever to get here. I still won't have my license for another few months, so my life really hasn't changed, yet. I'm so glad you're here. I think I would have noticed if you weren't."

"Well, I'm all yours until we both have to go home."

"Cool."

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The college girls started school again on the 27th. It was their fourth year, and Tara and Willow would be graduating by May. Buffy would have to take a bit longer just from changing her major a few times. She would be on campus more, having convinced the university to let her start self-defense classes, and be paid for it. Tara had to cut down to only a few hours a week at The Magic Box to accommodate her schedule for graduating on time. Dawn would be back to only working on Sundays once the high school opened the next week.

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Sept. 2nd, 2002…

It was time for Kara's 4th month visit. She was back to getting up at 9 AM, the morning sickness having finally passed. Her appointment today was scheduled until the afternoon, so she made a full breakfast, then took the dogs on a walk. When she got back home, Kara took a shower, then searched her closet for something to wear. She chose a light grey pair of cotton pants, and a white blouse. When trying to zip up the pants, though, she encountered a problem. The zipper wouldn't go up all the way.

'I'm probably just a bit bloated from that big breakfast I ate,' she thought to herself. She sucked her tummy in, and tried again. The zipper went a tiny bit further, but still not all the way. "Crap!" she muttered, stripping off the pants. Okay, find something loose, or with elastic. Kara finally found a pair of linen pants in the back with a drawstring waist. They were dark blue, but at least it hadn't been scorching when she was outside. She tied the ribbon where it was comfortable, and walked over to the mirror. "I have a pooch."

She sighed – it was finally time to go shopping for maternity clothes. She'd be able to get away with the stretchy pants, and a lot of her dresses and skirts for a while, but Kara figured that wouldn't last long. Pouting, she walked over to the bed and socked Spike in the arm.

"Bloody hell, pet! What'd you do that for?"

"I'm showing," she whined.

"Really?" he asked excitedly.

"See? That's as far as I can suck it in. They're ruining my abs," she said, pouting further.

He rubbed the little bump of her tummy. "I think you look beautiful. Our Little Bits are just makin' themselves known."

"Yeah, well, right now, they're just making me look fat. I'm not pregnant enough for people to tell, yet."

"You don't look fat, Kara. This little bump is the only part of you that's changed so far. Believe me, I'd know," he said with a smirk.

"I guess. Have you read how big the woman's waist gets when she's at 9 months! It's frickin' huge. Like the number should be someone's height – huge. Can't someone else get huge for me?"

He laughed, pulling her down on the bed. "Too late for that, kitten. I'm pretty sure a surrogate has to get them from the beginning."

"Ah, phooey. Well, if I'm going to get fat, I might as well start with the chocolate ice cream," she sighed. Kara rolled off the bed and left the bedroom.

Spike lay back and chuckled to himself. She was so cute when she was feeling pouty.

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"Good afternoon, Kara, Spike. How are you today?"

"Not wearing the pants I wanted to," Kara grumbled.

Dr. Lee laughed. "It happens to all of us, dear. You wake up one morning, and suddenly you're showing. Says here you've gained 5 lbs since your initial visit. Since you're a petite woman, I want you gaining 35 lbs over the course of your pregnancy, maybe 40 because you're having twins. Let's get you comfortable on the table and start the ultrasound, okay?"

Kara was very glad that she didn't have to get undressed this time, only lift her top higher and move her pants down a bit. Dr. Lee squeezed some conductive gel on Kara's stomach and turned on the machine.

"Do you two want to know the sex of the babies today? We'll be able to tell, unless they're turned the wrong way."

"I want to, but Spike's still not sure."

"Well, I can tell you to look away at the proper moment. Let's have a look. They have, of course, grown considerably since your last ultrasound. Ah, here we go…they're still facing each other." The image distorted a little as one of them moved. "Hold still, you!" Dr. Lee scolded, shaking her finger it the image on the screen. "And it seems someone wants their picture taken. The baby is facing us, now. You'll notice that they have a much more 'human' appearance now, with the facial features becoming more pronounced. We have little hands, and little feet…okay, look away now if you want to be surprised later on." Spike shifted his eyes away, then looked back, but the doctor had already moved on. Kara grinned at him.

'Ah, so someone peeked,' he thought. On the one hand, he was insanely curious, but on the other, he didn't feel ready to know, yet. Dr. Lee continued to make notations on the chart as she explained what was developing and where.

"Oh! Dr. Lee, play the heartbeats for Spike!" Kara requested. Twin thumps echoed through the exam room, and the look of awe on her husband's face was priceless. Clearly, it didn't sound like this when he had his ear pressed to her stomach. His shining eyes turned to hers, and he kissed her fiercely, gratitude and love pouring through the claim.

Once on the way out, hand in hand, Spike started prodding for what she had seen on the screen.

"I was thinkin'…we should start working on the nursery soon, yeah? Start ahead, so we don't end up in a rush…make sure we have everything…maybe some red and black for the crib…"

"Spike! I'm not doing the babies' room up to look like a bordello!"

"That's not what I was thinking! Boys need to have somethin' manly about the room, though. Can't start 'em out like poofters…"

"Who said we're having boys? Did you see something on the screen that I didn't, 'cause"

"Ha! I knew it would be girls! I'm telling you right now that they're not going out with a boy until they're 30, maybe older."

"You cheated! I thought you didn't want to know? Wanted to be surprised?"

"I got over it," he said with a shrug. "If one's a girl, then both are, right?"

"Yeah, in this case, since they split from the same egg. They'll basically be carbon copies of each other. Hearing their heartbeats fill the room was pretty amazing, huh?"

"Bloody fantastic, luv. I'll never forget it. I suppose you'll want to get right home and let the others know what we found out?"

"Duh! Seriously, it makes shopping for the baby shower so much easier."

"Can we try to keep the pink down to a soddin' minimum? Too much is going to make me puke," he replied, grimacing at the thought with his hand on his stomach.

"I promise there will be no pink explosion."