Beep… Beep…Beep…
Spike watched the monitor, grateful that the lines were strong and steady. On the bed next to that monitor, was his wife who he did not see in three years. Her beautiful face covered by bruises. Her hair, cut jagged and unkempt. She was not the Buffy he last saw three years ago. He ran out of tears to shed. For the past 23 hours he was sitting on the same chair. His knuckles had dry blood on them, some of Parkers and some of his, but he dared not to show anyone. All of the attention had to go to her. He wanted her back.
There was a knock at the door and Faith slowly came in. She was carrying a can of soda and some vending machine snacks.
"Hey, I brought you something to eat," she said with a weak smile.
"I'm not hungry, Faith," Spike said, still watching the monitor.
"You need to eat something,"
"I said that I'm not-"
His annoyed outburst was interrupted by "James and Emma are worried about you! They said that they hate seeing you like this….like your dead. Spike please?" She held out the soda and snacks.
With a sigh he took them and mumbled thanks.
He hated being like this too.
"I'm gonna ask you one more time, Mr. Abrams. WHERE IS RILEY FINN?" Detective McDonald shouted in the interrogation room.
"I'm gonna tell you one last time! I don't' know!" Parker spat back.
"Okay then. I want you to meet someone," McDonald walked to the door and let a man in "This is Charles Gunn, Mr. Hunter's attorney and long time best friend. He is gonna make sure you go to jail for Burgle HabitationKidnapping, Deadly Conduct, Assault B-I, Rape, and Assisting a Fugitive. That's enough for life in prison. A big cement box filled with other guys longing for fresh meat. And I'm sure you know what I mean by 'fresh meat'. Ever heard the expression 'Don't drop the soap!'? It's an important peice of advice in there!"
Parker was silent.
"Well,"
"He's in Tijuana,"
"Hello?" Spike said picking up his phone.
"Mr. Hunter, good news. We just got confirmation that Mr. Finn's car crossed the border at 3:47 PM 4 days ago. We are sending a team to find him adn escort him back,"
"That's great! Thank you so much, you have no idea how…it means a lot to now that he's finally gonna get what he deserves."
"No problem. I just ask that you stay away from the station that day. We don't want to charge you with assault," McDonald laughed.
"Don't worry; I'm spending most of my time at the hospital anyways,"
"I'm sure you wife will get better; she's a fighter,"
"I know,"
I just hope she knows it.
FLASHBACK
"SPIKE, I can't do this! AHHHHHHH!" Buffy screamed on the hospital bed.
"Yes, you can, pet! All you gotta do is push and then we'll have our beautiful babies,"
"YOU ARE NEVER COMING NEAR ME AGAIN! DO YOU HERE ME WILLIAM HUNTER, NEVER!" she squeezed his hand harder.
"Don't worry, happens all the time," the nurse whispered to Spike.
Spike smiled through his clenched teeth. Under the pressure of Buffy's squeezing, his ring was starting to cut his skin.
"Okay, Buffy on the count of three I want you to push as hard as you can!" the doctor commanded.
Buffy nodded and got ready. Spike leaned up and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"ONE…TWO…THREE"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Buffy's scream was soon overcome by a crying noise.
"It's a boy!" the doctor said handing over the baby to a nurse. "Okay, one down and one more to go!"
"No, I can't! I can't do it Spike," she said looking to her husband, tears coming down her cheeks.
"Luv, you have to. You need to fight the pain, so we can see our baby girl. I bet she's gonna look just as beautiful as you,"
Buffy nodded and waited for the doctors signal.
"ONE…TWO…THREE!"
Seconds later another crying noise entered the room.
"You did it, luv! You're a fighter!" Spike smiled and kissed her.
"Here are your lovely babies!" the nurse said handing the twins over to their parents.
"Hi my little babies," Buffy whispered to the two babies wrapped in blue and pink blankets.
"See, I was right! They're as beautiful as you!"
Two days later there was a knock at the door. Dr. Burkle, or Fred as she wished to be called, entered with a smile on her face.
"How is she doing, doc. Is she getting better, worse? Are her conditions-"
"Mr. Hunter, slow down. Your wife's stats are getting better! Now that she seems a bit stronger, we are gonna get her better cleaned up and run more tests. Is that okay?"
"It's fine. Thank you so much," Spike said getting up to give her a hug.
"You should go home for today, get some sleep spend time with your children. I know they miss seeing you."
"If something happens to her-" he started.
"I will call you right away," Fred reassured him. "But before you go, you should get those hands check out. It was kind of a bad idea hiding them. They might be infected," she said taking his hands.
"I guess I'm not as secretive as I thought,"
"I notice everything. Tell Emma and James I said hi!"
Spike walked out the hospital and into the sun. He walked towards Rovello, talking to a few neighbors who had heard the news. From far, he could see his kids in the front yard, playing with the hose, Faith and Angel on the steps watching them with smiles on their faces. He suddenly felt the urge to run to them. Even though he saw them everyday, it hadn't been the same since that day they brought Buffy in. Once he got to the yard, Emma and James ran to him and yelled.
"Daddy!"
That one word. It was different from the other times he heard it that week. It was filled with happiness and relief not fear and depression. He scooped them up in his arms not caring that he was now soaked. He brought himself down to his knees but stilled held tight to his angels. Then something he thought he lost came back to him, tears. He cried.
He cried, totally unaware of the cell phone he had dropped. The cell phone that was ringing.
Sorry about the very very long wait. Please review!