40 Weeks Later

West Side of Cleveland: DeLuca Luxury Apartments: 11th Floor: Apartment #314: Living Room

With the laptop on her lap, Buffy sat on the couch with her legs propped on the coffee table and a pillow under her lower back. Nine months pregnant and terribly uncomfortable, Buffy tried her damndest to concentrate on the documents she needed to edit before it was too late and the baby would be born.

Crash! Bang!

The sounds of struggle in the nursery room down the hallway made Buffy flare up with frustration. She snapped her glaring eyes down the hallway. Two weeks later, Buffy was irritated by everything around her.

Pursing her lips together, Buffy lowered her eyes back to the laptop and typed a few sentences when more crashing sounds echoed off of the wall, angering the Vampire Slayer.

Slamming the laptop closed, Buffy tossed it aside on the couch and unraveled her legs from their tucked position and awkwardly stood from the couch with one hand on her lower back that was in pain.

Marching down the hallway, fanning herself with her hand, Buffy stepped into the nursery room.

Nursery Room

Graham stood in the center of the room with the disassembled pieces of a wooden crib laid out all around him. He had opened the large instruction map. His brows pinched together trying to decipher the instructions when he sensed someone else in the room behind him.

By the heavy huff in her breath, Graham knew that his already short circuited girlfriend was on the warpath. Deciding to just ignore her, Graham remained focused on the instructions. He was not in the mood for one of Buffy's unjustified reprimands. He tried so hard to remain patient and unbothered by her interchangeable moods. Graham knew that she was terribly uncomfortable. She wanted the baby out of her body. And since he was the man and was not suffering like she, of course, he'd be her scapegoat.

Slowly, Graham faced her and lifted his head from the instructions. "How the hell did China take over the world with instructions like these?" He asked in hopes to lighten her mood. "None this makes sense."

"Well, if you purchased the already assembled crib like I wanted then you wouldn't be doing this now. No, but, you wanted to feel useful or whatever so you get this and decide to wait until the very last second to assemble the damn thing."

Graham frowned, not really taking offense to her biting words. He couldn't argue with her because it was true. It was he that wanted this classic wooden crib to assemble. Millions of fathers—including his own father did it so Graham figured that he could too. "I can do this, Buf," he told her. "I'm the father. And father's build shit." He frowned turning the map around in his hands.

Rolling her eyes, Buffy turned away from when water suddenly spilled at her feet. She paused and looked down, stunned. "Graham," she called his name.

With his back facing her, Graham continued to stare at the instructions. "The square piece is supposed to fit into the circle piece? Nah, that's not right." He mumbled to himself trying to configure the assortment of pieces in front of him.

"Graham…" Buffy said his name again, looking at him from the doorway. Her hand on her large belly and the other on the doorframe. Squeezing her eyes closed and gritting her teeth, the shooting pain felt crippling.

"Nah, Summers, I got this. These pieces are supposed to fit." He held the pieces in his hand and looked down at the instructions. "'Use the screw to hold pieces together'." He read aloud and picked up a triangular piece that matched the picture in the instructions and frowned. "That's not a screw."

"Graham!"

Graham whirled around with anger on his face, "What?"

"My water broke."

His eyes widening in shock, Graham immediately dropped the pieces he had been struggling with. "What? Oh, my God. Uh, okay. Okay. Okay. Accordin' to the birthin' class, you gotta be calm. Right! Right. Uh... I should, I should…" he comically panicked, forgetting everything that he and Buffy had planned for when this moment happened.

Breathing hard through another construction, Buffy said, "Get the car!"

"Get the car. Right. Okay. I'm, I'm gonna get the car. Yeah. Yeah, good idea. Keys! I need keys." Graham ran to the front door patting his jeans in search of the car keys.

"Wow. Men are so not made for this." Buffy stared at him, mystified by his panic that would've amused her any other day, but, now all that she could think about was getting to the hospital.

Graham ran around, checking everywhere he could think for his car keys. "Where are my keys? Where the hell are my keys? Don't look at me like that. I know what I'm doin', okay? I'm gonna, I'm gonna get the keys. I... I'm totally and completely calm."

As Graham ran around the large apartment for the car keys, Buffy took a seat on the couch and waited for him. Her eyes followed him as he ran back and forth in search of the car keys.

"Goddamn it! Where the hell are the keys. I'm goin' to find them. Okay, okay, I'm calm, very calm, okay? No panic, no hysteria. We can totally handle this, right, Buf? Where the hell are my keys?"

Buffy inhaled a deep breath and lowered her gaze to find the car keys sitting on the coffee table.

6 ½ Hours Later

The Council Headquarters: Medical Facility: Delivery Room 4C

Holding the swaddled newborn in her arms, Buffy felt an emotional clench in her throat as she eyed the baby's tiny fingers that were wrapped around Buffy's forefinger.

Graham turned his glossy eyes to Buffy. With his fingers, Graham gently tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Shifting her gaze from her newborn son, Buffy looked at her boyfriend. "What?" She whispered her question as the baby slept in her arms.

"I was just thinkin'," he told her, eying her with love.

"Thinking about what?"

"How much I love you," he answered. "How everyday, I fall even more in love with you."

Buffy's eyes shined with wetness as a small smile crossed her face. "I'll remind you of that the next time we argue." She lightly jokes, earning a wolfish chuckle from Graham.

He leaned in closer, pressing his mouth against hers.

The joyous kiss only lasted for a minute until they mutually parted and looked back down at their newborn son.

Hovering over the sleeping baby, Graham brushed his lips over the child's head then gently rubbed his blond fuzzy hair.

"Do you think he has any idea how much happiness he brings with him?" Graham asked, slowly moving his eyes around the baby's face. With the back of his forefinger, Graham touched the newborn's puffy cheek. He turned his eyes to Buffy, "You're goin' to be a wonderful mother."

"I hope so," she told him honestly and lowered her green eyes back to her son.

Graham slid his hand over hers regaining her attention. "I know it." He leaned in closer, kissing her mouth gently as the sounds of the room's door opened.

Breaking apart, they turned to see Giles, Willow, Xander, and Dawn standing together.

Buffy eyed her younger sister with surprise, "I didn't know you were coming back from school."

"And miss meeting my little nephew? I wouldn't miss it," said Dawn, crossing the room to stand on Buffy's other side to look at the sleeping newborn. "He's so tiny."

Giles stood at the foot of the bed, holding his hands into his trouser pockets. His gaze shifted from the newborn to Buffy. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Buffy said with a smile.

"I would imagine so. Having a baby is a lot of work." Giles gently smiled at her as Willow and Xander moved to stand behind Dawn to look at the baby.

"I feel like I swallowed a box of fireworks," said Xander with excitement in his voice. "I can do a jig!"

Willow quickly hushed her oldest friend in fear of waking the newborn. "He looks just like you guys."

Xander frowned, tilting his head to the side, examining the sleeping child held in Buffy's arms. "Really? I think he looks like Sean Connery." Feeling the room's eyes on him, Xander looked around to the strange faces staring at him. "From Goldfinger."

Graham shook his head at his good friend and lowered his attention back to Buffy and his son. His heart pounded uncontrollably in his chest at the thought. Son. I have a son. He almost wanted to ask someone to pinch him to convince him that this was real. I have a son with Buffy.

"We should leave you to rest," said Giles, backing towards the door. "Xander, Willow, Dawn, come along and let's give the new parents some privacy."

Leaving Buffy and Graham in the room alone, one by one the Scoobies filed out of the room until Willow looked back at the couple and smiled at them as they stared down at the newborn. She was elated for Buffy. For so long it seemed that nothing but tragedy was to follow Buffy Summers everywhere like a rainy grey cloud. It seemed so hard to find happiness without it someone ending in some way that would threaten the world's very existence. And somehow, without anyone expecting it, Graham came back into their lives.

Willow was so happy that Buffy had finally found someone that not only had his own baggage but someone that understood her perfectly. She loved that Graham didn't want to change a thing about Buffy. He fell head over heels for the woman that she already was, flaws and all. He wasn't at all threatened by her strength or position, nor did he put expectations on her. He simply loved and supported her.

Slowly, Willow closed the door behind her.


Buffy lifted her chin to look at Graham and said with a soft and tired voice, "You should call your parents. I'm sure they're sitting on the edge of their seats wondering what happened."

"You're right," Graham begrudgingly agreed and kissed Buffy's forehead before standing from the chair to retrieve his cellphone from his pocket.

It wasn't that he disliked his parents—not at all. Nicholas and Melissa Miller were a couple of characters in their own right. Nicholas or Nick as he rathered be called, was a firm man. A retired Army Captain, he served in the Vietnam War and now, he was a respected Building Service Director at Chicago Core company in Chicago. Nick was skeptical of this new life outside of the Army his eldest son built himself.

Graham's mother Melissa on the other hand was a kind and quiet soul. A tentative mother in Graham's youth, she always remained soft spoken and patient, even at his father's tantrums. She was happy for her son and the woman he was sharing his life with. All that she ever wanted for Graham was to find happiness. After he came back from Brazil, she knew something wasn't right with him. He had the same troubled look in his eyes as Nick had when he returned from Vietnam.

Holding the cellphone to his ear, Graham waited patiently for someone to pick up the phone call.

"Hello?" His mother softly said into the telephone.

"Hi, mom," said Graham, taking a seat at Buffy's bedside and gently touched his son's toes sticking out from the blanket.

"Oh, Graham, honey, did Buffy have the baby?"

Graham smiled, nodding his head. Unsure where this sudden emotion came from, Graham tightened his jaw and pinched the tears in his eyes. "Yeah, Buffy had the baby and she and he are doin' just fine."

"He? You have a son?" The happiness in her voice added to Graham's emotion, choking in his throat.

Buffy looked at him and tenderly brushed her fingers through his dark hair. Graham kissed the inside of her hand and buried his face into her hand holding his cheek.

"Nick!" Melissa called out to Nick somewhere in another room. "Honey, Graham is on the phone. Buffy had the baby. It's a boy. Here, talk to him."

After a moment of shuffling the phone around, Graham anticipated his father's deep voice on the other end.

"Graham?"

"Yeah, Pop, it's me."

"I have a grandson?"

Graham nodded his head, "Yeah, you do."

"How is that little woman of yours?"

Graham turned his eyes to Buffy and watched shake her head with amusement. Returning her smile, Graham also shook his head. "She's perfect. She and the baby are perfect."

There was a moment of silence on the other line for what seemed like a long time. Clearing his throat Nick then said, "Good. I'm happy for you, my boy. Here's your mother."

After another minute, Graham hung up the phone call and placed the cellphone on the nightstand beside them. He turned his attention back to his newborn son and Buffy.

"See, that wasn't so bad." Buffy said, fighting her own tinge of sadness. More than anything she wished her mother was here. Having never been one to believe in the 'higher power of God', Buffy liked to think that Joyce's soul was still living someplace great and special. Just like where she was all of those years ago when Buffy herself had died for the second time. Unsure whether it would be called Heaven, Buffy couldn't think of any other word to describe it.

"She's proud of you," said Graham, reading her distant thoughts.

"And how would you know that? Are you suddenly an Oracle or something?"

Graham pushed her hair back and out of her face. "Because there's no way in hell your mother could be anythin' but proud of you."

"I just wish she was here."

Graham felt a twist of pain in his chest for her. He leaned closer. "Me too, baby," he said before placing another kiss on her forehead.