Buffy was yawning as she came through the kitchen door of Willow and Faith's house, one hand pushing at her hair. "Why'd I have to be here so early?" she whined as she helped herself to some candy from the bowl on the counter. "And what's with all the secrecy?"

No one answered her and her sharp ears detected motion over her head. "Will? Faith?" she called as she started up the stairs. "Joy-rider! Where is everybody? Call me to come over at six in the morning and there's no one here," she grumbled under her breath.

"We're here," Joy yelped, running to greet her. "Come on," she said with a dazzling grin, grabbing her aunt's hand and jerking her toward her parents' bedroom.

"Hold up, kiddo! We need to be careful going in here, remember?" Buffy protested.

Joy huffed impatiently. "Come on! Mom wants to show you something!"

"I'm really not sure I can see anything in here," the blonde insisted, covering her eyes cautiously with her free hand. "We want Aunt Buffy to keep her sense of sight, don't we?"

"It's okay, B," Faith's voice informed her, amused. "Everything's covered. Will's in the bathroom."

Buffy dropped her hand slowly, peeking around carefully. "What's up?" she asked curiously. "It's a little early for you, isn't it?"

Faith sighed, obviously agreeing, but not saying it aloud. "Will had a rough night," she said, arms crossed over her chest. "I've been up with her."

"Rough? What's wrong?" Buffy demanded, a frown dropping onto her face. "It seems like she's been sick for a while. Has she been to the hospital yet?" Faith nodded, chewing on her bottom lip as she glanced repeatedly at the bathroom door. They all heard the water run, and Buffy knocked on the bathroom door. "Will, I'm here. Are you okay?" she called through the closed door.

Willow opened the door slowly, greeting her family's eyes just as they all heard Xander's steps on the stairs. "Hey guys, what's…whoa," he trailed off as he noticed Willow in the bathroom doorway. "Will…"

Buffy's jaw was hanging and Faith exchanged glances with her girlfriend. "Um…so, we've got an announcement to make," she said, biting the bullet. Willow was barely showing, but it was obviously enough.

"What - how did this happen?" Buffy asked breathlessly.

Faith shook her head, her arms relaxing as Willow stepped up to her side, the witch trailing her fingers softly down her partner's arm and giving her a reassuring smile. "You don't want to know," the Slayer said, smirking. "Trust me."

Willow giggled, moving forward and opening her arms to her friends. "Can we get a hug from Aunt Buffy?" she asked, losing her breath as she was swept off her feet. "Oof, Buffy, not so hard! I was just throwing up," she cautioned her friend. The blonde dropped her swiftly, steadying her friend.

"Sorry about that. Accident," Buffy promised quickly, feeling Faith's glare without seeing it. "Will, tell her you're alright!"

"I'm fine, babe," Willow assured her with a laugh, feeling Faith's protective presence at her back. "You know Buffy would never hurt me." Xander had moved forward a few steps under Joy's persistent attention, but he moved quicker when Willow's eyes fell on him. "What do you think, Xand?"

"Wha-I'm still a little stunned, here," Xander said slowly. "You never told us you wanted another kid. That you were doing this…"

Willow walked to him, slipping her arms around his waist and leaning into his chest. "We're telling you now," she said softly. "Uncle Xander," she coaxed him, smiling helplessly when Joy echoed the call.

"It's good, right?" the little girl asked him, tugging on his hand. "My brother or sister." She gave him a hopeful smile. "We can teach them to play with us."

Willow tilted her head back to look up into his face, winking as he gave her a stunned smile. "You're pregnant? Really?" he asked. His eyes shot to his best friend's partner. "It's Faith's?"

Willow rolled her eyes and Buffy knowingly stepped into her fellow Slayer's path. "What are you trying to say?" Faith growled as Buffy shoved her back.

"Of course it's Faith's," Willow said sternly, swatting his chest sharply. "We're having another baby and you're going to be happy for us," she informed him, rebuke clear in her tone.

"Unk!" Joy yelped. "Mom!" She didn't know what was going on exactly, but she could feel the tension in the room. "Mama?" Her eyes turned to Faith, the Slayer's glare melting away slowly under the gaze of her daughter.

"It's okay, sweetie," Willow promised, poking Xander in the side to prompt him to agree.

Xander nodded, kneeling to Joy's height. "Sometimes it takes Unk a second to catch up." He sent Faith an apologetic look. "And sometimes he puts his foot in his mouth," he offered remorsefully.

Faith didn't respond until Buffy stomped on her foot and Willow cleared her throat pointedly. "Fine," she groused. "Just watch it," she warned him sternly, letting Willow pull her extended arm down and around herself.

"He didn't mean anything by it," Willow promised softly. "Everyone knows I would never…"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Xander protested from the floor, Joy in the process of climbing on his back. "I just… If something had happened…and you didn't want to tell us…"

"I would never let that happen," Faith growled, her glare back in full force.

"We know that, Faith," Buffy interceded, lifting a placating hand as Willow turned to hug her partner comfortingly. "Let's all just stop jumping on Xander, okay? We got a bomb dropped on us, here. Let's just all take a minute, and maybe have a seat downstairs and you can fill us in," she suggested rationally.

Willow gazed pleadingly up at Faith, one hand rubbing at the top of her shoulder soothingly. "Yeah?" Faith nodded, glaring at Xander until Joy peeked around his shoulder at her mother, making a silly face. Faith smirked ruefully, shaking her head, and Willow stood on her toes to kiss her girlfriend's cheek. "That's my girl," she whispered, fingers sliding around the back of the Slayer's neck and steering her into a kiss.

"Dam-ng," Buffy complained, censoring herself in front of Joy. "Pregnant women get really horny, don't they?"

"What's horny?" Joy asked cheerfully, giggling at the expression on her parents' faces as they separated.

"Yes, Buffy," Willow said slowly. "Explain to our eight year old daughter what that word means," she offered, leaning back against Faith's hands on her waist.

"Um…" Buffy started hesitantly. "That word, well, that word means, like when your parents are…all over each other?"

Willow rolled her eyes, leaning forward and resting her head against Faith's shoulder as they watched Buffy fumble with her definition.

"Like kissing?" Joy questioned, smiling. She was well aware of how affectionate her parents were with each other. She thought it was nice but she knew that her aunt made faces a lot whenever she saw it.

"Yep, kissing, that's it!" Buffy agreed rapidly, eager to end the discussion. "Now, let's go downstairs, Joy-rider!"

Willow shook her head against Faith's chest as the others filed out of their bedroom. "This could be going better, couldn't it?" she asked softly.

Faith shrugged, sighing against Willow's hair. "It is kind of shocking, I guess," she admitted. "If Xander thinks I would - that you would…"

"He doesn't think that," Willow said quickly. "He was surprised, worried. If something had happened…"

"No," Faith growled, holding Willow tighter against her.

"If something had happened to me, we probably wouldn't have told anyone immediately," Willow continued. "It's a good thing that he was worried about me, sweetie."

Faith kissed the side of Willow's head, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself. "Fine, but if he makes one reference to the possibility that you either got assaulted or cheated, I'm going to break something of his," she warned her.

"Just give him the benefit of the doubt, okay? Please? For me?" Willow requested, looking up at her girlfriend. She planted a slow line of kisses across the Slayer's jaw in between her words, smiling against skin as Faith unconsciously leaned her head back to give Willow more room.

The Slayer only realized what she was doing as the witch giggled and she sighed. "Fine, but is B right about the pregnant women being horny thing? Because if that's not true I'm going to be kind of pissed."

Willow nodded slowly, still scattering feather light kisses across her girlfriend's neck. "Judging from my short experience, I'd say she's right. You haven't noticed?"

Faith shook her head hesitantly, not sure what the best reaction was. "I'm hot, babe. And you're sexy as hell. And we're pretty damn good together. It's not like we go a long time without…"

Willow giggled as Faith's hand stroked gently over her baby bump. "Well, for the record, it's pretty much anytime, anywhere for now," she stated. "I don't know how long it's going to last…"

"I'll be sure to take advantage," Faith cut in, smirking. "But I didn't think there was anything you don't know," she teased. "Are you slipping on me, hon?"

Willow abruptly stopped the kisses, leaning back. "I think it's time we were going downstairs," she said, voice noticeably cooler.

Faith tightened her grip, struggling to cope with the mood swings. "Will, come on! You know I was just kidding!" Willow's hand swatted the top of her chest and Faith curled her arms tighter around her. "Will, quit!" The witch didn't cease trying to hit her and Faith spun her quickly to wrap one arm across her chest and one around her waist from behind, holding on as the witch thrashed against her. "Stop it," she growled into her girlfriend's ear, caught off guard when the plea worked and the redhead slumped limply into her arms. "Will? Willow, what's wrong?"

Willow's eyes were dark when she met Faith's, the Slayer anxiously turning her around again to look at her. The heated gaze was familiar and the Slayer felt a flush rush from head to toe. "Whoa…" she breathed. "Turn around is that fast?"

Willow shrugged, eyelids heavy as she leaned forward into her lover's body. "When you do that growl-y thing straight in my ear, yep," she said, voice slow. She sighed against Faith's chest, pouting as she gave the brunette another sudden slap to the arm.

"What was that for?" Faith complained, scowling.

"We've got to go talk to everyone and I just want to stay up here with you!" Willow grumbled, hands squeezing the Slayer's hips.

Faith laughed, shaking her head as she reluctantly separated them. "You're lucky you're so damn cute since you've got all these new violent tendencies," she groused, rubbing her arm. Willow pushed back into her, burying her face in Faith's shoulder as she slapped her girlfriend's butt. "That works too," Faith admitted, laughing as she curled her arm around Willow's shoulder and started guiding them toward the doorway. "Now, let's go before the tide turns again and you try and brain me with something…"

Willow sent her a look, but it was tempered by a lingering smile. "You're tough." She hugged the Slayer's side as they moved. "You can take it."

Xander was pacing the room, but Buffy was seated across from Joy on the sofa, the pair playing a spirited game of 'Paper, Rock, Scissors.' The sight gave Willow a pause, her throat tightening with love. Tara had always liked that game, always played with Dawn. The image floated before her mind's eye for a long moment. She blinked and the two before her eyes became her best friend and her daughter again, but she could see the knowing in Buffy's face. "You learned that trick from your Aunt Dawn, didn't you?" Buffy questioned loudly as her niece pinned her thumb. Willow knew perfectly well where the younger Summers had learned her trick, and she blinked as Buffy met her gaze.

Joy nodded excitedly, grinning at her parents. "Mama! Did you see what I did? I beat Aunt Buffy!"

"We saw, baby," Faith assured her. "Good job!"

"That was great," Willow said, her voice thick.

Faith caught the change in her tone, but a glance between Buffy and Willow reassured her. She didn't question it, just turned her head to plant a kiss against the witch's hair. Willow's arm squeezed her waist, free hand reaching up to lace her fingers with Faith's. "Okay, let's get this over with so we can eat. Who wants to start?" Faith said, inviting the others to question them. She lifted an eyebrow and turned to Xander expectantly.

He took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "Faith, I'm sorry. I know you never would have let anything happen to Will. And I'm actually really excited that you guys are having another kid. I just was a little stunned. I mean, you called us over for breakfast, or a talk, or whatever, and I get here and you're…" He gestured to the pregnant witch. Their eyes locked and he smiled happily. "You look really good, Will," he said, his voice hoarse with affection.

Willow blinked back tears, silently cursing her overwhelming hormones, and Faith squeezed her hand gently before letting her go. Xander's arms folded her up gently, his voice quiet as he murmured into her hair. Faith and Buffy exchanged looks, the blonde losing her breath as Joy plopped firmly into her lap suddenly.

"Everybody's happy again!" the little girl declared loudly. "Can we have waffles now?" she asked, looking pleadingly at Faith.

The brunette nodded, arms crossing her chest. "Sure thing. Are you going to help me mix the batter? Because you're better at it than me."

"Yeah!" Joy answered eagerly, shoving off of her Aunt's stomach to jump down. Buffy huffed again breathlessly, narrowing her eyes as Faith smirked across the room at her and touched her daughter's head as the little girl ran past her into the kitchen. "Come on, Mama!"

Faith followed Joy into the kitchen, lifting her onto the kitchen counter to sit next to the sink. "Sit there and I'll get the bowl for you," she instructed.

Joy dutifully held the big mixing bowl for her while the Slayer measured and combined ingredients, Faith giving her the flat, flexible scraper and standing back as she dropped the last ingredient in and gave the little girl the signal to go. There was immediately a dusting of flour in the air, and a little on the floor, but the excitement Joy got from helping made it easily worth the cleanup.

"Can I pour?" Joy asked eagerly as her mother plugged in their big quad waffle iron.

Faith considered, nodding. "As long as you're very careful," she agreed, lifting Joy and shifting her to a perch next to the iron. "Don't lean over it," she instructed. "Just one hand and stay this far above it." She held her hand six inches over the surface of the griddle in demonstration, just able to feel the heat starting to radiate.

Joy nodded, focused. Faith watched as her daughter carefully poured out the batter, her tongue peeking between her teeth in concentration. The mannerism was so Willow that it made her chest pound, seeing them both in their daughter and wondering what the child her partner was carrying would get from them. A noise behind her had her shifting her attention for a second, her eyes back on Joy as soon as she saw Xander moving up beside her.

"Tired of the hugging?" she asked, tone of voice sharp.

"They were heading for the happy crying," he answered, reaching toward her shoulder, but hesitating before he touched her. "And my girl is always good for a good time," he said, exchanging high-fives with Joy.

"You need to reword that when you're talking about my daughter," Faith told him flatly, one hand reaching out to catch Joy's wrist as the distracted girl dipped her hand closer to the iron than the Slayer was comfortable with.

Xander bit his lip. "Sorry," he offered, his voice making it clear that he wasn't just apologizing for his slip of the tongue, and ignoring Faith's latest oversensitivity. "I'm really happy for you both." This time his hand touched her shoulder, lingering until her eyes rose to meet his. His remorse for the misunderstandings upstairs was clear in his expression, and she nodded.

"Unk, can you help me?" Joy interjected. "We gotta close it up."

Xander lifted a questioning eyebrow at Faith, the Slayer giving him a small smile as she stepped back and let him help Joy with closing the waffle iron. "Want to flip it when it beeps?" he asked her, getting a nod of acquiescence from Faith.

The Slayer watched them interact, her arms crossing her chest. She felt Willow's presence as her partner joined her, but she didn't look away from Xander and Joy. Willow's fingers squirmed under her elbow and around her arm, the witch leaning her red head against Faith's shoulder. "Thank you," Willow whispered gratefully, glad that Faith hadn't pushed the issue with Xander. "Waffles smell so good, Joy," she said, meeting her daughter's grin.

"Are you going to be able to eat some?" Joy asked curiously, having become used to her mother's new diet over the last few months.

"Of course I am!" Willow assured her. "My baby makes me waffles, I'm eating waffles!"

Joy wrinkled her nose, pointing to Willow's bump. "That's the baby, Mommy! I'm a big girl!"

Everyone laughed, and Willow nodded. "You're right, sweetie. You are a big girl."

Joy kicked her heels against the cabinets happily, her attention distracted as the waffle iron started beeping. Xander watched her carefully as she took the handle and flipped the waffles, clapping excitedly. "Mama, syrup!"

Faith raised an eyebrow at her. "Excuse me?"

"Please, Mama, can you get the syrup?" Joy rephrased her question impatiently.

"Yes, ma'am, I can," Faith agreed dryly, Willow squeezing her arm before she lifted her head and let the Slayer move. Buffy slipped into place on her other side, the witch leaning her head the other direction to rest against the blonde.

"Tired?" Buffy murmured sympathetically, trailing her fingers through red hair. "It is early," she pointed out, unable to resist as she yawned herself.

"Fine, if you don't want to be an aunt again…"

"Let's not talk crazy just because we're tired," Buffy said. "We're going to set the table," she said at a louder volume, drawing Faith's eyes. The brunette realized what her counterpart was doing and collected the dishes for her, enabling Willow to keep her position slumped against her friend.

Once they got to the table, Willow slipped straight into a seat, head in her hand as she watched Buffy set out the dishes. "Will, you seem really tired. Is that normal?" Buffy asked, concerned by her friend's lassitude.

"I'm off caffeine," Willow said, grumbling. "And the morning sickness kind of takes it out of me."

Buffy frowned. "Well, can I get you anything? Juice or something?" At that moment Faith appeared from the kitchen, a tall glass of milk in her hand.

"Thank you, sweetie," Willow sighed appreciatively, one hand grabbing the collar of her Slayer's shirt and hauling her down for a soft kiss. "You're the best."

"You know it," Faith agreed, smirking as she went back to overseeing waffle retrieval.

Buffy was quiet for a moment, her eyes shifting between the witch and the doorway Faith had just left through. "You know, even after all these years, it's still a little weird to see her be so…"

Willow smiled over the lip of her cup, the milk already a quarter of the way gone. "She's a good person."

"And she loves you."

Willow swallowed another large sip of her milk. "She really does."

They could hear Joy coming, Buffy standing up to help her as she dashed in with a plate of waffles. "Those look great!"

"I did these! Mama let me mix and pour and everything!" Joy yelped enthusiastically as her aunt lifted the plate from her hands and set it safely on the table.

"Next round will be up in two minutes," Faith called from the kitchen. "Start on those while they're warm."

Xander joined them with another glass of milk. "Faith said you'd want this," he said, putting it down next to Willow's empty first glass.

The witch smiled gratefully, squeezing his wrist as he took the seat beside her. "Thank you!" Willow called to Faith, shrugging to Buffy as the Slayer smirked at her.

"I'm the best!" Faith called back. "Now eat your breakfast! Feed our baby!"

"That's all I'm good for anymore!" Willow teased, giggling even as she poked a waffle onto her plate. "Honey, you got it?" she asked Joy as the little girl fumbled with her knife and fork.

Joy's tongue was out again, but she nodded, concentrating. Buffy smiled as she watched them, lifting the syrup. "Tell me when, okay?" she said, pouring syrup for Joy since she was sure that Willow didn't want to have to cope with a sugared up little girl all day.

"When," Joy announced cheerfully after a few seconds, obviously pleased with herself.

Faith returned from the kitchen with the next plate of waffles and leaned between Willow and Buffy's seats to put them on the table. Before she returned to the kitchen, she put herself directly behind Willow's chair and leaned in to nip her neck and whisper in her ear. Willow's face went red, but Faith's look of self-pride mirrored Joy's.

"What did Mama say?" Joy asked curiously, her fingers already sticky with syrup.

Xander coughed around his bite, Buffy averting her eyes. "I don't think we need to know," the blonde hedged. "Why don't you tell us about your game this weekend? Who are you playing?"

Joy happily launched into an answer about her soccer game as Faith finished her work in the kitchen and returned to sit beside her and start on her own breakfast. Willow was sitting across from her, her cheeks still pink, and Faith smirked, winking at her. She glanced down when Willow's foot slid up the side of her calf, one hand slipping under the table to tickle her toes as the foot squirmed into the space between her knees.

Willow giggled, Faith switching to rub her foot between her thumb and fingers while she continued to eat one-handed. Buffy rolled her eyes, but the smile she gave her plate was fond. "B, you're just jealous," Faith declared. "It's okay to admit it…"

"Um, Will, I love you, but so not jealous," Buffy denied, shaking her head. "Happy for you, yes. Jealous, no."

Willow shrugged. "That's better, because I'd fight you for her," she said, smile growing when she felt Faith squeeze her foot.

"Aunt Buffy! Mama is just for Mommy!" Joy declared, throwing her two cents into the discussion.

The adults all laughed, Buffy leaning over to tousle her niece's hair and kiss the top of her head. "I know that," she promised, still laughing.

"Here's the party!" a new voice declared, Dawn letting herself in as they were enjoying themselves. "I was looking for all of you."

"Aunt Dawn!" Joy squealed excitedly. "You're back!"

Dawn caught the little girl in a hug as Joy jumped from her chair, accepting a sloppy kiss to the cheek. "I just missed you too much so I came back as quick as I could," she declared, settling Joy against her hip. "What's the occasion for breakfast?" she asked curiously.

"Mom's having a baby!" Joy announced before any of the others could prepare Dawn.

"What?" Dawn asked with a laugh, sure she was being played with. "Why do you say that, sweetheart?"

Joy bounced in her arms, pointing firmly at Willow. "Because there's a baby inside her tummy!" she explained. "It's my brother or sister!"

Dawn was still smiling in disbelief, and Faith shook her head. "Just show her," she said, letting Willow's foot go so she could stand up.

Dawn's eyes went wide as she saw Willow's bump, her jaw dropping. "Wha-how have you been hiding this from us for so long? I mean, how far along are you?"

Buffy and Xander exchanged surprised glances. "That's a good question! How did you hide it for so long?" the Slayer chimed in, looking at the witch for an answer.

Willow gestured to the remaining chair. "Why don't you have a seat and we can start the questioning again," she offered, retaking her own seat with a hand on her belly. Dawn took the chair impatiently, Joy scrambling rapidly over Buffy and Willow and back into her seat.

"Be careful climbing on Mommy like that," Faith reminded her gently, Dawn blinking at the Slayer's protectiveness. Faith glanced over as the younger Summers let out a squeal that was slowly growing louder. "Oh jeez," Faith muttered, rolling her eyes.

"It's so cute!" Dawn gushed. "You're so cute!" She clapped excitedly and Faith turned her glare on Buffy.

"Can't you control her?" the Slayer demanded, grumpy.

"Hey, you're the one who was 'so cute,'" Buffy denied. "This is not my fault!" She snapped her fingers at Willow. "This is not the point! The point is how on earth did you keep us from noticing this until now?"

Willow smiled, shrugging. "Simple glamour. I only just started showing a few weeks ago, so it hasn't been a long time. Me and Faith were the only ones who knew it was there, so it didn't work on us. Then we told Joy a month ago once we got everything checked out."

Buffy frowned. "Wasn't that dangerous? What if something had happened and we didn't know you were pregnant? We wouldn't have known how to help you."

Willow and Faith exchanged glances. "We talked about that. But Faith knew, and she's been sticking close by."

"And Will hasn't been on patrol in about two months," Faith pointed out. "You didn't notice, B?"

"I noticed you two being all clingy, but I guess I didn't put it together," Buffy admitted. "But I wasn't even thinking that you guys were talking about having more kids."

"More kids? You're going to give me more than one sister or brother?" Joy chimed in eagerly, wide eyes shooting back and forth between her parents.

"I don't know about that, baby," Faith said quickly, eyes narrowed at Buffy. "Let's just get your mom through this one and we can talk about it, okay?"

Joy nodded, grinning around the table. "Yes, Mama."

"Such a sweet girl," Willow praised her with a loving smile.

"So, how far along are you?" Dawn asked curiously, taking a waffle off the stack but too distracted by the news of the baby to actually start eating it.

"Just about four months," Willow answered. "We don't know the sex yet, and we haven't decided if we want to find out or not." She gave Joy a smirk. "Some people want to know really bad, though."

Joy just nodded her head again, eyes wide and pleading. "Please, Mommy? I want to know," she whined, and it was obviously not her first time begging to know. "How will I know whether to practice with the baseball bat or a doll if I don't know if it's a sister or a brother?"

"You'll have plenty of time to practice before they get big enough to play with us," Xander offered, reaching over with one hand to tousle the little girl's brown curls.

"We haven't decided yet if we're going to ask," Faith reminded her daughter, leaning over to nudge her with an elbow. "Maybe if you're extra sweet Mommy will let us find out, huh?"

"Maybe if you're both extra sweet Mommy will let you find out," the witch teased, poking Faith with a toe under the table. Faith's hands dropped to grab her ankle, both thumbs rolling across the sole of her foot. That's a good start. She sent the thought straight into Faith's head, the pair smirking to each other as Faith continued working on her girlfriend's foot.

Dawn giggled, made giddy by the news. "Well, have you started talking about names either way?"

"Joy's got a few picked out," Willow told them. "Want to tell your aunts and uncle what names you like, sweetie?"

Joy nodded, her mouth full of waffle. "I…"

"Not with your mouth full," Willow reminded her.

The little girl's head bobbed as she swallowed her bite, and she grinned at her family, excited. "I think my brother should be named Jackal." The others gave her simultaneous surprised looks, Willow and Faith merely watching, amused. They'd heard their daughter's reasoning behind her choice, but wanted the others to hear it from her.

"Jackal?" Xander asked.

"Like Mama's knife," Joy explained cheerfully.

Willow and Faith knew that their daughter didn't know where Faith hid her knives, scattered around the house as they were, but she'd seen her mother cleaning and sharpening them enough to ask questions about them. And she knew better than to touch them, but she couldn't help being curious. So she'd climbed into Faith's lap while she worked on her oldest knife, the one she'd had since they were in school, the wickedly spiked one that Buffy had buried in her gut.

Faith had been surprised to discover that Buffy had kept it, the blonde keeping it in a box in her closet as some kind of weird keepsake. Upon Faith's return to Sunnydale, Buffy had given it back to her and it had been the only possession she'd carried out of the wreckage they'd left in their wake.

Joy had been fascinated by the blade, how shiny and sharp it was, and Faith had explained the knife's origins, though she'd kept details about its darker history to herself.

"Mama's knife is called a Jackal," Joy informed her uncle proudly.

"Maybe we could call him Jack if it's a boy," Dawn suggested. Joy nodded eagerly, obviously pleased with the idea.

"I like Jack! Could we call him Jack?" Joy asked excitedly, looking between her parents.

"We'll see," Willow said, smiling.

"And what about your sister? What do you want her name to be?" Xander asked.

"Hope," Joy answered simply. "So her name would match mine and Mama's," she explained.

"Faith, and Joy, and Hope," Buffy recited, smiling to her niece. "I like it!" She held her hand up for a high-five. "Good choices, Joy-rider!"

Willow and Faith exchanged glances, both smiling. They'd already decided that they were going to use Joy's names, but were hoping to surprise her with it whenever the baby came. "Any other questions, comments, or concerns?" Willow asked, taking a deep, steadying breath as Faith's fingers moved to the arch of her foot.

Buffy exchanged glances with her sister and Xander, each of them shrugging. "I think we're good for now," she answered. "Do you think we could come to some appointments or shopping or something with you, maybe?" She shifted her eyes to Faith. "Just if you want a break. We all know now, so it doesn't need to be just you looking out for her."

"Also, I'm an adult who can take care of myself," Willow pointed out, simultaneously amused and frustrated by the Slayers' over-protectiveness.

Faith sighed, having already had this discussion/argument multiple times with her partner. "Hey, if you want to try, you're more than welcome," she offered Buffy. "Will's strong." She sent her counterpart Slayer a look. "And stubborn."

"We know you can take care of yourself," Xander agreed. "But it's not just you you're taking care of anymore," he reminded her gently.

"I know, Xander," Willow agreed calmly, giving him a smile. "And I'm not going to be stupid, or reckless. I know what's at stake here."

Faith nodded, her fingers working on Willow's toes beneath the table. "And if any situation comes up and you need a witch, use one of the rookies. Will's off duty."

"Unless it's an apocalypse," Willow pointed out, eyes narrowed across the table as she used her foot to poke her Slayer in the leg.

"But preferably only get Will after I'm dead or unconscious," Faith groused, neither of them willing to bend.

"Faith!" Willow rebuked her sharply, eyes shooting to an oblivious Joy.

"Hey! We'll just keep it going apocalypse free, okay?" Buffy interjected, not eager to watch the couple fight in front of their daughter. "Will, you're tired. We should let you get some rest," she tried to coax her friend, not sure if leaving them alone together would solve the dispute or make it worse.

Faith sighed, nodding. "B's right," she agreed gruffly. "We should let you take a nap."

"Mommy, I want to play!" Joy jumped into the conversation.

"Well, you can go play with your aunts," Faith assured her. "As long as it's okay with them. You need to ask nicely, though. Mommy needs to get some rest right now, baby girl."

"Aunt Buffy, can I please go play at your house?" Joy asked dutifully, clapping both hands against the table.

Buffy glanced at Willow and Faith, but nodded. "Sure thing. There's going to be a few of the girls around, but you know we'll just make them work while we play drill instructor."

Faith gave her counterpart a tight smile of gratitude as she squeezed Willow's foot in her hands under the table. Their friends were quick to vacate the house, leaving them in the same position, Willow's foot captive under the table, and the pair staring silently across the wood at each other. The Slayer broke the quiet, clearing her throat. "I'm not trying to stifle you or anything, babe," she said hoarsely. "I know you can take care of yourself and our baby. Hell, you take care of me," she admitted, pleased to get a smile in response. "I just…even thinking that something could happen to you, to take you away from me…" Faith's eyes were dark and her voice thick. "It's like I can't breathe, Will."

Willow stared at her partner for another long moment, dragging her foot out of Faith's grip as she stood up. She wobbled only slightly, but Faith still twitched in her chair as she stabilized herself with a hand on the table. She moved slowly, one hand on her belly, and Faith leaned her head back to look up at her as the witch stopped at her side.

The kiss was soft, Willow's free hand sliding along the Slayer's jaw and into her hair. Faith let her set the pace, her own hands slipping over either side of Willow's pregnant stomach. She adapted ably as Willow leaned further into her hands, not breaking the kiss as she lowered herself into Faith's lap. The brunette's arms moved to support her, one on her back and the other across her knees, while Willow kept up her slow, soft kisses.

"I thought you were mad at me," Faith breathed into a space between their lips, Willow's fingers tightening in her hair.

Willow shook her head, reconnecting their mouths and letting her tongue glide out to push against Faith's, spurring an almost playful battle. "I'm just hormonal," Willow gasped. "And you're really sweet sometimes."

"Ah." Faith kissed her again, hand sliding up her back while the grip on her legs shifted toward her thighs. "Got it. Tide turned again." Her kisses started trailed across the redhead's jaw. "I can deal with that," she said lowly, making sure to do the 'growl-y thing' that Willow liked, and smirking against her lover's skin when it sent a shiver down the redhead's spine.

Willow jerked her head back unexpectedly, blinking dark green eyes down at the Slayer. "You know we're not done talking about this, right? You can just melt me with your sexy, sexy-voice and think that we're not going to argue again later…"

Faith nodded, already craning up to kiss her again. "I know. But right now you want me. Because you're pregnant with my baby and that makes you completely hot for me," she reminded her, voice still low. "And I want you…"

Willow swallowed hard as the brunette's full lips dragged over hers while she spoke, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to keep them open. "Right," she agreed. "Upstairs now, fighting later."

"Deal," Faith groaned, taking her mouth firmly as she pushed herself to her feet, Willow safely in her arms.