Buffy and Faith walked into their high school. It had been a few days since Faith found out about Buffy and Spike's secret relationship and she had kept her promise to keep it quiet, as Buffy knew she would. She loved her friends and trusted them completely, but she knew that once they knew that's all they'd want to talk about and Buffy wasn't ready for the complication and decided to keep her mouth shut.

As they walked in to the cafeteria, they found their friends sitting at a table by the vending machines and went to join them.

"Hey, it's the Summers girls" Xander said happily at the sight of the twin sisters.

"Hey, guys" Willow greeted them with a smile and a wave. Buffy and Faith sat down with them.

"Hey" Buffy said.

"How was your guys' weekend?" Faith asked.

"Uneventful, except for the parents annual nightly shouting games" Xander said. "I think the neighbors know everything that goes on in my house." Willow patted him on the arm sympathetically.

"That sucks" Faith said, Xander just nodded.

"How was your weekend?" Willow asked Buffy and Faith.

"Same, spent the weekend chillin around the house and looking for cars" Faith told her.

"It's so cool your mom said you guys can get a car, you're gonna love it" Cordelia told them with a smile.

"What did you do, Buffy?" Willow asked and Buffy looked at her.

"Uh, nothing much…" Buffy said.

"How was Spike?" the redhead asked and Buffy's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I called Spike on Saturday to see if he wanted to hang out and he said he wasn't feeling well and that you were coming over to keep him company" Willow told her with a strange look. "Did you not go over there?"

"Oh, uh…n—no, we ended up taking a raincheck on hanging out cuz he didn't feel up to it, being sick and all" Buffy lied. She could see Faith holding back a smirk and nudged her under the table with her foot.

"Aw, poor Spike" Tara chimed in.

"I'm sure he'll live" Buffy joked and got up. "Come on, Fai, we should get to first period."

"Right, see you guys at lunch" Faith said as Buffy pulled her arm.

"Bye guys" Buffy called back as she and Faith hurried away. Willow, Xander, Tara and Cordelia looked on after them oddly as if they'd gone insane.

Once Buffy and Faith were a safe distance away Buffy sighed with relief as she let go of Faith's arm.

"Calm down, B, jeez" Faith told her with a chuckle. Her sister was the worst liar she knew and even knowing she'd have to tell a lie made her uncomfortable and weird. "You're gonna give your own self away."

"I can't help it; I HATE lying" Buffy sighed.

"Well, you really suck at it" Faith told her and got a glare from the blonde. "Well, it's true."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that, thank you" Buffy said as they walked down the hall toward their classroom.

"So, what are you gonna do? Just not tell them? Ever?" Faith asked. Buffy stopped walking and turned to her, sighing again.

"I don't know."

"Well do you want to keep lying?" Faith asked.

"Of course not, but I don't want anyone to know either" Buffy said. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, let's just get through the day then" Faith said and the sisters began to walk again.

The end of the day came slowly, but surely and Faith and Buffy took the bus home. Once they arrived they went into the kitchen for an afternoon snack and then proceeded into the living room to watch some TV until their mother and sister got home.

As the girls sat on the sofa watching Jerry Springer, Buffy heard her phone beep and looked at the text message that came across her screen.

I want you

Buffy smiled and Faith looked over at her and rolled her eyes.

"Time to go bang Peroxide Boy?"

"Faith!"

"What?" Faith asked innocently. "You're telling me that wasn't him texting you?"

Buffy looked back at her phone, as if she didn't remember, and looked back at Faith, but said nothing. Faith smirked at her sister and shook her head.

"Uh-huh, just what I thought."

Buffy elbowed Faith in the arm before getting up and heading for the stairs. "I'll be home in a couple hours." Without looking up, Buffy texted something back as she walked up the stairs.

Five minutes later, Buffy came back down the stairs. Her makeup was refreshed and her hair was taken out of the ponytail she had it in and was brushed out and left to lay over her shoulders. Faith heard a horn beep outside and Buffy gave her a quick wave before opening the front door.

"Tell mom I went to the library to research a history project and I'll be home a while later." Faith nodded at her and Buffy shut the door and was gone.

Buffy and Spike arrived at his apartment a few minutes later, both not really saying anything on the ride over. After he pulled into the apartment parking lot and found a spot, he shut off the engine and looked over at Buffy, who was looking out the window.

"You okay, luv?" he asked and she looked at him.

"Faith knows about us" she blurted. He looked at her, surprised and sighed.

"How the bloody hell did that happen?"

"She read my journal entry. I accidentally forgot to shut my laptop and she saw it" Buffy told him.

"You're writing about me are you?" he asked with the raise of an eyebrow and she blushed a bit.

"I write about a lot of things."

"Did she tell anyone?"

"No, and I told her if she did I'd kill her so she won't say anything" Buffy told him as they made their way out of his car and to his front door. Spike retrieved his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, letting her in before him.

"Well…alright then" he said after a couple beats of silence. He came up to where she had walked a few steps away and took her hands in his, locking their fingers together. He looked at her seductively and she smiled at him.

"Wait, that's it?" she asked and he shrugged.

"You were the one insisting on the big secret, pet. I don't really care either way" he told her, kissing her lightly on the lips. He pulled her closer to him, giving her a more passionate kiss and she wrapped her arms around his neck. After going at her mouth hungrily for a couple minutes, she broke the kiss, backing up a bit so she could breathe.

"Ugh, I've been so stressed out today" she told him and he smirked seductively at her again.

"Well, I can definitely help with that, luv" he whispered to her, picking her up. She giggled as he swung her up in his arms and headed to his bedroom, shutting the door with his foot.

Buffy's eyes shot open the next morning as she felt a sudden surge of nausea tear through her. She sat up slowly, trying to keep it at bay, but it was no use. She could tell she was about to puke so she jumped out of bed, flinging open the bedroom door and running into the bathroom, barely making it. As she threw up violently into the toilet, she collapsed to her knees, her body shaking with every heave. Faith, who was startled awake by Buffy's sudden outburst, ventured into the bathroom to check on her twin. The door was still open, as Buffy didn't have time to shut it first, and Faith found the blonde on her knees, her face in the toilet bowl.

"Ugh, gross. B, you okay?"

"Yeah, wonderful" Buffy said sarcastically when she finally stopped yacking. She slowly got to her feet with Faith's help and went over to the bathroom sink. As she turned on the water, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was clammy and pale, beads of sweat on her forehead and chin. She splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth out before turning the water back off. Taking a hand towel off the towel rack, she wiped her faced off and sighed.

"What the hell happened?" Faith asked.

"I woke up really nauseous" Buffy said simply and went back into their room, Faith following. Buffy slowly sat on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest.

"If you have the flu stay away from me" Faith said and Buffy glared at her. "What, I don't wanna get sick."

"Oh and I did?"

"Well, of course not, but still…I'm gonna sleep on the couch" Faith said. "Sorry, B, but I can't stand getting sick."

"It's fine, go" Buffy pouted, laying her head down on her pillows and continuing to hug the pillow she was holding to her. Faith sighed, feeling guilty for the way she reacted. She went over to Buffy, feeling her forehead.

"You don't feel warm" Faith told her and covered Buffy with her comforter. "I'll let mom know you're sick."

"Thanks" Buffy said quietly, shutting her eyes. A couple minutes later Joyce came into the room and sat on the edge of Buffy's bed.

"Sweetie, Faith tells me your sick. Are you okay?" her mother asked, feeling Buffy's forehead.

"I think it's the flu or something" Buffy told her. "I threw up a little bit ago."

"Well, you don't feel warm, but let me check your temperature" Joyce said, going into the hall and returning a couple seconds later with a thermometer. She put it under Buffy's tongue and left it there until it beeped and removed it. "No fever, but I'm keeping you home from school today."

"Okay" Buffy didn't argue. She still felt sick to her stomach and didn't want to move. Joyce got up and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"Well, just rest, sweetie. I'm gonna go downstairs and make breakfast for your sisters." Buffy cringed at the thought of food. "I'll bring you some dry toast and a glass of milk."

"Thanks, mom" Buffy smiled weakly. It was strange, but whenever Buffy was nauseous, she found drinking ice cold milk helped tremendously. Joyce nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Buffy heard her bedroom door open and opened her eyes to see Faith walk in with a plate and a glass of milk. She was fully dressed now and ready for school.

I must have fallen asleep, Buffy thought as Faith put the plate of toast and the milk on the nightstand beside Buffy's bed.

"Gotta go to school, B, but there's your toast and milk. Mom said she'd be in to check on you in a while." Buffy sat up a little so she could take a drink of her milk and then laid back down.

"See ya later" Buffy told her, shutting her eyes again, she was really tired and could barely keep her eyes open.

"Feel better, sis" Faith told her before grabbing her backpack and leaving their room, shutting the door.

Buffy sighed, shifting in bed to try to get more comfortable. She hadn't been sick since what seemed like forever ago and had no idea how she could have caught the stomach flu. No one else in the house seemed to be sick. Buffy's eyes widened and she sat up quickly as a sudden realization came to her.

"I'm late" she said to herself, going into her nightstand drawer and retrieving a small calendar. She opened it, looking at August, then at September and finally at the current month. "Oh my god, I haven't had my period in two months" she realized, starting to panic inside. As she heard footsteps coming up the stairs she quickly put the calendar back in its drawer and laid down, pretending to be asleep just as her mother knocked on the door and peeked her head in.

"Sweetie, are you awake?"

"Hmmm?" Buffy asked, opening her eyes.

"Feeling any better?" Joyce asked as she sat on the edge of Buffy's bed and took her hand.

"Not really" Buffy said. She couldn't get the look of worry off of her face no matter how hard she tried and Joyce could tell something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?"

"N—nothing" Buffy lied. "I just hate being sick." Joyce gave her a small smile and nodded.

"Well, no, I can't imagine it's very pleasant" she joked, kissing Buffy on the head and getting up. "I have to run some errands, but I'll be back in an hour or so. Are you going to be okay by yourself?" This time it was Buffy who smiled.

"Mom, I'm sixteen, I think I can survive an hour alone in the house." Joyce nodded again and left the room. Buffy sighed with relief and took the calendar back out of the drawer to examine the dates further. Maybe she had just forgotten to write it down last month…and the month before. You're not that dense, Buffy. I think you'd remember having your period if you had, Buffy thought. Her heart sank at the mere thought that she could possibly be…she didn't even want to say it, didn't want to think it. She had to know for sure though, otherwise she'd go crazy wondering. She slowly got out of bed and got dressed and put her shoes on. She wanted to hurry to the drug store down the street before her mother go home from the errands she was running. She gathered her wallet and keys and left the house.

Twenty minutes later, Buffy arrived home, relieved she didn't see her mother's car in the driveway; that meant she wasn't home yet. Buffy hurried into the house and upstairs, clutching the brown paper bag in her hand. Once she was in the bathroom and sure the door was locked, she opened the bag and slowly pulled out the box inside.

'First Response' the box read. With her hands shaking, she opened the small rectangular box and pulled out the stick inside. She looked at it with awe. She had never seen one of these in person and didn't really have a clear idea on how to use it. She took out the directions and read them closely, careful that she did everything right.

Buffy sighed as she sat down on the toilet, the sweatpants she was wearing around her ankles. As she prepared her body for urination, she slowly put her hand between her legs, gripping the test tightly so she didn't drop it into the toilet water. After peeing on the designated spot at the end she removed it from between her legs, put the cap back on it and laid it on the counter, wiping and standing up, pulling her pants back up as well. She felt sick to her stomach as she read the directions further, seeing how much time she had to wait. The box indicated that it took 2 minutes to register so Buffy threw the box away and sat on the toilet seat, waiting not so patiently for the results. After what seemed like a lifetime, Buffy got up slowly, going over to where she had laid the test down and looked at it. She had will her eyes to work as she picked up the test. Her heart dropped and her stomach turned as she saw the plus sign, clear as day, on the little window on the stick.

"Holy shit" were the only words she could muster as tears quickly began to fill her eyes and trickle down her now flushed cheeks.