Spike could feel Buffy's hand tremble in his and gave it a comforting squeeze as they walked downstairs to where her mother and sisters were sitting and talking in the kitchen. Buffy knew she had to tell her mom, but that didn't mean she wanted to.

"I can't do this" Buffy whispered to Spike, trying to flee back up to the refuge of her bedroom. Spike grabbed her hand, pulling her back over to him.

"We have to, luv" he told her softly. "It'll be better once you do it, you'll see." Buffy looked at him and sighed. He was right, she knew that. The quicker she got this over with the quicker the weight would be off her shoulders and she could focus on making a doctor's appointment and planning her new life as a mother.

"Okay" she finally agreed and he led her into the kitchen, still holding onto her hand. Buffy found Joyce and her sisters sitting around the island, eating lunch and having a conversation. When they saw the two blondes, they stopped talking.

"Hi, sweetheart, are you feeling better?" Joyce asked. Buffy looked at her confused.

"Better?"

"Yeah, B. Remember your headache? I told mom you weren't feeling well and that's why you were lying down" Faith clarified.

"Oh, right. Uh, yeah, better" Buffy told her mother and Joyce nodded.

"Well, good. Do you two want some lunch? I could make you a sandwich" Joyce asked.

"I could use a sandwich" Spike told her. She nodded and began to get up to make it for him.

"Um, actually" Buffy interjected. "Spike and I have to talk to you, mom." Faith looked at them, she knew exactly what they had to tell her mother and could feel butterflies for them.

"Dawnie, let's go for a walk" Faith said, getting up.

"I don't want to" Dawn told her.

"Yes you do" Faith said, pulling Dawn out of the kitchen. Joyce looked on after them with strangely and with a little confusion. She had no idea what was going on, but could feel something was wrong, or at least serious.

"What's going on, Buffy?" Joyce asked and Buffy squeezed Spike's hand. Spike rubbed her hand with his thumb, leading her over to the island so they could sit down.

"I—I have to…" Buffy began, but stopped, not sure how to say what she had to say.

"What is it, sweetheart? You're scaring me" Joyce told her and Buffy looked at Spike, who nodded for her to continue. She took another deep breath before continuing.

"Mom…Spike and I…are pregnant." She finally managed the words and Joyce's concerned expression quickly changed to that of total shock.

"Excuse me?" she said, as if she hadn't heard what her daughter had just said. "You and Spike? But you two aren't…I mean when did you…" she couldn't seem to get the words out, but Buffy knew what she was trying to say.

"It's a long story, mom" Buffy told her.

"Then give me the short version" Joyce demanded. Buffy looked at Spike again and they both sighed.

Ten minutes later, Buffy had told Joyce about how her and Spike's sexual relationship began. It was more than a little awkward for her to tell her mother about her sex life, but she felt she owed Joyce at least that much. Here Joyce was, finding out her daughter was pregnant with someone's baby that she didn't even know her daughter was involved with.

"So, that's about it" Buffy said, finishing her story. Spike had remained silent the whole time, merely there for support of the mother of his child.

"I just can't believe this, honey" Joyce said, tears now in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, mom, for disappointing you…I hope you don't hate me" Buffy said quietly. Spike put a comforting hand on her back, rubbing it softly.

"Oh, baby" Joyce said. "I could NEVER hate you, not ever. I could never hate any of my beautiful daughters. I just… I never wanted this, for any of you. You just have no idea how hard raising a baby is at such a young age."

"I know I don't" Buffy admitted, tears forming in her own eyes.

Joyce looked at Spike. "I hope you plan on being here for my daughter and future grandchild."

"Of course" Spike told her. "I'm not going anywhere." Buffy smiled at that.

"I know this is crazy, mom, and beyond huge…but, we can do this. I promise I'll be a good mommy." Joyce smiled at her daughter through tears.

"Oh, I have no worries about that, sweet girl" she told her, embracing her daughter in a long hug. Buffy sunk into her mother, beginning to cry. She hugged her mother tightly, breathing in her comforting sent, like she did when she was a little girl. After a few moments, Joyce pulled away to look Buffy in the eyes. "I'm here for you, honey, always. Anything you need you just let me know, okay?"

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that" Buffy told her and Joyce smiled, pulling her into another hug, both mother and daughter still crying. Spike just sat there, a little awkwardly, watching them.

Just as Buffy and Joyce pulled away again, Faith and Dawn reentered the house and came into the kitchen.

"It safe yet?" Faith asked, making sure the conversation was over so they didn't interrupt.

"It's safe" Buffy told her and Faith nodded, sitting down at the island next to Spike. Dawn stood near Joyce and Buffy, a confused look on her face.

"What's going on?" she asked. Joyce looked at Buffy, looking for permission to tell Dawn what they had talk about. Buffy just shrugged, implying she didn't care either way.

"Well, sweetie…" Joyce hesitated, trying to find the perfect words. To her, Dawn was still a little girl with delicate ears and she didn't know how to put the news she was trying to tell.

"B's knocked up" Faith intervened and got an un-approving look from Joyce.

"Faith Olivia Summers" Joyce scolded.

"What?" Faith asked defensively. "She's not a kid, mom, she knows what it means."

"Buffy, you're pregnant?" Dawn asked and Buffy nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, Dawnie."

"Who's the father?" Dawn asked.

"That'd be me, nibblet" Spike finally chimed in with a raise of his hand. Dawn looked shocked.

"I didn't even know you guys were dating!" Dawn exclaimed, seemingly excited now. She had always loved Spike and Spike seemed to have a soft spot for the youngest Summers.

"We're…not" Buffy said. "We're just having a baby." Spike looked at her, a little hurt, though no one seemed to notice. Truthfully now that Buffy was pregnant with his child, he had hoped that they could start something more serious, but the answer Buffy gave Dawn told him she didn't want a relationship—still.

"Wait a second" Joyce spoke up, a realization hitting her. "Faith, you knew about this?"

"Uh…yeah" Faith said, fearing a stern lecture was coming from her mother.

"How long have you known?" Joyce asked.

"I told her right after I took the pregnancy test" Buffy offered. "I needed to confide in someone and, Fai's my best friend…so of course I told her." Joyce shook her head, rubbing her forehead with her fingers as if she was getting a headache.

"I…I think I need to go lie down for a little while and think about all of this" Joyce told her daughters and Spike.

"You haven't changed your mind have you? About supporting me? I—I mean us?"

"Of course not, sweetheart, I just…this is a little much for your old mother to take in at once and I have a headache. I'll see you girls in a little while, okay?"

"Okay" Buffy said. Joyce kissed her on the forehead and left the kitchen, heading upstairs.

The next day, Spike asked Buffy to come over to his apartment so they could talk in private about their plans and their upcoming child. After eating breakfast and getting dressed, her mother dropped her off at Spike's before taking Dawn to dance class. Buffy walked into his building and took the elevator up to the third floor where Spike's apartment was. After getting off the elevator, she found apartment 333 and knocked on his door. A few seconds later, Spike answered, greeting her with a smile.

"Hey, luv" he said. She smiled back at him.

"Hi." He gestured for her to come in and she did, sitting on the couch and hugging a pillow to her chest.

"So…" he said, sitting next to her. "I just thought we should talk, you know, about what our plans are."

"Our plan is to have the baby and raise him or her together…right?" she asked, feeling a little unsure.

"Yeah, of course, but there's more to it than that I imagine, pet" he told her. "Have you made a Dr. appointment?"

"Yeah, it's for next Monday" she told him and he nodded.

"Okay. Do you…can I come with you?" he asked her and she smiled at him.

"I would love that" she said.

"Good, okay" he said, sitting back on the couch. She sat back as well, pulling her feet up to make herself more comfortable. He sat there for a few moments in thought. After a couple minutes of silence, she looked at him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Everything I guess" he said with a sigh. "There's so much to do and I have no idea where to start." She grabbed his hand, squeezing it softly.

"I don't know what I'm doing either, you know. We'll figure it out together." He rubbed her hand with his thumb. He wanted so badly to tell her he wanted more than just to co-parent with her, he wanted a relationship with her. However, after what she told Dawn about them just raising the baby together, he felt like she would only turn him down and then there would be awkwardness between them and that's the last thing he wanted.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" he asked her. She thought for a moment and then got a small smile on her face.

"Obviously I'll love the baby no matter what the gender is, but…I've always wanted a daughter" she told him. He returned her smile.

"Me too."

"Really?" Spike shook his head. "Thought of any names yet?"

"It's a little too early for that" she smiled, he shrugged.

"Why? Who says?"

"I don't know…I haven't even been to my first Dr. appointment" she told him.

"I just thought it'd be fun to think about it that's all" Spike said simply.

"Okay" she said. "I haven't really thought about it yet, have you?"

"No" he admitted. "But we could come up with some together. What names do you like for a girl?"

"I don't know…" she thought. Most little girls thought about having kids and thought about what their names would be, Buffy never did this so now that she was actually having a baby, she had no idea what she wanted the name to be.

"I like Gunner or Rocky or a boy" he said. She thought about the names for a second and then smiled.

"I like those. We just have to make sure the name—whatever it is—goes with Pratt." His eyes lit up at that.

"You wanna give the baby my last name?"

"Of course" Buffy said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. We're not together, I just assumed you'd give the baby your last name." Buffy shook her head and he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly.

"That means everything to me, luv." He pulled her over to him so he could hold her and she laid her head on his chest, snuggling into him.

"Thank you" she said quietly. He looked down at her, surprised.

"For what, luv? Getting you pregnant?" he said half-jokingly.

"For not running away, for supporting my decision to keep our baby, and for wanting to be involved. I don't think I could do this alone" she told him. He kissed her forehead.

"I would never abandon you or our baby" he assured her.

"So, what about for a girl?" she asked him.

"Huh?"

"What names do you like for a girl?"

"That I don't know. Not that good with girl names, pet" he told her and could feel her shrug against him.

"How about you pick the name if it's a boy and I'll pick it if it's a girl. Whoever gets to pick the first name, the other one gets to pick the middle name" she suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, Goldilocks."

A/N: I hope everyone is liking this story so far. If you're waiting for updates on any of the other stories, sorry I haven't gotten to them yet, I've been kinda focused on this one. I promise I'll get some chapters up for a few of the other ones soon. I have schoolwork in between writing these fics so I have to balance my time, lol. Please R/R! I love to hear from you guys!