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Buffy groaned as she tossed and turned for the thousandth time in her bed. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Its red digits glared at her, announcing that it was two o'clock in the morning. She had been awake for two hours now. She'd been surprised when she had fallen asleep earlier; apparently she had been more tired than she thought. She had awoken earlier to go to the bathroom, and since then she hadn't fallen asleep. Thoughts of everything that had been discussed yesterday, kept invading her mind preventing her from falling asleep.

Although she had accepted that the fertility spell helped make her pregnancy possible, a part of her was still scared that the First was actually behind it. She felt more nervous than usual and she supposed it was due to hormones, and the lack of slaying. Earlier, she had participated in a practice session that Giles had set up for the Potentials. Of course, that hadn't actually satisfied her need for killing things but it was something.

She couldn't believe that Angel had a kid with Darla. She had been shocked when she'd heard the news, not to mention somewhat jealous. She didn't really process the information at the moment since the meeting's main focus had been her own pregnancy. How ironic, he had been the one to tell her that vampires couldn't have children, that he could never offer her a normal life, and now he had a kid. Apparently, he had been destined to father Darla's child and not hers. The irony of the whole situation annoyed the hell out of her to the point of anger. He had left her because he claimed she needed someone normal that could offer her a white picket fence and 2.5 kids. It had angered her then that he didn't understand that she was the Slayer which meant that she was always going to be abnormal. In the early years of her calling, she had thought normalcy was possible but after Angel's departure, she matured and realized that the normalcy that other people had was never going to be hers.

She almost wished she could go to LA and confront him about his so called non-normal life, maybe throw it in his face the fact that she got pregnant by a certain bleach blonde. No, that would not bode well. She could just picture how he would react. He'd be angry, possibly jealous, and ready to stake Spike. Nope, that was not a good idea at all. It wasn't the fact that Angel had a kid that bothered her, it was just the irony of it. Although, the whole Darla thing definitely raised questions. Were she and Angel together? What happened to Darla being evil? These were questions she needed answers to; not because she was still in love with him but because she was curious and concerned about Angel. She'd realized a while back that she was no longer in love with Angel and although she no longer loved him, a part of her heart would always belong to him since he was her first love.

Suddenly she heard her stomach growl, breaking her away from her thoughts. She pushed the covers away from her body and placed her hand over her abdomen. Her stomach growled again.

"Someone's hungry." Buffy murmured. Lately, she had gotten in the habit of talking to her baby. She'd read in a book that Willow had given her that it was a good thing for parents to talk or to sing to their baby during pregnancy.

She received another growl in reply. "What are you trying to do? Get me fat?" Her stomach rumbled yet again. "Stupid question, I know. Fine, let's go get something to eat."

The truth was she actually hadn't gained a lot of weight although recently she had started to gain more weight. She gave her bump an affectionate pat and then began to rise. She stretched, and reached for her slippers that were near her bed. She slipped them on and padded across the room towards the closet. She opened the door and reached for her robe, which she put on and then left the room.

A couple of minutes later, she was foraging the kitchen for something to eat. She decided on eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Once she was finished making her sandwich, she went to the refrigerator to get some milk. As she poked her head in the refrigerator door, she suddenly felt the need to eat something else besides her sandwich. She frowned as she found nothing that appealed to her. She grabbed the milk and put it on the kitchen island. She then opened the freezer and glanced at its contents. She saw a couple of Spike's blood bags along with some butter pecan ice cream. She stared at Spike's blood for a moment. For a split second, Buffy could have sworn she had a sudden craving to drink blood. She blinked and then it was gone.

"Mmm, Ice cream," Buffy said as she took the ice cream container out of the freezer.

She settled herself in a chair and began to enjoy her midnight snack. Fifteen minutes later as was putting a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, Giles appeared at the kitchen entrance.

She swallowed the ice cream and then smiled apologetically. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I just wanted some water."

He walked towards the kitchen cabinets, opened one, and took out a glass. He filled it with water and then took a seat next to Buffy. Silence filled the room along with an underlying tension that still remained unresolved.

"What are you doing up?" Giles asked as he raised his glass to his lips.

"I couldn't sleep. I had the munchies."

"I see. You had cravings."

"You could say that."

Buffy licked her spoon as she finished her last spoonful of ice cream. She began sliding her spoon in the last remnants of ice cream.

"Giles, are Dar- I mean, how was it even possible for Darla to…"

"Carry a child?" Giles finished for her and received a nod in turn. "Well, because of the prophecy, although it wasn't possible for her to give birth."

"What do you mean it wasn't possible for her to give birth?" Buffy frowned.

"She didn't give birth. According to my sources, she staked herself in order for the child to be born. She was a vampire and because of that her body could not function the way a human woman's body functions during child birth."

"Oh," was all Buffy could say.

"I realize that I've given you a lot of information to take in and, I suppose I could have tried to make it easier. Hearing about Angel…"

"Giles, I'm fine. " She interrupted. "It's just, you're right it is a lot of information to take in." She paused briefly. "Angel and I, we don't belong in each other's worlds anymore. He's living his life and I'm living mine. This news was really unexpected but I'm okay with it."

Giles didn't say anything, instead he continued drinking his water.

"Buffy, I…" Giles began after he finished drinking. "This isn't what I wanted for you. Spike is not…"

"I'm not with Spike."

Giles stared at her. "Perhaps, you are not with him in a relationship, but you are carrying his child. A child that will connect you to him forever regardless of your involvement with him. I don't believe having Spike around you or your child is wise. He's a vampire and nothing will change that. And apparently, the First seems to have plans for Spike. You may have prevented the Bringers from taking him but we don't know what the First will have him do. We can't have him around here. He is not only a danger to you but to everyone in this house."

"He's not dangerous," Buffy protested. "We just need to figure out how to detrigger him. He has a soul now. He can help us. You said it yourself, the First is unlike anything we have ever faced before. We are going to need all the help we can get. "

"Buffy," Giles tried to interrupt but Buffy ignored him and continued. "You know it's true. Even if I wasn't pregnant, I couldn't do this by myself."

"But what if we can't undo the First's hold on him?" Giles considered. "What will you do then? Are you willing to kill him? I can assure you that the First will do anything in order to make sure it wins its war."

"Then, I'll do what I must," Buffy replied. "I'm not staking him, not now. And nobody else is, okay?" She stared at Giles, her face serious and determined He sighed and nodded although it was clear he wasn't thrilled with the idea.

She stood up and placed her dirty dishes in the sink. She heard Giles rise behind her. She turned around to find Giles coming towards the sink as well. She moved to the side and allowed him to deposit his glass in the sink.

"Very well, I will look for a way to detrigger him. You should try to rest some more. Good night, Buffy," Giles said as he left the kitchen.

Buffy didn't make a move to leave the kitchen, she just stayed where she was. She wondered if Giles wasn't secretly glad that the First was around since it seemed to provide a reason to kill Spike. She would not do that if she could help it. There just had to be a way to detrigger him.

She sighed and decided to head back to her room although she really didn't want to go back to bed. Suddenly, she heard a noise that seemed to be coming from the basement. Spike. She wondered what he was up to. He was probably restless just like her, since he couldn't do anything. She hated having him chained up. Okay, maybe she didn't mind having him chained up if she could have her wicked way with him. Bad Buffy, she berated herself for letting herself think dirty thoughts about Spike. But of course, he wasn't chained up for that reason. He was chained up for a no fun, precautionary measure.

She went to the basement door, opened it, and descended the stairs. "Spike," she called out. "Is everything okay?"

"Everythin's fine," Spike answered. He was sitting, back pressed against the wall.

"Has the First tried to control you?" Buffy wondered as he approached him.

"No, not anymore. Not since that last episode."

"That's good." Buffy stated.

Spike lifted an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why you're up?"

"I was hungry," Buffy responded. "And I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither," Spike said with just a touch of a smirk.

"We're going to work on detriggering you. I know sitting tight isn't really your thing but for now, you have to." Buffy said apologetically.

"S'alright. I think I can handle this. I've gone through worse forms of torture," He grinned at her. " 'Sides I still don't think I should be here. The First…"

"Spike, stop. We've been through this before. I believe in you and we are going to find a way to stop the First's control over you," She said.

Spike stared at her surprised, to hear those same words coming again from her mouth. She made a move as if to leave but she didn't. It seemed like she wasn't ready to go yet. Instead, she got even closer to the cot, and Spike scooted farther onto the side of the cot allowing her space to sit down if she wanted to. She gave him a rare smile in thanks and sat down in the vacant space provided for her

Suddenly, Buffy seemed to find the floor interesting. Her eyes followed spots of dust on the ground.

"Why did you store those eggs in your crypt?" Buffy finally broke the silence. She never asked that night. She had been too focused on breaking it off with him since she finally felt strong enough to do so.

Spike didn't say anything at first. "I told you the truth that night. I really was holdin' 'em for a friend. We were goin' to split the profit. 'xcept of course I didn't take care of the eggs properly, he never showed, instead you and the soldier boy did."

"So, you did it for money?" Buffy stated more than asked what she had known all along.

"Yes, but it's not what you think. I didn't do it for me. I did it for you."

Buffy stared at him in disbelief.

Before she could speak, Spike hurriedly explained. "I couldn't stand to see how that job of yours was killin' you. That burger joint was beneath you. I had to do somethin'. I couldn't let you keep on workin' there, like there wasn't any place better for you."

"It was killing me," Buffy admitted quietly. "But even if you had received the money. I never would have accepted. I just couldn't have. I mean, I would have eventually found out where it came from."

"I guess deep down, I knew you wouldn't. But I couldn't just sit there and watch you wither away because of that job." An ironic smile crossed Spike's face. "Looks like I've given you another type of problem instead of helping you. Guess that's the only thing I'm good at."

Buffy's hand immediately flew to her abdomen. "This isn't a problem. I've told you already, I want this baby. I was freaked out when I heard the news, I'm not going to lie. I still am actually. But I've been dealing and I have accepted it. But, I'm starting to think you're the one that doesn't want this baby."

"What?" Spike exclaimed. "Course I bloody well want this kid! I know I don't deserve it, but I want it anyway. I haven't changed, Buffy. I still love you and anythin' related to you which includes the tot inside of you. You on the other hand, don't. I'm just having a hard time acceptin' this."

"I don't hate you. I already told you." Buffy reminded him.

All of a sudden, Buffy froze for a minute. Spike stared at her curiously. "What's wrong?"

"It moved," She stated softly. Her eyes contained a mixture of daze and awe as she stared at Spike.

"What?" Spike asked, confused.

Buffy ignored him. Instead, she remained quiet as if she were waiting for something. Minutes ticked by until suddenly, she used one of her hands to loosen the sash of her robe while she reached Spike's hand with the other. Spike could only gape at her as he found his hand being pressed underneath her shirt against the flesh of her abdomen. And then he felt it, what she had been talking about. His baby. No—theirs. He always heard the baby's heartbeat echoing after Buffy's, but to actually feel the baby move underneath Buffy's skin, it was something else. A torrent of emotions washed over him; he had never felt anything like this before. And that's when it hit him, he was really going to be a father.

He stared at Buffy in awe, who also appeared to still be in a daze with a huge smile on her face. He could feel his own jaw muscles twitch into what he was sure was an idiotic smile but he couldn't care less. For the first time since acquiring his soul he was genuinely happy.