Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.
"They're beautiful," Giles commented when he joined Joyce in the makeshift nursery. Joyce was sitting in a rocking chair someone brought in, holding her granddaughter. "They're so small," he said in awe as he looked at the blanket glad form of the boy.
"Do you want to hold him?" she asked. He quickly shook his head.
"I'm afraid I might drop him," he admitted sheepishly. "I don't have much, well any, experience with newborns. Or babies. Or children for that matter." She laughed, put down the girl, and guided him to the rocker.
"What better time to learn. Sit down," she told him, gently pushing him into the chair. "Now make a basket with your arms. And remember to support his head." He did as he was told and when she was satisfied she gently picked up her grandson and placed him in his arms. She hovered for a moment until she was sure he wasn't going to drop him. Once she was satisfied, she pulled another chair closer and picked up the girl again. "Buffy was awake briefly toward the end. She even had some names for them."
"Oh?" Being outside the room Giles wasn't able to see any of this.
"Alexandra Joyce for the girl," she said, looking down at the sleeping infant.
"Xander?" he asked hopefully. She nodded.
"William Giles for the boy."
"Giles," he said in amazement, before remembering the other name. "William. Willow?"
"I think so," she said, her eyes tearing. "I don't know what happened to her, but a little part of her was still holding on to us."
"She is an amazing woman," he told her proudly.
"Our daughter," she said softly. Giles looked uncomfortable with that thought. "And our grandchildren." They sat holding their grandchildren for a few minutes, thinking back to what happened the night before. Thankfully, after much testing and measuring, the pediatric doctors they called down declared the infants perfectly fine, if a tad on the small size. Their mother was also fine. After three agonizingly long minutes they were able to get her heart started again and stabilize her. They quickly transferred her and the infants to a special post-delivery room Dr. Mendoza had already prepared. There they learned Dr. Mendoza had also extracted the stillborn fetus, which they found out would have been another girl.
Buffy was still unconscious, though she was responding to stimulus in her upper body. Her lower body was still unresponsive, but Dr. Mendoza told them that any response after such a long time is a miracle. The family stayed together that night, even Veronica stayed with them. In the morning Buffy was scheduled for a series of tests now that she was showing signs of waking. Unwilling to leave either one of them alone, Giles volunteered to go with Buffy, leaving Joyce with the newborns. "They should be bringing Buffy back any minute now," Giles said, not taking his eyes of the infant. As if on cue the door opened and Buffy was wheeled in, Dr. Mendoza following her.
"The results are encouraging," she said as she supervised the orderlies as they got Buffy back into bed. They quickly reattached her to the various monitors. Dr. Mendoza made a few notes before turning back to the grandparents. "It's almost as if the damage has been completely healed. Yesterday we could see scar tissue around the vertebrae, but now that's gone as well. Even the incision from the C-Section is practically gone."
"She heals very quickly," Giles told her.
"She's a miracle," the doctor said in awe.
"Yes she is," Joyce agreed, sharing a look with Giles. He smiled back.
"Normally I'd say she might start waking up in a few days' time, but at the rate she's going it might be tonight. If she does, remember confusion and aphasia are common after this type of injury, and that's not taking into account the psychological trauma she's had to endure." She made several notations to her chart then looked at the new grandparents. "I'll be by in the morning to check on her." They nodded and watched as the doctor left the room. Several minutes later Veronica entered.
"They're here," she said, with a hint of warning in her voice. Giles immediately panicked, trying to set down the child he was carrying without dropping him. Veronica took pity on him, scooping the sleeping infant out of his arms and into hers as naturally as he would pick a book off the table.
"Thank you," he said, getting quickly to his feet. Joyce made to copy him, but he waved her back down. He forced a smile on his face as Kate entered the room, followed by a man that could only be the Council physician as he headed straight for Buffy's chart, followed by Quentin Travers. His eyes widened at the next figure that entered the suddenly too small room. "Father?"
"I see you managed to find your Slayer again Rupert," Quentin said, looking at her prone form on the bed before turning his attention to the infants in their arms. "And she was with child. How unexpected."
"You know this was not of her choosing," he told them harshly, "and even if it was I would still support my Slayer one hundred percent."
"The rules are there for a reason," Quentin said bluntly. "You disregarded them so often. Four years ago she nearly paid with her life. Are you willing to make the same mistake again?" Giles looked uncomfortable but determined.
"We take care of our own," he said through gritted teeth. Quentin merely nodded before turning to Veronica.
"Your deduction of the demonic slave ring was very insightful and very accurate. I hope you continue with that level of performance when you finally meet Faith."
"Thank you Sir," she replied, beaming. "I will try my best to continue to be the Watcher Faith finally deserves." He nodded before turning to Kate, who quickly brought them up to speed.
"We've managed to track down several operational arms of The Ring with the information you've provided," she told them. "I'm the liaison with the authorities in several of the countries they operated in. Hopefully within a few years all those arms will be shut down."
"And the demonic aspect?" Giles asked. Kate sighed.
"That might be more problematic. We've identified several possibly arms, but we until we know for sure there's not much I can do." She turned to Veronica. "I was hoping once we have some of these arms identified Faith can come clean house." Veronica looked to her brother, who gave a small nod before replying.
"I think we might be able to arrange something." Kate nodded before turning a sympathetic face to Joyce.
"How are you doing?" she asked, touching the older woman on the arm lightly.
"My world has shattered and been rebuilt so many times already I don't know if I'm really living it anymore." Kate smiled in understanding before looking at the baby in her arms.
"They're beautiful," she told them, taking in the baby Veronica was holding as well. "What are their names?"
"Alexandra Joyce Summers," Giles said, "and William Giles Summers." Everyone looked up at the name Giles being included. Their father coughed before turning and walking out the door.
"We have work to do Quentin," he said sternly as he left. "I'm sure we will have time to talk later." Quentin nodded before he and Kate followed them out. The other Watcher turned to them.
"It's amazing that she survived, let alone carried the twins nearly to term. She came out of her coma during delivery?"
"Yes," Giles told him. "It was almost as if her Slaying healing kept the children alive until they could survive on their own then it turned back to her."
"That very well could be what happened," he told them, flipping a few pages in her chart.
"Will she be able to walk again?" Joyce asked desperately. The Watcher sighed.
"I don't know. The physical injury is healed, but we still know very little about treating nerve damage or how much nerve damage a Slayer's natural healing can overcome. Plus, the injury is old. We'll need to wait for her to wake up for a complete work up, but the fact that her upper body is responding is encouraging."
"And when would that be?" Joyce asked.
"Whenever she's ready," he said simply, "but I've heard she's one hell of a fighter. This is just another fight for her to win." Joyce smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to have a discussion with Dr. Mendoza about our patient." He quickly left the room, shutting the door behind them for some privacy. Joyce turned to Rupert.
"What rule was Travers talking about?" she demanded.
"Which ones haven't we broken?" he asked heavily as he cleaned his glasses. He took one look at his Slayer before turning to her mother. "Slayer's rarely have children. It's understandable with their unfortunately short lifespan, but even those that reach child bearing age often choose not to have children. They can't fight when they're pregnant, at least not effectively, and are easy targets for the demons who already want them dead. Plus, if they survive pregnancy, demons tend to hunt down and kill any children of the Slayer. They are considered prizes far more delectable than the Slayer herself."
"Why?" Joyce asked, hugging her granddaughter closer. Giles shrugged.
"Perhaps Anya can answer that. But take a moment and think about this. The Monks sent Dawn to Buffy to protect. They integrated her into our lives in a way that would ensure Buffy would die to protect her, but they inserted her as a sibling, not as a child like one would expect." Veronica looked at her brother curiously. He just shook his head.
"I never thought of it like that," Joyce admitted.
"If we announce to the world that these are Buffy's children, they will be hunted until they are killed," Giles said bluntly. Joyce paled.
"What do we do?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "Whatever it is we don't need to decide this very minute." She silently agreed, placing the sleeping infant in the cot as they had another sleepless night at the hospital.
Early the next morning Buffy woke up. Veronica was the first to notice and quickly roused the others before going for a nurse. She lay in her bed, staring straight ahead, oblivious to any attempts to reach her. The nurse came in and jotted a few notes before Buffy dropped off again.
The next time was several hours later. Dr. Mendoza was doing her rounds and was thankfully there for the event. "Good morning Buffy," she said cheerfully, but Buffy continued to ignore everyone, her eyes staring blankly ahead. Occasionally her eyes would wander the room, but she would never focus on anything for more than a few seconds. Dr. Mendoza tried to complete an examination, but Buffy closed her eyes again before it was finished.
"Doctor?" Joyce asked hopefully. She sighed.
"She's completely unresponsive," she told them. "She doesn't react to pain, can't follow simple commands, and doesn't seem to understand what's happening around her."
"Why?" Giles asked.
"While there was no indication of brain damage, when she was admitted she was in extreme hypovolemic shock from blood loss. It's possible her brain didn't receive enough oxygen and was damaged at that time." The doctor looked at her hands for a minute before focusing on the family again. "She's also not responding to any pain stimulus or verbal commands on her upper or lower extremities. It's possible the damage to her spinal column was more severe than we originally estimated." She stopped, looking deeply into the eyes of her parents. "I think it's time you prepare yourselves with the very real possibility your daughter may never recover." She left the room just as one of the Watchers entered. They nodded courteously, but she didn't like having him here and made no attempt to hide the fact. He closed the door as he entered, giving them some privacy.
"Rupert," he greeted the others. "Joyce. Veronica."
"I'm sorry," Joyce began as he pulled Buffy's chart off. "I never did get your name."
"Gregory," he told her as he studied the new notes. "Gregory Sullivan. Looks like our girl woke up."
"A couple times," Veronica confirmed before pointing to the closed door. "She doesn't like you very much." He sighed.
"She doesn't dislike me," he told them, "she just doesn't like my presence in her case. Buffy has been her patient since day one and now, just when there is starting to be some improvement, a stranger shows up demanding to be part of the team. Her reaction is perfectly understandable and one I encounter everywhere I go."
"When can we take her home?" Joyce asked immediately.
"Isn't it a bit early for that talk?" Giles asked. Joyce shook her head.
"Not home," she amended, "but back to Sunnydale. They've already tried to kill her twice, and that's just since we've been here. Her own doctor tried to kill her."
"Yes, but she was under an enchantment," Veronica pointed out. "And then she did save her life."
"I know," Joyce admitted, "and I'm not holding that against her. But these people are not equipped to deal with the things we deal with every day. They can't keep her safe against supernatural threats like we can back home. We need to get her home where Spike and Willow and Tara and Xander and Anya can keep her safe. Where the doctors understand things go bump in the night, even if they don't acknowledge it. We need our family together."
"All valid points," Gregory said, rubbing his chin and thinking hard. "It will take several days to arrange transport back to Sunnydale, but I think that is something I should look into right away." He turned to face Giles. "Rupert, you were concerned with drugs or some other agent being administered to keep Buffy in line." He nodded.
"It was one of the ways Azeroth was able to subdue her." Gregory nodded his head.
"I have good news and bad news on that front. The bad news is you were correct. Her admission blood work did show several unknown substances. Further bad news is there is no way to know what these substances were. There are no remaining blood samples taken from that time to compare to known demonic substances, and there never was any further testing done to identify what the unknown substances were. The good news, though, is a seven month coma is a very effective withdrawal tool. I finished testing a sample of her blood I took and found no additional substances in her blood, known or unknown. She's clean right now."
"Thank God," Joyce cried in happiness. Watching Buffy go through withdrawal once was bad enough. She didn't think she could take it a second time.
"Now for her current condition. She woke up twice since I left?"
"Yes," Giles answered.
"Dr. Mendoza wrote 'unresponsive' as her condition." Joyce scoffed.
"Dr. Mendoza was trying to get a reaction from a pinprick," she told them. "I've seen my daughter fight with a broken arm. The only reaction she would get from a pinprick would be a laugh. Besides she was reacting last night." Gregory frowned.
"You're right," he said, moving over to her bedside. He carefully pulled the blanket off to the side, exposing her gown clad form. "Buffy? Buffy? Can you hear me?" Her eyes remained closed. He pulled a pin from his pocket and started at her feet, poking her skin lightly while carefully searching her face and body for any sign of discomfort. "Our conscious and subconscious minds process things very differently. Consciously, you're absolutely correct. A pinprick wouldn't even register on her threshold. But subconsciously the body reacts on instinct, and instinct tells us to pull away from things that are poking us." He slowly made his way up her body, but it wasn't until he was near the top of her ribcage that she started responding, making a face at the uncomfortable prodding. Her shoulders, arms, and hands weakly jerked at the prodding. "Interesting," Gregory said as he wrote down his findings.
"Can we lose the ventilator?" Joyce asked. "Buffy hates those things." He frowned.
"Not yet. She's not quite breathing on her own yet and until she does..." The doctor trailed off as everyone realized what he didn't say. As if hearing them Buffy started opening her eyes once again. "Hello Buffy," he said, looking deeply into her eyes, but she just stared straight ahead. He tried waving his hand in front of her to get a reaction but got nothing. He looked at the others in dismay.
"Let Joyce try," Giles suggested. "After Azeroth she was the only one who could get through to her. Their bond only grew because of it." Gregory nodded and Joyce quickly stepped up to her daughter's bedside.
"Hey baby," she said, moving until she was directly in Buffy's line of sight. "Mommy's here." She reached down and grabbed one of her hands, the other stroking her daughter's hair. It took a few minutes for Buffy to react, but she eventually focused on her mother, her lips twitching in a small smile.
"Amazing," Gregory said as he watched them interact. "Can you see if she can track your finger?" he asked. She looked up briefly so he could demonstrate what he meant.
"Buffy?" Joyce asked as she looked back down at her daughter. "Can you see my finger? Can you focus on it?" They watched as she struggled to focus on the finger Joyce was holding in front of her. She focused momentarily before returning her gaze to her mom. "I need you to keep focusing on my finger. Can you do that sweetheart? Can you please try?" Buffy again struggled to focus on her mom's finger, this time keeping her eyes on the appendage.
"Slowly move," Gregory instructed. Joyce nodded, slowly moving her finger to the right. Buffy's eyes struggled to follow the slow moving object, but she tried her best. "That's enough," Gregory told her, jotting down a few notes while Buffy found her mother's face again. "See if she can squeeze your hand." Joyce nodded.
"Buffy? Do you feel me holding your hand? Do you feel me squeezing it? Can you try to squeeze my hand?" It took several minutes of cajoling before Buffy weakly squeezed her mother's hand.
"Try wiggling her toes," Gregory told her, moving to the foot of the bed and placing his hands on her feet.
"Can you wiggle your toes for me Buffy? Please baby, try. Just a little wiggle?" Joyce again coaxed Buffy, but this time Buffy couldn't do as she was asked. Buffy could only stare at her mother, that silly little grin still on her face, until her eyes closed once again.
"I'd say unresponsive is definitely off the table." The group looked up to see Quentin, Kate, and Mr. Giles standing in the previously closed doorway. "Your Slayer is truly amazing. Hopefully she can overcome this latest trial."
"She will," Giles said forcefully.
"Did you see that?" Gregory said in amazement, writing everything down in his notebook before looking at the Council members. "Maybe the Council should rethink the current policy of taking potentials away from their families. A Mother-Daughter bond that strong is incredibly powerful by itself." Quentin glared at the younger man, while Mr. Giles stared at the Slayer and her mother, who was currently cuddling with her daughter as best she could.
"I don't believe we were properly introduced," he said, striding over to them and holding out his hand. "Albert Giles, Grand Chancellor of the Watcher's Council."
"Joyce Summers," she introduced herself, taking his proffered hand. His grip was surprisingly firm, but gentle. "Mother and Grandmother." He smiled gently at her.
"How are your grandchildren today?" he asked, heading over to where the infants were sleeping. He gently picked up little Alex with practiced ease, cradling her in his chest. She opened her eyes and blinked lazily up at him.
"They're going to be getting hungry soon," she told him before turning to Gregory. "Is Buffy going to start producing breastmilk?"
"It's certainly not my area of expertise," he told her, "but if she hasn't produced any to this point I doubt she will now. Milk production is one of the changes a woman's body undergoes while pregnant in preparation for the child. From what I can tell your daughter's body actually changed very little with this pregnancy."
"Then we'll need to go shopping," Joyce said with a sigh, reluctant to leave the room.
"I'll go," Kate volunteered, "just make a list of what I need to get since I've never really been around babies before."
"That is very generous Kate," Albert said as he carefully lay Alex back down, "but I think this is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with my children." He turned to Joyce. "Is there anything specific you wanted? Keep in mind I did have children and know exactly what they require." Veronica looked nervous while Giles looked like he was going to be sick. Albert turned back to his children but his eyes locked onto his son. "Well Rupert? You said you were going to support your Slayer? Are you ready to back up that statement?" They could see the thought of going to a children's store terrified him, but he straightened his shoulders and stood tall.
"Ready whenever you are Father," he said. Albert sped out of the room, his children rushing to keep up.
"Quite a scene," Quentin said, barely keeping the smile off his face. He turned to leave but was stopped by Gregory.
"Quentin," he asked, "I was wondering if we might begin to arrange transport to Sunnydale."
"So soon?" he asked dubiously.
"As Ms. Summers pointed out, there have already been two attempts on her life, one involving magic. Local law enforcement, though outstanding as they are, are in over their heads here. Sunnydale has the resources and personnel that can protect the Slayer while she recuperates."
"We could always move her to London," he told the room. "We have the resources and personnel."
"No!" Joyce said adamantly. She stood protectively in front of her daughter. "She's coming home to her family. And if you try to take her by force I will personally tell Spike, Angel, and Faith what you did and all of our families will storm your castle to get her back." The two had a staring contest.
"You are so much like you're daughter," he said at last before conceding. "Very well. Give me a list of everything you need and I will start arranging things. I assume you will need appropriate accommodations in Sunnydale as well?" he asked as the two men started down the hall, their voices fading as they got farther away.
"I've never seen him back down before," Kate commented.
"Rupert says Buffy gets her fiery temper from me," she told the former detective, "but there's nothing I wouldn't do to protect my family." Kate nodded, turning toward the cots where the babies were sleeping. "Would you like to hold them?" Joyce asked, seeing where she was looking.
"I've never really done anything with children," she started to say, but hope shined clearly in her eyes.
"Neither had Rupert but I coached him easily enough," she said, forcing the woman into the rocking chair. Soon Alex was in Kate's arms while Joyce held little Billy and the two women were chatting amicably.
"How was it?" Joyce called as Rupert and Veronica reentered the room, bags and bags in their hands.
"I have heard of Hell dimensions that are more civilized than that place," Giles told her, looking slightly pale. Veronica looked like she wanted to burst into laughter. Kate took that as her cue to leave, giving Alex back to her grandmother and shutting the door behind her as they piled their bags into a corner. Veronica looked back to make sure the door was shut before turning to her brother, a big grin on her face.
"Better get used to it Gramps," she said. He just fell into a chair.
"Please tell me you didn't say anything," he begged.
"No," she promised him, "but the way he was looking at you." Joyce laid the twins back in their cots and examined the purchases.
"We'll need more than this," she told them.
"We bought more," Rupert told her, "much more. Father insisted. We only brought the essentials in here. The rest are waiting in the car."
"Hmmm," Joyce replied, searching through the bags. "We need to make up some formula. These two are getting hungry."
"Formula?" Giles asked panicky. Dr. Mendoza offered some breastmilk the hospital kept on hand, but after a few days they decided it was too risky and decided to bring in their own formula. It was just too easy to tamper with the minimally guarded milk, especially when there was an active threat on Buffy and possibly her children.
"Come on Gramps," Veronica said, grabbing the formula and several bottles and pulling Rupert out the door. "There's instructions and everything." The twins, as if sensing their dinner was nearby, had started to cry softly, but Joyce knew it would soon turn into a wail. She picked up Billy and began walking him around the room, trying to soothe him until his dinner was ready. She passed Buffy, who was awake once more.
"Buffy?" she asked, but Buffy gave no indication of hearing her. Instead she turned to the child she held in her arms. "That's your mommy little guy. I know she loves you with all her heart, even though she can't show you right now. But it's okay. Grandma will take good care of you and your sister until mommy's better. And you'll meet all your Aunts and Uncles and they will just love you to pieces." She turned back as the door opened.
"Now what?" Rupert asked as he held two bottles in his hand. Veronica held another two, although it was unlikely they would drink even one whole bottle right now. They were given a small refrigerator where they could store the unused bottles.
"Sit down," Joyce told him, "and cradle your arms again. Hold him with one arm, then use your other hand to hold the bottle."
"What?" he looked close to panic again, but she ignored his distress and positioned Billy in his arms. He started to cry at the movement, which caused his twin to cry. "What do I do?" he asked, having no idea how to soothe the infant.
"Feed him," she said gently, testing the temperature of the bottle before giving it to him. Rupert held it uncomfortably, but Billy latched on and soon Giles found himself relaxing. Joyce quickly gathered Alex in her arms and she settled down quickly with her bottle. Veronica just watched them tenderly. "Just don't drop him or I will tell Buffy and she will kick your ass."
"Such language in front of the children," he said, relaxing enough to engage in the friendly banter.
"Just this once," she assured him. "You're a natural." He shrugged.
"At least you've had experience doing this," he told her. "You did a wonderful job raising Buffy and Dawn."
"Dawn," Joyce groaned. "I still don't know what to tell her."
"You'll think of something," he told her, settling back into the chair and watching as his grandson ate. "I think I'm getting the hang of this," he told her proudly. She smiled.
"Wait till we get into diapers." The panic was back in his eyes.