Disclaimer: I own nothing, Joss does! (What a lucky guy!)

Huge Thank you to - Hulettwyo my Beta for helping me so much with this story!

CHAPTER TWO

Buffy walked into The Bronze and waved to her friends at a nearby table as she waddled toward them. Willow smiled at her as she climbed carefully onto one of the tall chairs. "Buffy, so glad you could join us."

"Y..y..yeah it's b..b..been forever," stuttered Tara with a smile.

"Sorry guys, I've been so busy getting things ready I've hardly had time for myself."

Xander gave a reassuring smile as he took the seat next to Buffy and handed her the soda he'd fetched from the bar. "It's understandable."

"I'm just glad I came." She leaned as far forward as her belly would allow and propped her elbows on the table. "So c'mon, what's the gossip? Tell me everything I've been missing." Buffy giggled as her friends started to fill her in on the recent goings on.

XXXX

"C'mon man!" Doyle sighed, taking another sip from his bottle of beer, "No ladies whatsoever?"

"I told you no. That's not what I was out there for," said Spike, downing his shot. He upended the glass and dropped it with a loud clunk on the bar top then raised two fingers, signalling for another round.

The bartender set two fresh shot glasses in front of Spike then filled them to the brim with amber liquid as Doyle looked Spike over, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" They laughed as they each took a glass then clinked them together and downed the whiskey. The glasses were upended and slammed down onto the bar as Doyle continued, "I'm just saying... you've abstained for what, like ten months? C'mon, if I wasn't married to my lovely Queen C, I'd be right out there with ya." He chuckled as he stood up and started moving Spike away from the bar, spinning him to face the crowd. "It's time for you, my good man, to get back on the horse." He waved his arm around the crowded room. "Take a look around. What do you see?"

Spike scoured the crowd, sucking in a shocked breath as his eyes lit on a small blonde woman sitting at her usual table, facing him. Her gaze locked with his for a few seconds before the crowd moved between them and broke the connection. He blinked then breathed out, "Buffy..." as he started moving away from Doyle.

Buffy stood and made her way through the crowd, lamenting the fact that she took up so much more room than she used to, when suddenly there he was, after all this time.

"Hello, Buffy." He knew he must seem a little shocked to see her and tried to hide the fact that he was screaming in his head, 'Bloody hell! She's pregnant!'

She smiled self consciously, not having missed the way his eyes had widened when they'd landed on the beach ball that was currently masquerading as her stomach. "Hey."

He dragged his eyes back to her face and plastered on a lop-sided grin. "You look good. Did you... uh... do something with your hair?"

She giggled, "Uh yeah, I got it cut... oh, and I'm eight months pregnant." She turned sideways and smoothed a hand over her bulging belly.

He stammered the first thing that came to mind as a blush crept up his cheeks, "Oh... I didn't notice," then he mentally smacked himself. 'How could I not notice? She looks like an egg tied to a stick!'

Buffy smirked at his obvious discomfort as he forcefully dragged his eyes away from her belly again. "You always were a bad liar, Spike. So, how was the travelling?"

"Good." His eyes drifted back to her belly like they were being tugged by a cord. "So... uh... pregnant, eh? How'd that happen?" he asked awkwardly, smacking himself in the forehead for real when Buffy giggled.

"So you missed the health class where they explained how babies are made?"

His blush deepened as he smiled sheepishly and shook his head. "Didn't mean that... uh... So, the father's around?"

"Yeah." She smiled thinly. 'Uh, not long after you... um..." She lifted her hand and showed him the ring that sat on her third finger.

He blanched slightly then cleared his throat. "Uh... great. Nice to see you've moved on."

"Yeah... so... uh... I need to go."

She turned away and he laid his hand gently on her arm. "You don't have to leave on my account."

She shook her head and raised her hand, lightly shaking the empty soda glass that he hadn't even noticed she'd been holding. "Oh... no... I meant go... not leave." She smiled and patted her belly. "Too much soda plus baby kicking me in the bladder equals multiple trips to the bathroom." She handed him the empty soda glass and took a step away. "So... good seeing you." She smiled nervously then scurried off into the crowd.

"Yeah, you too," he whispered to himself.

Buffy waddled out of the stall, tugging her dress back into place as she made her way over to the sinks. She splashed cold water on her face then dabbed it dry with a paper towel as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes took on a faraway look as her thoughts ran rampant, 'Spike's back? Why? Why now? Oh God! This is only gonna get weirder and weirder.'

Spike and Doyle made their way out of The Bronze and started down the street, Doyle practically running to keep up with Spike's quick strides. "Whoa, Spike, slow down man!" He reached out and snagged Spike's sleeve, managing to slow him to a more manageable gait as he babbled at the blond. "How weird is that? Buffy pregnant and married! Jesus, she really didn't hang about after you left, did she?"

Spike wasn't actually listening because he was too busy thinking, 'Eight months pregnant... that means... No, I can't be... Oh bloody hell! She's up the duff with my sprog!'