CHAPTER TEN
Buffy was lying in the hospital bed writhing in pain with Cordelia by her side when Spike and Doyle burst through the door. Spike immediately strode to the bed and gently took Buffy's hand. "You might hate me right now; luv, but you need someone here for you."
Buffy chuckled bitterly as she looked down at their joined hands. "I don't need you… I'll never need you." She pulled her hand out of his and pointed at the door as she spat, "Get out!" then screamed as another contraction tore through her body.
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The waiting room was full of Buffy's friends. Anya and Tara were having another one of their famous thumb wrestles to pass the time while Willow and Xander sat silently, checking their watches every few minutes. Spike paced in front of Cordelia and Doyle, his boots thumping on the tiled floor. "For God's sake, Spike, sit down! You're making me dizzy," sighed Cordelia.
Doyle gave him a small smile as he dropped down next to him with a huff. "It'll be fine, Spike. She'll be fine."
Angel suddenly burst into the waiting room with a breathless, "Is she okay? They wouldn't tell me anything." Spike rose from his chair wearing a dangerous expression and Doyle put a hand on his arm, shaking his head as he pulled him back down.
"And why do you think they'd tell you anything?" asked Xander as he got to his feet and met Angel in the middle of the room.
"Because I'm the father." Xander reared back and landed a solid punch to Angel's jaw, sending him stumbling back a few steps.
"Xander!" shouted Willow.
Xander ignored her outburst as he fisted his hands in Angel's shirt and jerked him close, shouting in his face, "Where the fuck have you been, man? She's done this all alone and now you just stroll in here wanting to see your kid? If it even is yours?"
Spike smirked as he sprawled across his chair, getting comfortable to watch the rest of the floor show. "Well done, whelp. Didn't know you had it in you,"
Xander turned a glare on Spike that almost set his hair aflame and barked, "You're just as bad, asshole!"
Spike bolted from his chair and closed on the two dark haired men in the middle of the room, fists clenched and jaw muscle ticking. He opened his mouth to retort, only to be jerked backwards by his brother's hand clutching at the back of his shirt.
Doyle stepped around him and managed to slip his arms between Angel and Xander so he could push them apart, keeping Spike at his back. "I think we all need to calm down, violence isn't going to solve anything."
"This isn't the time or the place for this," said Willow, throwing a blistering resolve face at the group of men in the centre of the room. "So just sit down and shut up!"
Reluctantly, the three glowering men sat down as far away from each other as they could get and still be in the same room. Doyle watched them then made his way slowly back to his chair, trying to hide the slight trembling of his limbs as he wondered what it was about the tiny blonde woman that provoked such strong emotions from the men in her life. He'd been sure that he was about to be folded, spindled, and mutilated into fun and interesting new shapes and he breathed a mostly silent sigh of relief as he wrapped his arm over his wife's shoulders and settled in to wait.
A short while later, Dawn and Giles burst through the door wearing blue scrubs and shiny smiles on their faces. "It's a girl! And she's beautiful!" cried Dawn. Everyone in the room sprang to their feet, full of smiles and hugs.
Giles and Angel met up in the milling group and Giles said disapprovingly, "Angel. Buffy wants to see you." Angel nodded without responding and left the room.
He stopped just outside the door and took a deep breath then made his way to Buffy's room. She was sitting up in bed, gazing out the window, and she looked over as the door opened. "Angel."
"Hey." He smiled at her and sat uneasily in the chair beside her bed.
"Angel, I'm sorry. What Spike told you isn't true. I should've told you before; I know how much you and Darla want a baby, but I'm sorry, I really am."
"Hey, Buffy, it's okay. I had my doubts about it anyway because we were always careful, so don't worry about it. Darla and I will find a way." He placed a gentle kiss on Buffy's forehead then murmured, "Congratulations," and left the room.
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Buffy lay on her side peering into the plastic hospital warmer and smiling brightly. "Knock knock," Spike said quietly as he nervously entered the room.
"Hey." She picked up her daughter and passed the tiny bundle over to Spike. "There's somebody I want you to meet."
He carefully took the precious package and cradled her against his chest, soothing her gently as she fussed. "She's beautiful, Buffy. Just like her mum."
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Giles stepped quietly into the hospital room, smiling warmly when he noticed that Buffy was sound asleep. He walked over to the baby and scooped her into his arms, gently rocking her as he hummed. Buffy woke with a start and her hand flew out, frantically searching the now empty bassinet.
"Are you all right, Buffy?" Giles asked.
Her eyes flew to him then to the baby in his arms and she flopped back onto the mattress. "Yeah. I just had the strangest dream that she was gone," she muttered.
"It's understandable," he said as he sat in the chair. "She was a part of you yesterday and today she's not. It's not silly to feel that way, Buffy." He smiled reassuringly then turned his attention to the wriggling bundle he held.
Buffy sat up a bit and smiled at her daughter. "I know, it's just… well… this is so new."
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Spike sat on his brother's couch staring at the picture of Buffy's daughter on his phone.
Cordelia plopped down next to him and asked cheekily, "Hey, what you looking at?" as she snapped the phone out of his hand.
"Hey! Give that back!" he yelled as he scrambled for the phone.
Doyle heard the ruckus from the kitchen and walked into the living room, bursting into laughter at the sight of his wife holding his brother's cell phone out of his reach.
"Doyle!" laughed Cordelia as she tossed him the cell phone with one hand while keeping Spike pressed into the couch with the other.
"What do we have here?" he said, looking at the screen. His eyes widened and he simply said, "Oh."
"What? What is it? Is it porn?" giggled Cordelia as she gave Spike a push then jumped to her feet to sneak a peek over her husband's shoulder. "Oh, Spike," she said sadly, "that's a little weird and stalkery having a picture of your ex's baby on your cell phone."
Spike shot her a venomous look as Doyle stepped toward the couch. "She's got a point, man. It's over between you and Buffy and you're not the father." He put his hand softly and reassuringly on his brother's shoulder. "Time to let go."
"Yeah, plus the baby's dad is gonna be around now," said Cordelia.
"You think so?" asked Spike.
Cordelia shrugged. "Well yeah… Any father would, right?"
Spike's cell phone started ringing in Doyle's hand and he looked at the caller ID. "Harmony? Who's Harmony?"
Spike quickly grabbed his cell from his brother's hand and answered it, "Harm? Yeah, it's been a while. You are? Yeah sure, that'd be great. Yeah, see you tonight." Cordelia and Doyle were looking at him strangely when he flipped the phone closed and he barked, "What?"
"You said there were no birds," Doyle said accusingly as he raised an eyebrow.
"There weren't. Not like that anyway, she's just a mate." He smiled and walked out of the room.
Doyle sat down on the couch and gestured for Cordy to join him. "I think this Harmony girl will be good for him," smiled Cordelia as he pulled her down onto his lap.
"How do you mean?"
"Well, if he stops obsessing over Buffy it's gotta be good, right? I'm not sure how much more I can take. They really need to figure out whether they're together or not; all the back and forth crap they've got going is making me dizzy," she huffed.
