Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Two

Little Beastie

San Francisco, the world without shrimp - June 8th 2007

Spike sat on the edge of the seat. His duster draping over the edge of the leather as he dragged his cigarette from his lips, the smoke curling in the air around him. Had he been human he would've coughed madly, but the smoke didn't bother a creature who had no need to breathe. As the last of the paper withered away, he dropped its ashy remains onto the asphalt and stomped out any final hope it had of reigniting. He was avoiding the light, stowing his motorcycle away in an abandoned house. The garage was like a sort of crypt, once he'd chased away the rats. He reckoned this must've been the height of new builds back in the '60s. He'd seen thousands like it all over.

Since his fight with Drusilla, he'd been leaving town slowly. Saying goodbye to the things he knew he was going to miss. Like the free food. He'd been leaving a body or two all over town for the last couple months, not bothering to explain himself to Buffy. Not that he'd seen her. No, lately he couldn't be bothered with the slayer, she was one inconvenience he didn't want to deal with. She'd just tell him to stop, tell him he was wrong for sinking his teeth into innocent victims. But he just didn't want to hear it. He'd been haled up, neutered for years, and for what? For a relationship with the slayer? He was a vampire. He was supposed to kill things.

Now all he could think of was leaving. Of finding Drusilla. It was a new obsession, but what was once a hell mission to rid the world of her. Now was a mission to find her again. He found himself just thinking of her, all the time. Like if his heart could beat it would be out of his chest when her pale presence crossed his mind. His half-soul thumped inside him. Maybe it was a hangover, once she'd ripped the other half from him, that was it. He was indebted to her until she put it back or removed it. Souls were not supposed to be apart from their other half, it was dragging him towards her, pulling, yanking. It made his head feel funny.

So he tucked the bike away from the morning sun and went inside the decrepit house. He refused to remind himself it was just like the one in Sunnydale him and Buffy had brought down. It looked nothing like that. This was different. He was just borrowing this house for as long as it took him to find his beloved Drusilla.


London, the world without shrimp - June 8th 2007

By the time Giles was about to go to bed, the baby was born. He'd recieved a phone call from Willow explaining that Anya was having the baby and that they were all going to the hospital. He thought he'd call later in the day just to see how everything was going but he knew the girls would crowd them, maybe he could convince Jenny to take a trip over there once the summer holiday arrived. After the school term broke up in July she'd have a month or two off, and he could take a week whenever he felt like it, he had some days free. Plus the museum wouldn't mind, it was a large place, plenty of staff, but Giles was treasured for his knowledge and skill. Also he lending them half of his library and without it they wouldn't be able to pull off their exhibition on 'The History of the Vampire Myth.' Not that Giles had told them most of it was true.

He missed the gang. Though he loved a quiet life and now he was part-time he had more energy to spend on the Watcher's Council. Something that had been slowly building for the last couple of years. He'd facilitated Dawn's trip to the watcher's castle in Shancoom, earlier in the year. And was working closely with the Wyndam-Pryces to try and rehome a family of demon refugees. That was slowly becoming their job, demon minding. Well, the slayers still needed watchers, but there was so many of them that they tended to train together. Giles knew that Faith's division was doing especially well. But after spending so much time with Anya over the years, Giles had become quite fond of ex-, peaceful and reformed demons, he knew Angel had had contact with a few, and he was working on a similar mission in LA. He was manning the London office on his off-days. And when he wasn't, he had Kendra's old watcher, Sam Zabuto running everything. His ex-wife Nancy was over in Cleveland monitoring the hellmouth, so he had frequent updates on the Ohio slayer division.

"Rupert?" Jenny asked from the kitchen, "what was Willow on the phone to you about earlier?" Oh yes, he hadn't told her yet. Mainly because she'd just got in from work and he didn't want to overload her quite at that second. He thought she'd take the news well, over the last few months, she'd gotten back to her teaching and she seemed generally more settled. Giles thought perhaps even though she didn't remember it, the reality shift had had some effect on her.

He looked up from his paper, he was sitting in his armchair with a cup of tea, checking on the last news of the day before he got his forty winks. "Oh um yes," then he took off his glasses nervously and put them back on again. "That was er Willow."

"Well, what did she want at that hour." Jenny replied, thinking for a minute that it was three am over in California. "Oh hang on, time difference goes backwards not forwards. I am never going to get used to that. Anyway, what did she want?"

"She just called me to say that they're all going to the hospital, Anya's having the baby." Giles said, looking up at her expectantly.

"Then why are we sitting here? Why aren't we going over to see them? Where's Willow with a portal and visiting times?" Jenny replied, not annoyed just overenthusiastic.

"Well," Giles took his glasses off again. "I thought we could go in the summer, you know when we both had time off."

"But it's Friday, we have the whole weekend free? Rupert, honestly honey, I'm fine. I'd really like to see the baby, see Anya and Buffy, it's been ages." Jenny reassured him, walking over and bending down beside his armchair, stroking her fingers through his hair. He smiled, dropping his glasses onto the coffee table and leaning over to her.

"So we can go tomorrow?" He said hopefully. Really he was being practical, logical, about staying away. But communication was a mercy, was it not?

"Yes, I think we can make that happen," Jenny replied softly, a sultry smirk on her lips. She kissed him, making his heart chime a little.


New Sunnydale, the world without shrimp - June 8th 2007

Willow knocked lightly on the door before entering. "Come in," Anya said lightly from the bed, still holding Jack in her arms, not taking her eyes off him for a second. Everyone walked into the room quietly, Tara shushing Dawn's overexcited squeals. They crowded round the bed, Willow first so she could give Xander a congratulatory hug, then Tara, Dawn and Buffy who had a bunch of flowers and a onesie that said 'part of the gang' on it. She laid it down on the bed in front of Anya until she squealed too.

"Look and it means he can be one of the Scoobies." Dawn said, reaching down and holding Jack's tiny hand. "He's such a little man."

"Isn't he?" Xander piped up, grinning like a kid at everybody. "Do you guys wanna hold him?"

Anya nudged him, "no, they can't have him, not yet. He's my baby."

Xander shook his head, "An, they can hold him just for a minute?"

Anya relented, "okay fine, but then I want him back. The nurse took him away for so long." Xander rolled his eyes and lifted him into his arms.

"We've decided to name him Jack." He said, Willow peering over his shoulder. There were lots of oohs and ahhs at the name choice as everybody stood around with smiles on their faces. It didn't matter if the world was ending at this point, none of them would've felt any different.

When Willow held him Tara looked at her like she wanted one of these too, a thought she to treasure for a minute and then put to the back of her mind to discuss later. "Hey Xand," she elbowed him, "you're a dad." She said with the goofiest grin on her face. Then she kissed the top of his head and handed him over to Tara. "I'm gonna be the funnest aunt ever! He'll come to me when he wants to run away from home."

"Hey, no no no, he's not running away from home. Not ever." Anya said, peering around Xander to try and have a go at Willow.

Tara looked down at Jack and felt a wave of want come over her. "He's gorgeous, Anya." She said, "I can imagine not wanting to put him down either." She held him for a bit too long, as Willow looked on a little forlornly. Then she passed him to Dawn, who was completely new at this. "Support his head," Tara told her.

"I think he looks more like Xander, or maybe that's just the hair." They'd all noticed it, the black of his hair, how much he resembled his father. Tara hoped Anya didn't feel too left out by that, so as soon as she made sure Dawn had the baby, she moved round to the other side of the bed.

"But I bet he'll look like you too," she said, laying her hand on Anya's arm, sitting in the chair in the corner. Dawn quickly passed Jack to Buffy, not sure how long she was supposed to be holding him for. This all felt like she was far too young, but she had to keep reminding herself this wasn't happening to her. This was Xander and Anya's time.

Buffy smiled, Jack really was a very sweet and very cute baby. She leaned down and kissed his forehead, "I'm your aunt Buffy, I'm the one you come to when someone picks on you. I'll beat 'em right up." She looked up Xander and saw the pride in his eyes. This was a moment no one was going to forget. She kind of wished Giles was here, he could be all grandfatherly and kind, buy Jack his first book. "You've done well here. Made a good one." She said, handing him gently back to Anya, who smothered him a little too quickly so he woke up and started complaining. Anya rocked him a little until he settled, then she smiled, happy to have him back in her arms.

"No, he's never going to get picked on. And he's never going to have a sad day." She said, everyone doubted he would go his entire life happy, especially with the amount of demons in it. But none of them said anything. They let Anya have her happy moment. Her life had been filled with so much pain and torture and revenge, it was about time she had something happy. Something that would change her the way vengeance never could. She had something to love unconditionally, forever. She had something to protect, for the first time in her life.

Buffy walked over to Xander and gave him a big hug, slightly shoving Willow out of the way, but she didn't mind. "So proud of you," she said.

"Thanks Buff."