~epilogue~
One year later…
“Buffy, luv, come on, this is ridiculous! You know I didn’t mean anything… Open the bloody door!” Spike let out a sigh, waiting for some sign of life from the other side of the closed door. Buffy had locked herself into their bedroom again; it was the third time today. A part of him was amused by the whole thing, yet another part felt a little bad, knowing he was the reason behind the latest outburst. Unintentional, of course, but still. “Open the door, sweet love, I’m really sorry. You know I love you.” He held his breath, and silently counted to five.
The door swung open, and he put on a serious expression as Buffy glared at him, suspiciously. It wouldn’t do to let his amusement show; he’d learned that the hard way. He had just managed to get her to open; he really didn’t want the door slammed shut in his face again. Giving her his best ‘puppydog-look’, Spike reached for her hand. “I’m so sorry, luv, don’t be mad at me.” Luckily, over the past months, he had learned how to deal with Buffy when her hormones decided to go crazy. Unfortunately, lately it had happened at least five times a day.
Buffy crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. “You said I was fat!”
Shaking his head, Spike inhaled patiently. “No, luv, I simply suggested that maybe you’re carrying twins. Not that you actually look like….” Seeing the furious expression on Buffy’s face, he hurried on before she could close the door again. “What I meant was…” He hesitated, honestly not knowing what he had meant. For a brief moment, he had forgotten rule number one; making jokes about growing bellies and clothes that would no longer fit was not allowed.
Thankfully, Buffy interrupted him, turning around in the doorway and walking over to the bed. “Never mind, you were right. I’m huge. I’m surprised every time I still manage to squeeze through the front door. I’m telling you, one of these days I’m gonna get stuck. I hate this!” She sat down on the bed, a miserable look on her face.
Spike shook his head in amusement, walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”
Buffy sighed, looking down at her hands. “Guess not. I don’t regret anything, if that’s what you mean.” She looked up at him. “I just hate looking at myself in the mirror right now, I look like a blimp! And you making stupid jokes doesn’t exactly help. I’m carrying your baby here, Spike.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling terrible. “I really am sorry, pet. But you know I don’t mean…”
“Yeah, I know.” She sighed again. “I know you love me, and that I’m not being very rational right now. But try telling that to my stupid hormones.”
Spike chuckled. “You know, you could be twice as big, and I would still love you just as much, if not more.” Her face softened, and he went on; “You’re almost nine months pregnant, luv, you have every right to feel the way you do. But it’ll just be a couple of more weeks before it’s over.”
She actually smiled a little. “Yeah. Then we’re gonna have a little baby. Can you believe that?”
He really couldn’t. Even though he knew it was true, even though he had gone with Buffy to every doctor’s appointment and watched her belly grow over the months, a part of him still had a hard time taking in the fact that he was finally going to be a father. It almost seemed too good to be true. Three months after he had moved into the house with Buffy and Hannah, Buffy had started to get sick every morning. When she told him that she had taken a pregnancy test, and that it had come out positive, words couldn’t describe how he had felt. It had been the happiest day of his life, and he knew Buffy felt exactly the same way.
Hannah, on the other hand hadn’t been thrilled at first; she really didn’t want to share her mommy and Spike with a newborn baby. But after weeks of reassuring the girl that they would still love her just as much, she had finally started to open up to the idea. And lately, she had been almost as excited about the whole thing as Buffy and Spike. But she was still jealous at the fact that Spike would be the baby’s real father, and not hers. Not that he would love her any less, as both he and Buffy constantly tried to assure her, but it was obvious that the girl was still a little worried.
As if she had read his mind, Buffy went on; “I’m really glad Hannah’s okay with this now.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah.” He was about to say something more, when Buffy spoke again.
“I’ve been thinking…” He raised a brow, waiting for her to continue. “Hannah has wanted you to be her daddy, practically since she met you.” Buffy hesitated for a moment. “What if…?” She stopped, suddenly not knowing how to go on.
“What if… what?” Spike waited, having a feeling that whatever she was going to say, it was something important.
Buffy swallowed, suddenly very nervous. “What if you could… be her daddy for real?”
He just stared at her, not sure he had heard her correctly. “Are you talking about…?”
She took a deep breath, looking him right in the eyes. “I’m talking about adoption.” She held up her hand to stop him before he could say anything. “It makes sense, really. You’ve been more of a father to her for the last year than Liam has been for her entire life. And she loves you.” Buffy smiled a little before adding; “We both do.”
Spike was at a loss for words, searching her face for some sign that, despite her words, she wasn’t being serious. Seeing nothing but love, his face finally broke out in a grin. “You serious? You want me to adopt her?” Buffy nodded. He was still in a state of shock, having not seen that one coming. “But we’ve never even talked about it.”
Buffy shrugged. “Doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it. I should’ve brought it up sooner, but I wasn’t sure of how you would react.”
He gave her a disbelieving look. “Are you kidding? You know how much I love the bit; don’t think I could’ve loved her more if she was my own. God, Buffy, you’re serious about this?” She nodded again, and he had to blink back the tears from falling. “Then, nothing would make me happier.”
She inhaled shakily, suddenly not wanting to meet his eyes. “Great! But…” She paused. “There’s one thing, though. I think…” She blushed. “I’m not sure of how it works, but I think… maybe for you to be able to adopt her…” Her face turned bright red. “Ithinkwehavetobemarried.”
Spike gave her a confused look. “Say again?”
Buffy rolled her eyes, still not looking at him, but speaking slower this time. “I think we maybe have to be married.” She looked up then, afraid of his reaction. To her surprise, he didn’t look horrified, like she had feared. In fact, he looked almost… relieved?
“Yeah? Well…” Spike smiled a little, then reached for something in his pocket. “I was going to save this for the perfect moment, but…” He shrugged. “What the hell, this’ll have to do.” Taking a deep breath, Spike opened the small box and held it out in front of her, so she could see what was inside. “Buffy, I…”
She let out a gasp, staring at him in shock. “Oh my God, Spike, is that what I think it is?! Are you gonna…?”
He mock glared at her. “Will you be quiet, so I can do this properly?” Eyes widening, Buffy pretended to zip her lips closed, and motioned for him to go on. He gave her a nervous smile, and went down on one knee. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and he gently wiped it away. “Buffy, I love you. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Letting out something between a laugh and a sob, Buffy nodded. “Of course!”
Spike got up and sat down on the bed again, pulling her into his arms. For a long time, they just sat like that, neither of them wanting to move. Finally, he pulled back a little, so he could look at her. “You’ve made me the happiest man on earth, you know that? I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you.”
Buffy blushed. “I’m not that special, really. God, Spike, I love you so much! I’m the lucky one.”
He shook his head. “No, I was lost before I met you. There was a time when I thought I would never find love again, but you proved me wrong.” Taking her hand, he brought it up to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. “Thank you.”
Buffy smiled through the tears. “For what?”
He looked her deep in the eyes, and in that moment, nothing else in the world existed, but the two of them. “For saving me.”
The End
Saving You by Pet
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Author's Chapter Notes:
So, here it is. The final chapter. I really hope you're gonna like the way the story ends, I know I do. :) Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews I've got! And again, since I can't say it enough, thank you SO much Tammy for betaing, you've done a wonderful job!