Chapter 21
Buffy woke in the early hours of the morning, nature calling. That’s what you get when you’re carrying two giant babies inside of you. Note to self, kick Spike later. She headed off to the bathroom, and when she’d finished up, she went about brushing her teeth. She examined her face in the mirror, feeling slightly depressed about the dark circles under her eyes. Those would go away. If they didn’t, she figured she could get Willow to do a little vanity spell, something to make her feel a little better.
The babies were kicking in full force this morning. And I just thought I had one very hyper baby. Oh well, at least I have Spike to help me. Spike. She couldn’t help but laugh a little at the thought of Spike toting around two screaming babies, a burp cloth on each shoulder, and a look on his face that could only say ‘what the hell did I get myself into?’
After everything they’d been through in the past few days, Buffy finally felt that the time had come to enjoy the fact that they’d reunited. Oh, they’d enjoyed the majority of it, a lot. About seven times. At least. But, today was a brand new day. For the first time, without the aid of a mystical ring or any other spell of the sort, Spike was going to walk out into the daylight without the fear of being burned alive. He’d had enough of that lately.
She made her way back across the room, eager to crawl back into bed with him. She’d wanted him to make love to her last night, but considering everything they had been through, they had been so worn out that they’d just fallen asleep holding one another. And for the first time, she’d woken up in Spike’s arms nice and toasty warm. But feeling his heart beat against her fingertips all night had lulled her to sleep and kept her there peacefully.
Look at me. I’m fat, I’m tired, and I’m in love with an ex-vampire. Who’d of thunk? Just shy of eight years ago, she’d arrived in Sunnydale, ready to start a new life sans vampires and other hell beasties, but on her first day there, she’d realized that wasn’t going to be easy. Soon enough, she’d accepted her role in the universe, and she’d spent years trying to exterminate the pesky problems the Hellmouth always seemed to vomit in her direction. Then she slept with a vampire, turned him evil, and was stalked by him, screwing her up and scarring her for a very long time. Then, along came Spike. She’d hated him with a passion. Passion being the operative word. Even when they were slinging the vilest of comments at one another, the tension had been there. Raw, animal, powerful, sexual. Eventually, that manifested into actual kissing. Then into sex. Then into self-loathing. Then into something much darker. And somehow along the line, it had turned from dark desire to need, and then it was love.
Spike felt the bed shift when Buffy crawled under the covers. He smiled a sleepy smile, eyes still closed, when he felt her nibble at his ear. Her hands were flat against his chest, and he couldn’t help but be taken in by her beauty the moment she opened her eyes.
“You smell...”
“I hope you’re going to finish that sentence with something like minty fresh, considering I haven’t had my shower yet.”
“You smell delicious, pet,” he muffled against her mouth, as she greeted him with a good morning kiss, her hair falling down, framing her face and draping over his shoulders. She bit tenderly on his lower lip, and he sighed, pulling her down against him, taking over the kiss. He rolled her over onto her back, laying in just the right way that they wouldn’t hurt the babies.
Buffy placed her hand against his cheek and chuckled.
“What?”
“Stubble,” she laughed.
“Oh bloody hell. Well, I hope the razors these days are better than the sodding things we used back in my day.”
“You can use one of my razors.” She pulled a box out of the night stand, and Spike grimaced.
“They’re pink. And girly.”
“So?” She didn’t let him answer. Instead, their lips met again in a kiss, and Spike moaned as his body already began to respond to her motions against him. “Bloody hell, Buffy.”
“That’s two bloody hells in 2 minutes. We need a jar.”
“Jar?”
“You know, every time you say something you say a lot, you put a dollar in the jar.” Spike looked at her like she was crazy.
“We’re going to have babies, Spike. Impressionable little people who will one day grow up to be big people, and we don’t want them picking up our bad habits. Such as…smoking.” Spike’s face fell. “You know, you’re going to have to quit.”
“Why?”
“You know why. One, it’s a bad habit, and it’ll make you sick. Two, we don’t want our little impressionable bundles of joy to pick up the habit.”
“Yeah, because a newborn’s going to be able to ask for a pack of non-filtered.” Buffy rolled his eyes.
“Alright, pet. But you can’t expect me to quit cold turkey.”
“Oh turkey. We should go have breakfast,” Buffy said, starting to get out of bed. Spike held her in place.
“How hungry are you, luv?” Buffy gently rubbed her tummy.
“I think we can wait another fifteen minutes.”
“Please, luv. Make it half an hour.”
“Oh, feeling ambitious? You know, you might not have the stamina you had as a vampire.”
“Are you trying to ruin this?” Buffy giggled and she shook her head, kissing him and wrapping her arms around him, enjoying the feeling of his warm chest against hers.
“Just trying to make it last as long as I can.” She drew him back down to kiss her, and his hands immediately began to clutch at her gown. He’d slept naked, so clothes weren’t such a problem for him this morning.
Buffy helped him in lifting the gown over her head, and it was discarded onto the floor in one quick, fluttering flash.
“You’re sure it’s ok? After what happened last time…”
“It’s fine,” she whispered. “That was part of the prophecy.” I hope. “We’ll take it slow.” Just need to be with you. Can’t get enough of you. Spike nodded. Despite how fantastic their sex usually was, taking it slow was sometimes even more amazing. It took all of his willpower not to completely lose control, and that made it more erotic.
When they came together this time, Buffy stopped breathing for a moment, the sensation of their bodies joined together, the heat between them, the pulsing blood coursing through his body, it all came together. She’d closed her eyes, and he’d kissed her eyelids, and he made love to her, his body trembling the entire time, as if it was all brand new.
***
“Here,” Buffy said with a sly grin, as she sat on the sink counter in the bathroom. “Let me.” She leaned against the mirror, her legs spread just enough that he could stand between them. She moaned as he caressed her thigh. “Unless you want me to cut you with this, you’ll stop doing that.”
“Sorry, luv,” he chuckled.
“Liar.”
“Vampi…oh.”
“Yeah, can’t use that excuse anymore,” Buffy replied, seeing the blush come to his cheeks. That was a first.
“What?”
“You’re blushing!” she laughed.
“Am not.” Buffy moved out of the way to show him the evidence, and he looked away.
“Still not used to seeing that,” he remarked. Buffy settled back into position.
“Well, you will be.” She eyed him. “Won’t you? You don’t…miss it or anything, do you?”
“It hasn’t been long enough for me to miss it, pet. I don’t know how I’ll feel five minutes from now.”
“Well, let me take care of this first.” Buffy applied the shaving cream over the stubble on his chin, and for a brief moment, she contemplated what he would look like with a beard before making the first swipe.
“You do realize that I’m trusting you with my life, Slayer.”
“I know.” Two years ago, it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea to say that to me. “Just relax.” It was over in no time, and she toweled off his smooth face. He ran his hand over the newly shaven area, and he nodded.
“Gotta hand it to you, luv.”
“You should see me with a pair of tweezers. I’m like Picasso.” Spike leaned forward, kissing her, and she moved her hands to his hips. “You taste like soap.”
“Speaking of…need a good shower.”
“Me too.”
“Join me?” Buffy hopped off of the sink, nodded, took his hand, and led him toward the shower, disrobing all the way.
***
“What’s taking them so long? It’s almost eleven,” Angel said with a frustrated sigh. “Wait. Don’t answer that.”
“He did just turn human. They’re probably…well, you know,” Gunn said.
“Did I not just ask you not to answer that?” Angel asked, exasperated.
“Look, I’ve got to go down and dispatch the team. Got the 411 on the Groth demon’s lair.”
“Go on,” Angel said with a nod. “Fred?”
“Yeah?” she asked, knowing what was coming.
“Can you go up and check on them, make sure they’re alright?”
“I don’t think that’s such a…” But the look he gave her changed her mind. “I’ll be back.”
“Harmony?”
“Yeah, boss?”
“I need my morning blood.”
“Oh. Damn it, sorry. I’m on it.” She flounced off, leaving Angel and Wesley together.
“So what’s bothering you more? The fact that Spike’s human, or the fact that Buffy’s in love with him?”
“Can it be both?” He shook his head. “Could you go check on Giles and Willow? They’re doing research to make sure they didn’t miss anything.”
“Sure. You’re alright?”
“Fine.” Wesley nodded hesitantly and left the room. Angel sighed and got up, walking over to the window and looking out over Sunny L.A. This was as close to the sunlight as he was ever going to get, and he knew it. But today, for the first time in a long, long time, Spike was going to step out into the sun, and he was going to be able to go anywhere and everywhere with Buffy. No more shadow-dwelling, no more walking around the sun spots that silhouetted on the floor and moved as the sun moved across the sky.
If I’d worn the amulet, I’d be human today. I shouldn’t have listened to her. I should have worn it, and I should have died. At least then I wouldn’t feel like this. How can she love him? After everything…
After everything. Spike had never bitten her, had he? He’d never killed her close friends and enjoyed every minute of it. He’d never sat in her room while she was sleeping and drawn eerie portraits by her pillow, or done the same to her friends. Of course, almost all of that had been done after the curse had come into play, but still...those weren’t things Buffy could ever forget. Spike tried to rape her. And she smiled every time she saw him. That beautiful, glowing smile, even when she talked about him, somehow, that smile would always slip in there. She truly was in love with Spike, no matter how much Angel wanted to deny it. He’d lost her, and that hurt even more. How long were they going to stay? As much as he wanted to help her, he couldn’t stand the idea of watching the two of them flaunting around their human-ness and their love for one another. He wanted her to be happy. He’ll never make her happy. He’ll only hurt her. Human or vampire, I made him. Dru may have sired him, but he’s the way he is because of me.
“Am I interrupting, or can anybody pout?”
“I’m not pouting.” He turned around at the voice, and his jaw nearly dropped when he saw his guest. “Faith?”
“In the flesh.”
“I thought you were…”
“Yeah, well, you know me. Can’t stay in one place for too long.”
“Yeah,” Angel muttered.
“Well, look at you, running Wolfram and Hart. Bet you get all kinds of ladies for that.”
“Is there something I can help you with, Faith?”
“I’m just here to see B.”
“She’s upstairs. With Spike.” Faith hesitated. “Long story.”
“Oh.”
“He’s human now, by the way.”
“That’s…that’s news. What’s going on?”
“Right now? They’re enjoying Spike’s newfound human-ness, and they’re enjoying it under my roof.”
“If you don’t want them to stay, you can always kick ‘em out.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because she came to me for help.”
“You’re still in love with her.” Angel didn’t respond. “Look, I was there before everything came crashing down in Sunnyhell, and they were looking pretty comfy. Buffy didn’t seem to like it when she found me and Spike together.” Angel raised an eyebrow.
“Really? You and Spike?”
“Relax. We were just talking, but…the point is, she seemed pretty uptight about seeing me there with him.”
“I’m sure she’ll be down in a minute. I have a meeting. See you around, Faith.” Angel took off, and Faith shook her head. She walked around his office, looking at all the fancy knickknacks. It wasn’t long before she heard footsteps approaching, and she turned to see Buffy walking, well, more like waddling, into the room.
“Faith?!” Buffy asked when Faith turned around. Faith smiled a half-smile, sticking her hands in her back pockets.
“Hey B.”
“What…what are you doing here?”
“Giles sounded pretty serious when he left London, so I thought you might need me.”
“It’s taken care of.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Willow…”
“Oh. Leave it to the witch. Well, cool.”
“Did Robin come with you?”
“Uh, no.” Faith shifted.
“Faith? You did tell him you were coming, didn’t you?”
“I left him a note.”
“Faith!”
“Chill, B.”
“I thought you two were getting close.”
“Oh, you know me. I gotta have a change every couple months. I was long overdue.”
“Faith…”
“No, it’s cool, B. So…how’s the kid?” She looked at Buffy’s belly.
“You mean kids.”
“As in…”
“Two.”
“Wow, Spike know how to get the job done, huh?”
“You missed a long couple of days. It…it was intense.”
“I hear Spike’s of the living now. In more than one way.”
“Yeah,” Buffy replied. “Everything’s happening so fast.” She settled down in an office chair. “I thought he was gone forever, and I was going to be left to raise this kid. Now there’re two kids, Spike’s back, he’s human, and it’s all kind of overwhelming.”
“But you’re happy?”
“Of course I’m happy. I guess I just didn’t expect all of this.” Buffy eyed the other slayer. “You know better than anybody what it’s like to go from day to day. You’re just lucky to be alive when you go to bed, and you’re lucky if you live through the next day.”
“That’s true.”
“Now he’s human, and we’re having two babies.”
“Just don’t expect me to be on diaper duty.”
“Hint taken,” Buffy replied with a smile. “I don’t even know where we’re going to go. We can’t stay here. Angel…it’s awkward.”
“Tell me about it. He’s walking around like somebody killed his puppy and gave it to him gift-wrapped in a box.” Buffy grimaced. “It’s not pretty, B.”
“I know. I feel terrible that he’s upset, but I can’t help it, Faith. You can’t help who you love. Angel and I…what we had was amazing while it lasted, but it wasn’t good for either of us. It can’t be. And Spike…he’s, well, he’s Spike. I can’t help the way I feel.” Faith shifted on her feet. “I can’t explain it, Faith. I just feel more like me when I’m with him.”
“Nothing wrong with that, B,” Faith said quietly. “I’m gonna be here for a few days. Know any good sites to see?”
“I haven’t exactly gone out since I got here. I’ve been a little busy.” She put her hand on her stomach.
“Right.” Faith couldn’t help but stare at Buffy’s rounding belly. Wonder if she’ll still be skinny as a stick when this is all over? How can she stand feeling them squirm inside of her? Wonder if her skin hurts, stretched like that. I wonder if I would have changed my mind, if my baby hadn’t died. “I have some things to do. I’ll see you around, B.”
“Faith?” But Faith was already gone. Buffy frowned and got up, moving to look out the window. She stretched, yawning. Everything ached. Everything was starting to swell. And she still had at least a couple months left of this. “You better be two reaaaaally good babies. You have no idea what I’m going through for you.” She rubbed her tummy again and shook her head. She was going to be a mother. Spike was going to be a father. She could just see them trying to play house, getting up every couple of hours to change a diaper or warm up a bottle. She could also hear the arguing, the sleepless, mindless arguing where one is at the end of their rope from the crying, and the other at the end of theirs, because it seems like the days have strung together and there has been no end to the constant rhythm of bottle, diaper, bath, bed, slay. When would she patrol? When would she leave the role of Slayer behind and just be mom? Could she do that? Could Spike, fully human and actually aging, be able to settle down, while the rest of his life ahead of him was not eternal? So many questions, so little answers, and her heart was pounding with anxiety. Closing her eyes, she pressed her forehead against the cool window glass and looked out over the bright, sunny city. “God, how are we going to do this?”
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