Chapter 34: Birthday Plans
“If you’re not going to tell me what you want, then you might end up with a lump of coal as a present.”
“It’s not Christmas. It’s my birthday,” Buffy pointed out, sprawled out naked on the bed next to an equally naked Spike. “And I don’t want anything.”
“There’s got to be something, pet. Something in that pretty little head of yours…”
“Seriously. My birthdays tend to rank pretty high on the suck-o-meter. I’d rather just not even think about it.”
“C’mon, pet. It’s not every day you turn 21.”
“Really, Spike. I’d rather just spend the day at home with my favorite person.” Spike raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, well…”
“I meant Dawn.” His face fell. “Kidding. I wanna be with my family and friends on my birthday.”
“So if they’re all here, why not have a cake? Some balloons? A keg?”
“First of all, you should know me well enough to know that beer is not of the good.”
“Right. I forgot about Buffy the Cavewoman.”
“Hey!” She slapped him playfully on the chest.
“Then again, I think I might like to see that.” Buffy rolled her eyes.
“I’ll bet.” She rolled onto her side to face him, lazily tracing her finger around his nipple. “How about you? What kind of shindigs do you have for your birthdays?”
“I’m one-hundred-and-twenty-eight, pet. I stopped celebrating after a hundred, like any vampire with an ounce of pride.” Buffy rolled her eyes.
“I meant when you were human.”
“Oh,” he scoffed, reaching over to grab his pack of cigarettes off of the night stand. He lit up and glanced at Buffy, who was narrowing her eyes at him. “C’mon, Slayer. I’ve been good.”
“No smoking in the house,” she pointed out, taking the cigarette from his mouth and flicking it out the open window.
“You know, you could cause fires that way.”
“Don’t change the subject. Birthdays?”
“Oh. That. Nothing special. We didn’t go all out for twenty-firsts like they do these days. Mostly, me and Mum would have tea and scones in the morning, and then we’d have dinner, maybe some dancing that evening.” Buffy couldn’t help but giggle. “What? Making fun of me, are you?”
“No. I just can’t picture you sitting there having tea and scones with anybody’s mother, let alone your own. I can’t even picture you in a coat and tails.”
“Not a time I like to think about anyway,” he shrugged.
“Oh, don’t pout.” She leaned over to take his lower lip between hers. “Then again, I kinda like it when you do.”
“You wouldn’t have liked me then, anyway,” he breathed after she’d pulled back and rested her head against his chest. “If that William existed today, I’d probably have eaten him long ago.” Buffy made a face.
“How could you eat him and then he still be here today?”
“You know what I mean.”
“You couldn’t have been that bad.”
“I’ll tell you one thing, luv. They might have called my William the Bloody after I was a vampire for one reason, but back then? It had an entirely different meaning. I was such a…”
“Hey. I don’t like people saying anything about my William. Even from the pre-fangy days.” She kissed him again, and he ran his hand down her back. “Mmm…”
“What time is it?” Buffy strained to look at the clock, moving a pillow that was blocking her view. She groaned. “Eight thirty.”
“Stay home today. I’m sure Giles can handle Dana on his own.” Buffy sighed.
“He’s determined to help her, but I don’t think she’s getting what she needs here. She’s doing better, but she needs to talk to somebody that can help her.”
It had been a few days since Giles had performed the spell on Dana, and understandably, the girl was still a wreck about what had happened. Some men, men she didn’t know from any other encounters in her life, had drugged her, rendering her into a state in which she couldn’t remember killing them, but most likely had. She’d spent so long being drugged up in jail that her mental health had deteriorated. Now, she was thinking clearly again, but she had the memories that weighed her down every day. She was training, yes, and she was trying to get her frustration out in the process, but what she really needed was help that they couldn’t give her.
“You think she should go back to England?” Spike wondered.
“I’m not sure. I agree with Giles that it’s better that she’s here, because some people at the Council can’t be trusted, but we can’t help her with some of her problems. Not even Giles can, and he’s probably the smartest person I know.”
“What’s the girl want?”
“She still says she wants to go back to England, but she’s not even from there. She doesn’t have any living family. It’s just…it’s a mess.” She sat up, pulling a sheet around herself. At that moment, the phone rang. She frowned and started to reach over Spike to pick up. But, he grabbed the phone for her.
“Buffy can’t come to the phone right now. She’s all tied up.”
“Spike!” she squeaked. “Gimme the phone.” She made a face at her, and she smiled, taking the phone in her hands.
“Hello? Oh, hi Giles. No! I’m not. Spike’s just being…yeah. Ok. I’ll be right there.” She handed the phone back to Spike and he hung up.
“Thought you didn’t have to be there ‘til…”
“I know,” she grumbled, getting out of bed. “I don’t mind going in early.” At his glance, she frowned. “Ok, I do mind, but…” He pulled on her hand, tugging her back into bed.
“You can be late. Slayer doesn’t have to be perfect all the time.” He claimed her lips with his own, and she moaned against him, but to his disappointment, she pushed back on his shoulders and got back out of bed.
“I have to go. Really…I…”
“C’mon, luv. Can’t you just…”
“No, I can’t just!” she barked, surprising the both of them. Spike’s eyebrows rose, and Buffy took a deep breath, calming herself a bit. “Listen, I have a job to do. As much as I’d like to stay naked all day, I really, really have to go. I don’t even have time to get a shower.” She could see the hurt in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just…I’ll make it up to you later, ‘kay?”
“Right,” he muttered, getting out of bed.
“Oh, come on,” Buffy groaned. “Don’t be like that. I shouldn’t have gone off like that.” His back was to her, and he was pulling on his pants. She came up behind him, and when he straightened up to zip his pants, she wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his back. She placed soft kisses there. “I’m sorry. Don’t be mad, ok?”
“Not mad, kitten. Just disappointed.”
“You get me, what, twenty hours of the day? You’ve got to learn to share,” she teased, brushing her fingertips against his back, moving around to stand in front of him.
“I know how to share. Just don’t like to,” he replied with a smirk, pulling her against him and burying his face against her neck, placing kisses there that made her knees weak.
“Whoa…” He felt her start to sway a little, and he stood back, holding her arms. She looked up at him, eyes glassed over, and she started to go down. He quickly scooped her up before she could hit the floor, and he put her down on the bed.
“Buffy?”
“What…”
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I think so. Just…I should eat something.” She swallowed hard. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Don’t you think you ought to wait it out?”
“I’ll be ok, Spike. Really. I just need to eat something, and then I’ll feel better.” Spike eyed her, and she could see the worry. “It’s ok, Spike.”
“This is ‘cause of the claim.”
“Spike, we don’t really know that. This hasn’t really been happening lately. It’s probably just…I just…I need to eat. Ok? Don’t worry.” She kissed him softly. She turned to go get her clothes, and her own hair flipped into her face. She frowned. She smelled like cigarettes and sweat. Not very becoming. “Gross,” she muttered.
“What?”
“I smell like I’ve been having sex all night.”
“You have, luv. You smell won…”
“Don’t even finish that sentence,” she warned him.
“Looks like you’re gonna be late after all. Go have yourself a bite to eat, and I’ll get the water nice and hot.”
“Giles is gonna kill me.”
“Tell him you ran into a feisty demon.”
“Guess it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, huh?” she wondered. Spike chuckled, and he kissed her forehead. Buffy pulled a robe around herself and headed down the stairs to find something to eat. But judging by the way her stomach felt, she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to keep it down.
***
“Thank you for finally joining us,” Giles murmured, as Buffy stumbled into the Magic Box that morning. Her outward appearance was stunning, and she looked fine, but her eyes gave everything away. “Buffy? Are you alright?”
“Huh? What? Fine.” Everyone turned to look at her. “What? I’m ok.”
“Buff, at the risk of getting a fist in my face, you look tired.” Buffy glared at Xander.
“I’m not tired. I just got a late start this morning, is all.” She moved across the room and took a seat next to Willow. “Where’s Dana?”
“She’s in the back…venting,” Willow said carefully. Buffy furrowed her brows.
“If she breaks the punching bag, that doesn’t mean I have to buy another one, does it?” Anya questioned from the counter. “Slayer training isn’t part of the business.”
“No, Anya,” Giles assured her. “Dana’s just very fragile right now.”
“If she was fragile, she’d break herself on the punching bag,” Anya pointed out. Giles sighed and turned to Buffy.
“Willow performed a locator spell today. It seems there’s a Fyarl demon in one of the Sewers below Jorge Street. Would you mind taking a look?”
“Taking a look as in chasing him off, or as introducing him to the sharp edge of my sword?”
“Yes, well, the latter would be best,” Giles said with a nod.
“Got it.”
“If you’re not feeling up to it, I can take Dana…”
“No. I’m totally up. I could use a good slay.”
“Or a good…” Xander started, but shut up after receiving a sharp elbow in the ribs from Willow. “What? I wasn’t gonna say…oh never mind.”
“Who wants to come with?” Buffy wondered.
“I would, but I’m still trying to perfect this relaxation spell they taught me in England,” Willow murmured, turning back to her books.
“I’ll go,” Xander offered. “If…if you don’t mind.” Buffy hesitated but finally nodded. He was trying. That was good. The least she could do was try, too. But if one of his eyes so much as twitched at the sound of Spike’s name, she was sending him right back here.
“Ok. Let’s get ready.” They both headed over toward the weapons chest, but before Buffy could reach it, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face Willow.
“Are you ok, Buffy?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You seem a little…you know, tense.” Buffy shrugged.
“I don’t know,” she breathed. “Maybe it’s that time of the month.” At her own words, she froze. Actually, if she remembered correctly, last week was supposed to be that time of the month. She counted in her head. Yep. Definitely. Something wasn’t right.
“Oh,” Willow said with a nod. “Ok, well, feel better, ok?”
“Thanks, Wil.” Buffy smiled and turned away from her friend. Xander tossed her a crossbow and a clunky sword.
“Ready, Buff?”
“Let’s go kick some Fyarl ass.”
***
“Whoa, there, Buff,” Xander huffed, jogging to keep up with her. “You forget that your non-superhero friends can’t walk that fast without having to breathe more than usual.”
“Sorry, Xander,” Buffy muttered, wiping her hands on the sides of her jeans. She was sweating now.
“If there’s something wrong…if you want me to go back…”
“No, it’s fine. You can stay.”
“What’s the matter, Buffy? I know things between us haven’t been great lately, but, I thought we were getting past it…”
“We are,” Buffy assured him. “It’s not you. I’m just…I can’t shake this feeling.”
“What feeling?”
“I don’t know. That’s the thing. I haven’t felt like this before.” She frowned but continued on at her brisk pace. Xander took a few deep breaths before struggling to catch up with her. “I was starting to feel better, but this morning, I nearly passed out again.”
“Did you tell Spike?”
“I didn’t have to. He caught me before I hit the floor.”
“You should talk to Giles.”
“I don’t think it’s anything demon-y,” she pointed out. “I don’t know if he could help.”
“What about a doctor?” Buffy grumbled at that. “C’mon, Buff. Even Slayers get sick sometimes too. You should go. Your Mom would…” A sudden chill ran through her. Oh God. What if… Tears threatened to spill over, but she bit her lip and held them back.
“I’m ok,” she whispered quietly, though now the only thing she could think of was that she had some giant tumor growing in her brain. What if she died like her mom did too? What if she just laid down on the couch one afternoon and didn’t wake up?
“I’m sorry,” he whispered after a few minutes of silence. “I didn’t mean to…I’m not trying to say that you’ll get sick like your mom did.”
“I know.” Her voice was cracking now.
“Buff…” She turned to him, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. Please…don’t…I’m…I’m sorry.” She shook her head.
“It’s not your fault.” She sniffled. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Now…now I’m kinda afraid to find out.”
“Don’t be scared, Buff. It’s probably just…you’ve had a lot of stress with…you know, with everything. Maybe it’s just catching up to you?” Buffy nodded. She and Xander finally turned onto Jorge Street, and sure enough, there was a cock-eyed manhole up ahead. Buffy raced to it, yanking it open, but before she had the chance to jump down and hunt for the demon, the large, horned beast leapt out at her, tackling her to the ground.
“Oof,” she groaned, as the demon’s large hands pinned her to the ground. Xander jumped forward with a smaller sword, whacking the demon in the shoulder. The Fyarl roared, and Buffy grabbed him, rolling him over into the bushes and out of the sight of possible travelers. Once on the other side of the bushes, Buffy kneed the Fyarl in the groin and kicked him off of her.
He was yelling, flailing his arms at her, and whatever he was yelling, she couldn’t make it out. She reached for her own sword, but it was quickly knocked out of her hands. Instead, she grabbed a knife and lunged at the beast. She drove the blade deep into his chest, twisting it. He roared, grabbing her and throwing her against the nearest tree. She groaned as she hit the ground with a thud, and Xander once again hacked at the beast, tearing its arm off at the elbow.
The Fyarl reached for Buffy’s knife, yanking it free of his chest, and he tossed it over his shoulder, zeroing in on the Slayer.
“Hey! I’m the one that lopped your arm off. Come after me!” Xander called, trying to divert him from the struggling Slayer. She was shaking a little, trying to stand and catch her breath. The Fyarl tossed Xander aside and came at the Slayer. However, before he reached her, a sword plunged into his back. He roared again, turning around to see Xander, who stood there, seemingly out of ammo and ideas, but just as the Fyarl came at him, he saw two arms circle around the beast’s neck. Buffy buried a knife up to the hilt in his chest again, this time getting his heart. He fell to the ground letting out one final, gurgling gasp.
She stumbled back a little, and Xander hurried to her.
“Buff? Are you…”
“I’m fine. I’m fi…” And she began to fall. He caught her and held her up while standing over the corpse of a Fyarl demon. When he felt her trembling, he knew something was very wrong. He held her close and rushed her out of the yard.
“It’ll be ok, Buff. Just hang on.”
***
“Hello?”
“Spike? It’s Xander.”
“What? Why are you calling here? Buffy’s…”
“I know. Buffy’s with me. I mean, not right now. She’s with the doctor.”
“Doctor? What happened?”
“She got roughed up by a Fyarl demon, and she passed out. I brought her to Sunnydale General.”
“I need to…”
“Spike, I don’t think Buffy would appreciate it if she found out my phone call brought you out on a sunny day and got you dusted. Just stay there. I’ll drive her home when she’s feeling up to it.”
“Is she awake?”
“Yeah. She’s with the doctor. Everybody’s here.” Spike silently cursed to himself that he couldn’t be included in that ‘everybody’ because he was a sodding vampire.
“Call me when you hear anything, alright? Just let me know she’s ok.” This was one of the few times Xander had actually heard true fear in Spike’s voice. He cleared his throat.
“Yeah. I will. Just…don’t worry.” The phone went dead, and Spike slammed the receiver down. Don’t worry? How the hell was he supposed to not worry when he’d just found out that the woman he loves is in the hospital, and he can’t get to her?
He looked at the clock. Dawn would be home soon. If it wasn’t for that fact, he’d probably have been searching for the thickest blanket around so he could get to her, but she’d have his hide if he let Dawn come home to an empty house with no note. She wouldn’t want Dawn to worry unnecessarily.
“Calm down, mate,” he assured himself. “She’ll be alright.” He swallowed hard. She had to be alright.
***
“Miss Summers, how are you feeling?” Dr. Jones, a pleasant looking woman, sat down on a stool next to the bed.
“Can I go home?”
“Of course you can. I’d just like to talk to you about your test results.”
“Test results? I didn’t ask for any…”
“We took a blood sample for testing when your friend, Mr. Harris, brought you in. We wanted to rule out anemia, pregnancy, that sort of thing.”
“Oh,” Buffy said quietly. “My mom…she had a brain tumor. Is that why I’m sick?”
“You’re perfectly healthy, Miss Summers,” the doctor assured her with an encouraging smile. “Would you like for me to bring Mr. Harris in?”
“Why?”
“Isn’t he your boyfriend?”
“No!” Buffy half-gasped. “No, he’s, uh, he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Oh. Well, is the father here? A bunch of your friends…”
“No, he’s not exactly a day person. Wait, what? Father? My father? Please tell me you meant to say my father?”
“No, I said it correctly, Miss Summers. You’re pregnant.” Buffy’s eyes grew wide, and her mouth opened, closed, and opened once more. But all she could get out was a little squeak. “It’s very early, Miss Summers. I would say you’re not even a month along yet. The symptoms have been known to occur sooner in some women. “I’ll need to do an examination, but I’d guess that you’re almost 4 weeks.” Buffy’s mouth had gone dry, and as the doctor continued to talk, telling her things she’d never thought she’d have to hear, she raised herself up to a sitting position.
“Huh?” The doctor gazed at her for a few moments before taking off her glasses.
“I take it this wasn’t a planned pregnancy.”
“No…no, it’s an impossible pregnancy. You’re wrong. I can’t be pregnant.” Dr. Jones smiled a little.
“Sometimes, no matter how careful a couple thinks they are….”
“No, you don’t understand!” Buffy explained. “I can’t get pregnant. My, uh…he’s doesn’t…I mean, he can’t…”
“You might want to inform him that he’s not as sterile as he thought.” Dr. Jones eyed her. “Or you might want to tell the actual father.”
“What?! There…no, there hasn’t been anyone…I don’t understand.” Her sentences were running together.
“You passed out, because you’re slightly dehydrated. Your color’s come back, but you’re going to need to drink plenty of fluids.”
“Okay,” Buffy squeaked out, laying back against the bed, suddenly unable to sit up without the world spinning around her.
“Would you like me to send your friends in?”
“Uh…no. Not…not yet. Um, and don’t say anything to them.”
“I couldn’t if I wanted to, Miss Summers. This is strictly between us.” Buffy nodded, and the doctor left the room. Placing her hands over her face, Buffy thought about everything. She’d spoken to Angel once, and he’d told her that he couldn’t give her children. Didn’t that mean that all vampires were sterile? Their hearts weren’t beating. How could their swimmers be swimming?
She closed her eyes, feeling her head start to pound. The doctor was wrong. That was it. The test was wrong. It had to be.
She sat up on the table-like bed and looked about the room, zeroing in on her shoes. She slipped them on and walked over to the mirror, looking herself over. She did look better than she had this morning, but now she had the frantic look of a young woman who just found out that her life was about to change forever. She shook her head. It wasn’t. Nothing was going to change, because she wasn’t pregnant.
She ran her fingers through her hair and turned to the door. She grabbed her coat and headed out into the hall. Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, and even Dana were waiting on her.
“Buffy…are you alright?” Giles asked.
“Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Just dehydrated,” she said with a certain nod. “Um, Xander, could you give me a ride home?”
“Sure. I called Spike. He’s worried about you.”
“Call him back. Tell him I’m fine. I need to go to the bathroom anyway.” Xander eyed her curiously.
“Ok...”
“I’ll get the car,” Anya offered, hurrying off to do her part.
“Do you need anything?” Willow asked.
“Nah. I’m just gonna go home. Take it easy, you know?”
“Ok,” Willow said quietly. “If you want, Tara and I can come home.”
“It’s ok. I know you’re both busy. Spike’s there. I’ll be ok.” She gave her friend a forced but friendly smile and headed off toward the bathrooms.
“That was weird,” Tara said softly.
“Yeah,” Willow agreed. “The doctor didn’t look worried though. She said everything was ok and Buffy was allowed to go home, so…maybe she’s just a little shaken up from the ordeal?”
“Can we get out of here?” Dana asked quietly, looking around. “I hate hospitals.”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course,” Tara said with a nod. She offered one more glance in Buffy’s direction, but Buffy had already turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.
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