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Chapter 52: Healing Scars

“How’re you feeling?” Spike asked as he stroked Buffy’s hair. She smiled tiredly at him and gave him a little nod.

“Better.”

“Want me to get you something else to drink?”

“No. I’ve had enough water in the last two hours to put out a large house fire.”

“No more pain?”

“No,” Buffy promised, leaning into his hand, which now cupped her face. She placed her hand over his. Spike leaned in, putting his other hand against Buffy’s belly. “You hear that, little bit? You’re ok. But you gave your mum and me a good scare.” Buffy sighed and closed her eyes, relieved that the worry was over. The doctor had told her that she was somewhat dehydrated and also needed more potassium in her diet. All that pain over a couple of diet issues? Needless to say, she’d had Spike make a run down to the market for a couple dozen bananas and some bottled water. “I just wanna get back to the cabin.”

“Doctor wants you to rest for a few more hours before he releases you.” Buffy nodded and frowned. She looked at the clock, and her eyes widened.

“Spike! The sun!” He glanced up at the clock too and frowned.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“It’s ok, Spike. We’re fine here. Have Xander drive you back. He can come get me when it’s time for me to come home.”

“I don’t want you here alone. Not with the Council coming into town.” He took her hand in his and squeezed it. She smiled a little.

“I’m fine. Really. Don’t worry about me.” A throat cleared from the doorway.

“I can come back and wait with her,” Xander promised. Spike looked over his shoulder, making eye contact with Buffy’s friend and hesitated before nodding. He turned his attention back to Buffy.

“You’re sure you’re alright?”

“Yes,” she smiled. “Stop worrying. It was scary, but it’s over. And, we got more pictures of Bitty Buffy. How about that?” She pointed to the sonogram pictures on the side table. “Strong heartbeat. Growing normally. Perfect.”

“Like her mum,” Spike pointed out, leaning in to kiss her softly. “Alright. I hate leaving you, but…”

“But I don’t want to explain to our baby someday that her father burst into flames because he was too stubborn to listen to her mother.”

“Right then,” Spike murmured, clearing his throat and leaning in for one more kiss. Buffy met him halfway, letting her lips linger on his for a few moments until he reluctantly pulled away. “I love you.”

“I love you,” she replied, a smile tugging at her lips. Spike’s hand squeezed hers once more before he turned and left the room.

“I’ll be right back, Buff,” Xander promised.

“Thanks.” She watched the love of her life and one of her best friends leave together, and she sighed, relaxing against her pillow and closing her eyes. She placed her hands against her barely-showing tummy and frowned. “You’re not even born yet and you’re already worrying mommy. Don’t do that, ok? ‘Cause I need you. And daddy does too. We might be strong physically, but emotionally? We can be total wrecks sometimes. So don’t pull the scare card on us again, ok? At least not until you’re sixteen and contemplating the idea of rebelling and getting a tattoo.” She wished she could feel the baby moving, but she guessed it was still too early. Chewing on her lower lip, she let herself start to relax, and soon, she was sleeping soundly in her hospital bed, waiting on time to go back to her friends and Spike.

***

At exactly eight o’clock in the morning, Giles woke to the sound of a knock on his door downstairs. With a sigh, he quickly pulled on his jogging outfit and made his way down the stairs. When he opened the door, three men and a woman clad in suits stood before him.

“Hello, Mr. Giles.”

“Hello,” he said with a nod. “What can I help you with?”

“We’re sorry to drop in unannounced like this, but Mr. Travers wanted the element of surprise. We’d like to evaluate your Slayer and see how things are doing. When word got out about her death, needless to say, there were some concerns that perhaps she wouldn’t be in top form.” Giles moved out of the way.

“Come in.” The four piled into Giles’ apartment, and he went to put on the tea kettle.

“I’m sorry, but you’ve wasted your time. Buffy’s not here.”

“She’s not here?” the woman asked. Giles eyed her. He remembered seeing her around the Council. Victoria…Veronica…well, her name started with a V, anyway.

“No, I’m afraid you’ve come at the wrong time. She and her friends are on holiday. They’re not expected back for at least a week.”

“Oh, that’s very unfortunate,” one of the men said quietly. “Mr. Travers won’t be pleased.”

“I’m sure he’ll manage to get over it.”

“Mr. Giles, we’d like to ask you a few questions about your Slayer.”

“Alright.” The men looked at the woman, and she cleared her throat.

“How has she been fighting since her return from the grave?”

“The first couple of weeks were a bit shaky, but she survived, obviously, and she’s back in top form now.”

“Were there any after effects of the resurrection? We realize that she was brought back by a very powerful spell.”

“There were no changes in her, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Alright. And about her acquaintances.”

“You mean her friends.”

“Well, yes. What can you tell me about her relationships? We have notes from the last visit.”

“They’re all very close,” Giles assured them. “They still help her, and no, nobody has been seriously injured. Just the occasional scrape and bruise.”

“And her relationship with the vampire, Spike?” Giles furrowed his brow.

“Why would you ask that?”

“It’s just a question, Mr. Giles. It’s known that Miss Summers protects the vampire. If she didn’t, she would have slain him years ago.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“William the Bloody has killed two Slayers.”

“I can assure you he’s not a threat to the Council.”

“And the chip inserted into his head by the…Initiative, was it?” Giles eyed those standing in his living room, as he poured the now hot water into cups. He picked up the tea tray and carried the beverages into his living room. Everyone settled down and grabbed a cup.

“Like I said, Spike is not a threat.”

“Would you say her relationship with him is…intimate?”

“What does this have to do with Buffy’s status as a Slayer?”

“Mr. Travers doesn’t approve of Buffy’s alliance with the vampire. If it were up to him…”

“Well it’s not up to him, is it? Spike has given us a tremendous advantage against the forces of evil with his strength and his knowledge of the various sides of demons that aren’t written about in any of the texts I own.” If he hadn’t been so focused on protecting Buffy’s secret, he might have been surprised at how good he was making Spike look. “He is not a threat, and Mr. Travers has nothing to worry about.”

“Yes, well, thank you for your help, Mr. Giles,” the V-named woman said with a slight smile. “I’m sure Mr. Travers won’t mind if we stay on a while longer in Sunnydale. We’d like to talk to the Slayer personally.” Giles swallowed hard.

“She may be gone longer than a week, but I can assure you that I know my Slayer, and she won’t be very happy about returning home only to have to deal with an evaluation. Surely you have other things could need to do.”

“If I didn’t know better, Mr. Giles,” she said with a testing smile, “I would think you’re trying to keep her from us.”

“Of course not.” Giles took a sip of tea and placed his cup back down on the tray. “But I do know that the Council isn’t on Buffy’s list of favorite things. Your best bet would be to go back to London and return some other time.” The woman looked at the men, who all stood up together. She stood with them.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Giles. This is a small town, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around.” With that, they left, and Giles immediately went to the phone. He thought hard about calling and warning Buffy, but his conscience told him otherwise. If this danger truly was going to come from the Council, he wouldn’t put it past them to bug his phone lines. No, it would be best for them to know as little as possible in order to keep Buffy focused, calm, and remaining in hiding. As much as he hated keeping his Slayer in the dark, he knew that it would be best to not make any mistakes or give any indication of her whereabouts away.

***

Buffy squinted into the bright sunlight as she and Xander headed off toward the cabin. Her hands rested comfortably on her belly, and his eyes were fixated on the road.

“You feeling ok?”

“I’m not gonna throw up, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“It’s not,” he said with a slight smile. “We were really worried, Buff.”

“I know. But it’s ok now. It’s over. Bitty Buffy’s strong.” She glanced up at him and caught the quick smile that graced his face. “It’s funny. I don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but Spike’s so convinced it’s a girl that he’s got me calling it that too.”

“I’m sure she’ll be beautiful, Buff. Or handsome. However it turns out.”

“Thanks,” Buffy grinned.

“He was worried, Buff. I’ve never seen him like that. I mean, he looked like he didn’t know what to do. It wasn’t like…like when you died. I mean, that was final…at the time. He just shut down for about a week and then started doing something about it. But today, he was shaking. I mean, I didn’t even know vampires could shake like that. He wouldn’t talk the whole ride home. Not even to insult me.” Buffy raised an eyebrow at that. “He was really scared.”

“I know. This is kinda his only shot at having a family.”

“It’s not just that. I mean, you didn’t see his face when we were waiting for the doctor to come out and tell us what was wrong. He looked like…like he was about to lose you all over again.” Buffy felt her heart break a little. “I felt…”

“Sorry for him?”

“Well, yeah. I couldn’t imagine what I’d do if something like that happened to Anya.”

“It’s ok. It was just my body’s way of telling me to pay attention. I’m ok, Xander. Really.”

“Still…it might take a little bit to convince Spike of that.” Buffy smiled a little.

“Maybe. But he was the one telling me it’d be alright.”

“I’ll let you in on a little hit, Buff. We guys might say that, but in fact, we’re just as scared, if not more scared than you when we say it.” Buffy reached over and took Xander’s hand in hers, giving it a little squeeze.

“Yeah, well you guys did a pretty great job today. I think this little baby is gonna be lucky to have you for an uncle.” Xander squeezed her hand back and finally let go. “Thank you, Xander. Thanks for helping Spike today. And for helping me. It meant a lot.”

“Hey,” Xander said with a shrug, waving it off, “that’s what best friends are for, right?” Buffy smiled a little and leaned her head on Xander’s shoulder, grateful that for the first time in a long while, it felt like all the past tension between them had melted away, and despite how great things had been lately, she finally knew for certain that she had her friend back, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

***

Spike paced the cabin, and the girls watched him with worry creasing their faces.

“They should be back by now. Something must have gone wrong.”

“Spike, I’m sure the doctors are just being careful. Maybe she got to feeling bad again, and…” At Spike’s even more worried gaze, Dawn swallowed hard. “I’m sure everything’s ok, Spike. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah. I bet…I bet this’ll make you feel better,” Willow offered. “I managed to get a bar on my cell phone. I checked my voicemail. Buffy’s dress is ready. You know, the one you caught her staring at…it’s all done with her measurements…a couple extra inches just to be on the safe side.”

“Yeah, well the dress is bloody useless without her wearing it.” He frowned and felt like hitting something. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be the one bringing her home and taking care of her. Instead, he had to trust Xander to do it for him. It was always going to be like this. If their baby needed a doctor in the daytime, he wasn’t going to be able to go. He felt so useless right now that he was fighting back tears of frustration.

“Spike, it’s ok,” Willow assured him. “You know how emergency rooms are. Three hours can turn into seven.” Obviously, this didn’t help matters any. But when the sound of tires crunching against gravel filled the room, Willow moved to the window and smiled back at the vampire. “It’s them.”

Of course, Spike wasn’t going to be satisfied until he saw Buffy. But it wasn’t long before the door was opening up, and Buffy came walking, obviously exhausted, but feeling much better. Spike immediately rushed to her and wrapped his arm around her. When he pulled back, he eyed her.

“Didn’t squeeze you too tight, did I?”

“Mmm…maybe not tight enough,” she whispered, kissing him softly. “Ugh…I just wanna go home and get in my own bed.” She rested her head against his chest as he held her.

Xander closed the door behind them and moved over to greet his wife. He squeezed her a little tighter than usual and kissed the top of her head. She blinked in surprise but smiled up at him, running her hand along his face before kissing his lips. Willow and Tara looked at one another knowingly, both silently deciding it probably would have been a wise idea to bring earplugs, because at the way Spike and Buffy were staring at each other, on top of how Xander and Anya were doing the same to each other, nobody was going to get much sleep tonight.

“C’mon. Let’s get you to bed,” Spike offered, taking Buffy’s hand and leading her into the bedroom. She didn’t protest at first, but as soon as she sat down on the edge of the bed, she pouted up at him.

“I slept at the hospital.”

“But you need your rest. So does the little bit.” He knelt down in front of her and patted her belly, pressing his ear against it. “What’s that? You think Mommy needs to be pampered and have her feet rubbed?”

“Oh, our baby knows its mommy so well,” Buffy grinned, as Spike removed her shoes and socks. She lay back on the bed and Spike brought himself up to sit on the bed, pulling her feet into his lap. As he rubbed her feet, she stretched out and smiled at him. But he wasn’t looking her in the eyes. He was looking down, and she could feel his hands trembling. Frowning, she sat up a little. “Spike?”

“Yeah, luv?”

“Look at me.” His gaze tentatively joined hers. “It’s ok. Really. I just need to be more careful about what I’m eating. I’m ok. So is the baby. Really.” She reached over for her purse and pulled out the sonogram pictures, holding them out for him to see. “You saw for yourself, remember?”

“I know,” he said, quietly shaking his head. “The baby books say that…that there’s a chance…”

“Hey,” she cut him off, trying not to let herself get paralyzed by her own worries, “I’m the Slayer. I can handle this, ok? So can Bitty Buffy.” She smiled a little and brought one of his hands to her belly. “Trust me, Spike. We’re not going anywhere.” With a sigh, she shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in the bed. “Besides, if something did happen to me, we’ve got a couple pretty kick ass witches that could…”

“Don’t even joke like that.” His voice was low and gruff, but she could see the fear growing in his eyes. Buffy shook her head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t…” She reached out for him. “C’mere.” Spike crawled up to lay beside her, and she wrapped her arms around him, kissing him softly. “I’m sorry. I just…I don’t want you to worry, because everything’s gonna be alright. I promise.” Spike sighed and decided to put his fears aside for now. She didn’t need him to worry like this. Not when he was sure that behind that strong façade was a very frightened expectant mother that thought that she also had to be strong. So, he brought his arms around her and rubbed her back, and she snuggled up against his chest, breathing in the scent of his cologne and feeling so much better now that she had him near.

“Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?” she murmured somewhere near the edge of sleep. He kissed the top of her head and nuzzled the top of her head.

“I’m not going anywhere, luv.”


Chapter End Notes:
Hope you guys liked the chapter! Man, I've been called evil and a bastard (I guess bitch would be more suiting since I'm a girl, but bastard works too) since the last chapter, but I know it was all done in fun and love....right? Haha..:) Anyway, let me know what you thought of this one! Hope it was a much happier ending than the last chapter! More to come soon!



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