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Chapter 42 – Prophecy Girl


Solemnly watching as a nurse fluttered around the room, checking equipment and making notes on a clipboard, Spike ran his hand over his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. Seeing Buffy biting her bottom lip out of the corner of his eye, he wordlessly reached out and grabbed her hand, waiting to be alone with her.

At nearly nine months pregnant, Buffy had woken up that morning with the feeling of water gushing from her and a sense of hope and remorse warring inside of her. It had been the shortest few months of her life. It was decidedthat Willow, Xander, Tara, and Anya shouldn’t know of the complications in her pregnancy, leaving Buffy to say goodbye to them in her own private way.

After a short discussion, Giles, Joyce and Spike had decided that Spike would move into the Summers’ house, being there for Buffy and having Joyce’s support with the baby…after.

Buffy had somberly listened to the plans involving the birth of her child and had stayed quiet throughout the discussions. Her only request was that they not decorate the nursery. She didn’t think she could remain strong if she walked by the room everyday and was constantly reminded that she couldn’t be a part of what comes next.

She had spent numerous hours with Giles and Joyce, but the majority of her time was spent with Spike, trying to forget that she didn’t have much longer with him. He had been her pillar of support when she thought she would crack, always helping her forget…until today.

Lying in a hospital bed, Buffy watched the nurse leave the room and stared at the doctor who entered, telling her that everything looked good and she should be ready to push within the hour.

Seeing the distressed look on Spike’s face, Buffy tightened her hold on his hand before turning back to the doctor.

“Can we have a minute?” she asked the doctor.

Seeing the need in the young woman’s eyes, he nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Both stayed quiet for several long moments, staring at their clasped hands and not knowing what to say.

“I don’t know how this works,” Buffy whispered, finally raising her eyes to his. “I don’t know if I’ll even get to see her.”

“Don’t,” he murmured, his voice laced with pain.

“I have to,” she replied softly. “I need you to know how much I love you, Spike.”

“Buffy-”

“Please,” she whispered tearfully. “Please tell me that you know that I love you.”

Slowly nodding, Spike closed his eyes against the tears. “I know, luv.”

“I’ve said goodbye to everyone,” she said quietly, feeling his body tighten as if it was trying to ward off what she was about to say. “But I don’t know how to say goodbye to you.”

“Then don’t,” he whispered, tears falling freely as he watched her. “Fight it. Don’t give in to this- you’re better than that.”

“It’s what I have to do, Spike. You’ll be a wonderful father,” she said with a watery smile. “A year ago, I wouldn’t have believed any of this, but…but it was meant to happen.”

“I don’t want to do this without you,” he pleaded with her, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a tender kiss to the back of it. “I don’t think I can do this without you.”

“You can,” she said with a nod, hoping her voice was sounding somewhat reassuring. “You’ll have plenty of help. Mom and Giles trust you and they’ll be there to help with everything.”

“I want you there.”

“I will be,” she murmured, feeling her stomach dropping with emotion. “I’ll always be with you.”

He couldn’t believe that these might be his last few moments with the woman he loved. Her heartbeat was so strong- he couldn’t imagine it fading away in the course of a few minutes or hours.

“You love me?” she asked tearfully.

“Since I first saw you,” he said in a choked voice. “I’ve never loved anyone more.”

Tears continued to stream down his cheeks as he ran a hand over her stomach, feeling the baby move in response to the light pressure. Staring at her belly for a moment, Spike closed his eyes, tightening his jaw when his thoughts drifted.

“You should have staked me when you had the chance,” he said in agony.

“What are you talking about?” Buffy asked, looking at him with a shocked expression.

“It’s my fault…if we’d never…”

“Spike,” she whispered, running her hand along his cheek. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have this,” she said, putting her other hand on top of his as the baby moved. “We truly created a miracle together,” she said with a smile. “No regrets.”

Nodding slightly, Spike’s jaw tightened as he tried to fight against his emotions. “No regrets,” he murmured, closing his eyes against the pain.



“One more push, Buffy,” the doctor said in an excited voice.

Meeting Spike’s gaze, Buffy squeezed his hand before closing her eyes in pain as she gave a final push. Letting her head fall against the pillow in relief, she gasped for air, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks as the baby’s cry rang out through the room.

“It’s a girl,” the doctor said with a smile, placing her on Buffy’s stomach while they clamped the umbilical cord.

Seeing Spike gazing in wonder at their daughter, she felt her eyes drifting shut in exhaustion.

“Buffy?”

“Yeah,” she murmured weakly, opening her eyes and seeing the nurses weighing her daughter and cleaning her as much as they could.

“See?” he said with a hopeful smile, keeping his voice low so it wouldn’t carry in the huge room. “Everything’s fine.”

But it wasn’t.

Buffy could feel the pain weighing her down. She could feel her heartbeat slowing and seeing the panicked look on Spike’s face, she knew he could sense it, too.

Catching a glimpse of the baby girl as they wheeled her out of the room and toward the nursery, the doctor motioned to her that he would be back in a moment, leaving them alone.

“We did it,” she murmured, her eyes already becoming heavy.

“Buffy…”

Spike trailed off, listening intently to her heart and hearing the slow, rhythmic pace as it slowed to half the speed that it should have been.

“I love you,” she whispered, feeling the exhaustion take over.

“No,” Spike said, shaking his head. “No! Don’t you do it! Damn it, Buffy, don’t you leave me!” Grabbing her hand in both of his, Spike felt his resolve crumbling as he began crying. “You can’t,” he said in a choked whisper. “You can’t leave me.”

He felt his heart shatter when her heartbeat faded away, leaving a void of nothing in its wake.

“No!”

Tears streamed down his face as he held her hand, clutching at the last link that he had to the woman he loved.

“I love you too much,” he whispered, his shoulders shaking with his sobs. “Please, Buffy. I can’t do this without you…I can’t go on without you.”

“Well, you don’t have to be all dramatic about it.”

Slowly raising his eyes at the sound of the soft voice, Spike’s eyes widened when he saw the green eyes staring back at him. Listening frantically for a heartbeat, his mouth dropped open when he didn’t hear one. “W-what’s going on?”

“I guess somebody up there likes me,” she whispered, bringing his hands over her stomach and resting her other hand on top of them and letting her eyes close again, still drained from the earlier ordeal.

“B-but how? You’re alive, but I don’t hear anything.”

“I don’t know,” she said weakly, needing more rest than her short death allowed.

Spinning around when he heard the soft knock on the door, Spike looked at Joyce’s worried expression as she stared at her quiet daughter.

“Is she-”

“I…she…you better tell Giles to come in,” Spike said, feeling a sense of relief and gratitude wash over him.



Two hours later, Buffy’s hospital room was filled with her friends and family. Xander and Willow stood in shock while Giles recounted what had transpired over the past few months.

Buffy and Spike only listened with half an ear as they stared at their daughter, cocooned safely in Buffy’s arms. Spike was settled next to her on the bed, his arms wrapped around his girls as he smiled at the baby who opened her large blue eyes and stared at them in wonder, seconds before she began fussing for milk.

Offering her the bottle that the hospital supplied, Buffy looked up at the sound of the door opening and had to smile when Lorne walked in.

“Make way, make way,” he announced, his eyes settling on the happy family. “Look at this picture,” he said with a smile, opening his arms as if he wanted to hug all of them. “Isn’t that the most perfect thing you’ve ever seen?”

Seeing Angel walk in behind Lorne, Buffy offered him a tentative smile before turning her attention back to the baby.

“A little birdie told me that you need some help figuring out what mystical occurrence has happened now,” Lorne said, walking closer to the bed. “Sing for me, sugar.”

Glancing around the room, Buffy’s gaze settled back on the tiny bundle before a soft smile played on her face.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

All eyes were on the green demon when Buffy finished the short verse. Spike’s hold on her tightened, preparing himself for what was to come.

“Well, it’s fairly simple,” Lorne began, glancing around the room. “The baby is immortal.”

“Excuse me?” Buffy asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Well, I really shouldn’t be telling you this, because certain things are more fun to discover as you go along, but what the heck. The little pumpkin is going to be the savior of humanity. She’ll officially be eighteen forever…once she reaches that age, of course.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why Buffy has no heartbeat,” Giles spoke up.

“Think about it sweetie,” Lorne said with a smile. “The daughter is going to live forever, the father is going to live forever and to ensure that this little crumb cake does save humanity, she’s going to need strong warriors on her side…for the long haul. And who’s a stronger warrior than our girl, here?”

“Good lord,” Giles muttered, frantically wiping his glasses. “Both parents have to stay alive in order to keep her alive.”

“In a nutshell,” Lorne said with a kind smile. “The human body is not meant to last that long. The Powers had to kill you, to an extent, so they could take away most of the functions that make you human. You’re still very much human,” he continued, seeing the worried look on Buffy’s face. “You just have a lot less to worry about now.”

Hearing the sound of the door, everyone turned their attention to the nurse who seemed surprised to see so many people crammed in the small room. “Visiting hours are over,” she said. Her gaze lingered on Lorne for a moment before he gave her a winning smile that sent her scurrying out of the room.

“We’ll see you later,” Willow said, leaning down to give the baby and her friend a kiss on the head, hesitating for a moment before doing the same to Spike. Buffy had to giggle at his shocked expression.

“We’ll stop by tomorrow, Buffster,” Xander said, giving her a soft smile before leaving.

“See you later, cupcake.”

“Bye, Lorne,” Buffy said. “Thanks for making the trip.”

“Wouldn’t miss it. I knew that baby would be a knockout with you two in the gene pool.”

Buffy’s gaze slowly fell on Angel, who hadn’t said anything since he showed up, and now seemed to be locked in a staring contest with Spike. “Angel?”

“Congratulations, Buffy,” he said with a soft smile. It slowly faded when he saw her hopeful expression. “Fine,” he muttered. “You too, Spike.”

“Thanks, Gramps,” he said with a grin, earning him an elbow in the ribs and an innocent look from Buffy.

Watching the door close, Buffy smiled when Giles hesitantly approached the bed. “May I?” he asked, gesturing toward the baby.

“Of course,” she said softly, gently handing the baby to her surrogate father.

Joyce eagerly cooed over the little girl as Giles turned toward her. “What’s her name?” he asked after a moment.

Exchanging a look, Spike gave Buffy a tender smile before answering. “Kelley Allayna.”

“Warrior of the light,” Giles said with a soft smile, looking at the baby in his arms. “How appropriate.”

Spike and Buffy exchanged a look before Buffy turned back to Giles. “Is there anything you don’t know?” she asked in playful exasperation.

“Very little,” he replied with a joking smile.

Buffy eagerly snuggled closer to Spike, relaxing when she felt his arms wrap securely around her as he brushed a tender kiss along her forehead. He glanced at the ‘grandparents’ and noticed they were too absorbed with the baby to pay attention to them. “You’re amazing.”

“Only because I have you.”



A/N Only one more chapter to go, you guys! And I can’t thank you enough for your loyalty to this story!


Thanks so much to: Bernardette, Blazing Fire, gypsy_jin, Ana04, Cordykitten, BloodyHell, Sevvy_O, Spikes Eternal Lover, Laine, Franchesca, Bridget, Jenn, Alicia, Kimber, skywolf_fem2, ebontier, jenny, Caitie, Isabel, AmyB, TammyAsh666, BuffyandSpikeForever, gattaca & steph for reviewing!





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