Buffy stood with tears in her eyes, as she was able to see what the pain had blinded her from seeing that night. He was not leaving her because she wasn't good enough, but because he would not become his father. He had been true to his word. His love for his son was strong enough that he'd sacrifice his own happiness to make sure his son was kept safe.
She found herself following him out the door and witnessed his breakdown as he fell to his knees crying his heart out for her. Promising that she would always have a hold of his heart and be the owner of his soul.
"Hello," he said as she watched him answer his phone and noticed the hateful expression appear on his face. "Yes, it's done, just like you ordered…no, Dru, I will do as you say…you hold all the cards, remember?"
She could see how he tried to keep his tears in check. She could see how much he was hurting. "He’s my son and I will do everything you say so you don't run away with him. I would never be able to live with myself if anything happened to him because I wasn't there to protect him during one of your bloody stupid stunts. Yes, I’ll try to be nicer to you in the future, just give me some time. I just ripped out my heart and you want me to act like it never happened, don't do that if you want for us to work at being something more."
She watched as he hung up the phone and turned back to gaze longingly at the door that separated him from her. "I promise I will do everything I can, to prove her unfit and get back to you as soon as I can. I'm sorry I can't clue you in on the plan, baby, but she'd see right through it…right through you."
Buffy realized now her pain had blinded her to his. She had missed the signs that should have told her something was not right about his leaving her like he had. His plan, it seemed, did not include him staying away from her forever, but just long enough to get his son and be able to leave with him in tow. She knew now what she had to do.
*******
The tech left having finished doing the EEG, and was on his way to page Dr. Rayne to tell him the results. He had good news to report, the patient had great brain activity, and by the looks of the tracing was a very active one at that. He would say she was doing some heavy dreaming.
The nurse, Amanda, was doing the best she could to remove the paste out of her patient's hair. She was just biding her time waiting for the IV team to come and put the central line IV in so they could start feeding her patient with the special IV nutrition needed to sustain her and the babies.
"Hey Amanda!" Andrew said as he pushed his little cart through the door.
"Hi yourself, are you here to put in the PICC line so was can feed the little family here?" Amanda asked.
"Yep, that's me, IV starter of the magic kind," Andrew sighed as he started getting his things ready.
"I just wish she'd wake up. Those babies need real food, not that hospital bagged same ole, same ole,” Amanda sighed.
"I know what you mean," Andrew replied. "Give me a veggie burger at The Doublemeat Palace any day instead of that," he said as he pointed at the two bags of fluid, one a clear yellow and other one chalky white.
Andrew cleaned her skin at the bend of her elbow with the antiseptic. Waiting until the area was dry as he positioned the long catheter covered needle where he could see her vein. Just as the tip of the needle penetrated the skin she screamed, "Hey! That hurts!"
Both Andrew and Amanda jumped back from the now very wide-awake patient who was holding on to the bend of her arm glaring at them. Andrew's arms flayed about knocking over his work stand as he tripped and fell on his ass.
Amanda quickly overcame her shock as she approached her patient and tried to reassure her. "Miss Summers, you are a patient here at Sunnydale University Hospital. My name is Amanda. I'm your nurse."
"What happened to me? Where’s my mother?" Buffy asked as she took in her surroundings and felt sorry for the young man who was sitting on the floor looking afraid.
"She's out in the waiting room. I’ll go and get her in a few minutes. I just need to check a few things out here," Amanda answered as she looked over at Andrew to make sure he was okay. "Andrew, can you go out and have them page Dr. Rayne for me, please."
"Sure, I can do that as soon as I can find that part of my brain that operates my legs again,” Andrew said as he was getting up off the floor.
"Now would be a good time," Amanda said more firmly this time.
"Going, God! It's not like I'm not moving as fast as I can," Andrew huffed as he glared at the nurse before looking back at Buffy. "I'm glad you woke up, but could you have done it before I arrived?"
Buffy watched as Andrew practically ran out of the room before turning her attention to the nurse. "Can you make sure you call William Bledsoe, too? I really need to see him."
"You can use the phone right next to your bed if you'd like," Amanda suggested as she moved to check out her patient.
"So, was I like in a coma or something?" Buffy asked, since the last thing she remembered was the confrontation with Faith at Willow's car.
"I'm thinking the ‘or something’, but the doctors can tell you more," Amanda told her as she put a band-aid on the area Andrew had tried to put in the special IV.
"The babies? Are the babies okay?" Buffy asked, feeling both of them move around inside of her.
"They're fine," Amanda said with a smile as she patted the young woman on the arm. "Here's the phone, dial 9 first. If it's long distance then call the operator first."
"Okay, thanks." Buffy said as she dialed the operator and had her place the call for her.
*******
"Spike, look at me," Hank said as he gently shook the young man. "Spike, please talk to me."
"Babies, she carrying his babies," Spike mumbled as he looked up at the older man. "Does she love him?"
"Love who?" Joyce asked, wondering what Spike was rambling about.
"Buffy, love him, the father of her babies," Spike answered as he looked over toward Doyle who was staring back at him with a blank look on his face.
Hank followed Spike's gaze and realized Spike thought the young doctor was the father of Buffy's babies. He then looked at Joyce and said, "He thinks Dr. O'Bannon is the father."
Joyce didn’t know what hit her to make her react so, but she pulled back her arm and slapped Spike’s face and said, "How dare you think she'd have another man's children?"
Spike felt the pain and looked at Joyce with a hurt expression. "But she would have told me if they were mine, she would have. I don't blame her for moving on. I'm not worth the ground she walks on."
Joyce quickly hugged the blonde man as she reassured him, "They are yours, Spike. She will have to explain why when she wakes up. But they are yours."
The sounds of pagers and a cell phone went off at the same time. Dr. Rayne, Dr. O'Bannon, and Dr. Burkle excused themselves when they noticed they were paged to the same number.
Spike pulled away at the sound of his phone, taking it out of his jacket pocket and was about to turn if off but stopped when he noticed the Sunnydale area code. He opened the phone and dreaded answering the phone knowing for sure it was bad news.
"Hello."
"Spike?"
"Buffy?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Baby, are you really there?" Spike cried into the phone, "God, baby, I need you."
"I need you, too. Where are you?" Buffy asked as she started to cry.
"I'm just outside your room."
"Why aren't you in here with me?" she asked.
"Cause I don’t think I'm allowed," he whispered.
"Come in here now, I need to see you, talk to you. I need you to hold me, I'm so scared." Buffy sniffled as she begged him to come to her.
"I'll be right there, Goldilocks," he said as he stood and ignored the others as he made his way to the doors leading to the intensive care area. "I love you, baby."
"I know, and I love you, too. Now get your skinny ass in here, right now!" she practically yelled in the phone.
"Be right there, you bossy bint," Spike chuckled through the phone.
Before Spike could open the door he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around and was about to hit whoever was keeping him from his lady when he noticed it was Hank.
"Sorry, mate got caught up. She's awake and wants to see me," Spike said giving Buffy's father a huge grin.
"Tell her we want to see her too," Hank told him as he pulled the younger man into a bear hug. "I've got your back, now go and get your wife back."
"Thank you, Dad. If not for you, I wouldn't be getting this second chance," Spike returned the hug and whispered in the man's ear.
Hank felt tears come to his eyes as he heard the endearment. He was just sorry it took something like this to realize how much he did want a family. That with Spike's help he just might be something more to Buffy and his grandchildren other than a name.
"Why is he going in there and not Joyce?" Xander asked.
"Is Joyce Giles here?" a young female called from the door Spike had just entered.
"Yes, that's me," Joyce said.
"Could you come with me please?" Amanda asked. "It seems someone is very anxious to see all of you, but right now she can only have two visitors."
"I’ll come out as soon as I know something," Joyce reassured the others as she moved quickly to follow the young nurse.
*******
Spike noticed his girl sitting on the side of the bed, telling the doctors she was feeling fine and wanted to go home. He walked over and gave them an understanding smile as he turned his attention to his very pregnant Goldilocks.
"Baby, let's have the docs take a good look at you, okay?" Spike said as he took her hands in his and knelt before her. "I don't want to take any chances on losing you, baby, not now, not ever again." Neither noticed the doctors leave the room, to give them privacy.
"I understand now, I really do," Buffy started to cry. "You didn't want to be like your father and felt Nigel needed you more than me. That I was your heart's desire and how hard it was for you to choose between us."
"He does, but I have him now, and no one is going to take him from us," Spike said. "You are my heart's desire."
"You got that right, no one will take him away from us," Buffy promised, loving the little boy even before meeting him. "We will raise him as a part of our family, he is family. Spike, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the babies," she said as she stroked the side of his face softly. "I was selfish not to tell you about them."
"No baby, I understand, I really do. I just regret not watching them grow inside you, not being there to tell you how beautiful you are," Spike reassured her as he leaned his forehead against her stomach. "Hello there, little ones. I'm sorry it took so long to have this talk. But I'm your dad and I can't wait to meet you."
Buffy laughed when one or both decided to move in response. "I think they are saying ditto."
Spike never felt happier as he placed a kiss on her expanded belly. "You have a brother waiting to meet you, too."
"I want to meet him so bad," Buffy said as she ran her fingers through her man's hair, realizing this was what she had been missing all these months. Being able to touch him so intimately and just be with him. "Missed you so much."
"I know baby, and know I missed you too," Spike sighed standing up to finally kiss her right and proper.
*******
Dr Rayne nodded for Dr. O'Bannon, and Dr. Burkle to follow him out the door once the babies’ father knelt before Miss Summers. Once outside they found themselves confronted by Joyce Giles.
"How is she, and what happened?" Joyce asked giving Dr. Rayne a questioning look.
"I’ll need to examine her when she allows it of course," Ethan chuckled. "I do think it can wait until she finishes dealing with some much repressed stress. From what I'm told, the one to suffer the most was the poor IV therapist."
"I’ll go and get Spike out of the room so you can examine her," Joyce offered as she turned to retrieve him.
"No, let them have a few more minutes alone," Ethan said as he gently put his hand on her arm to prevent her from leaving. "I think he is the best medicine for her at the moment."
Joyce looked at the man and realized he probably was right as she asked, "Are you sure she is out of the woods?"
"Her pressure is the best it has ever been. She has no ill effects that I could see. If I had to give you an answer right now I would have to say that the body knows when it needs to heal or needs a rest," Ethan offered. "My best guess it she will be able to go home tomorrow and I think he is the best weapon to get her to stay."
Doyle laughed, "I think you might be right."
"Oh, he is right on that account, if anyone could talk her into staying it would be Spike," Joyce agreed.
"I think we can arrange for her to have a room better suiting her medical status," Ethan chuckled as he excused himself so he could arrange to have Buffy transferred out of the intensive care area.
"He is very arrogant," Joyce sighed.
"Yes, but he is very good at what he does," Doyle said, feeling happy his favorite patient was doing so much better.
"So what about the poor IV therapist?" Joyce asked.
"It would seem Buffy woke up at the same time he was poking her with a needle. She screamed, he fell on his arse," Doyle chuckled. "I wish I could have seen the look on the poor lad's face."
"I hope he is okay?" Joyce asked, worried the young man might have hurt himself.
"Oh, the only thing dinged was his pride. Amanda says he screamed like a girl," Doyle whispered, thinking they both needed a laugh.
"I think I will go and see my daughter now," Joyce said, as she tried not laugh.
"Take care. And I will be into check on her again," Doyle promised as he watched the older woman walk away as he whispered, "I'm also happy he came back into her life." Before he turned and left to call his wife and tell her how much his day just improved.
Joyce stopped at the door as she stood witness to Spike kneeling in front of Buffy. His hands on her pregnant belly rubbing as he talked to it. It had been so long since she had seen the content look on her daughter's face as she laughed at what he was saying. Joyce backed away and decided she would give them time alone for now.
*******
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