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Angel ran back into Buffy’s room and came to a stop just inside the room. He looked back and forth between Spike and Buffy taking giant gulps of air his lungs didn’t even need. This couldn’t be right. The doctor must have been thinking of someone else. Then Spike’s words echoed through his mind. “Drums....” Angel thought. He stilled himself and willed his lungs to stop. He closed his eyes and listened.

There were a million sounds. Hospital sounds. Machines. People. Focus, damn it. OK, he thought. Buffy...Buffy’s heart beating. But then he heard it. There were three heart beats in the room. One strong, slow, and loud...and two very fast and much softer ones.....

**********

Angels eyes flew open and he looked at Buffy. Hard. He closed the distance to the bed in two steps and placed a hand on Buffy’s abdomen. He felt the pulsing there. His mind raced, why hadn’t he sensed it? God how could this be? His head whipped around to look at Spike. Angel easily stepped around the bed and with a loud angry growl he picked up Spike.

Willow came suddenly awake with the fierce growl that echoed from Buffy’s room. Just then the hall window to Buffy’s room shattered as Spike came flying through it. He hit the wall opposite and fell to the floor in a heap. Before Willow could blink, Angel was there, straddling Spike and pounding his face relentlessly.

“YOU BASTARD!” Angel ground out as he continued to mercilessly beat Spike. “I should’ve killed you YEARS ago.”

Willow thought quickly. She had to separate those two before Angel did kill Spike, but getting in between an angry Angel and his Spike shaped target wasn’t a thought she relished.

“Separate.” Willow shouted, and Angel flew backwards down the hall 20 feet. Angel quickly got up and started striding back towards Spike. Willow immediately threw up a barrier wall in the hall. Angel simply started pounding on it and growling his objection. Willow quickly realized the crashing glass had brought an audience of panicked and curious hospital staff who were rapidly noticing Angels game face. Willow pushed a fold in the barrier as she walked through and grabbed Angel by the arm pulling him to turn around as he snarled and looked down at her.

“Angel, LOOK, you have something on your face making it all bumpy looking, here let me get that for you,” Will practically shouted as she brought a hand up and pretended to wipe his face with the bell of her sleeve. It must have registered somewhat with Angel what she was trying to do, because he shifted back to his human face, but then her yanked his arm back from her and turned back to the barrier between him and a very unconscious looking Spike. Willow quickly assured the gathered staff that everything was fine now and the window would be paid for, before returning to Angel.

“Let me back in Willow,” Angel seethingly demanded without even looking at her.

“You can’t kill him Angel,” Willow was whispering. “Buffy needs him.”

Angel faced back toward Willow, eyes now yellow as his demon begged freedom. “He’s killed her as sure as if he had fed from her and ripped her throat out.” Willow had flinched at his words. “Do you know what he did to her? Why he keeps mumbling it’s all his fault? Because it is Willow. She. Will. Die.” Willow was now backing away from Angel and shaking her head.

“No, Angel she was happy.” Willow began pleading with him. “Spike made her happy. Angel, you can’t kill him. Buffy needs him, Angel. She’s...”

Angel spun away from Willow and was staring at Buffy’s room “You should have told me, damn it.”

“Angel, I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d take it well. And besides,
Buffy made me promise not to tell anyone. She was very specific. ‘Not Giles, not Xander, and none of the LA gang,” Willow listed off. “She was pretty certain no one would let her continue slaying if they knew.”

Angel let out a laugh that sounded very bitter and cynical. “She’s right. You want to know why no one would let her?” Willow nodded her head indicating yes, her face shone with curiosity. “Have you ever heard of a pregnant slayer?” Willow thought and shook her head no. “That’s because they all died Willow. The pregnancy makes them slower, throws them off. Not to mention, it draws in a hoard of extra demons looking for a easy shot at a weak slayer.”

Willow fell into the nearest chair. It all made sense now. Spike’s panic that Buffy had gone patrolling, Buffy’s insistence that no one know, Spike’s near catatonia and mumbling that it was all his fault. Willow felt her heart sinking. It wasn’t his fault at all; it was hers. It had been her idea to do the spell. She had been the one to push them back together. She hadn’t thought love would wind up killing Buffy again and sending Spike off the deep end.

“No, there must be more Angel. Something we’re missing, about all this. I feel it Angel.” Willow said with quiet assurance that she didn’t know had existed within her anymore.

Suddenly Willow heard a voice in her head calling her. Willow glanced up and found she and Angel were no longer in the hospital. They were in a cave filled with hundreds of candles. And in front of them stood a young boy. He was dressed very plainly in a suit Willow was sure she had seen in some very old history books.

The boy looked at her, and in a very deep booming voice said, “You seek answers to that which your heart already knows.”

“You’re an oracle,” Angel mumbled in amazement at the boy.

“What can you tell us?” Willow questioned. “Is there more we don’t see?”

The boy looked at the two in front of him and simply grinned. “The one you love has been expected for a long time. We thought she would begin to fulfill her destiny long before now. In fact, she did. However, we were asked to intervene. We were able to take back time. But we can not take back life. So, we held part of her destiny, until she was again able to fulfill it.”

“What destiny? I thought being the slayer *was* her destiny,” Willow puzzled.

It was foretold long ago. ‘Of two souled ones and a slayer, the lines will begin. One of Slayer, The other, Champion’. As it was foretold, it shall be. She will need you all,” He said, looking at Willow. “She will need your love,” the boy was staring very hard at Angel, “*and* his.”

The room spun away, and Angel and Willow found themselves back in the hospital hallway. Spike had come around and was weakly attempting to crawl back to Buffy’s room. Willow took down the barrier and ran over to Spike and attempted to help him stand up. She glanced back at Angel who was now sitting in a chair and staring at the floor. Great, now she had two vampires to take care of.

Willow managed to get Spike back in the room and into a chair. She found a washcloth and filled the basin with warm water and began tending to the miriad of gashes and bruises covering Spikes face. His eyes were almost swollen shut already. He didn’t even flinch when she cleaned a particularly nasty gash on his left cheek.

“He’s right you know,” Spike had barely managed to whisper.

“No, he’s not,” Willow continued to clean his wounds. “Seems that baby of yours is going to start a whole line. Can’t very well start a whole line unless everything turns out OK. So see, everything will be fine. Apparently it was foretold,” Willow said in the most comforting voice she could find.

Spike looked up at her, and Willow was certain that if his eyes weren’t so swollen she could see all the pain in them. Why did he look so pained? Her words should have cheered him up at least some.

“Which...one....?” He managed through his still swelling lips.

“One, what?” OK, he must be back to insane vampire, Willow thought. The answer came from behind her.

“Child. He means which child,” Angel quietly stated. He was standing next to the bed with his hands in his pockets.

“I, I, huh? I don’t understand Angel, what do you mean?” Willow was now considering that maybe both vamps were insane.

“Twins,” Was Angels quiet response. He was still staring very intently at Buffy. “She’s carrying twins.”

tbc...





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