Chapter 13
“Thank you for shopping at the Magic Box. Have a nice day!” Buffy claimed with false perkiness as she watched another customer leave the shop. “God, what is with everyone buying mummy hands? Is there some freaky cult going on that I’m not aware of?”
Anya shrugged. “Well, maybe it helps with orgasms. If they’re too lazy to use their own hand…”
Buffy clapped her hand over the other woman’s mouth. “I beg you not to finish that sentence.” She pulled away after a moment and sighed when another customer entered the store. It was a long day and she just wanted to go home, but she forced another smile on her face. She rubbed her tired eyes once the lady left, thankfully not purchasing a mummy hand.
Anya looked at her in concern. “Are you feeling okay? You’ve been kinda out of it today. Is Spike not getting the job done?”
Buffy shook her head. “He gets the job done fine; I don’t know what’s wrong. Maybe I’m just coming down with something.”
Anya nodded and started to look through a box that was sitting by the register. “Oh, a new shipment of rat’s eyes. I should store these in the back.” She took a jar out and shook it. “That’s just gross.”
Buffy glanced at the jar that Anya was holding and suddenly felt sick. She put her hands over her mouth and ran to the bathroom.
Anya looked after her in confusion. “What did I say this time?”
* * * * *
Buffy came back out a little while later and saw that the owner, Rupert Giles, was now standing with Anya.
“I told him that you weren’t feeling well.”
Buffy nodded at Anya and looked at the man. “I’m sorry, Giles. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“That’s quite all right, Buffy. You should get home and rest. Anya can handle the register for the rest of the day.”
She nodded again and turned back to Anya after he left. “Remind me never to have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch again. It’s really not something you want to see in reverse.”
Anya shuddered at the imagery, then decided to say what has been on her mind for the last few weeks. “You know, this isn’t the first time you’ve gotten sick, Buffy. I think it’s more serious than you think.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Like what?”
Anya took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I think you might be pregnant. I’m no expert, but that’s what it seems like. You should probably go to the doctor’s to get it checked out.”
Buffy sighed and sat down at the table, burying her face in her hands. She then gazed back up at her friend. “I am pregnant, Anya. I took two tests and they were both positive. I have a doctor’s appointment next week. I just didn’t want to say anything yet. I’m not sure how to tell Spike and I wanted it to come from me first. You can’t say anything, not even to Xander.”
Anya didn’t know how to keep this a secret, but she agreed. “I won’t, but you should tell him soon. He’s bound to find out if you keep getting sick like this. Why aren’t you sure about telling him? You already know he likes children.”
“I know that, but we never talked about having kids. I don’t even know if he wanted anymore after Emma.”
Anya waved her hand in the air. “You have nothing to worry about. Trust me; I know he’ll be happy about this. And if not, you can give him many orgasms and hope that he forgets about it.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Is that your answer for everything?”
Anya shrugged and picked up the box of rat’s eyes. “It always works with Xander,” she said, making her way to the back of the store.
Buffy just sat there for a while longer and thought about what she would say to Spike, praying that he would be okay with it.
* * * * *
She smiled when she entered the nursery and saw Spike reading a story to Emma.
Spike smiled as well when he saw her. “Okay, princess. We’ll finish this another time.” He got up and placed the little girl back in her crib, then made his way over to Buffy. “Hey, baby. How was your day?” he said, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.
Buffy pulled him out of the room. “I’ve had better.”
He nodded and closed the door, then led her over to his room, which was now theirs. “Do you need another massage?”
Buffy shook her head. “I don’t think that will really help right now.”
“Are you okay? You’re looking a little flushed.”
She took his hand in hers and pulled him over to the bed, where they both sat down. “I have something to tell you and I don’t really know how to do it.”
He gave her hand a squeeze. “You can tell me anything, love. What’s wrong?”
Buffy took a deep breath. “Okay, I guess I’ll start by saying that I’ve been feeling queasy lately. I’ve been getting sick a lot at work.”
Spike looked concerned. “Is it the flu? Did you eat something that upset your stomach?”
Buffy shook her head and just decided to come out with it. “Spike, I’m pregnant.” She expected him to be in shock, but she never expected the look of fear on his face.
“You’re…You’re what? No, you can’t be.” He shook his head repeatedly and jumped off of the bed, pacing the room back and forth. “This isn’t happening. I knew we weren’t being careful enough. We should have been more careful. I’m a weak man and I don’t always remember a condom, you should have been on the pill. I should have made sure that you were before we ever did anything. We…We can’t be having a baby.”
Buffy felt her heart break, knowing that he didn’t want the baby. She never thought that he would have reacted like the idea was so horrible and felt tears start to from in her eyes, but it was his next words that really got to her.
“I can’t go through that again. I’m not strong enough. I can’t lose you, Buffy. It would kill me. I can’t raise another child on my own.”
Buffy now understood his reaction and instantly got up. She wrapped her arms around Spike, letting him cry against her shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m not going anywhere. You’ll never lose me. I’ll always be here with you.”
He shook his head again. “Elizabeth was taken from me too soon. We never saw it coming. I couldn’t survive if that happened again. Not with you, Buffy. I love you so much. You’re everything to me.”
She flooded his face with kisses and held him tighter. “I’m not my sister, Spike. You will never lose me. We’re going to have a child together. One that’s yours and mine, I couldn’t ask for anything more. She will grow up knowing both of her parents. Nothing will ever take me away from any of you, okay? You, Emma, and this baby are my family now. That will never change.”
Spike pulled away after a moment and wiped his eyes, giving her a small smile. “She?” he wondered.
Buffy smiled in return. “Or he, I just have a feeling that it might be a girl.”
“We’re going to have a baby?”
She nodded and felt relieved by the change in his mood. “Yeah, it looks like it.”
A huge smile formed on his face now as he picked Buffy up and twirled her around.
Buffy laughed and warned Spike about her queasiness, causing him to quickly let her go.
He started to get excited after that and already thought of names for the baby. “How about Ruth?”
Buffy scrunched up her nose in distaste. “I’m going to veto that.”
“Why? It’s a good name. It was my grandmother’s name. It means she’ll be strong and independent.” He stopped to think for a moment. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. My grandmother was a horrible woman, anyway.”
Buffy laughed and slapped him on the arm. She followed him out of the room as he continued to reveal baby names that she would never name her child, but she loved that Spike was so excited. They had quite a journey ahead of them and she could hardly wait.