Chapter 14
“Spike, would you please stop pacing? You’re making me dizzy.”
He stopped moving and turned to look at her. “Sorry, being in here just makes me uncomfortable.”
“I told you that you didn’t have to come with me.”
Spike shook his head. “The one thing I regretted with Elizabeth is that I wasn’t around as much as I should have been when she was pregnant with Emma. I’m going to be there for everything with this child. Besides, the sonogram is very important. I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Buffy’s response was cut off by the arrival of the doctor.
The woman entered the room, with a warm smile on her face. “I’m Doctor Winifred Burkle, but you can call me Fred. Why don’t you just lay down for me, Buffy? The gel will feel cold at first, but this is so we can make sure you have a healthy baby.”
Buffy nodded and followed the doctor’s orders. The gel was cold, but it felt good on her heated skin.
Spike was holding her hand the whole time.
Fred smiled once she was finished. “Well, everything looks good. You’re about three months along and I’m getting two very strong heartbeats.”
Buffy and Spike’s eyes both widened.
“Did you say two heartbeats?” she asked in shock.
Fred nodded. “Yes, you’re having twins.”
Buffy couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Spike wrapped his arms around her. “This is bloody amazing.”
She was just relieved that he seemed to be okay with it.
“Would you like to know the sex of the babies?”
Spike looked at Buffy, who shook her head. “No, we would rather be surprised,” he said to the doctor.
Fred nodded and printed out the picture of their sonogram.
Buffy was still lost in her thoughts. She really hoped that she would be able to handle all of this.
* * * * *
Willow was watching Emma while they were at the doctor’s. She was ecstatic with the news of them having twins, but Buffy was still in shock.
Spike helped her upstairs and into their room after Willow left. She looked like she might pass out at any moment. “Love, are you all right?”
Buffy sat down on the bed and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting this.”
“Neither was I, but it’s a good thing, right?”
She took his hand in hers. “It’s a very good thing. I mean, having twins is just like having one baby. I can handle this. It doesn’t hurt that much, right?”
Spike ran his fingers through his hair. “Uh, hardly any pain. It’ll probably be a piece of cake.”
Buffy raised her eyebrows. “You’re a terrible liar. How would you know, anyway? I need to talk to someone that’s been through this. I’m calling my mother.”
Spike stopped her from getting up. “You don’t need to call your mother right now, Buffy. I promise you’re going to do fine. I’ll be there with you through everything. You’re not alone.”
She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. “Thanks, that means a lot. I could only imagine how scared Elizabeth must have been when she found out that she was pregnant.”
Spike laughed. “Scared? I’ve never seen her so happy before. She loved the idea of having a child; the pain never even crossed her mind. Well, not until the actual labor.”
Buffy looked up to notice the sad expression on his face. “I’m sorry, Spike. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Don’t worry about it, pet. Your sister will always hold a place in my heart, but I love you. I believe that everything will work out.”
“I just know that she would have made an amazing mother. She talked about having kids since she was little. It was never something that I wanted. I didn’t even think that I was mother material. I always figured I would screw up if I had any children.”
Spike caressed her cheek. “You are already a wonderful mother, Buffy. You’re great with Emma and I know you’ll be amazing with the twins. You have nothing to worry about.”
Buffy nodded and decided to change the subject. “Well, we better be thinking of boy and girl names. We could be having one of each now.”
Spike thought about it. “I don’t know. I think they might be girls.”
“Don’t you want a boy?” she wondered.
He shrugged. “Boys might be too much to handle when they get older.”
“Oh, if only you were around when I was growing up. Trust me; girls are just as hard, especially when they start dating.”
He looked appalled by that idea. “No daughter of mine is going to be dating until she’s at least thirty.”
Buffy patted Spike on the back. “You keep telling yourself that, honey.”
* * * * *
Spike and Buffy were out at the Bronze a few nights later. He didn’t really want to go, but Buffy insisted that she needed some fun before she would start to show too much.
Emma was with Joyce and Hank for the night. They wanted to get to know their granddaughter better.
Buffy was feeling parched and went to get a glass of water, assuring Spike that she could handle it on her own. She stopped suddenly when she reached the bar at the sight of a familiar man sitting there, throwing back a few shots.
He slammed the glass down and ordered another one.
Buffy tried to get away without being noticed, but there was no such luck.
“Hey, I wanna talk to you.”
She sighed and turned to face the drunken man.
Ben got up and made his way over to her. “How could you treat your sister like that? Did you know that she thought the world of you? And you just left her heartbroken. How long have you been screwing that worthless husband of hers? No wonder she came to me. He never could have loved her the way I did. You’re nothing compared to her. You don’t even deserve to have the same face as Elizabeth.” He shoved her in his anger and caused her to stumble back a little.
Buffy would have probably fallen if it wasn’t for the hard body that she bumped into. She looked up to meet the fuming eyes of Spike, who was glaring daggers at Ben.
“You don’t ever push her again, wanker. I think you need to get out of here before I really make a scene.”
Ben didn’t even look afraid. “I don’t have to listen to you. Elizabeth always complained to me about how much you were always working and never there for her. She was the most perfect woman in this world and you didn’t even appreciate her. I hope you and the slut are real happy together,” he spat, then stormed out of the club.
Spike softened his gaze when it landed on Buffy. “Are you okay, love?”
She nodded and forced a small smile on her face. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
He could tell that she didn’t seem so sure and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t listen to anything he said, Buffy. The git doesn’t even know us.”
“Spike, can we just go home now?”
He nodded without hesitation and took her hand, pulling her away and out of the Bronze.