Dawn walked into the kitchen, just as Giles was setting a kettle filled with water on the stove.
“Hey Giles.” Dawn cheerfully said, plopping herself down on the kitchen stool.
Giles turned to greet her with a smile and said, “Would you like some tea, my dear?”
“Sure.” Dawn shrugged.
Giles sat down next to her at the counter as they both waited for the water to heat up.
“So,-” Giles put a fist to his mouth, coughing awkwardly. “-this, uh, Jarred boy, you like him?”
Dawn looked at him suspiciously, wondering why he was asking her about her boyfriend. He sounded almost like a Father.
“Yeah. I do.”
“Well then, good…that’s good. I want you to know though, that if he ever tries to hurt you or does you wrong in anyway-“ Giles paused to clean his glasses with a handkerchief he pulled out of his front pocket. “-he’ll have Ripper to deal with.”
Dawn smiled at the older man, thankful for his fatherly nature because she needed a Father figure in her life. She leaned over to give him a hug.
“Thanks Giles. You’ve been more of a Father to me than my biological one,“ she pulled away from the hug to say, “but I saw Jarred and Spike talking in the water, so I’m pretty sure Spike already scared him shitless today,“ she laughed. “-if the look on Jarred’s face was any indication.“
Giles let out a hearty laugh and smiled at the thought that he should have known Spike would beat him to it.
Everyone had arrived at the Watcher’s place thirty minutes ago. Xander, Willow, and Kennedy were sitting on the couch, Vi and Rona were on the floor chatting about patrol, while playing cards, and Dawn was sitting on a chair, sipping her tea while looking at a magazine.
Dawn looked up when Giles entered the living room.
“You know, you might want to order some pizza.” Dawn stated, glancing over her magazine.
“Really, and why is that?“ Giles ask, his eyes darting around the room to look at all of the people.
“Uh, because it’s ‘Dinner Night at Giles’ tonight. So I’m betting none of us have eaten,” she puts her magazine in her lap before continuing. “Gee, it’s been like a thing we’ve had since forever.”
“You’re quite right, how could I have forgotten?“ Giles said, as a matter of fact.
Giles turned to walk to the dining room, opened the phonebook, then searched for the number for a pizza restaurant that delivered. From in the living room, Dawn closed her magazine, placed it on the side table, then followed Giles into the dining room.
“Do you know what the nature of Buffy’s discussion will be?“ Giles asked after finding a number.
“Um, not sure, I think it’s something to do with Spike,” she hinted, because she knew it wasn’t her place to fully say.
Giles nodded his head as he dialed the number.
“Is he alright?” the man inquired.
Dawn only nodded her head up and down as she took a sip of her tea.
Giles was about to ask more questions, but stopped short when a young man on the other end of the phone greeted him.
“Yes, hello. I would like to order two larg-” Giles sputtered to a stop as he noticed hand gestures coming from the young girl sitting across from him. “-sorry, make that three”
Dawn changes the amount of finger’s she was holding up, so Giles once again corrects himself.
“No, make that four pizzas, please,” he huffs as, once again, the girl changes her mind. “Five?!” he squealed in shock.
“Yeah.” Dawn said, then took a sip from her tea.
“Yes, I’m very sure this time,” he looks up to Dawn. “He is saying something about toppings…”
“Make one cheese, one pepperoni, and -” Dawn said, giving him a list of toppings, but Giles rolled his eyes and handed her the phone to do the ordering herself.
Xander let out a sigh as he leaned back into the couch and placed his feet on the coffee table in front of him.
“I’m so exhausted from the morning shift,” he yawned. “I rather do nights.”
“Aw, poor, Xander. I can see how sitting at a desk would be so hard.” The red-head said, sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. “What does Rebecca think about you being a cop?”
“I think she’s okay with it. It’s better than coming home with bruises and scratches from tripping at the construction site so much.“ Xander replied.
Kennedy turned a hopeful look to her girlfriend, Willow.
“Wouldn’t it be cool if I applied to be a cop?”
“I don’t know, baby.” Willow smiled grimly, rubbing the other woman’s leg softly.
“Come on, it will bring more money into the house.” Kennedy said, trying to convince the red-head.
“Baby, we have money.” Willow said. They were financially set, so she couldn’t understand why she wanted a job so much.
“Okay, I want my own money then. I want to be able to contribute more.”
“You do, honey.” Willow sighed in defeat. “But if it’s what you really want,” she smiled in understanding.
Kennedy grinned, then leaned over to hug and kiss Willow.
Rona looked up from her deck of cards and asked, “Hey, we’re starving here. Where’s the food?”
“Yeah.” Vi agreed, as she looked up from her pile of cards.
The three adults seated on the couch only shrugged their shoulders in response, then continued on with their conversation about jobs and money.
Buffy and Spike stopped at the front door of the Watcher’s place to share a romantic kiss.
“I love you.“ She shyly spoke, causing Spike’s heart to melt.
“You ready?” Buffy asked in a faint whisper.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Okay, baby.” Buffy smiled, then grabbed his hand to lead them into the apartment.
She stopped short because Spike held her back to face him.
He smiled at her, thinking about their baby.
“I love you, too,” he bent down to plant a kiss on her eyebrow. “You‘re making me the happiest man on earth.”
He bent down further so he was able to capture her lips in a breathless kiss, causing Bufyf to moan into his mouth as she sucked his tongue inside. She pulled away abruptly, gasping for air before bringing him into a hug.
“Sorry, if I’ve done anything to upset you, pet.” Spike whispered in her ear, placing a chaste kiss on the lobe.
“Oh, no. You didn’t,” she smiled. “I just want to hurry this up because you’ve got me all hot and bothered.” Buffy said, throwing him a grin as she looked lovingly into his eyes.
Spike gave her a classic grin of his own before turning suit and bringing them into the living room, their hands laced together.
“Hey gang.” Buffy said, letting their presences known to the group seated in the living room.
The couple walked to the vacant chair that Dawn had once resided in, their friends making comments and jokes about their lateness. Spike pulled her into his lap as he sat down.
“Where’s Giles?” Buffy asked nobody in particular.
“I think he’s in the kitchen with Dawn,” Willow laughed. “They’ve been in there for while now, but you know how difficult it is for Dawn to make decisions when it comes to food. It‘ll take a while to teach him how to order pizzas if she‘s in charge.” Willow answered, causing the room to fill with laughter.
Just then the doorbell rang, causing Dawn to come barreling out of the kitchen yelling, “Got it!”
“Please be food. Please be food.” Xander chanted, his hands clasped together as if praying.
Spike rolled his eyes at the boy’s antics. Some things would never change; that boy did love his food. He looked back down to his hand, that was still wrapped around Buffy’s, as she fiddled her fingers through his in a teasing manner.
Dawn walked back into the living room with a smile and five pizza boxes piled so high that it blocked her face from view.
“Pizza!” a cheerful voice came from behind the boxes.
“Yeah!” Xander, Vi ,and Rona yelled out happily.
Dawn placed the pizza boxes on the coffee table just as Giles walked into the living room, having heard her yell.
“Well kiddies, since everyone is here now, I have somethin’ to say.” Spike said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
“Alright then.” Giles said, the rest of the gang nodding and waiting for him to continue.
Spike gently removed Buffy from his lap so he could sit up straight and tell them the important news. Buffy moved to sit on the arm of the chair. She sighed at being moved, but she understood why, so she rubbed his leg soothingly, giving her lover support.
“I’m human,” he blurted out, not one for dragging it out. “Before you ask: I was a vampire when I arrived- It was the morning after that the change happened,” he took a deep breath before continuing. “So, I’ve been a human now for about a month.”
Saying that everyone in the room was shocked would be an understatement. There was no sound beside the occasional smacking of Xander’s mouth opening and closing. The silence went on for a while, maybe three-four minutes, making Spike and Buffy nervous. Buffy started to tap the arm of the chair impatiently, but Spike hid his nervousness well. He continued to look on, waiting for someone to speak, have some sort of reaction.
“So,” Xander breathed out. “You’re alive-alive, now. Not just undead-alive.” the boy asked, looking at Spike for the answer.
Spike only nodded so Buffy answered for him.
“He’s alive-alive, Xander.” Buffy assured her friend.
Dawn, having already known the news, shrugged her shoulders, then grabbed a slice of pizza out of the box.
“I knew it.” Kennedy nudged Willow on the side. “I told you that I thought he had a tan.” her voice became higher pitched because she was excited she guessed it.
“Yeah, you did.” Willow mumbled, sounding upset.
“That’s so cool.” Vi said, equally as excited as Kennedy.
“Good for you, Spike.“ Vi and Rona said as they walked over to the boxes of pizza to find what they wanted.
Spike looked back at Buffy, then smiled because she winked at him and mouthed ‘I love you.‘
Buffy had noticed that her Watcher didn’t have a reaction to the news. She turned to look at him.
“Giles?” Buffy softly asked.
“What do you want me to say, Buffy?” Giles asked as he took his glasses off to clean them.
Buffy was about to speak, but Spike stopped her short, having something of his own to say.
“I was sorta hopin’ that you can help a fellow out?” Spike confessed.
“Why now, after you’ve been human for, oh say a month?“ Willow chimed in, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Buffy’s head snapped to look at her friend, hurt by her friends tone.
Spike however, wasn’t hurt by the tone, he was annoyed.
“We didn’t want to jinx it,“ he glared at the red-head. “If somethin’ is going good-it always seems to turn to shit.“ Spike looked back to his lover, grasping her dainty hands in his. “And this is a very good thing.“
Buffy blushed under his amorous gaze.
“Right then.” Giles said, “Let’s eat before the food gets cold. Then we will research the news, in which, we have been informed of.”
Xander stretched his arms out in front of him, clasped his fingers together and rubbed them, and then rolled his neck before saying, “Time for the Xand-Man to stuff his face.”
After dinner, people were scattered amongst the house.
Dawn, Vi and Rona were entertaining themselves in the TV room talking about school, boys, and American Idol, which they were watching.
Buffy and Giles were sitting next to each other at the dining table in research mode, books strewn across the table. At the opposite end of the table were Willow and Kennedy in deep conversation.
Xander and Spike were in the living room discussing business.
“So mate, you think I can get a job there?” Spike asked hopefully, leaving against the wall.
“Sure, why not? They hired Mr. Cyclops here,“ he gestured toward his eye patch and laughed. “You can’t just become a cop, but I could get you a job in dispatch. You’re going to need a couple of things, though.”
“For example…” Spike asked, very interested in the promise of a job.
He was going to have a family soon, that he wanted to support like the man of the house he was. He didn’t want Buffy working when the baby arrived.
“Social Security card, drivers license, an I.D,“ the brunette pointed out. “You know, human type stuff.“
“Oh.” Spike said, slightly defeated, “Is that all…“
Where the bloody hell is he going to get all that, he thought to himself.
Giles hadn’t said a word since they sat down and opened the books. She prepared herself to defend Spike from whatever jab he would make up against Spike. Instead the older man sat there, his nose scrunched as his eyes scanned the abundance of books.
Not being able to take the uncomfortable silence anymore she spoke, “ Giles, I know you’re upset, but it’s not a big deal.“
“I’m not upset, Buffy. It was just a shock, and I would like to figure out what has caused this to happen,” he glanced over at Willow then back at Buffy. “I do think you need to speak with Willow though, she seems upset.”
Buffy turned to Willow, just in time to notice her looking at her oddly. Instead of speaking to her, she looked back to Giles.
“Great.” Buffy said, now upset. “ Not only do I have to deal with my boyfriend’s ever changing body-I have to deal with my friends being upset because I decided to keep my personal life-where it should be-personal.”
“Buffy.” Giles sympathetically put a hand on hers in an attempt to calm her.
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that he punched a vampire across the damn graveyard last night.” Buffy finally confessed. She took a deep breath in than out, trying to calm her nerves.
“Dear God.” Giles gasped.
Willow pushed her chair back in anger, then stomped out of the dining room into the kitchen. Kennedy was about to follow her girlfriend, but stopped when Buffy motioned for her to sit down. Buffy got up to follow her friend into the kitchen.
“Will-” Buffy calmly called out to her supposed best friends.
“You know, Buffy. I feel like I don’t even know you anymore. Ever since Sunnydale you’ve been so distant.” Willow blurted out.
“I don’t know what you want me to say to that, Will. Betrayal is kind of hard to get over,” the blonde sadly admitted. “Should I pretend it’s okay? I don’t know how to pretend anymore.”
“Buffy, if this is about kicking you out-”
“I’ve been pretending for too long that that didn’t bother me, and I’m sorry, but I won’t anymore,“ her face turned red with anger. “ What’s done is done, but I need time-my own time. I don’t need to share my time with everyone else. I’ve changed, Willow, and the sooner you get that, the better off we’ll be.“
Willow stared at her best friend in shock. She had no idea that she felt that way. She felt as if she had never really known her. She was always complex, a puzzle you couldn’t ever put together no matter how many times you tried. The only person that had ever been able to put the pieces together was Spike.
Buffy felt bad when she noticed Willow’s look of depression. Everything had gotten so awkward between them since the ‘kicking out’ incident. She probably should have mentioned something, but what mattered is that she finally had. Now it was time to make things better.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you how I felt, and I’m sorry I kept Spike I secret, but we both wanted to wait. I had to respect that, Will,” she smiled at her friend, hoping to break the ice once more. “You know how relationships can be.”
“What did you want to wait for-For someone to try and kill him, now that he’s weak?“ Willow rebutted.
“Uh, he’s not weak.” Buffy said with a smirk.
“I’m sure he still considers himself to be all macho, Buffy, but-“
“He‘s still strong. It‘s like his strength from the vampire in him never left.” Buffy said in amazement.
“What?” Willow asked, her mouth open in shock. ”Oh, wow…. I’m still upset though. Please don‘t keep things from me, Buffy. I want us to be close again.”
Buffy pouted, then subconsciously started to rub her belly. Her pout turned into a smile as she looked up at her friend.
“I have something that will really cheer you up, but you cant tell yet. Spike wants to keep it a secret for now.”
“Okay.” Willow said cautiously.
“He probably wouldn’t mind to much, what with it being apart of me, so I totally have a say who I want to tell,“ Buffy started to grin and jump up and down. “And I'm so excited that I cant hold it in anymore”
Buffy paused, looking around the room for any people that may be stooping, then pulled Willow into a corner.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered, causing her red-headed friend to gasp in shock.