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STAKE YOUR CLAIM


Chapter 11: Part II ‘Second Chances’



Buffy sat quietly watching her three special students while they did their homework together. She had to smile, it was such a study in diversity, these three particular students and in this particular place. They were enscounced at Xander and Anya’s little house, where Buffy had taken to teaching Anya her letters and numbers for a while now. Anya’s baby was due in a month or so, that and the snow outside made it difficult for Mrs. Harris to get to Buffy for her lessons.

Buffy had started coming out to the little house, Connor would bring her and Dawn out in the Gile’s buckboard and then see them home again later, Spike tagging along after. Xander and Anya always had supper ready and set for the traveling schoolhouse, as Dawn liked to call themselves and Connor had began to sit in for his tutoring lessons also.

‘Anything to be close to Dawnie,’ Buffy chuckled to herself, watching the two youngest students, their heads bent over their books. Even at that moment, Connor was glancing over at Dawn, who was glancing right back at him and smiling coyly.

‘Oh, brother!’ thought Buffy, getting suddenly serious, ‘we really need to keep an eye on those two!’

Suddenly, Anya yelped, dropping her quill pen and spilling the little ink well she used all over the dining table Xander had built her.

“Xander!” Anya cried sharpely for her husband, Buffy noticed the woman had turned deathly pale.

“Anya, what is it?” Buffy jumped up and rushed to her, sorry suddenly that Xander had decided to make himself scarce during the tutoring sessions in his home.

“The baby,” Anya gasped, fear in her pretty brown eyes, “it’s coming, I think.”

Buffy’s heart almost stopped right there and she had to take a deep breath before she could speak again, but when she did, she immediately took charge.

“Connor, Dawn, run up to the Ranch house, now! Get someone to find Xander, have Spike and Angel come here with him. Connor either you or another reliable hand get into town immediately and grab Doctor Wilkens. This baby is coming and it’s not going to wait!”

Dawn stood stock still, white as a ghost, for a minute while Connor headed for the door, “Go Dawn, now! And, have Spike bring at least two bottles of unopened whiskey from the house. Can you remember that?” Buffy shouted in frustration, noticing the pool of water that had formed at Anya’s feet.

It terrified Buffy, ‘he’s not going to make it,’ she realized at that moment, ‘the Doctor won’t get here in time.’

That left only one other person to help Anya deliver the child and that was Buffy herself.

“I’ll remember Buffy,” Dawn shouted back as she took Connor’s impatient hand and followed him out the door.

Buffy helped Anya up, no, actually she pulled her up and half carried her to the bedroom where she laid her out on the huge oak bed.

“I’m cold, Buffy,” Anya stammered weakly, “I hurt and I’m scared, Buffy. I’m real scared, it’s too soon for the baby, isn’t it?”

Poor Anya’s voice was trembling from fear as another labour pain ripped through her.

Buffy shivered in slight fear herself, ‘they’re so close together,’ she thought, counting time in her head, ‘too close together.’

“Anya,” Buffy took the her muggy hand in her tiny one, “you are one of the bravest people I know and I truly admire you for that. And I know this is scary, really, but it’ll be okay, I promise.”

She assured Anya firmly as she went about covering her with blankets to warm her shivering body.

“I know about babies and such, honest. I’ll help you Anya, I won’t leave you and Xander will be here soon…”

As if on cue, Xander Harris came storming into the house and headed right for the bedroom. Buffy could hear Spike, Connor and Dawn talking excitedly out in the front room.

Xander sat down next to his wife, a false smile of bravery on his handsome face as he took her hand. Buffy slipped out into the front room to delegate her orders to the three people that stood in apprehension out there.

She started with Dawn; “start boiling water, Dawnie,” Buffy ordered. “When it’s boiled, stick as many small towels you can find in the water and let them steam. Spike,” she glanced at the man before her, “I’ll send Xander out in a short while. Take him outside, keep him there and make him drink as much whiskey as you can.”

She pointed at the bottles of whiskey that Spike and Connor held, noting they had brought three bottles with them, Buffy reached out and grabbed one of them. She reached up on the counter and picked out a good sharp knife, then ordered Spike to open the iron stove door. After she stuck the knife’s blade into the roaring fire of the stove, held it there for a few seconds, she twisted the top off of one of the whiskey bottles. She hurried over to the kitchen sink and proceeded to douse her hands and arms, up to her elbows in the alcohol, along with the hot knife blade.

Spike joined her at the sink and Buffy shivered slightly as he touched her arm gently, “you’re going to deliver the baby, Buffy?” he asked slowly.

Buffy nodded then turned to him as she wiped her hands and arms dry of the liquid, “I’ve seen this before,” she stated simply, “my Mother. I watched when Mammy Buffy tried to deliver my little brother.”

The oldest Giles gazed at her with what Buffy thought looked like admiration, mixed with some fear, “didn’t your brother….”

Buffy stared back at him, “we’ll talk about ‘that’ later. Anya needs me.”

“Buffy?” Dawn whimpered softly, looking extremely frightened, “what are we going to do?”

Buffy gave her little sister a sympathetic look then stated firmly, “you and I are going to deliver a baby, Dawn.”

Her little sister looked as if she was about ready to faint dead away, but Buffy motioned for her to follow as she dragged Spike back into the bedroom.

“Xander,” Buffy began sternly, “you go with Spike and Connor, outside and wait for me to come fetch you when it’s time.”

Xander looked up at Buffy and she swore she saw tears in his eyes; he was terrified.

‘All the more reason he should not be in here,’ Buffy reasoned silently.

“Please go, Xander,” Buffy murmered more gently this time, “I’ll take care of Anya, Dawnie and me both; I promise.”

The tall dark haired man looked longingly at his wife, bent and kissed her moist forehead, mumbling how much he loved her. He then rose and reluctantly allowed Spike and Connor to take him away from there.

“Xander!” Anya whimpered loudly, reaching out to the thin air.

“No Anya,” Buffy took her strong hand in her own smaller one, “Xander needs to be away now. Dawn and me, we’ll take care of you, I promise. Then after this little rascal,” and Buffy smiled warmly and touched Anya’s swollen tummy, “after he or she comes, Xander can come back and see both of you. It’s going to be okay Anya.”

Buffy wasn’t sure if she was trying to assure Anya, herself or both of them, ‘I have to do this,’ she swallowed back her own fear, ‘I’m the only one that can now.’

Anya seemed to relax just a smidgen for a moment, then another labour pain shot through her and she cried out in anguish, “Oh God! I’m going to die, Buffy!”

Dawn began to cry softly from her position on the chair next to the bed and Buffy shot her a stern, warning look, hissing, “Dawnie, pay attention now. Here’s a pocket watch, time the pains Anya has from start to finish. When they’ve passed, you count the time between the end and the next pain. Report the time to me each sequence. I mean it Dawn, you’ll just have to buck up and do this. I’m relying on you and I know you can do this for Anya and me.”

Dawnie looked a little too unsure and very scared, but she took the pocket watch, the one Buffy had borrowed from Spike, and began to watch the time tick on it, counting along in her head.

“You are not going to die, Anya,” Buffy assured the anguished woman, “I won’t let you. I’m going to bring this baby into this world, healthy, safe and put it right into your very alive arms. I love you Anya,” Buffy finished simply, softly, “you are my good friend, you and Xander both. I’d rather die myself then let anything happen to you or your child. Believe me?”

Buffy smiled warmly at Anya who nodded shakily, “I believe you Buffy,” she groaned out.

Another pain hit her and Buffy glanced over at Dawnie, who true to her word, kept watching the face of the watch and counting underneath her breath.

“Oh, Buffy,” Dawn whispered in horror, “I don’t know, that last one, the pain it lasted so long, then the next one came so close to it?”

‘Dawn’s going to lose it,’ Buffy thought with trepidation, ‘she’s not going to be able to keep up with us.’

“Dawn, it’s all right,” she lied to her little sister, knowing full well that it really wasn’t. The baby ‘was’ coming too soon and Anya was already so weak that Buffy feared she wouldn’t have the strength to actually ‘give birth’ to it.

“Buffy?” Anya groaned again, squeezing her hand so hard Buffy thought it might break, “I need to tell you something. I need to talk to you and Dawn…explain some things, for later if I don’t make it. I want you to hear them, please, Buffy I need…..”

“All right, Anya dear,” Buffy nodded and smiled bravely at her, “you can talk all you want, and scream if you have to, from the pain. We’ll listen, Dawnie and I, but promise you won’t talk so much that you weaken anymore, honey, I need you strong for this.”

The brown eyed woman nodded weakly and Buffy felt her relax her grip on her hand while her whole body seemed to calm momentarily. Anya began to talk, almost ramble really, in a low, strained voice filled with pain and sorrow.

“I was the oldest of five kids,” she began, her brown eyes half closed as if remembering. “My real father had died when I was maybe eleven or so. My Mother was pretty, real pretty and it wasn’t long before a man, my stepfather came into our lives. I spose Mama thought he was ‘our’ savior or somethin’ but he turned out to be a real…”

Anya paused and looked over at Dawn who sat stock still in fear, her blue eyes wide with it. Buffy gave Dawn ‘a look’ then squeezed Anya’s hand gently, “go on Anya, honey,” she encouraged her, thinking that the talk might help the poor thing forget some of the physical pain she was enduring.

“I hated him, Buffy,” Anya groaned, again squeezing Buffy’s hand tightly, “he was a mean, nasty thing and he, he always was lookin’ at me, funny, you know? Not like a daddy should, especially when I turned thirteen. By then, he was always tryin’ to get me alone somewhere and saying just awful things to me. Always asking me if I was a tramp, like Mama.”

Buffy began to stroke Anya’s hand lovingly, “it’s okay, honey,” she purred to the pained woman, “you don’t have to say anything more, just…”

Anya tensed up again and Dawnie began her time counting chant, louder this time, “I gotta’ say it, Buffy, Dawn, I gotta’ get this off my chest, in case, well you know. Please hear me….”

Buffy nodded her head, “go ahead then,” and signaled to Dawn to listen, too. It seemed so important to Anya.

“The day I turned sixteen,” Anya hissed, “I ran away, left Mama, my little brothers and sister, that horrible man. Don’t know how, really, no, I do, but I don’t care to talk about ‘that’ today. Eventually, I got here, to the Wyoming Territory and finally ended up at Maggies, where I…..”

Another pain shot through the poor girls body and Buffy worried she just might pass out from it.

“Anya,” Buffy whispered, bringing her hand up to her lips and kissing it lightly, “it’s time now. When I tell you to, you push as hard as you can for me, okay?”

Anya nodded weakly, but smiled bravely.

“And Anya,” Buffy met the woman’s gaze, “please believe this…Xander, this baby, they are your second chance. Everybody gets a second chance Anya, everybody. Even me,” she smiled with glistening green eyes, thinking about Cheyenne, her new life out here and new friends.

“If I die Buffy,” Anya moaned out, “if I don’t make it, Xander, please Buffy. Help my Xander with the baby. He’s such a good man, but he’ll never be able to care for the baby alone, you know that.”

Buffy tensed up and started to cry herself, but covered it, “well, you know I’d do anything for you and Xander, Anya,” she assured her, “but it won’t be necessary. You are going to be fine. Women have been having babies for thousands of years and other women have helped deliver them. You’ll be fine, I mean that. I swear it. Now please, push hard for me honey,” she ordered firmly but tenderly.

“Here,” Buffy tossed Dawn a clean rolled up white towel, “when it’s time, when the pain gets so bad that Anya can’t take it anymore, put that little towel in her mouth. Anya,” Buffy turned her attention back to the pained woman on the bed, “you bite down on that little towel if you need to. If you feel like biting or gritting your teeth together. And scream as much as you want, you’ve earned it.”

Dawn was white as cotton, but she held the little towel in one hand and Anya’s hand in her other. Buffy threw the covers of the bed off of Anya and spread her pale legs wide open to make room for the coming baby.

“Now,” Buffy grimaced as she placed her hands between Anya’s thighs, a sterile white towel close by, “push!” she grunted.

Anya cried out and pushed as hard as she could, “harder!” Buffy cried harshly. She braced Anya’s legs apart with her strong hands and ordered again, “push!”

A little head peeked out to reveal itself to Buffy as she waited patiently for the next session of pushes and Anya’s pained screams.

“Oh, Anya,” Buffy cried in glee, “the baby’s head, I see it. It’s got black thick hair all over the dear little thing!”

She smiled up at Anya who looked like she had been smoking opium all afternoon, her eyes were half closed, her mouth slack in weakness.

“I swear,” Buffy heard Anya groan, “I’ll never let Xander Harris touch me again!”

Buffy almost laughed out loud, but took hold of herself and ordered one last time, “push!” she near screamed, ignoring Dawn’s fearful whimpers.

Suddenly, a little wet tiny body shot out of Anya’s own body and into Buffy’s hands.

Buffy held the child up and began to work the tiny pads of her feet, ‘cry,’ she chanted her prayer to herself, ‘cry and breathe.’

The little dark haired girl broke out in a lusty cry and Buffy damn near broke down and cried herself.

“It’s a girl!” she heard her little sister Dawn cry joyfully.

“Oh! We wanted a little girl, so bad!” Anya cried out, reaching for the child in Buffy’s arms.

“Let me clean her, dear,” Buffy cautioned, “that and I need to…” she glanced at the sterilized knife that lay nearby on the little table. “Dawnie,” Buffy looked at her little sister with so much pride and love at what the girl had helped them with, “you help Anya now. Wipe up her face, brush out her hair. I’m going to clean the little Angel here up and give her to her Mama.”

Dawn quickly found a clean towel and began to wipe Anya’s soaked brow and cheeks, “she’s beautiful, Anya,” Dawnie murmered, tears running down her little face.

“Yeah, she is,” Anya agreed numbly, giggling wildly. Buffy had done a pretty good job of cleaning the baby up and had wrapped her in a soft blanket. She leaned over and settled the child in her Mother’s arms, smiling at Anya lovingly as the woman anxiously took her ‘second chance’ in her arms.

“Can I go get Xander now?” Dawn asked hopefully, “can I tell him he’s got a baby daughter?”

Buffy glanced at Anya who nodded at Dawnie, “you go get that big old handsome husband of mine,” Mrs. Harris sighed weakly, “and yes, you tell him he got what he wanted. A little girl.”

When Dawn had slipped out to retrieve the new Papa, Anya looked up at Buffy and smiled, “thank you, Buffy,” she whispered reverently.

“If you hadn’t been here…”

Buffy shook her head, “like I said,” she took Anya’s hand in her own tinier one, “I’d do anything for you Anya. You are my friend and a good one.”

Anya frowned briefly, “what I said, about not ever letting Xander touch me again…”

Buffy chuckled loudly, “oh Anya, if every woman that said ‘that’ while birthing, actually meant it, human kind would have been doomed years ago!”

Xander stumbled into the bedroom, not too terribly drunk and kneeled next to the bed, taking his wife and child into his massive arms.

“Look, Xander,” Buffy slipped out of the room and the house to give them privacy, but not before she heard Anya say in awe, “look, Xander. Look what we made together.”


A/N: This was supposed to be a longer chapter, but I wrote most of it and then split it in half. Please read and review and I hope this chapter wasn’t too ‘much’ or too sappy. Thanks again. Luv, Spuf





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