Title: Unexpected Blessings Author: Pattyanne snapkik@yahoo.com Disclaimer: I own nothing Rating: Will vary from chapter to chapter, but nothing higher than NC-17, I promise. Summary: What can I say...Spike and Buffy have a baby... A/N: I wrote this a while ago, but the recent baby fics being posted made me want to toss my hat in, as it were. This is the "prequel" to 'Daddy's Girl', which is not finished yet. So, here goes... ~~~~~ The First Month ~~~~~ "Oh, my God...OH, MY GOD!!" Buffy's voice was loud and pitched high with shock. Down in the living room, Willow leapt off the sofa and ran upstairs to the bathroom that Buffy had excused herself to go to five minutes ago. "What? What's happening?" she panted, certain that she would find something horrible going on. Buffy didn't reply. She was standing, seemingly in suspended animation, staring at something in her hand that Willow couldn't identify. Until she saw the box sitting on the bathroom counter. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again. The box was still there. It was small and white, with big purple letters announcing it's contents. Still, there it sat. Right before her eyes. "Buffy?" she ventured timidly. "This says," Buffy began, staring straight at herself in the mirror. "It says that I'm...." Willow swallowed hard. "Pregnant? But...but you can't be, can you? Vampires can't make babies..right?" "Yes," Buffy said absently. Eyes still locked on her own reflection, she held the test stick up, enabling Willow to see the great, big blue plus sign in the little window on the end of it. "Then how can you be..." Willow's eyes became even wider. "Unless...is there someone...else?" This question broke through Buffy's foggy head. "Of course it's not someone else," she frowned, shaking off her dazed manner. "What a thing to say!" "Well, I'm sorry," Willow said, groping for the right answers to this unexpected news. "It's just that it's so...surprising." Buffy sighed and replaced the test stick in the empty box, handling it with ridiculous care, as though the thing was ticking a countdown and shouldn't be jarred for fear of premature explosion. Willow laced her fingers together nervously. "Then if it's not someone else..and it's not possible for a vampire to make a baby..how did you...I mean, how COULD you...how?" Buffy placed the box back in the bathroom drawer, then flicked off the lights and went downstairs, with Willow right behind her. When they were seated together on the sofa, Buffy looked at her friend. "Something...happened." Willow took her hand. "Do you want to tell me?" "Yeah," Buffy nodded, then took a deep breath. "You re- member a few weeks ago...the birthday party?" "Yeah." "Well...I was in the kitchen...." ********** ********** "So...what did you wish for?" Buffy asked as she sliced cake. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. "I can't tell you that," Spike said, nuzzling the side of her neck. She sighed happily. "Don't do that when I have a knife in my hand. I'm liable to cut off a finger." He chuckled, turning her in his arms. Taking the knife away from her, he placed it on the counter. "Can't let that happen," he said, kissing each finger and then her palm. Buffy smiled. "Come on...tell me what you wished for," she coaxed. "You can tell me." "S'pose I could, but then it won't come true. Isn't that how it works?" She leaned back against the counter. "What are you saying...that my big, bad vampire thinks birthday candle wishes come true? Since when?" In point of fact, he actually felt guilty for making a wish in the first place. He'd alrady been given so much, starting with this girl. Wasn't it tempting fate to ask for more? What if fate got really pissed off and took it all back until he learned not to be greedy? "Since when?" he repeated. "How about...since the first time you told me that you love me?" Buffy's eyes became soft with tenderness. "Well, aren't YOU a smooth talker?" she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Yes, I am," He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her forward until their lower bodies came into contact. Buffy returned the pressure he was applying. "You're not gonna tell me, are you?" "Fraid not, gorgeous." She moved her hips slowly from side to side. "Nothing will pry it out of you?" His body responded to her movements, but he still shook his head. "No," he managed to say. "But...feel free to keep on...prying." Her side to side motion switched to back and forth, with a little grinding pause every time she moved forward. Fully prepared to lower her to the kitchen floor and take her right then and there, Spike's eyes opened wide when she abruptly stopped her teasing. "Hey!" "Suit yourself," she said, pushing him away. "It's just as well anyway. I feel a headache coming on." She massaged her temples. "The kind that lasts for two or three days." "All right! You win," he conceded instantly, yanking her back. "I'll talk. I'll tell you anything you want to know...birthday wishes...state secrets...Oprah's real dress size...pick a subject." "You know," she smiled devilishly. "I kind of thought you might." He gave her a reproving look. "You fight dirty." "Well, I learned from the best." She turned and swiped her finger through the cake frosting. "Taste?" she asked, offering it to him. Spike took her finger into his mouth, licking and sucking the frosting off. When he released it, he scooped up a dollop of the frosting on his own finger, and smeared it across her lips. Buffy closed her eyes when she felt him licking her clean of the sticky chocolate. "God, you taste sweet," he murmured. Before she could even begin to form a reply, they were interrupted. "You know, sometimes you two are absolutely sick- ening." Xander stood in the kitchen doorway, his arms folded across his chest. "Not to put a damper on your kinky fun with food, but are you planning to serve that cake sometime soon?" Buffy gave him the sort of smile usually given to a marginally amusing, but slightly irritating child. "Sorry." "Yeah, I'm sure you are," Xander said. "Look, play games with the leftovers, okay? You have dessert deprived people out there waiting for chocolate cake." Spike turned on him. "All right...the cake is on the way. Why don't you run along and play nicely with the other children until it gets there?" "Guess what?" Buffy said, after Xander left. "I have another can of frosting in the pantry." Spike released her so abruptly that she almost fell. "Then let's get this party over with. Fast." He took a stack of dessert plates out of the cupboard, while Buffy finished slicing the cake. "You never told me what you wished for," she reminded him. He hesitated. "It's stupid," he finally said. She stopped cutting and looked at him. "I'm sure it's not." Leaning back against the counter next to her, he stared at his feet. "I wished...that I could take you outside. In the daytime..the sunlight..just for one day." He shrugged. "See, I told you it was stupid." Buffy smiled at him. "That's not stupid. I think it's a lovely wish." She cupped her hand beneath his chin and made him look at her. "And I love you for making it." He smiled and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You're just..so damn beautiful in the sunlight. I'd love to see you up close in it." Slipping one hand behind her neck, he pulled her closer. "See it dancing in your hair..feel it heating your skin..make love to you in it." Buffy took a deep breath, then sighed. "Ohh...that is so swee-eet," she said. "I don't know why everyone thought you were such a lousy poet, honey." Spike gave her a look. "Why, thank you. You're just TOO kind." "You're welcome," she said brightly, then began trans- ferring cake onto plates. "Listen...I don't give a rat's ass about the sunlight. It's not good for the skin, anyway." He wrapped his arms around her again. "Love you," he said in her ear. "Love you, too," she answered. "And..after everyone goes home, I will give you the best birthday present you've ever had...as many times as you want." They were just about to kiss when a voice floated in from the living room. "We're still wait-ing," Xander sing-songed. Spike dropped his head onto Buffy's shoulder in frustration. "Someday...I'm really gonna kill him." Buffy nodded. "Someday, I'll hold him while you do it," she sighed. "Come on...grab some plates and let's get this party done." He leered at her. "And then the REAL party starts, right? The private one...with the frosting?" "Calm down, Romeo," she said, patting his cheek. "I promise you can eat all the frosting you want...and anything else you might want, too." In the living room, they handed out portions of cake. "What's this?" Xander asked plaintively. "No ice cream?" Buffy straightened up and stared right at him. "Do you REALLY want me to go back into the kitchen, Xander?" He immediately reached for the plate. "You misunderstand," he said. "I meant "No ice cream?" in a good way...because I am...lactose intolerant." He cut off a bite of the cake and smiled at Buffy. "Never touch the stuff." "That's what I thought you meant," she said. "Now, shut up and eat the damn cake." "I'm eating the cake," he said agreeably. "Yum! Good cake!" He turned to Anya. "Am I right?" She just shrugged. "It's all right, for a home made cake, but you could have gotten a better one at the market. Now, THEY know how to make a cake, the ones with the icing roses, and...what? What did I say?" An hour later, Buffy ushered her guests out the door. After closing and locking it, she turned around and saw Spike standing at the foot of the stairs, tossing a can of chocolate frosting from one hand to the other. Snatching the can in mid-air, she grabbed his hand and led him up the stairs, where they fell into bed and made feverish love until they were too tired to go on. Buffy woke shortly before sunrise the next morning, sensing, even in her sleep, that something was different. Lying half on top of Spike, her cheek pillowed on the hard muscle of his chest, she smiled as she listened to the steady thump of his heartbeat. Instantly, her head snapped up. His heartbeat?! Spike didn't have a heart beat! Hadn't had one for more than a century. "What the hell..." His normally cool body was warm beneath her, and she stared in fascination at the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. "I'm dreaming...this is a dream...a really GOOD dream." Spike stirred at the sound of her voice. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart," he mumbled, one hand gently rubbing her back. His hands were warm too! And other parts of him, she quickly realized, were down- right hot! Carefully lifting the blanket, she peeked down at his semi-hard erection. Forgetting for the moment about everything else, Buffy smiled and moved down in the bed, under the blanket. Wrapping her fingers firmly around his shaft, she took it into her mouth, sucking it gently. His eyes snapped open, and his hips lifted instinct- ively. "Christ.." he muttered, still half asleep. "B-Buffy?" "Down here," she said. "Don't mind me. You just go on with what you were doing." He chuckled. "You're the boss, baby." Buffy continued working over him, her lips and her tongue sliding up and down, licking and sucking him until she brought him to a swift and powerful orgasm. "Bloody hell," he panted. "You..you were right. Best damn birthday present...I ever had." She smiled and kissed him. "Don't be too sure of that." Taking his hand, she pressed it, palm down, over his heart. "WHAT THE HELL..?" He jackknifed into a sitting position. Buffy sat up beside him. "That's what I said." He stared at her in shock as she climbed into his lap and pressed herself against him. "Your skin is warm," she said softly." "What's happening?" he asked. Buffy loved the wonder and amazement in his eyes, wishing it would stay there forever. She cupped his face in her hands. "I could be wrong...but I think some- one got his birthday wish." Spike shook his head in denial. 'That's not possible." She rolled her eyes. "What, are you kidding me? We live on the Hellmouth, where ANYTHNG is possible." "Now," she added, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We don't know how long this might last, so...I say we don't waste one second of it." "That's my girl," Spike said, trying to lower her to the bed. Buffy didn't allow it, pulling away and getting out of bed. "Not yet," she teased, tugging on his hand. "Where are we going?" he asked, grinning. She gave him her sexiest smile. "We're going outside to play." ********** ********** Willow sat staring at Buffy with wide, fascinated eyes. "Well," she finally said. "You were right about one thing...anything is possible on the Hellmouth." "Mmm," Buffy murmured, her eyes a little dreamy. Seeing the expression on her friends face, Willow smiled. "So..how do you feel about this? Happy?" Buffy leaned back on the sofa, crossing her arms over her stomach. "It's all still sinking in, but...yeah, I'm happy. I never thought I'd have a baby." "Never?" "No. Actually, I didn't expect to survive long enough to..don't make that face, you know it's true..plus, the two men I've loved are both vampires. No babies there." "So you thought." Willow squeezed Buffy's hand. "I'm so happy that you're happy." "Yeah?" Buffy smiled. Willow nodded. "Yeah. Cause, I gotta tell you..I'm so excited that I can't stand it. A baby! A little baby Buffy!" she squealed. Buffy rubbed her flat tummy. "It might be a boy." "Nope," Willow shook her head firmly. "It's a girl, I know it is. And she's gonna be so cute and we'll all love her so much!" "I know you will." Buffy frowned slightly. "Gee, I can't wait to see the look on Giles' face. Who ever heard of a pregnant slayer?" "Oh, pooh." Willow waved one hand airily in front of her face. "You and Spike have been together for three years now, and Giles is cool with it." "Yeah, but..." "Besides..what CAN he say?" Willow demanded. "It's already a...a fait accompli." "It's a what?" "It's gonna happen. And, as far as the slayage goes, we'll get you through that. Spike's just about as good as you are, and everyone else will pitch in too and take over while that little cake is baking. It'll be fine." Buffy looked at her friend seriously. "I appreciate that Wil..because I'm not taking any chances with this baby. It's probably the only one I'll ever have..and I KNOW it's the only Spike will have." She shook her head. "No way am I gonna let anything happen to her." "Her?" Willow teased. Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I think it's a girl, too. I don't know why, but I just...it's like I can hear her little soul talking to me. I've gotta keep her safe, Wil." "Oh," Willow's eyes were a little teary. "That is just...it's the most..." She sniffled. "Oh, Buffy...I think I'm gonna cry." "I might join you," Buffy said, wiping at her own eyes. They sat quietly for a bit, each girl lost in their own thoughts, until Buffy broke the silence. "I wish my mother could know." Willow took Buffy's hand again. "I'm sure she does. She's watching somewhere..and I'll betcha she's smiling." "I know," Buffy said with a shrug. "I just wish she was here..you know..to help me through it." "Help you through what, luv?" Both girls jumped at the sound of Spike's voice. "I'm sorry," he said, smiling as he entered the room. "I thought you heard the door open." "Oh..no," Buffy spoke first. "We were..." "Talking," Willow supplied. "Yeah...talking. And..I guess we just..didn't hear you?" Buffy added, then cleared her throat. Spike leaned over to kiss her. "Must have been a heavy subject," he observed. "Well, it WILL be," Willow muttered under her breath. "What was that, Red?" "Nothing." She stood up suddenly. "I've gotta get going. Come and walk me out?" she asked Buffy. "Sure." Buffy stood up and looked at Spike. "Be right back, 'kay?" Spike narrowed his eyes slightly, sensing something. "I'll be upstairs," was all he said. Willow waited on the porch until Spike went upstairs, then said quietly. "I know it's none of my business, but...how's he gonna take this?" Buffy shrugged. "He'll be...surprised. That's a given." She walked with Willow to her car, watching as she unlocked it and climbed in. "But, he'll take care of me," she said, smiling. "He loves me." Willow smiled back. "He sure does." Inserting the key in the ignition, she started the car, then looked at Buffy again. "If someone had told you years ago that you'd be having a baby with Spike...." "I'd have had them committed to an insane asylum," Buffy finished the sentence. Willow revved the engine and began to back out of the driveway. "Call me tomorrow?" "I will." Buffy waved, then turned and walked back to the house. She closed the door and turned off the porch light, then took a deep breath and headed up the stairs to inform her lover that he was going to be a father. ********** ********** She found him waiting for her, stretched out on their bed. Stepping into the room, she closed the door quietly behind her. Spike smiled, patting the empty space on the mattress next to him, inviting her to join him. Buffy sat down beside him and took his hand. He tugged gently, urging her to lie down with him, but she resisted the pull. "We need to talk," she began nervously, suddenly uncertain that he would be turning cartwheels over her news. Spike sat up. "Is something wrong?" "Well...no. Not exactly. I just..." She looked at him. "Why would you think something's wrong?" "Because nothing good ever happens when a conversation starts with those four words." "That's not always true," Buffy said, twisting her fingers together. "Sometimes...well it just depends on your point of view. You shouldn't assume..." "Buffy." He held up one hand. "Stop stalling." Like a man on the gallows with a rope around his neck, the wait was almost worse than the drop. She paused to collect her thoughts and put them in some kind of coherent order.. "Do you remember your birthday party." "Vividly," he grinned. "S'pecially the after party fun and games." He ran one hand up her arm caressingly. "Is that what we need to talk about, luv?" "Sort of," Buffy nodded, gamely plowing ahead. "But, more specifically the cake? And even MORE speci- fically..the candles on the cake?" This conversation wasn't going at all the way he'd hoped, and it was making him nervous. "Buffy! Please!" "Okay!" She ran a hand through her hair. "You made that wish..and then the next morning for whatever reason..you..you were...." "Alive?" he offered. "Yes! That!" She jumped on the phrase. "And while you were..." Spike rolled his eyes. "Alive," he said again. Buffy sighed. There was no subtle way to say what needed to be said. He'd never guess it in a thousand years. Mentally hollering "Geronimo!" she jumped out of the plane. "While you were alive we made love for hours, and since you were alive, all of your bodily fluids were alive right along with you and you got me pregnant,' she said, without pausing to breathe. She peeked up at him through her bangs, bracing herself for the shell shocked expression she expected to see on his face, and was puzzled when she didn't see it...because it wasn't there. Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, Spike sat silently, until Buffy couldn't stand it anymore. "Did you hear what I said?" she asked. "Yeah," he replied, a tiny smile forming on his lips. Buffy was confused. "I just told you that I'm pregnant." "I know...I heard you." "By you!" "Well, of course by me," he said. "Who else could it be?" he asked cheerfully. The room was silent for a count of thirty. "I'm NOT kidding!" Buffy burst out suddenly. "I believe you." Jumping to her feet, she began to pace around the room, a habit she'd picked up from him. "What the hell is the matter with you?" She stood in front of him, hands on her hips. "How can you be so damn casual about this?" she demanded, glaring at him. "You act like you already...." She stopped when she saw his eyes shift somewhere to the left of her. It only took her a moment to figure out why. "No..." she said, shaking her head slowly in denial. "No, you couldn't possibly...." He smiled guiltily. "..have known....you KNEW?? Is THAT what you're tell- ing me?" she asked shrilly. "No!" he said quickly. "I'm not saying that I knew...just that I...suspected." "HOW?" Buffy yelled. "How could YOU suspect before I suspect...ted?" Spike reached for her hand, pulling her back down on the bed and into his arms. "Your body, sweetheart," he tried to smooth her over. "It's changing. I can sense it, especially when we make love. And..you missed your monthly." "How do you...?" He gave her an "Are you kidding?" look, and interrupted her. "I always know when you're bleeding, luv..no matter where it's coming from." Well, that was true. She had once broken a glass in the kitchen and cut her finger while cleaning it up, and he'd smelled it all the way upstairs in their bedroom. "I don't believe this," she grumbled. "You already knew!" "No, I just...thought," he said, wishing he'd kept his mouth shut and acted surprised. He pulled her into his lap and kissed her cheek. "Well, you MIGHT have mentioned it!" Buffy scowled. "And miss all this? Not bloody likely," he replied, nuzzling her neck. She was trying hard to maintain her aggravation, but it was damn near impossible to do when he touched her that way. "Okay, you know," she finally said. 'How do you feel about it?" He was silent for a moment. "It's an awfully big respon- sibility, you know." "Uh-huh," she agreed. "I've been thinking about it...and...well..." "And..well..WHAT?" Spike shrugged. "Doesn't sound so bad." "Doesn't sound...." she echoed. "Now THAT'S a ringing endorsement." She struggled out of his lap and tried to leave the bed. "Thanks so much for all the positive...HEY!" He grabbed her, wrestling her down into a prone position and throwing one leg over her to pin her to the bed. Dark blue eyes stared intently down into hers. "Do you know..do you have ANY idea what you've done." "What I've done? What I'VE done??" she squealed in disbelief. "You know, I wasn't exactly all by myself when it happened. If you think..." "YOU" he cut her off, clapping one hand over her mouth, "..have given me everything I never thought I'd have. Your love...and this home with you...and now a child." His eyes were soft with emotion. "And I don't deserve any of it." Buffy pushed his hand away from her mouth. "Honey..." "No...let me say this," he insisted. She remained silent, looking up at him. "I don't deserve any of it," he said again. "Not you..or the home you've made with me..and definitely not this child." He smiled at her, smoothing her hair. "But I promise I'll do right by you...and by this baby. I swear to God, I will." Buffy smiled at him, with slightly trembling lips. "I already know that," she said. "I trust you..and I love you." "I love you, too," he replied. "Don't cry." She sniffled. "I can't help it. I'm happy and I have to cry." Spike shook his head and chuckled. "That makes no sense." He grabbed a piece of the sheet and mopped her cheeks. "Come on now...big slayers don't cry," he scolded. "Blow." "Not on the sheets." She turned her face away. "I'll change them." "No. Just get me some tissue." He brought her a handful of kleenex from their bath- room. "So," he said, sitting beside her again. "What's the first thing we do?" Buffy tossed the used tissue into the waste basket. "A trip to the doctor, I guess. I'll make an appointment tomorrow." She looked at him and smiled. "Want to come along?" Spike looked surprised. "He's got evening hours?" "No, but there's underground parking and an elevator straight to the office." She grinned. "Just stay away from the windows." He smiled back at her. "I'll be there." Taking her arms, he pulled her over until she was more or less on top of him. "How do you feel about having sex with a pregnant lady?" she asked, after a long and intense kiss. "Uncertain," he said. His answer surprised her. "How come?" Spike fiddled with her hair. "I'm afraid I'll hurt you...or the baby." He shook his head. "I don't think we should." Hoping he wasn't going to say THAT for the entire nine months, Buffy looked at him and sighed. "We did it last night and I was pregnant then," she reminded him. "Yeah, I know..." He looked positively gloomy, and Buffy knew she had to put an end to this immediately. "Look, honey...I don't want to sound crude, but do you honestly think you're gonna be able to go for months without sex?" "There's always..." She shook her head. "I mean REAL sex...not low im- pact substitutes." Moving closer, she nibbled the hard line of his jaw, while sending one inquisitive hand down the front of his shirt. "Slayer." He grabbed her hand. "Be good." "Oh, I will be, lover," Buffy whispered, licking his ear lobe. "You can count on it." With a soft moan, he tangled his fingers in her hair and captured her mouth beneath his. Buffy parted her lips and slipped her tongue into his mouth, dancing it lightly over the edges of his teeth and wrapping it around his. "Come on, baby," she murmured against his lips. "Don't you want to?" "You know I do." He rolled them over on the mattress, until he was above her. "I always want to." She tugged his shirt out of his jeans, pulling it up and off, and tossing it to the floor. Dragging her nails down his spine made him jerk up and arch his back. "Again," he grunted through clenched teeth. "Harder." She gave him what he begged for, leaving long red scratches up and down the length of his back. Spike rose to his knees and straddled Buffy's hips, then began to undress her. When he had all the buttons of her shirt undone, he pulled it open. She watched him as he slowly leaned down and pressed his lips against her abdomen. "Hello, baby," he said softly. Buffy didn't reply, since she knew he wasn't talking to her. She unfastened the clasp of her bra as he moved his mouth up her body. Looking down, she met his gaze with hers. "Hello, mommy," he grinned. She giggled. "H'lo daddy." Laughing with her, he buried his face against the side of her neck. "This is so bloody sweet that I'm making MYSELF sick." With a soft groan, he added, "What the hell have done to me, Slayer?" "Domesticated you? Settled you down?" She snapped her small teeth teasingly. "Tamed you?" "Yeah," he agreed. "That's the one. You tamed me, girl. Made me all soft and mushy...and tender." "You love it," she accused. "I really do," he said. "I gotta have it." Pulling him back down, she closed her eyes when he kissed the hollow between her breasts. "Well then," she moaned. "Come and get it." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Part One