Title: Unexpected Blessings Author: Pattyanne snapkik@yahoo.com Disclaimer: Not mine Rating: Varies from chapter to chapter Feedback: Yes, please. Summary: Buffy and Spike have a baby. Pre- quel to "Daddy's Girl" ~~~~~ The Ninth Month ~~~~~ The evening sun had finally set, and Spike was stretched out on the sofa with a cold glass of beer and a novel he'd been looking forward to reading. Ever since Buffy's pregnancy, he had rediscovered his love of the printed word, something he had lost right about the same time he lost his mortality. But after reading up on every baby advice manual he could lay his hands on, he had found himself missing the pleasure of just sitting quietly with an interesting book and losing yourself in the words. So, he had tagged along with his wife to the Sunnydale Public Library one night, and walked out with a card of his own, and a stack of books he'd heard about over the years, but never bothered with. Taking a sip of beer, he set the glass down on the coffee table and propped his feet up, then opened the book. He hadn't gotten halfway through the third page when Buffy's voice interrupted him. "Honey, please! I just polished that table a little while ago." He looked over the top of his book, and saw his wife standing over him. She looked absolutely adorable in a pair of denim overalls that almost completely disguised her "nearly ready to pop" tummy, and she had her hair in two long braids. In her hand, she held a bucket stuffed full of cleaning solutions and sponges, paper towels and dust cloths. "Oh...I'm sorry, love." He removed his feet and placed them on the floor, then glanced up for her approval...but didn't see any. "Something else?" he asked. "The glass. Please..use a coaster," she asked sweetly, whipping one out of her pocket and handing it to him. "Sure, love...anything you...." His voice disappeared when he picked up the glass and saw the very large ring of moisture on the table. "Oh, I'm really sorry...I just...I didn't know...I wasn't thinking..." She shook her head like a country school marm, then extracted a clean cloth and re-polished the coffee table. He made sure the coaster was under the glass, which earned him a "thank you, sweetie" and a brief kiss brushed across his forehead, before she went on her way. Keeping his feet on the floor, he sat back again and re-opened his book. A page and a half later, he was startled out of his seat at the sudden roar of the Hoover a few feet away from him. "Lift your feet!" Buffy shouted over the clamor of the engine. He levitated them a few feet in the air as she pushed the vaccum back and forth many more times than she actually needed to. "Sweetheart.." he yelled. "The carpet isn't exactly covered in filth! I think that's enough! " "What?!" she yelled back. "Can you turn that off, darling?!" She nodded. "I'm almost done in here!" He waited, as patiently as he could, until she toddled out of the room, heading down the hallway. The hum of the motor faded a little, and he went back to his book. The story was just beginning to really peak his interest when he heard a loud thump from the stairs, and looked up in time to see Buffy hauling the heavy vaccum cleaner from one step up to the next, intending to lift the thing all the way up the staircase. "Stop that!" he yelped, tossing the book aside and leaping to his feet. "What? I'm fine!" she insisted, one hand on the machine and the other on her hip. "Buffy, please call me when you want something heavy lifted," he begged for what felt like the hundredth time. "I know you're the slayer and all...but you're pregnant, love. I don't want anything to happen to you or the little one." There was really only one argument that worked with her when it came to this issue, and he wasn't above using it. "Baby, please...you know I like doing these things for you. Please let me." Those words, along with the most earnest and pleading look he could summon up, usually got him his way. He hauled the Hoover upstairs and waited for her to join him. "Will you let me do this for you?" "No, honey...go read your book. I can push the vaccum, it's not hard to push. And I'll be careful," she promised. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I'm positive...go. Read. Relax," she pushed him out the door. When he was back on the sofa, he picked up his book and waited for a moment, listening to the even back and forth motions of the vaccum. It was a soothing sort of sound, something called "white noise" if he remembered his earlier baby info correctly. The peaceful back and forth swish was suddenly accompanied by a distinct thud that could only mean one thing...she was lifting furniture. "Damn it!" he shouted, flinging the book down with a splat! He took the stairs three at a time, and found Buffy on her hands and knees in the nursery, dragging the heavy rocking chair back into place. The crib was completely pulled away from the wall, and the solid oak changing table was slightly out of place. "Buffy!" She jumped, whirling around with a guilty flush on her face. "There was so much dust down there...you wouldn't believe it," she began, but he cut her off by grabbing her hand and tugging her out of the room. "That's it!" he said loudly. "No more cleaning..no more nesting..consider yourself nested until this baby is born." He dragged her downstairs and forced her to sit on the sofa next to him. Picking up the book, he turned it back to page one and began to read out loud. It wasn't long before she was curled up next to him like a kitten, listening intently as he read. Her attention spurred him on to make the story more enjoyable for her, and he employed his entire vocal range to entertain her. After taking a break for her to go to the bathroom, he brought her a glass of orange juice and a bag of chocolate chip cookies. She sat peacefully beside him, only stopping him once to tell him that being "nested" was a lot more fun than working to get there. Five chapters into the book, he closed it up for the night, resisting her pleas for him to continue. "No. Time for you to have a bath and get some sleep." He was firm on the subject, and he knew by how easily she let herself be persuaded, that she must be tired out. She undressed in the bedroom as he ran a tub of luke warm water for her. He helped her step in to the tub and sit down, then he lathered up a soft sponge with bath gel and ran it over the wet silk of her skin, working up a creamy, fragrant lather. He stripped and climbed into the tub behind her, making her lean back against him as he plied the soapy sponge over and over the hard drum of her pregnant belly. The baby moved beneath his touch, seeming to want to play with her daddy already as she kicked and rolled, making her mommy gasp and request that she settle herself down. "See, she's not gonna do that, love," he informed Buffy with a cocky grin. "That's my little girl in there, and she knows her own mind." Buffy smiled, cupping his cheek in her wet hand. "I think you're right," she said. "She sure isn't listening to me. In fact," she oomphed after a hearty kick in the ribs, "I was hoping maybe you could have...a talk with..her." Obligingly, he placed both his hands on her tummy and stroked it gently. "All right now, little girl," he murmured softly. "Mummy wants a little rest now. Be my Princess and settle down for Daddy, hmm? You'll be here with us soon, baby, and I promise you we'll have wonderful adventures together, the three of us. That's my good girl...you sleep now, and Daddy and Mummy will make everything ready for you." Miraculously, the baby stopped her incessant flip- flopping about and settled into one position, with just an occasional little tap of one tiny foot to let her parents know she was still around. "You're amazing," Buffy sighed. "The things you can do with your voice..." He chuckled. "Just don't ask me to sing." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of part 9 Next...ready or not...here she comes