Disclaimer: Joss said we could, right?

Author’s note: Many huggles to Bloodytearsoflife for the great betaing.
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Chapter 4: Anya’s news

“Explain!“ ordered Buffy once they were in the safety of the cab and on their way back to her dad’s house.

Anya sat back against the upholstered seat and sighed. “Look, I don’t know how this is your business. I’m annoyed with myself for telling Spike. He’s being over protective and grr.“

“Of course he is,“ said Buffy patting her husband’s hand. “It’s Dawn.“

“She’s so young, I mean. Sure, she had the Xander crush before her crush on Spike, but, it’s Xander. Shouldn’t he be all brotherly?“ asked Anya as if imploring some higher power to answer her question.

“It’s going to be all weird and icky in London now. Not that’s she’s there very often. Just every weekend. Damn over achieving watcher wannabe. I wish I had exploded Xander Harris’ brains out long ago.“ Anya crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the seat of the taxi.
“I thought you were with the watcher now?“ asked Spike.

“I am! But I don’t think Xander needs to be happy until I have everything he didn’t give me. The wedding, two point five kids, the house with the white picket fence and the dog that barks at the mail man. He can’t have that with Dawn until I have it with Rupert.“

“Do you think he will?“ asked Buffy.

“Xander, he proposes to anything with two legs,“ said Anya bitterly.

“I think he’s a little more discerning than that, Anya,“ placated Buffy. “’Sides, I was talking about you and Giles. Are you that serious?“

Anya let a big smile grace her face. “I have to go back to London. I’m staying the weekend. There’s a charity function that Rupert needs a date for tomorrow night. I bet Xander and Dawn are going to be dates too. Ok, I’m off.” Anya brought her hand up to wave goodbye, but instead Buffy snatched her hand.

“Anya, uh, cab?” said Buffy pointedly, as if it should have been obvious.

“Oh, did you want me to chip in my share of the cab fare?” asked Anya innocently.

“No, you can’t just teleport in a cab...the driver...” Buffy hissed.

“Oh, ya. Okay, I’ll wait,” said Anya, crossing her arms. “I’m not sticking around to meet your stepmother though.”
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Buffy felt sorta obligated to spend some time with her father. She cursed Spike’s vampirism as she had to be taken out by her father and Valery for shopping, to see the sights, to take the kids to the beach, etc.

Valery and her dad didn’t even hold hands once while they were out.

The truth of the matter was, Buffy would have much rather have spent time with Angel than with Valery, and that was saying something in itself. Time was spent with Angel though as well. Kennedy’s body was sent back to her parents in Connecticut, only after an appropriately long memorial service attended by the AI crew and a smattering of those who survived the destruction of Sunnydale.

Willow even said some kind words. Buffy thought they were quite charitable. Of course the service wasn’t just for Kennedy. Faith and Robin were mentioned too. Their bodies lying in a morgue in New York waiting to be claimed and buried. It was Faith who was in Buffy’s thoughts more than Kennedy.

She’d begged Faith to lay off the slaying. She wasn’t a slayer any more, Faith had the opportunity to have a life. She’d begged Faith to stop slaying when Richard was born. She’d begged and pleaded, afraid of just this sort of thing happening.

And it did.

She hoped to the PTB that there wasn’t any more like that ugly thing she’d killed. Buffy Graves didn’t want to bury anymore of her friends this year.
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Back in Cleveland the moving began. It was sad to do, but it had to be done. Anya was moving into Dawn’s room. Dawn’s stuff was moved into storage. Buffy had no idea when Dawn would be back to stay, or if she would be coming to stay at all. Richard moved into Anya’s room, new baby stuff and some of the stuff that they’d taken from New York filled the room. Little boy blue covered the walls, altering it significantly from what it had looked like in Anya’s occupancy and even more so from Ariel’s short habitation.

More stuff in the storage space.

Niki was moved into Cat’s room, not altering the room much at all. She was quiet but active, always moving around, wiggling, kicking off her socks.

“She’s gonna be just like her mum,” commented Spike as he laid her down for her nap the day after they’d gotten back to Cleveland.

“Let’s hope it’s without the ‘killing people’ phase,” joked Buffy.

“Not with you raising her,” he added. “You’ll keep this one on the straight and narrow. You’ll be a great mum.”

Spike’s words made Buffy’s thoughts swirl, and she spoke them aloud. “I keep thinking about what Ariel said when she was here. Ariel looked up to Niki. She’s gonna be a potential Spike. She’s gonna die before she has a life, like her mother, like Kennedy. I look at her now and see such hope for her and I know it’s all in vain. Maybe we should give her away, put her up for adoption. Anything to get her away from us, from this life...”

Spike, took his wife by the shoulders and forced her to look in his eyes. “Anything you do now, other than what the powers have made happen already could change everything. I won’t have you risk Ariel and Cat. How do you know if Niki would want another life than what her mother had? It was good enough for Faith. Let the little one make her own choices when it’s time. She’s got years to go.”
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The addition of the children to Buffy’s life filled a void and a need in her daily routine. She could be the devoted mother during the day, like she’d wanted to be, and the vigilant slayer at night like she had been chosen to be. She only had a few days a week when she actually had classes to attend, leaving the care of the babies to Anya, if she was home, or Andrew.

Increasingly Anya was not home though. She was at her store, or in London with ‘Rupert’. Buffy barely saw her last remaining local female friend at all.

It was time to get some new friends.

Buffy registered for a Moms and Tots group in the demon side of town, with the intention of making Niki and Richard used to being around demons, good demons, and growing up knowing the difference. It took a few sessions to make the other moms realise that she wasn’t there to slay them and their children.

But she really didn’t make any friends.

It bothered her, a lot. Spike could tell. In the darkness of their room just before dawn he would hold her and wonder exactly how he could make life better for her. Slaying, Niki and Richard were her life. As she grew older, not aging, what friends she had would die away, leaving her with him and no one else. They were friends. Friends, lovers, life partners. But she needed a friend to do the girly thing with. She wouldn’t be able to rely on the rest of the Scooby gals. They’d left for non hellmouthy pastures.

Spike could hear wriggling in the crib in the room next to theirs. Niki was awake and soon her whimpers would wake Buffy, the dutiful adoptive mom. Planting a kiss on her temple, Spike slipped out from between the covers and found his pants, looking to see to the baby before she could wake Buffy.

There was a flash and a puff of smoke as Anya popped into the room.

“Bloody hell demon girl!” he hissed, but it was too late, Buffy was awake and staring at her friend.

“What’s wrong Anya? Is Dawn ok?” she asked worried but sleepy.

“Giles asked me to marry him!” gushed Anya, turning on Buffy’s bedside lamp and showing off her ring.

“This couldn’t wait until bloody morning?” asked Spike annoyed.

“No! You are my friend and I wanted to share the happiness! Besides he had to go to a meeting,” explained Anya.

“I’m happy for you, Anya,” yawned Buffy, reaching to give Anya a hug. “But next time something life changing happens? Can you do the math for the time difference?”
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After months of planning and preparation, because Anya had wanted to make her wedding with Giles even better than her wedding with Xander, the Hellmouth was abandoned and the chosen one and her family were relocated to jolly old England for the festivities.

Buffy stepped off the plane, Niki and Richard in tow, and into Dawn’s waiting hug. A year away from each other had been terrible. Xander was at Dawn’s side, which made Buffy look at her friend warily.

He raised his hands in defence. “I know what Anya’s told you. She’s got it all wrong.”

Buffy looked at him suspiciously. “Are you sure about that?”

“Xander!” hissed Dawn, trying to get him to be quiet.

“Anya told me about the smoochies,” commented Buffy, readjusting Niki on her hip.

“That’s all it was!” protested Dawn. “Just some smoochies, heat of the moment, much thinking and talking about needed.” Dawn nodded her head emphatically as she spoke.

“Absolutely,” Xander agreed, nodding right along with his partner in crime.

Buffy looked between the two and shook her head sadly. They weren’t doing a very good job of covering up.

“Where’s Spike?” asked Dawn, trying out a new topic of discussion.

“He travelled cargo. We couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t get burnt by the stray ray of sunshine this time around. I have to pick him up at the large freight counter.”

Xander snickered at the comment but kept his tongue in check, as he scooped up Richard and walked with Buffy and Dawn to pick up their own luggage before getting Spike.

“Have you seen the bride’s maids dresses yet?” Buffy asked worried as she waited for her suitcase to drop down on the conveyer belt.

“Yep,” began Dawn with a grim smile. “They are hideous, as usual. But at least they are a semi decent colour this time.”

“I inspired the radioactive green,” chimed in Xander.

Buffy looked back at her male friend for a moment before settling her eyes back on the belt, not wanting to miss the luggage. “You are taking this a lot better than I thought you would. I’m proud of you Xander.”

“Aww shucks, Buffy,” he joked. “I’m happy for her. Really I am. I figure those who have died get a free pass about their love lives. I just haven’t fallen into that category yet. I’ll probably stay dead and then the fun goes right out of that party.”

“Nah, Willow would bring you back,” offered Dawn, taking his free hand, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by the slayer.

“Ooh! Luggage. Black one,” interjected Buffy.

“They are all black!” noted Dawn.

“Not true. I bought Niki a purple one and Richard’s is green,” explained Buffy. “It’s not my fault that Spike thinks he’ll be a ‘bloody ponce’ if his luggage is anything other than black.”

The four pieces of luggage secure (two black, one green and one purple), the merry band of Scoobies headed to the freight counter to claim Spike.

“What did you say was in there Buffy?” asked Dawn as the attendant went to find the crate in the back.

“Oh, he’s just a body. You wouldn’t believe the paper work. I couldn’t take the risk that they’d x-ray the contents and be like ‘crap it’s a body!’ That would have been a nightmare.”

The attendant came back to the counter.

“Every thing seems in order here, ma’am. I’m sorry for your loss. If you’ll have the hearse come around you can pick your dearly departed up.”

“To the hearse!” exclaimed Xander jokingly. He caught the eye of the attendant and thought better of his outburst. Death maybe wasn’t something you joked about in mixed company.
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The babies strapped in, Spike free from his wooden box, the group sped towards the Council building post haste.

Anya and Giles greeted them at the door.

“It’s about bloody time you got here!” exclaimed the watcher, ignoring all others and reaching forward to hug Buffy.

“I missed you too Giles,” whispered Buffy, glad for once that she had handed off Niki to Dawn, as her watcher hugged her tightly.

Giles pulled back from the hug and let his eyes travel to the two children in the group. Niki was sleeping soundly in Dawn’s arms and Richard, ever the quiet one, was looking wide eyed at the new people from Spike’s arms.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have lots of cute babies of our own very soon. You can’t have these ones, Buffy’ll get all mad,” observed Anya.

“Oh, great, now Anya’s gonna have kids before I do!” moaned Buffy, as if the thought had just occurred to her.

“Don’t you have enough to deal with?” asked Dawn. “And could we please go in? The British already think we American’s are strange.”

“Yes, we soon will be inundated with Americans,” noted Giles ushering in the group and ignoring Anya‘s comment. “Willow and Oz are travelling here tomorrow.”

“The Americans are coming, the Americans are coming!” spouted Xander.

Dawn whapped him on the arm.
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tbc...