“I’m WHAT?” Spike demanded. When they’d discussed the whole Spike-is-pregnant thing, Buffy had agreed to the labor part. HE was not supposed to be anywhere NEAR pregnant during that part. Another crippling contraction ripped through him.

“Breath Spike, breath,” Tara soothed, rubbing circles on his back. He could feel the muscles in his body trying to push the baby…only there was no where to push. They needed to get the baby out of Spike, in one way or another, very soon. A pained cry from the vampire in question drew Buffy’s attention.

“Spike?! What’s wrong…oh. My. God.” For the first time, Buffy really noticed Spike’s hugely distended belly. “What the hell happened?”

“They sped up the gestation. Spike’s in labor.” Tara sent out calming thoughts to her friends. “Spike, you need to calm down; you’re only speeding up the labor.” Tara coached Spike into deep calming breaths. “We need to get the baby out of him, quickly!”

“I’ll call Willow,” Giles said, quickly taking charge of the situation. “Buffy, Tara, start helping Spike outside. Anya, Xander, can you clean up here? Good. Let’s go.”

Spike and Buffy were too wrapped up in one another to notice the goings on of everyone else.

You’re OK, baby. We’ll be fine, the baby will be fine… Spike accepted the reassurance in Buffy’s words, even though he knew they were mostly to make herself feel better. He sent back love, reassurance, tinged just a bit with fear. He felt Buffy’s bright, blinding love envelop him, just as another contraction ripped through him. They shared the pain, experiencing it together. Buffy gasped, feeling her muscles contract around an imaginary baby.

“Buffy? Are you alright?” Giles asked with concern. She nodded her head, fighting back the pain.

“I…I think I’m going into labor too!” A new sense of urgency filled them, and they picked up their pace, Giles walking close to Buffy to offer support should she need it. His phone rang, and he tried to stay balance as he juggled Buffy and the blasted contraption.

“Yes?”

“It’s Willow…I-I think I’ve got everything ready, we’re at Buffy’s.”

“We’ll be there as soon as possible, Buffy and Spike are in labor, we’ll need to do this immediately.”

“Wait…they’re BOTH in labor? How—“

“We don’t have time for this right now Willow!” Giles snapped irritably.

“Oh, right. I’m…I’m rambling. Ok. We’ll be here…waiting.” Giles snapped the phone shut. They climbed into the car, Buffy nestling Spike’s head in her lap. Giles and Tara sat in the front, Tara turned and monitoring the couple. Spike and Buffy were wrapped in each other, their bond free flowing and open. They felt as one, Buffy’s body contracting at the same time as Spike’s; but underneath the pain and stress of labor was their love and concern for each other and the child they were trying to bring into the world.

They allowed themselves to be led into the house by Tara and Giles. Joyce took over caring for her laboring children, while Giles and Tara checked Willow’s preparations.

“So it’s going to take all three of us; one to ground Buffy, one to ground Spike, and one to safeguard the child from one to the other.”

“As the other male, I should probably ground Spike. I think Tara should guard the child.”

“M-m-me?” Tara asked.

“You are the most suited to the task. Your nurturing nature will provide the best protection for the baby.” Willow squashed the flair of jealousy she felt; she was the most powerful, she should be protecting the baby. But the rational side of her agreed with Giles, so she simply nodded her assent. They reviewed the spell, rechecked all of the components, and went to get Spike and Buffy.

***

“S-so it shouldn’t take too long. We have everything set up, just like the Doctor ordered.”

The mated couple nodded, and slowly began moving towards the dining room. All of the furniture and carpeting had been removed. Etched on the floor were two circles, sharing a small part of their curvature, enclosed within a larger circle. Magickal symbols adorned every inch of the exposed floor. Green life candles sat at the cardinal points of the interior circles, while yellow protection and healing candles protected the outer circle that bound them all together.

Willow and Giles helped Buffy and Spike lay in the center of their respective circles, their hands clasped over a white unity candle. Buffy fought down her apprehension, focusing on Spike and his constant flow of information coming through the bond.

“We’re going to start the ceremony; Willow and I are going to anchor you. Tara is going to guide the baby from Spike to Buffy. Don’t break contact.” Buffy nodded, catching Spike’s gaze. In that moment, she knew that everything was going to be OK. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

Giles and Willow started chanting, a gentle, rolling sound that built like a summer breeze. It washed over them, and they could feel the gentle white magic pressing against the edge of their bond. Their labor slowed, and finally stopped, chanted into stillness. Spike felt a warmth beginning in his belly, the sense that something was coming loose, but he didn’t break his eye contact with Buffy.

Tara gazed in awe as the faint green light swirled about Spike’s stomach. She could faintly see the outline of the baby in the nimbus light, and was awed with the trust being placed with her. She gathered herself and gently expanded her senses to create a bubble around the shimmering light. She could feel the presence of the child, sense its awareness. Laughter, light and guilelessly childish, echoed in her mind. With infinite care, she lifted the swirling mass of colors and ever so gently maneuvered it through the circle to Buffy’s waiting form.

Spike felt a sudden sense of loss and knew that his child, his son or daughter, was no longer a part of him. He’d become too used to having another life within him, small as the child had been for the last three months. His grip on Buffy’s hand tightened as he realized that this meant his child was incredibly vulnerable, out in the open without any protection but Tara.

But Tara was good protection to have. She gingerly lowered the glowing ball of life. She felt Buffy’s energy pull at the child, the rightness of their two energies surging through her. She let go, watching in awe as the green swirl of colors merged with Buffy’s bright golden aura, mother welcoming her child.

Buffy gasped as she felt warm and cold all at once, but she felt…complete. A weight settled into her, and when she looked down at her formerly lithe form, she gasped. Her stomach was huge! It was still swirling with incandescent light, and Buffy could swear she saw the outline of her child deep within the hypnotic colors. She felt a tug at her hand, and spared a glance at Spike who was currently completely focused on her stomach, a soft smile gracing his lips.

The chanting which had colored the background began to fade away, the green light fading with it. She gasped delightedly as the baby moved within her, getting used to his new surroundings. Love, intense and unconditional, flowed through her and spilled over into the bond. Spike sent his answering love, deep and unstoppable, back to her.

The three spellcasters looked away, a bit uncomfortable witnessing such an intense emotional moment. Giles broke away, padding silently to the door to let the rest of the group in.

Joyce teared up seeing her daughter pregnant for the first time. She felt Dawn slip her arms around her waist, and drew her youngest into a hug. Worry niggled at the back of her mind, wondering whether the spell that had been cast on Spike had hurt her grandchild…but now wasn’t the time to ask those questions. There wasn’t anything they could feasibly do about it at the moment.

Buffy raised her hand and caressed her stomach reverently. Her shirt no longer fit, and it was a very good thing she’d been wearing loose pants with an elastic waist—and she wouldn't trade this moment for the world. A shadow hovered at the corner of her vision, and she looked over to see her mother and sister watching her, tears in their eyes. She reached for her mom with her free hand, and smiled at her sister. Her family came together, sharing in the closeness of the moment.

The rest of the Scoobies gathered around, feeling closer than they had in a long time. Taking in them all, Buffy’s eyes finally fell, once again, on her mate.

“You BASTARD!”