Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Joss Whedon, but he shares, which is awfully nice of him.
Hope this update is fast enough for all my loyal reviewers!
 
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Chapter 15
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“Just like old times, huh?” said Willow as she looked around the Magic Box. She was seated at the table next to Tara and Dawn, while Anya counted the till and Giles pondered the bookshelves. Xander was quiet, leaning against the wall and thinking. I will be supportive, he told himself. I will not say that I think this is an absolute abomination. I will be supportive. He stood up straight as the door rang and Buffy and Spike entered, fresh from patrol.
 
“Ah, good to see you. How was patrol?” Giles asked in greeting.
 
“Quiet night on the ol’ hellmouth,” Buffy said, taking off her jacket and sitting down. “Just a couple of fledges, not much else.”
 
“Any sign of those whatdoyoucallems?” Dawn asked.
 
“Didn’t sense any Kratash, if that’s what you mean,” Spike answered, sitting down next to Buffy.
 
“So, where do we start?” Tara asked. It was a few days after Christmas, and Giles had gathered them all there to start to tackle the problem.
 
“I think the first thing we need to do is to figure out how to keep Buffy’s condition hidden,” Giles reasoned. “If we can keep all the demons in Sunnydale from learning of her pregnancy, we’ll have some breathing room to figure out the rest.”
 
“How do we do that then?” Spike asked. He was still leery of them using magic on Buffy, but he saw the logic of Giles’ words.
 
“I have an idea,” Willow said. They all turned to face her. “Remember when I used that glamour spell to look like Buffy?”
 
“I remember,” Tara said. “You said that it could be dangerous to keep up for a long time.”
 
“Well, that was only because I was trying to be someone else,” Willow explained. “What if we did a spell to make Buffy look like herself, only not pregnant?”
 
“But wouldn’t demons still be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat like Spike can?” Buffy wondered.
 
“I don’t think so. The spell works on all the senses.”
 
“But how can Buffy keep up the spell like that?” Giles inquired. “She doesn’t have the magic that you do.”
 
“We could put the spell on an amulet,” Anya offered. “That way she can wear it when she wants to hide the pregnancy and take it off other times.”
 
“Good idea, Anya,” Giles said. “Willow, can you and Anya work on this?”
 
“Hang on a minute,” Spike interjected. “Are you certain this isn’t going to hurt Buffy or the baby?”
 
“I know you’re worried, Spike,” said Tara gently. “But in this form the illusion will affect the viewer, not the person wearing it. It won’t hurt them.”
 
“I think we should try it,” Buffy said, squeezing Spike’s hand. Spike searched her green eyes for a moment, then nodded his assent.
 
“I suppose the next thing we should figure out is whether this thing is a demon or not,” Xander said. It was the first time he had spoken, and although he was trying to hide it, it was clear he wasn’t fully comfortable with the situation.
 
“Told you, it sounds as human as any other pregnant woman,” Spike said shortly. He could see that Xander was not accepting this news as well as the others, despite Xander’s best attempts at hiding it.
 
“Nevertheless, we should investigate all possibilities,” Giles declared, also sensing the tension. “We need to read up on demonic pregnancies of all kinds. My shipment of books arrived the other day from England. Xander, if you and Spike will accompany me, I could use your help in bringing the boxes from my hotel room to the shop. Tara, why don’t you and Buffy start writing down all the things Buffy can remember from her dreams. It might give us a clue.”
 
Spike kissed his wife lightly and got up to follow Giles to his car, with Xander trailing behind. When they got to the hotel, they found that Giles’ room had been taken over by five large boxes of books. Spike hoisted one effortlessly and headed down to the rental car, while Xander and Giles struggled for a few minutes to heft theirs.
 
“Should we really be encouraging this?” Xander asked Giles as they started to make their way out of the room.
 
“Encouraging what?” grunted Giles as he tried to get a good grip on the box.
 
“This pregnancy. Shouldn’t she… I mean, it might be better if she got rid of it.”
 
“What do you mean?” Giles said, turning to face Xander. “An abortion?”
 
Xander shrugged. “It just seems to me that a lot of these questions would be solved right away if that happened. We don’t know what this is, or how it happened. How do we know it’s not going to spawn some new apocalypse?” Xander carried his box out the door and ran straight into Spike, who had been down to the car and back with vampiric speed and had heard everything.
 
The box of books thudded to the floor as Spike grabbed Xander by the shirt and shoved him up against a wall, wincing at the shock in his head. “Let’s get one thing clear, mate,” he said in a low, menacing tone. “If you ever even think about saying anything like that in front of my wife, I will see to it personally that you never reproduce.”
 
“I didn’t mean…”
 
“Girl’s got enough to worry about without you telling her she’s carrying the devil himself. You’ve got no proof of that, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you upset her again. She forgave your sorry ass. Now shut your mouth and help her.” Spike let him go, grabbed the box of books and shoved it into Xander’s arms. Xander and Giles made their way down to the car with their burdens, while Spike grabbed the last box and shut the door. He got down to the car close behind them and silently loaded the trunk alongside Giles, while Xander stood nervously to the side.
 
Slamming the trunk, Spike whirled to face Xander again. “Are you with us or against us? Make up your mind. If you’re not with us, then leave us the fuck alone. If you are with us, get your ass in the car and make yourself useful. Which is it?”
 
Xander gulped. “I’m with you,” he said grudgingly. The three men rode back to the store in silence.
 
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“Godammit, Buffy that was too fucking close!”
 
Spike was vamped out, furious, and making no effort to hide it. He faced his wife across a pile of dust in one of Sunnydale’s numerous graveyards. A few days had passed, and they had gone out on patrol as usual, but had run unexpectedly into a larger than usual nest. The battle had been furious, and Buffy had been off her game. One of the vamps had gotten around behind her and had slammed her face first into the wall of a crypt. Even worse, his last words were, “Hey, this one’s a two for one deal!” before Spike had managed to dive through the throng and dust him. Buffy had recovered and helped finish the job, but Spike was still shaking with fury and fear.
 
“Look, I just had a bad night’s sleep last night,” she said. “I was just a little slow. I would have gotten free in a minute.”
 
“Bullshit!” Spike spat back. “He practically had his fangs in you!” And he could tell you were pregnant! he added silently, in case anyone was listening.
 
“I’ve had bad nights before this,” she countered. “Nothing’s changed.”
 
“That’s bollocks, and you know it,” he snarled. He paced away and kicked a tree angrily. He kicked it a few more times in rapid succession before he leaned against it, pounding his fist in frustration.
 
Buffy walked up behind him and tentatively put her hand out to his shoulder. Spike. William. Look at me.
 
He turned and she was ashamed to be the cause of the moisture in his eyes. Won’t lose you. Won’t go through that again. He shook off his gameface and leaned against the tree, giving her a desperate, longing look. She felt his love and his terror and she moved over to comfort him. At first he kept his hands in his pockets stubbornly while she wound her arms around his waist and leaned against his chest, but he was only able to hold out for a moment before he succumbed and drew her in. Love you, Buffy. Love you so much that the thought of losing you causes me physical pain. God, don’t ever leave me.
 
Buffy was deeply moved. She had always been the one who got left. Every male in her life, not to mention her mom, had left her. But here was a man, her man, begging her to stay. I won’t ever leave you. I’m sorry if I scared you. I’m… I just don’t know how to stop being a Slayer. It still seems so unreal sometimes.
 
What does? Spike asked, picking his head up to look down at her.
 
This baby, our marriage, it just still blows my mind. Not that I don’t want it, she quickly reassured him. But it all seems so up in the air still. In some ways I guess I’m still in denial about the pregnancy thing.
 
Think that’s normal, pet, Spike soothed, rubbing her back. Mystical pregnancy or not, all parents must go through that. One of those universal things.
 
Yeah, but other parents don’t have to save the world every night on top of it, she said, with a touch of bitterness.
 
Spike bent his head and kissed her. Hope Willow finishes that amulet soon. I’m going to be a basket case until she does.
 
Shall we check out the progress now? Buffy proposed. Spike concurred, and they took off toward the Magic Box. Upon arrival they found Willow and Anya bent over a spellbook, debating some last minute details about the spell they wanted to use. Giles and Tara were in another corner, comparing notes on possible spells that could be used to cause a demonic pregnancy to come about. Xander and Dawn were nowhere to be seen.
 
“Hey guys, how goes the research?” Buffy said. “And where’s Dawn?”
 
“She and Xander went to pick up pizza,” Tara remarked. “As for the research, it’s still pretty slow going.”
 
“Is that amulet ready yet?” Spike asked. “I’d feel a lot more comfortable if I knew the missus wasn’t advertising her condition every time she stepped outside.”
 
“I think we’ve got it worked out,” Willow said. “The amulet should make anyone around you, demon or human, think you’re just your ordinary, unpregnant self.”
 
“Good. What do I have to do?” Buffy asked. Just then Xander and Dawn came in bearing the pizza. Xander put the pizza down on the table while Dawn lugged drinks.
 
“I guess we should hold off on the spells until after we’ve eaten,” said Giles. They all dug in, and discussed details while they ate.
 
“We’re sure this spell isn’t going to harm me or the baby, right?” Buffy asked worriedly.
 
“We’ve checked,” Tara reassured her. “It’s really just a simple illusion.”
 
Xander spoke up. “But is it going to work if the kid isn’t human? I mean, we’re making a lot of assumptions here.”
 
Spike narrowed his eyes at Xander, but it was Dawn who said, “We’re not really going to know if it works until we try it, so we should just try it, don’t you think?”
 
No one could really argue with the teenage logic, so they finished their meal and cleared away the leavings. Willow cast a circle with herbs and sat in the center, holding an amethyst on a silver chain over a candle. Upon her instruction, Buffy stood in the circle as well. Buffy was understandably nervous – Willow’s last two spells had left her in physical pain and a coma, respectively. She tried to stay calm, but Spike could hear her heart racing. Steady on, sweetheart. You’ll be ok, he soothed silently. She smiled a crooked smile at him and tried to slow down her breathing.
 
Willow began chanting in Latin and a swirling mist soon surrounded her and Buffy. At a word, the mist coalesced into the amethyst and the spell ended. “That’s it?” Buffy asked.
 
“Should be,” said Willow. She stood and held out the amulet. “I guess you’ll have to try it on to be sure.”
 
“Here goes,” she said. She slipped it over her head and turned to Spike. “Well? Anything?”
 
Spike listened, but the child’s heartbeat was no longer audible. He found it rather disconcerting and said, “Take it off, so I can see the difference.” Buffy took the amulet off and set it on the table, and Spike was relieved to hear the steady patter of the baby’s heart once more. “I think it worked, pet.”
 
Buffy felt his worry and his relief and went over to fold him in her arms. Turning back to Willow she said, “Thanks, Wils. I think this will allow us both to rest a bit easier.”
 
The meeting broke up soon after and Buffy, Spike, and Dawn headed home, once more with an unseen pair of Kratash following at a distance.
 
“Do you feel that?” the woman remarked.
 
The man nodded. “She seems to have a spell on her or something.”
 
“Could she be hiding her pregnancy?”
 
“Seems likely. Our first agent must have been discovered. We’ll have to let the controller know.”
 
“He’s not going to like this,” the woman sighed. “The first agent had no business getting close enough to get caught.”
 
“Maybe he didn’t count on the vampire,” the man mused. “We’re going to have to track her by day, when he’s not around. See if there’s some way to get past that spell.”
 
“Well,” said the woman, “Guess we should go break the news.”  The man agreed and they headed out for a sheltered place to vanish unnoticed.
 
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The two Kratash agents stood in front of their controller. In this, their home dimension, they all looked identical, gray and featureless to the human eye. But in the small chamber, one gray creature sat behind the local approximation of a desk while the other two stood before him making their report.
 
“It would appear,” the male agent was finishing, “That they are somehow alerted to the fact that they are being watched, and have chosen to mask the pregnancy by mystical means.”
 
“How did they become alerted to your presence?” the controller said with a slight menace behind the words. The Kratash prided themselves in not being caught. For a spy to blow their cover was a serious offense indeed.
 
“We don’t believe that our presence is known,” the female agent said swiftly. “We have found no trace of the previous agent, although he had been seen in some of the demon bars. We can only assume that the vampire sensed him and killed him.”
 
The controller pondered this. “Our client is anxious to know when this child is due. Can we get an estimate?”
 
“The human female was not visibly larger just prior to this masking spell,” ventured the female. “My research indicates that this would mean she is still within the first three or four months of the gestation period.”
 
“However, it must be far enough along for those with enhanced hearing to be aware of the child,” the male agent added. “Otherwise, why do the spell at this point?”
 
“Your reasoning is sound,” the controller agreed. He sat and thought about it for a while. “Good work. I want you to keep up your surveillance. I want to know if they leave town, or if anything else develops. I also want you to look for ways to get around their protective wards. Find a way for our client to get to her when the time comes. They will be difficult to overpower, so we will need all the information we can get.”
 
“Thank you, sir,” the agents chorused. They bowed slightly and vanished to get back to work.
 
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Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It had been three weeks since this research project had started and he felt like he was getting nowhere fast. It was like trying to believe six impossible things before breakfast. Vampires couldn’t reproduce. Every source, not to mention common sense, seemed to agree with that. Dead sperm equals no baby. But Buffy was pregnant, and Spike was the only person she had been with. He had asked her point blank about that when he had her alone at one point, but she was adamant, and he had to admit that there was no way she could have been with anyone else in the time she’d been back. He felt he was grasping at straws.
 
He went over his notes again. The only clue they had was the heat during… whatever had happened. But no spells related to reproduction mentioned that effect at all. Maddening. Absolutely maddening.
 
The bell rang over the Magic Box door, disturbing his early morning peace and quiet. He came out of the office to see Willow, Anya, and Xander strolling in. “Morning, Giles,” said Anya.
 
“Good morning, all of you,” Giles responded. “Do we have a plan for today?”
 
Willow sighed. “I don’t know where to go from here, Giles. It just all seems impossible! I can’t find any impossibility spells!”
 
“I share your frustration,” Giles said.
 
“I know this is going to piss people off,” Xander said. “But I’m going to say it again while there’s just us here. Should she even be having this kid at all? If we don’t know what it is, and what it’s going to do to her, or to us, why aren’t we trying to convince her to end this?”
 
“Xander!” Willow said, shocked. “You don’t just go up to a pregnant woman and say ‘Your kid might be evil, you should have an abortion’. You just don’t!”
 
“Besides,” Anya put in. “She and Spike would both probably rip you several new orifices for the very suggestion.”
 
“But she could be carrying Rosemary’s Baby for all we know!” Xander cried. “I mean, what if the thing turns out to be some massive demon that kills her in childbirth or something!”
 
“Xander, you must control yourself,” Giles said sharply. “We cannot make the mistake of…”
 
“Wait!” Willow said excitedly. “I just had an idea! Exorcism!”
 
“What?” Xander said. “You mean like, creepy priests and Buffy’s head spinning around and all that?”
 
“No, nothing like that,” Willow explained. “Look, there are all sorts of rituals meant to get demons to show themselves. We can do a ritual on Buffy to get any demon residing in her to come out. That way, if the baby is demonic, we can see the demon and know what type it is, and if the baby is human, there should be no effect one way or the other!”
 
Giles thought about that for a moment. He found himself once again on a mental tightrope. Willow was a powerful witch. They needed that power. At the same time, he was well aware from his own youthful indiscretions how addictive that power could become. Was Willow able to control this? Would there be unintended consequences? Were they missing something? “It seems too simple,” Giles said finally. “I just want to be sure that no harm will come to Buffy.”
 
Willow swallowed back the hurt at not being fully trusted, but said, “Can I show you the spell I’m thinking of? If we go over it together, step by step, will that make you more comfortable?”
 
“Yes, I think that would,” said Giles. He put his glasses back on his nose, and sat down next to Willow. For the next ninety minutes they pored over the texts, arguing line by line until Giles was at last satisfied.
 
“Very well. You’ve convinced me that no harm will come to Buffy or a human child. We’ll have to discuss it with her at the next opportunity.”
 
“Why don’t I give her a call?” Willow offered. “Maybe we could try it this morning if she’s free.” Willow went to the phone and dialed the Summers’ residence.
 
“Hello?”
 
“Hey, Buffy it’s Willow,” she said. “Are you around this morning? We may have found a way to see if the baby is demonic or not.”
 
Buffy swallowed, her hand tightening on the phone. “Um, sure. Should I come over now?”
 
“If you can,” Willow answered.
 
“Ok. I’ll be there in a bit.” She hung up and stood with her hand on the receiver for a moment. She did want to know what she was carrying. But part of her didn’t want to wreck the happy fantasy of a baby with Spike’s eyes. One they could cherish and enjoy. If she found out it was part demon, how would she feel about it? Would she still be able to love it? Would the others start pressuring her to get rid of it? She chewed her lip repeatedly, thinking it over. In the end, she decided that knowledge was probably power. Spike was still asleep, so she left him a note: Went to the Magic Box. Join me when you get up. Love, Me. She grabbed her jacket and was out the door before she could change her mind.
 
She entered the Magic Box as a group of Goth looking teens left. Wonder if I’m going to have to deal with that phase someday? She found these thoughts popping up in her head a lot these days. Must be hormones. “Hi guys,” she said to the others. “What’s the situation?”
 
“Buffy, good to see you,” Giles said. “We think we have found a way to reveal if there is a demonic presence in you in any way.” He briefly went over the idea of the spell, while Buffy listened, frowning slightly.
 
“Ok, but are you sure it isn’t going to hurt me or the baby?”
 
“I have personally gone over it,” Giles said. “If the baby is fully human, it will have no effect.” He paused for a moment. “If the child is demonic, however, there is a chance that it will not survive the extraction of its essence.”
 
Buffy hesitated. She felt the child was human, and so did Spike. But there was always the nagging doubt that they were mistaken. What if the baby was half human? Would the human side be enough to keep it going if somehow the demon side were revealed or ‘extracted’ as Giles said? She thought about consulting Spike. I don’t want to worry him. He says it’s human. He seems sure. At last she decided. Perhaps they would see that the child wasn’t demonic and the Scoobies would finally get off her case about that. In any event, she needed to know.
 
“Alright,” she said reluctantly. “What do you need to do to me?”
 
Giles flipped the closed sign on the door and they went into the training room. Willow told Buffy to take off her protective amulet while she drew a pentagram on the floor. She put particular herbs in each corner of the pentagram, and lit candles at precise locations. Buffy stood in the center, trying to steady her breathing as Willow began walking counterclockwise around the circle, chanting in Latin. Giles, Xander, and Anya looked on intently, ready to note any demons that might manifest themselves.
 
A particular demon was making his way through the tunnels to the Magic Box as they began, enjoying a cigarette on the way. Spike had woken up when Buffy left, grumbling about women and their tendency toward slamming doors. When he saw the note, he decided to head over to the Magic Box to see what the urgent message was about. It’s not that I don’t trust the Scoobies, he thought. Ah sod it, I don’t trust them. Probably give Buffy an extra arm or something if I don’t keep an eye on the magic slingers. As he made his way through the sewers, he probed to see when he would pick up Buffy’s thoughts. Their range was increasing daily. He wondered it if it was related to the pregnancy at all. Slayer? You out there?
 
Willow’s chanting was getting louder, and a wind seemed to come from nowhere, swirling like a tornado with Buffy at its center. The wind blew Buffy’s hair, but nothing else seemed to change. Must be human after all, she thought happily. Suddenly, she felt a tug, centered somewhere around her heart. She cried out, first in shock, and then in pain. Her scream grew in volume as she twisted and jerked. A wraith-like mist poured gradually from her mouth, coalescing into a figure before her.
 
Spike had been ambling through the tunnels when suddenly he grabbed his head in agony. A wordless scream pierced his brain, and he realized that it was Buffy’s pain he was feeling. He staggered, then gathered himself up and ran toward the Magic Box. Buffy! he called to her. Hold on, I’m coming! As he ran he had to grind his teeth to bear the torment she was enduring. It felt like her very soul was being torn from her body. Dear God, what are they doing to her? Buffy!
 
The Scoobies looked on in alarm as the mist continued flowing out of Buffy’s tormented form. The mist was turning into a figure, with wild eyes and black shaggy hair, primitively dressed and fierce. Warning bells started going off in Giles’ head as Anya said, “There is a demon! What is it?”
 
Giles’ answer was cut off by a roar as Spike came bursting into the room. He took in what was happening and leaped across the room, tackling Willow and scattering the herbs and candles in one fell swoop. He immediately clutched his head as the chip fired, but managed to stagger to his feet. He lurched across to where Buffy had fallen to the floor unconscious and knelt down next to her, shaking. “Buffy!” he cried. For a long moment she didn’t seem to be breathing, but then she gasped and moaned, still unconscious, but clearly alive. Spike listened carefully with his heart in his throat until he heard the second heartbeat as well. They were both ok. He stroked her forehead gently, then stood up to face the others.
 
“What did you do to her?” he growled. His eyes flashed yellow as he struggled to control his demon.
 
Xander had helped Willow to her feet, glaring at Spike. She brushed herself off and answered shakily, “It was a spell to make visible any demon residing in Buffy. Sort of an exorcism to draw out the demon if the child was demonic. If the child was human, there should have been no effect.”
 
“Seems to me we’ve got proof that it’s a demon in some form,” Xander said with a trace of smugness.
 
“You fools,” Spike snarled. “You bloody, bloody fools. I would expect this from the children, but you should have known better, Watcher.” He fixed Giles with angry, accusing eyes.
 
“What do you mean?” Giles asked. He once again had this nagging feeling that there was something he had overlooked.
 
“A Slayer is part demon, you git. Isn’t that part of your Watcher training?” Spike snapped.
 
“What do you mean, a Slayer is part demon?” Xander asked. “Buffy’s a force for good. How can she be a demon?”
 
Spike struggled to keep his cool. Addressing Giles he asked, “You ever read the Thurkill Codex?”
 
Giles looked at him as if he had just asked for a lemming. “What?”
 
“The Thurkill Codex,” Spike repeated. “Has all sorts of rare demon lore. Including some info about the origins of the Slayer.”
 
“I’ve heard of it, but I’ve only seen some partial translations of it. I had heard it was lost.”
 
“Well, yeah, to you guys,” Spike said contemptuously. “Demons have their own scholars you know. When I heard about the Slayer for the first time, I did some research on the whole history. Found a copy in the original demonic tongues. Not sure how it happened, but the original Slayer was said to be a girl crossed with a demon for strength.”
 
Willow’s eyes got wide. “So we were drawing out…”
 
“The Slayer in her,” Spike finished.
 
“Of course,” Giles said. “What we saw. It was the First Slayer. Buffy described her after her vision quest last year.”
 
Spike was kneeling down next to his wife again, checking her vitals. “You could have killed her,” he said. He tried to sound angry but his voice broke as he realized how close he had come to losing her again.
 
“Oh God, I didn’t know,” Willow said, shaking her head in horror. The full impact of what she almost did crashed down on her and she sat down abruptly on the training room couch, covering her face.
 
“This is my fault,” Giles said. “I should have known.” He too was shaky at the thought that his ignorance could have killed his Slayer again.
 
“But I don’t get it,” Xander persisted. “How can she go about slaying demons if she is a demon?”
 
Anya rolled her eyes. “Xander, there are demons, and demons. They’re not all evil you know. I mean, angels are a form of demon for heaven’s sake.”
 
“But we still have no idea what sort of demon she’s carrying,” Xander continued, wondering why this seemed obvious only to him. “I mean, what if they combine somehow? If a slayer demon was turned into something evil…”
 
“Why do you lot always assume that it’s going to take after me?” Spike growled indignantly. They all turned to stare at him. “Kid’s got two parents, right? Have any of you even considered the possibility that it’ll take after Buffy? Haven’t you figured out yet that good pretty much always wins in the end? It may not be a pretty victory, and there can be a lot of collateral damage, but speaking from personal experience, evil tends to get its ass kicked nine times out of ten.”
 
The others were struck dumb by the notion. One by one they all realized that they had been looking at the problem in terms of protecting Buffy and the world from some unknown evil spawn. They had literally not even conceived of the idea that this child could be a new force for good. Spike turned his attention back to his wife, who was still out cold. He looked up at Giles. “Can you get her home? I can go through the sewers and meet you there.”
 
“Should she see a doctor?” Giles asked with concern. “Is… is the child alright?”
 
“Heartbeat seems fine,” he said, stroking her hair. “Her breathing and everything seems fine. We should get her someplace she can rest. Don’t fancy explaining to the ER that she’s out cold because someone tried to extract a demon from her.” The others saw the logic in his statement.
 
“I’ll help, Giles,” Xander offered quietly. Giles went to bring his car around the back of the store, and together they carried Buffy into the car.
 
Spike watched them like a hawk, then turned to Willow. “Look, I know you were trying to help. But no more spells on her. Ever. You can put all the wards on objects and houses that you want. But I won’t stand for you risking my wife’s life anymore.” He spoke quietly, but with a definite menace behind the words. Willow had no response but a shaky nod. Spike turned and made his way back to the tunnels, while Anya sighed and started cleaning up.
 
TBC