Surprisingly—or, you know, NOT considering everything the Scoobies had lived through and that this WAS the helllmouth—everyone just took Spiek’s pregnancy in stride. For once, Xander had the upper hand, taking pokes at Spike’s masculinity with gleeful abandon. Spike glowered at him, then smiled sweetly, making everyone nervous. He then encouraged Xander to make all the jokes he could, since the boy only had six months, whereas Spike had the rest of Xander’s poncy life. Joyce had retaliated on Xander’s behalf, dragging the unsuspecting vampire away to tell him everything he had to look forward to for the next sixth months in graphic detail. Buffy didn’t now that vampires could turn green until that day; point of fact, neither had Giles. He’d asked her to remind him to write it down in his watcher’s diaries.

It had taken some time, but both Spike and Buffy had reached a sort of zen acceptance of their situation. It helped that Joyce and Dawn had rounded up the rest of the team and told them in no uncertain terms that there was to be no negativity from anyone, and no using Spike as a lab rat—this was said with all eyes studiously avoiding Willow except for Joyce and Dawn’s piercing stares. Willow had concluded that Buffy wasn’t the only slayer in the Summers family. But the Scooby gang seemed to take the talk to heart.

They even went so far as to throw Spike a surprise baby shower. He’d tried to play it off, letting Buffy unwrap half the gifts, but she’d sensed his pleasure and happiness at being accepted. The first trimester went off without much of a hitch, the new couple wrapped up in preparing themselves for their rather unusual pregnancy and new child. So wrapped up, that they missed the glowing eyes that mapped their every move.

***

The Messenger slipped silently into the room, body bent in supplication. Time passed, unheeded, as The Messenger waited for the High One to speak.

“Report,” came the command, dismissive and bored.

“We have watched the Slayer, highness. She is not with child.” Pottery smashed the wall near the Messenger’s head, but the Messenger merely remained subservient; the High One held power over the life and death of all. This was the Way, and none could change that.

“The augurs do not lie! The child of a vampire and slayer has been conceived. You will fins this child! You must find my vessel! Your head is not payment enough if you do not!” The Messenger bowed deeply. If the High One said the child existed, it was so; and it would be found, for if it were not, a head was indeed a small price to pay for such a failure.

***

“Spike!” Buffy yelled. She giggled as he hauled her up the stairs, singly determined in his goal. “Spike!”

“What?” he snapped, before pushing his mate against the wall and kissing her breathless. He wanted her. Now.

“I swear you’re going to break me! You can’t possibly be horny again! We just did it!” His pout turned into a sly, wicked grin, and Buffy blushed as she remembered going to the restroom in the cozy little diner they’d gone to, only to be followed by her extremely horny vampire. They’d been presented with the check upon their exit by an amused waiter who was trying to look stern-faced in the shadow of her manager.

He’d passed out of the morning sickness stage and right into the horny as hell part without blinking an eye. Buffy had come home from shopping one day and hadn’t left their bed for a good thirty-four hours after that. Luckily for Spike, Buffy’s little body-preparing pill regime had given her similar ‘symptoms,’ so they were basically two overly horny super-humans with A LOT of stamina. Needless to say, no one saw them much and there wasn’t much slaying going on.

“But pe-et!” he winged. “I’m pregnant!” Buffy exploded into laughter; three months on and that was still funny. She pushed him against the door, sliding her key in the lock.

“Oh yeah?” He nodded vehemently, his innocent school boy look firmly in place. “Well in that case—I’m still sore.” He pouted again, looking so sadly dejected that Buffy felt her heart break a little, even through she knew it was a ruse. “But we can do other things.” His crystal blue eyes lit up, and he grinned, opening the door and yanking her over the threshold.

Neither one of them noticed the dark figure slinking off into the night.

***

“Highness.” Violet eyes opened, unfocused with sleep and indulgence. “Highness—we have found the child. The vampire carries it.” The Messenger bowed deeply as the High One rose; to interrupt the slumber of the Chosen was to risk death, but orders were orders, regardless of consequence.

“The vampire? All the better! Bring him to me—I will have my vessel at the dawning of the new moon!” The Messenger bowed, and left to carry out the tasks set down.

***

“I am not leaving this soddin’ house ever again,” Spike declared vehemently. Buffy stifled a giggle and looped her arms around his waist, her hands framing the little bump that had Spike in such a tizzy this morning.

“Baby, you’re beautiful. You glow.” Spike growled at her, his eyes fixated on what he was now calling the Death of his Killer Abs. He turned sideways, trying to gauge just how much his belly had expanded.

“Sod off, Slayer. ‘m not in the mood.” Spike glared at the little bump reflected at him, taunting him. His figure would NEVER recover.

“I want you.” Buffy’s hot breath on his ear and heated words made another part of him swell to life. His eyes darkened and his chest tightened. Buffy ran her hands down her mate’s body, starting at his collar bone, traveling down his muscled pecs, running lovingly over their child and then tucking themselves into his pants. Spike watched as his skin jumped where Buffy’s invisible hands roved, watched as those hands shifted the cloth of his pants. He’d done it to her many times before, but this was the first time he’d been on the other end of the experience. He’d have to remember to thank Glinda and Red for the thoughtful gift.

Buffy’s hand reached down, caressing his sensitive member. He closed his eyes with a sigh and sunk into her, enjoying the release she offered.

“Spike,” she whispered seductively, nibbling on his ear. She kissed her way down his neck, her hands diving further into his pants. He reached around and grabbed her tight little ass, bringing her flush against him. With one last glance at the mirror, seeing the effects of her invisible hands, he walked them backwards towards the bed.

He was all prepared for a nice, casual bought of love making, a little pre-bed time sex to get his day started off right. Until Buffy growled in his ear and bit down against her mark—hard. Then it was game over. He spun around, his demon at the forefront, demanding its mate. When he was in this state, with his heightened senses, he was even more aware of their child. He could feel the tentative heartbeat playing counterpoint against his own, could smell the change in his own scent. He could also smell the richness in Buffy’s scent as her body prepared itself for their child. A part of him (that he would never admit to having, at least not to anyone other than-maybe-Buffy) didn’t want to let the baby go.

He inhaled Buffy’s enriched scent, and his mouth watered at the thought of tasting her hormone-rich blood. She tasted like the Spring of Life, her already potent slayer’s blood enriched.

“God pet, the things you do to me.” He kissed her hungrily, relishing the feel and sound of her blouse giving way as he ripped it in half. He palmed her breasts, his hands exploring the supple, silky flesh exposed to the air. He growled in warning when Buffy tore away from him, only to feel his shirt give way under her own assault. He looked down and his bare chest, and back at his smirking love.

“I liked that shirt.” She raised an eyebrow at him and laid back, exposing herself to him. “Like you better.” He settled his length over her, pressing her into the mattress. They kissed hungrily, tearing at their pants, removing all of the barriers that kept them separate. Spike sunk into Buffy’s welcoming depths with a growl. She met him thrust for thrust, their eyes locked. Buffy clenched around Spike, sighing at the feel of him sliding within her, hitting her sweet spot and the tip of him brushing against her womb. When she was right on the edge, she flipped them over, his hands resting on her hips as she started riding him. She gasped, feeling the first warm wave build in her belly.

“Spike!” she gasped. The sound of his name, breathless and aroused, broke the last of Spike’s self control. He vamped, his eyes glowing gold. He increased the pace of his thrusts, slamming into Buffy’s willing body with abandon. Her eyes closed, and she gasped again, the beginning of her climax rolling through her. Spike sat up, changing the angle within her, and felt her quim pulsing around him.

With controlled precision, he buried his fangs into his mate’s neck, savoring the taste of her. Buffy came hard and long, her body quivering as Spike took long pulls of her blood. Her orgasm faded, only for another to crash over her as Spike continued to feed. She had a goofy, tired smile on her face as he laid her back, laving the bite marks with his tongue. She felt warm and fuzzy and yay. She giggled when he started purring and nuzzling into her breast.

“My Slayer,” he murmured sleepily.

“My vampire,” she giggled, a little loopy from the blood loss. But it was the only way Spike could get any blood in him, due to the baby, and really it felt very, very nice. With the power of her blood, he only needed to feed every few days. They lay there, wrapped up in each other, content and happy.

***

“I told you—‘m not leaving the house!” Spike folded his arms across his chest and fixed Buffy with his most stubborn look. He could handle this whole male-pregnancy thing, but there was no way in hell he was going to advertise it to the world.

“Spike, you have to! We need to see the doctor? Remember? Regular check ups to make sure everything’s OK?” Spike shook his head, looking decidedly temper tantrumy.

“No.” Buffy rolled her eyes. This was so ridiculous.

“Baby,” she said cajolingly, smiling her best ‘I’m-a-cheerleader-do-what-I-want’ look. “Don’t you want to make sure our baby’s OK? And hey…maybe Doctor Rose can get her out a little earlier.” Spike looked at Buffy suspiciously. She was totally playing him. He knew it. She knew it. Hell, she even knew that he knew that she knew that he knew. But there was absolutely NOTHING he could do about it, and she knew that too.

“Fine. But I’m sprinting everywhere and NOT waiting in the soddin’ waiting room!”

“OK baby. We’ll go straight to the room. Promise.”

***

“Well, I have good news!” Dr. Rose announced. “Your baby is a little ahead of normal development…I think we may be able to get a pretty decent ultrasound picture. Of course, it helps that we have some enhanced equipment; you’ll get a much better image than regular ultrasounds.”

“But it’s safe for the bitty, yeah?” Spike asked with concern.

“Perfectly,” Rose assured the nervous dad. She set up the machines, and pour contact gel over Spike’s stomach.

“Oi! That’s cold!” His objections trialed off as the first image of their child appeared on the screen. The two parents-to-be were transfixed. They couldn’t take their eyes off the little, tiny life on the screen.

“That’s…” Buffy whispered, squeezing Spike’s hand.

“That’s your very healthy, very good looking baby,” Dr. Rose confirmed. “Everything looks absolutely perfect.” She held the sounding rod against Spike’s belly a while long, letting the couple bask in their baby-ness.

“Thank you,” Buffy whispered tearfully when Rose had finished.

“You are most welcome,” the kindly doctor responded. “Now, I have the transference spell. I understand you have a wiccan friend who you’d like to do the transfer; I want to get it to her now so she can get used to it. Those pills seem to be doing a fine job, Buffy; if it weren’t for fear of your child, you could safely be implanted today. Keep with the program. And I’ll see you both in a month for another check up. Nothing to be alarmed about, I just want to monitor your child’s progress closely considering the…unique nature of the pregnancy.”

“Thanks, Doc. You’re a peach,” Spike said with a sexy grin. Even though the guy was pregnant, Rose couldn’t help the slight flush that ran through her body.

***

Spike made sure his long duster was wrapped around him before the exited the building, hand-in-hand with the love of his existence. They didn’t speak, just basked in the miracle that was their baby. Spike was overcome with a sudden, pressing feeling to tell Buffy exactly what he felt. He pulled her to a stop, turning her to face him.

“Buffy. Luv. I jus…I…I love you. You’re the best thing that’s every happened to me. I never thought you could love me. But you…you accept me, demon and monster. You make me feel like a man, like I’m worth somethin’. No one’s ever done that. You’re—“

But the end never came. Buffy was staring, misty-eyed, at the spot where Spike used to be, and was no longer.

“You’re fuckin’ KIDDING ME!” Buffy yelled, incensed. NO ONE interrupted her mate’s heartfelt confessions! Oh, someone was going DOWN.