Chapter 21: March 2017
Wesley had to fight to suppress his smile as Hannah slunk into his office. She looked as though she expected to face a firing squad. He remained silent as she sat down on the chair across from his desk, but the way she held herself suggested that his Slayer was still hurting from the previous night’s fight.
“Are you alright?”
The question startled her. Wesley knew she had expected him to immediately start his lecture, but he had the feeling that Spike had already given her a dressing down. “I’m okay.” At his lifted eyebrow, Hannah admitted, “A little sore.”
“Would you like to tell me what you were doing last night?”
She flushed. “It was stupid.”
“You took Sam out on patrol with you,” Wesley stated.
Hannah slouched further down in the chair, refusing to meet his eyes. “I just wanted to show him a vampire.”
“I realize that.” Wesley sighed, and then got up and came around the desk. “Come here,” he ordered, walking over to the couch that lined one wall. She did as he asked, sitting on one end of the couch. Wesley took a seat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.
Hannah stiffened under his touch, and then she turned and buried her face in his shirt. “I’m so, so sorry.”
She didn’t often cry. Much like Buffy, Hannah rarely showed any kind of weakness, but her brush with death had pulled down her defenses. “I know,” Wesley replied quietly, rubbing her back soothingly.
He could be calm because he and Nika had stayed up till nearly dawn discussing how they were going to handle the situation. Hannah had been given something for the pain at the hospital, so she wasn’t in any shape to talk about consequences.
Buffy and Spike’s quick explanation of what had happened told Wesley that Hannah hadn’t knowingly placed Sam in danger. Nor had she intended to confront the Kraecher demons on her own, which meant that she hadn’t gone against his instructions directly. It had been bad luck on her part.
Besides, Wesley knew what Kraecher demons were like. He had some idea of what they would have done to her if Spike and Buffy hadn’t shown up when they did.
He knew what they’d probably threatened her with. Hannah was, after all, just a girl.
She pulled back after a moment, rubbing at her face impatiently. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he replied. “I do have some idea of what they probably said to you.”
For a moment, it appeared that Hannah was going to burst into tears again, but the emotion was quickly controlled. “It was bad.”
She wasn’t referring to the cast on her arm, and Wesley knew it. “You were quite lucky,” he said softly. “I want you to remember this, Hannah.” Her head shot up and she stared at him, the question in her eyes unspoken but there nonetheless. “You are not invincible, even though you might feel like that sometimes. This was not your fault, but you knew that the Kraechers were in the area, even if you did not intend on meeting up with them without assistance.”
Hannah nodded slowly, glancing away. She didn’t want Wesley to know that she had intended on meeting them, even if she hadn’t meant to get into it alone.
“If something happened to you, there would be a number of people who would be devastated, love, including me.”
She looked up at her Watcher, seeing the kindness in his eyes. “I promise I won’t do it again.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Wesley advised her, smiling. “Now, I’m not going to punish you, so you needn’t look so worried. I imagine you’ve learned your lesson. Anything else would just be redundant, and I’m rarely redundant.”
Her smile was genuine. “Thanks.”
Wesley touched her shoulder. “As stupid as it was, Spike was looking much more like his usual self last night, so something was accomplished. Next time, however, I think you might want to leave well enough alone. It was a risk you didn’t need to take.”
She nodded, and Wesley was satisfied with the chastened expression on her face. “Now, why don’t you go see Nika. I think she’s probably got something for you to eat.”
Only when his Slayer was gone did Wesley allow himself to slump against the back of the couch. Hannah didn’t need to see his fear. The idea that he might have lost her frightened him terribly. Without the pressure from the Council to keep an emotional distance, Wesley hadn’t had any trouble coming to care for the girl.
He now could look back on his sojourn in Sunnydale with even more understanding. He fully comprehended Rupert’s feelings for Buffy. Wesley couldn’t have loved his Slayer more if she’d been his own flesh and blood.
Wesley passed a shaky hand over his face. It was fine. Hannah would be fine. That was all that mattered.
~~~~~
Buffy rinsed her mouth out with a shaky hand. She was grateful that Spike was off picking up Meg, because otherwise he’d be hovering. Brushing her teeth, Buffy considered her options. It wasn’t like she’d never been pregnant before, but it had been a while.
It was entirely possible that something she ate was causing the stomach upset, or maybe it was just a virus. Except that there were other symptoms that signaled change.
Buffy was beginning to regret not now discussing birth control with Spike. Nor had she brought up the idea of having more children, not since they’d talked about it years ago when the twins were born. At this point, she had no idea how he would react when he found out she was pregnant.
If she was pregnant. It could be something else.
Not likely.
Downstairs, the front door opened and Buffy could hear Meg talking a mile a minute about her sleepover at Andrea’s house. From her daughter’s voice, she could tell that something had happened to make the night less fun than it should have been.
“And then she said Cody and Taylor didn’t like me anymore!” Meg was saying as Buffy walked up to the kitchen doorway. Meg’s back was to her, and she was completely focused on her father. “So I told her I didn’t care because real friends didn’t ditch you, and she said she wasn’t sure she could be my friend because of Cody and Taylor.”
There was a great deal of anger as well as a hint of unshed tears in the girl’s voice, and Buffy winced in sympathy. She could dimly remember the times when the girl who was your best friend one day was cutting you out the next, often for no reason at all. Spike was handling it as he always had—by listening patiently.
Buffy couldn’t stop her smile. He really was such a good dad.
“Then what?” Spike asked, acting as though Meg’s story was the most important thing in the world.
“So I said she didn’t have to be my friend and I told her she was being a coward,” Meg replied. “I wanted to call you guys to come and get me, but it was really late, and so we just went to bed.”
“We would have come for you, luv,” Spike said quietly. “You know you can call us any time.”
Meg shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Cody and Taylor have been acting like major b—” She stopped herself before saying the forbidden word. “You know. I thought Andrea was my friend, though.”
Her voice dropped on this last, and Meg dropped the act to reveal the hurt little girl underneath. Buffy came into the kitchen and put her arms around her daughter. “Well, I think Andrea doesn’t know jack. If she doesn’t want to be your friend, that’s her loss, not yours.”
Spike frowned at the impatience that touched Meg’s eyes. Although he agreed with his wife, he also knew that Meg didn’t think her mother understood. “Still hurts when people treat you badly, though, moppet. Nothin’ you can do about that.”
Meg shrugged. “I’ll be okay.”
“Maybe you should call Trina,” Buffy suggested. “I know she’d probably enjoy hanging out with you. You could invite her to the beach with us next week.” Trina played on the intramural soccer team with Meg, but they didn’t go to the same school, which made it more difficult. Buffy might have been more worried if Meg didn’t have other close friends, outside her classmates.
Meg brightened slightly. “That would be cool.”
She was off a few moments later, leaving Spike and Buffy in the kitchen together. “How are you?” Buffy asked him.
“Good.” For the first time since his return, Spike meant it. “The fight last night—” He paused. “It was good. You hear from Wes?”
Buffy nodded. “Yeah. Are we still going over there for dinner tonight?”
“‘course,” Spike replied, a slight frown forming. “Are you alright, luv?”
“I’m fine,” Buffy replied quickly.
“No, you’re not,” he said. “You’re too pale.” Buffy’s earlier assumption was proven correct as Spike rose to come hover near her. “What is it? Are you not feelin’ well? We don’t have to go tonight. Maybe you should—”
“Spike,” Buffy said, cutting him off. “Really, I’m okay. It’s just—” She hesitated. There was no way to know if telling him her suspicions would break the fragile détente they’d achieved. “You might want to sit down for this.”
He grabbed her hand. “Buffy, you’re not sick, are you?” Spike demanded. “Have you been hiding this from me? I told you—”
After the near-silence of the last few weeks, Buffy was nearly overwhelmed by the outpouring of words. This was more like it. This was also a little scary. “I’m not sick.” She took a deep breath. “I think I might be pregnant.”
There was a long silence, so long that she was beginning to think that Spike was so upset by her news that he was going to retreat into silence again. “How?”
It was the last question Buffy had been expecting. “I think you know how.”
“No, I…” Spike trailed off as he thought about the last few weeks, realizing that they hadn’t taken any precautionary measures. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“You knew this was going to happen?”
Buffy shrugged. “I realized after the first night that we hadn’t used birth control, and then I just kind of forgot about it.”
That wasn’t precisely true. It was more a matter of deliberately avoiding the issue. “I see.”
“Are you okay with this?” Buffy asked, some of her fear coloring her voice. “Spike, it’s—”
“It’s wonderful.” The news—the words and their meaning were finally beginning to sink in. The thought that Buffy might be carrying hischild was something so amazing—”Are you certain?”
“No, but I have my suspicions. We’ll have to get one of those at-home pregnancy tests. They’re pretty accurate.” Buffy laced her fingers through his. “You’re really okay with this?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Spike asked softly. “This is—more…” He trailed off, emotion preventing him from saying more.
“We didn’t talk about this,” Buffy replied. “I didn’t know if it would happen or not, but I know I should have said something, and—”
He stopped her mid-ramble. “No, you shouldn’t have said anything. This is better.” Spike thought perhaps that he might have made a decision he would later regret if given a choice in matters. Having it come as a surprise was better. “Are you alright with this?”
“I want this.” There was no hesitation to her words. “As much as I’ve wanted anything.”
That was all Spike needed to know.
~~~~~
“Are you doing okay?”
“So help me, Connor, if you ask me that one more time—” Dawn left the threat unspoken, but she was completely serious. “I’m pregnant, not dying.”
Connor didn’t bother arguing with her, knowing full well that Dawn wouldn’t hesitate to do something really nasty to him if he kept bugging her. He’d been around for Nika’s miscarriages, though, and the thought that it could happen to them—
It scared him. And he didn’t get scared very often.
Instead of saying anything more, Connor just put a hand on the small of Dawn’s back. “I worry about you.”
“I know you do.” Dawn shot him an exasperated look. “I’m fine.”
“It’s just—” Connor hesitated. “Things don’t always turn out for the best.”
Dawn’s face softened as she remembered how Connor’s own mother had died. Of course, Darla had been a vampire, and there had been a prophecy involved, so it wasn’t at all the same, but she could understand why he’d be worried. “They will this time.”
He moved closer, his arm snaking around Dawn’s waist. At five months, she was just beginning to show, and she was glowing. Connor thought that his wife had never been more beautiful.
They both saw Spike at the same time standing by the baggage carousel, waiting for them. He had his hands in his pockets and looked better than either of them had expected he would. From Buffy’s reports, they had thought he’d be—well, different.
He was still Spike, though.
He and Dawn shared a warm hug and he shook Connor’s hand. “How was the flight?”
“Good,” Connor replied. “I was a little concerned—”
“Because he’s a big worrywart,” Dawn inserted.
“—but there wasn’t any turbulence,” Connor continued as though he’d never been interrupted.
Spike’s eyes gleamed with humor. “Hell-Boy bein’ overbearin’?”
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Yes! He’s worse than you ever were with Buffy.” She gave her husband a sour look. “I may have to ask you to sit on him while we’re here, because I plan on having some fun.”
Connor didn’t appear all that concerned about the possibility. “Spike wouldn’t argue with me taking care of you.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Spike agreed, shrugging. “Sorry, Bit, but you’re surrounded by men highly interested in your well-being. You’ll just have to get used to it.”
Dawn huffed. “Fine.” She pointed a finger at Connor. “But don’t mess with my vacation, mister. I plan on shopping, gossiping, and eating, and not necessarily in that order.”
Connor grinned. “Those sound like perfectly safe activities to me.”
Spike snorted, then quickly hid it behind a cough. “You two still stayin’ with us?”
“Yeah,” Dawn replied. “Angel said we were welcome at the hotel, but since he’s running the agency out of there, Connor didn’t think it would be very restful.”
“You don’t want to get in between a pregnant lady and her sleep,” Connor inserted. “I thought we could go hunting while we’re here, though. It’s been a while.”
It had always been how they had bonded, Spike remembered. They had become close by watching each other’s backs, and saving each other’s lives. “We’ll have to. I told Hannah she wasn’t going out on patrol without me for a while.”
“I heard about that,” Connor said. “Is she okay?”
“Broken arm,” Spike said. “Could have been a lot worse.”
“Well, she’s lucky she had you and Buffy,” Dawn said.
Spike gave a noncommittal grunt, but he looked pleased. Dawn thought he looked older. Buffy had warned her about what to expect, and the Slayer hadn’t been wrong. There were new lines on his face, and a weariness in his step that was new. On the other hand, he looked happy. Happier than Dawn had expected.
Happier than he had in a long time.
Dawn had known that his immortality was weighing on him heavily, and the new peace in his eyes was ample evidence that the burden had been lifted. She tucked her hand through his arm. “So what else is new?” she asked.
A sly grin tugged at the corners of his lips. “Somethin’ big, but you’ll have to wait till dinner at Nika’s for the news. Buffy an’ I have an announcement.”
Connor couldn’t help but grin at the look on Dawn’s face as she immediately began to probe for the news. She never had liked to wait to hear a secret, and Spike knew that as well as anyone.
Spike really hadn’t changed much.
~~~~~
Hannah fumbled with her books, trying to get them back in her locker one-handed. Even though it would probably only be a week before the cast came off, it was still a week too long. “Let me get those.”
Sam was suddenly right there, grabbing her books from her and stacking them neatly in her locker. “Thanks.”
“How are you?”
They hadn’t spoken since she’d said goodbye to him when Spike and Buffy had dropped him off. She wasn’t sure if he was mad at her or not, or if Sam even wanted to be with her. Now that he knew what her life was really like, there was a good possibility he wouldn’t want any part of it.
“I’m okay,” she said softly, not meeting his eyes. The idea that he wouldn’t want her anymore stung more than she thought it would. Hannah hadn’t realized that she was falling in love with him.
A gentle finger touched her cheek. “So are you grounded into the next century?”
Hannah finally looked up, and found Sam watching her intently. “No. Wesley said I’d learned my lesson. You?”
“Spike telling Dad that I’d stayed with you at the hospital helped.” Sam gave her a lopsided grin. “I got told if I ever came in that late again, I’d regret it though.” He suddenly frowned. “Are we okay?”
“What?”
“Do you—” Sam took a deep breath. “Do you still want to go out with me? Because I would totally understand if you didn’t.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Hannah asked. “You saved my life.”
“Hannah, I ran off. I left you there, and—”
She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Sam, if you hadn’t gone for Buffy and Spike, we would probably both be dead. You saved my life.”
“Then you’re not mad at me?” he asked. “I thought when you didn’t call—”
“I thought you’d be mad at me ,” Hannah confessed. “That maybe once you saw how freaky my life is, you wouldn’t want to date me. I wouldn’t blame you.”
Public displays of affection were frowned upon, especially in the hallways. Sam decided he didn’t give a rat’s ass. He dipped his head down, initiating a kiss that Hannah soon began to return. “Mr. Reynier, Miss MacDougall, can we please control ourselves?” The stiff voice of the principal had them pulling back, both with red faces.
Mrs. Carter gave them both a dirty look. “Don’t let me catch you two kissing again,” she warned. “Or you’ll both end up in detention.”
They both muttered apologies they didn’t really mean, waiting until she’d walked off before looking at each other again. “Does that answer your question?” Sam asked.
“Yeah.” Hannah smiled. “Do you want to come over today? Connor and Dawn are going to be there for dinner. I really want you to meet them.”
Sam grinned at her. “That would be nice.”
And then, because no one was looking, they kissed again.