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A/N :- Sorry that it has been so long since I updated this story. My muse was being bloody difficult as per usual . I'm in full flow on this story now and have the end in sight ..... Thank you for all the support and reviews ,they have helped get me back on this and I'm working on chapter nineteen at the moment. Please keep the reviews and comments coming as they have inspired me again !
Lise


Chapter Eighteen


Spike paced the small space of the hospital room, every now and again casting a glance at Buffy. The only noise was coming from outside the room as the nurses got on and did their daily routines. Giles sat in the chair to one side of the bed reading a book . He looked up and sighed, dragging his glasses off and rubbing his tired eyes.

"Spike , please , stop that bloody pacing"

Spike stopped and cast a 'up yours wanker' look towards the watcher and then continued. A nurse entered the room and smiled at Spike before going to the machine that Buffy was hooked up to.She carefully checked the drip and the machine before writing down the results on the clipboard. She left without saying anything.

"This is driving me round the soddin' bend, why aren't they doing anything? " he pointed to the machine " I can hear her heart beat , and all that's doing is giving her bloody fluids. Why aren't they doing the scans and stuff the Doc was going on about?"

"Calm down Spike, she's been here a few hours, things like that take time to sort out"
"Yeah well, I'm sick of bloody waiting , I'm going to get me a doc and threaten him 'til he does some tests and sorts out my girl"

Spike rushed from the room , a swirl of fury and black leather.

"Oh lord" Giles looked over at Buffy and then rushed out after the furious vampire. He stared down the hall and then looked towards the other end, unsure of the where Spike had gone.A scream came from his left and he ran off in that direction. Giles rushed into the consultants room to see Spike holding a man over a table by his throat and a nurse trying to pull the irate man off of the doctor. Giles groaned and pulled at Spike whilst calling him to bring him back to his senses.

Spike released the doctor , who slide into his chair and rubbed at his bruised neck incessantly , trying to ease the discomfort.The nurse checked his neck and handed the consultant a glass of water to ease the soreness and coughing.

The doctor eyed the blond man and shakily replaced the glass on the table, spilling some in the process. "If you wish for me to give your, wife, the scans she needs then you went the wrong way about it " he paused, trying hard to stop yet another coughing fit and also to gather his wits. " As it happens I can see that you are ..... passionate about your wife, and as much as I hate to give in to your very persuasive tactics , I concede and will have her transferred straight away.Now please, go back to your wife and do not show any aggression to the rest of my staff or I'll have not only you, but your wife removed from this hospital"

Spike sucked in his cheeks , nodded and swirled round and headed back to Buffys room, Giles trailed behind him .Oh Spike knew that Giles was angry with him but he also knew that Giles wouldn't confront him. Not with his mood so desperate and dark. Spike threw open the door to Buffys room and sat on her bed, taking her hand in his.

Giles stood back and watched as Spike held her hand up to his lips and kissed it, he had to admit that the level of devotion and love the vampire showed her was awe inspiring. He heard a low rumble emanate from Spike and smiled .

Spikes purr vibrated through her . She could feel him on the edge of her conscience , pulling her from her sleep. She tried to reach for him but couldn't.Her frustration built until she screamed, hoping he would hear it.

Giles sat in the chair and smiled at Spike as he laid her hand back down "You know that you handled that wrongly , don't you? You're lucky the consultant took pity and didn't just extricate you"

"Give it a rest, if I hadn't of taken the actions I did, Buffy would still be here next week"

"Perhaps, but how long do you think they will put up with your bullying tactics?

"Don't rightly care so long as they find out what's causing this and get my Buffy back and well again.Isn't that what they get paid to do? So far all they've done is fit her up to that bloody contraption and look at her" Spike stood up as a doctor and a nurse came into the room .

They smiled at the men before addressing Spike.

"We're about to take your wife for the scans now Mr? " when the doctor didn't get a reply to his querie he continued "You may accompany her but we will ask that you remain behind the screen and watch."

Spike nodded and looked back at Buffy and then to Giles. His eyes searched the watchers and Giles nodded the silent question.

"I'll stay, just come and get me if there are any err..... problems"

Buffy was now being pushed out of the room on her gurney, Spike following them all .Giles stood at the door , watching them through the small window. "God, let her be alright"


Inside , Buffy sunk into the black of the abyss, trapped inside herself . A noise distracted her and she turned , amazed to see a mirror image of herself. She frowned "Who are you?"

Mirror image Buffy smiled sweetly "I'm you "

Buffy rolled her eyes "I know that , I'm not a complete moron, who are you really?"

"Not a moron huh? Right , the truth? I'm something you can't even conceive of" it smiled

Buffy eyes widened in horror. How long ago had she heard those immortal words spoken? It couldn't be the First Evil though, not here inside her head . It laughed at the look upon her face as she recognized the words and blinked out of existence. Buffy screamed louder this time. She needed to wake up, needed to get everyone together and prepare for what was inevitable.

She needed to wake up and prepare for what she was sure ,would be a war.


Spike stood behind the large glass screen as Buffy was moved into position within the C.A.T scan machine. He looked at the doctor and then turned his attention to the screens. Each screen showed a picture of her body, slowly going from her head to her toes. The doctor froze the picture of her brain and typed into the laptop beside him. Spike looked back at Buffy and frowned . His focus soon drifted back to the screen and the picture of her heart as it beat.He smiled , transfixed on the steady rhythm. The picture blinked into the next and then the next .His attention piqued when the doctor shot forward and stared at the screen.Spike looked back at it and frowned again.

"What is it? What have you seen?" worry and tension flooded him.

The doctor looked over his shoulder and mumbled something that Spike didn't catch, then pointed at a small shape on the screen. "It seems you're not as infertile as you thought"

Spike staggered backwards and wiped his hands over his face, shocked to his core. He felt the coolness of tears on his cheeks and gave a half sob, half laugh.It couldn't be, she couldn't be.

"I think we have as much data as we need now, we best get your wife out of there now, sir. Sir?"

Spike looked at the doctor and nodded, his brain was still stuck back at the point where the doctor had shown him the little blob on the screen . The doctor hit a button on the laptop and tore off the picture, handing it to Spike before he laid a heavy hand on his shoulder "Congrats , now lets get your wife back to her room, no doubt your Father will be anxious by now"

Spike followed him into the scan room again and smiled when he saw her . His girl never stopped surprising him.

Giles stood as the gurney was pushed through the doors. His eyes met Spikes , he saw the worry there but also awe. Giles remained quiet until the nurses and the doctor had left.

"What is going on ,Spike? Did they find anything? What is wrong with Buffy?"

Spike grinned, the first genuine smile since Buffy had been taken ill. Giles was confused by this and huffed before asking Spike what the hell was so funny.

"They found something Rupes, found something amazing ...."
"For gods sake Spike, spit it out and stop bloody smirking"

Spke held out the print out and watched as the realization dawned on the old boys face.

"It can't possibly ....." he sat down heavily into a chair "It can't be yours "

Spike growled possessively "Don't be a tit watcher, course it's mine, well Williams but ...Who else has been with Buffy since Glory? "

Giles slumped back in his chair .Buffy , pregnant . By Spike of all people. How on earth did it survive the trauma of her coming back and could they have worse timing? He thought.

Giles looked over at his slayer and sighed.She had some tough times ahead and who knows what was coming. Spike took Buffys hand as he sat on her bed and kissed her knuckles tenderly.

"Come on pet, you need to wake up. I need you and so does our little niblet. Come back to us love, please" he turned his head away from Buffy and the watcher as tears welled in his eyes. Giles had been taken back by the depth of feeling that Spike displayed openly.

Buffy could hear voices, distant and familiar, yet distorted, as if she was underwater.She could feel the ache in her head growing and knew that she was waking. God how she wished her aches were part of the dream...

Dream.....
Slayer dream.....
The First ....
Oh god......

Her eyes shot open , she looked around with blurred eyes ,confused as to why she was in a hospital . She followed the tubes to her wrists and struggled to sit up.Immediately Giles and Spike came to her side and helped her .She smiled shyly and grimaced when her head began to throb.

"Your head hurt pet? Want me to get the doc so he can give you something?"

Buffy nodded and slumped back in her pillows , she followed Spikes progress around the bed and once he was out of the room, she turned to Giles.

"The First, paid me a little visit while I was .... whatever..... Look, it was a slayer dream and a doosey at that . When Spike comes back I want you to go , get researching and find out what the hell it wants.Last time it tried to take Angel , I'm not going to give it a chance to take Spike."

"I will Buffy , rest assured that we will do whatever it takes to find out everything we can. " he took her hand in his and smiled up at her,glad that she was getting better. "Once you're well enough ,we'll call a meeting and go over everything.But you will still have to take it easy....."

He was interrupted by the arrival of the doctor,followed by an anxious Spike.

"So, back to the world of the living? " the doctor asked ,a roll of eyes was his answer. " Great ,well, we couldn't find anything conclusive in the tests that we did , nothing out of the ordinary with you or your pregnancy...."

"My what!?"

One by one, eyes met and they all told her the same thing , the doctor wasn't mad nor did he have her notes mixed with another patients. Now her eyes locked on Spike, her brow raised in question.If anyone was talking to her, she wasn't listening. All her focus was on her husband.

Spike grinned, he couldn't help it. He fumbled with his coat and with his pocket,finally getting the photo of his unborn child free and sat beside Buffy.Her gaze fell to the black and white picture.Slowly her hands took it from Spike and she stared.

Oh god... why now? Is this what the First was after? Her eyes swelled with tears and she sighed deeply ,trying to hold them back. Her attention drifted back to what was being said.

".... and seeing as all the tests came back negative, we see no reason to hold you in any longer.We think that you should stay overnight , just to be on the safe side , but if you still seem active and alert,then we'll get you released tomorrow ,around lunchtime."

Buffy nodded . Spike stood and wiped his palm before reaching out to shake the doctors hand. Giles did the same and they watched as the man left the room. The door was still swinging shut when Buffy turned to both men .

"Get me out of here, now!"

Giles huffed,he knew that Buffy hated hospitals and with good reason. There was the episode with the Kinderst'ood demon and with her cousins death and many others, but there was no way he was going to allow her home without her doctors consent. It appeared Spike was of the same mind and had just told her as much.Wisely, Spike was now standing away from the bed by the window.

"Why,why can't I go back with you? Give me one god damn reason? I'm not ill.I'm pregnant apparently ,and who's fault is that? " she glared at Spike ,who was now sucking in his cheeks and his jaw was ticking.This was not how he imagined her being when she found out. The William in him had been hoping for the perfect hallmark moment.

"I've got bigger problems, potential problems ,to deal with before I can even consider this pregnancy... Giles ,this is the First...."

His face was set with emotion, he was dealing with Buffy the slayer , not his Buffy, his lover ,the mother of his unborn child. She moved over as he sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her. His whole being thrummed with energy now that she was pressed against his side. "Tell me " was all he said.

"It was strange, kind of ... hard to explain . It was like I was looking in a mirror , only not.It was me, I only knew who or what it was when it said something that it had said to me before . It said ' I am something you cannot conceive of ' . That's what Jenny , not Jenny,Jenny but it's conjured up Jenny , said to me when I went down into that pit behind the Christmas tree lot. Giles we need to know what it wants , why and how to get rid of the First once and for all. If it has made first contact then we need to get ahead of it and it's plans , and stay one step ahead."