My One and Only

Buffy stared thoughtfully at herself in the mirror, moving from
side to side, taking in her appearance. She had a little
paunch, but nothing enormous. Yet. She patted her tummy
and then smoothed her hands over it, trying to imagine
herself when it got larger.

"Pet? What are you doing?"

Buffy looked over her shoulder to see her mate
and husband standing in the doorway of their bedroom,
watching her with eyebrows raised.

"Checking out my tummy," she explained.

"You're not going to be one of those birds that
freak out if you gain weight during pregnancy are you?"

She rolled her eyes at the thought. "No way."
She frowned. "Well, at least I don't think so. I've always
wanted to be pregnant."

"Have you now?" Spike asked, sauntering over
slowly, grinning.

She nodded. "Yup. I've always thought
pregnant woman were so beautiful. The whole idea of giving
birth is just amazing to me." She grabbed his hand and placed
it over her stomach. "Spike, our BABY is in there. Ours.
Yours and mine. Life is living inside of me. Don't you find that
amazing?"

Spike smiled broadly and brought her into his
arms. "Even more so because it's ours. Not supposed to
happen, me being a vampire and all."

She yawned and rested her head against his
chest. "It was meant to be."

"Better believe it, baby," Spike whispered and
placed a kiss on her forehead as his hands traveled up her
back, stroking her skin lightly. "How much time do we have
before the party?" He murmured.

She grinned. "Not enough time for that."

"I can be quick—wait. That's probably not the
best thing to say is it?"
She laughed and pulled out of his embrace. "No
it's not, and trust me honey, you could never be quick."

Tucking his tongue behind his teeth, he
smirked. "Lucky for you, innit?

"Yes dear. Do you have Giles' presents at the
door? We should probably get going. As much as the man
says he doesn't want anyone to make a fuss on his birthday,
he's lying. He loves the attention."

"His presents are right by the door, just as my
lovely pregnant wife ordered."

"Thank you," she yawned again as she made
her way into the foyer to grab her jacket. Spike followed, a
slight frown on his face.

"What?" she asked him, seeing the frown.


"You're yawning a lot today. Did you get any
sleep at all last night kitten?"

She busied herself with zipping up her jacket
and grabbing some of Giles' presents. "Yeah, I slept fine."

He cocked his head to the side and she gave up
trying to hide from his inquiring gaze and just looked up at
him. "Spike, I'm fine. I'm pregnant, it's normal for me to be
tired."

He appeared to be contemplating something. "Do
you want me to give you a massage? Maybe we could get
home early and you can take a warm bath and I'll give you a
massage before you go to bed."

She smiled wistfully. "That does sound nice."

Grabbing the last of Giles' gifts, Spike used his
free hand to take Buffy's hand and they made their way out
of their apartment to Spike's car.

Buffy stared out the window and stifled another
yawn. Truth was, she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night.
She'd been having dreams that she just couldn't explain yet. Well, in a way she could, but she needed help figuring out
what was going on. She wasn't like a regular Slayer; she
was just a girl with powers. Mated and now married to a
vampire. Her Spike who'd been brought to her when she
was only a teenager.

If there was on thing she'd learned since
becoming Spike's mate, it was not to keep secrets from him.
She just didn't know how to explain to him without him
worrying what she didn't yet understand herself.

How could she possibly explain to him that if her
dreams were any indication, she was becoming less human
and more like him.

Immortal.

If you haven't read You Mean the World to Me, you'll probably be a little lost. Go read it! :)