"...can't tell you how sorry I am", Giles stuttered, furiously wiping at his glasses with his handkerchief, unable to meet her eyes. "I assure you..."

"No, no", Joyce said reassuringly, a telltale tremor quivering in her voice. "It's not your fault. I know that. It's just that...I...I don't know how to explain it to...to anyone, really. It's so...sudden. And Buffy...she..."

"Buffy what?"

"Oh! Buffy! You're home!" Joyce leapt unsteadily to her feet as the young Slayer trailed in, shrugging off her jacket, and would have fallen, but for Giles’ hand suddenly on her waist, steadying her--then just as quickly removed. "I thought that you were at the Bronze..."

"Yeah." With a sigh Buffy dropped into a chair, missing the exchange completely. "Nobody's awake enough. No sleep for three days will do that to you, I guess."

"But how did you get in?", Joyce asked, her eyes darting to the door, which stood silent and unopened.

"Bedroom window", Buffy admitted, blushing slightly as she sat forward. "Force of habit. Sorry." She looked at Joyce curiously, her gaze sliding to her Watcher, who remained seated, looking everywhere except at Buffy. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, of course not", Joyce insisted quickly. "Mr. Giles and I..."

"Joyce", interrupted Giles, his whole manner shifting as something inside him snapped, "Sit down now." Buffy and her mother stared at the librarian in shock as Joyce dropped back onto the couch. "Tell her."

Joyce sneaked a peek at Buffy as she stammered, "Mr. Giles, I don't think..."

"I think you can call me Rupert, at this point", Giles said wearily, rubbing at his eyes. "Buffy, your mother and I have something to tell you."

"Oh God", the Slayer gasped, her whole body tensing. "You're not dating, or getting married, or anything, are you?"

"No!" Joyce cried, nearly flying off the couch again in her shock. "Buffy, we--"

"That remains to be determined", Giles replied calmly, restraining Joyce with a firm but gentle grip on her arm, and otherwise ignoring her. "You must excuse your mother for her behavior. She's not dealing well with this latest development."

"I can see that", Buffy said cautiously. "What is this latest development, Giles?"

"I'm afraid that your mother must be the one to tell you that. It would be improper for me to...breathe, Joyce..."

"Mom?", Buffy asked, "What's going on?"

Joyce stared at Buffy for an eternal moment, and then, with a shudder, she dropped her face into her hands and, in a quavering voice, sobbed out, “I’m pregnant.”

Giles watched his Slayer carefully, waiting for a violent emotional outburst from the teenager that never came. Instead, she sat back slowly, her eyes unfocused, and whispered, "I see." The room was silent as the Slayer stared into nothingness, wearily processing the information. Finally, she turned to her Watcher and quietly asked, "When did this happen?"

"It was during the band candy fiasco. We--"

"Don't tell me, Giles. I don't need to hear it." Buffy stood slowly, as if the world rested on her shoulders, and shrugged into her jacket. The Slayer swept her eyes over her Mother and her Watcher, then turned and walked toward the door.

"Buffy?" The Slayer stopped at the sound of her name, tilting her head to listen as Joyce lifted her head and in a quavering voice, pleaded, "What do you...How do you feel about this? Don't you have anything to say about...about all of it?"

Buffy stood still for a moment, then looked at her mother over her shoulder and with a bleak, mourning note in her voice, said, "It's a boy."

Then she was gone.