Truth and Myths
Chapter 5
January 19, 2004

"Happy birthday, luv."

"Don't remind me. You know how all my birthday's have ended in disaster since I was 15..."

"No celebration planned, just like you did last year"

"Still didn't make the day happy, the First had you, and I hadn't been able to rescue you yet. No big disaster, just another day of pain and misery."

Spike wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and kissed the top of her head as they continued to lay in bed.

"Maybe we could just spend the day like this and there'd be no disaster."

"Sounds good to me."

Buffy sighed. "No, we better get up. Probably if we stayed in bed some demon or something would appear in our room and we'd have to fight it dressed like this, or in your case not dressed." Buffy smirked and playfully ran her hands up his bare legs.

Spike leered and pulled her up so she was sitting on his lap.

Some time later they made it out of their bedroom, and over breakfast discussed the future.

"I know you trust me, Wes and Fred but I want you to have a say Spike in what dimension of the final three we go to."

"Trust you and love you with ever fiber of my being, pet."

"And I do the same for you, that's why I want you to help Dawn and I choose."

"Anyone going besides us, the baby and Dawn?"

Buffy grinned lopsidedly, "Andrew, believe it or not. It's weird, I think he feels safer with us than anyone else he knows. Plus the whole Science-Fiction geek thing."

Spike laughed. "Yeah he is, isn't he. Think he saw too many of those shows and movies growing up."

"So will you join us in deciding?" Buffy said softly.

"Going to play it that way, huh? Buffy, I'll be completely straight with you on this. I'm terrified I'll choose wrong and endanger us all."

Buffy looked him in the eyes, and squeezed his right hand in her left, "I'm afraid of doing that too. I think all of us are. We need your opinion, the more of us deciding this the better."

"All right Buffy, I'll join in too, then."

After they poured over the information Wes and Fred had compiled most of the day, they drove to Wolfram and Hart just after sunset.

"I like this one best, because look- they've got air cars!" Andrew piped in.

Buffy and Spike exchanged amused looks. "We're considering that one, Andrew. Along with these two. The cool factor isn't that high on our list of important stuff though." Buffy said.

"Have to make sure it's friendly to us, all of us. Including the fact most of us are some kind of mongrel types." Spike added with a slight smirk.

"Have to make sure we are friendly to it as well, we don't want to go to some place else that we are going to mess up big time just by being there." Dawn reminded Andrew. She rolled her eyes, it wasn't like they hadn't told him that like twenty times already.

"Yeah I know, it's just-"

"Andrew! We know!" Dawn snapped. Andrew looked so dejected, Dawn couldn't stay irritated at him, "Sorry I screamed at you. It's just well, right now, not a good time, okay?"

"Okay"

Now Buffy and Spike were arguing "What did we agree on this morning Spike?"

"I said I'd offer opinions, that I'd help, not that I'd make a decision"

"Yes, you did to say you would."

"Did not."

"Did too."

Dawn rolled her eyes, not this again...

Blessedly the phone rang, stopping the squabbling. Angel picked it up with relief, some new problem hopefully, something to take him away from constant snipe, snipe, kiss and make up that was the Buffy and Spike drama. It was like watching an endless Addams family marathon, starring Buffy and Spike as hotter tempered Mortica and Gomez.

"Angel, Cordy's awake."

Angel almost dropped the phone in surprise. "She is?" He barely tamped down his joy. A quick surge of fear about the curse though, did the trick.

"She's asking where you are. She's getting pretty impatient about wanting to see you."

"Tell her I'll be there in a few minutes."

Angel hung up. "Cordelia's awake. I'm going to see her."

"I'd like to see her too." Buffy said.

Angel nodded. "I guess most of you do. If she's up to seeing a whole gang of visitors I'll have them let you in. Right now she says she wants to see me. But anyone that wants to can come along to the hospital."

After Angel had visited with Cordy alone for several minutes, he walked out to the waiting room looked at Buffy. "Cordy wants to see you. I told her some of the details so she wouldn't be so surprised at how, uh, different you look."

"You mean the fact I'm hugely pregnant with Spike's baby?" Buffy grinned mischievously.

Angel blanched briefly at her deliberate bluntness, "Yes, that."

"Good." Buffy heaved herself out of the chair- waving off Spike's help this time.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself. I heard the story. Spike? Wow he must have changed in major ways."

"Very major ways. Angel didn't tell you?"

"Hah! This is Angel remember."

Buffy laughed. "Yeah kind of forgotten how he is about things, Spike is so different. Even if he has a secret, give him a push in the right direction and you'll find out."

"That could be scary."

"Oh believe me it was, he never hid just how much he loved me, as soon as he knew it was on 24-7. I like that now. But he's not intense burning passion all the time since he got his soul back."

"Soul? Did he get cursed like Angel?"

Buffy giggled, "Do you think he could have knocked me up if he had?"

Cordy laughed, "So how did he?"

"Spike is this major romantic at heart, remember how freakily devoted he was to Druscilla?"

"Yeah, so how did he end up with you on the side of the good guys, and with a soul no less?"

"Oh boy that's a really long story..."

"So Cliff Notes version then."

"Okay: Spike falls in love with me but doesn't know it, Dru does though, she dumps him, he comes to Sunnydale, keeps trying to convince me he loves me, decides the only thing that will make him worthy of my love is getting his soul back, goes to Africa, goes through some really dangerous and painful torture trials, wins his soul, comes back to Sunnydale crazy with guilt and shame over what he did as a soulless vampire, pulls himself together, we fall in love, Angel comes to Sunnydale with freaky amulet-"

"Whoa, that last one, when did it happen?"

"Right after you went into the coma from what I've figured out from Spike."

"Okay, so what happened next?"

"Angel gave us the amulet, Spike wore it and saved the world from an apocalypse-"

Cordy gasped "Shanshu."

"We don't know. Don't tell Angel. I know he's really counting on fulfilling that prophesy."

"Is that how Spike got you pregnant though, when he was brought back to life?"

"No, before he saved the world."

Cordy looked relived but puzzled. "How could he?"

Buffy teased, "What? Save the world?"

Cordy rolled her eyes.

"Oh okay, I knew what you meant. The answer is we don't know for sure but we guess it had something to do with that amulet."

"So you said he's a major romantic?"

Buffy smiled dreamily, "Yeah, and even more so with the soul..."

"You asked him yet about what he was before?"

"Not for major details, I want him to tell me when he's ready to. I know he was close to his mom and she was sick. She died soon after he was turned."

Buffy knew the details but she wasn't going to tell Cordy that. But this had been the closest she'd ever felt to Cordy, closest they'd come to feeling like friends.

"Amazing how different, but similar our worlds are now."

Buffy nodded, wondering what Cordy meant.

Cordy saw the flash of confusion on Buffy's face. "I mean with us both in love with souled vampires, and they in love with us."

"Oh so Angel finally told you?"

"You knew? Angel swore you didn't."

Buffy smiled, "I remember enough about how Angel was to know when he cares for someone."

"He was afraid it would hurt you if he showed it."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "He still thinks I'm a 16 year old. I've grown up a lot since then."

Cordy smirked, "So you never learned how to make it clear that you had?"

"Not with Angel. Somehow even when I tried it just turned into an argument. So you can?"

"Most the time." Cordy laughed.

"So tell me how you met up with Angel in L A and how all this happened" Buffy smiled.

"You mean my coma?" This time it was Cordy that teased.

They both laughed then Cordy told Buffy about her failed career as TV star, Angel and her surprise encounter, and his decision to form Angel Investigations. Buffy was fascinated, Cordy had a real talent for weaving a tale. Some of the things Cordy told her about Angel were a surprise. It reminded Buffy again how different they were now. Their lives had diverged so much since he left Sunnydale. They'd both fallen in love with other people that understood them better as well. Cordy knew things about Angel that Buffy doubted she ever would have known. But then Spike knew her better than Angel ever could or would. No one knew her, understood her, could reach her better than Spike. At her darkest times, only Spike could find her and bring her back to life. Buffy hoped she was the same for Spike. She was still a bit afraid to ask. For now she was content that he loved her and she made him happy with her love.

"Hey, earth to Buffy!" Cordy said, and smirked. "Spike must be good if he's got you off in la la land like that."

Buffy blushed. Well, at least Cordy was closer to the mark than Willow.

"I was asking, when's the baby due, do you know what it is- both gender and species?"

"We aren't sure if it's human or part demon. It's a girl, and she's due about month from now."

"So Wes uncover any freaky prophesies about it?"

Buffy winced.

"I take it he did?"

"Later, but Giles did first. He didn't react too well. It's hard for me to talk about it right now, Cordy."

"Oh that badly?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, forget I asked."

"Oh hey, what's today's date? Can't believe I hadn't asked anyone until now..."

"January 19, 2004. My birthday."

"No looming disasters yet?"

"Not yet, but the day isn't over, and something has been making me feel crampy almost all day... I'm hoping it's not anything to do with the baby."

"Buffy! You can't fool around with something like this. It could be serious."

It threw Buffy off for a second to be lectured by Cordelia. Long enough for Cordy to push the call button. When the desk nurse answered Cordy was blunt. "My friend in her is eight months pregnant, I think she's in premature labor, get someone here now."

"But surely it's not Cordy...I've gone all day and it hasn't got any worse."

Cordy ignored Buffy and continued talking to the nurse. "The father of the kid is out there in the waiting room, he's the thin guy with short bleached blonde hair. He goes by the nickname 'Spike'. Let him know what's going on."

A couple of minutes later a nearly frantic Spike rushed into the room. With everyone else following in his wake.

"Buffy!" He picked her up in his arms. "Cordy's doctor said you were going to be tested for premature labor."

"I'm fine. It's just weird cramps. I'm sure it's nothing..."

"You need to be tested, nether the less Ms. Summers." A young woman in a doctor's coat stood just inside the doorway and motioned the young man pushing a wheeled hospital stretcher into the room.

Spike lowered Buffy gently onto the stretcher. "Can I stay with her? She hates hospitals."

"As the father of the baby, yes you can. But the rest of you will have to wait elsewhere, unless you are a family member."

"I'm her sister."

"Name?"

"Dawn Summers."

"Okay. Do you have insurance, Buffy?"

Buffy nodded and fished out her wallet. That had been one good thing Giles had done since Sunnydale, making sure they all had health insurance. Things were just moving too fast. Much faster than your usual hospital. It must have some connection to Wolfram and Hart, Buffy shuddered.

January 20, 2004

"Yes, Ms. Summers you were in early labor. But I think we've stopped it in time. You'll need to stay here overnight for observation."

Buffy hated hospitals with a passion, after her recent experience with Giles drugging her even more so than before. As long as they didn't stick any more needles in her, and Spike and Dawn could stay she'd tolerate it for one night. Angel had made sure Buffy had what was usually a semiprivate room, with no windows, all to herself so that both Dawn and Spike could stay with her.

Dawn was now asleep in one visitors chair. Spike was sitting in the other next to Buffy's hospital bed. He was valiantly trying to stay awake even though it was now nearly 7 AM. He was still firmly holding her hand, worry still obvious in his eyes and the lack of a smile on his face. The panicked look had faded though. The worst was over. He whispered, "Well luv, looks like we had another bit of excitement on your birthday."

"On the disaster meter though, this one was barely a blip. Just enough to tell me my birthday bad luck is still intact."

Spike's mouth did curve up slightly then. "With some better luck maybe in our new home things will be different."

"Yeah maybe I'll have good luck on my birthdays, being in another dimension."

A short time later both Buffy and Spike drifted off to sleep. The doctor's arrival a couple of hours later startled them both groggily awake. After she checked Buffy's and the baby's status she gave them the happy news that this evening they were free to go home.

"The labor has definitely halted for now. I want you to get plenty of bed rest tonight and tomorrow though. No strong emotional stresses or physical exertion, and that includes sex, until after the baby is born. It could trigger labor again. If you can hold off labor for even one more week there shouldn't be any prematurity difficulties with the baby. If you don't go into labor for two more weeks, essentially the baby is full term. You probably will be at least two weeks early considering this episode of premature labor though."

That night, ensconced in their own bed, clothed but cuddled together, Buffy sighed. "Celibate again."

Spike smirked. "Good to know I'm still so good you can't take not having me even one night."

Buffy playfully smacked his arm. "Arrogant much?"

He laughed. "Yes, when you're this good, you're entitled to be."

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him.

He winked and leered at her.

Ten days later Joyceanne Summers was born, weighing a very healthy 7 pounds, 12 ounces.