Giles took a healthy swig of Scotch. His fingers caressed the wood of the bar as he gazed into the distance, his brow furrowed. Willow came up behind him. "Giles?" He pasted a smile on his face and turned around. "Hello." "We're going to give this dinner thing a try one more time," she explained. "Buffy wants us to meet back in the restaurant." "Terrific," he replied. "I'll be right there." She left. He held up his glass to the bartender. "I would like another, please." Tara opened the door to her suite and revealed Xander. "Anya's in the shower," she explained. She wore a black slip dress and small heels, her hair pulled back with a headband. "Tell Buffy that we'll be down in a minute," he said. He walked through the living room and into Anya's bedroom as Tara closed the door behind her. He leaned over and picked up a dress from the floor and folded it. Something slid into his palms. It looked like a large patch of skin. He recoiled and dropped it on the bed. In her bathroom, Dawn plaited her hair into two long braids and tied a satin bow at each end. She wore a long, white chiffon dress with a scooped neckline and small puffed sleeves. Her reflection in the mirror reflected a perfect porcelain doll, her blue eyes large and empty. "It's Buffy's little sister," she said mockingly. "So innocent in every way." With a shriek, she picked up her hairbrush and threw it at her mirror. Buffy and Spike sat at their table at the Blue Note. "Please bring us a bottle of Chateau Lafitte and another of sparkling cider," said Aurelius to the waiter. He turned to Buffy. "Would you care for caviar?" She smiled. "I've never had it before, but I'd love to try some." "I'm not sure you'll like it," said Spike. "It's really salty. Not to mention fishy." "I'll try anything once," she replied. He smiled at her and kissed her cheek. Dawn came in and scanned the tables for her friends. She spotted Spike, and her jaw dropped when she saw Aurelius next to him. Buffy spied her sister. "Dawn! We're right here!" she called as she waved her over. She turned to Aurelius with a smile. "That's my baby sister," she explained. Dawn walked over, her eyes locked on the dark figure next to Spike. He turned around with a polite smile. His eyes widened as he saw her. She came up to the table and stood in front of him. They gazed at each other, stunned. "You are Spike's little bit," he said in disbelief. "You're the niblet." Spike laughed and patted his shoulder. "You wouldn't believe the trouble one girl can get into, Marcus." Anya walked out of her bathroom with her hair up in a towel. Her naked body glistened with droplets of water. "An!" Xander shouted. "What the hell?" She whirled around to face him. He stared at her smooth flat belly. "What happened to you?" he said in disbelief. She pulled the towel off her head and wrapped it around herself. "I can explain, Xander." He held up the piece of skin in his hand. "Does it have something to do with this?" He walked over to her and pulled off the towel. She struggled against him, but he succeeded in smoothing the skin against her belly. He stepped back and watched her breasts grow full, her nipples darken and her abdomen bulge out. "You lied to me," he said in disbelief. "You lied about the baby?" "I had too, Xander," she said desperately. "I just wanted to keep you, to have a normal human life with you." "So you used some kind of spell to deceive me? Is that part of the normal human experience from your twisted perspective?" he spat out. "All I wanted to do was make you happy," said Anya desperately. "I knew that things would be better when we got married. You just needed to feel secure." "What did you think would happen when you were pregnant and no baby ever appeared?" he asked angrily. "I hoped that I would get pregnant," she said. "I threw the pills away a few months ago, but nothing has happened yet. I think you might be sterile." He stared at her, appalled. "But I was going to get a baby Derwina demon," she said soothingly. "They look just human infants, and grow up just like they do. You never would have known."

Under My Skin