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SUMMARY: Buffy is forced into a prophecy involving Spike. Can they both survive it?
DIST/ARCHIVE: Ask first
DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Spike, and co. don't belong to me, they belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This version has been toned down from it's original NC-17 version for the purpose of posting it on this site. However, it still uses bad language and mature subjects and so is rated PG-15, please read at your own discretion.
The attacks on Spike increased, but now they included the pregnant Slayer, as well. The Slayerettes and Giles worked frantically around the clock, trying desperately to find some way to save Buffy's life. Both Angel and Faith doubled up on patrols, helping the bonded couple, protecting them as time passed.
Buffy and Spike were never more than five feet from each other's sides. He continued to make love to her, worshiping her growing body with every fiber of his being. They did not return to the same doctor for a checkup, instead they went to a clinic in the eighth week to be sure that the baby was healthy. They both cried as they saw the small child on sonogram.
One night at the beginning of her ninth week, Buffy sat down and wrote letters to those most important to her. Each contained messages of hope and love, forgiveness and memories, and were sealed in plain envelopes with eight names on them. She saved Spike's for last.
Writing to him had been hardest of all. They had shared so much over the past months, growing from enemies to friends to lovers, and now she was having his child. A miracle child between a vampire and a human. A child who was destined to save the world one day. A child who's birth would bring her death.
*****
"Run," Spike instructed, pulling her along behind him. They could hear the sounds of voices and footsteps as they were chased through the woods outside of Sunnydale. The attack on the bonded couple had came as a surprise, more than thirty vampires coming after them in force.
Buffy stumbled, her swollen belly making it awkward to move at such a fast pace. Spike caught her arm, but continued to urge her on as they ran deeper into the woods. They only needed to outlast the night, which was fading too slowly into dawn. The couple hit a slope and they half scrambled, half fell down it and across the small stream.
"Spike, I can't..." Buffy gasped, her sides and lower back cramping.
"Yes you can, Slayer," Spike said. "Don't give up on me now, girl." He practically dragged the blond as they continued their frantic pace. They entered a small clearing that had a large, hollow tree standing in the center. "There."
Buffy had almost made it when she fell to the ground in pain. Her insides felt like they were being ripped out, and she shoved a fist in her mouth so as not to scream. Spike picked her up and brought her to the tree, laying her carefully on the soft grass. He could hear their foes in the distance and prayed for the first time in centuries that they wouldn't be found.
"Oh god, Spike. It hurts," she cried. She panted and lay her head on the ground, staring up into the night sky through the branches of the tree.
Spike swore when he saw the blood covering her maternity dress. "Bend your legs for me, luv," he said, pushing the soaked material over her knees and removed her undergarments. She was crowning. "Slayer, we have to get the baby out of you."
Buffy nodded, breathing heavily. He quickly took off his T-shirt, planning on using it to bundle the child, and put his hands between her legs. "Ok, luv, push." She took a deep breath and pushed with all her strength, crying out as the pain tore through her body.
"Again, Slayer," he instructed. They went on like that for what seemed like hours to Buffy, but in reality was only a few minutes. She screamed and cried with the torture her body was going through, all the while the attackers were getting closer to their goal. False dawn lit the sky, signaling the oncoming day as she continued to push.
With one final push, she fell back onto the ground as the baby’s cry filled the air, coinciding with the sun as it peaked over the horizon, burning the vampires to ashes. Spike wrapped the child in his shirt and set her on Buffy’s stomach. His undead heart filled with dread as the blood continued to gush from her.
"You have a little girl, Slayer," Spike whispered, lowering her dress and crawling next to her. He propped her in his arms, allowing Buffy to hold the baby. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the small bundle in her arms. She could feel herself weakening with each breath she took.
"Spike, it won’t be long now," she told him. "Promise me you’ll take care of her."
"I promise, Slayer," Spike said, tears running down his own chiseled features. He tilted Buffy’s chin so he could look into her eyes. The fire that always burned in them was slowly going out. "I love you, Buffy."
She smiled at him through her pain. This was the first time he had called her by her name. Not pet, not Slayer, but Buffy. And it was the first time he said he loved her. "Thank you," she whispered. "For completing me."
Her eyes fluttered closed and she took a deep breath, before letting it out with her final words. "I love you."
"No, Buffy, no," Spike sobbed, pulling her and the baby closer. "Don’t leave me. Don’t go." He rocked the two of them, and as the sun rose in the sky, the Slayer slipped away.
The baby let out a long wail, knowing that her mother was gone.
