Chapter 14

 

 

 

Dru tossed the phone away from her fuming silently. He’d hung up on her… she could hope that they’d just been disconnected… but no she was absolutely positive that he’d hung up on her intentionally.

 

He’d also intentionally not told her where they were hiding, although from the connection and what little she’d been able to garner from their conversation she knew they were underground. Hiding from Angelus.

 

So at least she hadn’t sent him directly into the arms of the enemy, whatever Buffy was up to she was apparently not willing to give anyone up to her sire.

 

Even Darla it seemed.

 

Closing her eyes momentarily she clenched her hands at her side, Darla had been brought back for the sole purpose of driving her into losing her soul.

 

It hadn’t worked, and even though Darla had been an integral part of Wolfram & Hart’s plans for her she’d still tried desperately to help the now human woman when it became apparent that she was ill.

 

Had fought and won a challenge, only to find out that there was nothing to be done.

 

She’d refused to turn her again, so they’d brought Angelus in to do it, forced her to watch even as she tried to stop them.

 

The last she’d seen of either of them prior to this week was when she had set them on fire.

 

Narrowing her eyes she crossed the room in a few easy strides, grabbing both her leather duster and the Whelps coat she tossed his to him as she made for the door.

 

“Where are you going? I thought…” Xander asked curiously even as he pulled his coat on and followed her.

 

“I’m going to find them… you can stay here if you want but…” Dru pressed the button on the elevator determinedly. She’d be damned if she’d let the Whelp talk her out of this, or allow William and Buffy to face the birth of Darla’s child alone.

 

“You know he’s going to be pissed. He told us to stay put,” he said conversationally as they waited for the elevator gates to open.

 

“And I’ve listened to him when?”

 

 

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Buffy paused as she felt Gunn’s weight leave the back of the motorcycle. It had been comforting when they’d been moving.

 

Having him pressed close to her reminded her that she couldn’t give into the demands that Angelus was making on her.

 

But now that the comforting presence of Gunn’s body had been removed she knew that all she had to do was drive away. She’d gotten the doctor here, Gunn and Riley would make sure that he was safely delivered to Darla, Gunn and William would make sure that Darla did nothing stupid… like staking herself… and if she gave herself over to Angelus there was a slight chance that he would forget about Darla.

 

In time she knew that she might forget her Slayer. She knew that Angelus would brook no affection on her part for the Slayer, she knew that the punishments for having loved him would be severe and harsh… and she might not even survive.

 

But at least Darla would be safe.

 

And quite possibly William as well.

 

But the thought of not seeing her Slayer again now that he’d finally admitted his love for her terrified her more than anything had ever terrified her before.

 

“Rena,” Gunn’s soft voice and she turned conflicted eyes to him. Her heart was within them and the compassion that she saw on his face almost surprised her with its intensity. “We should go…” he smiled softly, gesturing a hand towards the doctor who seemed almost impatient to get to his patient.

 

“I…” her eyes flickered between the three men, still sitting atop the motorcycle it would be so simple to just drive off. Everyone would be safe then.

 

“He won’t let you go that easily,” Gunn murmured. “You know that… if you leave he’ll hunt you down and drag you back, your Slayer looks to be even more possessive then your Sire.”

 

“I just want him to be safe,” she whispered, she rubbed her arms absently. Almost chilled, which she knew couldn’t happen. She was a vampire; her body no longer registered the difference in temperatures. “I think I understand now why Dru left… she wanted him to have a chance at a normal life, he won’t have that… not with me…”

 

“Do you really think he cares about normal girl? He’s the Slayer; normal ain’t never gonna happen for him.”

 

“But…”

 

“Look, I come back without you Slayer will have my head. He’s takin’ care of my girl, I’m takin’ care of his. What do you think he’s gonna do to Darla if I let you go traipsing off to Angelus?”

 

“He won’t hurt her, he promised me…”

 

“Yeah he promised you, do you really think he’s gonna keep that promise if you don’t come back, there’s no reason for him to look after Darla if you’re gone.”

 

“You… William won’t hurt her,” Buffy said softly.

 

“Only one way to be sure,” Gunn cocked his head studying her every so slightly. “We can always manhandle you back down, don’t think that’d go over real well though.”

 

“No…” she shook her head. “No I can walk it,” swinging her leg over the bike she stood, looking up at the man that had become one of her best friends in such a short period of time. If she’d had friends like Gunn before she’d been turned she might have tried to fight Angelus off a bit more. Course she wouldn’t have been depressed and stumbling down dark alleyways in the middle of the night either.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You’re very welcome,” he grinned widely at her. “Now lets go help our pregnant vampire give birth… she probably thinks we’ve forgotten about her.”

 

 

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Darla screamed, hand gripping William’s tightly he winced at the pressure.

 

She had one of the strongest grips that he’d ever felt. He was almost positive that he was going to walk out of this with broken bones that were going to be a nightmare to explain.

 

‘Oh the hand… well you see I was helping this vampire give birth… yes I know that vampires can’t have kids… there must be a prophecy… can you look that up Giles?’

 

He’d never see his Watcher again once he found out. They’d have to transform themselves into books in order to spend any time with the older man.

 

With a light groan Darla’s grip on his subsided and he turned his attention to Faith who had been timing the contractions with her good hand.

 

The other one was cradled in her lap, she knew that once the others returned and Darla’s baby was born safely that she would once more be shuffled off to a hospital. This time she didn’t think she’d be complaining, she was positive that the bones in her left hand had been crushed by Darla’s second big contraction.

 

“How long?” Will asked.

 

“Two minutes,” Faith said softly, eyes flitted between Darla and William then turned to the door. “They better hurry up or they’re gonna miss the whole thing.”

 

“How you doing Darla?” he murmured, he hadn’t thought that vampires could sweat, actually he’d never even thought about it… but Darla was either sweating or there was a leak directly above her that was soaking her skin.

 

“How the hell do you think I’m doing Slayer?” Darla snarled. Childbirth had forced Darla to channel her inner bitch, a persona that she hadn’t let loose in the time that she’d spent hiding with Buffy and the others. “Never again,” she muttered. “This is the last fucking baby I ever have.”

 

“Well technically you shouldn’t even be having this one,” William said lightly, wincing in pain when Darla grasped his hand within hers and squeezed tightly. She obviously didn’t want to have her mood lightened.

 

“You know this would be over so much quicker if one of you would just hand me that damn stake that Faith hid.”

 

“Told you that wasn’t going to happen.”

 

“If they don’t get here in time you might not have a choice,” she growled, back arching she bit back a yell, panting unnecessarily she rode the waves of pain. Listening to the Slayer talk soothingly to her, listened to Faith chanting numbers at her she wondered when her tolerance for pain had lowered.

 

She was a vampire, dominance and submission games were their way of life, pain was something that she was closely intimate with but these contractions that rocketed through her body were unlike anything she’d ever experienced before.

 

Worse than anything that the Master, that Angelus had ever thought of doing to her.

 

“You slept with her,” she blurted out softly as the pain subsided.

 

“What?” William stared down at her in shock, Faith looking curiously between them.

 

“Buffy… you slept with her.”

 

“How…?” he sighed, dragging his free hand through his already mussed hair.

 

“Vampire smelling… should have taken a shower,” Darla’s lips turned up in a smirk.

 

“Really wasn’t much time… what with you going into labor and Angelus busting down the door.”

 

“Does Dru know?” she asked, both ignoring Faith as they concentrated on each other.

 

“Dru sent me to her… told me to fix things with Buffy,” William averted his eyes, focusing intently on the bag beside him. “There’s some prophecy or something.”

 

“There will always be a prophecy… do you love her?”

 

“Why do you care?”

 

“Buffy’s protected me, she didn’t have to, she could have told Whistler to shove his assignment up his badly dressed ass and walked away. She sure as hell didn’t want to have to face Angelus, especially not after…”

 

“After what I said to her.”

 

“Yes… she thought she wouldn’t be strong enough, but she has been. She’s been good to me Slayer… I don’t want to see her hurt.”

 

“I do love her… I didn’t want to but…”

 

“She kind of grew on you,” William’s eyes rose to meet hers, understanding on both faces. “She has a way of doing that.”

 

“Yeah she does…”

 

The sound of footsteps moving towards them forced them to break eye contact, William leaving his position by Darla’s side to take up a defensive position by the door.

 

He struck out as the first person entered, only to find his punch blocked by a smirking Buffy.

 

“Miss me that much luv?”

 

With a sigh of relief he pulled her into his arms. “God I was getting worried,” he murmured as he clutched her to him, unmindful of those still watching.

 

Riley’s loud, “What the hell happened to your hand?” forced their attention from each other to where he was kneeling beside Faith, gently cradling her hand within his own.

 

“Vampire in labor,” Faith jerked her head towards Darla who was beginning to pant unnecessarily again, pain etched into every muscle on her face.

 

At the sight of her the young man at Gunn’s side, black bag in hand took charge.

 

“So this must be our mother to be, everyone who doesn’t need to be here…” he waved to the door.

 

“Umm… that’s a not so well lit hallway out there,” Gunn stated with a frown on his face.

 

“She needs a little privacy… who’s her labor coach?” the doctor asked setting his bag on the floor, he kneeled in the place that William had been in just moments before.

 

“She doesn’t have one… we…” she trailed off as she tried to explain why they hadn’t needed to take classes teaching breathing.

 

“I’ll stay,” Gunn said shrugging his coat off, “I’ve been reading that book so…”

 

“I want Buffy to stay with me,” Darla bit out, gasping lightly.

 

“What?” “I don’t think…”  Gunn and Buffy both stared at her in confusion.

 

“I won’t hurt her,” Darla muttered a pointed look at Faith’s hand, the bruises on William’s. “Much…” she amended.

 

“Okay… so everyone who’s not a mother to be or her coach,” the doctor waved to the door as he unpacked the bag. “We need some privacy… and about a ton of antiseptic.”

 

 

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Angelus stalked the empty streets.

 

His minions were giving him a wide berth, most likely to keep themselves from being drained until they were dust. He was furiously angry, his temper raging red hot.

 

So close! He had been so close to having Buffy back by his side, but then those damn humans had interfered… dragging her forcibly away from him.

 

He would kill both males as soon as Buffy and Darla were returned to him. He might let the brunette survive but he would leave that up to his childer. They would most likely enjoy having a playmate… or maybe he would give her to his minions. She had after all been one of those that had drawn his mate into the light, if he allowed her to be turned she would definitely have to be punished for that transgression.

 

But first he had to find them. Stopping suddenly he stilled, eyes closed he drew in the scents of those around him.

 

Buffy had been here, as had the human males… she might still be close.

 

 

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