Chapter 14

Clem knocked on the door of 1630 Revello Drive.  "They're all really good people," he said to his companion.  "Even the Slayer."

Miranda Silver, witch and demonic midwife, raised an eyebrow at her demon companion.  "The Slayer is human.  She doesn't need me.  She can just go to her regular doctor."

The door was opened by a petite blonde woman.  "Yeah, but I'm not the one in labor," she said.  "It's Darla.  She's a vamp."

Miranda gave the Slayer a suspicious look.  "Vampires can't get pregnant."

"GET THIS FUCKING THING OUT OF ME NOW!" A voice roared from the living room.

The Slayer glanced back over her shoulder.  "Well, what can I say?  Prophecy is a bitch."

"LET ME GO, WILLIAM.  I'M GOING TO GO TEAR ANGELUS' BALLS OFF AND STUFF THEM IN HIS EYE SOCKETS!"

"Well, enter at your own risk."  The Slayer stepped aside.  "My name is Buffy, by the way."  She waited for Miranda and Clem to enter before she closed the door.  Then, Buffy led them to the living room.

Miranda stepped into the room to find three vampires; one very pregnant female and two very harried looking males. 

"So, this is Darla, my father Sam Lawson, and my boyfriend Spike," Buffy introduced the three vampires.   

"Hey, Clem," Spike greeted the demon.  "We on for kitten poker tomorrow?"

Clem shrugged.  "Thought you were in debt to Sharky."

Spike gave Buffy a quick, guilty glance.  "Yeah."

"Can we talk about me?" Darla hissed.  "And the terrible pain I am in."  She pointed at Spike.  "You go find that no-good, dirty ball sack Angelus and you bring him here so I can rip his heart out and shove it up his ass."

"Yes, ma'am."  Spike nodded.  He inched away from Darla's reach.  He turned to Buffy.  "Lawson and I are gonna go look for Angelus now.  Maybe in the kitchen."

Darla turned towards Spike.  "He's in the kitchen?   What the fuck is he doing in the kitchen?  He's a damned vampire.  It's not like he has to eat."

Buffy nodded.  "Yes, you two go check for Angel in the kitchen."

The two male vampires slipped from the room with much haste.  It was clear that Darla scared the both of them.

"Well, I really think I should give you an examination," Miranda said to Darla.

Clem pointed towards where Spike and Lawson had disappeared.  "I think I'll just join the others," he muttered before he scurried from the room.

"We're having a get together about work and me," Buffy replied.  "Let's get Darla upstairs.  We'll put her in my bedroom because it's attached to the bathroom."

Buffy and Miranda helped Darla struggle to her feet.  When they got into the foyer, the front door opened.  Tara and Dawn were home from school.

"Hey Tara, could you run up and strip my bed?" Buffy asked while Tara put her book bag to the side.

"Of course, Buffy."  Tara hurried up the stairs. 

Dawn followed Tara up the stairs.  "I'll get the extra bedding out of the closet," she said.

Buffy and Miranda with Darla between them started the slow climb up the stairs. 

Clem glanced around the now empty living room while he wondered what he should do with himself.  He moved to the foyer where he watched the Slayer and Miranda help the pregnant vampire upstairs.  A knock on the front door distracted him.

"Can you answer the door, Clem?" Buffy called down the stairs.

Clem nodded while he answered.  "Sure thing."  He moved to the door to open it.  Outside was a man and woman that he recognized as a couple of the Slayer's friends.  "Uh, hey, come on in."

"You're not Buffy," Anya said.

"No, not really.  Buffy's helping Miranda take Darla upstairs."  Clem shrugged.  "It looks like we're having a vampire baby tonight.  Mazel tov."

"Wow, busy."  Anya looked down at the bag in her hands.  "I need to get the tuna pasta salad in the fridge."  She slipped past Clem, and she disappeared into the depths of the house, leaving Clem and Xander to stare at each other.

"Is this the Summers house?"

Xander turned to find a delivery man had snuck up on him.  "It sure is," he replied.

"I have a grocery delivery from Ralph's.  Can you please sign for this?" The man held out an order form to Xander.

Xander looked over the bill before he signed it.  Anya had told him what she'd done on the way to Buffy's house.  Then, he and Clem watched the delivery man and his helper unload the groceries. 

"That's a lot of food," Clem said in a soft voice.

"Buffy needs it," Xander replied.  "Money is low and she needs to find a job.  That's why we're all here to have a meeting about money and working."

"Ah."  Clem nodded.

Anya appeared in the dining room doorway.  "Oh good, it's here.  Spike, Sam, there are groceries to put away."  She pointed at Xander and Clem.  "You two can help.  Chop-chop."

The delivery men continued to bring groceries in while Xander, Clem, Spike and Sam started to ferry them to the kitchen.  When Tara and Dawn came down the stairs, Anya directed them to begin putting the food away.  After there were a few more trips in from the truck by the delivery men, Anya was confused.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't have enough money to cover this many groceries," Anya commented.

"That would be me," Giles replied as he stepped up on the porch.  "I paid for a few more groceries."  He glanced inside the doorway, and he lowered his voice.  "This month's bills are paid including the mortgage.  That's our little secret."

"Mum's the word."  Anya pinched her lips together.

A primal scream from the upper floor of the house made everyone look up.  The delivery men looked at Anya and Giles in horror.

Anya shook her head.  "There's no one being murdered up there.  Our ... Darla is having a baby."

The sharp sound of a baby screaming at the top of its lungs wafted down from above.  One of the delivery men looked at the pile of groceries still sitting in the foyer.  "We didn't pick out any baby stuff."

"Don't worry about it."  Giles pulled his wallet out, and he gave the man a generous tip.  "One of us will be sure to go to the store in a few minutes."

"Okay, man.  Enjoy the food."  The delivery man bolted out the door.

Buffy stood at the top of the stairs with the baby wrapped in a sheet.   "Darla staked herself," she said in a dazed voice.  "She wanted her baby to live.  So, she staked herself."

"Babies."  Miranda stood just behind Buffy with another baby wrapped in a sheet in her arms.  "May I present Connor James and Freya Joyce."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Willow stumbled out of Rack's hidden lair.  Tara was going to be so disappointed in her.  She closed her eyes while she tried to clear her mind.  A feeling of worthlessness like she'd never felt before overwhelmed her, and she started to sob.

"Hey Red, let's go back to your place for some after-magic munchies."  Amy came up and put her arm around Willow's shoulders.  "I could really go for some popcorn right now."

Willow jerked away from Amy.  "No, we're not going back to my place."

"Oh, you're up for some more fun.  Awesome."

Willow bent over and puked on Amy's shoes.

"Oh my God, that's so gross."  Amy danced away with a disgusted look on her face.  "You're supposed to feel good after a visit with Rack.  What is wrong with you?"

"This is wrong.  Very wrong," Willow screamed.  Tears flowed from her eyes and her hair blew around as if she was caught in a windstorm.  "What have you been doing to me?"

"Nothing you didn't want," Amy replied, hiding her fear.  Her gaze slipped past Willow to the strange portal opening behind the other woman.  "Screw this.  You can go crying back to your stupid little friends."   She hurried away from Willow, glancing over her shoulder as she went.

"They're not stupid!" Willow shouted at Amy's retreating figure.

"Grrrrrr..."

Willow whirled around to find a red-skinned demon standing behind her.  It reached out with its clawed hand to take a swipe at her.  Willow let out a shrill scream, and she flung her hands out towards the demon, flinging it backwards. 

While the demon stumbled to its feet, Willow took off running.