Prologue

Faith held her cell phone to her ear with her shoulder, using both of her free hands to hold two different boxes up. The drugstore was almost empty except for the night pharmacist and the front end cashier, but it didn’t stop her from looking up and down the aisle every ten seconds in paranoia.

“This one says you hafta use it in the morning, and this one says you can use it whenever you want,” she said into the phone.

“No no no, don’t look at when you can take it, look at how the results are read,” Buffy’s voice echoed from the other end of the line as she gave a very playful and excited Jackson a bath.

“Well shit, how the hell am I supposed to know this stuff? They all look exactly the same to me: pink, box-like, and completely intimidating,” Faith said, frustrated.

“Calm down, baby,” Buffy replied, trying to hide her amusement. “None of them are wrong. Some are just easier to read than others. Pregnancy tests can be tricky.”

“Are the results in Japanese or something?”

“Ha ha,” Buffy pretended to laugh. “Now are you going to buy the test or do I have to come there and get it myself?”

Faith grinned.

“That sounds good to me; you know I’m no good at this shopping shit.”

“Back to business,” Buffy said, serious now. “Come on, what do the packages say?”

Faith sighed before looking up and down the aisle one last time, then back down to the boxes.

“This one – Clear Blue Easy – looks kinda like one of those digital thermometers and it says ‘pregnant’ or ‘not pregnant’. This one – First Response – I dunno, looks like it’s got some kinda squiggly lines or something.”

“Oh no, not the lines. And nothing with reading the color either,” Buffy chimed in.

“Right then, so Clear Blue Easy it is,” Faith said as she stood up from her squatted position and placed the other box on the shelf. “Besides, this is the only blue box in the lot. Smurf blue, even.”

Buffy laughed aloud, causing Jackson to laugh in response. Faith smiled as she pictured the scene: Jackson in his bubble bath, splashing around and playing with his toy trains as Buffy struggled to keep some of the water in the tub and not on the floor.

“Smurf blue. It’s a sign,” she said.

“Must be,” Faith replied as she strolled casually down the aisle and up to the cash register.

“Hurry home. I’m anxious.”

“Me too. Love ya, B.”

“I love you too.”

Faith clicked the small phone shut and shoved it deep in her pants pocket. She wasn’t looking forward to the checkout process.

The bored-looking cashier took the box and moved to scan it, taking no notice of the item being purchased or the person who was buying it. Faith breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she might be able to exit without being made a spectacle of.

The cashier, however, couldn’t seem to get the scanner to read the bar code. She swiped the box again and again before inspecting it carefully, noticing that the bar code had been partially ripped off and was unreadable.

“I just need to get a price on this,” the girl said as she picked up the store intercom phone. Faith’s eyes widened as she heard, “I need a price check on a Clear Blue . . .”

“Fuck no!” Faith practically yelled as she yanked on the chord, accidentally ripping it from the phone. The cashier looked at her in shock, but Faith didn’t have the time, patience, or spine to wait around while someone announced that she was buying a pregnancy test.

Instead, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill and tossed it haphazardly on the counter in exchange for the small blue box.

“Keep the change!” she said as she practically ran out of the store, stopping only for a second just before making it out the door.

Eyeing up a small display, she grabbed a chocolate bar from it and held it up for the cashier to see.

“Add this to my bill. I might be eating for two.”

Chapter One

Faith practically ran through the front door of the house, ignoring the greetings from Xander and a few young slayers as she took the stairs three at a time. Drinking that gallon of Hawaiian Punch in the car seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, she wasn’t one of those people that could pee on command. She didn’t know how Buffy had done it almost three years earlier. But now that her bladder was full and screaming for mercy, she realized that it had been a stupid idea. Didn’t most normal people take pregnancy tests in the morning anyhow?

Making her way down the long hallway with her inner thighs clenched tightly, she only barely managed not to break down the bathroom door when she realized that someone was in there. She pounded on it three times then went back to fidgeting around.

“Someone better hurry or the hallway’s gettin' flooded,” she called out.

“Then you better tell your son that tubby-time is over or find an unoccupied bathroom,” she heard Buffy reply from inside the bathroom.

Faith opened the door and peeked her head in, then stepped inside completely and closed it behind her. Jackson was busy playing away, his favorite toy train in one hand and a plastic Tyrannosaurus Rex in the other, but he still managed to look up at her and smile happily.

“Mama!”

“Hey Choo-Choo,” Faith replied fondly, almost forgetting for a moment that she needed the toilet. “We breakin’ records tonight? Longest bath in the history of the world?”

“Yeah!” Jackson replied enthusiastically, then promptly resumed playing. The dinosaur was now riding on the train, following the rim of the bathtub like a train track.

“B?” Faith asked. She looked pleadingly over at the blonde who was sitting on the covered toilet seat, looking bored with a discarded magazine on the cupboard next to her.

“Hey, don’t blame me,” Buffy said, holding up her hands in mock surrender. “I told him it was time to get out when the water started getting cold but he told me it wasn’t time to get out until he got pruny and to add hot water like you do.”

Faith smiled and looked back at the tub, watching Jackson play, happily oblivious to the conversation they were having about him.

“He listens to everything I tell him,” she said in wonder.

Buffy stood up from the toilet seat and gave Faith a kiss on the cheek, then handed her Jackson’s favorite dinosaur-covered cotton bath towel.

“That’s because you’re his most favorite person in the world, Faith. The only person that’s gonna be able to convince him to get out of that tub is you, so hop to it.” She gave Faith a playful slap on the ass, then grabbed her magazine and headed out of the bathroom and to Jackson’s room to get his pajamas picked out.

“Fine, but ya gotta come back in two minutes to get him or I’m seriously gonna need some new pants here.”

Hearing Buffy’s short chuckle and taking it as a sign of agreement, Faith waited until she and Jackson were alone to step over to the tub. She squatted down next to it and dipped her hand in the lukewarm water, splashing it playfully at Jackson who squealed in delight. When he brought up his hands to cover his face, she could see that they were looking wrinklier than she’d normally let him get away with.

“You’re lookin a bit like a California Raisin there, Choo-Choo. What you doin’ conning your Mom into lettin ya stay in here for so long for?”

“I love tubby-time,” Jackson answered, his dark eyes focusing on Faith. He did the cute puppy look so well.

“I know you do, buddy, but it’s almost bed time now and if you get any more pruny, people are gonna start to think you’re one of those silly wrinkly puppy dogs.”

And as soon as she said the words ‘puppy dogs’, Faith knew that she’d screwed up. Jackson’s obsession – besides dinosaurs and trains, that is – was dogs. Animals of any kind, really. And his latest fascination was pretending that he was, in fact, a puppy dog.

Sure enough, Jackson let out a puppy-sized bark and waited for Faith’s reaction.

“Oh boy, that crazy dog is back again!” she said with a grin.

She reached into the tub and quickly yanked Jackson out, wrapping the towel around him as he wriggled and giggled in her arms. Giving him a quick hug to help dry some of the water off, Faith turned him upside-down with his knees over her shoulder and used her free hand to open up the bathroom door.

“Which one of you chuckleheads let the dog in the house again?” She asked loudly to nobody in particular as they stepped into the hallway, a few young slayers sticking their heads out of their rooms to witness the spectacle. “Was it Rona?” she asked as she turned Jackson to face the now laughing slayer.

“No!” Jackson said between giggles.

“How ‘bout Sam?” Faith asked as Sam stepped out of her room and gave Jackson’s bare feet a quick tickle, making him shriek with delight.

“No!”

Buffy chose that moment to walk back into the hall, smiling as she saw Faith tickling a still upside-down Jackson’s tummy through the towel. She walked over to them and bent over, doing her best to angle her face so that Jackson could see her.

“Tell your mama that you’re not a doggy so she doesn’t start trying to make you sleep in the backyard again,” she said.

“I not doggy!” Jackson practically squealed, his giggles not subsiding even when Faith lifted him the right side up and handed him over to Buffy.

“Coulda fooled me,” Faith said, giving him a few last tickles. Nature, however, wasn’t going to let her keep ignoring its call. Making sure she still had the pregnancy test stashed safely in her pocket, she began walking backwards down the hallway toward the bathroom. “I just need like five minutes. Keep him occupied,” she said to Buffy.

“I’ll do my best,” Buffy answered, then lifted Jackson over her shoulder and carried him into his bedroom.

As soon as they were out of sight and the younger slayers started going back into their bedrooms, Faith turned around and all but ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She reached for the box in her pocket and ripped it open, sending one of the two test sticks inside flying into the empty sink. She fished it out as she read the directions on the back again, making sure that she knew what she was doing.

Finally ready to take the test, she yanked her pants down and sighed in relief as she was finally able to empty her very full and angry bladder. The test stick was small and she had no idea if she was actually peeing on it or not, but at that point she didn’t care. She was just so happy to finally have some relief.

When all was said and done, she placed the test stick on the outside of the box while she was busy getting herself put back together. She couldn’t stop staring at the stick as the little digital hour-glass mocked her. Really, who the hell would make a possibly pregnant woman wait three minutes for test results? It was sadistic!

Just as she finished washing her hands, there was a small knock at the door. She didn’t need to ask who it was; she could feel their connection through the door.

“Is there a bun in the oven?” Buffy asked quietly. Before she could realize what was happening, Faith yanked her in the room and had her pressed against the back of the door.

“Not sure, but there’s some pee on a hand,” she joked, laughing when Buffy grimaced and tried to push her away. “Settle down, I washed. Who’s with Jack?”

“Andrew, and Jack’s not happy about it. If one of us isn’t in there in two minutes there’s gonna be a total two-year old meltdown.”

“Can’t have that,” Faith said. They both looked over at the test stick, only to find that the hour-glass was still circling around.

“Ugh, who makes a possibly pregnant woman wait three minutes for a test result?”

“That’s what I said!” They both laughed, then Faith rested her forehead against Buffy’s and they both closed their eyes. “I’m freakin out here,” she confessed, her voice barely a whisper.

“You don’t need to,” Buffy answered just as quietly, her hands coming up to hold Faith’s face in them.

“Wasn’t supposed to be me.”

“Tell that to fate.”

After a short pause, Faith pulled back and smiled at Buffy, though Buffy could see how nervous she was underneath it.

“I’m gonna go and relieve Andrew before it gets ugly in there.”

“But don’t you wanna see the results?” Buffy asked.

Faith could only grin then, the kind of grin that had Buffy tripping over her from day one, though the girl would never admit it until recently.

“You do the homework, I’ll copy yours.” She planted a quick kiss on Buffy’s lips and was out of the room before Buffy could protest.

With nothing left to do but wait, Buffy walked over to the tub and let the water out, then stashed Jackson’s toys in a basket near the sink. Luckily for them, the younger slayers had accepted that this was Jackson’s bathroom now and had resorted to using one of the other two bathrooms in the house. They’d found out the hard way that you don’t make a potty-training two-year old wait for the bathroom.

By the time she’d finished cleaning up, several minutes had passed. She turned around and looked at the test to find the hour glass gone and the results were there in broad daylight. Picking up the test stick in her hand, she smiled softly and headed out of the room to find Faith and Jackson.

When she finally reached Jackson’s room, he was already dressed in his pajamas and sitting on his dresser, trying to be still as Faith combed his hair. This was their nightly ritual; Faith would get him dressed and comb his hair up into a spiky mohawk, then Buffy would come in and comb it flat. It did manage to stick up just a little bit in the middle no matter how much Buffy tried to comb it down.

Hiding the test stick into the back pocket of her jeans, Buffy entered the room and took the comb from Faith’s hand, bumping her hip into hers playfully.

“If you keep sticking it up like that he’s gonna have a permanent mohawk.”

“Cool. Mohawk’s are wicked,” Faith replied, giving Jackson a wink.

“Wicked,” he repeated.

It took them nearly an hour to get him into bed, having to read six stories and then making one up when that wasn’t enough. Faith and Buffy knew exactly what he wanted to hear: a story about a young boy out on an adventure. A young Indiana Jones, if you will. He’d swoop in and steal an ancient artifact . . . and then ride away on his train while dodging dinosaurs.

Had they mentioned that he had an active imagination?

When they finally had him tucked in and sleeping soundly, they left his room and headed to their own, but not before Faith had to make another pit-stop in the bathroom. She wasn’t sure what they hell they put in Hawaiian Punch but she was pretty sure that her kidneys hated her at the moment.

She walked slowly back to their room, almost scared to enter. Buffy knew whether she was pregnant or not, and now she was going to have to face that news. Honestly, the thought of having another baby in their lives didn’t scare her. After all, they’d decided to let fate take its course the night of Jackson’s birthday party when they were under the spell again. She just never imagined that fate would throw them a curveball in the form of her being the pregnant one this time around.

Faith wasn’t sure she could handle it, to be honest.

Hesitating outside the room for just a moment, she finally opened the door and stepped inside to find Buffy . . . missing in action? She looked behind the door, then stepped over to their private bathroom and peeked inside. Where the hell had Buffy gone? Looking around suspiciously, she froze completely when she saw the test stick mocking her in all of its pregnancy knowing glory from the nightstand. She didn’t want to look. Really, she didn’t. Still, she found herself standing up on her tip-toes, trying to read it from across the room.

The stick was face-down though, so she had to take a few steps toward it. Biting on her bottom lip, she finally reached out, ready to find out the response, when Buffy breezed into the room behind her and made her jump.

“Ya scared me.”

“Sorry,” Buffy said, a chipper tone in her voice as she maneuvered a large plastic blue tote down onto a pile of several other totes already in the room.

While this particular tote held a mystery to Faith, she knew what was in all of the others. Clothes, toys, pictures, shoes – everything that they would need to move to the house they were in the process of buying. It would be at least another month or two before they could move in, but Buffy was big on being prepared.

“Kinda late to be packing, ya think?” Faith asked, wondering why Buffy wasn’t bringing up the test stick.

“Not too late. We’ve packed later than this.”

After a few moments of suspicious silence, Faith raised her eyebrows expectantly. “You gonna tell me what’s in the tote?” She approached the leather armchair that Buffy was leaning against – Faith and Jackson’s favorite chair to play video games on – and waited for Buffy to elaborate.

“Just some things we’re going to need to take to the new house,” Buffy said evasively.

“Such as?” Faith hedged.

And Buffy couldn’t hold it back any longer. Her smile was radiant as she stepped into Faith’s arms and wrapped her arms around the girl, hugging her tightly.

“My old maternity clothes.”

There was a long pause before Faith replied, “Are you positive?”

“Well, the test is,” Buffy said, pulling back to see a hesitant look on Faith’s face. “We’ll have to make an appointment with a doctor though to be sure. We can do that tomorrow if you want.”

Faith nodded, her gaze at some far off place as she ran her hands down Buffy’s arms and then flopped down onto the armchair. The deep breath she took wasn’t lost on Buffy, who sat down on her lap and turned so she could look into her eyes. She ran a soft hand over the side of Faith’s face, waiting for the girl to say something. She was concerned, but she didn’t want to push Faith. The one thing she’d learned about her after all this time is that she’ll eventually say what she needs to given enough time and space. Pushing never helped.

“Did I ever tell you about Tommy?” Faith finally asked. When Buffy shook her head no, Faith continued. “I was like ten, maybe eleven years old. Dad was long gone and Ma was drinking. A lot. That’s one thing I always remember about my Ma: she always had a bottle or a glass in her hand. She tried, yunno? The booze was like a demon though. Made her a different person. Couldn’t take care of me let alone herself. That’s probably one of the reasons she never knew she was pregnant until she started showing. Guess she figured it was too late by then, that the baby was spoiled by her boozing, cos she never stopped drinking or even slowed down.”

She took a deep, shaky breath and finally looked up at Buffy, instantly finding the strength to continue in her eyes.

“I was young then, but I knew what she was doing was bad for the baby. Couldn’t stop her though; I was just a kid. Came home from school one day and she was panting and sweating and in pain and I knew that the baby was on its way. Called 911 – first of many times I had to do with her – and they took her to the hospital to deliver. It was too soon though. She was only seven and a half months along. Barely even looked pregnant, to be honest. Anyhow, the baby was born, this tiny, wrinkly little thing, and Ma didn’t even wanna look at him. He was alive though, so they made her name him.”

“Thomas. Jack’s middle name,” Buffy said, her thumb still stroking over Faith’s cheek.

“Little Tommy James. I was excited. I had plans for me and T.J. Guess life had other plans though. Crazy thing is, he coulda survived being born early. He woulda too, but he had fetal alcohol syndrome. Shoulda seen him, just this tiny little thing in an incubator, twitching away. Fought for a whole six days before he died.”

“Oh, Faith,” Buffy said, her voice soft and sympathetic as she leaned down and rested her head on Faith’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around her.

“I dunno. Guess something just kinda spooked me about the whole pregnancy thing cos I promised myself I’d never go through something like that. Never even wanted or thought about having kids ‘til we found out you were knocked up, and even then it took me a while to get used to the idea. I think the fact that you were carrying the kid kinda made it feel like it wasn’t gonna be a part of me; like it wasn’t gonna get my crappy genetics.”

Buffy lifted her head from Faith’s shoulder then and looked into her eyes, her own eyes filling with tears.

“Baby, you don’t have bad genetics. You’re a good person who happened to have crappy parents. Jackson is as much yours as he is mine, magic or none, and you know how awesome he is.”

“Yeah, but he came from you, Buffy. He’s just like you, kind and considerate and good. It’s different this time though, B. You’ve heard about my parents and you were there front and center to see the fucked up things I’ve done in the past. My body is like, this fucking dirty cesspool of badness and you want me to mmph . . .”

Her words were cut off as Buffy pressed her lips to hers, ending her emotional tirade. They kissed softly, Buffy’s hands still holding the sides of her face. When they finally broke apart, Buffy rested her forehead against Faith’s and closed her eyes, trying to collect her thoughts.

“I never want to hear you talk like that again, Faith. Nothing in the past matters. Your parents, Sunnydale . . . none of it. We live in the here and now where you’re the most amazing mother I’ve ever seen. Jackson adores you. No one takes care of him and understands him like you do. There are . . .” she paused, pulling back to look into Faith’s eyes, “there are times where I’m jealous. So jealous. And it’s silly, I know it is. That’s why I get over it. But seeing the way he looks at you and just is with you . . . I wonder what I’m doing wrong that I don’t have that with him.”

Faith’s eyes got wide, her arms tightening around Buffy.

“God B, do you know how ridiculous that sounds? He’s crazy about you. The kid just comes to me cos he knows I’m the fun one.”

“I’m fun too,” Buffy said, smiling when she saw the corner of Faith’s lips crack up in the teeniest of smiles.

“You’re great fun, baby. But you feed him broccoli and I take him to Chuck E. Cheese’s for pizza and games. You take him shopping for clothes and I take him shopping for toys. You’ve gotta keep me and him in line when I play with him cos you know we can get a bit nutty. But the way he clings to you when you hold him and the way he twirls your hair around his fingers when you rock him to sleep? B, he’s smitten with you. I’m just the fun one.”

“You play with him and spend time with him and know him better than anyone else. Most parents aren’t as devoted as you are.”

Faith shrugged like it was nothing, “That’s because he’s my best friend. I’d do anything for him.”

A soft smile appeared on Buffy’s face and she leaned in and gave Faith a soft, chaste kiss.

“And that’s why you’re an amazing mother. An amazing person.” She placed her hand on Faith’s stomach and smiled even bigger. “This little one is gonna be lucky to have someone who cares for them as much as you do.”

It took Faith a moment but she finally smiled and laid her hand over Buffy’s.

“So we’re really doin’ this then, huh.”

“Yep, and we’re gonna enjoy every minute of it. Well, except for the whole morning sickness and labor part. But hey, there’s lotsa other stuff to start looking forward to.”

She stood up from Faith’s lap and held her hand out to Faith, helping to pull her up from the squishy chair.

“Like the whole getting fat and having gas thing?” Faith asked and laughed as Buffy playfully poked her on her sides and stomach.

“I did not have gas!”

“Sure ya didn’t. You musta just been growlin’ in your sleep or something all those nights then. Loud, smelly growlin.”

Seeing the mock indignant look on Buffy’s face, she gave her a swat on the ass and made her way over to the bed, flopping down on it with the remote in her hand. She patted the bed for Buffy to join her but Buffy narrowed her eyes at her instead.

“Sure, now you want to be nice to me,” Buffy said playfully.

“Oh, I can be plenty nice,” Faith said and wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. “But not ‘til after you go and make me a nice sammich. Got a wicked craving for some ham and swiss on rye.”

“Cravings don’t kick in until you’re further along,” Buffy said matter-of-factly.

“Yunno, I see your lips moving but all I can hear are the cries of our unborn child, starving away in my bottomless pit.”

Buffy smirked, “There’s a dirty joke that could be made about that.”

“Buffy?”

“Hmm?”

“Ham sammich. Swiss cheese. Don’t be stingy with the mustard.”

Buffy could only laugh as she crossed the room and bent over to give Faith a kiss on the top of her head as the girl fiddled with the remote control.

“On rye, you said?”

“Hell yeah.”

Smiling, Buffy made her way over to the door and opened it just in time to find Willow there about to knock.

“Oh, hey Buff. Where ya headed?” the redhead asked.

“Kitchen. That spell of yours sure is unpredictable, Wills. I’ve gotta say though, I’m not upset that I’ll miss the aching and swelling though. And that whole childbirth thing? Maybe we should send that spell goddess a gift basket.”

Willow looked at Buffy, completely puzzled.

“Is this the part where you tell me what you’re talking about or the part where I head to the library and look for a Dictionary of Vague Buffy References?”

Buffy laughed and pulled her best friend into a tight hug.

“The spell, Wills, from the night of Jackson’s birthday party. It worked. Faith’s pregnant.” She waited for some kind of congratulations or joyous squeal, but instead she only felt hands on her shoulders pushing her back so that Willow could look at her smiling face.

“Umm, Buffy? I hate to delay any appropriate celebrating, but . . . what spell?”

Chapter Two

Faith sat on the edge of the living room sofa, one arm wrapped around her midsection while she anxiously bit the fingernails on her other hand. The entire gang was standing around, silently chatting and doing their best not to wake the younger slayers throughout the house. All eyes were on Faith though she didn’t even seem to notice it. She was too busy staring at the floor, her mind in some far off place.

The chatting completely died down when Giles entered the room with his robe on and a few books tucked under his arms. He looked over at Faith who seemingly hadn’t noticed his entrance, then over at Willow and Buffy.

“What do we know?” he asked quietly.

“There was some kind of spell cast on the night of Jackson’s birthday party,” Buffy answered.

“There are spells cast quite often in this house,” he replied.

“True,” Willow said, “but they’re all cast by me. This one wasn’t.”

“What type of spell was it and why is this the first we’re hearing of it?” Giles asked, puzzled yet concerned at the same time. He wasn’t used to being pulled from his study this late in the evening without at least a brief rundown of what was going on. Surely it was a bit silly for him to be playing guessing games this late at night.

“We’re not sure what kind of spell it was,” Buffy answered, her arms wrapped around her slender body. “Faith and I thought we knew. We were wrong.”

Giles sighed and took off his glasses before pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I’m not sure I understand the need for an emergency meeting. Everyone is here, alive and well. Surely said spell hasn’t caused much harm . . .”

“I’m pregnant,” Faith uttered, her eyes still focused on some far away place.

“Oh. Erm, well . . . I suppose congratulations are in order,” Giles said while slipping his glasses back on, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Thanks,” Faith said blankly, then finally looked up at Giles with red-rimmed eyes. “Now how do I get it outta me?”

And Giles’ glasses were suddenly off again. When he looked at Faith again the anguish written across her face nearly took his breath away.

“I’m not sure I . . . why would you want to . . .?”

“If it wasn’t Red’s spell then who the fuck knows what the hell’s growin’ inside of me? I want it out and I want it out now.”

“Let’s not be rash,” Giles began but stopped when Faith stood up from the sofa looking scarily like her old self.

“Baby, wait,” Buffy said as she walked the few steps over to Faith and took her hand. Faith’s posture became less rigid then and she glanced over at Buffy who was looking at her with so much love and concern that she felt herself calm down a little. “Before we make any decisions, we need to figure out what happened. Just because Willow didn’t cast the spell doesn’t mean this still isn’t possibly a beautiful miracle. Let’s do what we do best: research.”

“It’s true, we research like no others,” Willow said. “If you can just tell us a little bit about what happened that night, I’m sure we can get down to the bottom of what caused this.”

“Can we just give it a try, Faith?” Buffy asked, her eyes pleading for just a little more time. “Please?”

Faith looked Buffy in the eyes for several long moments before leaning forward and giving her a chaste kiss on the lips, followed by the tiniest of a nod. Without another word, she went back to her spot on the couch and wrapped one arm around her stomach, her eyes fixed on that far off place once again.

The gang got down to the research without any further hesitation. Buffy explained the fight they’d had the night of Jackson’s birthday party, followed by the conversation they’d had when they made up. She tried to be brief and vague when going over the part with the hot lesbian sex though Willow made sure she noted every detail.

The fact of the matter was, they glowed blue that night; the same blue that happened with the spell when they’d conceived Jackson. And once again, they conceived another child. There was only one person who knew for sure the details of the spell used the first time around and that was Willow. It was a spell that she’d come up with on her own, hence it couldn’t be duplicated unless she’d taught it to someone.

Stumped, everyone sat back and ran through all of the details in their minds, trying to figure out exactly what they were missing. Buffy was next to Faith, a soothing hand rubbing her back gently. Every now and again Faith would look back at her and Buffy would try to offer her a comforting smile but both girls were nervous and that much was obvious.

Just when everyone thought all hope was lost for the evening, Andrew mumbled something that got the attention of everyone in the room.

“You know, most gods and goddesses in these old texts are described as being pretty hung up on themselves. I don’t think it would be crazy to assume that maybe she imprinted a bit of herself on Jack so that she could sit back in the ether and admire her own handy work.”

All attention shifted from Andrew to Giles.

“What’s an ether? And is that even possible?” Buffy asked, her eyes hopeful. Even Faith managed to look up at Giles with something more than self-disgust in her eyes this time.

Giles pondered it for a few moments before replying, “Yes, I suppose it is. Both you and Faith are the biological parents, though the goddess could have added simple aspects to Jack when he was created. I’d almost be willing to place money on it.”

“So Jack’s a . . . goddess?” Xander asked, then frowned at his own question.

“I’d rather think not,” Giles answered, clearly working out the details in his mind now. “He’s a human child; we’ve already determined that much in the past. I believe that he’s simply, erm, enhanced with magical powers, perhaps.”

“How do we find out?” Faith asked. She was acutely interested in the conversation now; anything that involved Jackson was her top priority.

“We’ll have to test him,” Willow said. “He’s still so young so he probably doesn’t have control over his powers if he has any. All of his magic now would be cast purely on instinct. He won’t know how to actually use it yet.”

“And how the hell do we test him?” Faith asked, not liking the idea of anyone poking and prodding her little man. “He’s two years old. I think it’s a bit early to send him off to Hogwarts.”

Buffy chuckled at that and took Faith’s hand in hers, squeezing it tightly as she offered her a warm smile. Faith actually managed a little smile back this time and even gave her hand a squeeze in return.

“Well, I’ll teach him a really basic spell and see if he can copy it. I’m not sure he has the focus yet but it’s as good a place to start as any.”

“I don’t know if I like the idea of my son learning magic,” Buffy said with a bit of concern. “I want him to grow up with a normal life.”

Willow offered her a friendly and reassuring smile.

“Trust me, Buff. It’s better he learns to use it and control it now than to struggle with containing it later on.”

They further discussed things just a while longer, Willow going over which spell she would teach Jackson while Buffy and Faith paid close attention. There was no way they’d allow him to be taught something dangerous so they all agreed on a simple levitation spell. When Willow was learning magic, she’d practiced floating a pencil. She was just going to give him something that would catch his attention a bit better.

Tingaling the Tyrannosaurus – or Ting as Jackson liked to call his favorite plastic toy – was set for take-off the following afternoon and was expected to make a safe journey three inches above the floor.

Temporarily appeased that she wasn’t going to give birth to the newest baddie, Faith took a deep breath and sighed in relief. She gave Buffy a quick kiss on the forehead and excused herself from the group, disappearing upstairs without an explanation. Part of Buffy thought that maybe she was tired and needed a break from the drama, but the rest of her knew exactly what Faith was doing.

It was almost an hour later when the gang was finally done discussing the possibility of Jackson having powers. With Giles’ permission Willow put in a call to the coven to see if they had any other thoughts or suggestions that might help out in the situation. From that brief conversation, it seemed as though the coven believed Jackson to indeed be imprinted with some aspect of the goddess. They were sure that he hadn’t meant to recreate Willow’s spell; he’d probably accidentally picked up on the magical footprint it had left behind like most spells do. With children being ruled by such strong emotions, it was likely that he was happy or excited and the spell just . . . sorta . . . happened.

With a lot more on her mind than the excitement she should’ve been feeling at their earlier good news, Buffy traveled up the stairs and headed towards their bedroom, stopping just for a brief moment outside of Jackson’s bedroom door. She stepped back and peeked in through the barely opened door and sure enough found Faith laying back on the sofa with Jackson curled up on her. Faith’s eyes were closed and her nose was pressed to the top of his head, just taking him in while he was so peaceful and innocent.

Just as she was about to walk away, she saw Faith’s eyes open and look up at her. An almost shy smile appeared on Faith’s face as she realized she’d been caught once again sneaking into Jackson’s room just to hold him. She lifted one hand from his back and beckoned Buffy in. Buffy stepped into the room and gently closed the door behind her. The sight alone of Faith and Jackson laying like that nearly took her breath away and she had to concentrate on just making it across the room on her suddenly wobbly legs.

She gingerly sat down on the edge of the sofa and put her hand on Jackson’s back, feeling it rise and fall with his deep breaths.

“Can you believe this shit?” Faith asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Buffy could only shrug a little in response. Honestly, she was used to dealing with weird things. Her life was a series of dealings with weird things. The only difference now was that it was that it involved Jackson, one of the two people in the entire world she loved the most.

“I don’t care if he has powers. The more protection he has against the bad things in this world the better,” Faith continued. “But he’s two, yunno? His biggest problem should be learning to pee in the toilet and not on it, not about accidentally makin’ his Ma pregnant or makin’ Xander’s pants magically disappear.”

“Well at least we know that Xander was telling the truth now,” Buffy said.

No one would ever, ever forget the day Xander had to run through the house with a pillow held behind him and McGregor’s Compendium of Demon Lore held over his front. It was a sad day for Giles when he had to burn that book but he couldn’t see any other way around it.

No one wanted a wiener-book in the house.

“Aren’t you scared for him?” Faith asked as she stole a glance down at Jackson’s sleeping face.

“Of course I am,” Buffy said. “Just like I was scared when he started eating solid foods and when he took his first steps. It’s a challenge because it’s unknown. He’s gonna learn though, and we’re gonna learn too. He’s got the best teacher in the world. It may be scary now but it’s just another bump in the road. We’ll get past it.”

“And this one?” Faith asked, indicating her stomach.

Buffy smiled warmly and did something she’d been dying to do since they’d found out the baby wasn’t some kind of demon. She slid down off the couch and onto her knees, then slid her hand under Jackson’s tummy to rest on Faith’s stomach.

“Not really a bump yet but I have high hopes.”

Startled by the feeling of a hand under his stomach, Jackson sleepily blinked his eyes open and looked up at Buffy and Faith.

“What not bump?” he asked, still partially asleep.

Both Buffy and Faith chuckled as they looked down at him. Faith kissed the top of his head while Buffy moved her hand to caress his back.

“Your mama’s tummy,” Buffy explained. “There’s a baby growing in there and pretty soon you’re gonna have a little brother or sister.”

Seeing the completely puzzled look on Jackson’s face, Faith decided to take another approach. An approach that his two-year old mind would have a better chance of understanding.

“See, mama’s got a dinosaur egg, Choo-Choo. And it’s gonna grow big and round and when it’s ready, it’s gonna hatch and you’re gonna have a little brother or sister.”

Jackson was silent for a few moments as he pondered what they’d just told him. Buffy and Faith held their breath as they waited for a response. They just hoped he took the news well.

“I want a dinosaur brudder,” he said and instantly Buffy and Faith laughed, Faith hugging him a little tighter.

“I’ll work on it, buddy, but you might have to settle for a human brother. Or hey, possibly a dinosaur sister. Never know what might come outta me.”

Seemingly appeased by that response, Jackson rested his head back on Faith’s chest and held his hand out to Buffy. She smiled and got up off her knees, then slid onto the couch next to Faith so that they could all lay together. Jackson pulled her closer until he could wrap his chubby little fingers around her hair and twirled it gently as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep again.

And by that time it was too late to even think about getting back to their own bedroom so Buffy and Faith lay there with Jackson the rest of the night, silently talking and planning until they all fell asleep together.

**********

Jackson sat at the kitchen table the next morning between Buffy and Faith, looking up at a smiling but nervous Willow who was seated across from him. She knew that she had to keep Jackson safe; there was no measuring his possible power yet. That being said, she didn’t know how well teaching him an actual spell would go. Levitating a toy dinosaur could suddenly turn into running and screaming in terror as an actual dinosaur floated though their kitchen and Xander would really get cranky if he had to replace the cupboards again.

“Okay, Jack-Jack, Auntie Willow has a really cool trick she wants to show you. And maybe after she shows it to you, you could try it out too. How does that sound?”

Jackson looked up at Buffy and when she smiled warmly at him, he looked back at Willow and nodded.

“Great!” Willow beamed. She grabbed a pencil from the table and held it in her hands, getting Jackson’s full attention when she began to try to balance it on the tip of one of her fingers. “See, Auntie is special, Jack-Jack. Just like when Kenny and your mama took you too see the magic show at the park, I can do magic like that too. Mine’s a little bit different though. When I think about it and focus, I can do certain things that other people can’t.”

It was then that she focused on the pencil and made it stand straight up on the tip of her finger, balancing perfectly now. She spared a glance over at him and smiled when she saw the wonder in his eyes. Stepping it up a notch, she began to spin the pencil slowly on its tip.

“The cool thing is, I think you might be special too. And I bet that if I show you how, you could do this, too.” She chose that moment to slip her finger out from under the pencil, letting it float in the air before her.

“Wicked,” Jackson said in awe, his eyes never leaving the pencil.

“That’s right, it is pretty wicked! Now I’m going to put the pencil down and maybe you can try with Tingaling,” she said and Faith took that moment to put Ting on the table in front of Jackson. “All you have to do is pretend that he’s as light as a feather; that he’s so light he can just float there in the air without anyone holding it. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yeah!”

“Okay, good! I’m just going to . . . let me just . . .” Willow began, her focus on the pencil suddenly intensifying. “. . . I can’t get it down. It’s stuck.”

Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on lowering the pencil but it continued to float in the air, mocking her in its pencily stubbornness. After a frustrating few moments, she finally reached out and grabbed it but it wouldn’t budge.

“Something weird is going on here. I . . .” she moved to look over at Buffy and Faith but that was when something caught her attention. “Umm, guys?”

Buffy and Faith, puzzled by what was going on, looked down at Jackson and were shocked to see his eyes glowing a bright smurf blue as he focused his gaze on the pencil. His little lips were pressed together in a tight line as he concentrated, seemingly unaware of the concerned looks all three women were giving him.

“Baby, are you doing that?” Buffy asked, her hand instinctively coming up to feel his forehead. Sure, as if magic suddenly caused a fever.

“Wicked,” Jackson replied again, his voice straining.

“How do we make him stop?” Buffy asked looking up at Willow who merely shrugged at her. This was definitely not a planned part of the lesson!

“There’s gotta be an off-switch somewhere,” Faith said. And then it hit her; she knew what she had to do. Dropping to the floor, she lifted up his shirt and pressed her lips to his tummy, blowing a loud raspberry on it.

Jackson laughed loudly and tried to push her head away, his focus on the pencil temporarily distracted. The pencil didn’t drop to the table though; his sudden outburst of laughter and emotion sent it flying across the kitchen with a surge of power, impaling it in the wall right next to Xander’s head as he tried to enter the kitchen to see what the commotion was about.

“Holy monkey!” Xander exclaimed as he ducked down, covering his head with his arms. “Give a guy some warning next time you start throwing ninja-pencils. I’ve only got one eye left to spare.”

“It wasn’t us,” Buffy said as she checked Jackson over. “It was Jack. I don’t think we need to test it out any further. He’s got more magic than a . . . help me out here?”

“A magic thing?” Willow offered.

“Exactly,” Buffy said. “He okay?” she asked Faith who was now holding a wriggling and giggling Jackson.

“Hmm. Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes . . . I’d say we’re five by five.”

“One two free four five,” Jackson said quickly and smiled as Faith gave him a little high-five.

“Maybe I speak for myself here but I prefer sneaky pant-stealing Jack to pencil-flinging scary-making Jack,” Xander said as he pulled the pencil from the wall.

“It’s all about control,” Willow began as she stood up from the table. “It’s gonna take some practice – and some non-pointy objects – but I think I can work with him. Might have to ask the coven whip up a little something to keep his magic from accidentally going kablooey in the meanwhile, but I think I can help him.”

Faith – who was now holding Jackson upside down by his ankles – hoisted him up in the air and caught him, setting him the right way up.

“Ya hear that, Choo-Choo? You’re goin to magic school!”

**********

A month had passed by before anyone had known it. Jackson continued to have magic practice with Willow every other day which gave Buffy and Faith a good opportunity to get the last bits of packing done for their upcoming move into their own house. After the first week of lessons, they stopped tagging along altogether so that Jackson wouldn’t be so distracted by their presence. He was doing well so far and most catastrophes had been avoided though a few pantless people had been spotted running throughout the house on more than one occasion.

Control, obviously, was still a bit of an issue.

No one had been injured, though, and that was the best part of it. No more flying pencils, no dinosaurs coming to life, and no major reconstruction for Xander to do. Another issue was trying to get Jackson to stop using magic when he wasn’t with Willow. Now that the floodgates had been opened, he liked to try his magic whenever he could.

It started small at first. A toy crossing the room so he wouldn’t have to get up to get it. Vegetables mysteriously disappearing from his plate. The television turning back on when Buffy had said he’d had enough TV time and turned it off.

And then it got a bit bigger.

It was late one night when mostly everyone was already sleeping and Buffy and Faith were doing the last bit of their packing and prepping to move when they heard a shriek from down the hall. They ran out of their room in their pajamas, weapons in hand and ready to take on whatever baddie was there, to find Kennedy and Willow running out of their room dressed only in bedsheets.

They were glowing a very familiar blue.

“Before you ask, this isn’t my blue. We were blueless, and then there was blue, and it wasn’t my to do!” Willow exclaimed.

“You mean you didn’t cast . . .?” Buffy began.

“Hell no!” Kennedy replied, pulling her sheet just a little higher over her chest. “I’m twenty-one years old. The only kid I want in my life is yours and that’s because I can give him back when I’m bored or when he starts to smell.”

“There’s only one other person that could’ve . . .” Faith began, her voice trailing off as all four women simultaneously turned their heads towards Jackson’s bedroom door. “So, when you turned blue . . . were you like, mid-hump?”

“Faith!” Buffy scolded.

“What? It’s a valid question!” Faith defended with her arms up in the air.

“We got interrupted before the good stuff got started,” Kennedy said.

“I’m just gonna . . .” Buffy said, nodding her head towards Jackson’s room. The other three women followed after her, all of them remaining completely quiet as Buffy opened the door just a crack so they could peek inside.

The faint blue glow coming from Jackson’s crib was just enough to illuminate the room and the several items that were floating around in it. One of his toy trains was circling in the air on an invisible track and Tingaling was chasing it around. Jackson was so wrapped up in his magic that he hadn’t even realized he was being watched until he heard a very distinguishable gasp from the door.

The toys dropped to the floor in a flash and Jackson looked at his audience, startled but doing his best to look innocent.

“Jackson Thomas!” Buffy said as she walked into the room and turned on the light. “What did we tell you about doing magic all by yourself?”

“That bad?”

“That’s right, mister, ‘that bad.’”

“But I said it not bad, it fun,” Jackson said innocently, earning a laugh from Kennedy.

When everyone turned to look at her she just shrugged.

“What? It’s funny. He’s like a little carbon-copy of Faith but with a penis.”

“Penis!” Jackson shouted excitedly, smiling when he heard Kennedy laughing at his little outburst.

“Well that’s just fantastic!” Buffy said sarcastically as she glared at Kennedy.

Always the one to try to avoid arguments, Willow stepped in and tried to save things from getting any more unpleasant.

“Listen Buff, we’re just gonna go back to our room and . . . de-blue. I’ll do a reversal spell in the morning and make sure that neither Kenny or I are unseasonably fertile. Until then we’ll just maintain a proper distance and hope we’re shooting blanks.”

“What?” Kennedy asked, annoyed. “The sprog gets a little magic happy and my sex life suffers?” At Willow’s sympathetic look, Kennedy grumbled, “That bad.”

Taking Kennedy’s hand in hers, Willow led her out of the room, leaving Buffy and Faith to deal with Jackson. Faith, who had been quiet the whole time, quietly picked up Jack’s toys that had fallen and placed them on his dresser. She kept Tingaling in her hand and walked over to the crib, walking the toy along the rail while avoiding eye contact with Jackson. She just watched the little plastic dinosaur bob about, choosing her words carefully.

“You know you’re in trouble, right buddy?” she asked quietly.

Jackson didn’t say anything. Instead he reached out and touched the dinosaur, his little hand brushing against Faith’s. Buffy stayed silent as she watched from a few steps away with her arms crossed over her chest, knowing that Faith could get through to him better than anyone else.

Faith sighed and let Jackson take the dinosaur, then leaned down and rested her chin on the side of the crib rail. They looked at each other for a moment, her silence saying more to him than her words could.

“Ya gotta listen to what your Ma and Aunt Willow say, Jack. They’re not tryin’ to be mean, they’re tryin’ to make sure ya stay safe. If something bad happens . . . I don’t even know what I’d do.”

Jackson put his hand on Faith’s cheek and looked into her eyes.

“I’ll be good boy, mama.”

Faith smiled a sad smile, hating that it had to come to this. She didn’t want her son to have to restrain himself but that’s exactly what he had to do to ensure his safety and that of everyone around him.

“That’s a good little man,” she said. “Now gimme some sugar.”

She puckered her lips and Jackson leaned in and gave her a little kiss, then climbed back under his blankets when she nodded her head down at the mattress. Buffy walked over and made sure he was tucked in, then kissed her fingertips and brushed them over his cheek.

Feeling confident that he was done with magic – at least for the night -- they turned off the lights and left the room. They were silent as they walked back to their own bedroom before Faith finally spoke up.

“He’s gonna have to start practicing with Willow every day.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“We’re gonna have to get him one of those kid beds when we move into the new place. He’s gettin’ too big for that crib.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Faith stopped walking and pulled Buffy against her, wrapping her arms around her lower back as Buffy’s arms went over her shoulders.

“Gotta say, I’m glad we didn’t get hit with the blue mojo this time around though. I was thinking that maybe we could . . .” she leaned down and whispered the rest into Buffy’s ear, a lascivious smile on her face as her hands started to grope the girl’s backside.

Buffy just grinned as she listened and when Faith was done, she started tugging her backwards into their bedroom.

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Chapter Three

Moving day had finally arrived for Buffy and Faith and they were taking full advantage of the free labor at their disposal. Several of the young slayers were busy loading up a moving van that Xander had rented while the others were busy carrying miscellaneous furniture and boxes out of the house and onto the front lawn. Buffy was busy helping, carrying her share of the load while Faith was busy trying to entertain Jackson.

As much as Faith had fought Buffy on it, they decided – or rather Buffy decided – that carrying big and heavy boxes wasn’t in Faith’s or the baby’s best interest. Thus, Faith was on Jackson duty while everyone else carried and loaded.

And honestly, even though she’d protested at first, Faith was beginning to realize that she got a pretty sweet deal out of the situation.

“Mush, mush!” she yelled as she relaxed back on a couch that two slayers were struggling to carry with both her and Jackson on it.

“Did she just tell me to mush?” Rona asked Vi who nodded as she struggled with the other end of the couch. “Oh no she didn’t. I’m ‘bout two seconds away from dropping her and this couch.”

“Oh no you’re not,” Buffy said as she breezed by with a large television in her arms. “That couch is brand new.”

Rona and Vi laughed while Faith just scoffed.

“Thanks for lookin’ out for us, babe,” she said. “Tell your Ma, Choo-Choo.”

“Tanks for wookin’ out for us babe!” he repeated, jumping from one end of the couch to land on Faith’s lap. She grabbed him under his arms and pulled him up so that they were level with one another, both of them grinning at the look Buffy was giving them.

“That’s all I need, Faith. He already calls me ‘B’ when I drop him off at daycare two days a week.” She gingerly set the television down on the walkway and grabbed Jackson from Faith, lifting him up and spinning him around a few times. “Come on, mister. Aunt Dawn’s gonna take you for a walk to the new house. You wanna go see your new bedroom?”

At Jackson’s enthusiastic nod, she handed him over to Dawn who was patiently waiting for him with a big smile on her face. She held out her arms and he practically dove into them, hugging her tightly.

“I bet if we walk really fast we can beat the truck to the new house,” Dawn said to him, then leaned down and whispered into his ear. “And if we’re really sneaky, we might be able to find the ice cream truck along the way.”

Jackson pulled his head back from her shoulder, looking at her with wide eyes. “I wuv ice cream!”

“So does Auntie Dawn. Now come on, let’s go!”

Dawn set him down on the sidewalk and took his hand and they were off towards the new house only a few blocks away. At the pace Jackson was tugging her along, there was no doubt that they’d beat the moving truck there.

When they were finally out of sight, Buffy bent over to pick up the television but was pulled back by a pair of strong arms around her waist. She flomped back onto the couch with Faith, ignoring the loud groans from both Rona and Vi who struggled to hold onto it.

“Nice move sending Jack with Dawn. Leaves us a little bit of extra time to go back inside and say goodbye to our old bedroom one last time,” Faith said, waggling her eyebrows.

“So do not need to be hearing stuff like that,” Rona said under her breath.

Buffy laughed and gave Faith a chaste kiss on the lips just to placate her, then hopped off the couch before she could stop her.

“As much as I’d love to, we have far too much to get done today. Raincheck for later?”

“Count on it,” Faith said with a wink.

“Now, when you say later, you mean later in a different bedroom in a different house, right?” Vi asked uneasily. “Because Mr. Giles promised me that I could have your old bedroom and, not that you’re not welcome to come back and visit it, but I think that any such rainchecks should be saved for areas that are less . . . mine.”

“Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it Vi, we’ll leave your new room alone,” Faith said. Then she grinned and continued, “Besides, we already said goodbye to it this morning. Twice.”

Vi groaned and Rona sighed, then the couch was on the ground and both young slayers were grumbling as they walked back into the house for something else to carry. Faith rested back down and adjusted the pillow behind her head, laughing as Buffy shot her a mock glare.

“Do ya think it was something I said?”

**********

With the truck fully loaded up and already on its way to the new house, Buffy and Faith finished packing the last of their small belongings into their own car to take over. They turned and took one last look at the house they’d shared for three years, smiling at all of the craziness that had happened there in that time. Sure they’d be able to come back and visit as often as they liked and there was no doubt that they would. How could they say no to free babysitters? But it was time now to move on to bigger and better things. They had a whole new house just waiting for them to fill with newer and even crazier memories.

Faith jumped in the driver’s seat before Buffy could, ignoring her protests as the girl handed over the keys. A few blocks, a few miles, there was no difference. Buffy was a bad driver no matter the distance.

The drive over only took a few minutes and they pulled up to the new house to find it bustling with activity. The young slayers were busy unloading the trucks and carrying things inside while Willow directed them on which items went in which rooms. Even Xander was lending a helping hand, trying not to look like a complete lightweight in front of the young slayers. Dawn was already helping Buffy and Faith unload their car which brought up the question: where was Jackson?

“Mush, mush!” They heard a small voice from across the lawn.

Buffy and Faith looked over to see Jackson riding along on the couch as it was carried inside the house with Andrew sitting right next to him.

“I told you he always picks up on what you do,” Buffy said to Faith who was busy laughing at the sight.

Hearing Faith’s laughter, Jackson looked over at Buffy and Faith and waved, a proud smile on his face.

“Ma! I ridin’ on da couch! Yee-hah!”

“Good job, buddy!” Faith yelled back.

She grabbed Buffy’s hand and walked up to the front door, stopping when they got to the entrance.

Grinning, she scooped the blonde up in her arms and carried her over the threshold despite her protests.

“What did I tell you about heavy lifting?!” Buffy scolded. She would’ve jumped out of Faith’s arms but Faith had too good a grip on her.

“You weigh like a hundred pounds, B. Chill. Besides,” she paused, putting Buffy down gently and pulling her into her arms, “it’s like tradition or something, and no way am I messing with tradition. I need all the luck I can get if you plan on keepin’ me around.”

Ignoring the other people walking through the house, she leaned in and gave Buffy a soft kiss on her lips. It was one of those rare moments where Buffy got to see Faith’s squishy romantic side and she decided to indulge in the rare occurrence. They were interrupted, however, by a pair of slayers carrying the couch past them with Andrew and Jackson still perched atop it.

“I feel just like Cleopatra, and you’re like my son with the brave Mark Antony,” Andrew said to Jackson, posing like a statue of Cleopatra as the couch moved along. At Buffy and Faith’s questioning gaze, he quickly shifted to a different position and corrected, “I mean I feel like Mark Antony. Just like him. Because he’s a man. As am I.”

“Cleopatra wasn’t the only queen of de-Nile,” Faith said under her breath, earning a smack on her butt from Buffy who was still in her arms. “What?”

“Do not force him out of the closet,” Buffy said quietly.

“Cos that’s where we keep all your fancy girly dresses that he loves so much?” Faith asked quietly, grinning at the scolding look Buffy gave her. She leaned in and kissed Buffy’s scowl away, stopping only when she heard a little thump and a pair of footsteps running their way.

“Jack-Jack sammich!” came a small voice from beside them, Jackson tugging at Buffy’s shirt.

And just like one tradition Faith didn’t want to break, this was another that needed to be kept firmly in place. Buffy stepped back and scooped Jackson up in her arms, then smiled as Faith wrapped her arms back around her, effectively sandwiching Jackson between them. Jackson laughed and cooed happily as he rested his head on Buffy’s shoulder, curling his chubby little fingertips around her hair.

“Oh, you guys can’t leave us when you’re being so darn cute,” Willow said as she walked into the room and found them just inside the front entrance. She stepped up to them and joined in, hugging Buffy from behind.

“We were always this cute, you just failed to notice,” Buffy said with a smile.

“Well now I notice and I’ve decided that you can’t leave me all alone in that house. What will I do for my daily cuteness intake?” Willow replied.

“I can be pretty cute sometimes,” came a voice from behind them. All three women and even Jackson turned their heads to see Andrew standing behind Faith participating in their hug. Noticing the way they were looking at him, he stepped back and pretended to pick a piece of lint from the back of Faith’s shirt.

“Just so we’re on the same page here, I don’t think you need to be that close to me ever again,” Faith said to Andrew.

“Understood,” Andrew replied with a nod, then walked off into another room before things could get awkward again.

Jackson wriggled out of Buffy’s arms and ran off after Andrew. As strange as it was, the two of them got along great. Andrew loved to play games and teach Jackson new things and Jackson just loved having a male to look up to that spent time with him. If he wasn’t busy spending time with Faith and Buffy he was usually with Andrew, Xander, or even Giles on occasion.

Besides, Andrew was the only person who would actually sit and watch the ridiculous kid shows with Jackson. No one else could quite figure out what the appeal of a beret-wearing cartoon goat that drank Pepsi and sang kids’ songs was but Jackson – and Andrew – couldn’t seem to get enough of it. Their matching beret-wearing goat t-shirts proved as much.

With Jackson preoccupied, Buffy and Faith got to unpacking some of the boxes that had already been carried into the house. They had enough people helping them so that the empty house soon started to look like a home. Their bedroom was basically set up with only a few boxes and totes scattered throughout. Dawn and Willow were busy setting up Jackson’s room, and Xander and Kennedy were left to re-assemble the crib in what would be the baby’s room. Despite the fact that they had the easiest job, they took the longest time doing their task, both clueless as how to actually set the crib up.

“I thought you were supposed to be some kinda construction guru,” Kennedy said as they emerged from the room, sweaty and frazzled.

“That crib was made by demons. Japanese demons that wrote the instructions in Japa-demonese and hated humans,” Xander defended as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

“You can oversee the building of a high school but you can’t put a crib together. That’s all I’m sayin.”

“Well at least I didn’t let a Neptil demon possess me last week.”

“Hey, you try slaying a five-hundred pound demon with a stake and see how far you get,” Kennedy said bitterly.

“And I think it’s time for a break from Moving Day fun,” Willow interrupted just in time. She took Kennedy’s hand and started tugging her towards the back door. “Come on Kenny, it’s time for Jackson’s magic lessons.”

“Why do I have to come?”

“Because he needs to work on his defense spell today.”

Kennedy came to a complete standstill then, disbelief written across her face.

“Baby, why me? I’m sick of getting my butt handed to me by Faith Junior.”

“Because everyone else is busy and it gives us a chance to spend some time together. Besides, you know how he loves it when you make that cute little yelping noise when you go flying backwards.”

Ignoring Kennedy’s further protests, Willow yanked her outside to the fenced in backyard where Andrew was busy teaching Jackson how to walk like a supermodel. Xander leaned against the wall and watched them go, happy to rest for a moment. His back hurt, his legs hurt, and being stuck in a room with Kennedy for so long had him completely on edge. He just needed to relax his body and nerves for a bit and . . .

“Make way, comin’ through, lady with a baby!” Faith practically shouted as she passed behind him in the hallway with a huge sub in her hands, making him nearly jump out of his skin. She flopped down onto a chair and kicked her feet up on a box, ready to enjoy some food for about the tenth time that day. “What’s up, Xan?”

“You mean besides my blood pressure?” he asked as he sat on a chair opposite her.

“Ha! Kennedy givin’ you a hard time?” she asked around a mouthful of food.

“And then some,” he answered. “Are there any more subs left in the kitchen?”

Faith’s chewing slowed down and she swallowed loudly, a guilty half-smile on her face. That was all the answer Xander needed.

“Have mercy, woman. You’ve already eaten like four of those today. Spare half for a starving man? A bite even? Shred of lettuce?”

Faith took one last whopping bite and handed the rest to Xander, smiling as he began to devour it. He looked over at her between bites, paying special attention to her stomach under her tight shirt.

“You’re just over three months along now, right?” At Faith’s nod, he continued. “Why aren’t you showing yet? No belly, no bump, no anything. Which I guess would probably be normal if you weren’t eating your weight in food every day.”

Faith simply shrugged and lifted up her shirt to look at her stomach.

“No clue. It’s defo in there though, got the pic from the doctor to prove it. Know I’ve been eatin’ like a pig too but I’m just hungry all the time. Whatever though. If the kid wants a triple-decker sandwich, it’s gonna get a triple-decker sandwich. No way am I gonna piss it off while it’s livin in there.”

After pondering it for a moment, Xander shrugged and nodded. “That’s probably smart.”

“Still can’t believe it’s really happening though,” Faith said. “It’s all kinda surreal, like I’m just dreamin’ it or something. It’ll all kick in when I start to show though and when I can feel it wormin’ around in there.”

“And until then?” Xander asked.

Faith grinned, “We have Buffy make us some more sandwiches.”

**********

“Let go.”

“No!”

“Jack, I’m serious. Let go.”

“I don’t wanna!”

Faith tugged a little harder on Jackson’s ankles but he didn’t budge, his hands gripping tightly around the bars of the crib. He was completely horizontal in the air, his death-grip on the wooden bars the only thing keeping him from swinging upside down and into Faith.

“I know you don’t wanna say goodbye to your crib but you’ve got a nice new big-boy bed that’s just waitin’ for you to come and sleep on it.”

“Don’t want da bed, want my crib.”

Faith sighed and let go of his feet, shaking her head as he continued to cling to the side of the crib.

“Alright, I didn’t wanna do it but you’re leavin’ me no choice here. B!” she called out and instantly found her mouth covered by a little hand and two brown eyes pleading with her to be quiet.

“Yeah?” Buffy called out from their own bedroom where she was busy unpacking the last of their clothing.

Now that everyone had cleared out of the house, it was time for their nightly bedtime ritual with Jackson which Faith volunteered to do solo to give Buffy more time to get things settled. Jackson, however, wasn’t quite as willing to leave behind his crib as Faith was hoping he’d be. Looking at his pout and puppy-dog eyes though, she knew that she could placate him now that he knew she was serious.

“Nevermind,” she mumbled loudly around Jackson’s hand, then whispered so only he could hear. “You ready to try out your big-boy bed?”

“No.”

“How about if we read three stories instead of two?”

Jackson pondered it for a moment. “Five.”

Faith playfully narrowed her eyes at him.

“Four and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Jackson held out his hand and Faith shook it then hoisted him up over her shoulder so he was hanging halfway down her back. She carried him out of the soon-to-be nursery and to his own bedroom where she plunked him in his new bed despite his giggling.

She read the agreed upon four books to him, then two more for good measure, and then two more to keep him firmly rooted in bed and not wandering around the new house at all hours of the night. The crib had always kept him confined so this was going to be a new experience for them all. They’d have to ask Willow to create some kind of mystical security spell to keep Jackson from wandering too far from his room but that would have to wait until the next day when she came back for his magic lesson.

Wandering down the hall and turning off the lights as she went, Faith finally made it to their new bedroom and was surprised to find it mostly settled. Thank god Buffy was organized because if it had been left up to Faith they would’ve been living out of boxes for months. She stood and watched the girl for a moment, admiring how hot she looked even when dressed in an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

Sneaking up behind an unsuspecting Buffy who was busy reaching into the bottom of a tote, Faith reached out and pinched her butt, making her jump up in surprise.

“Very funny,” Buffy said, scowling and rubbing her butt as Faith laughed at her.

“Sorry B, but it was up in the air and practically had a target on it. No way could I pass up that opportunity.” She pulled Buffy into her arms and just hugged her for a minute, rocking back and forth a bit.

“Just remember that actions like that come with consequences,” Buffy said against her shoulder.

“Such as?”

And then it was Faith’s turn to yelp as both of Buffy’s hands slid down her back and grabbed a handful of ass none-too-gently.

“So that’s how you wanna play it, huh.”

“Yeah-huh.”

“You realize what you just did, right?”

“Maybe you should tell me,” Buffy said playfully, grunting softly as she felt her back hit the wall and Faith press against her keeping her pinned.

“Pretty sure you just started a grope-war, B.”

And then Faith’s hands were traveling from Buffy’s hips and up her sides, moving in to fondle her breasts as she kept their bodies pressed together. Her warm breath caressed Buffy’s lips before she kissed them, softly first and then in a series of fleeting little French kisses as their hands started to roam and caress.

“Mmm . . .” Buffy mumbled between kisses, “there should be peace, not war.”

“I’d certainly like a piece,” Faith mumbled back as her fingertips slid under the hem of Buffy’s shirt and swiftly lifted it off over her head.

“Nuh-uh,” Buffy mumbled again, putting her hands on Faith’s shoulders to get a bit of distance between them. “No piece until there’s a guarantee of peace and quiet, and we won’t have that until Willow can do the sound spell on our room tomorrow.”

“But Buffy!” Faith whined uncharacteristically. “New house! New room! Christening! Promises were made, rainchecks were signed . . . I’m cashing in.”

And then not even Buffy’s hands on her shoulders could keep Faith away. Her hands slipped down Buffy’s back and under her shorts, cupping her ass within the confines of the fabric. She pulled Buffy against her and reclaimed her lips again, smiling to herself when she felt Buffy give in.

“You’ll just have to be quiet,” Faith said, kissing down Buffy’s neck as she pushed the girl’s shorts and panties down in one fell swoop, leaving her completely naked.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re still dressed!”

But Buffy couldn’t complain too much though. She was too busy focusing on the cool wall against her back and the hot body holding her up against it. On those fingertips that were caressing her thigh, slipping underneath and lifting it up so she could wrap her leg around the girl. On the soft scratch of rough denim over her heated center. On soft fingers replacing the scratch of fabric, touching her right where she needed it the most. On soft lips sliding over hers and sweet breath making her lightheaded.

So wrapped up in feeling that she never heard the creak of a door and the pitter-patter of tiny feet until,

“…Jack-Jack sammich?”

Faith immediately tried to move away but Buffy clung to her, hoping to keep whatever modesty that remained intact.

“Hey buddy!” Faith said a bit overzealously. “What are you doin’ out of that nice new bed of yours?”

“Want my cribby,” Jackson replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“I thought you were gonna stay in your big-boy bed?” Faith asked, receiving no help from Buffy’s whose face was pressed against her shoulder and burning bright red with embarrassment.

“Want my cribby,” he said again, this time with his bottom lip coming out in the perfect Buffy Summers pout and his eyes wet with tears.

And as much as Faith didn’t want to cave in to his demands, she knew that breaking the crib habit wasn’t going to happen in just one night. There needed to be counseling and crib rehab and possibly a crib support group, all things that she couldn’t do while acting as Buffy’s blanket. Ever so carefully, so as not to expose Buffy’s nakedness, she slipped her foot under the girl’s discarded shirt on the floor and kicked it up into the air, catching it in one of her hands.

She handed the crumpled shirt to Buffy and waited for her to get re-dressed until she moved over to Jackson’s side. Scooping him up in her arms, she carried him down the hall to the nursery, deciding to let him have one last night with the crib. Besides, with him being confined behind its wooden bars, it meant she got more time to cash in her rainchecks.

Maybe a few more nights without the big-boy bed wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Four

Faith rested back on the cot in the examining room, folding both of her arms under her head in the perfect posture of relaxation. Buffy was sitting at her side, flipping through one of the magazines in the rack next to the cot.

“Ooh look, we can save thirty-five cents on Shake-n-Bake,” Buffy feigned enthusiasm, folding the page back so Faith could see the coupon she was looking at.

Faith tilted her head so that she could read the page and laughed aloud before resting her head comfortably once again.

“That thing expired in 2000, B. Looks like we’re gonna have to pay full price.”

“Or we can just order pizza,” Buffy said. She flipped the pages a few more times before setting the magazine back in the rack and leaning forward to rest her head on the edge of the cot.

Faith moved one of her arms from behind her head and brushed Buffy’s hair from her face.

“So we still taking bets on the sex of the rugrat?” she asked, smiling when Buffy raised her eyebrows at her.

“All bets are off until it’s actually born. We all know what happened last time.”

“Yeah, but I’m askin’ the doc to check anyway. Betcha it’s a boy though.”

“What? You’re so wrong. We need a girl so I can dress her up in pink and purple and put little pigtails in her hair.”

“Nah, Jack needs a brother. Besides, if ya want a girl that bad I’ll get ya a Barbie doll. You can dress her up and do her hair while I teach the boys to ride skateboards and make mud pies.”

Buffy began to protest but a quiet knock on the door interrupted them. A young female doctor with curly brown hair and a white jacket walked in with Faith’s chart in her hand, smiling apologetically.

“So sorry the both of you had to wait so long, we’ve had a busy day. How are you feeling, Faith?” the doctor asked, her kind smile keeping both Buffy and Faith at ease.

“Five by five and ready to find out if junior is a he or a she, Dr. Darcy,” Faith said easily.

“Well let’s see if we can’t find that out for you.” Dr. Darcy stepped over to the ultrasound machine and pressed a few buttons, then grabbed the tube of gel and squeezed it on Faith’s already exposed tummy. “You’re lucky; your tummy is so small. You’ll probably stay pretty small throughout your pregnancy.”

“Figures,” Buffy said. “I was as big as a house and she’s going to be all cute and compact.”

“Yeah, but you were a cute house,” Faith said with a wink.

“Have you been experiencing any morning sickness, swelling, fatigue, insomnia?” Dr. Darcy asked.

“No, no, no and no. Been pretty much normal with the exception of the baby bump,” Faith replied easily.

“Wow, definitely very lucky. When I was pregnant with my son I couldn’t keep any food down for the first four months. Then when I finally could eat, I had kidney problems and started swelling up all over. My husband teased me that I had Hobbit feet.”

All three women had a good laugh at that while Dr. Darcy slid the transducer wand over Faith’s belly, trying to find the best possible angle to see the baby. Suddenly the baby’s rapid heartbeat sounded though the speakers and soon thereafter a fuzzy image appeared on the monitor.

Buffy squeezed Faith’s hand as she watched with a huge smile on her face. Two little feet were easy to spot and Dr. Darcy printed a picture of them before gliding the wand around to get a picture of the baby’s profile. Faith watched on in wonder, squeezing Buffy’s hand back just as tightly now.

“Kinda looks like a deformed jelly bean with arms,” Faith said, tilting her head to the side.

“It’s not a deformed jelly bean! It’s a perfect jelly bean,” Buffy cooed, tilting her head to the side like Faith was doing.

“There’s your baby’s head and heart, and there’s an arm, and if we swing around this way . . .” she paused as she moved the wand again, trying to get a view from the bottom up, “. . . we should be able to determine the baby’s sex.”

The baby’s legs appeared to be crossed though, seemingly protecting his or her modesty.

“Definitely your kid: its legs are crossed,” Faith said to Buffy, earning her a nudge with an elbow.

“Ahh, there we go,” Dr. Darcy said as she printed another picture. “Nice and clear shot. Would you like to know the sex?” At Buffy and Faith’s nods, she continued, “You’re having a little girl.”

“I’ve heard that before,” Buffy said skeptically.

“You sure, doc? Was kinda getting a manly vibe from the jelly bean,” Faith said.

“Well,” Dr. Darcy began, checking the screen more intently, “I can honestly say that I haven’t been wrong yet. If I’m not sure I’ll tell the parents as much, but I’m definitely going with ‘congrats, it’s a girl’ on this one.”

“Guess that means you’ll get your own personal Barbie doll, B,” Faith said with a small smile.

“Yeah, but you can teach her how to skateboard too,” Buffy said, leaning down to give Faith a chaste kiss on her lips.

“Well, everything looks great here,” Dr. Darcy said and placed the wand back on the ultrasound machine. “You’re almost twenty weeks along now so you’re just about half-way done cooking. You’ll start to see more changes now. You’ll feel the baby moving more, your belly’s going to get bigger every week, and your breasts are going to become fuller.”

“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” Faith said with a grin.

“I’ll see you back here in a few weeks and until then, please don’t hesitate to call our patient care line if you have any questions or concerns.”

“Thanks, doc,” Faith said with a smile, followed by a quick goodbye from Buffy. When they were alone in the room, Faith sat up and wiped the goo from her belly with some paper towels Buffy handed her. “You really think it’s a girl?”

“I don’t know. I mean, the doctor seemed pretty confident. I probably won’t believe it until she’s born with a complete lack of Surprise-Penis.”

Faith could only laugh as she stood up and got dressed properly, anxious to get home and relieve Andrew of babysitting duty. When she was finished she let Buffy grab her hand and lead her out of the office. She couldn’t wait to tell Jackson the news. A smile crossed her face then as she realized something.

“Yunno, Jack’s gonna be so upset when he finds out that not only is he having a sister but that she’s not a dinosaur, either.”

“So much for a dinosaur brother,” Buffy replied with a giggle.

**********

Buffy and Faith entered their house as quietly as possible, knowing that Jackson was probably napping. If there was one thing they’d learned as parents, it was never to wake a sleeping two-year-old. However, instead of silence, they were greeted with the sounds of Jackson laughing hysterically from the living room.

Walking quietly through the hallway, Buffy and Faith peeked around the corner to see Andrew doing a headstand while Jackson threw raisins at him, trying to knock him over.

“See, my mother always used to tell me that having a flat head would come in handy for something,” Andrew said, his voice straining as he struggled to stay vertical.

Jackson started singing a very babble-filled song that sounded vaguely like “London Bridge is Falling Down.” He danced around, still pelting Andrew with raisins when he caught a movement from the corner of his eye. He looked over and saw Buffy and Faith peeking around the corner and his face lit up even more.

“Maaaaaa!” he yelled as he ran over, throwing one arm around Buffy’s leg and the other around Faith’s, squeezing them tightly.

“’Sup buddy?” Faith asked, rustling his hair.

“Andrew gived me candy!”

Buffy and Faith looked over at Andrew who finally lost his balance and toppled over, right into the couch. When he finally managed to right himself and fix his rumpled clothes, he gave Buffy and Faith a pathetic look.

“I know you said he’s not supposed to have it before his nap but you try telling him no. Last time, I ended up with a tail that didn’t go away for four days. I had to cut holes in my pants and -- for the record -- the young slayers are very unforgiving when it comes to excess body parts.”

Faith practically exploded with laughter and Buffy did her best not to laugh in Andrew’s face, though the damage was already done. He sighed and collected his things before making his way toward the door to head back home.

“Andrew?” Jackson called out, though it sounded more like ‘Anj-woo’ coming out of his mouth.

“Yes?”

“You come back an’ play wif me tomowwow?” he asked, putting on his big, cute puppy-dog eyes that had absolutely everyone wrapped around his little finger.

And just like everyone else, Andrew was caught up in cuteness.

“I suppose so, my little prince. I can introduce you to the magical world of ‘The Neverending Story,’ which ironically has a pretty good ending.”

Offering them a quick wave, Andrew turned and went out the front door, leaving Buffy and Faith alone with Jackson. Faith walked into the living room and plopped onto the couch, using her foot to push some of the raisins from the floor into a nice little pile. Jackson followed quickly after her and crawled around on his hands and knees picking up some of the more far-to-reach raisins. Buffy was the last to enter the room a few moments later, two bottles of cold water in one hand and Jackson’s dinosaur cup in the other.

“So Choo-Choo, your Ma and me went to the doctor today,” Faith began as Buffy put the drinks down on the end table.

Jackson stopped crawling around on the floor and sat up facing them, a mess of squishy raisins in his hand.

“You get a shot?” he asked, his bottom lip coming out in sympathy. There weren’t many things Jackson didn’t like. Shots were one of them.

“Nope, but the doctor put a funny little machine on my tummy and was able to look at the baby that’s in there,” Faith explained.

Buffy sat down on the couch next to Faith and against her side, smiling happily when Faith lifted up her arm so she could snuggle against her.

“My dinosaur brudder?” Jack asked excitedly.

Buffy and Faith shared a look with one another before Buffy cleared her throat quietly.

“Actually, not this time, Jack,” she said gently. “This time you’re getting a sister. A human sister.”

Jackson pondered that for a few moments before tilting his head to the side. It was clear that behind his big brown eyes he was trying hard to figure it all out.

“Not a dinosaur brudder?”

“Sorry, Chooch,” Faith said. “She kinda looks like a jelly bean though. And hey, you like candy.”

“I wuv candy,” he said with a smile.

“Then do you think that maybe you can give your lil’ sis a chance?”

Again he took a few moments to ponder it before putting the entire handful of raisins in his mouth and shaking his head, earning a double-grimace from both Faith and Buffy.

“I can wuv the jelly bean too.”

And that was how they appeased a two-year old, relating his unborn sister to candy to get him to love her. Sometimes this parenting gig was easier than it looked.

They’d just let the whole ‘eating raisins from the floor’ thing slide by this time.

**********

Faith was just over six months along when it was mutually decided by everyone excluding herself that she would no longer be allowed to participate in any slay-related activities. While she’d been okay with leaving the actual slayage to slayers who weren’t pregnant, she didn’t like the fact that they didn’t want her teaching classes any longer. They didn’t even want her working out in the gym with the girls because they feared that the horseplay that usually broke out could put Faith at risk of being injured.

So while Buffy and Kennedy went slaying and trained the girls, while Willow worked with the coven and Xander kept expanding their facilities and Dawn and Andrew began training to become Watchers, Faith was left with Jackson as her entertainment. She didn’t mind spending time with him. In fact, she downright loved it.

But Buffy seemed determined to ruin all of her usual fun even when she wasn’t around.

The blonde was running around the house looking for her running sneakers and favorite hooded sweatshirt while simultaneously shouting out directions to Faith who was sitting in the living room teaching Jackson how to play Mario Kart Double Dash on the GameCube. They were too busy having fun and laughing to fully listen to Buffy but Faith got the gist of it and was able to answer back vaguely enough to make Buffy think she’d been listening.

“Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes, just listen for the timer and take it out of the oven. Before you ask, I didn’t make it, Dawn did. It’s some kind of natural or organic casserole that’s supposed to be full of protein and extra healthy. There’s green beans in the microwave, just nuke them for thirty seconds to warm them up. Faith, are you even listening to me?”

“Green beans waiting to be nuked, check,” Faith replied, trying to help Jackson steer his car along.

“I won’t be home until late because we’re taking the girls out on a nighttime training exercise. Just make sure he doesn’t eat any candy, okay?”

“Yes ma’am. And be careful. You come home with any bruises or cuts, I go back on active duty,” Faith said, turning her attention to Buffy who was hopping around trying to get her sneakers on.

Buffy stopped hopping and took her shoe off, holding it upside down and shaking it until a plastic toy soldier came tumbling out.

“So that’s where Captain Slappypants went to,” Faith said, causing Jackson to smile excitedly when he saw the toy soldier in Buffy’s hand. He jumped up from the couch and ran over to Buffy, giving her a tight hug before taking the toy and running back to the couch.

“Have fun tonight. Call me if you need anything and I’ll be back before you go to bed,” Buffy said before leaning over and giving Faith a chaste but lingering kiss on her lips. Before Faith could open her eyes Buffy was running out the door, already late for slaying duties.

“Later, B.”

With the house now quiet again except for Jackson’s laughter and random yelling at the video game, Faith settled in to have a quiet yet uneventful night. Sure, she missed slaying and definitely was itching to let her slayer have a bit of fun but the tradeoff seemed pretty decent. More time with Jack – especially without Buffy hovering around and making them behave – was always welcomed.

The timer on the stove broke them out of their game-playing daze and Faith went into the kitchen to get dinner together. She vaguely remembered something about green beans so she cranked the dial and hit the start button on the microwave before putting on Buffy’s ridiculously girly oven mitts and pulling the casserole out from the oven.

Casserole, yeah right. It smelled vaguely vegetable-like with a hint of barf and armpit for added effect. How the hell was she supposed to eat it, let alone make Jackson eat it?

She heard the pitter patter of little feet enter the kitchen and turned around to see Jackson standing there plugging his nose and scrunching up his face with disgust.

“Smells gross,” he said.

“Can’t argue with that,” Faith replied as she stuck a serving spoon into the casserole dish and plopped a helping of it onto her plate. It slid around and fell apart until it looked like some kind of demonic omelet from hell. “Jesus Christ. They can call this whatever they want but it certainly ain’t ‘natural.’”

“Not natchral,” Jackson repeated, shaking his head.

“But hey, you like green beans, right?” Faith asked. She spun around to turn the microwave off and as if on cue, the green beans exploded all over the glass door before she could hit the stop button. “Holy sh . . . think they’re a little bit well done, buddy.”

Leaving the mess in the microwave at least for the time being, she scooped another helping of the casserole onto Jackson’s Thomas the Tank Engine plate and carried it over to the table so that they could sit and attempt to eat together. They sat awkwardly, both of them poking and prodding the food and looking at it like it was the foulest excrement ever imaginable.

“Smells gross,” Jackson said again.

“Got that right. Probably tastes pretty good though. Go on buddy, give it a try and tell me what it’s like.”

Yeah right, like that’d work.

Jackson set his fork down and crossed his arms over his chest, looking up at Faith with a defiant look on his face.

“You first.”

Faith glared at him playfully before turning her attention back to the hideousness that was in front of her. She’d dusted vamps, skewered demons, and slayed all kinds of big bads. Surely she could handle a mouthful of whatever the hell Dawn had made for them.

Raising her fork up to her lips, Faith swallowed her pride and took a mouthful of the creation. She chewed and grimaced and chewed some more but no way was this going to go down as easily as her pride had. She quickly picked up her napkin and spit the food into it, wiping her lips completely clean before guzzling down half a bottle of water.

“No way am I makin’ you eat that slop,” Faith said breathlessly, sliding his plate away from him so he didn’t have to go through what she just had. “Maybe we can take an impromptu trip to the pizza place and hit the game store on the way home, get you some kinda fun kid game for the GameCube on the way home. How’s that sound to you?”

“Pineapples and hammy!” Jackson exclaimed happily as he slid off his chair and ran over to the counter, fetching the cordless phone for Faith.

Faith smiled happily and took the phone from him, dialing the all too familiar number to St. Angelo’s pizzeria. She leaned down and stole a kiss from him as she waited for the line to answer.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a large pizza with ham and pineapple and another large with pepperoni, bacon, sausage and ham.” She smiled down at Jackson who was busy poking her rounded tummy with his plastic fork while she waited for her total. “Twenty minutes? Great, thanks.”

She hung up the phone and quickly scooped Jackson up in her arms, knowing that they’d have to hustle if they were gonna make it to the game store and to pick up the pizza on time.

**********

Faith rested back on the couch with her plate resting on her tummy, a half-eaten slice of pizza on it that she just couldn’t manage to finish. She wasn’t upset though; at least she’d gotten the first seven pieces down without getting too stuffed.

“You enjoy your pizza, Choo-Choo?” she asked Jackson who was sitting on the floor with an empty plate and a happy look on his face.

“Uh-huh.”

“You want any more?”

“No tank you.”

“Can you be a good boy and watch TV for five minutes so I can clean up the kitchen?”

“Okay Mama.”

Faith smiled another one of those big smiles that only two people had ever gotten her to smile: Buffy and Jackson. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten so lucky to have the girl of her dreams and a handsome kid who was perfect in every way, but she sure as hell wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hopefully baby number two would be just as awesome and make them a happy little foursome.

She couldn’t complain; so far the little jelly bean was an angel. She hadn’t made her sick or unnecessarily fat. So far things were looking good!

Taking their plates into the kitchen, Faith emptied the entire casserole dish as well as their still full plates into the garbage and immediately took the bag outside to the trash cans. There was no way the house was going to lose that smell any time soon. The microwave was fairly easy to clean since most of the green beans had stayed in the bowl and only the top few had exploded. The only evidence of their pizza splurge was the few remaining slices of pineapple and ham that she wrapped up and stuck in the fridge.

Sure, Buffy might be upset for a while that they’d ditched the supposedly healthy food for pizza, but after coming home from working out and finding her favorite kind of pizza in the fridge? She’d soon get over it.

When the kitchen was back to normal, Faith turned off the light and made her way back into the living room to find Jackson trying to figure out the new game she’d bought. He was holding a small microphone in his hand and right up against his mouth, breathing heavy into it and coating it with a nice layer of drool.

“How dis work?” he asked Faith when he saw her walk in, earning an instant laugh from her.

“Well first we gotta plug it in, Chooch, and then we gotta turn the game on.”

She picked him up and plopped him down on the couch, smiling at how hard he was trying to stay awake despite the fact that his bed time had passed a half hour before. She didn’t want him to go to bet yet though; she liked this alone time with him.

Wiping the microphone off on her pants, she turned the game on and stood in front of the TV, ready to give him a lesson on GameCube karaoke.

“Listen and learn, buddy. Mama’s about to give you a lesson on rockin’ the house.”

A familiar song started up and Jackson clapped excitedly. It was one of his favorites.

“Whatcha gonna do with all that junk, all that junk inside your trunk?” Faith sang, then quickly handed the microphone over to Jackson who sang the next part.

“I gonna get get get you drunk, get you wuv drunk off my hump!” Jackson sang, then began clapping as Faith began to dance around while singing the rest of the song.

“My hump my hump, my hump my hump my hump, my hump my hump, my lovely BABY bump!”

The changed lyrics weren’t lost on Jackson who laughed hysterically, pointing at Faith’s round tummy.

They were so wrapped up in their fun that they never heard the front door open, nor did they see Buffy smiling and watching them from the hallway. Her heart swelled as she watched Faith and Jackson play and smile, wanting nothing more than to be in there with them, having fun.

While Faith took a singing break to do a little dance for Jackson, Buffy took a running start into the room and slid in front of them on her socks, taking over the lyrics.

“So don't pull on my hand boy, you ain't my man, boy, I'm just tryin’ to dance boy, and move my hump.”

Faith started laughing as Buffy moved up behind her and started dancing, both arms wrapped around her baby bump.

It was a far cry from their nights out dancing and having fun years before, but they wouldn’t give any of this up for anything in the world.

Chapter Five

Jackson was crouched behind the living room sofa wearing the tiny little brown leather jacket Faith had bought for him, along with the little brown fedora that Andrew had contributed to the ensemble. Andrew had said that all boys went through their Indiana Jones phase and that it was never too early for Jackson to ‘get it right’. And while Buffy said absolutely no to a leather whip, she couldn’t quite tell Jackson no when he looped a little blue jump-rope through his belt instead.

He was Indiana Jack, adventurer extraordinaire, and no treasure was safe from his grasp!

The latest treasure he was hoping to loot was a very elusive and mysterious dinosaur egg which happened to be protected by a very sly and strong Momosaurus. She’d evaded him on several occasions but he was sure that today was the day he’d be successful. The Momosaurus was very distracted and he knew that if there was ever a time to get his hands on the egg, it was now or never.

Sneaking out from behind the sofa, Jackson quickly ran over to the wall nearest the hallway and stood flat against it with his arms spread wide. He listened carefully to the sounds coming from the next room over and sure enough heard the call of the Momosaurus.

“B! We’re all outta pickles again!”

“No we’re not; I just bought a fresh jar.”

“Then where the hell is it? I checked the entire fridge!”

“Did you check behind the apple juice?”

“I’m pregnant, not blind. There are no pickles.”

Jackson was just barely peeking around the corner when he had to pull back quickly to avoid another Momosaurus who was headed toward the kitchen. He heard the unmistakable sound of the refrigerator door closing, then of a pickle jar opening with a popping sound.

“You just wanted me to open the jar for you.”

“Like I couldn’t have if I’d been able to find your secret ninja pickle jar in the first place.”

And then the squishy kissy sounds started and Jackson grimaced. No, he had no problem with the Momosauruses kissing, but he did have a problem with it when one of them had pickle breath.

Yuck, pickle breath!

It was only a few moments before he heard footsteps approaching behind him, slightly heavier and slightly slower than the ones that had passed by just a minute before. This was the Momosaurus that had the egg! Jackson quickly fumbled with his jump-rope and had it uncoiled and ready to use within seconds. He made sure to stay perfectly still against the wall as he waited for his prey to pass by.

Faith casually walked into the living room with a pickle in her hand, chewing enthusiastically as she looked around for her little buddy. When she noticed that both his jacket and hat were missing from their place on the coat rack, she knew exactly what she was dealing with. She didn’t even have time to turn around before she felt a plastic rope coil around her wrist and tug gently. She turned slowly to find Jackson standing there holding onto the other end of the rope, a proud smile on his face.

“I caught you!”

“Ya sure did,” Faith said with a smile. She brought her hand up to her mouth to have another bite of the pickle which pulled Jackson across the floor a little bit closer to her as he clung to the rope. “And what are ya gonna do now that ya caught me?”

“Steal your egg.”

“That so?” Faith asked before taking another bite of her pickle, ignoring the few drops of pickle juice that dripped onto her protruding belly.

She was just about eight and a half months along now, though one never would have guessed that. She remained slim and toned everywhere except for her obvious baby bump. Most people had guessed that she was only around seven months along. That concerned her, especially when she remembered how small her own mom had been through her second pregnancy, but Dr. Darcy had assured her again and again that both she and the baby were perfectly healthy.

And hey, the growing boobs definitely weren’t a negative.

Jackson scrunched up his face as he watched her eat the pickle so carelessly. They were at the top of the list of foods he didn’t like, right along with broccoli, green beans, peas, lettuce, and asparagus. They’d joked about his aversion to green foods until they realized it wasn’t some odd pattern; he really wouldn’t eat any green foods!

Buffy worried, of course, and went out and bought him Flintstone vitamins to take instead, but Faith didn’t think it was a big deal. She hated green foods too, and hey, she’d turned out pretty good.

“You still hatin’ on my pickles?” Faith asked.

“Smells bad,” Jackson replied.

“Yeah, but tastes awesome.”

Jackson paused and tilted his head, looking up at the pickle intently.

“Looks like a frog.”

Then it was Faith’s turn to grimace as she pulled the pickle from her mouth mid-bite and looked down at it distastefully. With a deep sigh she wrapped it in the napkin in her hand and tossed it through the living room, across the hall, and into the metal garbage bin in the kitchen with a loud thud.

“Thanks buddy. Can’t wait ‘til I get to ruin the mystery of hot dogs for ya some day,” she said playfully.

She suddenly looped her hand around and caught the rope that was still on her wrist and gave it a quick yank, tugging Jackson over to her. He bumped into her belly and bounced off, sending him staggering backwards a few steps. His giggle was infections and suddenly both he and Faith were laughing as she yanked him forward again. Jackson was ready this time though and spread his arms out, clinging tightly to her belly.

“My dinosaur egg!” he exclaimed while Faith tickled him and tried to make him loosen his grip.

Buffy happened upon the room and watched them for a few seconds before interrupting their fun.

“Ooh, are we playing Choo Choo Chaboochie and the Mysterious Dinosaur Egg again?”

Suddenly Jackson let go of Faith and looked up at Buffy, his displeasure apparent on his pouting little face. So much like Buffy when he pouted!

“I not Choo Choo Chaboochie anymore. I Indiana Jack, Ma!”

“Oh, well excuse me, Indiana Jack,” Buffy apologized, trying to sound as sincere as possible though she couldn’t hide her amused smile. “Are you at least still hunting the Mysterious Dinosaur Egg, or have we moved on to a new treasure as well?”

“Da egg’s right dere,” he answered pointing to Faith’s belly.

“Well now that you’ve found it, do you think that maybe you can hang up your jacket and hat and go get your bag, comb your hair? Elias’ mom is going to be here to pick you up soon.”

“Okay, Ma!” he yelled excitedly, then ran over to the coat rack and hung up his jacket and hat before disappearing up the stairs toward his bedroom.

It was his very first sleepover at the house of his best friend from daycare, Elias. Buffy knew that it was a bit early for sleepovers at Jackson’s age but there was a big slaying mission tonight and she knew there was a good chance she’d be gone until very late. While Faith was more than capable of watching and caring for Jackson, picking him up was awkward with her belly and the doctor had advised her against it this late in the pregnancy.

Besides, it was good for Faith to stay as rested and relaxed as she could at this point and Buffy remembered that from when she was pregnant with Jack.

Faith walked over to the sofa and slouched down onto it with a scowl on her face, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Don’t know why you’re sending him off, B. It’s not like he’s difficult to take care of. Give the kid a juicebox and the remote control and he’s set for the night. I can totally handle that.”

“True, but you know as well as I do that if I let him stay alone here with you, the two of you will eat junk food and watch movies until you both pass out on the couch, and then you’re gonna have to carry him upstairs to his bed.”

“There’s a perfectly good solution for that,” Faith said. At Buffy’s raised eyebrow she continued, “We need to get him a TV for his room.”

“Absolutely not,” Buffy said as she sat down on the couch next to Faith and made herself comfortable.

“You’re such a stick in the mud,” Faith grumbled but lifted her arm so Buffy could get closer to her.

“You love it.”

“Yeah, yeah. But still, B. I’m still not sure about this whole sleepover deal. I mean, what if he uses magic? And he’s too young to be hangin’ out with other kids. If they corrupt my little man they’re gonna get a quick lesson on why ya never piss off a slayer.”

Buffy scoffed and sat forward, looking at Faith accusingly.

“Weren’t you the one who taught him to burp his name last week?”

Faith’s only response was complete silence as she bit on her lower lip, followed by a round of raucous laughter when she couldn’t keep it inside any longer.

“Oh come on, B, even you hafta admit that ya nearly pissed yourself laughing when he did it in front of Giles. Seriously, never seen a grown man look so shocked in my entire life.”

“Yeah, that was just great, Faith. Definitely a moment to add to his memory book, huh.” She was obviously being sarcastic but it was completely lost on Faith who reached over the arm of the sofa and pulled Jackson’s memory book out.

“Already did it,” Faith answered proudly, flipping to the page that was commemorated with a short handwritten passage along with a photo of Jackson chugging down a can of Pepsi that someone had secretly given him.

“Well that’s just . . . wonderful,” Buffy replied with a frown. That page was supposed to be saved for his first sleepover! “And you don’t have to worry about him using magic. Willow’s been working with him for months now. He’s got his craft under control and he knows better now than to practice it without the proper supervision.”

“Well yeah, but what if he’s like me and likes to show off for his little buddies? I was seventeen and still tryin’ to impress you when I first met ya. What if he decides to show Elias how to fly across the room?”

The thought had never occurred to Buffy and a look of doubt suddenly crossed her face but she didn’t have long to ponder it. They were interrupted by the doorbell and a short knock at the front door.

“That’ll be Wendy and Elias. It’ll be okay, Faith. He’s a good boy,” Buffy said as she easily stood up and began to make her way to the door. She stopped when she heard brief struggling and turned around to see Faith trying her best to get up from their sofa.

“Uh, a little help?”

Buffy put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile but nodded and walked back, offering Faith two hands to help pull her up. Faith flew up easily enough and quickly tried to regain her cool, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in her shirt.

They made their way to the hallway just in time to hear little feet pattering down the carpeted stairs. Jackson had the little black leather backpack Faith bought and packed for him over his shoulder and he was smiling so big. The kid was excited like it was Christmas time!

“Jackson, you remember the rules, right buddy?” Faith asked as she got down on one knee to be at eye level with him.

“No magic, no spells, ‘n no bein’ bad,” he repeated the words that had obviously been told to him over and over again.

“And if anything bad happens?” Buffy asked.

“Protect myself ‘n call Auntie Willow.”

Faith looked up at Buffy who merely nodded down at her. She looked back at Jackson and gave his shoulder a squeeze before standing up with a little help from Buffy and walking over to the door. Jackson was immediately at their side as they opened the door and greeted Wendy and Elias, who was looking equally as excited as Jackson.

What should have been a thirty second conversation turned into ten minutes with a nervous Buffy and Faith going over all of Jackson’s likes, dislikes, and no-no’s. No candy before bed. No candy after bed. Umm, pretty much no candy at any time unless strictly supervised. He’d apparently inherited Dawn’s propensity to spazz after just the tiniest bit of sugar.

A dozen hugs and kisses later, Jackson was waving to Buffy and Faith from the back seat of Wendy’s minivan as it pulled out of the driveway and down the street.

“Why do I feel like I just tossed him out into the real world?” Faith asked.

“Because we did,” Buffy answered, wrapping her arm around Faith’s back. “But he’ll be back tomorrow and you can teach him more crude habits then.”

“Only feels right,” Faith said after a moment. “If he’s gonna pick up a bad habit, it sure as hell better be from me.”

She wrapped her arm around Buffy and they made their way into the house, closing the door behind them. The house had never felt so quiet or empty and they both seemed at a loss for what to do. Buffy had to leave to meet at the academy in just under an hour so they decided to spend a bit of time together, just relaxing on the sofa and talking like grown ups.

“Yeah right, get bent!”

“Faith, Lesley is a perfectly nice name.”

“Yeah, if you’re a lesbian. Lesley the Lezzie! No way am I puttin’ her through that.”

And just like their last few conversations, this one had turned into a baby naming debate. Faith was resting back with her legs over Buffy while Buffy rubbed her sock-covered feet.

“Fine, if you’re so good at this, you pick one.” She gave Faith’s big toe a tweak and Faith nearly jumped off the couch.

“Ow! Jesus, that hurt, ya spousal abuser! Ya want me to pick out a name? Wicked. Harley it is.”

“Ugh! Faith, she’s a little girl, not a motorcycle! Choose again.”

“Fine. Jade.”

“Oh, barf, Faith! Barf!”

“You think you’re so smart, you do better.”

“Easily. Johanna.” At Faith’s gagging noise she tried again. “Carrie.”

“That’s horrible! That’s like the Sex and The City chick. No way is any kid of mine walking around named after a tutu-wearing sex-talking girly chick.”

Buffy could only growl in frustration at Faith’s stubbornness. She gave her toe another tug, smiling when the girl nearly jumped off of the couch again. The baby-naming madness needed to stop!

“Okay, Faith. Fine. We’re gonna have to agree to disagree on this one, and we’ll just call her Jellybean until she’s all old and wrinkled and can choose a name of her own liking.”

There was a short pause before Faith relaxed against the cushions and shrugged.

“I can live with that.”

And by that point, there was nothing Buffy could do other than lean over and give Faith a kiss, smiling against her lips.

“You’re lucky I’m kinda crazy about you, you know,” she said as they rested their foreheads together.

“Same goes for you. But if ya tug my toe again, swear to god I’m callin’ Dr. Phil and reportin’ your ass.”

Buffy laughed and moved so that she was resting back with Faith against the arm of the sofa, both girls talking quietly and kissing softly until it was time for Buffy to get ready to leave. Faith hadn’t wanted her to go; she wasn’t too keen these days on slaying gigs that involved anything more than a basic patrol. Not only was Cleveland bigger than Sunnydale but it was also fairly more active as far as Hellmouths went. They’d come up against dozens of doom-and-gloom apocalypse breeders over the last few years, which meant that these big missions always tended to be a little bit scary.

And what scared Faith most of all was that she couldn’t be there to back Buffy up. That there would come a time when Buffy was so busy protecting someone else that she’d leave herself open to harm or worse. That was something that always made Faith tense and nervous during the big missions.

She couldn’t lose Buffy, no matter what.

So after the world’s tightest yet non-baby-smooshing hug and what felt like a thousand kisses and whispered words of assurance, Buffy made her way to the door with her weapon bag in hand and Faith in tow behind her. They got to the door and Buffy hugged Faith one more time before kissing her shoulder.

“Listen, I know you’re not gonna like it but . . . I know how tense you get when I’m out on missions. I called Willow while I was upstairs and I made some special arrangements.”

Faith pulled back and looked at her skeptically.

“What kind of special arrangements are we talkin’?”

And with perfect timing, someone began to knock on the other side of the door. Faith raised an eyebrow as Buffy smiled guiltily and moved to open the door. When the blonde stepped out of the way, she revealed an excited Andrew who was holding some kind of a folding table under one arm and a basket full of oils and lotions under the other.

“Did someone order a massage?”

Faith’s eyes widened comically as she looked over at Buffy who was already running out of the door past Andrew.

“Just enjoy it!” Buffy shouted from the driveway. “I love you!”

Andrew stood awkwardly on the patio as he waited for Faith to greet him inside. Faith eyed him up and down, along with the contents of the basket that was starting to slip from under his arm. She reached out and took it from him, then stepped to the side so that he could maneuver inside with the table.

“I really think you’re going to enjoy this,” Andrew said. “I got some books from the library a few weeks ago and I’ve been dying to try it out. Buffy suggested I wait until you were a little less likely to chase me away or beat me though.” Suddenly he stopped moving and turned to Faith with a worried frown on his face. “You’re not going to beat me, are you?”

While it had crossed Faith’s mind when she saw one of the oils labeled Sensual Sandalwood in his basket, she realized that this wasn’t his idea and that he’d been asked to do it as a favor. Sighing loudly, she closed the door behind them and followed him into the living room.

“No, but if this starts to get any kind of sexy, someone’s gonna lose a hand and it ain’t gonna be me.”

**********

It took Andrew about half an hour to set up the living room, but only because he didn’t stop with the table and the oils. There were silk scarves over the lamp shades and the stereo was playing what sounded like rain forest sounds with a pan-flute thrown in for good measure.

Oh yeah, this was exactly how Faith thought she’d be spending her Saturday night. She laughed and shook her head as she made her way into the room with only a bed sheet wrapped around herself. My how much things had changed since Sunnydale. Her only regret was that she hadn’t locked the door while she was changing and Andrew had gotten an eyeful of her birthday suit when he came up to check on her.

If he wasn’t gay before, he certainly was now.

She wondered where he’d run off to when she finally saw him on the other side of the living room lighting some kind of stinky incense stick. It smelled a little bit like a cross between marijuana and lavender, which was actually a bit more disturbing than it was soothing.

“Is all of this really necessary?” she asked. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the effort and all but you can probably just crack me and be on your merry way.”

“There’s no cracking involved. Just rubbing, and pushing, and a little bit more rubbing.”

“And you’re like some kinda expert rubber, right?” Faith asked, snorting unceremoniously at her own joke.

“Yes, I am. I’m rubber, and you’re glue; whatever you call me . . .” his voice trailed off when he saw the glare she was giving him, “. . . is probably true and I should just shut up and get to work.”

“Smart boy.”

Making her way over to the portable massage table, Faith checked out its sturdiness before taking a seat on the end. She was actually pretty impressed; she wasn’t sure how the massage would work with her belly in the way but she quickly came to realize that the table had the center cut out so that she could lay without smooshing the jellybean.

“So what, I just strip down and you get to ogle the goodies and fondle me? Pretty sure that deal is sweeter for you than it is for me.”

Andrew walked back over to the table and placed several bottles of the scented oil on it for her to choose from.

“You can keep the sheet on and I’ll just move it down as I need to. If you want me to work on your calves and hamstrings, we’ll have to maneuver a bit but I’m sure we can . . .”

“Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” Faith said. “The legs are a must-do. They get kinda tired carryin’ around an extra twenty-pounds that’s not a kickass weapon of some kind.”

She unscrewed the tops of a few bottles of oil and sniffed them until she found a scent that pleased her. Making sure all of the caps were closed to avoid spilling on the carpet, she handed the bottle of Blackberry Amber oil to Andrew and quickly slipped the sheet off her front and lay down on the table. It was left covering only her lower half which gave Andrew a starting place.

She felt soft hands moving her hair over her shoulders, then a few drops of the warm oil pooling onto her back.

A soft groan echoed throughout the room as Andrew finally rested his hands on her back and began to rub the oil into her soft skin. Faith immediately relaxed, turning into a big pile of squishy happiness as he expertly worked her weary muscles.

“Nyughhhhhh,” Faith moaned as she exhaled. Andrew’s fingers were doing some kind of rubby-pushy thing on her spine and she was pretty sure that her brain was starting to leak out of her head. “I think I have to marry you, dude.”

“I don’t think Buffy would appreciate that,” he said, his smug smile going unnoticed by the prone girl.

“She can deal.”

He continued to work her back and shoulders, careful to avoid certain pressure points while he did. When Faith gave him the go-ahead to continue lower, he adjusted the sheet and exposed her legs, making sure to keep her modesty – or what little she had of it, anyhow – protected.

Faith continued to groan appreciatively as he thoroughly rubbed the backs of her thighs and calves. He even went as far as bending her legs at the knees so he could rub her shins as well. When the only area left that hadn’t been given attention were her feet, Andrew began to cover the bottom half of her body again but was stopped with a hand on his wrist.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Andrew looked down and his eyes widened. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can rub that and feel good about myself.”

Faith looked down and realized that he was looking at her sheet-covered butt.

“What? I’m talkin’ about my feet. I think they can use a bit of love too.”

Andrew frowned slightly, a worried look upon his face.

“I’m not so sure about that, Faith. The books warn that you shouldn’t rub a pregnant woman’s feet. There are pressure points there that can induce labor.”

“What? That’s crazy talk, dude. Buffy rubs my feet every night and the baby hasn’t gone anywhere. I think we’re safe.”

“But I . . .”

“Listen, I’ll take full responsibility. And hey, I’ll even recommend ya to some of the other slayers. I know you and Kennedy aren’t close but I bet she’d worship the ground you walk on if ya did this to her a few times.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so. Now come on, start rubbin’ my dogs before they start barkin’ at ya.”

She rested back down on the table and closed her eyes, waiting for Andrew to pick up where he’d left off. He hesitated for a few moments but really, what were the chances that he could actually induce labor? Taking a deep breath, he lifted the sheet back and took one of Faith’s feet in his hands, pivoting the ankle slowly to stretch the muscle. When it was good and relaxed, he rested her foot back down and pressed both thumbs into the bottom of her foot.

The loud sigh she let out let him know that he was hitting the exact right spot. His fingertips caressed the top of her foot while his thumbs worked slow circles on the soles, applying more pressure to Faith’s liking.

He alternated to the other foot after a few minutes, then back again at Faith’s urging.

Before he could go back to the second foot again, he realized that the Sounds of the Rainforest CD had stopped. He walked over to the stereo to restart it and hit play, but the CD just didn’t seem to want to spin. Tapping the disc drawer, he smiled happily when he heard the pitter-patter of rain drops start up again.

“Umm, Andy?”

“Yes?” he asked, turning around to find Faith sitting up with a worried look on her face.

“Think we’ve got us a little problem on our hands.”

He quickly looked down to see a small trickle of water leaking down from where she had just been laying.

It wasn’t the sound of the rain forest he was hearing. Her water had broken.

Chapter Six

Andrew was busy pacing around with a phone in his hand in front of a surprisingly calm and cool Faith. She was wearing a t-shirt now but still had the sheet wrapped around her lower body, thanks to his prudishness. He eyed her warily just about every twenty seconds, like he was waiting for something to come slipping out and attack him.

“Now might be the time to consider leaving for the hospital.”

“Forget about it, I ain’t goin’ anywhere without B. Try again.”

Andrew sighed at Faith’s reaction but, having expected it, dialed the phone again and anxiously held it to his ear. The call went straight to voicemail, just as it had the previous seven times before. The same thing had happened when he’d called Willow, Giles, and Xander as well.

“Voicemail again. They must be mid-battle because all communications are down. I’ve left messages on all of their phones though so hopefully someone will call us back soon.”

“I’m not too worried ‘bout it,” Faith said casually.

Andrew looked at her with wide eyes then, stopping his pacing to fully face her. Faith actually grimaced when she saw the look on his face but that didn’t stop him from continuing to freak out. Panic was setting in – no, it had already set in -- and was now kicking him into a weird kind of uber-panic.

“Since you’re being so cavalier, can I be worried for the both of us?”

Faith thought about it for a moment and shrugged.

“If it makes you feel better.”

“Surprisingly, it doesn’t. How are you not panicking? A small child is going to leave your body and you’re ‘not worried about it?’ I’m terrified for you. I’m terrified for me!”

“Well it ain’t so bad right now,” Faith said easily. “Kinda feel some pressure and some cramping but it ain’t as bad as a knife in the gut.”

“It’ll probably get worse before it gets better,” Andrew noted.

“I’ll deal. This kinda thing usually takes hours, right?” At Andrew’s tentative nod, Faith continued. “It’s already like nine o’clock. B’s gonna be back in a couple hours; I can hang ‘til then.”

She knew that Andrew wasn’t just going to let the issue go like that; he was already too nervous as it was. Sure enough, he continued to pace and ramble anxiously; trying to focus on the positive instead of the fact that he could be up to his elbows in placenta at any moment. At one point he even mustered up every ounce of courage he had and offered to have a look at ‘the situation’ as he called it, but the glare he got from Faith spoke volumes.

He was to stay away from her more intimate parts at all costs. She only had to remind him once of what she’d told him months before when they’d moved into the house: he didn’t ever need to be that close to her ever again. The massage had been the one and only exception, and look where that had gotten them!

Nearly two hours had passed by and they’d still received no word from Buffy or any of the Scoobies. Not only did that make Faith nervous because she thought maybe something bad had happened during their mission, but it made Andrew even more nervous than he already was. Sure, Faith was still calm and relaxed and not complaining with the exception of a deep breath or a quiet grunt every now and again, but that could change at any moment. In fact, Faith was starting to continuously take deep soothing breaths now that did anything but soothe Andrew.

Deciding to take a page from her book, he started to take deep soothing breaths right along with her until she shot him an annoyed glare. He offered her an apologetic smile before taking a few steps closer to her.

“On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?” While Faith mulled it over, he decided to be more helpful. “Is it like when Luke lost his hand to Vader’s lightsaber, or more like when the alien burst out of the guy’s chest in ‘Alien’?” Faith raised both of her eyebrows at him and he smiled nervously. “‘Alien’ it is.”

“Actually, it’s not as bad as I thought it’d be, like B’s been preparing me for,” Faith answered truthfully. “When she was in labor she was big with the screamin’ and yellin’ and stuff. Kept tellin’ her I wasn’t gonna get like that but she didn’t believe me.”

“Well to be fair, you’ve been doing some yelling.”

“That’s what happens when you try to move the sheet without warning, yo.”

“I was only trying to be helpful.”

“Yeah, well . . . ya might have to get helpful again real soon.”

“Why?” Andrew asked warily, unconsciously taking a few steps back.

“Cos it’s gettin’ a little intense over here,” Faith answered from her position on the floor. She had her back resting up against the sofa and was looking pretty calm despite what was going on.

Andrew couldn’t help it then. He put his hands on his hips and looked at her accusingly. He knew he should’ve taken her to the hospital earlier! His delicate nature wasn’t meant to deal with things like this. Add to that the fact that he was pretty sure that placenta didn’t wash out of clothing very easily and he was wearing his favorite Star Wars sweatshirt.

“I told you we should’ve left for the hospital hours ago!”

“Yeah, but we both know how stubborn I am and I’m pretty sure it’s too late now,” Faith said with a chuckle.

“Then I’m calling 911. Despite my vast knowledge of other topics, my data is limited when it comes to the lady parts and the things that come out of them.”

He reached for the phone that was now resting on the couch cushion but Faith beat him to it and quickly pulled it out of his reach. He looked annoyed but Faith didn’t seem to care. The last thing she wanted was for an ambulance to show up and take her away. People had kids at home all the time. Not that she felt like the time was now or never, but she knew that if Buffy didn’t get home reasonably soon, there was no stopping the baby coming.

“No ambulance, Andy. We’re gonna play this one fast and loose, see how it all pans out.”

“I don’t even care that you’re a Slayer and can beat me up for saying this, but that’s just irresponsible.”

“It’s not irresponsible . . . yet. Listen, what we have to do here is get an idea of how fast things are movin’ along.” She took a deep breath and readied herself for what she was about to say. “You’re not gonna like it – and neither do I, for what it’s worth – but you’re gonna have to take a look.”

“. . . a look?” Andrew asked, confused.

“Yup.”

Andrew suddenly paled. He hadn’t thought she’d actually take him up on that when he’d offered earlier! Oh, he was definitely in way over his head now. Why had he ever taken out that massage book! It served him right for not having the patience to wait for the knitting book to be re-stocked. Oh god, now he was feeling faint . . .

“Yo, Andy, I need you to keep your shit together,” Faith said, trying to hide her sudden amusement. “All ya gotta do is sneak a peek, check out the sitch.”

“What exactly will I be looking for?” he asked as he began to roll up the sleeves of his sweatshirt.

“A baby, Andrew. You’re gonna be looking for a baby.”

“Eww. What do I do if it’s sticking out like a turkey thermometer?”

“Grab on tight and give it a yank? I dunno. Let’s just see what happens. I can always shout ya directions from this end,” Faith said with a wink.

Andrew sighed, then took in several deep and soothing breaths. He watched Faith slouch down a little bit more, her knees coming apart under the sheet.

Definitely his worst night ever.

Bracing himself, he met her gaze before stepping forward and kneeling down in front of her. The sheet seemed to go on forever but he finally managed to lift it up . . . then promptly stood and stumbled backwards with a look of pure horror on his face while covering his eyes with his hands.

“It’s horrible!”

“What?” Faith asked, panicking. She reached down and felt around, noticing that nothing seemed out of place or was awkwardly sticking out. “Ain’t nothing happening down there. What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“It’s still horrible!” he said, unable to pull his hands down from his eyes.

Ah, right. Gay man pretending to be straight. Of course it was horrible to him.

Faith shook her head and sniggered quietly as she pushed the sheet back down. Part of her felt bad for Andrew but the other part was just wickedly amused. She couldn’t wait to tell Kennedy and Buffy about what she’d made him do. The teasing would never end!

Speaking of Buffy, there was a quiet jangling of keys as the front door pushed open, seemingly sucking all of the pressure out of the room. Faith remained seated on the floor in front of the sofa and out of view; it wasn’t like she could exactly get up and see who was there. She did, however, hear a very disgusting squishing sound as footsteps approached the living room.

Andrew sighed with relief as he watched Buffy stand in the doorway, careful to stop there and not mess the floors in the living room too.

“Oh, sweet savior!” he cried as he ran across the room and into Buffy’s arms, colliding with a loud squelch that made Faith wince even though she hadn’t seen it. He looked down between them, then calmly pulled away and tried not to get too upset over the slime on his Star Wars sweatshirt. “What happened to communications? Geez, I’ve been calling for hours!”

Buffy merely pulled her slime-covered cell phone from her pocket and handed it to Andrew, letting the yellow slime drip over his hand and onto the floor.

“Someone apparently didn’t do their research. No one knew that Gar’al-nesh demons explode on contact with steel. Factor into that a small army of Slayers with swords and axes and, well . . . you get the slime-covered picture.” Buffy suddenly seemed to realize something then and her tone quickly changed. “Wait, why were you calling me for hours?”

Andrew didn’t need to answer; Faith’s arm shot up from the other side of the sofa and Buffy was at her side in a moment, checking over her frantically.

“What happened?” Buffy asked.

“It was that massage. Andy was all gung-ho about rubbin’ my dogs and then I was pissin’ myself without any actual piss involved.”

“Ugh, that’s lovely, dear.”

“Hey!” Andrew whined. “You said you’d take responsibility!”

“But you should’ve know better than to listen to her; she’s the biggest schemer we know,” Buffy said to Andrew before turning her attention back to Faith. She took a quick gander under the sheet and then easily lifted Faith into her arms. “Come on, we’ve gotta get to the hospital before it’s too late.”

“No, now we both need to shower,” Faith said with a grimace as some slime pooled on her thigh.

“Forget about it, Faith. How far apart are your contractions?”

Faith shrugged, “No idea. Ain’t really been counting.”

“How is that even possible?” Buffy asked. “And how are you not screaming in agony right now?”

“I dunno. Gotta be honest; I think you’re kinda a big baby, B. This has been a walk in the park compared to the normal bumps and bruises and stab wounds.”

Buffy just glared at her before starting to walk back toward the front door.

“Yeah, well . . . I’m lodging a formal complaint with someone. Easy pregnancy, easy labor; no one should have it as easy as you.”

She was busy helping Faith into the car when Andrew jogged out of the house with some fresh clothing in his hands. Squeamish or not, the kid was definitely helpful in a cinch. Buffy looked around the darkened street and made sure no one was watching before she quickly stripped down to her bra and panties and started dressing in the fresh clothing.

“Andrew, I need you to do me a favor and stay at the house tonight. Wendy is bringing Jackson back in the morning and I’ll probably still be at the hospital with Faith. There’s food in the fridge and you know he loves spending time with you so you should be set. Call Giles if you need any help and he’ll send over some reinforcements.”

“No problem. You should probably go before Faith explodes in your lovely new car.”

Realizing that Andrew was right, Buffy just nodded and jogged around to the other side and hopped in the car. They were out of the driveway and down the street in a flash, leaving a waving Andrew behind in middle of the darkened driveway. He waited until they were well out of sight before dropping his arm down and walking back toward the door with his shoulders slumped.

It had been a long night. He’d done and seen things he’d never thought possible. The massage, that sheet, Faith’s . . .

He suddenly shook his head violently and screwed his eyes closed tightly.

“I’m never going to get that visual out of my mind.”

**********

The delivery room was buzzing with activity as Dr. Darcy came in to check on Faith for at least the fifth time. Faith was hooked up to all kinds of monitors and there were wires coming out of places where there should be no wires, but the atmosphere was surprisingly calm. That was due in large part to Faith, who was taking the whole labor thing like a champ.

“Hey Doc, how much longer you think this is gonna take?”

“Why, do you have a hot date?” Dr. Darcy teased as she briefly looked over a paper readout from one of the machines.

“I wish,” Faith said, earning a small smack on her shoulder from Buffy. “I’m just afraid that if we make this chick here wait any longer, that pout on her face is gonna be a permanent fixture.”

Buffy pouted even more then, despite Faith’s joking manner and the quiet laughter from both Dr. Darcy and the nurse.

“Hey, I can’t help it. You’ve had the easiest pregnancy known to man, and now you’re making labor look like some kind of a cake walk. I know you have a high-tolerance for pain but this is just ridiculous.”

Faith smirked and folded her arms behind her head casually. “What can I say, B? This kid likes me. She doesn’t want me to suffer; she’s savin’ that for her teenage years.”

“That may be the case,” Dr. Darcy interrupted, “but she’s also not making this easy for you. You’re just not dilating enough, Faith, and you’re not responding to the meds we’ve given you. I’d like to take the baby out before we run into any complications.”

“Yeah, if you think that’s best, I’m all for it,” Faith said, stealing a nervous glance over at Buffy for support. “Guess it’s a bonus for my naughty bits too.”

It was just like Faith to find the inappropriate silver lining in a potentially bad situation. Buffy took Faith’s hand in hers and squeezed it, offering her a quick smile as the nurse began to prep Faith to move.

The staff really didn’t seem to mess around when it came to the serious business. Within five minutes Faith was in an operating room, properly anesthetized, and Dr. Darcy was assuring both her and Buffy that everything would be fine. As one of the nurses held out a scalpel to the doctor, Buffy brushed her fingertips through Faith’s hair, offering her a comforting smile that went unseen through her sterilized mask.

“Okay, Faith, you’re going to feel some pressure . . .”

And before Dr. Darcy could even finish the sentence, Faith was feeling said pressure. It wasn’t painful but it was definitely weird, a bit uncomfortable, and judging by the look of horror on Buffy’s face, it wasn’t a pretty situation on the other side of the surgical curtain. Some squishing noises followed soon thereafter and Faith could practically hear Buffy’s grimace, but that didn’t prepare them for the noise that came quickly thereafter.

A loud wail filled the room as the baby was pulled from Faith and her little mouth and nose were suctioned out. She actually wailed even louder when the bulbous little suction device was removed, making even the doctor wince a little.

“You have a daughter, and she has a great set of lungs!” Dr. Darcy exclaimed as one of the nurses used a sterile sheet to wipe the baby down.

“That was disgusting!” Buffy said distastefully but quickly changed her tone when she looked down at Faith, her hidden smile apparent in her eyes. “But she’s here, and she’s beautiful, and she’s got more dark hair than I’ve ever seen on a baby.”

“Hear that cry, B? She sounds like a pterodactyl. Jack-Jack would be flippin’ if he was here right now, thinkin’ he had a dinosaur sister.”

“She kinda does,” Buffy said, pulling her mask down so she could steal a kiss from Faith’s lips.

They both turned their heads simultaneously as a nurse brought the swaddled baby over for them to meet. She was still screaming her pretty little head off and didn’t even seem to take notice of Buffy and Faith staring at her.

“Look at her, Faith; she looks just like you.”

“Yeah, and screams just as loud too.” She looked up at the nurse who was watching the scene with a big smile. “That natural?”

“Perfectly,” the nurse replied. “What’s this gorgeous little girl’s name?”

“That’s been an issue of much contention,” Buffy said with a bit of a sigh.

“Kinda thinking about sticking with Jellybean,” Faith joked.

The baby was screaming so loudly though that the nurse had to strain to hear them and ended up hearing it wrong.

“Oh, Jilly; how lovely. I’ve always loved the name Jillian,” she said. Buffy and Faith both began to correct her but she continued before they could. “Well I promise I’ll bring Jillian back to you just as soon as possible; we just need to check her over and make sure everything is okay. Congratulations!”

Buffy and Faith watched her disappear across the room with the baby before they finally looked at one another, a short silence passing between them. After a moment Buffy raised her eyebrow a little and Faith shrugged as much as she could in her prone position.

“I don’t hate it.”

“It’s actually pretty nice,” Buffy said, mulling it over.

“And she won’t be all confused after hearing herself called Jellybean this whole time.”

“We can’t actually give her the middle name Bean, of course. I have to draw the line somewhere.”

“Don’t worry, B, we’ll come up with something good. I was thinking about Rain.”

“After the weather? Think again.”

“Then how about Jade?”

“I vetoed it for a first name; I’m vetoing it for a middle name.”

“Buzzkill.”

“Weirdo.”

“Yeah, but ya love me.”

Buffy smiled and leaned down, kissing Faith’s lips softly. “Yeah, I really do.”

**********

It was well after noon when Buffy walked in the door at home, having spent the night at the hospital with Faith. She was running on absolutely no sleep and still had slime in her hair, but she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Faith was recovering nicely – Slayer healing had already kicked in – but Buffy made sure to be on baby duty that night when the nurses brought her in the room.

It seemed that the staff was having a hard time getting the baby to stop crying so they decided to leave it up to the mommies.

Buffy, on the other hand, had no problem. The minute she picked the baby up and held her, Jillian calmed right down and fell asleep. Of course she woke back up the moment Buffy laid her back down in the bassinet, so she just decided to hold the baby until the morning so Faith could get some sleep.

In the back of her mind, Buffy snickered to herself. Easy pregnancy, relatively easy labor; difficult baby. At east Jackson had been a quiet little guy . . .

That didn’t seem to be the case now though as she followed the sound of his laughter through the house and found him playing upstairs in his room with Andrew. Andrew was wearing a baseball catcher’s mask and Jackson was throwing Nerf footballs at his head, laughing when they’d bounce off and scatter across the room.

“Looks to me like someone forgot he’s not supposed to be throwing balls in the house.”

Jackson suddenly looked up and smiled when he saw Buffy standing there. He jumped down from his bed and leapt into her arms, hugging her tight. Buffy wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight in return, burying her nose in his freshly washed hair.

Andrew really was an excellent babysitter.

“Andrew said it okay, Ma. He has helmet like Darth Vader!”

“Oh yeah, just like Darth Vader,” she said sarcastically, shooting a coy smile at Andrew. “Well I guess so long as he doesn’t mind . . .”

“I’ve suffered through worse,” Andrew said as he lifted the mask up and let out a relieved breath. “How did everything go?”

“Great. She had to have a C-section but there’s a happy healthy baby so all is right with the world.” She turned her head and looked at Jackson who was playing with the button on her blouse. “Would you like to go and meet your baby sister?” At Jackson’s enthusiastic nod, she set him down and looked back to Andrew.

“Can you keep an eye on him while I shower? I won’t be long.”

“Of course,” Andrew said with a smile which faltered as he lowered the catcher’s mask again.

Buffy had barely made it to the bathroom when she heard Nerf balls bouncing around and Jackson laughing again. It was good to be home; she just couldn’t wait until they could all be there together.

**********

Jackson excitedly bopped along as he walked down the hospital corridor holding Buffy’s hand. She’d taken him out for a late lunch to spend a little much-needed one-on-one time with him but they were both anxious to get to the hospital to see Faith and the baby. Jackson had insisted on stopping in the hospital gift shop to pick out a gift for the baby. It was pretty clear when he picked out a stuffed green turtle, however, that he had himself in mind rather than baby sis.

They rode up to the maternity floor in the small elevator with Jackson still bopping around excitedly the whole time. He fought the strong urge to hit the buttons for every floor in the hospital because, while Faith would ride up in the elevator with him all day long, Buffy was definitely the less playful parent. She loved when her little boy was cute and sweet and not getting into trouble.

With that in mind, he side-stepped over to her and slid his hand into hers. She immediately looked down and saw his big smile and just like always, her heart melted for him.

“Are you excited?” she asked as she bent down to scoop him up in her arms. She braced him on her hip and smiled impossibly more when he started to play with her long hair.

“Yeah.”

The elevator dinged and the door opened to reveal the maternity floor.

“Then let’s go meet your baby sister.”

The walk to the nursery area was a quick one as it was only just down the hall a short way. Nurses smiled and waved at Jackson as they passed by, having heard so much about him from both Faith and Buffy. The sound of crying babies got louder and louder as they neared the nursery and one cry seemed to be exponentially louder than the rest. Buffy knew before they reached the glass that it had to be Jillian.

Jackson’s smile got smaller and smaller as the crying got louder and louder and finally turned into a frown as they reached the glass and were able to look in on the crying babies.

“So loud,” he said, pressing his head against Buffy’s shoulder to cover one of his ears.

“You’ll get used to it,” she said, kissing his forehead. She tapped the glass and pointed at the baby closest to them, wrapped in a tiny pastel pink blanket. “That’s your baby sister, Jack.”

Jackson lifted his head and looked down at her, his frown growing as he realized she was the loud baby that was offending his ears.

“That my dinosaur sister?”

Buffy laughed and held him a little tighter as she looked between the two of them.

“No, that’s your human sister, baby. She’s just a little bit loud and fussy right now.”

Jackson studied the baby for several long moments, tilting his head this way and that as he tried to figure out exactly what was going on.

“Sounds like a dinosaur,” he said distastefully.

Buffy laughed again and smiled as a nurse approached Jillian’s bassinet from within the nursery. She waved at the nurse who pointed to the bassinet, then to the back door. Guess it was time to soothe the crying baby again.

Faith’s room was just a few doors down the hall and Buffy could already hear Willow and Xander’s voices from within. She rounded the corner and walked in to find Faith chowing down on a burger and fries that Xander had brought for her while Willow and Xander asked her a barrage of questions about what had happened.

“So then Andrew lifts up the sheet and he’s all like, howlin’ like a baboon, and I . . .” Faith trailed off as she looked over and saw Buffy and Jackson enter. “Hey guys!”

Buffy set Jackson down and he ran over to Faith, immediately hovering over the side of the hospital bed and checking out all of the buttons on it.

“We sawed the jellybean and she sounded like a dinosaur!”

“She kinda does,” Faith said, rustling his hair.

Jackson smiled excitedly but they didn’t get much more of a chance to talk as a crying and fussy baby was wheeled into the room. Willow leapt up and peeked into the bassinet; she couldn’t hide her smile when she saw the thick dark hair like Faith’s and the cute little nose that looked so much like Buffy’s.

“She’s adorable, guys!” Willow cooed.

“Definitely has some good genetic material,” Xander added as he made a stuffed elephant dance above the bassinet.

Jillian continued to cry despite their best efforts and it was finally up to Buffy to go and scoop her up. The baby fussed for only a few moments more, then eventually settled into Buffy’s arms and took a few shuddery breaths to calm down.

“Holy cow,” came a voice from the doorway. Everyone looked up and smiled as Kennedy entered with Giles, a ridiculous over-sized pink stuffed pony under her arm. “Was that wailing coming from her?”

“Sure was,” Faith said. “Kid’s like fifty-percent Slayer, fifty-percent Banshee.”

“Sounds about right. So what’d ya end up naming the little bundle of pooping and puking joy?”

Buffy smiled as she looked down at the baby, then up at her friends.

“This is Jillian Jane, affectionately known as Jellybean.”

Everyone cooed and seemed pleased as they gathered around Buffy and touched the baby’s little hands and feet; that is, except for Kennedy, who tilted her head to the side and watched as everyone crowded around the baby.

“Yo, you named her Jillian?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And you have a son named Jackson?”

“Yeah?” Buffy replied, raising her eyebrow. What exactly was Kennedy getting at?

Kennedy just looked at her with both eyebrows raised, waiting for her to figure it out. Buffy turned and looked at Faith and they shared a confused look before reality dawned on them and Buffy’s eyes widened comically.

“Oh my god, our kids are named Jack and Jill!”

Chapter Seven

Five months came and went quickly. There had been lots of good times without a doubt; Buffy and Faith watched their beautiful baby daughter grow before their very eyes, watched Jackson adapt and take a liking to being a big brother, and got a real sense of how a family depends on one another.

It had also been a very trying time too. They soon realized that while Buffy had experienced a rough pregnancy and labor and had a baby that was damned near perfect, Faith’s relatively easy pregnancy and delivery had definitely not yielded the same results. Jillian drew people in with her dark eyes and thick dark hair but quickly drove them away with her near-constant crying and generally cranky demeanor.

Buffy and Faith really didn’t know what to do with her at first. Jackson had been so quiet and mild-tempered, never making a fuss except for when he was tired or hungry. Jillian just cried for the sake of crying though, it seemed. The only time she was quiet was when she was naked or being held, and sometimes even that wasn’t enough. She seemed to take instantly to Buffy, though, who coddled her and gave her everything she wanted.

Faith, however, wasn’t having any of that.

She and Jillian would sit and have a staring contest for ten minutes, neither of them willing to budge. It would end with either Jillian crying or Faith finally giving in with Buffy’s gentle prodding. Buffy clearly had a very soft spot for the little girl that was just like Faith in appearance as well as attitude.

Things seemed to improve a little as she got older but they still had to tread carefully. They never knew when she would flip from happy to hellspawn.

Meanwhile, Jackson did everything he could to be helpful. He didn’t like seeing Buffy and Faith stressed out. Besides, they were generally too busy for playtime so he had to find other ways to spend time with them. Of course he always found something better to do when it came to diaper changing time, but no one could blame him for that.

Jillian sure could clear a room pretty quickly when it came to itty-bitty-baby-body-odor.

“Christ, B. What the hell are we feeding this kid?”

Faith’s shirt was up over her nose, leaving only her eyes and furrowed brow visible.

“It’s just your standard baby formula, Faith. The very same stuff Jack used to eat.”

“Shit, have we had it sitting around that long? Maybe it’s expired.”

“It’s a fresh can,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes. “Obviously her stomach disagrees with it.”

“Yeah, and my nose disagrees with the smell coming from her.”

“Don’t be crude, Faith, it’s not that bad. Besides, I just changed her. Here, take a whiff.”

She picked Jillian up and held her with her butt facing out, then proceeded to get closer toward a quickly retreating Faith.

“What? That’s sick, B! Keep that stinkin’ kid away from me!” Faith quickly grabbed Jackson and held him in front of her like some kind of a protective shield.

Jackson wiggled and giggled and leaned his head back against Faith’s shoulder, trying to keep as far back as he could as well. He knew that the best part was coming up.

“Hey, she’s your stinkin’ kid too!” Buffy exclaimed, closing the distance more quickly than Faith could put between them, stepping clumsily backwards. “Tell your Mom, Jillybean.”

Jillian chose that moment to make a raspberry sound, letting a nice string of drool leave her pouty little lips to land on her bib. Both Faith and Jackson grimaced at the sound.

“Yo, was that from her mouth or her butt?”

“Eww,” Jackson added for effect, screwing his face up a little in mock disgust.

Jillian started to coo and her little arms thrashed around excitedly. Buffy smiled and gave her a big smooch on both of her cheeks, then held her a little bit tighter as her friendly smile turned into a grin. Jillian grinned – actually grinned! – back. It was time to let her brother and Mom know who was boss.

Suddenly Buffy took off running toward Faith and Jackson, turning Jillian around so that she was facing their prey. Jackson squealed with delight and Faith hoisted him up over her shoulder before taking off across the room and down the stairs. They dodged piles of toys and baskets of laundry, baby gates and building blocks. Faith stumbled several times but it was mostly for show; she knew how much Jackson got a kick out of their little games of family chase.

“You keep that stinky baby away from us!” Faith yelled with a huge smile on her face.

They ran into the kitchen where Faith and Jackson stayed on one side of the large table while Buffy and Jillian ended up on the other side. Buffy tried left, then right, but she couldn’t quite catch Faith. Instead she held Jillian under her armpits and held her out over the table, bringing her closer to Faith and Jackson.

“Eww, stinky Jilly!” Jackson yelled, dramatically pinching his nostrils closed with his chubby little fingers.

Faith set Jackson down on the ground and urged him around the side of the table and toward the living room. “Save yourself, buddy!”

He skidded and slid in his little footed-pajamas until he was clear of Buffy and Jillian. When he reached the wall in the hallway, he stood on the other side and peeked around it so that he could still watch the fun.

“Whatcha gonna do without your little shield, Faithy?” Buffy taunted, making Jillian dance around in the air.

“Doesn’t really matter, does it?” Faith taunted back, a big grin on her face. “No matter how hard you try, you know you ain’t gonna make it around this table to catch me. You might be fast but you’re also holdin’ El Stink-o.”

“Hmm,” Buffy said, a small frown appearing on her face as she realized that Faith was right. “I guess you’re right,” she conceded.

“Glad you’re finally seein’ things my way.”

Faith let down her defenses for only a millisecond before Buffy took advantage of it. Maybe she couldn’t get around the table quickly enough to get to Faith, but that didn’t mean that Jillian couldn’t.

Suddenly Jillian was airborne and sailing over the dinner table, her little arms flailing about as she giggled happily. Faith had no choice but to reach out and catch the little stink-bomb, just like Buffy knew she would.

“No fair, B! I didn’t know we were allowed to throw ‘em!” Faith said as she held Jillian out a good foot away from her body.

“We never established rules, Fai,” Buffy teased as she began taking steps backwards toward the hallway.

Faith looked down at Jillian, then grinned and started taking steps towards Buffy who was now using a giggling Jackson as a shield.

“Let’s show ‘em how it’s done, Jillybean.”

And in a flash they were taking off after Buffy and Jackson across the house, leaving a mess of toys and now-unfolded piles of clothes in their wake.

Mothers of the year they certainly were not, but they sure knew how to make their own fun.

**********

It was well after midnight and the house was finally quiet after a long and hectic day. Buffy and Faith were upstairs getting ready for bed having just finished cleaning the kitchen and living room from Jillian’s First Birthday party. They’d had a houseful of family and friends there for the better part of the day and, as happy as they were to have everyone over, they were even happier now that they were gone.

Jillian had actually behaved for most of the day, saving her crying and tantrums for when she was due her nap and when Jackson had tried to nab one of her birthday gifts. You’d think a one-year-old wouldn’t realize that one of her new toys went missing but she surely did and she surely let everyone know her displeasure.

She definitely seemed to be a bit better behaved these days though, like she’d grown more comfortable in her own body. Giles had actually come up with a theory that her often tempestuous disposition up to that point wasn’t actually her own doing. He believed that she wasn’t your average everyday ordinary child but rather something much more special: a pure Slayer. The essence of the slayer had been passed on to her from both Buffy and Faith and - rather than manifesting by being called at a later date - presented itself immediately upon birth. Perhaps even after conception.

Faith had always joked that the baby kicked like a soccer player, so maybe Giles’ theory wasn’t that far off.

In any case, as Jillian grew, the slayer inside of her became less confused and irritable. From the moment that she gained just the tiniest bit of independence, she seemed to calm down a little. She was walking by the time she was nine-months-old and could nearly beat up her brother by the time she’d turned one.

Needless to say, Jackson wasn’t very impressed by that. He was impressed, however, by the way Jillian would stumble back and fall over when he’d use one of his defensive spells.

Trouble or not, he wasn’t going to let his little sister trounce him just for her own amusement.

And just like Jillian was getting stronger every day, Jackson’s powers grew at the same rate. Willow spent time with him every day, not only trying to help him balance his own power but also teaching him things that could one day save him.

Though they’d been lucky to avoid it so far, everyone still worried that some crazy demon faction would one day find out about the children of the slayers and try to harm them. If that time ever came, they needed to be sure the kids could protect themselves.

So Jackson learned every defensive spell they could teach him and even a few mild offensives ones too, and Jilly . . . well, they just let Jilly take out her aggression as needed. They still weren’t quite sure what to do about her yet.

“Oh man, not another rainstorm.”

Buffy walked over to the opened window and looked outside at the falling rain before closing it tightly. She hoped it didn’t turn into another thunderstorm; the kids hated thunderstorms and the last thing she wanted was two scared kids in her bed tonight. The bed creaked behind her and she turned to find Faith laying across it in a silly yet oddly sexy pose.

“Now? Really?” she asked, a playful smile on her face as she watched Faith scramble around the bed and kick the covers off of it.

“Hell yeah. You’re walkin’ around in your underoos, B. Of course I’m horny.”

“I could be wearing a burlap sack and you’d still be horny,” Buffy said as she approached the bed and stopped just a step away from it.

“Ooh, save that for next time.”

All fun banter was put aside when Faith grabbed Buffy’s hand and pulled her down onto the bed. Buffy slipped down onto the mattress and smiled as Faith moved above her, letting her long dark hair fall around her face. Buffy brought her hands up and pushed Faith’s hair back, keeping her hands on the side of her head with her thumbs on her temples.

“But you know as well as I do that the first second this turns into a thunderstorm, the kids are gonna be in here with us.”

“Then we’ll just have to be very, very quick,” Faith breathed against her lips as she leaned down to kiss her.

Their lips met and that old passion ignited in them once again, never dormant for long. It didn’t matter how hectic their lives had gotten; they still craved one another more than ever and had no problem showing each other that, no matter how tired they were or how stressful their day was.

“Jack can walk in here at any minute,” Buffy said in a hushed tone as Faith kissed and nibbled along her jaw.

“I locked the door,” Faith mumbled, making Buffy chuckle a little.

Her fingers were already making quick work of Buffy’s t-shirt, gliding along Buffy’s skin as she pushed it up above her breasts. The cool air of the room kissed her skin and Buffy sighed, turning her head to the side so Faith had better access to her neck. Their breathy sighs and moans filled the room, but definitely not as loud as the thunder that seemed to boom from just outside their window, making them both jump.

“Jeez-ass!” Faith exclaimed, turning to look out the window.

“Could that have gotten any closer?”

“Yeah, maybe if it’d come from inside the friggin’ house.”

Jillian’s wails immediately sounded from the room just down the hall, amplified by the baby monitor that was on their bedside stand. Buffy and Faith groaned simultaneously; of course it had to thunder just then! Faith rested her body fully down on top of Buffy with her head on her breasts and just lay there, disappointed. Buffy ran her fingers through Faith’s hair, unable to hide her disappointment as well.

“You should go and check on her,” Buffy said.

Faith lifted up her head and raised an eyebrow as she looked down at Buffy.

“No, you should go and check on her.”

“You’re kinda on top of me.”

“Yeah, but I can move.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

“. . . cos I’m comfy?” Faith tried, a pitiful pout on her face.

Buffy couldn’t help but smile but she wasn’t going to let this one go that easily. She gave Faith’s ass a playful slap and tried to push her up.

“It’s your turn.”

“Yeah, well whoever invented this whole ‘turn’ system should be shot.”

“That’d be you, dear.”

“Oh. Well, then you should put me outta my misery and go get the baby.”

They both chuckled a little and Faith buried her face between Buffy’s breasts, refusing to re-surface even though Buffy was playfully poking her sides. If someone didn’t go get Jillian soon, Jack was going to . . .

“It’s ok, Jillybean,” came a voice from over the baby monitor.

Both Buffy and Faith looked over at it, surprise on their faces.

“Well that’s new,” Buffy said.

Jackson had found his way into Jillian’s bedroom and was trying to soothe her. Surprisingly, her screaming stopped and the only distinguishable sounds were of a soft patting and Jillian sucking on her pacifier.

“That’s my boy,” Faith said proudly. “And since he’s in there takin’ care of business . . .” she trailed off and wiggled her eyebrows.

Suddenly there was a bright flash followed by a boom so loud that the house literally shook. The shaking was followed by a loud crash coming directly through the baby monitor.

“The kids!”

“Shit!”

Buffy and Faith were out of their room and running down the hall in a flash. They pushed opened the door to Jillian’s bedroom and stopped dead in their tracks to see the old oak tree from the back yard resting comfortably through the ceiling and on the crib.

“Jilly!” Buffy shouted, running to the crib and tossing branches and blankets aside to find it empty. She quickly spun around and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a faint blue glow from behind the door.

Faith was already pulling the door back before Buffy could move and they both sighed with relief when they saw Jackson huddled with Jillian in his arms, the blue glow of a protection spell surrounding them both. Faith and Buffy ran forward together and dropped to their knees next to the kids, checking them immediately over for injury.

“It’s okay, Ma, I protect us,” Jackson said as he looked up at Buffy and Faith, a small scrape on his forehead. Jillian was oddly quiet and looking up at Buffy with teary eyes.

Buffy wrapped her arms around both kids and cried silently knowing that they were both okay. Faith leaned in and wrapped her arms around them too, taking a deep breath and sighing with relief as she rested her chin atop Buffy’s head.

It was the first time Jackson had used a spell to protect his sister rather than using one against her. And thanks to him, they were both alive right now. Maybe this marked a turning point in Jackson and Jillian’s often tumultuous relationship.

“Yeah, definitely new,” Faith mumbled before closing her eyes and letting the silent tears fall as well.

**********

Faith was resting down on one knee in front of Jackson, fixing his shirt and making sure that his hair was still looking good. He’d told her that his little mohawk had to be just right today and they’d spent the better part of the morning in the bathroom, fixing it up with mousse and hairspray. It wasn’t tall by any means – Buffy wouldn’t let them get away with that – but it was as mohawky as a five-year-old could get his hair.

“Does it look okay, Mom?”

“You look handsome, buddy. All the girlies are gonna be chasin’ after ya.”

“Eww, gross.” Jackson screwed up his face with disgust. Girls had cooties!

Well, except for his moms. And Jilly. And Auntie Dawn and Willow.

But Auntie Kennedy definitely had cooties.

“You won’t be sayin’ that ten years from now,” Faith mumbled but quickly changed her tone to appear more optimistic. “You sure you’re ready for this, Jack-Jack?”

“Faith, if you keep asking him he might change his mind,” Buffy said from her spot just behind them.

Faith turned her head and looked up at Buffy who was holding an anxious Jillian’s hand. This was a big day for all of them, not just Jack, and while Buffy was taking it in stride, Faith seemed to be struggling with it.

Jackson was her little man. She wasn’t ready to let him go just yet.

“Hey, he should be free to change his mind if he wants.”

“It’s kindergarten, Faith. He’s actually not allowed to change his mind; he has to go.”

“Yeah, but if he wanted to stay home another year he could. He’s already smarter than half the kids in there anyhow. He can just start late next year,” Faith said. She quickly looked back at Jackson to make sure he’d heard her.

He obviously had, judging by the way he was looking at her with a smile on his face.

“It’s okay, Mom. I’m ready.”

“You sure?”

Jackson nodded in response, picked up his little backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Faith had to fight the urge to ruffle his hair and instead risked embarrassing him by leaning in and giving him a quick, tight hug.

“Be good,” Buffy said as she walked over and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

“I will, Ma. Bye Jilly.”

Jilly responded by crossing her arms over her chest and pouting perfectly like Buffy. She might have looked exactly like Faith but she still had some very distinguishable Buffy qualities. The pout was number one.

They all stood and watched as Jackson walked off on his own toward the playground next to the school where the rest of his classmates were waiting for him. His teacher and an aide were watching over the children as they played, making sure to keep some semblance of order before heading inside to start their first day of class.

Faith sat down on the park bench and watched, looking both nostalgic and uncomfortable at the same time.

“I don’t like this. Can’t we just take him home, B?”

“Yeah, take Jack-Jack home,” Jilly copied as Buffy sat down on the bench next to Faith.

“No can do. He’s five, Faith. It’s time for him to go to school like every other kid out there.”

“But he’s not like every other kid out there. He’s better,” Faith aid with a smirk.

Buffy wanted to be angry and correct Faith but she just couldn’t. As much as she knew that all kids were equal, she still knew deep down inside that hers were better. Take that, other kids!

They sat and watched Jackson play for awhile, smiling when he helped a little girl up the steps to the slide and then promptly wiped his hand off on the back of his pants. When one of the swings freed up, he ran over and began to hop on when another little boy came over and pushed him away from it. Within seconds the little boy was on it and swinging away with a taunting smile on his face.

“Did you see that?” Faith asked, standing up from the bench ready to lash out. “That kid took Jack’s turn on the swing!”

“Faith, sit down. The teachers will handle it.”

“Man, that little punk is so lucky Jack didn’t blast him with some kinda spell, turn him into a frog.”

“Oh god, don’t even joke,” Buffy said. “That’s all we need on his first day of . . .” Buffy trailed off and stood up, immediately looking behind the bench. “Faith, where’s Jilly?”

“What?” Faith asked as she quickly took a look around them too. “You just had her a second ago. She . . . oh shit.”

Faith pointed toward the playground and Buffy followed her gaze to see Jillian walking determinedly toward the swing with a little swagger in her step that was apparent even in her little yellow dress. They began to walk – quickly – toward her but it was too late; she grabbed one of the chains and shook it until the little boy fell from the swing.

Slayer strength be damned!

“Jilly, no!” Buffy shouted out as she walked a little bit more quickly.

The boy was off the ground in an instant and, being bigger than Jilly, was able to knock her down to the ground with a single push. As she fumbled around getting up while the little boy laughed, a sudden burst of blue light surrounded him and pushed him backwards until he landed butt-first in a muddy puddle behind the swings. By now the teachers were running over along with Buffy and Faith and were too busy helping the boy up to notice Jack’s eyes glowing a bring blue from the top of the slide.

Both Buffy and Faith glared at him while they made apologies for Jilly and pretended to be completely surprised at the sudden jolt that had sent the kid flying into the puddle. It was quite the scene and they grabbed Jillian and made their way home before things could get any crazier.

Jilly received a stern lecture which she completely ignored while she played with her little dolls. She didn’t seem to think she’d done anything wrong; clearly the slayer instinct to protect was strong in her and she hadn’t been able to fight it. And while Buffy and Faith were upset over what had happened, neither of them could stop smirking when thinking about the little bully sailing through the air and right into the mud puddle.

When it was time for Jillian’s nap, Buffy and Faith had asked Willow and Giles to come over for an impromptu meeting. With Giles as the Head of the new Council and Willow in charge of all things magic, they knew that their input on such matters was important, doubly so because they were also their friends.

“So what you’re saying is that Jack used his powers in public, as did Jillian?” Giles asked. At Buffy’s nod, he continued, “Well I dare say that’s an alarming reality. We’ve always had to keep a tight lid on slayer and magic capabilities at all costs, but we’ve never before had the task of having to do that with such small children.”

“It’s difficult because of the impetuous nature of children,” Willow added. “They react based on emotions, and children don’t have the nature to keep such emotions in check. I’ve worked with Jack on control but . . . he’s five, guys. He’s going to slip up now and again.”

“Yeah, but we can’t have that when he’s at school,” Faith said.

“And Jilly doesn’t even know her own strength,” Buffy added. “She’s only two and she’s broken toys, furniture, even walls with her tantrums. We can’t control that, as much as we try.”

The mood became suddenly somber as they all took in the reality that their children weren’t normal and would never have a normal childhood with the way things seemed to be going.

After a brief stretch of silence, Willow cleared her throat to get their attention.

“There’s always another possibility. It’s not something you’ve taken into consideration before because we’ve been determined to teach them to defend themselves, but . . . maybe it’s time we put the idea on the table.”

“What idea is that?” Faith asked, her brow furrowed. She didn’t like it already and she didn’t even know what it was.

Willow shared a look with Giles and he nodded, ready to take the reins on this one.

“Willow and I have thought this might happen at some point and we’ve discussed it at length. It’s a temporary solution but we believe that binding their powers until they’re of an age that they can control them is the best and safest option.”

“Binding their powers?” Buffy asked, her hand sliding into Faith’s. “Is that even possible?”

“It’s been done for centuries among Wiccans,” Willow replied. “I can easily bind Jack’s powers so that I can restore them at a later date, or so that they revert back to him in the event that anything happens to me. It’s a simple spell; I can do it now if you have some ribbon and a picture of him. But Jilly, well . . . she’s a different story.”

“Because despite her witchy demeanor, she’s not magical,” Buffy said with a timid smile.

“Exactly,” Willow said. “But we used to scythe to activate slayers, and we can use it to deactivate them too, if needed. I can store the essence of the slayer in the scythe, but the thing is that Jilly is still destined to be a slayer. If we don’t’ restore the essence to her at some point, she’ll be called when she’s sixteen or so anyhow.”

Buffy and Faith looked at one another, their eyes saying more than words ever could.

“But we can offer her a normal childhood? No beating up her friends, no hulk-like accidents?”

“Precisely,” Giles answered.

The four friends went over the pros and cons a little while longer before a decision was made. It was difficult for Buffy and Faith to make a decision like that; they wanted their children to be normal, but they also wanted them to be safe. Taking away their one natural defense seemed ridiculous knowing what they did about what lurks in the darkness, but they also knew that they’d always be there for the kids and never let anything bad happen to them.

Just so happened that they had an army of slayers and wiccans behind them too, all willing to put their lives on the line for the two kids they’d all come to love as siblings.

When it came time to go and pick up Jack, Faith went to get him alone so she could talk to him a bit about what had happened on the playground. Buffy was the disciplinarian, but Faith had a way of getting through to Jack in a way no one else could. Buffy had stayed behind with a still-napping Jillian who woke only moments before Jackson and Faith returned.

And just like normal, Jackson and Jillian fell into their usual routine when they first saw each other after a long time apart. Jackson stood with his arms out and a huge smile on his face while Jillian stood about twenty steps away, scuffing her feet like a bull. It was always a fun game to watch, Jillian using her slayer strength to try to knock Jackson over while he used a defensive spell to try to keep her back.

Jillian charged at Jackson and a look of pure confusion crossed his face as he tried – unsuccessfully – to block her attack. She ended up barreling into him with all of the strength of a two-year-old and barely moved him. They looked completely perplexed and Jillian even tried head-butting him in the stomach a few times to see if she could knock him over like that.

“What happen?” Jilly asked, rubbing her head.

“Mom?” Jackson asked, looking up at Buffy and Faith with worried eyes.

“We’re gonna try life without powers for a while, guys,” Faith said as casually as possible.

Buffy moved to her side and wrapped her arm around Faith’s back in a show of solidarity.

“What? Why?” Jackson asked, trying to ignore the way Jilly was still head-butting him.

“Because we don’t want to see anyone hurt, especially after what happened this morning. We want you both to be young and have fun and not worry about having to hide a part of yourselves,” Buffy explained. “It’s not forever, Jack. We’re going to try it for six months and see how it goes. Auntie Willow can reverse it at any time, but we’re going to try to be a normal family even if it kills us.”

Faith cleared her throat and Buffy realized herself, an impish smile on her face.

“What do I do until then?” he asked, pulling out the Buffy-pout that he reserved for rare occasions.

“Just be young, kiddo,” Faith said, giving his shoulder a little squeeze. “Play in the mud, shave a dog; do whatever it is kids do.”

“Fine, then I want a puppy and a new bike,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Bargaining skills. Clearly he’d been spending too much time with Aunt Dawn.

“A puppy!” Faith said incredulously, a smile as big as Buffy’s appearing on her face.

Jillian’s eyes lit up at the mention of a puppy and – like Jackson had when he was her age – she began barking in her little girly voice. She started crawling around on all fours and looked up at them with a mischievous look upon her face.

“Looks like ya got a puppy right there, Jack-Jack.”

“That puppy smells,” he said, plugging his nose.

“I not smell!” Jillian replied adamantly and stood up so that she could stomp. She reached out to grab Jackson but he was too quick and managed to hide behind Buffy and Faith. “Grr!” she growled, sounding very much like an angry dog instead of a puppy.

“Mad dog on the loose!” Buffy shouted just before Jilly charged them, causing all three to scatter in different directions.

Jilly continued to chase them all in different directions around the house, leaving piles of toys and clothes strewn about all over. The house was filled with the sounds of giggles and laughter as they played and chased each other around until hours later when a neighbor stopped by to ask them if everything was all right. Apparently they’d been making quite a ruckus.

Maybe they’d never quite be the typical everyday usual family, but they were pretty sure what they lacked in normalcy they made up for with fun and love. For Buffy and Faith, that was all they’d ever hoped for, together.

~The End~