Xander crept slowly down the corridor, putting his boots down carefully to make as little sound as possible. In front of him he could see a dark shadow moving with cat-like grace, her clumpy boots making even less noise than his, and he knew that behind him there would be another soundless shadow. Spike had actually been persuaded to put a dark hat over his pale blond hair although he had drawn the line at dying it black. Oh, well, it was only for this one mission anyway.
Sound echoed down the corridor, the low, dissonant hum of demons chanting, and the stench of the sewers also made their unfortunate presence known. Xander concentrated on breathing through his mouth. Every sense he had was on alert and he almost jumped when a loud, clanging gong sounded from the chamber ahead.
This plan had taken almost two weeks to create and implement, and they all knew that they would only get this one chance at it. They also knew that this could make the difference between Buffy's child living and dying. If they failed . . . the idea of being torn limb from limb by lots of very big, horned demons did not appeal to Xander.
A reddish light began to shine down the corridor and for a moment he imagined all the paintings he had seen of Hell. From what he had heard about this place he had a feeling that the comparison was spot on. The further they went, the brighter the light became until the corridor around them began to widen out. Ahead, Faith stopped and Xander quickly scooted forwards to crouch next to her.
She pointed down and raised an eyebrow. They were now crouched in a small opening with a thirty-foot drop below them to the floor of the huge cavern that the Comedores had chosen as their lair. It looked as though around thirty-five of the demons were gathered in a semi-circle around an altar, with a small greenish demon stretched out on it. They had their backs to the opening Xander crouched in, and he allowed himself a brief moment of hope that this was a good sign. The Comedores were humming, a low, grating sound, and as he watched one of them struck a gong. As the ringing clang echoed through the cavern the demons bowed and their humming turned into chanting. Xander was immediately glad that he had no idea what language they were chanting in; it sounded evil, with lashings of pain and suffering, and a glance at Spike sent chills down his spine. The vampire was watching the scene with a look of intense disgust and revulsion. In Xander's book, anything that could gross out a vampire was not to be thought about.
He looked back to Faith and she cocked her head silently. None of them dared to speak in case the chanting demons below heard, so he simply nodded. This was probably the most dangerous part of the entire plan.
Xander shrugged his backpack off and opened it slowly, wincing as the zipper made a noise. He pulled out a length of rope and handed it to Faith. At the same time Spike was removing his pack and pulling out three small black boxes. He handed them to Xander, who concentrated on them and ignored Faith with her rope.
A few touches to the buttons on the first one turned on the red blinking light on the side of the box. He handed it to Spike, who put it back in his pack, and performed the same actions with the other boxes. By the time that was done Faith had secured the rope. She took her box from Xander and put it in her pack before letting the rope down the side of the cliff.
The rope made no sound and stopped bare inches from the floor of the cavern. Xander let out a silent sigh of relief - over the past two weeks he had dreamed constantly that the rope would stop ten feet from the floor and the plan would be ruined before it even began.
Spike attached his harness to the rope and gave a few tugs to make sure it was secure before dropping off the cliff. He went down soundlessly, in a few seconds, and dropped to his feet. Faith joined him moments later and then there was just Xander to follow. Swallowing hard, he pushed off the cliff and let himself down in long bounds rather than the single fall that the other two had made. They may have superpowers, he reasoned, but he was human and miscalculating would make a very messy splatter on the floor.
The humans and the vampire crouched behind a rock and watched the ceremony for a few breaths. The demons clanged their gong again and began humming, a long single note that made the hairs on the back of Xander's neck prickle. The little group exchanged glances and nodded before moving out.
Faith and Spike had each elected to place their parcels at the locations furthest from the opening. Xander watched them flow soundlessly in opposite directions, almost indistinguishable from the shadows they moved through. He gave them a few beats and then he crept out from behind his rock, slipping into the shadow of another.
Manoeuvring closer to the Comedores was a heart-stopping experience and several times Xander froze, certain they had heard his movements. But they carried on their ceremony without appearing to notice his stealthy approach. The rock he was aiming for was so close he could smell the demons, but they needed to make sure that they were surrounded by Xander's packages so he pressed on.
When he reached the rock he crouched for a moment with his back to it, catching his breath. Then he reached into his pack and removed his black box, settling it in a nook under the rock and making sure that it was in an effective position. Then he began the terrifying journey back to the rope.
He reached it in time to see first Spike and then Faith swarm up it. They had practised this part of the plan many times over the past two weeks, but practising on the side of the house was very different to practising on the side of a thirty-foot high cliff, with a rock floor and lots of large demons at the bottom. Xander took a deep breath and wrapped his hands around the rope, holding on as tightly as he could. He felt a jerk and then the rope was slowly pulled up.
When he reached the top Spike reached down and pulled him up the final couple of feet with his belt. He flashed a quick grin as he was pulled over the ledge and then lay on the floor for a moment, sucking in air and waiting for the adrenalin buzz to wear off so his hands would stop shaking.
After a while he felt calmer and sat up, pulling his pack off and reaching into one of the side pockets. He pulled out a small black box that looked remarkably like a remote control, probably because that's what it originally was, and wriggled over so that he was looking down into the cavern. There was a touch on each of his arms, one from Faith and one from Spike, and he knew they were ready. Crossing his fingers he pressed a button and waited.
In the cavern there was the quiet sound of three charges going off, but the demons were now chanting so loudly they could not hear it. As they watched, purple smoke began to rapidly issue from the devices they had planted, wreathing around the chanting demons and quickly hiding them from view. That did not stop the sounds, though, and the chanting stumbled to a stop. Then cries and shrieks of pain, deep rumbling coughs and guttural cursing filled the cavern. None of the demons, though, emerged from the smoke and it was only a few breaths before the cavern was silent.
The green demon that had almost been sacrificed ran out of the smoke and scurried to the sewer exit as fast as it could. For a moment there was silence, and then Xander turned to Faith and Spike.
"We did it," Spike said, astonished. "Your bloody plan actually worked!"
"Of course," Xander said, slightly miffed at the surprise in the vampire's voice. "You doubted?"
Spike rolled his eyes. "Doubted that a plan concocted by you and the witches could work? I'm not stupid, you know."
"Then why did you help?"
"So I could be here to laugh when it all went wrong," Spike said uncomfortably.
Faith smirked at him and he ducked his head and began fiddling with the zipper on his backpack. Xander watched the exchange, puzzled, but decided there were probably some things he just did not want to know.
"Well, it was fun," Faith grinned. "Watching demons suffer? Always big fun for me."
"Thank you."
"What'll we do now, boss?"
The mocking note in Faith's voice was irritating, but Xander had learnt not to rise to it. "We should check back with Giles before patrol. He'll want to know how it went."
***
Buffy lowered herself into the warm water and sighed. Her back had been aching all day, probably because she had been sitting down for most of it, and now she had cramps. The doctor called them Bersingsky . . . Bellingny . . . something or other cramps, and said they were nothing to worry about. Just warm-ups for the big day. She winced as a strong one ran through her. Concentrating, she breathed through the pain and relaxed when it was over. The warm water of her bath seemed to help and she rested her head on the back of the tub, letting the scented air wash over her and take the tension away with it. There was nothing that she wanted more than to have everything over and done with. The waiting, now that they had a plan, was more than she could stand. Each day seemed to last a lifetime and nothing took her mind off it.
Giles had been sweet and understanding throughout it. Even when she was screaming and wishing she could throw something he was patient. She smiled, reflecting again that she had been incredibly lucky to fall in love with someone as kind and wonderful as him.
Another wave of contraction ran through her and she concentrated on breathing and relaxing through it. She began to relax but another one followed a couple of minutes later. Buffy frowned. The contractions should be easing, not getting worse.
Even as she thought that she felt something inside pop, and she looked down.
Uh-oh.
The incongruous thought was completely out of place considering the gravity of the situation. These were not warm-up pains; she was in labour!
The panic faded after a moment to be replaced by a sense of determination. This was what she had been waiting for all these months. They had prepared, planned and practised and now it was time. Another wave of panic ran through her. The baby was not at term yet; she was not due for another two weeks.
A contraction forced her mind away from her panic and she took careful breaths while she waited for it to stop. As soon as the muscles relaxed again she carefully pushed herself up and, clinging to a towel rail for support, climbed out of the bath. It only took her a couple of minutes to dry off and pull on her robe before slowly waddling out of the bathroom. The next contraction hit her at the door of her bedroom and she gasped, leaning against the doorframe for support.
Giles was lying on their bed, head propped on a fist as he read and waited for her. He looked up at the slight noise and went to her side so quickly Buffy did not even see him move.
"Are you all right, love?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist to support her.
"I'm fine," she panted, "just having a baby."
"I know that, I . . . good God, now?"
His eyes widened comically and Buffy grinned as the contraction eased. "Yes, now. Sorry, honey, but the baby doesn't seem to want to wait."
"But-but-but it's not time yet! Are you sure?"
Buffy nodded and said dryly, "My waters broke in the bath. I'm sure."
"Ah, well, I'd better . . ."
He trailed off uncertainly and looked around wildly, as though the bedroom walls would provide inspiration.
"You'd better get me to the bed and call Aunt Mary," Buffy said patiently.
Giles' panic would have been funny at any other time. She had seen him flustered, embarrassed, all sorts of fun things but panic was something her husband had never done before. He managed to get her to the bed, almost fluttering with his anxiety, and she lay down gratefully. Then he stood next to her, looking at her hopefully.
"Mary, phone," Buffy prompted.
He ran out of the room and she looked at the telephone beside their bed with a sigh.
***
Xander arrived at the door at the same time as Mary. Faith and Spike brought up the rear and they all looked at the white haired woman curiously.
She gave them a tense smile. "Buffy's gone into labour."
There was a moment of stunned surprise before Faith said, "She's not due yet! How can she be in labour?"
"Babies don't pay any attention to the due dates doctors give," Mary said with a sigh. "They tend to come in their own time. Buffy's in labour so you'd better get into position."
Spike nodded and silently left.
"Good thing Angel and his crew arrived yesterday, huh?" Xander asked. "Has anyone called them yet?"
The door opened and Giles immediately pulled Mary in, without even greeting her. Xander and Faith watched in open-mouthed amazement as the usually calm Watcher tugged Mary to the stairs. His eyes were filled with panic and they realised that for the first time they had known him he was out of his mind with worry.
"I think you might want to let them know," Mary said as she disappeared upstairs.
"Think they're ok?" Xander asked Faith.
"Dunno," Faith said, her eyes fixed on the staircase. "But I think we need to get moving if we're going to get everything set up in time. There are still about a dozen Comedores wandering around Sunnydale somewhere."
Xander nodded and moved to the telephone as Faith ran quickly down to the basement.
***
Buffy bit her lip as another strong contraction ripped through her. She felt warm hands on her shoulders and knew that Giles was finally back. The contraction seemed to last forever but at last it was over and she could rest back against Giles' warm, solid chest.
"Hi," she whispered, looking up into his green eyes.
He planted a kiss on her forehead. "Hello."
Buffy heard a throat clearing and realised that Mary was trying to get her attention. "Hi. Is everything ok? Is it normal for a baby to come this early?"
Mary sat on the bed and rested a hand on her foot. "It's not unusual, no. The dates the doctors give you are only a rough guide. Your baby should be fine. Now, I need to examine you."
Buffy blushed but complied. Another wave of contraction hit her just as Mary finished her quick examination and this time Mary timed it as Buffy concentrated on her breathing. When it was over she rested against Giles again.
"What's the diagnosis?" she asked.
"How long have you been having contraction, dear?" Mary asked.
"About an hour, hour and a half. But my back's been aching all day."
Mary nodded.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
The older woman shook her head. "You're dilated about seven centimetres. You must have been in labour for several hours already before you felt the main contractions."
"Ah." Buffy absorbed the news for a moment. "Is this going to cause problems?"
"No, it shouldn't. It just means that this labour is probably going to be fairly fast."
"Fast I like," the Slayer said, breaking off as another contraction hit.
"Yes, I think this is going to be a fast labour," Mary concluded when the contraction eased.
***
Xander answered the door as soon as he heard the knock and found a worried Angel on the doorstep, with Cordelia and Wesley just behind him.
"How is she?" the vampire asked immediately. "Isn't it too soon?"
Xander stood back to allow them in. "Mary said it's ok. I haven't heard anything from up there yet so I guess the actual birth part of the birth hasn't started yet."
"Her timing couldn't have been better," Cordelia commented. "Did your plan work?"
Faith sauntered out of the lounge with a large bag. "Yup. Lots o' dead demons. Still a little over a dozen left, but I figure we can probably hold them off for a while. It was wicked cool."
Angel glanced at Xander and the younger man shrugged. "Like she said. We killed lots of demons and made it out alive. For once around here a plan went off without a hitch."
"Leaving us with only a few to worry about!" Cordelia said brightly. "So, what are these demons like?"
Faith and Xander exchanged glances.
"Big," Xander said.
"Ugly," Faith added.
"Incredibly strong."
"Horns."
"Merciless."
"Fast."
Wesley held up a hand and they stopped. "I think we get the picture now. What are we doing?"
"You're with Willow, Tara and Anya in the basement," Xander said quickly. "Magic duty. Angel, you're with me, Faith and Spike on perimeter defence. Uh, Cordelia, you're on . . ."
"Coffee duty?" the ex-cheerleader asked hopefully.
***
Buffy fell back against Giles, panting. The contractions were getting steadily more intense and the pain part of birth was starting to set in. It felt as though she had been doing this forever, when in reality it had probably only been a little over two hours.
When she managed to catch her breath she asked, "How am I doing?"
Mary smiled at her just. "Just fine, dear. You're at nine centimetres so it shouldn't be long before you can start pushing. Things are moving along nice and briskly."
"That's one way to put it," Buffy muttered.
She felt something cool on her forehead and smiled up at Giles as he ran a washcloth over her face. "Thanks."
"It's . . . well, it seems to be the only thing I can do," he said, planting a kiss on her lips. "You're the one doing all the work."
"Next time, you can do it."
"There-there's going to be a next time?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "If I have to go through this again, no. Right now I think I'd like a hospital with lots of painkillers. And one of those air thingies they have on TV."
"Gas and air," Mary said knowledgably. "Yes, that would probably make things easier. But-"
"I know, we can't get anyone else involved in this." Buffy paused. "Did Xander make it back ok?"
"I met them as I was coming in," the older woman told her. "From their expressions I would say it was a successful night. I believe your friend Angel and his friends arrived a while ago as well."
"Good."
Buffy closed her eyes and leaned back against Giles' chest. She had read somewhere that she had to conserve her strength between contractions, and right now that seemed like a good plan. But the baby had other ideas and after a minute she felt another contraction beginning.
"Ow," she commented.
***
Cordelia paused outside the door and listened. She could not hear anything, but Willow's soundproofing spell would probably have muffled a herd of stampeding elephants. She decided to be proactive and knocked hesitantly at the door.
After a minute it opened and the older woman she had met yesterday answered. "Yes?"
"Do you need anything?" she asked brightly. "I'm on fetch and carry duty tonight."
The white-haired woman looked back into the room before answering. "Could you find some ice-chips? Some towels would be nice too, dear."
"Ice-chips and towels, check," Cordelia nodded.
The door closed, leaving her abandoned on the landing. It took her a few minutes to find what she needed and then she was back at the bedroom door, knocking cautiously. There was no answer so she waited a moment and then opened the door a crack.
Inside she could hear harsh panting and, looking further in, saw Buffy lying on the bed with a pained expression. Her face was flushed and drenched with sweat. Giles, supporting her from behind, was not looking much better and for the first time Cordelia understood what they were all going through. It was not just a 'fighting demons' thing this time. They were fighting to protect Buffy who, for the first time that Cordelia could remember, looked vulnerable and . . . human.
With a final grunt Buffy fell back against Giles, who ran a washcloth over her face and whispered to her. After a moment the blonde woman smiled weakly and closed her eyes.
"Uh, ice-chips?" Cordelia said quietly, hating to break the moment.
Mary immediately stood and took the bowl out of her hands, gesturing for her to put the towels down on the chair.
"How is she?" the brunette woman asked.
"Bearing up," Mary said. "She's nearly ready to start pushing, so it shouldn't be too much longer. I think you'd better warn the others."
Cordelia nodded and slipped out. She immediately made her way to the basement, reasoning that the magic-group probably needed the warning more than the physical defence group. Not to mention that there were demons outside and she was still close enough to her old self not to want to meet large, strong demons with big horns.
The basement stank of burning herbs. Tara, Willow Anya and Wesley stood in a circle in the middle of the room. White tape formed symbols on the floor between them and the herbs were burning in a bowl in the middle of it. As she reached the bottom of the steps Wesley looked at her anxiously.
"How is she?"
Cordelia waggled her hand uncertainly. "She's giving birth; I don't think it's an easy thing for anyone. Mary said it should only be another couple of hours, maybe less."
Anya frowned. "You're not certain?"
"Birth isn't an exact science," Wesley said patiently as we walked to one of the couches and sat down. "There isn't a time limit."
"But the books-"
"Lie," Willow told her, taking one of the armchairs. "All those guides that say 'this will happen then'? It's just approximation. Some women are slower, some are faster."
"Oh."
Tara perched on the arm of Willow's chair and Anya hopped up to sit on the edge of the big table, frowning thoughtfully.
"So what you're saying," she said after a minute, "is that you can't tell what's going to happen to Buffy?"
"Well, not really," Willow said, resting her head on Tara's arm. "We know what happened to other women but each time it's slightly different. That's what happens when you're human."
"Oh."
Cordelia flopped onto the couch next to Wesley and indicated their spell set-up. "Are you meant to be making with the witchcraft?"
"Not yet," Wesley said with a sigh. "This is a kind of back-up. We can't do it until we need to."
"Why doesn't that fill me with confidence?"
***
Xander paced nervously outside the house. Each member of his team had taken one side of the house to guard, and he had been chosen to guard the front door. It was not out of respect for his fearsome fighting skills; it was mostly because the vampires in the team would have stood out too much on the front lawn. He bounced on his toes a little and then leaned nonchalantly against one of the trees so he could keep an eye on anything approaching. Briefly he wished he had a crossbow, or a really big sword, but standing in full view of any passing non-supernatural creature armed to the teeth would have been a one-way ticket to Sunnydale jail.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. Something rustled. Xander tightened his grip on the knife hidden up his jacket sleeve. Straining every sense he had, he waited.
There was a roar and a blur of motion, and he was flying through the air. He impacted with the wall of the house with a crunch and slid to the ground. There were bright stars before his eyes and his breath came in painful gasps.
As Xander lay on the ground another roar sounded from his left and he turned in time to see Spike attacking the Comedores demon with a sword. His face was contorted with the ridges and fangs of his own demon and he snarled as he hacked away with his sword.
His large, horned opponent barely seemed to notice as the sword bit deeply, drawing blue blood. It roared again and brushed the vampire aside, but instead of heading into the house it ran down the street and was soon lost in the shadows.
Xander stood painfully and leaned against the tree as he waited for the world to stop spinning. Spike rolled and bounced to his feet, looking for his opponent.
"He went thatta way," Xander told him, pointing.
Spike shrugged. "So long as that way ain't this way. We've got enough of the bastards to worry about tonight."
"I don't think he went far."
"Yeah." Spike glanced up at the windows of the house before returning his attention to the human. "You all right?"
"Fine. Bruised, seeing stars, probably got multiple broken bones, but otherwise I'm fine."
"Good. It must be getting close to time."
"How do you work that out?"
The vampire glanced again at the windows before slowly beginning to make his way back to his post. "They wouldn't be bloody attacking if it weren't."
***
"Push!" Mary ordered.
"I," pant, "am," pant, "TRYING!" Buffy screamed.
This was the hardest thing she had even done. Pushing was taking every bit of her energy and she had nothing left to deal with the pain. Her world had narrowed to this moment. Demons, friends, Giles . . . none of it mattered now. The only thing that mattered was the baby.
The contraction began to ease and she gasped for breath.
"You just need one more big push," Mary said encouragingly.
Buffy flopped back against Giles and sighed wearily. "I don't know if I can. I'm so tired . . ."
"I know, love," her husband said, rubbing her arms soothingly. "But Mary's right. Just one more push and it'll be all over."
She whimpered but did not have the energy to protest. Instead she closed her eyes and let her weariness carry her away. She was almost on the verge of sleep when she felt the next contraction begin. Remembering Mary's words, Buffy opened her eyes and concentrated on pushing with every fibre of her being.
"Nearly," Mary muttered, and Buffy fought to find a little more strength from somewhere.
The next few moments were a confusion of images and sensations. She never knew later how to describe the moment she changed from being a girl into being a mother. She just remembered the relief as Mary told her to stop pushing and gently allowed the tiny baby to be born. For a long moment all was silent.
*finis*