Disclaimers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon, Mutant Enemy, Twentieth Century Fox Productions, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television, and UPN. Any copyright infringements were not intended. This story was written for entertainment and not for profit.

Spoilers and Timing: Takes place three years after "Chosen" with spoilers for that episode.

Summary: A pregnant human woman is rarely ever turned; normally a vampire prefers to kill young, unpregnant morsels or to wait until the child is born, then go after it then its mother. When it does happen, the fate of the fetus rests on what time during the pregnancy that the mother was turned. When Rupert Giles' pregnant wife is attacked by vampires, the fate of both her and their child is put at stake. Then Mrs. Giles is turned into a vampire…

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What becomes of the fetus when a pregnant woman is turned into a vampire? Is it killed in the process, becoming stillborn when it leaves its mother's womb? Only if the fetus is at least seven months old, perhaps even six. By this point, it is too far developed - too human - to survive its mother's transformation. However, if the mother is turned while she is in labor, she dies but her child lives on and is born as a perfectly normal human being. What, then, becomes of a fetus that is not six months old, one that has not developed quite so much? Does it die, as well? The answer to this question had not always been as well known as it is now. It has occurred only rarely, but the proofs of those occurrences were not the most trustworthy pieces of evidence. Finally, the correct answer has been given.

It all began on the twenty-ninth of January in the year two thousand and six. We were holding a birthday party at our Cleveland headquarters for all Slayers, friends, and family members with January Birthdays, among them my first pupil, Buffy Summers. We held parties every month, but this one would prove to be an unique one.

It began for me when my wife, Hannah Giles, one of the very Slayers whose birthday was that month, took me into an empty room - an oddity that could have only been achieved through magical means in that place - and gave me the news.

"Hanna, what is it?" I asked her. I'd never seen her look so scared, excited, and happy all at once. "Is there something the matter?"

She shook her head and smiled widely before grabbing both of my cheeks and pulling me into a very enthusiastic kiss. It was several moments before we came up for air, and by that point I was in a daze. My mouth was open, and I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that I was drooling. Therefore, it was no surprise that I didn't exactly hear her next sentence.

"I'm pregnant."

I blinked and shook myself. "Um, yes, um…what?"

She smiled even wider than before. "Rupert, I'm pregnant!"

The door opened. Buffy and her immortal boyfriend of two years wandered in. "Ooh, look at the lovebirds!" Buffy called. "Hey, Giles, you're looking a little out of it."

I didn't even glance at her but instead kept my eyes locked on my wife. Did I hear her right? "You're pregnant?" I asked, just to be sure.

Hannah only nodded.

Buffy had crossed the room in a second. "You're pregnant?"

Before I realized it, she'd pulled both of us into a bone-crushing hug. I felt a smile form on my face as what Hannah had said finally sunk in. I was going to be a father.

It didn't take long - only a few seconds, as a matter of fact - for word to spread everywhere in the three-story building. The rest of the evening alternated between handing out presents and everyone offering suggestions for names. Some of the suggestions were rather disturbing; others were much more preferable.

In the months to come, a good deal of Hannah's and my time was spent at the doctor's office and buying baby things for when our baby was born. I also went on numerous trips to the grocery store to buy the odd snack for Hannah, who at random times of the day and night would get the strangest cravings. Both of us restricted ourselves to deskwork and stayed away from the fighting part of slaying for the time being.

Hannah and I lived in her hometown of Houston, Texas. Four other Slayers either lived there since they were called or had been living there since before they were called, so the demons were still kept well at bay without our presence. The two of us were the oldest members of our little band of Houston Slayerettes; Hannah had been 32 when Willow's spell had turned her into a Slayer. She had just turned 35 in that January in 2006 while I was, well, older. Everyone looked forward to when our child would be born. So did we.

On 13 March 2006, Hannah and I were sprawled on our living room sofa, watching, of all things, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. I had never been a big fan of the Star Trek TV series, but Hannah was.

"I say, that cadet in the corner there looks like a Martachi Demon," I commented.

Hannah studied the screen. "You're right, he does." She shrugged. "Maybe the make-up department's budget was running low and they decided to hire some people who didn't need cosmetics to look alien."

"It's worth looking into, I suppose."

She laughed and I smiled.

My hand subconsciously pulled up her shirt to touch her stomach. I wasn't even aware of it until she giggled and slapped my hand. I know that she held back on the slap, but I still felt my hand sting. I didn't care. It was a good moment, and she was the best woman I had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

to be continued