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Title: November 5th November 5th, 2:27 a.m. Giles became groggily aware of someone shaking him by the shoulder. A sliver of his mind considered swatting at the source of the annoyance until he heard a voice in his ear. "Rupert? C'mon, wake up, sweetie." "I only got to sleep half an hour ago," he muttered sleepily. "Can't this wait until later?" "No, I really don't think so." The fact that Buffy's voice sounded strained finally began to filter through Giles' brain. He jerked awake - well, more awake. Six nights of all night research sessions in a row made it impossible to wake fully so quickly. "What's the matter?" he asked. "I think it's started." There was no need to ask what she meant. "You're sure?" he demanded. "Believe me, this is nothing like that false alarm last week," Buffy assured him. "For one thing, I think my water just broke." Sure enough, moisture was seeping from her side of the bed to Giles' leg. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed as he practically leapt out of bed. Adrenaline had gotten him up, but he was still dull-witted from being overtired and now there was a layer of panic on top of that. He began to look wildly around the room for any clue as to what to do. "Now what?" "Now, I think we call the doctor and maybe Xander." "Xander? What can he do?" "I'm thinking he can drive us to the hospital. You're in no shape to do it." ***** November 5th, 4:32 a.m. Willow, Dawn, Kennedy, and Anya had all joined Xander at the hospital. They brought a large stack of books with them. "You know, it probably wasn't worth bringing all the reading material," Xander teased Willow as he flipped through a volume. "I mean, how long can it take to have a baby?" "Well, my mom was in labor for twelve hours," Willow said. "I think that's probably a lot of why I'm an only child." "My mom said I took sixteen hours," Kennedy added cheerfully. "That's nothing," Anya scoffed. "I knew a woman who spent two entire days in labor and then found out her husband spent the whole time from the midwife's arrival having sex with a pair of eighteen year old blonde shepherdesses." "What happened?" Dawn asked. "Let's just say he never had sex again with anyone," Anya said. "Oh, except that herd of sheep. And he was allergic to wool." Everyone in the room turned slightly green, except for Giles who continued to snore quietly in a corner. "Shouldn't we wake him up?" Kennedy asked. "After all, it's their first baby. Maybe he'd like to be part of this." "He hasn't slept in about a week," Willow said quietly. "Anyway, it could be hours before anything much happens. I think it's more important he's awake at the end than right now. Let's just keep looking for an answer to this thing and we'll wake him up later. Hopefully with good news so the baby's birthday isn't, y'know, all Apocalypsey." "Somebody should be with Buffy," Dawn muttered. "You know she'd just throw us out again," Willow reminded her. "She said to just keep reading and send Giles in when he wakes up." Xander sighed, closed his book with a thump and reached for another. "All I can say is some demons have the worst timing. I mean, Buffy and Giles got married, got too frisky without thinking and we can deal with that. That's why we're Scoobies, right? We've even got mini-Slayers to cope with the vamps until Buffy's out of maternitywear. No problemo. And Giles has been so happy...I mean, girl of his dreams, son and heir on the way at long last. Just when everything's going right, bam! Along comes another demon with a plan to suck the world right into Hell. It's not fair. The big guy should be worrying about how many toes the kid has and how he's going to survive on the playground with a name like Rupert Jr., not whether there's gonna be a world long enough for his son to even get beat up for his lunch money." "There's gonna be a world," Dawn said sharply. "We just have to find the right way to stop this thing. Read, Xander. Quit bitching." "Yup," Xander muttered fondly under his breath. "She's really a Summers, alright." He read. Giles continued to snore. ***** November 5th, 5:47 a.m. "You're doing fine, Buffy," the nurse assured her. "You're almost there." "How far am I dilated?" Buffy asked nervously. "Seven centimeters. At this rate, you'll be fully dilated very soon. Your blood pressure is good, and everything looks just fine. I think you're going to have an easy birth." "Easy? This is easy?" Buffy babbled. "And I don't know where my husband is. He should be here." "Calm down," the nurse said soothingly. "Everything's going to be just fine. I'm sure Rupert will be here before you need to start pushing. I know he wouldn't miss this for the world." ***** November 5th, 7:22 a.m. "Giles? Hey, Giles, wake up," Dawn called as she shook her sleeping brother in law's shoulder. Giles gave a muffled sound somewhere between a groan and a whine and rolled over on the tiny sofa. "Boy," Dawn said. "Buffy told me he could be a sound sleeper when he's really wasted, but this is ridiculous. I bet if there was an earthquake, he'd sleep right through it." As if on cue, the building lurched wildly. Willow grabbed Kennedy and scooted them both under the table where they'd been researching. Xander hauled Anya to the relative safety of the doorway. Dawn threw herself on top of Giles and put her hands over her head to protect it in case of falling debris. "I didn't mean we needed a show and tell session!" she yelled at nobody in particular. Seconds later, the shaking stopped. Dawn slid off Giles tentatively. The others stayed where they were and watched the Watcher nervously. Giles burrowed further into the cushions and snored again. ***** November 5th, 7:23 a.m. "It's okay, Buffy," the doctor assured her. "Just an earthquake. This happens all the time." Buffy looked around herself nervously. "That wasn't an ordinary earthquake," she said. "You're right," the doctor agreed. "I'd put it at about 5.8. What do you think, Sandy?" "Yeah, 5.5, sixish," the nurse said. "It was a good shake, but we're okay in here. This is a sturdy building." "Could somebody please find my husband?" Buffy asked in a small voice. "I'm sure he'll be here any time now," The nurse told her. "And the baby probably won't be here for another couple hours at least. Just try to relax and I'll see if we can page him, alright?" "Please," Buffy said gratefully. "I know I'm being kind of a wimp, but I just want him here." She didn't hear the nurse's reply. She was too busy bearing down as another contraction hit. ***** November 5th, 7:58 a.m. "Aha!" Xander cried. "I think I got something!" "What is it?" Dawn asked eagerly as they all crowded around him. "Okay, so this thing is planning to open the Vault of Rathamann, right? And that's going to destroy the world, right?" "Right and right again," Willow said impatiently. "But we know all that. What did you find?" "It's not what I found; it's more what I know. Or maybe I should say who I know. Bob." "Bob?" Kennedy asked. "Okay, somebody get me a roadmap, 'cause I'm lost." "Bob's a whiz at masonry. He can build onto the vault until it'll take Mr. Scaley about fifteen years to plow through it." "Xander, this thing can make earthquakes happen at will," Anya pointed out. "How is your friend going to stop that?" "He's not. He's just gonna follow CalOSHA regulations. Anything that'll make those guys happy will stand up to pretty much anything our demon can throw at it." Willow sighed and went back to her chair. She opened another book. One by one, the others followed her example. At last, Xander did the same. "Hey, it would have bought us some serious time," he protested as he turned another page. "Keep looking," Willow ordered. Everyone looked up at a sound from the sofa. They looked back to their books when they realized Giles wasn't waking up, but merely changing positions. "I wish he'd wake up," Dawn said sadly. "They've paged him like about a million times. Buffy shouldn't have to be alone right now." ***** November 5th, 8:17 a.m. "That's it, Buffy," the doctor encouraged her. "You're doing great." "Can I have a gold star and a break now?" Buffy muttered as she slumped back. Every contraction seemed to get more painful and more lonely without Giles there to help her through. "How much longer is this gonna go on?" "Babies come when they come," the doctor told her philosophically. Buffy barely held back her opinions on philosophy. If she hurt her doctor now, she'd really be up the creek without a paddle. ***** November 5th, 9:03 a.m. Giles sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. "Oh dear, I must've dropped off for a moment," he yawned. He was met by five incredulous stares. "Buffy's been in there about six hours," Dawn informed him. "You slept through an earthquake." "An earthquake?" Giles sputtered. "Radio says it was 5.7," Anya said without even raising her head from her book. "But the hospital is fine." "My God, Buffy! I have to go to her. She'll be furious by now," Giles fretted. He started to leave the room, but stopped at the door. "Oh, any luck with our problem?" he asked hopefully. "Not really," Willow told him. "Did you look in the Book of Agnarath yet?" "No." Giles crossed quickly to the table, picked up the volume in question, and rifled through the pages swiftly. At last he found what he was looking for. "Here," he said. "It occurred to me while I was sleeping that we might find it in this one. Yes, one of you will have to...read this incantation and um...burn a few herbs at the Vault. Anya, perhaps you'd be so good as to do that? Kennedy can take some weapons to keep the beast busy if it shows up before the ritual is completed. I think that should solve our problem." The two girls headed out. "Now, I'd best go to Buffy...assuming she hasn't yet filed for divorce...or put out a contract on me," he half joked. As he turned to leave, Giles felt a hand on his arm. "Be careful in there, man," Xander said. "Oh, and I brought you something you might...y'know...need," Willow added sheepishly as she pulled something from her backpack and handed it to Giles. "It's...it's one of my old training pads," Giles said in confusion. "Women having babies sort of tend to grab hands and arms and stuff really tight when they're in pain," Willow explained. "We just don't want Buffy to end up having to do all the diaper changing until you get the cast off, if you know what I mean." "Oh, ah...yes, good thinking. Thank you, Willow," Giles said. "That was very thoughtful of you." He took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair, strapped on the pad, and hurried down the hall to Delivery. ***** November 5th, 9:16 a.m. This is the place?" Kennedy asked. "Yes, this is it," Anya replied as she dumped out her supplies and opened the book to the right page. "Not much of a vault," Kennedy complained. It was a small, inconspicuous chest in a dusty mausoleum in the oldest and least kempt cemetery in Sunnydale. "You'd think something this important would be a little more...more, if you know what I mean." "Appearances can be deceiving," Anya shrugged. "Like when I first met you, I never thought you would turn out to be a lesbian. Sometimes things just don't look the way you expect them to." "I guess you're right." After that, the only words were the ones Anya chanted to cast a mystical protection spell over the vault. Kennedy gripped her axe tighter and watched for trouble. ***** November 5th, 9:32 a.m. Buffy grunted as she bore down yet again. She was getting very tired of this exercise. "We're getting close," the doctor encouraged her. "Come on, darling, push," Giles urged. "I *am* pushing!" Buffy screamed. "You want to take a turn, be my guest." Giles decided to take the better part of valour and be quiet. ***** November 5th, 9:46 a.m. Kennedy tensed. She could feel something approaching. Something not human. She raised her axe. A moment later, she quickly hid it behind her back as the door of the mausoleum was opened by a short, plump, pop-eyed man. Anya faltered for a split second in her chanting, but continued despite the interruption. She hoped Kennedy was better at making excuses than most of the Scoobies were. "Hi," Kennedy said entirely too brightly. "Can I help you?" "No, no I don't think so," the man replied with a distracted air. He held up one hand in Anya's direction. The ground began to shake. Anya chanted harder. She wasn't so sure who this guy was, but she had a bad feeling about him. "Whoa!" Kennedy said. "Aftershock. A pretty big one, wasn't it?" "Nothing compared to this one," the little man said mildly. He held up his hand again and the ground shook harder. Kennedy put two and two together. "Hey! Stop that!" she yelled as she threw herself into battle. The continuing earthquakes made aiming the axe hard, but Kennedy was nothing if not a fighter. ***** November 5th, 9:47 a.m. The room shook. Buffy grabbed Giles' arm hard. He was suddenly very glad of the padding he wore, even if it had made the hospital staff look at him oddly. He could feel Buffy's desperate grip even through the protection. "It's going to be fine," he said as soothingly as he could. "Trust me, Buffy." "I'm trying," she said plaintively. "But nine months ago you said you were sure you had condoms at home, and now look at me." Giles shielded Buffy with his body as another quake rocked the room. ***** November 5th, 9:51 a.m. Kennedy watched the body of the demon she'd just despatched. It did nothing. She sighed. "It figures. Of all the days I don't want to be stuck doing burial duty in a graveyard, I kill a demon who doesn't poof or slime away," she grumbled. "At least I finished the ritual and you killed the demon," Anya said cheerfully. "Now the world won't end just when Buffy has her baby." "You're right," Kennedy decided. "So what are you giving them for a baby present? Willow and I got some really cute little baby booties. For some reason she wanted to get these tweed ones. So she's giving those and I'm giving the bunny slipper ones." Anya glared. "Do you want to give the poor kid nightmares?" she demanded. "I'm giving them a savings bond for the child's education. Xander is giving them a selection of movies suitable for a small child." "Like what?" "Monsters, Inc., Shrek, The Nightmare Before Christmas, things like that." Kennedy shook her head. "This is gonna be one messed up kid." They dragged the demon's body out by a clump of bushes and went looking for a shovel. ***** November 5th, 10:02 a.m. "And one more push..." Buffy gritted her teeth and concentrated hard. She was tired and in pain and sweating and frustrated. She grabbed Giles' hand as hard as she could. He winced and grunted in pain. the petty part of Buffy smiled to itself at the sound while her better nature hoped she hadn't hurt him too badly. "That's it...that's it...here he comes..." the doctor announced. "Here he is." Buffy panted and lay back, laughing wearily in relief. Giles watched in awe as his son slid from between his wife's thighs and was placed on her abdomen. "Congratulations, Buffy, Rupert," the doctor told them. The new parents barely heard him. They were entirely too entranced with the tiny, squalling infant they'd produced. ***** November 5th, 6:02 p.m. Buffy lay in bed contentedly holding her new son. Giles did his best to fold his long frame into the bed beside her. Both smiled happily at their child. "He's so tiny," Dawn said for the fifteenth time. "Tiny?" Buffy asked incredulously. "He's almost eleven pounds. And I think we can tell from that which side of the family he's going to take after the most." Anya sneezed. "He's so cute," Willow bubbled for what felt like the thousandth time. "Don't you mean manly?" Xander asked pointedly. Anya sneezed again. "There's plenty of time for manly when he's old enough to shave," Kennedy said. "So what're you going to call him?" Dawn asked. "Last time I heard, you guys hadn't agreed on a name yet." Buffy looked adoringly at her husband. "You want to tell them?" she asked "I take great pride in introducing you all to Alexander William Kennedy Giles," he said. "Alexander...?" Xander said. "The William is for Willow - not Spike," Buffy explained. "Really? Wow!" Willow exclaimed. "And you're really calling him Kennedy?" his third namesake asked. "Well, for everyday we were thinking Alex, but it's in there," Buffy said. Anya gave a heartfelt sneeze. "I'm sorry we couldn't figure out a way to include you, Dawn, Anya," Giles said. Anya sneezed three times in rapid succession. "Are you okay?" Xander asked her. "No, I'm not. There are freesias in that bouquet," Anya said shortly as she pointed to the flower arrangement by the bed. "I'm allergic to them. It makes it difficult to breathe." Xander put an arm around her shoulders and steered her to the door. "Come on," he said. "I'll get you a drink, and we'll give the new parents some down time. Whaddya say?" "Okay," Anya choked out between sneezes. As they left the room, Buffy shook her head. "I wonder if those two will ever figure it out and get back together," she said. "So you couldn't have fit a Donald or something in there?" Dawn asked, still obsessing about the baby's name. "I thought you said Donald was, and I quote, 'a dorky name'," Buffy reminded her sister. "But everybody else got a name," Dawn protested. "We'll save it up for the next one," Giles proposed. "Excuse me, but you didn't ask *me* if there was going to be a 'next one'," Buffy reminded him. "I was counting on my charm to convince you later...much later," Giles grinned. "Maybe much later, when the amnesia kicks in." Alexander began to fuss and squirm. Giles took his son and hummed softly to him. After a moment, the baby quieted and went back to sleep. "What was that song?" Willow asked. "Hey Jude," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "Turns out our kid has terminally retro taste in music. I tried him on the latest Alanis Morissette, but so far he only seems to go for The Beatles and Pink Floyd...proving, once again, which side of the family he takes after." "I think he's got your nose," Dawn offered. "And I think maybe we should think about going," Willow said with a nod to the bed where Giles was beginning to yawn widely. "I think you may be right," Kennedy said with a smile. "Let's go. Come on, Dawn. We'll spring for pizza." "Okay," Dawn agreed. "Hey! I just realized: I'm an aunt! A real, official aunt!" The three girls left together in a flurry of giggles. At last, Buffy was alone with her little family. She took the baby from her nearly comatose husband. She smiled indulgently at them both. "So, Alex," she asked her son, "what would you think of a sister in about a year or two?" Alex started to wail plaintively. "Great, and I don't know the words to Hey Jude," Buffy grumbled. Then she thought of a song Giles had started singing to her belly when they'd found out they were having a son. She thought for a moment to recall the words, and began to sing softly.
"Good night, Rupert," she whispered. "Good night Alex."
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