FIC: Three's Company 3/5 "R" W/T/B

["amberbensonfan" <AmberBensonFan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

DISCLAIMER IN PART 1

"Well, it's just that, I'm sure you will be wonderful parents, um, 
all three of you, but are you really prepared for what being a parent 
entails?"

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"Well, what about college? Money? You know it costs a lot to raise 
a child these days. Buffy, what about slaying?" Giles raised all 
the same points that Xander and Anya did not too long ago.

Buffy was kind of relieved to hear that this was his only basis for 
concern. These questions she could handle, after all, she'd just 
gone through all this already. As the trio explained their plans, 
repeating the same discussion they had not even two hours earlier, 
Giles seemed to relax a bit, realizing that the girls did seem to 
have some semblance of a plan.

"I'm glad you girls, I'm sorry, young women, have given this some 
thought. If you need anything, any help, just let me know." Giles, 
the man who was more of a father to them than their own fathers were, 
offered.

"Thank you, Giles," the three girls offered one at a time.

After a few more pleasantries, everyone disconnected the line and it 
was time to call it a night. Willow and Tara went up to their room 
first and began to get ready for bed, dressing in their night 
clothes, Willow in a long flannel shirt, Tara in a nice red, silk 
negligee. Buffy went into her room and dug into her drawers for some 
clothes and changed before making her way into the other room. They 
all curled up, Buffy taking the spot on the bed closest to the 
window, allowing her a chance to keep an eye open on any possible 
threats that would come through it. Tara was spooned up against her 
and Willow in a similar position effectively putting the mother-to-be 
in a protective sandwich.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning started very similar to the previous one. The three 
woke, Tara made breakfast, Dawn was sent off to school, and Buffy 
dropped the girls off at school earlier than normal. The witches had 
to consult with their respective advisors to see about setting up 
extra credits, accelerated programs, and at-home courses.  
Considering that they couldn't get into explicit details other than 
Tara was pregnant, the college was pretty helpful in assisting the 
young women. Luckily for them the institution had a `cap' policy 
where anything over 12 credits were available at no charge, which 
allowed their individual loans and scholarships to cover the charges.

Tara wouldn't be able to graduate before the baby was born, but she 
would be able to continue her at-home studies only stopping by the 
campus for classes once a month, but she would be able to finish her 
degree by the time the baby was one.  

Willow, on the other hand, was in a better position. Even though she 
couldn't fill the college in on why she needed to graduate so soon, 
her transcripts alone were impressive enough to allow her to skip 
some basic required courses, substituting some of her advanced high 
school courses for college credit. She'd also have the option to 
take CLEP tests for some additional subjects. With this help and her 
ability to take over 20 credits, Willow would be able to graduate a 
month after the baby was born allowing her to seek employment 
immediately. In fact, she already planned on putting out resumes to 
see what the market was like. If she could get something part-time 
or at least something lined up for the future she'd be happy.

By lunch time, Buffy was checking out the local help wanted section, 
hoping to find something a little more profitable, but still within 
her range of skills. The situation looked bleak.  

By the time everyone made it back home Buffy was in a foul mood. She 
was never happy about her current employment, but her inability to 
find anything better just made things worse. Especially now that she 
knew her baby, her own daughter, would be dependent on her, not to 
mention that Tara will need a way to support herself while she raises 
the baby and finishes school. She was actually looking forward to 
her patrol that night to work out some of her frustrations. At least 
it was something she knew she was good at and it was something she 
was specifically called to do, college degree be damned.

Willow and Tara opted to eat a late dinner to allow Buffy and Dawn 
time alone before her patrol to talk. The two sisters sat at the 
table facing each other. "So?" Dawn asked, curiosity getting the 
better of her.

"Well, I've decided to let you have my room." Dawn started to get 
excited but Buffy had a clause to her agreement. "But," Dawn's 
shoulders slumped, "it's a trial basis only."

"That's totally cool. I can handle that."

"Now look, Dawnie, I want to know the truth, how are you handling 
this, all of this? Me, the baby?"

"Oh, I'm totally cool with that too. I mean, come on, Buff.  
Everyone pretty much suspected how you felt for Willow, we just 
figured since she was already with Tara there was little anyone could 
do about it. Yeah, okay, the whole deal with Tara too was a bit of a 
surprise, but not like a bad one. They're great, I really like them 
and I know they make you happy so I don't really care, as long as you 
guys are happy and cool with it yourselves. The baby, I'm so psyched 
about it. I mean, yeah... not exactly a normal way for a kid to get 
made, but hey... I'm not exactly the poster-child for "unsafe sex", 
am I? Anyway, I can't wait to be an aunt, ya know. I can baby sit 
and when she gets older I can take her to the park, take her 
shopping. I can be the cool aunt she comes to talk to about boys and 
school and stuff. To be honest, I don't know if I can wait another," 
Dawn stopped, not only to breath but to make a mental count of how 
much longer her wait will be, "another seven and half months."

Buffy hadn't really done the math up until then and she played the 
numbers over in her head just to make sure her sister was right.  
Needless to say she was surprised that there was so little time left, 
especially considering just how much they had to do just to get ready 
for the baby. But what struck her more profoundly was just how 
strong, independent, and mature her sister was. Perhaps she had been 
a bit too suffocating lately.

"Okay, here's the deal, you're not a little girl anymore and once the 
baby comes we're going to need your help. Not just help, but we're 
going to need you to be a good influence on the baby. I don't expect 
you to be perfect, but I expect you to be able to make mature 
decisions and do what is right. We'll give the bedroom a test run.  
Something small to start and then we'll move on to bigger things."

"Wow, that's so cool of you, Buff. Does that mean I get to stay up 
and do the Scooby thing?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and stood up to leave for her patrol. "Let's 
just see how things go, okay? One thing at a time."

Dawn jumped up and gave her a sister a quick hug and a peck on the 
cheek. "No prob, Buff."

"Good, then tomorrow, after everyone's home, we'll start changing the 
rooms around."

Dawn, smiling, just said "Cool!"

"Oh, one thing, though.."

Dawn, semi-frowning, asked "What, Buff?"

"Call me 'Buff' that many times in a row again, and I nail your 
window shut."

Dawn bolted upstairs with the biggest grin on her face, something 
that made the slayer's depressed mood lift a bit as she threw on her 
jacket and headed to one of the many cemeteries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few months passed without any major events. Dawn quickly 
made Buffy's old room her own, the trio managed to find a king sized 
bed at a local thrift shop, which allowed them plenty of room, and 
Buffy grew accustomed to sleeping with not just one but two women.  
Something of an easy task in her mind. Tara's morning sickness was 
grueling, but still joyful in it's own right. Willow was constantly 
at school or had her nose in some book trying to maintain the intense 
schedule while Tara was following a similar path. Regular visits to 
the doctor's office were a welcome joy; especially the further along 
the pregnancy became because they got to take home pictures of their 
baby from the ultrasounds.

Buffy just came in from a patrol, a little banged up, but nothing 
more than a few bruises, which were sure to heal in a day or two.  
After washing up and changing into her nightclothes she sat on the 
bed quietly observing her lovers. She lowered the blankets a bit, 
which caused Tara to stir slightly as cooler air suddenly touched her 
skin. Buffy admired the view, laying a gentle hand on Tara's 
stomach, which had already begun to grow. She smiled. All was right 
with the world. After a few moments she slid down onto the bed and 
pulled the covers back over Tara and herself and Tara quickly 
snuggled into the slayer, draping her leg over Buffy's and an arm 
over her stomach, while Willow maintained a firm grasp on the blonde 
witch in a spoon position. 

The sun woke Buffy up first and though she hated getting up early on 
a Saturday, there was much to do. Xander and Anya were going to be 
coming over early and Buffy wanted to get breakfast ready for 
everyone. She climbed out of bed gently so as not to disturb the 
sleeping forms there and received groans from the blonde at the 
sudden lack of a warm body next to her.

By the time the slayer made her way out of the shower and into her 
clothes for the day she could smell lovely scents wafting through the 
house and knew Tara was already making breakfast. As she walked out 
of the bathroom Willow was ready to enter, still wiping sleep from 
her eyes. "Big day, huh?" Buffy asked. She received a sleepy grunt 
from Willow who was quickly getting worn down from her constant 
schedule of studies and preparing for the baby.

Buffy made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of 
orange juice. "Tara, what are you doing? I was going to cook for 
everyone." Tara just shot her a look and Buffy relented. "Okay, so 
I'm not the best cook in the world."

"Buffy, honey, aside from the fact that the only thing you can cook 
is scrambled eggs, I'd say that not being the best cook is a bit of 
an understatement."

Buffy sent a playful pout towards Tara who just chuckled and leaned 
over the island and gave the slayer a kiss to make her feel better.  
When they heard Dawn shuffling into the kitchen they pulled away, 
even though Dawn was comfortable with their relationship, there was 
no need to constantly push it in her face. "OJ, Dawnie?" Tara asked 
getting back to the task at hand.

"Hiddy ho!" Xander called out in the distance as he made his way 
through the front door with Anya in tow. He followed the scents to 
the kitchen where he placed a box of assorted donuts and muffins on 
the counter in front of Buffy. The slayer, of course, took that as 
an open invitation and began to open the box until Tara slapped her 
hand away.  

"Don't spoil your appetite," Tara warned with a smile.

"Yes, mom," Buffy answered with another pout and then she realized 
what she said and couldn't help but laugh at the accidental slip.

Tara turned a big smile on her face and she rubbed her tummy. "Now, 
we want to set a good example don't we, Buffy?" Tara admonished 
lovingly.

"Consider me reprimanded," Buffy consented.

"So, breakfast then we hit the hardware store, right?" Xander asked, 
trying to plot out how the day was going to play out.

"Right," Buffy agreed simply.

"I don't see why we all have to go anyway," Dawn groused still 
forcing the sleep from her mind. "I mean, it's not like anyone here 
but Xander knows what to get anyway."

"Actually, Dawn has a point," Anya volunteered because she didn't 
want to go either. It pained her too much to see cash leaving their 
hands and going to someone else. "I mean, besides, how are you going 
to fit all the stuff in the car if everyone's there?"

Unfortunately, Anya did have a point. "Okay, fine, Xander and I will 
go. In the meantime, can you girls please make sure the room is 
cleaned up and set up the equipment out in the yard?"

"Sure!" Anya agreed a little too quickly, just glad to do something 
other than go to the hardware store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later the breakfast mess was cleaned up, the nursery was 
cleared of anything that could get in the way, the tools were set up 
outside, and Buffy and Xander were back with all the supplies they 
would need for the job ahead.

The gang spent a good deal of the late morning and afternoon cutting 
wood, sanding, nailing, gluing, and painting. Considering they were 
on a tight budget, making their own baby room supplies was the best 
bet and thanks to Xander's handy-dandy carpentry ability, they were 
able to save a lot of money. Tara was in and out of the house 
providing a virtual endless supply of drinks and food ? lemonade, 
iced tea, water, finger sandwiches, fruits, chips, and dips.  

By late afternoon they had finished a dresser, tables, hope chest, 
and changing table. Everyone was exhausted and not without their 
battle wounds. Cut fingers, bruised thumbs from misaimed hammer 
thrusts, and splatters of paint on their bodies and in their hair.  
Everyone lounged, taking a much needed rest, holding drinks in their 
hands. Buffy and Willow stripped down to their sports bras; not that 
this was a shock to the group since they've seen Buffy train in 
similar attire before. Anya changed into a tank top, and Xander 
simply went without his shirt all-together.

"Guys, this is just fantastic," Tara congratulated her friends on all 
the hard work and dedication the put into creating lovely furniture 
for the baby's room.

"Just think, tomorrow, once everything is dried and settled, we get 
to heft all this stuff upstairs and set it up," Xander groaned, not 
really looking forward to the next day.

"Hey!" Dawn called to get the attention of the group, her idea 
clearly exciting her. "Why don't you guys sleep over. One big 
Scooby slumber party. That way you don't have to drive home all 
tired and come right back in the morning."

"Oh, I don't know," Xander started to say. He didn't want to impose 
on the girls and figured if some type of sleep over was going to be 
arranged, Buffy would want to discuss it with Willow and Tara first.  
Unfortunately, Anya didn't have the same reservations.

"That's great. Granted, it takes away from our orgasm time, but I 
really don't feel like driving home just to get up and come back.  
Besides, that means we can sleep in a little later too."  

"An," Xander started to warn.

"No, it's okay, right guys," Dawn looked to Buffy, Willow, and then 
to Tara with pleading eyes.

Normally Buffy didn't appreciate being put on the spot like this, but 
Dawn did have a point and Anya seemed to agree to the idea. Besides, 
Dawn did put in a lot of work and had behaved herself so well over 
the past few months; perhaps she could bend a little now.

"It's up to you guys. If you want to, you're welcome to stay, 
right?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow to Willow and Tara for 
confirmation and the witches nodded in return. Over the course of 
nearly a year they've come to consider the home not just as Buffy's, 
but as something all three of them shared equally, especially since 
each one put in equal efforts to keep the household running.

Xander finally relented and they agreed to sleep over. That night 
the gang enjoyed a nice meal together sharing laughs over various 
mishaps during the day and some old memories of good times and of not 
so good times that they could look back on now and laugh at.

Dawn was thoroughly enjoying herself, but as the night wore on, she 
kept sending furtive glances at the clock. Finally, after about the 
hundredth time, Buffy leaned over to her sister, "If you're tired, go 
to bed, they'll be here in the morning, but I'm not going to tell you 
to go to bed." Dawn looked at her sister like she grew additional 
heads. "I figured you earned not having a set bedtime," Buffy 
explained. Needless to say Dawn was ecstatic and began to relax, 
opting to listen to the topics of discussion she was usually not 
privy to. She enjoyed every story, her eyes widening at some of the 
more outrageous ones she'd never heard before, taking in the whole 
experience of hanging out with the `adults.'

At first the conversations were restrained, figuring that Buffy would 
send Dawn to bed soon and they could get into more lively and mature 
discussions, but the group noticed the little chat and noted the time 
and knew that Buffy just gave Dawn a rite of passage and soon the 
topics became more regular and in general it was a lovely night.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a sec," Dawn cut in trying to make sure she had 
heard the story correctly. "Buffy, you actually knocked yourself out 
with a staff?" Surely this couldn't be her sister, the mighty slayer.

Buffy chuckled as the Scooby gang listened intently to the story of 
when Buffy was first called and her training began. "Yes, I did.  
Hey, up until then I was just some Cordelia-like cheerleader with no 
ambition other than to make captain of the squad, marry the 
quarterback, and make homecoming queen. When Merrick called me and 
started my training I had no idea what I was doing," Buffy tried to 
defend herself.

"Yeah, but what about that whole clause on a `slayer's natural 
ability?'" Willow piped in, loving the moment as the slayer squirmed 
in the hot seat.

"Mental Note: Slayer's Natural Ability. You hear the word `Skill' in 
there, anywhere?" Dawn pondered out loud.

"Yeah, yeah," Buffy answered, dismissing Willow's comment and then 
looked to her sister with a private, "Very funny, Dawn." Buffy 
turned her attention back to the group at large, "it took a couple of 
days for it to settle in okay. So, there I was, trying to get the 
staff to twirl around and wind up in both of my hands correctly and 
sure enough I knocked myself so hard in the head I was out for about 
five minutes."

The table roared with laughter, luxuriating in the fact that the 
slayer was just as clumsy as they were, even if it was just for a few 
days. Xander laughed the loudest considering he was the one who was 
a klutz most often.

"Who are you laughing at, Xander? People in glass houses shouldn't 
throw stones," Buffy warned in a friendly tone. "I happen to 
remember when you were skateboarding at school and wound up smashing 
into the railing." Buffy and Willow laughed out loud having been 
witnesses to this event while Xander scowled. Though he couldn't help 
a chuckle from escaping.  

It was Xander's turn to share a tale and his target was Willow. As 
his eyes laid on her, Willow audibly and visibly gulped. "Hmmm, what 
little tale do I have hiding away about Willow?" Xander started, 
teasing the red head. "How about the time you were staring at Buffy 
so hard you walked into the wall?" Xander asked.

The group laughed, Tara especially, because she could completely see 
her red haired lover doing something like that, while knowing her 
blonde lover would remain oblivious to it.

Dawn listened and laughed and desperately wanted to add to the 
conversation, but was a bit saddened by the fact that she couldn't.  
She had friends, sure, but not nearly as close as the Scoobies were, 
especially since she had so many secrets that she knew none of her 
friends would believe nor care about. Though she lived through many 
experiences with the Scoobies she still didn't have the `field time' 
they did to have any interesting stories to share. She didn't let 
this get her down though. She made mental notes of each tale, 
storing the information away for a later date, and knew that with 
this new responsibility Buffy had granted her she'd be coming up with 
stories of her own soon enough.

"Okay gang," Buffy announced, getting up. "Early day tomorrow and 
all that." She grabbed some of the dishes and began to clear the 
table. The gang helped, Dawn making an extra special effort to help 
out to show her sister how much she appreciated being able to stay up 
and take part in their memories.  

After the dishes were done, Dawn gave everyone hugs and promptly went 
upstairs to her room and prepared for bed. Xander and Anya settled 
downstairs while Willow, Tara, and Buffy went to their room. As the 
three of them changed they chatted. "That was very nice of you, 
Buffy," Tara stated.

It took Buffy a second to realize what Tara was referring to, but 
smiled and gave her a shrug as if to say, `aw shucks, it was no 
biggie.'

"Yeah, Dawn really seemed to enjoy herself and she handled it well.  
She seemed a little sad there towards the end, but maybe she figured 
the night was going to end soon." Willow added.

"Mmmm," was all Buffy got out around her yawn as she crawled into 
bed, folding the other half of the covers down so Tara and Willow 
could get in, which they promptly did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By lunchtime the baby's room was pretty much set up. All the 
furniture had been carefully carried upstairs, mainly by Xander and 
Buffy considering most of the pieces were large and heavy. The 
others helped by decorating and organizing everything. Placing teddy 
bears here, lamps there, and pillows elsewhere, the room finally took 
shape and was ready when that special day would arrive in about four 
months.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About two and a half months later Willow got some good news. A 
letter came in the mail from one of the companies she had sent her 
resume to stating that they would be interested in setting up an 
interview with her. When the appointment day came around Willow was 
running around like a chicken without a head, but finally managed to 
get copies of her resume printed, dressed, and out the door on time.

Buffy and Tara were nervous for their lover knowing that Willow 
worked very hard and was the best one for the job. They hoped she'd 
get the position she wanted.

When Willow came in they jumped up and stared at her, trying to read 
her face for any sign of what the news was going to be, but she kept 
her feelings hidden. "Well," Buffy goaded, not known for being 
patient.

"I didn't get the position," Willow said sadly.

"Oh, honey," Tara said simply while she and Buffy went to Willow to 
hug and console her.

"I got a better one!" Willow finally gave in, not wanting to see her 
lovers upset for her.

"What?" Buffy asked a bit surprised.

"Yeah, we were talking and they asked me to do some basic tests.  
They said I did so well that the position they originally intended to 
offer me was too easy so they offered me a better one instead."  
Willow was suddenly crushed from both sides by her lovers hugging her 
while spouting various forms of congratulations. "But wait, the best 
part is yet to come. Not only do I get to work from home, giving me 
the chance to be here with the baby, but I'll be making enough money 
to cover all our expenses so, Buffy, you don't have to worry about 
working at the Doublemeat Palace and you can stay home with the baby 
too!"

"No, wait, I can't let you do that, Will," Buffy stepped back from 
the three-way embrace.  

"Huh? What do you mean?"  

"This is my house too, my baby too, I should pay equal expenses."

"No, wait, Buffy," Tara said, stepping towards the slayer and began 
to lightly stroke the sides of her arms. "Buffy, you already do so 
much for us, all of us, everyone in this town. You go out every 
night and risk your life to make sure that tomorrow comes. What 
better way to provide for our baby than to make sure she has a world 
to be brought into and to keep her safe the way only you could do."  
Tara's words rung true and Buffy could do little but accept them.

words rung true and Buffy could do little but accept them.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I just want to be able to feel I'm pulling 
my own weight around here." Buffy frowned looking down a bit.

Tara, almost beaming in her adoration, simply lifted the Slayer's 
chin, staring into her eyes. "You already do. We're all alive. And 
the Earth... it's still here... all because of you. Isn't that 
enough?" Caressing Buffy's cheek, with the back of her other hand, 
she simply lowered her head a bit, smiling her attention toward 
her. "It is... for me..."   

Willow simply smiled, and blushed a bit, knowing exactly how Buffy 
felt right now, being lucky enough to be caught in Tara's gaze just 
like this, before.

Buffy blushed a bit, too, Tara's meanings not lost on her, and turned 
her attention to Willow, who, until now, stood back to allow Tara her 
chance with the slayer, knowing she'd be able to talk some sense into 
her. "Will, I'm so proud of you and if this is what makes you happy, 
and you're sure you can handle it, you'll get no complaints from me."

The three shared a hug followed quickly by a series of kisses, 
steadily increasing in intensity. "Oh, hmmm, what time is it?" Buffy 
asked sparing a quick glance at the clock on the mantle. Willow and 
Tara looked over as well and noted that they still had about two 
hours before Dawn was due home and at once everyone had the same idea 
and ran upstairs, Tara a little slower, but just as excited as her 
lovers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just as the girls were finishing up their showers and changing their 
clothes Dawn came bounding into the door. As she passed the trio she 
threw some greetings their way and went directly to her room to work 
on her homework. Buffy was still shocked by the mature changes in 
her sister. As Tara came up behind her, wrapping her arms as far 
around the slayer as she could, Buffy shared her thoughts. "Dawn is 
really growing up, becoming so independent. You guys were right, 
give her a little leeway and she really started to come around. I 
used to have to fight her to do her homework, now I don't even have a 
chance to get a word in before she's already in her room starting it."

"Hmmm," Tara murmured as she nuzzled into Buffy's neck. "You're 
going to make a great mom, um, dad, whatever," Tara finished in a 
chuckle.

"Was that what I think it was?" Buffy asked, her eyebrow arching high.

"Yup," Tara answered and Buffy could feel the smile spreading on the 
blonde's lips that were pressing against her neck. "The baby's 
kicking again."

"I gotta tell ya, that's one of the best feelings in the world."  
Buffy turned in Tara's arms and gave her a deep kiss before backing 
away.

"I better arrange dinner and start setting the table if we plan on 
eating together tonight before I go on patrol."

"Oh?" Willow asked, coming from the bathroom just in time to hear 
Buffy's comment. "What's on the menu for tonight? A little bit of 
you two I hope?"

"You're incorrigible, Will, you know that right?" Buffy asked as she 
made her way to Dawn's door.

Dawn had heard Buffy's words about her and couldn't keep the smile 
off her face, but as the conversation grew more private she didn't 
want to disappoint her sister now, not after how far they've come, so 
she put her headphones on and got back to her work. Out of the 
corner of her eye she saw the door open and Buffy pop her head in.

"Hey there, Dawnie. What are you in the mood to eat tonight?  
Chinese, pizza, fast food?"

"Anything but burgers from the Doublemeat Palace," Dawn joked yet was 
serious at the same time. "Whatever you guys are in the mood for."

"Gee, thanks for the help," Buffy said sarcastically. She was hoping 
her sister would have a suggestion because she, herself, wasn't sure 
what she wanted. Dawn simply shrugged and Buffy closed the door to 
face her lovers. "It's up to you, ladies. Whatever you want I am at 
your service."

Willow and Tara gave each other a look and then shrugged, "Nah, it's 
too easy," Tara stated. "Actually, I'm having a craving for pizza, 
something nice and fatty to clog the old arteries."

"Babe, considering you hardly ever eat pizza, I doubt that's 
something you have to worry about." Willow commented. Considering 
that Tara was now seven and a half months pregnant and she had 
maintained a great figure.

"Your wish is my command, milady," Buffy intoned jokingly. "Pizza 
good with you, Will?" At the nod from Willow, Buffy went downstairs 
and called the pizzeria and placed the order and began to set the 
table for four.

Dinner passed with light conversation, Willow checking in with Dawn 
about school, asking if there were any subjects she needed help in 
and then it was time to clean up and for Buffy to head out to her 
patrol.

As Buffy made her way through the cemetery, her mind drifted to 
various subjects. Willow's new job, the baby, her not having to come 
home stinking of grease every day, the baby, Dawn's great job with 
school and responsibility, the baby, the changes her own life had 
taken since the baby. Her mind was too distracted to notice the two 
vampires coming up behind her, but her brain screamed at her to 
notice the three standing in front of her.

"Well, well, what do we have here," the one that seemed to be the 
leader announced in a condescending tone. 

"C'mon guys, I'm really not in the mood for games tonight. Any way 
can I get you bozos to just stand there while I stake you?" Buffy 
asked, already knowing there was no chance of that ever happening.

Suddenly, the two from behind her lunged, grabbing her arms while the 
other three came in for a frontal attack. They got a few blows in, 
but after getting her brain to kick in, Buffy managed to kick two 
vampires in front of her and pulled with all her might to slam the 
two holding her arms into each other. The last one managed to sneak 
behind her and hit her across her back and head with a large piece of 
wood. She was dazed as she hit the ground and before she could clear 
her mind they were on top of her again, pinning her down. One 
vampire per leg and one vampire per arm. The fact that the blow to 
her head scrambled her mind a bit and the damn laws of gravity giving 
the vampires hovering over her leverage, Buffy was hard pressed, 
struggling to break free of their hold on her.

The leader leaned down, his demonic face just inches from her 
own. "What? You gonna bite me, demon boy? Go ahead and try!" Buffy 
shouted in his face, daring him to make a move. He was just far 
enough away from her that if she tried to head butt him she'd never 
make contact, but if he leaned in just a little further, if he went 
to bite her, she could nail him in the face and hopefully that would 
be enough of a distraction for her to break free.

"Oh, no, pretty slayer. I've got something better planned for you 
first." Before she could react he leaned back onto his heels and 
ripped her shirt open leaving only her sports bra in place. He ran 
his hand along her taunt muscles, her chest heaving up and down as 
fear began to take hold of her. Buffy began bucking wildly trying 
desperately to knock loose one of her attackers so she could gain 
some ground to fight back on. "Settle down, it won't hurt... much," 
the leader leered at her followed by a solid blow to the face.

Buffy stopped fighting and focused. She focused on the images of her 
lovers and of how she pictured her daughter would be. She focused on 
her sister and then focused all her strength, her rage, and in one 
mighty thrust, dislodged her legs. She threw her legs up, throwing 
her weight onto her shoulders still being pinned down and then kicked 
out, sending the leader and one of the other vampires sailing through 
the air. It was enough to break their concentration and Buffy 
managed to shrug the other demons off her. She staggered to her 
feet, brushing stray hair from her eyes so she could keep her eyes on 
her attackers.

They seemed smarter than the others she's faced in that they kept 
attacking as a group and not one at a time. This new form of attack 
threw the slayer off and made it more challenging allowing the 
vampires to land some lucky shots. Her head was still ringing from 
the earlier blow and she wasn't sure how many more hits she'd be able 
to take. When one of them landed a solid strike her knee she 
screamed out in pain, feeling herself being sent to the ground once 
more and instantly the weight of four vampires was on her back, 
shoving her further down.

She tried doing a push up, hoping her slayer strength would be enough 
to get her back up and the vamps off her back, but they sent a series 
of blows to her body stopping each attempt she made at getting up.  
She sent a silent plea to her lovers, begging their forgiveness for 
being so stupid to get herself caught in this mess and for not being 
able to be there for the baby and them.

Somewhere, in the deepest recesses of her mind, Willow heard the call 
and jumped out of bed, jolting Tara awake. "What's wrong, honey?" 
Tara asked, her voice hoarse from sleep.

"It's Buffy. Something's wrong." Willow ran around the room and 
quickly threw on some clothes. Tara went to follow suit, but Willow 
stopped her. "No, baby. Stay here, I don't want you or the baby 
getting hurt. I'll be back, I promise, and Buffy will be with me."

With a quick kiss, Willow ran out the door and down the street. She 
didn't know exactly where Buffy was, though she had a general idea 
from the sensation she was getting, not to mention after all these 
years, she pretty much knew the slayer's habits.