August 2007

"Is Willow in?" A young teen asks walking into the newly remodeled Magic Box.
Anya nods, disappointed that the she isn't a customer, "I'll go get her."
A six-month pregnant Anya makes her way to the room that had, 4 years ago, been Buffy's training room and now was the room that the group did they're research in. Buffy's death had been hard on her friends but it had been even harder on Sunnydale and her friends had dealt with Buffy's death by protecting Sunnydale. But that had been four years ago and things were almost like they had been when Buffy was alive, except, well without Buffy.
"What do you mean Dawn isn't coming home for the weekend?" Xander and Sike are in the process of asking when Anya walks in.
"Well we really can't expect Dawn to want to come home from college every weekend." Willow states. "I mean she's a freshman in college..."
"Willow there is someone in the shop to see you." Anya interrupts.
"Thanks Anya." Willow responds setting down the book she was reading and stands up to follow Anya out of the room,
"Are you Willow?" the girl asks anxiously.
"Yes," Willow nods, "can I help you with something?"
"Actually yes there is." The girl looks nervously around her, "is there anywhere we can talk privately?"
"Of course," Willow responds and calling back to Anya, "Anya do you mind if we use the office?"
"No go ahead." Anya waves them off counting through her money at the register.
"What is it I can help you with?" Willow asks once she had closed the door leading into the office.
"Someone said you could help me." The girl responds.
"I probably can." Willow states, "but first, why don't you tell me your name and how old you are?"
"Hanna, and I'm 16."
"All right Hanna," Willow smiles warmly, "who said I could help you?"
"Someone at Angel Investigations, by the name of Fred." Hanna wrings her hands as she speaks.
"Well then Fred is probably right. Why don't you explain to me what the problem is?" Willow urges the younger girl softly.
Hanna takes a deep breath and starts to speak. "I found out that I was pregnant a month ago, right after weird things started to happen. People were following me and I-I didn't know what to do so I went to Angel Investigations, they said they would find out what the problem was. And I-I don't understand it. Fred said that if you call her she can explain it better." The girl bursts into tears, burying her face in her hands.
"All right." Willow whispers in a soothing voice, "I will call Fred right now and have her explain it to me. Why don't you stay right here and I will go call her?" Hanna nods and Willow slips out of the office.

After explaining everything to the group Willow had picked up the phone in the back room and when she finally sets the phone back into its cradle, Xander asks, "so why did Fred send her here?"
"It turns out that the child Hanna is carrying is prophesied," Willow states.
"So basically she is carrying a demon baby." Spike sighs.
"No," Willow shakes her head, "the opposite actually. The baby is said to save the world from eternal damnation."
"Eternal damnation, Hell on Earth, you use those words to loosely they just lose all effect." Xander sighs.
"So we have to protect this girl?" Anya inquires.
Willow shakes her head sadly, "Hanna is dying."
"Bloody hell, that complicates things from the start doesn't it?" Spike asks right out.
"Then how are we supposed to protect the baby if the mother is going to die?" Xander asks looking at Willow quizzically.
Willow sinks into the chair before she begins speaking, "Fred has found a spell to transfer the baby from one person to another..."
"Willow..." Xander begins.
"Xander there is no one else." Willow insists, "Fred as well as Anya are both to pregnant to transfer another baby. And Cordelia is unable to have children, there is no one else. I'm it."
"Willow..." Xander starts, but stops when he can't think of anything.
"Xander, Willow is right." Xander's wife interrupts, "this is what we do, save the world...And if this baby is required to do that, well then we have to protect it."
"Let me talk to Hanna alone please." Willow insists walking out of the room. When she enters the office again she finds Hanna much calmer.
"Did you talk to Fred?" Hanna asks softly.
"Yes, Hanna, I did." Willow sits down across from the girl, 10 years her junior, "you understand that this baby is precious to the future right?"
Hanna nods, "yes."
"All right then." Before she begins speaking Willow takes the girl in. She is obviously very ill, her skin is pale and her long black hair provides a strong contrast. "Fred informed me that there is a way to transfer the baby into someone who is better equipped to protect it."
Hanna gasps, shock and disgust spreading across her face as she backs away from Willow, "That, that's not right."
"Hanna I understand that this is not something you would normally think about. But you can't protect this baby, I'm sorry, I wish to tell you otherwise. But I can assure you that it won't hurt you or the baby..."

"Well how did it go?" Anya asks when Willow finally emerges from the office nearly an hour later.
Willow rubs her temples, "not so well. It took a lot of convincing, but I did it. I just need a few things to perform the spell with. When I come out of there the next time I'll be pregnant."

Anya sighs watching Xander and Spike pace, between the two of them she was going to go crazy. She understood their worry, every since the permanent death of Buffy the loss of any member of the scoobies terrified every single one of them. When Dawn had been accepted to a college outside of Sunnydale Anya thought that Xander and Spike were going to lock her up in a tower and never let her out. But they had, and now all they did was get upset when Dawn didn't come home every single weekend. And now Willow was going to be carrying an important baby that people wanted dead, talk about raising Xander's blood pressure, and whatever the equivalent was for a vampire.
When Willow finally emerges from the office she has her arm wrapped around Hanna a weak smile on her face, "Fred wants you to go stay at the hotel with them until..." Willow lets her sentence trail.
"All right." And with those words, and no thank you Hanna hurries out of the Magic Box.
"Well she was rude." Anya insist.
Willow shrugs, "she was just scared."
"Will Anya and I want you you to move in with us." Xander states.
Willow shakes her head quickly, "thanks Xander, Anya that's really sweet, but no."
"Willow, I'm sorry but who knows if there will be something coming after you. Someone needs to be there to protect you at all times." Xander insists.
"Xander-" Willow begins.
"I'll do it." Spike speaks up.
"What?" Willow asks as she, Xander and Anya stare stunned at Spike.
"I said I'll do it. Red's got a big apartment with a lot of extra room, if she moved in with you guys no one would ever sleep, with two newborns." Spike responds, "so if Willow wants I will move in with her."
Willow bites her lip and shrugs in response, "I guess that works."
Xander looks thoughtful for a minute and then he finally nods, "Fine, Will if you won't move in with me and Anya then Spike is the only other choice."
"OK then." Spike shrugs, "when do you want me to move in?"
"Whenever Spike." Willow responds with a sigh, she had just been getting used to the quiet apartment that she shared with Dawn when she came home to visit.
"I will walk Anya home and then we can move your stuff in tonight Spike." Xander suggests.
"I've got to walk Red home so I will meet you at my crypt." Spike states.
Anya and Willow both raise eyebrows at the men, "we aren't invalids." Willow states.
"Right," Anya nods, "we are capable of walking ourselves home." At the look of hurt on Xander's face Anya caves, "all right Xander let's go."
"Doesn't much matter to me Red, I was just offering." Is Spikes response.
Willow rolls her eyes at the vampire, "fine Spike if you want to walk me all the way to the apartment and all the way back to the graveyard then go ahead."

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