After the Fall

by
Josie_h

Part Twenty_One

The focus on the farm was a problem. A month later, two reporters doing the follow up feature for the mayor’s story with Samuel (and of course celebrate his reelection in a landslide victory), headed to the ‘respite centre’ where Sam had rested when his ‘ill’. They had been told by Kathleen that the reclusive carpenter, vet and writer that Samuel cared for apparently came from the same institution. The story was a fine public interest piece, particularly as Xander’s beautiful furniture had just started to appear in the local gallery.

Thankfully with some intervention by the coven (mostly via Willow’s hacking ability rather than magic), the director gave hazy accounts of Samuel’s charges. Queried about the medico’s apparent lack willingness to detail the illnesses of the three, privacy laws were quoted, instead the quick thinking director swung the conversation to one of the funding problems faced by their facility.

Apparently the ‘farming out’ of patients was system developed to cope with the sheer demand for the center’s services, and to reintegrate patients gradually into society.

The farm’s residents all breathed a sigh of relief and the segment garnered close to twenty thousand dollars in viewer donations for the centre. The director was delighted but later admitted to his PA that he really could not recall the individuals he had been queried about at all.

Three months on and Xander’s pregnancy was at seventeen weeks. All seemed to be progressing well, Jon reporting to Daniel and Mikaela on a fortnightly basis, as neither witch had been able to visit yet.

Xander was over his dizzy spells and was definitely ‘showing’. To the outside world, his face was slightly plumper and he was ‘broader around the girth’ as Spike liked to put it, but to date just felt fat and rather irritable rather than particularly pregnant. Shirts became looser and sweat pants one, then two sizes bigger. Spike bore his partner’s moods stoically and never missed an opportunity to hug his ‘blossoming’ human.

Xander had been working on his latest ‘series’ the day they first felt it. At Kathleen’s prompting and the encouragement of his own ‘family’, he had decided to try for the ‘high end’ market with his coffee tables and special pieces. He had started with a ‘rocking car’ for Eddie’s three. To amuse himself he then tried his hand at two beautiful rocking horses, a rocking pig (which for some reason sold for three times the price he expected when a collector of ‘pig art’ in New Jersey saw it in the gallery).

Spike was becoming quite the dab hand at leather work, making quite authentic looking tiny saddles and bridles for the works. He claimed his expertise came from years of kinky sex and Angelus’ lessons in skinning people. Xander wasn’t fooled by the bravado. Of late, Spike seemed to find every excuse to spend time with his pregnant partner. It was nice.

He was currently working on a ‘nautical’ theme. The gallery owner had sent a message via Kathleen that a ‘theme’ was good. He had already crafted two beautiful corner units that had the casual appearance of hollowed out driftwood, but the finely polished and lacquered redwood shelves and perfectly fitted drawers and classic brass circle handles, made them a collector’s piece. The current coffee table was a large piece of beech inlaid with blackwood ‘eyes’ and eight dark sectioned legs in recycled oak springing from the top and articulated as a crabs might be. Iron drawer handles in the shape of claws at the ‘front’ (forged by none other than Robbie!) would finish the effect - that of a very stylized, beautifully crafted ‘crab’ table.

As he slicked on the final coat of varnish, he felt an odd stir in his belly. He thought it wind again. His indigestion had been close to unbearable ever since impregnation, now apparently bubbles again wiggling through his system. He threw his hammer across the room in frustration. Yet another trip to the bathroom it seemed.

Spike heard the man stomping into the house for the third time that afternoon, muttering frustratedly about feeling like a leaking tap. He ceased bundling the herbs for market and waited until Xander had finished in the bathroom Xander opened the fridge and stared at the contents. Not hungry, just… looking.

Spike moved in behind and sliding his arms around the burgeoning waistline, he pulled the larger man back to him and began to stroke gently across the bump. He could hear three heartbeats one slow and two incredibly rapid. Xander relaxed back into his cool friend’s caress, and they both felt it.

Spike’s sensitive fingers and Xander’s internal walls felt it. The stirring in his belly was most definitely movement of a little body inside, Spike whispered awestruck, “It’s the children pet, I’m pretty sure I felt one of them move.”

Another squirming sensation and Xander recognized it for what it was. He turned and kissed his partner. As he pulled away to breathe, a tearful brown eye met a sparkling blue pair. “It’s wonderful pet… just wonderful.” Daniel was contacted and a visit discussed, in the second half of the pregnancy, as the twins grew, the demands on Xander’s system could become problematic. And there was the problem of concealing the pregnancy from prying eyes. It seemed their time on the farm might be limited.

The McPhersons eventually decided to move, but not before demanding a military search of Kathleen’s property.

When interviewed by a local radio station (at the behest of an unnamed ‘government official’ who was concerned that all the fuss was damaging the ‘efforts of the Initiative’) they quoted civic duty and the need for citizens to be vigilant. Unfortunately for the lobbyists, governments and campaigners supporting the elimination of all magical individuals, sound grabs of the interview were used for months afterwards by groups working for the rights of demons and humans. In particular, Jock had heartily agreed with the interviewer that a ‘final solution’ was necessary and added a statement about ‘hippies and lefties’.

A quite ill advised, off the cuff comment by the Vice President endorsing the ‘final solution’ had the ‘spin doctors’ in the capital scrambling to ‘put out the fires’ but not before the senate spokesman for the committee in charge of the Initiative in the US was approached, and went on record endorsing the need for civil compliance and added that no one was exempt from investigation. Recordings of the ‘communist’ trials, and of Adolf Hitler and other members of the third Reich using almost exactly the same terminology were spliced into the piece, along with images from those times and other genocidal periods in history.

It began a public uproar that simply would not be silenced with civil rights activists and lobbyists beginning to demand ‘transparency’ in the Initiative’s actions and the right to visit facilities and view files.

The government refused the latter. But the battle was not over by any means.

Jock’s public accusation damning Kathleen saw the little community rally to her side. They were ready and waiting when the army Initiative officers arrived at Kathleen’s two days after the report. The church ladies, the local police and the *national* press were all waiting at the front door to observe the goings on, and if necessary, step in. The soldiers had never been under such public scrutiny before, and were certainly not expecting such a welcoming committee at almost ten at night.

The search was initiated with cameras rolling and the continued to roll as the press were forcibly removed from the building. Pictures of Kathleen, a sobbing Davina, and supportive friend Rhonda (the local police captain’s wife) being rough handled out of the home and pushed to the ground at gun point, were beamed across the nation via the local television station (who reveled in the flow on profit from syndication!).

Images of beds being upended, and drawers emptied were filmed through open windows until the blinds were pulled, but the sound of smashing items and the continued restraining of the house’s occupants and friend were shocking.

Since *nothing *was found to even suggest Kathleen or the family was in any way harboring hostiles, and since both Samuel and Robbie had also been vindicated after reports from the same source, the whole debacle became highly embarrassing for the government.

The reaction was extraordinary and spanned the country. The violation of privacy by the military, (on no better basis than ‘bad grape’s and heresy), the lack of respect for the residents being investigated and the threats made to others in attendance, all smacked of paranoia and persecution and a government body that was out of control.

Kathleen reveled in the publicity, as did the local mayor. The notoriety of Sam’s farm, the church, and the community benefited every market day, as people from all over the state came to seek out the ‘gutsy’ little town. And when Kathleen’s truck was torched and hateful slogans painted on their barn by ‘out of town vandals’ three months later, further support was garnered for the ‘brave farmer’s wife and her band of humanitarian ladies’ and a new pickup donated by the local Dodge dealer (with the Dodge state manager present and full coverage by the press of course).

Eddie’s children were approaching a year old, walking confidently and speaking a few short sentences. The attention on Samuel and the town was becoming difficult to manage. If there was a full raid, the children would soon be discovered. Samuel contacted the coven that had recently shifted again, this time to the tolerant community of Gotenburg in Sweden.

Putting a glamour on the children and Eddie was one possibility for emergencies like meeting locals, but could not be a long term thing. And if they were investigated by the Initiative again, the magical traces would be immediately detected.

Jon began by suggesting they contemplate purchasing another farm somewhere in the region, but a little more remote than their current abode. Samuel interpreted the statement as one of him being left behind. His obvious distress at the thought of losing his boys, and especially the ‘grandchildren’ almost halted the conversation before it started, with much hugging and reassurances needed. Leaving Samuel was out of the question but things were becoming critical.

There was now close to seventy thousand dollars in the ‘jar’, long since relinquished in preference to a real bank account in Samuel’s name and designated ‘Farm Fund’. Samuel dutifully paid tax on it, and invested some of it with the boy’s advice. Many townsfolk now knew the farm produced the woodwork and was doing ‘well’. The *last* thing they needed was to fall foul of the Internal Revenue Service!

Two days later they began their search for a ‘new place’. By the end of the week Samuel had put his farm on the market. By Monday the whole county knew he was leaving.

Few could blame him but Robbie and Mavis were tearful when arrived that afternoon to confirm the rumor. In a private moment, while Xander gave Mavis a ‘sneak peak’ at the classic sideboard he was restoring for her as a special favor, Robbie quietly requested that he might rejoin the family at some later time. He would not leave his mother in her declining years but… Samuel hugged is bear of a neighbor and *promised*. R_ambo would always be welcome.

Kathleen was devastated but also understood. It would still be a month or three before they moved, but after her little run in with the Initiative… she understood. She began her own campaign to garner interest in the modest little farm. It was the model of good management and looked near perfect thanks to the combined skills of all residents.

Samuel heard from a wiccan group in Washington State. They were reluctant to recommend areas around Seattle. If Gaia was provoked again, Mt Rainier could certainly be a risk, but the countryside around Pendleton Oregon they suggested as a location for the family, was far enough away, very pretty and the farming community ‘familiar’. There were two large properties on offer. One had what looked like (from the photographs) a perfect home. It was run down, but an enormous old house, established (though badly tended) market garden and existing stock was to be sold with the property. Eddie took one look at the photograph of the enormous oak sporting a swing and a tree house, and fell in love. Samuel was hardly one to argue.

The fame of Samuel’s farm in the county helped his own opportunities for a sale, and several prospective buyers were ushered through the farm within days of its availablility. Impressed by the productivity and immaculate presentation, two offers were made simultaneously, and the highest accepted. Two weeks later, on the advice of their friends in that area, Samuel took out another small loan to ‘find the difference’ between sale price and his buying price for their new home, signed the papers, and became the proud owner of an Oregon ‘estate’.

That night Xander cried in pain as he was assaulted for the fourth night in a row with painful leg cramps. Spike massaged the limbs, then rubbed the increasingly taut skin of the swollen torso. They began to contemplate the move and as the third trimester approached, the delivery of their children. Daniel was to arrive in the morning. It would be his first and last visit before they left Alabama.

Part Twenty-Two

The usual flash in the lounge room announced Daniel’s arrival. He was somewhat taken aback when three small children ran from the room, all yelling for their parents… in real words. He had utterly forgotten how quickly they developed… at thirteen months they were doing things humans would take another six to twelve months longer to master… being so tiny seemed some how to make it all the more adorable. Despite being back with his ‘other half’ and the coven, Daniel had missed them all… terribly.

He took a moment to orientate himself then wandered over to lean in his favorite spot against the door-jam of the kitchen. “OK lads? Heard you’re in need of a doc… but got a beer for the weary traveler?”

He was immediately embraced by a six way hug (seven and a half counting the small figures squashing themselves against various legs).

Daniel happily accepted a beer, but with limited time at his disposal, quickly got down to the business of examining his ‘patient’.

The next day marked week twenty seven, and by his estimation in fact closer to week twenty eight. With proper care the babies were ‘viable’ even now, but he was more concerned about their carrying parent. Xander’s blood pressure seemed somewhat erratic, high one moment and dangerously low at another. Daniel could only put it down to the very rudimentary, experimental, Initiative surgery and the ridiculous pressure being put on his system by the hormonal hike.

He could do little else but prescribe bed rest and TLC. No drug nor magic in the world could do given the unpredictability of the symptoms. He emailed Mikaela and Willow with the report of the same, then spent a joyful evening with his ‘other’ family and finally left.

Kathleen insisted Samuel and Xander meet the gallery owner and some of her ‘ladies’ for drinks in their last week as Xander delivered the last pieces for sale. His shed was now clear of tools and wood, and the majority of the rest of the farm had already been packed ready for transport, sold or given away.


Even the local pastor was present at the art gallery soiree. Samuel apologized for their other ‘two boys’, explaining that the social event was still a little too much for them to handle, but sent their kind regards and thanks to the wonderful community they had been part of.

Xander was coming up for seven months pregnant and though the bump was still high and his shirt and jacket ‘ample’, he kept his distance from most of the guests and made sure to stand in the shadows when possible. He shook hands with the pastor and congratulated him on the wonderful ‘ladies’, and finally met with a gushing Edna.

Kathleen had noted Xander’s apparent weight gain a week or so before having ‘caught’ his profiled silhouette in the garage as he stood contemplating his latest creation. She had always preferred her men a little on the larger side - but noting the emerging ‘beer gut’, had cautioned him on drinking too much of Samuel’s beer of an evening. If only she knew. Xander on the odd occasion had a swig of Spike’s but effectively had not had a drink for seven months.

Xander graciously presented two beautiful candle sticks and an elegant cross to the church on Samuel’s behalf, and asked that the proceeds of the sale of the exquisite tall boy also go to the auxiliary ladies’ fund. The gesture earned both Samuel and Xander a toast from the group and kisses from both the pastor’s wife and Kathleen, and, rather to the embarrassment of Xander, the gallery’s owner (whose perfectly styled hair and black cashmere sweater reminded Xander somehow of Angel in an odd sort of way).

Four days later in the early evening, a convoy of two semi-trailers stood in the driveway, loaded to the hilt and ready for departure. They were a ‘demon friendly’ company arranged by a ‘native’ coven in Nevada via Willow. They would be paid well, but it was gratifying to know that explanations would need to be few. Samuel’s old truck was left to the next owners of the farm. It simply would not make the distance.

One huge ‘Mac’ truck had the farm equipment they had chosen to keep and a trailer of stock they were to take (the poultry were staying). The other slightly smaller but no less powerful vehicle contained the household belongings and was towing a large trailer with the tractor and small harvester/hay bailer on board. Bedding and food for the two, more likely three, day journey had been tucked into the back of the ‘household’ truck.

Samuel’s ‘boys’ would take up their spots for the long haul while he took a place with the vehicle carrying most of the farm equipment. They would not stop unless necessary, and attempt to sleep as much as possible. Harnesses were provided for safety reasons ensuring a sudden brake would not throw the occupants, and the load was fastened securely – in all honesty far more than necessary. Their little space would be as safe as it could be. With two drivers in each truck, they had the opportunity to drive ‘straight through’. It was costing a small fortune, but shifting so far, they would take no chances.

All felt teary as the house was closed for the last time, Eddie and the children were already settled in the vehicle when the honk of a horn signaled the arrival of their lovely ambulance driver. Xander could no longer hold back the tears as he spotted Robbie coming up the drive in time to farewell them. The man looked… distraught, but managed to hand Samuel a sack of home made cookies for the trip before scrambling into the back of the vehicle and hugging Willow, Jessie and SamII soundly, then affording their lovely parents a farewell embrace and kiss.

Xander calmed during the interlude. As Daniel jumped from the tailgate of the semi, the pregnant human took the opportunity to pull the man to the rear of the last trailer, dragging Spike with them. He would finally share their secret.

Xander bared stomach to the man for the first time and Robbie stared from vampire to human in awe, as his hand was placed on the bulge and he felt it move.

“Gonna have to come and visit us soon Uncle Robbie, gonna have five kids for you to pamper.” Xander smiled a little.

“Alex? But how? Who?”

Spike grinned, “Breathe mate… We didn’t want to tell you in case … Initiative… experiments, all that rubbish a while back. Anyway, the how was your friend Daniel and ‘is missus… figured the boy here had been redesigned for it, we wanted it, they sorted it and now we’re having…”
Robbie quickly did the arithmetic, five children in the family could only mean, “… Twins!?”

It was Spike’s turn to become a little emotional as he replied almost inaudibly, “Yeah… twins… our twins.”

“Oh God! But this is … this is… are you OK Alex? I never even guessed… figured you’d gained..”

Xander looked down at his distended figure, snorted a little then looked up with more than a measure of hurt and self disgust in his eyes, “’Man boobs and a beer belly’ to quote some stupid comedian from downunder on PBS… yeah I guess I have that…”

Robbie was still in shocked, but had watched his sister go through three pregnancies, and could not imagine the implications as a male “Oh… wow… and …*no* Alex… Will… oh God it’s wonderful… I guess … it *is* wonderful.”

Spike saw their dear friend’s attempt to back peddle, but it was unnecessary, he leant forward and whispered in the larger man’s ear as though others might possibly hear, “Nahhh mate it’s fantastic… it’s everything!... They’re gonna be ours… yours, Uncle Rob… yours!…” He kissed the man soundly on the cheek then smirked a little… “So you comin’ up to ‘beaver land’ for the summer or just for a few weeks.”

Robbie looked a little puzzled, “There are beavers?”… but then grinned realizing his naiveté… “Yeah I’ll be there, it will depend on Mom though… how well she…”

Spike cut him off as he pulled Xander back into his arms, “Understood mate. Family and all… you just let us know.”

The trucks eventually pulled away. Daniel tried to smile as the rear doors of the semi were secured. The vehicle begin to roll. They all cried.

……..

The house in Oregon was beautiful. Sprawling and rundown, it was as expected, but ready to be loved and restored, and with more than enough room for the whole family. The original owners had had nine children and the grandfather residing with them. Xander instructed ‘his team’ and the vampires removed non weight bearing walls from the upper story to create three large bedroom suites and two children’s rooms (one up and one down) from the existing maze of eight tiny spaces. Shutters were quickly replaced, gutters repaired and ‘electricals’ checked as, over the next month, the family settled in.

A new barn was commissioned through a local builder. And by the time Xander was relaxing on his side late afternoon, tummy resting gently on a pillow on the first day of week thirty three of ‘term’, he heard a whoop of delight as Samuel christened their wonderful new ‘construction’ with a bottle of home made beer (Spike, Jon and Eddie all happy to accept the store bought for the moment).

Their immediate new neighbors arrived within days of their arrival to meet and greet. The coven had alerted them. They arrived ready to prove their status, but the stress of nosey humans, or Intitiative sympathizers, evaporated on their first meeting as both Spike and Jon smelt the difference, and Eddie sensed the magic.

The D’Azpuras were half breed M’Atoth demons, quite stunningly beautiful. The whole family was tall, to the point of looking quite regal, parents and daughters all dark haired with light green eyes. In the nineteen sixties, when Nic and Pat arrived in Oregon, the local community had assumed they were from the Mediterranean somewhere (following some ‘hippie pilgrimage’, according to local rumor). The family never bothered to correct the assumption, and luckily the Initiative had apparently ‘overlooked’ the whole region after their first rudimentary sweep.

Their two girls both went to the local high school. Nicholas was an upstanding citizen and member of several local professional groups (he was a trained civil engineer and ran his own consultancy); and his partner, Patricia, volunteered at the town library and was known for her interest in local history. Few knew… the children appeared as their chronological age suggested, but their parents were close to a hundred years old. ‘Nic and Patty’ were thrilled to find that William (aka Spike) was significantly older… and from Europe, ensouled and quite the legend in his own right. Xander excused himself from the dinner around ten, the stories of the ‘old days’ (regardless of continent) were rather ‘inaccessible’ for the ex-Sunnydale Scooby.

After their first ‘neighborly dinner’ (shortly after the ‘opening’ of the barn’), Nic’s girls both offered to baby sit for Eddie and Jon. The boys really didn’t need it, but it meant the world to the stalwart parents. They eventually took up the offer, spending the night recreating their first coupling amongst specially purchased straw to replicate (at least in part) the barn in the first week after their escape, so many years ago. Even Sam’s failing hearing picked up the final cries of ecstasy.

The house was near perfect and the garden planted (though with a way to go), animals were settled and a new batch of ducks and chickens under the warm lights of an incubator. It would still be a month or three before they could be truly productive, but their expenses were few and their savings adequate. Xander however, was not faring as well as the farm.

It was day one of week thirty five. Jon’s report had not been good, and they had already contacted Daniel.

In the early hours of that morning Spike woke to a jolt of pain that rivaled anything from the Initiative. Swiftly realizing it came from his partner, who was already alternating between arching and crying out, and sobbing in a fetal ball, he opened his wrist. It seemed to little avail.

He called urgently for Jon and Sam. Moments later, the room was full of the household adults.

Overhead lights blazed and the rudimentary medical equipment came to the fore.

Jon did a couple of quick tests. “We need to do something now… The protein count from his urine is beyond the scale, there’s blood…. Sire, I fear his kidneys may be shutting down.” Spike was shaking his head violently but it was Jon who continued to provide the strength. “Sire, I’ve already contacted the coven, Daniel is coming… and Mikaela possibly… but Sire… listen…
*Listen!!!* his heart… the babies’ pulses… Sire please!

Spike turned to the audience in full game face and growled, “Get. Them. Here. NOW.”

Moments later a call had been made and Xander roused as a little trickle of Spike’s blood hit his lips. A flash marked Daniel and Mikaela’s arrival. While still lucent, Xander begged Spike for the lives of their children, then gave in with the effort and drifted off again. The brunette’s breathing was now shallow to the point of almost imperceptible. His hands and feet were icy cold and lips slowly turning blue.

Daniel quickly assessed the patient while Mikaela placed calm hands on Xander, lending her own life force to ease the distress and ‘buy them some time’.

Less than three minutes later, the tall male witch, the distressed friend, pulled Spike aside. “We can’t help, Spike…” The vampire just stood motionless in shock.

Daniel grabbed his hands and forced the vampire to look at him. “William!!!! *PLEASE* We need permission to take the babies… Now! We can save them but it must be now!.... But um… Alex…
Xander… Oh dear heart… You… You must know” Daniel swallowed hard as Spike’s tears began to flow in earnest and he gave a single resigned nod.

Daniel’s tone dropped, the quiet, emotionally charged baritone eventually came forth, “You need to decide if you turn him… or let him go… It seems the Initiative never intended for their subjects to survive… but only you can…. Oh God… Spike… I don’t know what to…. We can get Willow!.. and… perhaps… Oh God…”

Tears streaming down his face, Spike finally answered in a near monotone. “Save the children… and *bloody-well* get the White Witch here pronto.”

Part Twenty-Three

By the time they took the second tiny figure from the barely pulsing sac, and confirmed her breathing to be relatively stable, Xander was bleeding internally, from the sac itself, and profusely from three ruptured major arteries.

Mikaela’s strength was no longer adequate to sustain him, and Spike listened as the faltering heart pumped precious fluid out into an artificially made, now used and exposed organ.

He fell into game face and simply growled, “Leave!! Tell Red we’re here but just…” As the others hesitated, William the Bloody, fangs to the fore, was prepared to defend his mate regardless of the family or friends present. It was the demon who cried in anguish as much as the soul when he all but screamed, “*F@#k* Are. You. Daft????? *Leave. Us.* And. Get. The bloody witch!!*”

Daniel took Mikaela’s hand. He felt powerless to help and could not image the pain William was experiencing as his mate and father of his new children died in front of him.

They called through the coven energy link, then took the children and focused on bathing and tending them. Why Spike wanted Willow at this moment was a little bit of a mystery to Daniel though Mikaela thought she knew. Regardless Willow answered the call within mere seconds.

Spike made the hardest decision of his life, and unlife…

There was no time, they had discussed it, but not really fully…. and now there was *no time*! He cursed his unconscious friend then kissed him, as he cried bloody tears.

The choice was all but impossible. If he was to turn Xander his lovely partner would never see the sun again… never play with the children in the sun… He and Xan would both be cold… both be ‘different’, ensouled and condemned to drink the blood of others… both ‘damned’. But if he did not turn him, he and the beautiful children would have… nothing.

He contemplated the possibility of Xander and he being the demon fathers of human children, and knew there was no question. He had to try, for selfish reasons… and for Xander reasons… and for their beautiful living children reasons….

The Master Vampire leant over his dying partner and whispered, "Forgive me, I love you pet… please forgive me,” then bent lower over the gaping belly wound to lap the excess blood in the cavity, then moved to his partner's neck to take the penultimate draft of his new Childe’s blood, his mate’s blood, the father of his children’s blood, in the traditional manner.

The flash signaling Willow’s arrival coincided with Spike’s final pull on Xander’s neck, and with a little boost from Willow, her high school friend rallied from his comatose state enough to drink from his new Sire’s wrist… and drink… and drink… and die.

Willow cried, but still managed to hold up an Orb of Thessula, chant expertly and fix his soul.

…..

Xander awoke three days later with two tiny forms and a rather large one cuddled against his side, Spike’s broad hand resting on his abdomen. He had the lovely sensation of an electric blanket comforting him and downy covers tucked neatly toward his chin… His back was unbelievably sore and as he moved, his stomach seemed to clench a bit.

He struggled a little for breath, to get up, to move, but his body did not truly feel like his own.
He paused for a moment, stilled, blinked, then resolved to simply focus on the pleasure of being here with his family. He noted the newly erected bassinette in the corner of the bedroom. The curtains were secured shut, though he somehow knew positively that it was after dark. Someone must have installed a nightlight somewhere in the room however, because he realised he could see quite well.

Willow was sleeping on the ‘comfy chair’ near the door and there seemed to be rather a mess in the room, plus he could definitely smell traces of something that made his stomach growl. He smiled, Wills was a true friend and had ‘been there’ through most of his big ‘life events’. He was touched that she had made the effort, just for a birth.

He rolled over, touched his lovely partner and smiled. He felt unbelievably connected to his vampire. He guessed he could not really be any different, perhaps he would ask Spike if he felt it too when he woke up. He felt down, his bump was gone and torso surprisingly back in shape. There did seem to be a very large scar, though whoever stitched it must have been brilliant, it was almost completely healed. He would have expected some swelling still, and something else still felt decidedly strange, fuzzy… different. No doubt that was just a result of the meds from the operation.

He looked over at his partner. Spike looked pale, more ‘dead’ than normal… no doubt a long labor then. They had always figured on a caesarian section, but maybe it had been more difficult than he thought. Had he gone through true labor? He wondered how long he had been sleeping.

He peeped sideways under the covers to where two tiny, perfect babies lay asleep. Each was wrapped loosely in the white rugs that he had asked Kathleen to buy so many months ago for the ‘favorite cousin who was expecting’. It occurred to him that he didn’t know their gender… but they seemed to be a pigeon pair. Despite their differing parentage, both were all but bald with long black eyelashes and perfect button noses. Xander reached over and stroked the palm of one miniscule hand in wonder, the fist closed around his work calloused finger. A tear fell. Unbeknownst to its owner, it was blood tinged.

Again he tried to recall… remembered pain… and worrying about the babies… and… calling for Spike… and an image of Daniel and Jon… but … why *was* Willow here?

Spike’s extraordinarily blue eyes blinked once or twice then faced Xander.


The new vampire sensed intense sadness and joy in equal measure flowing from the father of their children…. Or was it the mother. He smiled at the latter thought. For some reason his link with Spike felt odd and much stronger … definitely very different… as though they were one mind… but not. It must have been to do with the children. He smiled as he fancied he could hear the heart beats of the tiny bodies.

Spike had been awake for some time, waiting, and as Sire, was privy to the conflicted emotions and the confusion… but also the love flowing from his new Childe. He definitely received and reciprocated that.

“How are you luv?”

“Fine… I guess… bit sore… but the babies…??”

“Are fine honey… they’re just… perfect.” The covers were shifted for a moment and a tiny sigh from one of the little figures summed up their wellbeing.

Xander’s voice was more quiet than usual. “So we had them?”

“You did it pet… and look …. Look how … ohhh Pet….” Spike lifted and ever so gently embraced the two extraordinary, tiny products of their love, to his chest. They were still a little sleepy, but two sets of deep blue eyes blinked open for a moment and looked directly at the being that had carried them for just on eight months. The two tiny people blinked again slowly then closed their eyes. Both snuffled a little and relaxed in the arms of their ‘father’ as they settled again.

Spike looked at his partner sending such a bolt of adoration and distress through the link that it caused even Willow to respond. She flew across into the room, realized there wasn’t really a problem but gently took the two children, allowing Spike to afford his beautiful, and necessarily changed, lover an embrace and explanation.

Spike began by opening his neck. Xander responded without thinking or even realizing when his face shifted. He sank new fangs in deep, drawing out the ambrosia, relishing his partner’s rich blood like never before. He had taken a lick or two often in the years they had been together, and been fed a little more when needing to heal … but this… this felt like … existence… He drew a final deep draft from the vein, instinctively licked it closed, then moaned ‘Sire’.

Xander stopped immediately realizing what he had just said, and done, then ran his tongue along his teeth. He felt the change… the fangs, at the same time putting his fingers to his own neck and realized he had no heart beat. Spike began to pet his beautiful partner as he sensed panic setting in, “Yes pet … Yes … Oh please forgive me *Please* forgive me but…”

Xander changed back to his normal face as he panted a little, then stilled and whispered, “I was dying wasn’t I? Did I really die?”

Spike nodded. A crimson tear tracked down his perfectly sculpted left cheek bone. He whispered, “Yes.”

“And you turned me?”

Spike nodded again.

“So blood and sun allergy and stakage? And…” Xander suddenly realized why Willow was present “… a soul. Oh Spike, you kept my soul…”

Spike had pulled away by the time Xander had said sun. The reminder that sunlight would be a problem with the children had him shuffling back to kneel on the bed in a fully submissive pose in front of his Childe.

It was not the place for a Master, a Sire, to grieve for a human and beg forgiveness of a newly made Childe, but at that moment the soul and the proud Aurelian Demon of William the Bloody grieved. Spike kept up the mantra… “I’m sorry … I know you didn’t want… but I love you so much… and the children…. I’m sorry … I loved you so much and I was losing you… I loved you then and now and… I couldn’t lose you …. Couldn’t do it alone …. Not with the children…” He gestured over to Willow who was cradling the two tiny bundles in her arms. “Oh Xan… Look… they’re… Oh God! Xan Please! Aren’t they perfect… and they *needed you* not just me… *us*… but I’m sorry Xan I’m so… so …”

Xander groaned as he reached out to his beautiful partner. He cupped the beloved features and wiped the tears from Spike’s cheeks with his thumbs. He took an unnecessary breath and sighed.

“Spike?… Sire please it’s OK, it really is…. OK…” Spike looked up and registered the deep love flowing through the link. He smiled rather tearfully then moved gingerly over to blanket his still recovering lover’s body with his own and kissed him passionately. With no need to breathe and the all encompassing knowledge that this was his Sire, the sensation was extraordinary. It was… right. His face shifted again and Spike sliced his tongue on the new fangs and filled his Childe’s mouth with Sire’s blood once more. Xander could all but feel his own healing as he devoured the rich gift.

A tiny snuffle and newborn’s cry roused them. Spike rolled off his partner and eased him up to a semi sitting position, pushing an extra pillow behind for support. “You’d better lose the game face pet, kiddies won’t notice but I think you’ll worry the others.”

“Oh God… yeah… Sorry!” Xander shook his head a little and felt his features shift back.

Willow a little wide eyed after witnessing Xander’s demon face for the first time, moved to hand over the babies.

Spike took the little person still slumbering while Xander shushed the little bundle in his arms. He unwrapped the blanket a touch and began to rub the minute stomach with two fingers, taking care to avoid the still raw and clamped stump where the umbilical chord had been attached.

Willow turned to leave the little family for a few minutes of privacy, but stopped at the door for a moment and looked back at the strangely perfect picture. Two beautiful ensouled vampires, propped up in their big bed, both her friends, partnered in adversity, parents despite tragedy, and now holding their tiny children in joy. She smiled, a rather teary smile and left quietly.

“Oh Spike… they’re… just …. Perfect!”

“That they are Pet. That they are… Clever you hey… girl” Spike nodded toward Xander as the baby calmed, “and a boy… Readymade family…. Perfect readymade family” Spike lifted the still sleeping little boy and gave the downy soft forehead a feather-light kiss.

Xander whispered awestruck, “And we were all borne on the same day… how weird is that?”

Spike’s voice was rough with emotion, “Guess you’re right luv… all new bornes together.”

Part Twenty-Four

The rest of the family and visitors had left the ‘new bornes’ and Spike to acclimatize for a time… But around six the next morning one tiny blue person, then a second, then a third, found their way to the bed of ‘Unca’, their new cousin’s and the fledgling vampire.

The call for ‘Maaaam’ and ‘Unca’ were still rife, and when the two smallest additions to the family began to stir, there was no reason to attempt to continue ‘faking’ sleep.

Spike made his legs into the familiar ‘trap’ and invited each of Eddie’s three up to sit in its confines. The other worldly beauty of the Jon and Eddie’s brood was obvious in the soft light of coming from the ‘night light’ on the wall.

The lovely little people were utterly enamored by their tiny cousins. And when Spike put his finger to his lips and said “Shhhhhh *babies*”, they seemed to understand and all tried to be *so* good… They blinked at Spike with their enormous blue eyes, expressing everything they had yet to learn the words for. Love, respect, fascination, Family.


In the end Uncle Spike sat up and positioned the three little folk, baby owl fashion, along his leg and very quietly unwrapped first Elspeth then Christopher (Xander and he had agreed on the ‘titles’ that morning before their visitors arrived. Xan simply would not countenance that the children were unnamed.) The wide eyed and utterly silent respect with which the three little blue folks peeped over the familiar leg at their new cousins caused Unca Spike to reach forward and give each of Eddie’s children a loving kiss. Finally Xander pushed himself up to fully sitting, and took a moment to steady before lifting the two tiny figures that had been between himself and his Sire. He positioned them, still in their blankets, on Spike’s belly (within easy touching distance of the patient three).

There was no fussing or pushing, Willow, Jess and their brother Sam simply reached out with a tentative touch, petted the tiny figures and cooed, a distinctly Parsalas demon sound, but one that was soothing and so sweet that Xander grabbed his Sire’s hand and smiled a teary smile… The two youngest additions simply blinked up at their smiling, wide eyed, blue ‘cousins’ dazedly, totally trusting and relaxed.

Eventually Eddie and Jon collected their curious charges, smiling somewhat apologetically and encouraging the three to “Come and see what grandpa Sam has for you!”

Having divested himself of the little cousins, Spike stood and retrieved two tiny bottles from a pan of warm water that Willow had pushed into the room some time earlier, leaving a larger one for the moment.

Spike passed one of the bottles of formula to Xander, who could not help a silent tear fall as the tiny Christopher fussed for a moment then finally latched onto the teat, and miniscule fingers reached forward, curling around the Xander’s pinky to hold tight as he fed.

Spike had Elsbeth in much the same position, and smiled across at his new Childe, his partner and producer of *their* children… his lover… and best friend… He was not about to tempt fate… but after all the pain, it was a perfect moment. Elsbeth reached for him and he pulled her closer. Her tiny fist curled around a curly blonde lock of hair that had escaped the leather tie.

The two tiny people were asleep again, and though neither Xander nor Spike could bare the idea that the children would sleep elsewhere but their bed, just this once they quietly placed the pair of now sleeping figures in the bassinette.

Spike pulled the other bottle from its warm resting place, unscrewed the lid and downed the contents. Xander looked rather flabbergasted… he had assumed the rich red liquid was his to consume, but when his Sire used a sharp nail to tear a trail of red across his own bare chest, just above his nipple, the hungry Childe understood.

In the next hour, Willow provided Spike with close to seven full pints of warm blood, silently sliding it next to him as she watched her oldest friend continue to draw from his partner’s chest. It was a strangely erotic site, even though both partners were in game face. She deposited the last three bottles together then retreated quietly.

Xander’s cool tongue continued to tease and lave the wound and surrounding flesh. As he fed, they had both became painfully aroused, and hands wandered as feeding continued, the urge to mate became an imperative. They were already nude in the bed…

By the time Spike was drinking the second last bottle, Xander’s hard sex was pressing rhythmically against his Sire’s inner thigh, but this would be a matter of claiming and vampiric law dictated the same, so there was no confusion as to who would take whom. Spike drank the last of the blood then flipped his new Childe over on the bed, his own form blanketing the beautiful figure of his dark Childe.

Xander’s blissful expression looked, for all the world, like the one on his two new borne children’s faces. He was so full of Sire’s blood as to be ecstatic, aroused, wanton and yet… satisfied… He lay back arms out wide and gave in to the wonderful sensations, as his Sire pleasured him. Spike licked and kissed and bit his way down the fast healing, and now cool, torso.

This was a longtime lover however, not some unknown fledge. Each touch, every taste, the smell, that voice… the blood… Spike was utterly consumed by his demon’s insistence. This was his ‘Mate and Childe… Claim the Mate!!’ He reached for and found the lubrication, then slid a slippery finger down to find the prize in the familiar and willing buttocks. His partner parted his legs further as Xander felt himself breached and waited.

“What do you need Childe?”

“I need… Please Sire… my Love… my partner in all things … Please!! Take me… I’m…. yours… all of me, Sire…. Please… !!” Spike pressed forward, blunt head burying itself in his Childe and lover, to the hilt. The resulting jolt of love through the link was so very strong that Spike barely had time for two thrusts before he came… in what, he would later argue, was the most powerful orgasm of his unlife. Xander came simultaneously with his Sire sinking his fangs into his Mate’s neck. Despite his recent feeding, Xander acted on instinct and reciprocated, completing the ritual, as Spike intoned the vampire mating words sealing their partnership for all time.

The babies were still sleeping as Sire and Childe, now vampire Mates, lay recovering, limbs intertwined, sated and quiet. The newly made Mate link was superimposed over that of Sire and Childe.

“It’s so strange… I can feel you… Spike… Sire… It’s like I can….” Xander was hit by such a wave of love and devotion that he was only able to give a whispered, “Ohh…. Sire”, before an open wrist was offered. His game face was instantly in place as he reciprocated, and the two latched on in another circle of blood exchange.

Spike knew his ‘fledgling’ would be no ordinary vampire. Ensouled and fed from the beginning with Master’s blood, the magicks flowing from the beautiful creature were so strong that even the Sire, now Mate, felt it.

After so much torture, so much hate and starvation, so much loss… the fates had handed William the Bloody an equal, a mate… and living children… something he had wanted even as a mortal… In full game face, then again in his human guise, he thanked whichever deity was listening for … everything... and, as his Mate and children slept, sent a prayer begging to keep all his loved ones safe… He hoped someone heard him.

………….

They both woke to two tiny babies crying.

The vampires found a stash of gauze and toweling nappies already folded ready for newborns at the side of the cot. Before either of them had time to think clearly, the name ‘Eddie’! came to mind. The thoughtful parent of three, knew the hassles… and Xander suddenly realized just how much the young demon had borne alone… even with Jon by his side. Eddie had three children and through all their adversity had seemed to cope effortlessly. Xander now suspected that it had been anything *but* effortless, and loved his dear ‘brother’ even more.

Xander changed the nasty nappies… the dark nature of their excretions expected as the newborns gradually adapted to their new feeding regime.

Xander realized in that moment, that his own need to ‘relieve himself’ had disappeared along with his humanity. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that…. But if getting up to pee in the middle of the night was no longer necessary, then it was hardly a concern. His need, or otherwise, to breathe was even more odd… Spike was off heating blood so he played with holding his breath…. But it meant …. Nothing! He wondered how it would feel to swim now… odd thought.

As Xander deposited the strange smelling nappies and now soiled wet hand towel in the bucket provided, he pondered a more difficult question, where did the ‘by products’ go after a preternatural body had consumed blood… or whatever…?

His Sire would obviously know and he resolved to ask Spike at some point as he carefully stroked baby moisturizer onto the tiny figure, then fixed Elspeth’s nappy in place.

Spike had changed his charge, rose, and retrieved the bottles from the night before. As he wandered into the kitchen he whispered to Willow (and anyone listening) “Boy’s ready for a visit if you’re willin’.”

Willow had felt the jolt of magic and Spike’s aura confirmed it. The two were Mate bonded, the first Master and Childe for over two centuries. She worried that the ripple through the magical fabric would attract attention.. but suspected that this time, Gaia would be undisturbed... possibly even pleased if she was capable of emotion. Regardless, it was definitely good energy….

Willow wandered into the newborn’s room, the family bedroom, carrying the two warm bottles of formula Spike had handed her as he wandered outside for a well earned smoke.

She sat on the end of the bed and smiled weakly at her old friend… She had lost him, she had been too late, he was a vampire now, albeit with a soul courtesy of her, but a vampire nonetheless… She managed to say, “Hey Sweetie….” Before her thoughts caught up with her and tears cut off her words… she grabbed his hand…

Xander looked into the forlorn face of his long time friend. Despite her now white hair, she looked like the vulnerable teenager of Junior High School. It was not the visage of an all powerful wiccan… But she was a sister, a dear cousin, a protector of his children… He did not want her to grieve… she was the savior of his soul… yet all he could manage was, “Oh Wil, please don’t.”

It was too close to home. It was the same phrase as the day she had sat with her dear friend in the hospital after he lost his eye… and now… he was dead… turned… vampire… The wiccan priestess hugged her lifetime friend to her and she sobbed inconsolably. As she calmed however, she heard the quiet tenor voice of her treasured friend and felt a gentle stroking across her back, “It’s OK Will …. Really! You have given me … Oh god….dess! You have anchored my soul… and look…. Spike and I are together forever… and our lovely children…. And … Oh Willow… how can I?”

A large figure dropped beside his lover on the bed, collecting the bottles from Willow’s limp grip on the way through, “No need love! Witch knows she did good… Probably just upset I got to jump your undead bones first… ain’t that right Red…”

Willow looked up and laughed through her tears. She tugged at her long white locks, sniffed and said “Not Red anymore … not really… but…” She reached out to squeeze Spike’s hand. He reciprocated the touch.

The Sire handed a bottle to Xander with his free hand while fixing the wiccan with kind eyes and his trademark smirk, “Well, make yourself useful and hand us the little ‘uns!”

……………..

Later that night as the children and Eddie slept, Spike took his Childer for a run.

Xander smiled as Jon joined them.

Standing at the door of their room the other vampire seemed to have grown in stature. He was now the ‘older brother’, stronger, faster and coming up for two years of Spike being his adoptive Sire. His exuberance and excitement at Xander’s new status was rather lovely. Added to this his thrill at having new ‘nephew and niece’, and a true Mate for his Sire… essentially a whole new family. Jon’s jovial mood was utterly infectious. He stepped toward Xander and opened his wrist for his ‘little brother’ before they ventured out, then hugged him tight as he took but a mouthful of the reciprocally offered wrist. Familial blood flowed in both directions for just long enough that they both felt grounded.

As Jon finished licking the wound closed, he quietly added, “I love you little brother, so glad you are here.”

Xander wasn’t sure if it was appropriate that a newly borne vampire felt so emotional all the time, but when Spike pulled him into a tight hug, kissed him and whispered, “What’s wrong luv?” Xander let two blood tinged tears fall then sniffed and simply said, “Think I’m just too happy… or I’ve sprung a leak… or both.”

Spike kissed him soundly then pulled away, “Oh pet… what you need is a good run… get rid of some of that inner energy.”

As they left, Spike nodded at Willow who was happily ensconced in her chair once again, quietly watching the babies and reading while ‘her boys’ went for a run.

Xander had not been outside since his turning and Spike smiled as his Childe, his Mate, began to discover what compensations he had been given for a life without the sun. It was a clear night, the land lit by a three quarter moon.

The three vampires grinned at their lovely ‘protector’ Sam as they rounded the building. The ‘grandfather’ of their odd clan, was now sitting on the front porch smoking a clove cigarette as he spoke quietly to Daniel and Mikaela. Sam simply smiled, and waved his boys on, just as the parent might as the brothers take their younger sibling riding for the first time.

Samuel’s concern quickly shifted however. As Daniel watched the vampires disappear into the night, Sam heard the whispered, “Should have kept him safe… it’s my fault… should never…”

He reached out and took the young witch’s hand “No son…, you saved them from the storms when I couldn’t…. kept them safe and *gave* those boys their only chance at a family. And your lovely lady friend here…. ? You both have done so much for them… Life always throws curve balls, so now they have the night together, let’s rejoice with them.”


Xander sniffed the air and realized that his nose now differentiated the scents in quite an extraordinary fashion and that traces of the family scents were around too. He picked out Eddie’s quickly as they rounded the back of the building where the gardening tools were stored in an old shed, the sniffed and smelled Missy and Sam, and Sam’s clove cigarettes (though even a human nose might have done the latter as he could clearly see Sam sitting on the porch for his quiet evening smoke).

Spike and Jon stood silent as Xander discovered his hearing. Heart beats, rustling leaves as small night creatures went about their business, the shifting of a cow’s body somewhere in the paddock as she found a more comfortable sleeping position.

“Good God… Spike?! Jon?! This is what you have always…. you know… been able to sense? I mean I can see as clearly now as I used to in the day… still no depth perception but hey!... But the smell and the sounds… all the rest it’s *incredible*….”

“That it is luv, that it is… Now let’s give the fledge in you a bit of a run shall we.” Spike grinned at Jon and they both took off over a fence and up the hill at pace.

“Hey!” Xander felt his face change with the excitement of a chase and sped after them.


Sam watched the figures disappearing swiftly into the dark with such pride that Daniel squeezed his friend’s hand and simply said, “Thank you…” Mikaela smiled as her partner relaxed. Nothing she had said seemed to make an impact on Daniel’s guilt… but Sam’s vindication of all that had passed, and the happiness of the family generally, seemed to be the salve required.

Daniel smiled weakly but really did understand. He reached for Mikaela’s hand and squeezed it, “We’ll need to go home soon.”


Sam didn’t look up, “I know son, but give it another day. Your coven is safe for now and I'm sure our boy would like to see his friends after all the cuffuffle.”

Part Twenty-Five

The three rather exhausted vampires returned, some two and a half hours later, to find all the inhabitants of the house asleep. Instead the lovely Jon found himself the recipient of a firm hug and gave a rumbling purr before saying, “I have much to learn big brother… Hope you can be patient.” The older of the pair then disappeared to find his lovely partner.

Ten minutes later, Jon had tucked himself in beside his extraordinary Eddie and three gorgeous children…. Conceding that sometimes … even for an unsouled vampire….unlife was… good.

As Jon moved inside, Spike turned to look at his mate. The youngest vampire appeared too ‘buzzed’ for sleep just yet, so Spike pulled Xander down and they sat on the steps of the back porch hand in hand and silent for a time… just … slowing down.

Spike remembered the buzz… the fledgling energy… the amazing feeling of a new preternatural body. What Xander would never know however, was the cruelty of the Aurelian training, the savage whippings and vicious learning experiences that came with being a member of the Scourge of Europe’s household.

As they sat quietly, Spike wondered who Jon’s original sire had been. His adopted Childe was obviously mild mannered and kind to a fault. The dear vampire would not have survived in traditional vampire society. Happily that was not where they were, or who they were any more… so it was all… good… And both Xander and Spike’s acute hearing heard the cooing of three little children as their ‘father’ snuggled into the Parsalas nest.

They sat. It was easy and relaxed, and they both let feelings flow freely through the open link. Words were redundant.

In the process of his shift to vampire, Xander’s hormones had restored to his pre-pregnancy levels. Though he had been sporting tiny breasts prior to the babies’ delivery, there were none now. He hadn’t brought it up, but as they sat quietly and he slowly leaned against his Sire, Spike began to rub over the still, smooth chest. Spike noted that the turned physique of his partner was that of his Initiative ‘default’: virtually hairless, slim and a little ‘softer’ than the average male. And as they sat, Spike smelt the tears.

“What’s up luv?”

“I miss them moving… I know it sounds odd… but I miss them moving inside… it… um…” Another crimson tear fell. Apparently the run could not assuage all the worries. “It feels like I’ve lost them…”

“Oh you daft bugger. Come here.” Spike hauled his Childe into his lap and tore open his shirt, slashing flesh in the process to let his Mate feed again.

As Xander took the offering, Spike felt it. It was not just the loss of the babies inside that was bothering his partner. Spike felt genuine grief flowing through the link.

Xander had put up with his extra ‘bits’ for so many months, and when he was pregnant, they had a purpose, but now…. now when they were most needed, they had disappeared over the three days of his rising.

And now their babies had to be fed with bottles. And Xander had, not so strangely, been looking forward to feeding his babies… but now had to settle for bottles. Spike continued to feel ‘Failure’ and ‘Shame’ through the link so sent unadulterated adoration back in return. Eventually Xander calmed.

“It really doesn’t matter to you?”

“’Course not luv! ’S what the wet nurse was for in my day pet!” Xander gave a teary smile gasped “Ohhh”, then simply buried his full game face in his Sire’s neck and held on. There was no biting, simply comfort.


A rather red eyed Xander and tired Spike eventually relieved Willow of her vigil (and attempting to sleep in the tortuous ‘comfy chair’), and deposited the two tiny sleeping persons between them as they took to their big bed. The children would no doubt wake to feed in an hour or so… but that was an hour of hugging and rest to be had for the parents.

With the artificially warmed bed and their fathers’ bodies surrounding them, the tiny Elsbeth and Christopher slept on. Their fathers gratefully joined them in slumber.

…………………………………..

The beep from an old army pickup rang out from the front yard. It was not a vehicle they knew so had Eddie scurrying from the market garden to the rear of the barn. Three small people who had been ‘helping to dig’ and initially protested, were tugged forcibly to shelter by their panicked parent. The three children picked up on Eddie’s distress and immediately moved with their parents as fast as their tiny legs could carry them.

The three blue children were silent as they swiftly pushed through the barn’s rear hay trap. The tiny Willow, Sam and Jess cooed with relief as their rather ‘smokey’ Papa (Jon) joined them after sprinting the length of kthe sunlit yard under the protection of a heavy tarp.

“Is it??”

His partner whispered, “Not sure Ed… Just…” Desperate looks were exchanged as Jon took two of his lovely little ones into a warm hug, and the family moved further back in their planned emergency hiding place, deep toward the rear of what they knew to be last year’s hay bales.

The children were given bottles of cool chamomile tea, stowed for just such a purpose, and relaxed as their parents settled into the small space. The little ones had ‘practiced’ this a few times and knew that this place had to be for ‘quiet games’. It was late afternoon so in preference to play, the three tucked themselves in between the two larger bodies. All three tiny figures were spooned together, with Jess in the middle as was their habit, and took an early nap. In contrast the two adults held on tight to each other, wakeful and fearful. Jon listened, and Eddie worried.

Xander and Spike had been equally ‘caught’, though their escape was a little easier as the loose floorboards were lifted, Spike dropped into the cellar underneath and tiny people were passed down.

Daniel, Mikaela and Willow were still inside the house, but retreated to a couple of bedrooms as Sam answered the door.

Two rather buxom women, and a very thin man were lined up to greet him, as Sam pushed aside the fly wire screen.

The woman in the dark blue twin set, spoke first. “Good afternoon. We were just wondering if you’ve found Jesus.”

In his best southern accent Sam answered, “Oh dear lady, um, I’m sure he’s found *me* on occasion, though I do confess… as my Momma would put it, it jes don’t seem polite to discuss a fella’s religion with a bunch of strangers before ya break bread together! So…. Far be it from me ta be un neighborly… might I interest ya’ll in a cup of milky tea and one of my home made treacle cookies?”

The ‘speaker’ was quietly pleased. Their new neighbor was obviously a private man, but also polite, and though a ‘southerner’, seemed welcoming and friendly, unlike others that had previously resided on the property. All the treacle cookies were eaten, and Mavis had a fine time, though her friend (Enid? Sam did wonder later!) and the lad James… (or was it John?) barely said two words.

As the ex-army truck bounced back down the road, Mavis was exuberant. “Now see how easy it is to make contact?! He may not be in our church yet… but I can just feel it… he’s a prayerful man… and he has a sense of family… so let us all bless this place and the brother within.”

Sam wondered at their real agenda, and hoped that their report to the Initiative which he was sure they would make, (given the discussion of the ‘helping to eliminate the aberrations of nature’) was a positive one.

Sam had barely been able to take a breath before another beep announced a second set of visitors, this time in an ancient pickup much like his own beloved vehicle they had had to leave in Alabama. Two brethren and three sisters from the local Coven arrived together. The ‘visit’ from the local church was somewhat unexpected, but the rag tag bunch ensconced in an old pickup, were all the more unusual!

As they were invited in, however, it was Willow who felt their presence and the High Mistress stepped into the kitchen with Daniel and Mikaela flanking her. To Samuel’s amazement the newcomers all fell to their knees, heads bowed.

“Beloved Mistress Willow?! We had no idea?! We are honored! … And a Master … and a Healer… oh goddess we have not come prepared… We… we have no gifts!!! We are honored…. Honored…!!”

The High Mistress had not been given her title lightly. The most powerful ‘white witch’ on the planet, Sam watched as she pulled herself proudly to her ‘proper height’ before addressing the group. To be truthful, she had suspected that this would happen, after her ensoulment of Xander and the mating of the two ensouled vampires… But it was ‘of the good’. She, Daniel and Mikaela needed to be there to meet and support the local group. They had precious additions to their community and ones that would require protection.



Willow addressed the group at her feet, “Then please honor your role and bear with us, as we gather the esteemed members of this household. All deserve the protection of the covens, and none warranted the torture they have borne…”

Mikaela coaxed the two vampires and their newborns from their hiding place. Spike emerging with a babe in arms and his lovely Childe and now Mate, Xander behind him similarly encumbered. Eddie and Jon followed Daniel inside, the wiccan leading three beautiful little people, hand in hand, into the room under the cover of the full tarpaulin.

Sam who was normally utterly shy, held the floor for a moment, emboldened by the fact that he was still rather rattled by their previous visitors. His address was most formal. “I present to you the members of my family, *our* family. Use and abuse has been their experience, but all have only ever responded with loyalty to each other and honor for their fellow beings.

“Dear brothers and sisters you simply must do your best for them. If you are here to help us then that is good. If you are here out of curiosity alone then let it be satisfied. If you are here for other reasons then may you leave us be. We will not report your visit and we hope you will be sparing with reports of our coming. There is dire risk to the children if we are found!”

Xander hugged the tiny Christopher to his chest and noted that Eddie and Jon were already kneeling with their backs to the guest and their three pulled close in to the family unit. He was reminded of disturbing images of women in war zones desperately, futilely, trying to shield their children from bullets, using their own bodies. Thankfully, in this room, at this time… the shield was not really needed.

It was the youngest witch who spoke, “We mean you *no harm*. No harm! Oh…High Mistress!” She touched her forehead to her hands, “Esteemed Master Samuel...” she repeated the act in his direction, but seemed quite overwhelmed.

Their older compatriot continued, “We come *only* as fellow magical creatures…. there was such activity in the fabric here… We were so hopeful… We only came to… see…!! Please… we mean no harm! And to learn that you, High Mistress… that you have graced us with your presence… Oh … *such* an honor! And to have two of the most powerful of inner court… Master… Mistress … we never could have hoped… thank you …” Willow grasped her fellow wiccans by the hand and pulled them to their feet.

The dialogue in the following hours became increasingly more comfortable. Parents and children retired to bed and the witches chatted on. Tea was served, and by the time the local witches left, there were promises of protective wards and ongoing contact.

Willow was tired, Samuel exhausted, and Daniel and Mikaela just…. relieved. Willow went up to look for Xander. The witches would have to leave the following day and she had hoped to have time to talk. What she found was so profoundly moving that she decided to leave the discussion to the morning. Jon was spooning Eddie on one side of the bed and Spike held Xander in a similar position on the other. Between them were five little bodies in various positions, a tiny blue Willow with her arm protectively over her newborn cousins’ tummies. The family had been badly distressed. Their only comfort was each other. It should not be that way, but the world did not tolerate their kind at the moment…. She smiled sadly, and left them to sleep.


The following day, several vital decisions were made. Xander and Spike’s children would be registered. Elsbeth and Christopher were both human according to all the tests Daniel had run, though both were (it seemed) magically inclined, no doubt a legacy of Willow and Spike’s DNA. Their magical abilities would grow slowly, and with the kind help of their local coven, (and given their heritage) they would no doubt have a plethora of tutors.

One of the local wiccans was also a lawyer and most helpful. Willow filled in the papers submitting the records to indicate herself as the mother, relinquishing babies to her ‘estranged partner’s family’ and as grandfather of the two, Samuel, was specifically named guardian. Also in the documents was an indication that Samuel was to have exclusive custody as the mother was now ‘out of the country’.

The babies were formally named and their births registered. They were human. Eddie’s dear children were unable to have such a privilege, nor would any of the fathers… Nevertheless, Elsbeth and Christoper Maddren, were officially ‘on the planet’, and Samuel glowed with pride as he delivered the documents to the local magistrate’s office, the two babes sleeping in their car capsules. The magistrate’s secretary gushed and the ‘grandfather’ was congratulated as they sympathized with his plight as carer, several of the magistrate’s staff commenting on the state of American families when a elderly grandfather such as Samuel was left with tiny twins to care for.

As he returned home, the real parents gratefully relieved him of his burden and that evening a teary Willow, along with Daniel and Mikaela departed in a flash of light.

Next

Feed the Author