Echoes
by Rainne
Part Three
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Giles, Tara and Faith left for England three days later. Willow, on bed rest, was unable to see them off at the airport. Buffy closed the gym, calling all her students to let them know that she would reopen after the baby was born. They were all sympathetic and concerned - Willow was a fixture at the gym and they all knew her as well as they knew Buffy. The junior-high age class had thrown her a baby shower and several of the high schoolers had taken it in turns to come to the house and help out when Willow had been confined to bed the first time, after the near-miscarriage.
After seeing her three friends off at the airport, Buffy came home and curled up in bed next to her lover. Willow, who had been dozing, woke when Buffy pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Hey."
"Hey, back," Buffy murmured. "How you feeling?"
"Tired," Willow replied honestly. She bit her lower lip, then confessed, "And scared."
Buffy pulled Willow closer to her, murmuring soothing phrases in her ear and stroking her hair gently. She closed her eyes against the tears that wanted to fall, silently cursing her own helplessness and the knowledge that this was one peril she could not protect her love against. "Everything's gonna turn out fine, Wills," she said with more confidence than she actually felt. "You'll see. You'll have this baby, and we'll raise it, me and you and Giles. I'll teach it how to fight and you'll teach it to be a hacker and Giles'll teach it to talk all Britishy. It'll have your hair and Giles's eyes and both of your brains, and be so smart it graduates high school when it's twelve years old."
Willow laughed. "I suppose it'll grow up to be President."
Buffy recoiled at that thought. "Our kid, a politician? No way! Nope, our kid's gonna be a computer guru. The next Bill Gates, right here!" She patted Willow's belly gently, smiling at the fluttering kick from within.
Willow laughed and kissed Buffy thoroughly. "Have I told you how much I love you?"
"Hmm," Buffy grinned, pretending to contemplate the question. "Not recently."
"Well, then, let me rectify that little oversight. Buffy Summers, I love you with all my heart, more than I could ever express. I love you so much I sometimes feel like I'll explode if I can't touch you. You're my life."
Buffy blinked back tears. "Oh, God, Wills," she gasped. "I love you, too. Oh, God, I love you." She pulled the witch as tightly against her as she could, reveling in the softness of Willow's skin and the scent of raspberries in her hair. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Willow looked up at her suddenly. "Buffy, promise me something."
"Anything, babe, you know that."
Willow took a deep breath. "Promise me that if something happens to me, you won't let it destroy you."
"What?"
"Let me finish." Willow's face was urgent. "I need to know that if something happens... if I die... you'll go on. For the baby's sake."
The color by now had drained completely from Buffy's face. "Willow, nothing's gonna-"
"Promise me!" Willow repeated fiercely, her eyes blazing. "Buffy Anne Summers, you promise me this! I have to know that you'll be okay. Our baby's gonna need you!"
Tears by now were streaking down both women's faces. "Willow, I can't!" Buffy sobbed. "How could I, with my heart and soul gone?"
"I will always be with you," Willow whispered to her. "Always. But I have to know that you'll be able to pick up and carry on - for the baby. I have to know!"
The Slayer took a deep, shuddering breath. "Okay, Willow. For the baby. I... I promise."
Willow finally let out a sob. "Thank you, Buffy," she whispered, burying her face in the crook of the Slayer's shoulder. "Thank you."
They lay together, holding each other desperately for a long time, before Willow's breathing evened out as she finally fell back to sleep. But Buffy lay awake for a long time afterwards, listening to Willow breathe and sending out heartfelt pleas in her mind to whatever gods might be taking requests from Slayers that day. Please, God or whoever You are... if You're listening... please don't take her from me. I need her so much. She's my rock, my strength, my anchor... she's my life, my heart and soul. Please keep her safe, keep our baby safe. I've kept Your world safe for You; it seems like You could do this for me in return. Please? After a time, though, Buffy drifted off to sleep as well.
---
On their arrival in London, Giles, Faith and Tara were met by Dakota and two uniformed student teams. Dakota and Faith shared an enthusiastic embrace before Dakota returned to scanning the crowd. "Three new Potentials were on your flight," she informed Faith, "and three new Partner trainees come in, in about half an hour."
"Good grief!" Faith exclaimed.
"And I had a call yesterday from Eric Waters of the Louisiana CPS. He's got ten girls on a waiting list and wants to know when we're gonna start accepting boys."
Faith laughed. "Did you tell him on the twenty-first of never?"
Dakota grinned, then waved at a lost-looking teenage girl. "Hey! Are you Maggie Jackson?"
"Yes!" the girl replied, hurrying over, looking both nervous and relieved. "You must be Dakota Walsh." At Dakota's affirmative, the girl turned and waved at two girls who stood nearby. "Cara! Caitlin! Over here!" The others trotted over, and Maggie introduced them. "Cara Morgan, Caitlin Fore, Miss Walsh."
Greetings were exchanged and everyone was introduced to everyone else, and then one student team was dispatched to take the new arrivals to retrieve their luggage. The other team went with Dakota to meet the plane that was bringing in the three new Partner trainees.
When they all met up in the car park by the school van, Dakota strode up wearing a distinctly nervous look on her face. The student team with her looked amused. The three new Partner trainees trailing behind her looked excited - and identical. At the sight of three identical freckled faces with identical wide grins under identically unruly, carrot-orange hair, Giles couldn't hold back his grin.
"Everyone," Dakota announced, "allow me to introduce Austin, Dallas and Houston O'Brien, of Vulture Gap, Texas."
"Population three hundred sixty-nine," Austin-or-Dallas-or-Houston chimed in.
"Minus us three," Houston-or-Austin-or-Dallas added.
"Which makes three hundred sixty-six," concluded Dallas-or-Houston-or-Austin.
The ride back to the Academy was eventful, as the twelve-year-old triplets occupied themselves in the back seat of the van by singing "One Million Bottles of Beer on the Wall," "The Wheels on the Bus," and various songs they said they'd learned at summer camp. Some of these songs were obviously a child's version of bawdy pub songs. Giles, Tara and Faith, near the front of the van, were all struggling to maintain straight faces. They were undone, though, by the song that the three untrained but enthusiastic voices began to sing as they started down the long driveway toward the manor house.
"God bless my underwear / my only pair / stand beside it and guide it so it won't get a rip or a tear / through the washer to the dryer to the clothesline in the yard / God bless my underwear / my only pair / God bless my underwear / my only pair!"
Giles, Tara and Faith, exchanging glances all through the song, burst into hysterical laughter just as the perimeter guards rode down into the road to stop the van. The triplets, in the back seat, looked highly pleased with themselves. Dakota just rolled her eyes.
---
Dawn and Janna brought Chinese for supper three nights after Giles and Tara left for England. They also brought a new release DVD from the rental store, and they crowded into the master bedroom with Willow and Buffy to chow down on Chinese take-out and ridicule the movie. When it was over, though, conversation turned to serious topics.
Dawn ran a hand through her hair, which she'd recently had cut into a very attractive pageboy, and took a deep breath. "We've got something we need to talk to you about," she said finally. "I know you guys are gonna be okay with it, but we wanted to tell you before we told anyone else."
Buffy winked at Willow and grinned. "Are you gonna tell us you're together?"
Dawn gaped at her. "You knew?"
Janna chortled, elbowing Dawn and putting her palm out. "Pay up." When Dawn, with a scowl, handed Janna a ten-dollar bill, the young Slayer grinned widely at the older. "I told her you already knew."
Buffy laughed. "We had our suspicions," she admitted. "I think it's great."
"Me, too," Willow agreed with a smile.
Janna grinned some more. "It's funny. When I was here before, I remember meeting Dawn very briefly. I remember the impression that I got was loads of brown hair and these piercing blue eyes that haunted my dreams at night." She sighed dramatically, and Dawn guffawed.
"She's such a bullshit artist," the young Partner observed dryly.
Janna glared at her girlfriend. "I'm a poet, thank you very much." She cleared her throat, turning back to Willow and Buffy, who by now were both trying very hard to keep straight faces. "Anyway. Imagine my surprise when I got to the Academy to find Faith and Dakota both gone, discipline and morale going to hell in a handbasket, and a handful of new Slayers and Partners preparing to stage a coup. And this one here in the thick of it." She sighed and fluttered her eyelashes. "It was luuuuuurve."
Buffy and Willow both burst out laughing. Janna grinned triumphantly. Dawn simply rolled her eyes. "Whatever, babe," she said softly, her eyes radiating her love to her girl. "Whatever."
Willow smiled, watching her lover banter easily back and forth with Dawn and Janna, content to simply bask in the joy of family. She gently caressed her stomach, feeling the baby push back against her fingers. She winced slightly as a cramp took her belly, the sighed softly as it eased. She loved being pregnant, but she was very, very ready for this baby to be born. She snuggled back into her pillow, listening to her family tease and joke with each other, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Buffy watched Willow drift away and gently stroked her hair, then the three of them quietly gathered up the empty food containers and slipped downstairs.