Giles had wanted to take Fred out of the room during the night, but, they needed to stand there for Andrew's sake. He had saved Fred and the baby's life and Giles didn't know if he could ever repay the young man. And when morning came, and Andrew awoke for the last time, Giles felt his throat tighten.
"Goodbye, Andrew," he whispered as he reached over to close the young man's eyes. But, before he had the chance to, Andrew went into convulsions. They were strong enough to push Spike back so Giles quickly stood and pulled Fred to the other side of the room.
He watched in horror as Andrew's fell off the bed. Giles was about to move forward when Andrew stood, but it wasn't Andrew. It looked like Andrew but it wasn't him. Giles looked at the thing in front of him as it examined its hands and body.
"This will do."
"What in the bleedin' hell?" Spike said as he looked at the demon.
"Illyria," Giles hissed.
Illyria turned and looked at him. "A mere human dares to say my name?" it asked. "When I ruled the Earth, humans were nothing more then things for which I played with."
"Time's changed," Spike said as he lunged himself at Illyria. It quickly knocked him against the wall.
"Half-breed. Why is this shell attached to you?" It asked Spike.
"Fred," Giles said as turned to look at his wife. "I don't think you should be here right now."
Standing next to the door where Rupert had pulled her when Andrew had fallen off the bed, Fred stared in horror at what had happened to him. He was blue all over - his eyes, his hair, his neck, his hands. If she hadn't seen him moments before, she would have thought someone had spray-painted him, but she knew that this wasn't anything like that.
Andrew had been possessed by a demon. Fred felt her throat tighten painfully almost to the point where she couldn't breathe. That could have been her. That could have been her, but it wasn't. It was Andrew. Andrew was dead, and there was a demon using his body and voice.
When Illyria struck out at Spike, Fred found herself crying out and jumping forward, even though Rupert stayed in front of her. When he said her name and told her that she shouldn't be there, it suddenly turned, looking at her and tilting its head.
"I hear two heartbeats from within you, but you are not demon - I would smell it. You are in gestation. A human breeding. I murdered gestating females to keep your kind from polluting the earth," it said, taking several steps forward.
Gasping, Fred stepped back, her hand covering her abdomen to protect her daughter. She reached behind her for the door and opened it, looking at Rupert, reaching out to him, not wanting to leave him behind. When Illyria took another step, however, she practically jumped out to the room. As the door closed behind her, she collapsed against the wall on the other side of the hallway, holding her stomach and crying.
When Illyria started to advance on Fred, Giles quickly stepped in front of his wife again. The demon before him wasn’t going to touch his wife or unborn child. Fred suddenly got out of the room and Giles looked over at Spike.
“I got this, mate. Get Fred out of the building,” the vampire said.
Giles wasn’t about to question Spike’s motives. All he cared about at the moment was getting Fred out of there. “Ring me if anything happens,” he said before stepping out of room. Fred was against the wall, crying, and he quickly went over to her. “It’s all right, love. I’m getting us out of here. Spike’s taking care of Andre-Illyria.”
He led her out of the building, making sure to avoid Gunn and Angel. When they got to the rental car, Giles helped his wife in and then drove off. He needed to be as far away from the firm as possible at the moment. He didn’t know how safe they were going to be.
Finally, Giles found a small motel on the outskirts of town and decided to stay there. After parking the car, he glanced at his wife. “Are you feeling all right? We should probably get you some food since you haven’t ate since before we landed last night.”
When Fred felt hands on her, she almost jumped right out of her skin until she heard her husband's voice and realized that it was him touching her. Turning into his arms, she grabbed onto him tightly, letting him get her out of there. She never wanted to see this place again - not only had it taken Angel and Charles and changed them, but it had also taken Andrew. Dear Andrew.
She sat in the car, her eyes closed as she tried to keep herself from getting sick as everything ran over and over in her mind. Remembering how that...thing had said in Andrew's voice, even though it was somewhat different, that it killed pregnant women chilled her to bone.
When the car stopped, she opened her eyes, looking over at Rupert and taking a deep breath. "I'm...I'm shakey," she admitted. "When that thing said it killed pregnant humans, all I could think of was getting out of there, protecting our daughter. All of the sudden, I didn't care that it was in Andrew. I wanted...wanted someone to kill it before it could kill her." She ran her hand over the swell of her stomach. "Andrew would never...he would have hated..."
She reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "We have to let the others know what happened. They're going to think we'll be coming back with them, and when we show back up with him, they're going to ask what happened, so they should know before we get there."
When Fred said they needed to call the others, Giles nodded. “We will, love, but first you need to eat something. You haven’t ate since we were on the plane and that’s not healthy, regardless of being pregnant or not.” He glanced out the side window and saw a fast food place across the way. “I’ll get you something to eat and then we’ll ring the others.”
Getting out of the car, Giles went to the other side and helped his wife out. They went inside the office and while they were waiting for the man to register them, Giles softly rubbed Fred’s stomach to settle her down. When they went to their room, he told Fred to securely lock the door behind him while he went over to get her something to eat.
Giles started to jog over there but stopped when he was hit by a sudden dizzy spell. It seemed his wife wasn’t the only one who needed food and sleep.
After getting the food, he brought it back and slipped back into the room with the key. He sat the bag and sodas down on the table and took the food out of the bag. “You don’t have to eat it all, but please try to eat some. You’re looking a bit peaked and I don’t want you getting sick too,” he said as he helped her sit down before sitting across from her. He popped some French fries in his mouth and looked over to make sure she was eating.
While Rupert rubbed her stomach, Fred leaned against him, feeling herself finally beginning to settle down. She still felt a hole in heart from Andrew's death, but the tightness in her throat was finally beginning to loosen. She was thankful her husband was there and knew her so well.
After they got to their room, she nodded when he told her to lock the door and, once he was gone, did as he asked. She then walked to the sink right outside the bathroom at the back of the room and turned on the faucet, splashing water on her face. She felt tired and dizzy and wanted to sleep for a week, but she knew that they couldn't. There was still so much to deal with.
Straightening up, she ran her hand over her stomach, following the curve. "You're gonna know all about Andrew when you're old enough," she told the baby softly. "He was a good guy."
Andrew. Andrea? Andi? She thought about it. "Andi? What do you think about that as a name?" she asked softly.
When Rupert came back in, she crossed over to the table and sat down with his help, taking out a burger and one of the containers of fries. The food made her feel a bit sick when she smelled it, but she forced herself to eat, knowing that he was right. And as she ate, she found herself feeling a little better. She knew it would take a while before she felt anywhere near all right again, but the food did help at least physically.
"I was thinking while you were gone," she said softly, looking over at him. "I want to name the baby after Andrew in some way. Have Andrea in her name, call her Andi. After what he did for us...it's because of him that she's even still going to be born."
Giles was finishing up his French fries, surprised at how hungry he really was, when Fred mentioned naming their daughter after Andrew. His throat tightened at the thought, and he suddenly realized that Andrew was gone. No longer would the younger man be there to keep him company while he was researching, or to tell him some corny joke.
"That, um, that sound lovely, Fred," he pushed out, his voice filled with emotion.
He should've went with them, instead of going with Gunn. If he would've been there, then Knox would've backed off and left Fred alone, and Andrew would still be alive. But, he wasn't. He was gone.
Looking over at Fred, the tightening become worse. He couldn't lost his wife and daughter too. He was reminded of the fear he'd felt when Ethan had taken her. Standing, he went over to her and help her stand up. He led her over to the bed and laid her down before sliding in beside her.
Giles pulled her closer and buried his face against her hair. "I could've lost the both of you, Fred," he whispered as tears slid down his cheeks.
Fred smiled wanly when Rupert agreed with her idea that they name the baby after Andrew in some way. She wanted to remember him in that way, having something that carried on his name when he couldn't.
When her husband stood up and walked over to help her up, she took his hand tightly in hers, leaning against him as he took her over to the bed. Once she was settled and he had slipped in beside her, she pressed against him, closing her eyes. Images from the night before played in her mind, reminding her how close it had been.
"I know," she whispered, trying to keep her voice from cracking. Reaching up, she rubbed her thumb gently across his cheek, wanting to wipe away his pain as well as his tears. "I'm still here, though. We're both still here."
Shifting slightly, she looked up at him for a moment before leaning up to kiss each of his tear tracks. Then she looked into his eyes and kissed him gently on the lips.
"I love you, Rupert," she told him softly. "I won't let anything separate us, ever. I promise."
Being there with Fred was all Giles wanted at the moment. He knew they needed to figure out what to do with Illyria, but he didn't want to be bothered by it. He wanted to remember Andrew for who he was, and for what he'd done. He didn't want to look at Illyria and see pieces of the young man who had saved his wife and unborn daughter. "I know, love," he murmured as his hand laid on her pregnant stomach.
Giles knew they needed to call the others and tell them what had happened. He didn't want to though, hoping maybe all of this had been some awful dream. With a weary sigh, he reached down and took his mobile out of his trouser pocket. "Perhaps I should ring Xander, and you can ring Willow. I'm rather sure Xander's not going to take it well. Andrew and him were close," he quietly said before slipping off the bed. If they did this now, then they could rest for the rest of the night.
Walking over to the other side of the room, he sat down at the desk and dialed Xander's number. He wasn't surprised when Martin answered. After asking to speak with Xander, Giles gripped the phone and waited.
"Hey. What's up Giles?"
"It's about Andrew. He...he's gone Xander. Knox tried to infect Fred with Illyria but Andrew saved her and got infected instead. He passed away this morning and he's now Illyria," Giles quietly said.
"Oh, god. D-Did...what's going to happen now?" Xander asked.
"Spike is taking care of it at the moment. Right now Fred and I are resting and we'll go from there and come home."
"Does Willow know?"
"Fred's going to call her," Giles said.
There was a long pause and Xander cleared his throat. "I-I should go," he said, his voice cracking.
Fred rested her hand over Rupert's on her stomach, looking at him for a moment before he got out his phone. When he suggested that she call Willow while he spoke to Xander, she nodded. For a moment, she watched him as he rolled off the bed, biting her lip before reaching for her own phone. She stared at it for a moment, then dialed Willow's home number.
"Hey, what's up? Did you find the sarcaphogus? When are you guys coming back?"
Swallowing, Fred looked up at the ceiling and covered her stomach with her hand. She could hear her husband speaking to Xander in hushed tones, telling him what had happened, so she just told Willow the same, explaining that they had found the sarcaphogus and what Knox had tried to do and what Andrew had done to save her and the baby.
Fred nodded even though her friend couldn't see her, feeling her throat tightening painfully. "We're not sure what we're going to do. Spike's dealing with him...it now."
"I can't believe he's...gone. Andrew. Who's going to make bad Star Trek jokes and bug me about my reports for Giles?"
"I know," Fred said, tears coming to her eyes again.
"I...I need to tell Charlotte. She's at the Council at the moment. I need to have her come home and tell her. She should know. And Xander..."
"Rupert's talking to him now."
"I should call him then. I'll...talk to you later?"
"We'll call you when we get home."
"Okay." Willow paused for a moment. "Fred...I'm glad you're okay. You and the baby."
"Thanks, Willow. I just wish Andrew was too."
"Bye, Fred."
"Bye." Hanging up the phone, she looked over at Rupert. "Willow's going to tell Charlotte and call Xander to make sure he's all right, I think." She held her arms open to him, needing to hold her husband again.
While he was waiting for Fred to finish her call, Giles rang Spike and spoke to him for a few moments. The vampire told him Illyria had agreed to allow Spike to guide it. It was the best they could do because Giles knew there was no possible way he'd take Illyria back to England, even if it did look like Andrew. He told Spike he would call as soon as they got back to England and then rang off.
"Good," he said with a nod. "I just spoke to Spike and he said Illyria is responding to him so I'm going to leave it here. If the Council were to get a hold of Illyria...well, I don't want to think about the sort of destruction they would do."
When he saw Fred holding her arms out, Giles went over to her and gathered her into his arms. "It's going to be all right, love," he whispered as his hand laid on her stomach. "We're going home tomorrow. I'm going to get tickets and we're leaving and we aren't ever coming back here again because..."
He suddenly stopped talking when he felt a fluttering under his hand. "Was that...is that the baby?" Giles asked as he looked at his wife.
"Goodbye, Andrew," he whispered as he reached over to close the young man's eyes. But, before he had the chance to, Andrew went into convulsions. They were strong enough to push Spike back so Giles quickly stood and pulled Fred to the other side of the room.
He watched in horror as Andrew's fell off the bed. Giles was about to move forward when Andrew stood, but it wasn't Andrew. It looked like Andrew but it wasn't him. Giles looked at the thing in front of him as it examined its hands and body.
"This will do."
"What in the bleedin' hell?" Spike said as he looked at the demon.
"Illyria," Giles hissed.
Illyria turned and looked at him. "A mere human dares to say my name?" it asked. "When I ruled the Earth, humans were nothing more then things for which I played with."
"Time's changed," Spike said as he lunged himself at Illyria. It quickly knocked him against the wall.
"Half-breed. Why is this shell attached to you?" It asked Spike.
"Fred," Giles said as turned to look at his wife. "I don't think you should be here right now."
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Standing next to the door where Rupert had pulled her when Andrew had fallen off the bed, Fred stared in horror at what had happened to him. He was blue all over - his eyes, his hair, his neck, his hands. If she hadn't seen him moments before, she would have thought someone had spray-painted him, but she knew that this wasn't anything like that.
Andrew had been possessed by a demon. Fred felt her throat tighten painfully almost to the point where she couldn't breathe. That could have been her. That could have been her, but it wasn't. It was Andrew. Andrew was dead, and there was a demon using his body and voice.
When Illyria struck out at Spike, Fred found herself crying out and jumping forward, even though Rupert stayed in front of her. When he said her name and told her that she shouldn't be there, it suddenly turned, looking at her and tilting its head.
"I hear two heartbeats from within you, but you are not demon - I would smell it. You are in gestation. A human breeding. I murdered gestating females to keep your kind from polluting the earth," it said, taking several steps forward.
Gasping, Fred stepped back, her hand covering her abdomen to protect her daughter. She reached behind her for the door and opened it, looking at Rupert, reaching out to him, not wanting to leave him behind. When Illyria took another step, however, she practically jumped out to the room. As the door closed behind her, she collapsed against the wall on the other side of the hallway, holding her stomach and crying.
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“I got this, mate. Get Fred out of the building,” the vampire said.
Giles wasn’t about to question Spike’s motives. All he cared about at the moment was getting Fred out of there. “Ring me if anything happens,” he said before stepping out of room. Fred was against the wall, crying, and he quickly went over to her. “It’s all right, love. I’m getting us out of here. Spike’s taking care of Andre-Illyria.”
He led her out of the building, making sure to avoid Gunn and Angel. When they got to the rental car, Giles helped his wife in and then drove off. He needed to be as far away from the firm as possible at the moment. He didn’t know how safe they were going to be.
Finally, Giles found a small motel on the outskirts of town and decided to stay there. After parking the car, he glanced at his wife. “Are you feeling all right? We should probably get you some food since you haven’t ate since before we landed last night.”
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She sat in the car, her eyes closed as she tried to keep herself from getting sick as everything ran over and over in her mind. Remembering how that...thing had said in Andrew's voice, even though it was somewhat different, that it killed pregnant women chilled her to bone.
When the car stopped, she opened her eyes, looking over at Rupert and taking a deep breath. "I'm...I'm shakey," she admitted. "When that thing said it killed pregnant humans, all I could think of was getting out of there, protecting our daughter. All of the sudden, I didn't care that it was in Andrew. I wanted...wanted someone to kill it before it could kill her." She ran her hand over the swell of her stomach. "Andrew would never...he would have hated..."
She reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "We have to let the others know what happened. They're going to think we'll be coming back with them, and when we show back up with him, they're going to ask what happened, so they should know before we get there."
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Getting out of the car, Giles went to the other side and helped his wife out. They went inside the office and while they were waiting for the man to register them, Giles softly rubbed Fred’s stomach to settle her down. When they went to their room, he told Fred to securely lock the door behind him while he went over to get her something to eat.
Giles started to jog over there but stopped when he was hit by a sudden dizzy spell. It seemed his wife wasn’t the only one who needed food and sleep.
After getting the food, he brought it back and slipped back into the room with the key. He sat the bag and sodas down on the table and took the food out of the bag. “You don’t have to eat it all, but please try to eat some. You’re looking a bit peaked and I don’t want you getting sick too,” he said as he helped her sit down before sitting across from her. He popped some French fries in his mouth and looked over to make sure she was eating.
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After they got to their room, she nodded when he told her to lock the door and, once he was gone, did as he asked. She then walked to the sink right outside the bathroom at the back of the room and turned on the faucet, splashing water on her face. She felt tired and dizzy and wanted to sleep for a week, but she knew that they couldn't. There was still so much to deal with.
Straightening up, she ran her hand over her stomach, following the curve. "You're gonna know all about Andrew when you're old enough," she told the baby softly. "He was a good guy."
Andrew. Andrea? Andi? She thought about it. "Andi? What do you think about that as a name?" she asked softly.
When Rupert came back in, she crossed over to the table and sat down with his help, taking out a burger and one of the containers of fries. The food made her feel a bit sick when she smelled it, but she forced herself to eat, knowing that he was right. And as she ate, she found herself feeling a little better. She knew it would take a while before she felt anywhere near all right again, but the food did help at least physically.
"I was thinking while you were gone," she said softly, looking over at him. "I want to name the baby after Andrew in some way. Have Andrea in her name, call her Andi. After what he did for us...it's because of him that she's even still going to be born."
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"That, um, that sound lovely, Fred," he pushed out, his voice filled with emotion.
He should've went with them, instead of going with Gunn. If he would've been there, then Knox would've backed off and left Fred alone, and Andrew would still be alive. But, he wasn't. He was gone.
Looking over at Fred, the tightening become worse. He couldn't lost his wife and daughter too. He was reminded of the fear he'd felt when Ethan had taken her. Standing, he went over to her and help her stand up. He led her over to the bed and laid her down before sliding in beside her.
Giles pulled her closer and buried his face against her hair. "I could've lost the both of you, Fred," he whispered as tears slid down his cheeks.
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When her husband stood up and walked over to help her up, she took his hand tightly in hers, leaning against him as he took her over to the bed. Once she was settled and he had slipped in beside her, she pressed against him, closing her eyes. Images from the night before played in her mind, reminding her how close it had been.
"I know," she whispered, trying to keep her voice from cracking. Reaching up, she rubbed her thumb gently across his cheek, wanting to wipe away his pain as well as his tears. "I'm still here, though. We're both still here."
Shifting slightly, she looked up at him for a moment before leaning up to kiss each of his tear tracks. Then she looked into his eyes and kissed him gently on the lips.
"I love you, Rupert," she told him softly. "I won't let anything separate us, ever. I promise."
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Being there with Fred was all Giles wanted at the moment. He knew they needed to figure out what to do with Illyria, but he didn't want to be bothered by it. He wanted to remember Andrew for who he was, and for what he'd done. He didn't want to look at Illyria and see pieces of the young man who had saved his wife and unborn daughter. "I know, love," he murmured as his hand laid on her pregnant stomach.
Giles knew they needed to call the others and tell them what had happened. He didn't want to though, hoping maybe all of this had been some awful dream. With a weary sigh, he reached down and took his mobile out of his trouser pocket. "Perhaps I should ring Xander, and you can ring Willow. I'm rather sure Xander's not going to take it well. Andrew and him were close," he quietly said before slipping off the bed. If they did this now, then they could rest for the rest of the night.
Walking over to the other side of the room, he sat down at the desk and dialed Xander's number. He wasn't surprised when Martin answered. After asking to speak with Xander, Giles gripped the phone and waited.
"Hey. What's up Giles?"
"It's about Andrew. He...he's gone Xander. Knox tried to infect Fred with Illyria but Andrew saved her and got infected instead. He passed away this morning and he's now Illyria," Giles quietly said.
"Oh, god. D-Did...what's going to happen now?" Xander asked.
"Spike is taking care of it at the moment. Right now Fred and I are resting and we'll go from there and come home."
"Does Willow know?"
"Fred's going to call her," Giles said.
There was a long pause and Xander cleared his throat. "I-I should go," he said, his voice cracking.
"Night, Xander," Giles said before ringing off.
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"Hello? Rosenberg-Moore residence," Willow answered.
"Willow? It's Fred," she said softly.
"Hey, what's up? Did you find the sarcaphogus? When are you guys coming back?"
Swallowing, Fred looked up at the ceiling and covered her stomach with her hand. She could hear her husband speaking to Xander in hushed tones, telling him what had happened, so she just told Willow the same, explaining that they had found the sarcaphogus and what Knox had tried to do and what Andrew had done to save her and the baby.
"Oh, Goddess," Willow breathed out. "He's...Illyria...?"
Fred nodded even though her friend couldn't see her, feeling her throat tightening painfully. "We're not sure what we're going to do. Spike's dealing with him...it now."
"I can't believe he's...gone. Andrew. Who's going to make bad Star Trek jokes and bug me about my reports for Giles?"
"I know," Fred said, tears coming to her eyes again.
"I...I need to tell Charlotte. She's at the Council at the moment. I need to have her come home and tell her. She should know. And Xander..."
"Rupert's talking to him now."
"I should call him then. I'll...talk to you later?"
"We'll call you when we get home."
"Okay." Willow paused for a moment. "Fred...I'm glad you're okay. You and the baby."
"Thanks, Willow. I just wish Andrew was too."
"Bye, Fred."
"Bye." Hanging up the phone, she looked over at Rupert. "Willow's going to tell Charlotte and call Xander to make sure he's all right, I think." She held her arms open to him, needing to hold her husband again.
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"Good," he said with a nod. "I just spoke to Spike and he said Illyria is responding to him so I'm going to leave it here. If the Council were to get a hold of Illyria...well, I don't want to think about the sort of destruction they would do."
When he saw Fred holding her arms out, Giles went over to her and gathered her into his arms. "It's going to be all right, love," he whispered as his hand laid on her stomach. "We're going home tomorrow. I'm going to get tickets and we're leaving and we aren't ever coming back here again because..."
He suddenly stopped talking when he felt a fluttering under his hand. "Was that...is that the baby?" Giles asked as he looked at his wife.
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