RP LOG with gr8muppetyodin | Start spreading the news
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Rory was sort of hovering in that space of being half awake and half asleep all at the same time. It had been a crappy day. Now that he wasn't unconscious and wasn't drugged up to the eyeballs on painkillers, he was constantly aware of the pain. It wasn't as bad as when he first woke up, but it was still there. He also just didn't feel well in general, and discovered that having a puke with broken ribs was an absolute bitch. It zapped his energy, and now he was left feeling like he really didn't want to move again for at least a week. Breakfast had been the mistake. Apparently there were cooks in the kitchen here for when humans needed food. It was still surreal to think about, but the food was top class and high quality. It seemed like a good idea at the time to eat the whole thing, but having gone so long without a proper meal, it just wasn't happening. Being out of the druggy haze, he was aware now, too, just how injured he had been. He really did need to take a bit of time to recuperate, and there was no just getting back on the horse and returning to normal.
Could he even actually return to normal after everything?
He was lying propped up on the bed, and Airlie was sitting close beside him, softly stroking her fingers through his hair as he dozed on and off. The nurse had come, stuffed a thermometer in his mouth, checked his blood pressure (ironic for a Kindred medical professional, as far as Rory was concerned) and then prescribed him some antibiotics just to be on the same side. He interrogated her about his recovery, asking her if he would ever be the same if, hypothetically, this wasn't the first time he had been drained like this. She reminded him it wasn't the first time anyway. He had been drained twice in a very short space of time this time. Rory had almost forgotten, with Blaise's power very much overpowering everything else. She did tell him that he was weak, though, and he just had to be taking it easy... then went on to politely suggest his remaining in Paris for the moment really wasn't a bad thing. Blaise would ensure he would be taken care of and have all the healthcare he needed. Maybe she had a point. It was definitely food for thought, anyway.
Now he was just resting, as ordered. Airlie had come awhile ago and had stayed when she realised he wasn't feeling well. Everything was so opulent, and Rory had to admit he was enjoying being pampered like this, even if he felt like shite. Everything was so expensive and top quality. Hell, even the bowl the nurse gave him in case he felt sick again was silver. Actual silver, and now sitting beside Airlie's leg just in case. It was nice having her here. He didn't really want to be on his own. Even if he wouldn't verbally admit it, he was a little scared in the wake of this whole thing. One didn't get attacked like that without lingering feelings of fear. It was a relief knowing he was protected within Blaise's home. But what would happen after that, when the drain wore off and Blaise had no hold over him anymore?
He opened his eyes when there was a knock on his guest room door and felt Airlie bristle protectively beside him. His hand had been resting on her thigh, so he gave it a soft, reassuring squeeze. "It's okay, sweetheart," he promised and then looked over to the door. "I'm ninety percent naked, but you can come in," he told the visitor. He had even given up on getting dressed today, sticking with just a pair of blue silk boxers.
Buffy slowly opened the door to Rory's room, and sucked in a nervous breath when she saw Airlie was there. It was stupid to just assume Rory was alone but it would have been easier that way. After a moment she gave them both a small smile. "I bet you just say that to all the girls. I didn't mean to, um, crash the whole, ah..." she waved her hand helplessly between Airlie and Rory before she tucked her hair behind her ears, "... visiting thing... I, um, I was hoping to talk to Rory alone. If that's okay, but I can come back. I probably should come back."
Ever since Rory had gotten out of that hospital facility, Airlie had trouble trusting anyone close with him. Blaise was the only one, because he had Rory protected. It was a natural reaction inside her, and she had spent most of the day at Rory's side making sure he was okay. There was still an uncertainty about Buffy, and Airlie's green eyes looked the other woman over briefly before she reluctantly shifted to press a kiss to Rory's head. "You tell the nurse if you arenae feeling good again. Nay more of the Superman complex. It isnae sexy," she chastised him and then moved to leave. She would probably come back as soon as she knew Buffy was gone, but she couldn't help it. It was her inner instincts kicking in, like part of an animal pack or something. Rory was one of her own and she would probably literally kill for him.
Rory watched Airlie go and then looked back to Buffy. "How have you pissed him off now?" he asked in amusement.
"I'm pregnant," she blurted out in answer as soon as the she was sure Airlie might at least be out of super-hearing distance. She couldn't blame the Kindred for wanting to keep watch over Rory, but Buffy really did just need to discuss the latest surprise with Rory alone. She stayed hovering by the door, watching Rory for some sort of reaction as she tried to think of what else she should say. She had wanted to lead up to it, but apparently that wasn't what her mouth wanted. "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant. Blaise went all wolfy and sniffed it out on me. He's like this weird pregnancy test."
Rory just blinked at her in response. He was sure he heard wrong, because he certainly didn't want to be hearing what she was saying. His already upset stomach felt like it clenched uncomfortably and a small frown appeared on his face. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" he asked her quietly.
"I am really hoping for yes, but I don't think Blaise's sense of humour is really that twisted," Buffy offered with a wry twist of her lips. "I'm beyond late, and apparently I smell like I have infant on me. Kindred are never wrong about this sort of thing according to Riley."
Rory wet his lips and cleared his throat in an effort to not let the churning in his stomach turn to nausea again. "Nay, they arenae. It's nay like they're working on gut instinct..." He shook his head slightly. "What's all this got to do with me? Shouldnae you be talking it oot with Blaise?"
Buffy raised her eyebrows a little. "Not really? Not until I talk to you. Blaise can't exactly be the father, can he? No sex, and no sperm. Unless he's genuinely Zeus, or God, then there's no immaculate conception going on. It's got to do with you because you and Riley were the only two guys I've slept with lately that have live sperm, and me and Riley used protection."
Rory's eyes narrowed a little as he connected the dots. "You told Riley first," he deduced. Great, now his head was hurting trying to figure it all out and he squinted a little before rubbing at his head. He was sure this whole situation couldn't get anymore worse than it was right now with this latest development. "A bairn? Into all of this? Seriously? That's... that's..." He shook his head in disbelief.
Buffy finally moved away from the door to sit in the chair Airlie had vacated and tucked her hands between her knees as she looked at Rory. "Yeah, I did. But I had to talk to someone about it, and all I could figure was that it had to be one of you two. But Riley was right. We were safe. You and me... I can't remember. We were drunk. I don't even know if it was in France, or Scotland. I mean, I'm starting to show and it would take longer than the amount of time we've been here for that to happen, but I need to see a doctor, but I can't do that until I talk to Blaise. And I can't talk to Blaise until I'm mostly sure about when I got pregnant. I don't think he's going to like it if I say there's two fathers and I have no idea which one is the real dad. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Rory. I don't know if a baby should be in this world or not, and there are all these decisions to suddenly make, and I just don't know what to do."
Rory gestured with his left hand, the thick Celtic wedding band he still wore looking extremely poignant right now. "We were safe in Scotland. I supplied the condom, I should know. Granted, I cannae mind that night here very much beyond the crappy hangover, but it seems reckless. Being in this whole... Kindred environment, it was full on and I needed a drink. What do you want me to say? I dinnae know how I am supposed to help here. I cannae even dress myself at the moment. You cannae just write it off as the other dude's. If you're saying it could be mine from back hame, it can just as easily be his. And I'm sorry, but nay. This isnae a world for a bairn! It's a bairn!"
Buffy nodded as she bit on her lip, taking in everything Rory was saying. "I know, I know. Okay? I do. But apparently no one wants this kid to be theirs. I'm in just as much shock! I never planned for a baby to be a part of my life. I never thought it would be possible. I don't know who's it is, I don't know when it got conceived. Like I said I need a doctor for that, but I'm... I just need... I don't know. I just had to tell you because I think it would be even less fair to just dump this on you at the last possible moment. There would have to be DNA tests, but I don't know when those can happen. If we have to wait for the baby to grow. But if no one wants the kid, then maybe I should just get rid of it."
Rory shot Buffy a look of annoyance. "You really are a fecking drama queen when you want to be," he muttered, resting his head back against the pillows. "You cannae just expect us to step up and say, hey aye, we all want it when there is a chance it isnae ours. You get too invested, then is sucks to hear it's someone else's. And just so we're down on all this, I dinnae support abortion in anyway, so you do that, and you're on your own. It's a bairn, and unless you're completely screwed up, they deserve a chance. Baby killing is obviously something I cannae abide by at all. But if you want to all mope for a mistake you made, and nay them, go ahead. But dinnae drag me into it."
Buffy threw her hands up in the air before she shot Rory her own look of annoyance. "Pretty sure I can't kill a baby either even if the general consensus is that I'm a killer. I just don't know how this is supposed to work. I don't know how I'm supposed to still try and be with Blaise when I'm carrying someone's kid. I don't know how a baby's supposed to be a part of this world, but kids have been a part of it. This is where the Masquerade kicks in, right? Emmeline maybe didn't know until she was older, but there was her boyfriend too. Um, the motorcycle dude. He and his Dad were friends of Blaise's. Maybe none of the kids start off a part of this place, but there's been a couple that have come here. Shit, I don't know, okay? I don't know. I just know that all of a sudden I'm pregnant."
"You were the one talking about killing bairns, nay me, so dinnae be getting up in my face aboot that," Rory warned quietly, the whole subject more than touchy for him as it was. "I dinnae know any of these people. I am here because of you. I know you're all intent on me falling madly in love with Juliette, but I dinnae even mind how that is going to happen anymore. Before, maybe. Maybe I could have had something with her, but now? Now I cannae even be sure I mind how to spell my own name. If this is the fourth time I have been drained, my brain could well be fucked. I dinnae know what a dude on a motorcycle has to do with bairns, and frankly I dinnae want to because my head hurts too much already. I dinnae even mind what or who an Emmeline is. To be honest, though, I can think of one or two more harder things in life than finding oot you're pregnant. Having a bairn is a blessing, but it means your world stops being yours and starts being theirs."
Buffy sat quietly as Rory's words sunk in. She knew she'd put her foot in it. His little daughter was dead, and she'd brought up abortion? She'd like to have chalked it up to hormones, but not every stupid thing she said was a result of being pregnant. "I haven't even mentioned Juliettte," she said quietly. "Not in the last five minutes. I wasn't going to because I know you can't fall madly in love with her. It would have been nice, but it's not about what I want for you, is it? It's about what you want for you. Can they do anything about your brain? I'm sorry, Rory. I didn't mean to be so stupid, or insensitive. I can't thank you enough for being here with me, even if I'm really regretting asking you to come right now. If you weren't in France, this wouldn't have happened."
"It's happened before, Buffy. No point getting a victim complex this time. No one can be sure this wouldnae have happened if I wasnae in France," Rory told her quietly. He had told Juliette, and Blaise would soon know. Rory was too much of a gentleman to have the conscience to leave Buffy in the dark. She had come to be a good friend to him, and he was pretty sure right now he needed all the friends around him he could get. At the end of the day, too, if nothing else, he wanted Juliette as his friend also... if she was even okay with that. "It's unlikely Airlie was my first direct encounter with Kindred. I knew about them before she was Embraced. It's why I was able to act so quickly when she was. I saved her life."
Buffy frowned a little as she watched his face and after a moment she reached out to take Rory's hand and squeezed it as gently as she could. "You were attacked before? Or you think... your wife?" Buffy asked as her green eyes narrowed slightly and she started to connect the dots.
"Take that concept just a wee bit further, and you might be on the right track," Rory mumbled and then rested his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes. Now that it was coming out, he didn't know how he was supposed to feel about it. He managed to keep himself indifferent once the initial shock wore off, but he never failed to wonder what happened to his baby daughter.
Buffy bit her lip in thought as she kept a hold of his hand, her gaze dropping briefly as she tried to work out what Rory was hinting at. After a moment it clicked into place and she felt her mouth hang open slightly as her eyes went wide. "No! Really? Well... fuck. What about your daughter, though? Surely she wasn't you-know-whatted as well?"
Rory just gave a small shake of his head. It was beyond fathomable and he was starting to feel sick again thinking about it. "She couldnae. She was too young. She wouldnae have survived. Kindred arenae babies. I dinnae mind what happened to her. It took me a long time to cope with any of it. I went from nay wanting to believe they were gone to believing they were murdered to being taught aboot Kindred and the possibility that was what happened to my wife. It just never explained my wee girl, and that's the hardest part of this whole thing. It's why I dinnae want to be controlled. I've been there, done that. I dinnae like it. Being fed on doesnae bring me the feelings it would to most. She may have tried to get me to join her in the past. I dinnae mind. There's a strong chance my memory was wiped of some things that went doon. Just like what Airlie did with Xander when she panicked, only a much larger period of time."
Buffy's frown really deepened as he said that. She didn't like anything that messed with memory. She'd been involved in one of Willow's spells gone wrong, all of the Scooby Gang wiped clean and suffering amnesia. It really wasn't fun. Even if there was a small part of her that believed being 'Joan' might have been easier. She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand slowly as she just sat there quietly for a long moment. Truth was she couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling. She used to have nightmares about becoming a vampire herself, but that wasn't the same as witnessing her mother or even Dawn become a vampire. And like everyone so loved to point out - the vampires she was used to dealing with weren't even close to Kindred. "But what Airlie did was an accident... What your wife might have done... It sounds intentional. And to memory wipe after that is just cruel. It leaves you with no real answers, but just horrible holes."
"We loved each other unconditionally, Buffy. We were each other's worlds for so long. When she was there, I could never fathom nay waking up next to her. If she was taken against her will, she wouldnae have just stopped loving me. I like to think that's what was ruling why she did it, but her conscience kicked in at the last minute. But I dinnae know. Now I'm wondering if she was taken by Brujah, and maybe her intentions werenae so innocent, but I cannae stop on that too long. It makes me feel physically sick. Fact is, though, I was seen by an old friend in Edinburgh with my wife... after her death. There isnae a whole lot that can explain that," Rory admitted and rubbed his fingers over his mouth. "She wouldnae have ever hurt me. Nay purposefully."
Buffy nodded slowly, taking Rory's word for that. It wasn't like she knew the wife, or had any real basis of comparison. She just couldn't fathom anyone hurting Rory that had loved him so much. But if she was a Childer like Airlie, then maybe it did explain things getting out of control. "Just seems too freaky. I know that's an understatement, but wow... I really can't blame you for not wanting to be controlled after something like that. Or to want to think on it. It's crazy."
Rory wet his lips and shifted gingerly on the bed to try and find a new comfortable position. "This is why Embracing against one's will is such a no-no. It's a domino effect. Princes exist to keep this shit at a minimum, but they arenae gods. Things still happen. And as screwed as it sounds, she's still my wife. I couldnae come to putting her to any harm, even if she harmed me. Shit happens. I can just keep at it, or let it kill me. I've come too far to let that happen."
"I really don't know anyone as strong as you, Rory. I know you probably don't feel like it right now, but you are. I'm always in awe of you. I just want you to be able to get back up after this knock, you know? I also know my news is hardly going to make you feel any better... I'll get the answers though, okay? Just forget about it for now." Buffy gave his hand a squeeze before she let go so she could pick up a glass of water left on his end table. "Do you want a drink? And you know if there's anything I can do for you, Rory, I'll do it."
Rory was trying to figure out how he felt about the fact Buffy was pregnant. Possibly with his child. Another baby. He always wondered about that. He never stopped feeling like a dad, even when he lost his daughter. He just wasn't sure he would have ever had it in him to replace her. Not that it would really be replacing her, but he couldn't help feel a little like it was. He realised he had fallen silent and he shot Buffy an apologetic look. "Aye, a drink. Cheers," he murmured. "I couldnae take getting too close, only to realise it isnae mine, Buffy. I know that sounds heartless, and cold. It's just the only survival tactic I know with this right now."
Buffy offered him the glass before she just gave a small shake of her head. "Rory, it's okay. I get it. If I was a guy I'd be wanting the same thing. I wouldn't expect any less. I just want to be able to give you the answers. I have to talk to Blaise first, and I'm still kind of close to peeing my panties over that. I can't help it. You just focus on healing."
"It's nay like he doesnae already know," Rory reasoned, clearing his throat before he took a small sip of the water. He also knew there was the issue of Logan and he still had no idea what to do about that, or the fact he was apparently fucking another Kindred. Suddenly, Rory's quiet simple life felt surrounded by creatures of the night. "Hardest part is over, really."
"Oh, I don't know. I guess we'll soon see, huh?" Buffy touched a hand to her no longer flat stomach and let out a sigh. Truth was she was pretty sure the hardest part was going to be hearing Blaise tell her that he really was no longer interested. That this was the point at which he was going to choose to walk away. "Can I just hide under your bed for a little while, maybe?"
Rory scrunched up his face with a small, sharp exhalation as he reached to put the water back down. "Between Juliette outside my door and you under my bed, it's enough to give a lad a deep paranoia complex. Cannae even puke without setting off some sort of psychic signal that has nurses and assistants swooping in on me. Followed by Airlie. I feel like there must be wee cameras in here watching me or something. Still think it's weird this place has cooks."
Buffy stifled a giggle as she listened to Rory before she just shrugged. "Or your just that scrumptious and all this fawning over Blaise is really just a cover, and I'm trying to steal you for myself. Personally, I'm a little glad I haven't been sick here. No offence. I'm also more than a little paranoid about the fact that every Kindred must be sensing the whole baby thing by now. It freaks me out. Airlie's just tuned into you. She's your best friend. I don't think there's cameras. I just think we're in a house filled with Kindred. Personally I'm grateful. I could never cook."
Rory pointed at the bowl, raising his eyebrows, impressed. "Silver puke bowl. Cannae get better than that. There was warm face cloths brought to me and everything. If you're gonna spew, this is the place to do it, lassie," he joked. "I dinnae mind if anyone would sense it as easily as Blaise. Maybe they just sense something is off, and that's why you've been getting the cold shoulder? Are you still getting the cold shoulder? Airlie didnae seem to pick up on anything, but she gave you the hint of the evil eyeball. But dinnae mind that. She did it to Blaise's PA, too. And the gardener who came to ask me if I wanted roses in here."
"Like I said, she's your BFF and she's Kindred. She's gonna want to protect you. I'm getting used to the evil eyeballs so it really doesn't matter. I just know that Airlie's a good woman. She makes Xander happy in a way he hasn't been in years. I can't ever fault that. Of course I'm still getting the cold shoulder! This is me, remember? I don't understand, I'm the Slayer, I talk out my ass, blah blah blah. I'll never be good enough for Blaise, I've already hurt him, I should just forget it. Cold shoulders say a lot." Buffy picked up the silver bowl and had a look at it. "Oh my god, are you serious? Who has a silver puke bowl?! Is that even allowed? I could never throw up in it..."
Rory shrugged. "They've got a point with the Slayer thing, and the nay understanding thing. You have been unbelievably thick at times. There is only so much we can spoon feed you before you need to pick up the information and run with it. He needs to trust you, nay think that you're going to continuously miss everything that comes out of his mouth. He isnae that Watcher of yours, he isnae going to keep wrapping you up in everything you need until you get it. Either you're cut oot for life with Kindred, or you arenae. No grey area here. Do you think you'll ever be good enough for him? Because if nay, how are they supposed to believe you are? And you have hurt him, just like Juliette hurt me. Shit happens, and he stills gives you the benefit of the doubt. He's a stronger laddie than I am. You can sit and cry aboot it or you can get your finger oot your arse and start thinking in the realm of Kindred. You need to think like them to live with them. It's vital. Bottom line is, they're different to us. Very different. They've existed a lot longer than we have, honed their survival skills. We have to step into their world, because they cannae step into ours."
Buffy stuck her tongue out at Rory briefly. "I'm not crying. Do you see me crying? Having a baby is not living like Kindred, is it? I think I can be good enough for him. I am good enough for him. My mouth just keeps messing it all up. All I want is a chance to just be with him. I don't want any fights, I don't want him sick. I just want to be, you know? Only it still all comes back to what I'm going to do with my retirement, and what's going on with the baby."
"Oh my christ al-fucking-mighty!" Rory cried in exasperation. "Nay wonder he gets pissed at you. You argue with everything people tell you. I could tell you the sky was blue and you would come back saying, nay, it's grey just for the feck of it. You pick and choose what you want to hear. Listen to everything I'm saying, dinnae just pick oot the bits you can argue back at me with. He's nay sick because of you, he's sick because of him. It doesnae come back to that at all. Do you see anyone pushing you to do anything? You have five star accommodation and treatment here. For what? Nothing. Not a sausage. It comes doon to you Slaying or nay, and that's it. Let's put it this way. Kindred feel aboot Slayers like I feel aboot abortion. There is nay completely right or wrong opinion, only personal experience. You say you've made the choice to give up Slaying. Hooray. A step. Better than nay step. But you havenae once told me Blaise or anyone has pushed you to do anything in a hurry. And now you're preggars. Whatever was on the menu is gonna change anyway."
Buffy sat there with her mouth firmly shut as she tried to work out a way to answer Rory without it sounding like she was just trying to argue for the sake of it. She hadn't mean that Blaise was sick because of her, but she wasn't going to try and correct Rory. She wasn't trying to be a pain in the ass. Buffy pulled her mouth to the side and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Well, if I'm a mom then I can't be a Slayer. Kinda got my decision made. But if I'm a mom, I also risk losing Blaise. I know no one's pushed me, but there's still an urgency to it, isn't there? Blaise is sick because he needs love. He won't be able to keep going without it."
Rory raised his eyebrows slightly. "I thought you said that decision was already made? Now it wasnae made, only maybe made, but is made now you're pregnant. Hmm..." He gave a small shrug. "Time to get right doon to the harsh reality here, lassie. Blaise might nay be capable of loving you if you're knocked up with another's child. It's a possibility you should at least prepare yourself for on some level. I dinnae think there is any urgency to anything, to be honest. I think the only urgency is in you understanding this world better. Nothing is going to happen overnight. From the sounds of it, I think Blaise just wants you to be an option. He's nay pressuring you to marry him, be his mate, none of that. That's all in your head. He just wants you to get him. He will keep going, he will just weaken more and more. If you cannae give him what he needs, that's just that. You cannae learn to do it. It's nay a school history lesson, it's love. Is either possible, or it's nay. I do want to know, though, why him, Buffy? Why nay Riley or someone else? Hell, me, if we're going to use examples. Why do you believe you should be the one to love Blaise?"
Buffy sat back in her chair as she smiled a little. "Why not you? I think we already covered this, babe. We would probably wind up getting on each other's nerves. But you know what? Life would be so much easier if it could be you. It would have been easier if it could have been Riley, too. There's just too much history there. We'll never be able to just forgive and forget. I hurt him way too much. And the truth is, I don't want to risk hurting you like that. I care about you a lot, Rory. Why Blaise? He's just gotten under my skin, and not because of the claim. You know what they say about first impressions, right? Maybe you knocked me off my feet, but Blaise just... fireworks. Tingles. Sparks. He's like no one I've ever met."
Rory watched her closely, his hands now resting lighting on his chest. He was lying low enough to be watching her over his knuckles, and he didn't say anything immediately. Just processed it first. It was true, his head still felt hazy and fuzzy at times. Like he was drunk, only really not. "Nay, he's not. He's quite the catch, for the right lassie..." He locked her gaze. "Do you love him?"
"Yes." The answer slipped out of her lips before she even stopped to consider it, and Buffy sucked in a breath as her eyes went wide. As her stomach fluttered nervously and her heart started to pump furiously, she knew it was true. For the first time in her life, she really did love someone.
Rory gave her a small smile and a nod. "Feels good, huh," he murmured and cleared his throat. "Meaning, the roadblock is on his side of the fence right now, nay yours. It could be because you're pregnant. You'll need to talk to him to know how he feels. Just keep your distance if he has the eye thing happening. He willnae be receptive. That means they're operating on instinct, nay feelings."
Buffy nodded. "Silver eyes means no talky. I think I can manage that. Shit, wow... I never... I... Just wow. I feel like I need a light bulb over my head. I need to try and find him. I at least have to see if he does have the eye thing happening. I want to talk to him if I can."
"Aye, you should. He deserves that much at least. Even withoot the whole Kindred mojo, five hundred years old thing, a normal laddie would find this hard to swallow as it was. A lassie they like knocked up by one of two laddies? You're like Coronation Street, or something," Rory sniggered. "Just dinnae go calling the kid Rock or Volcano or something pretentious like that."
"Coronation who?" Buffy asked with an arch of her eyebrow. "Please, gimme some credit. I wouldn't call them that. I'd just call them Zoe but spell it with five silent P's."
Rory quirked an eyebrow himself. "How aboot a silent nay fucking way?" he offered and flipped her off jokingly. "But we are in France, and you are in love with a bloke called Blaise. Although, I dinnae think that was his name when he was alive. Nay sure. I might be inventing that in my head. I think I read it before I got smashed in the head."
Buffy scrunched her nose a little before she flipped him off right back. "Still better than Angel, or Spike, isn't it? And I think you're right. I don't think it was his original name. Kindred would have to change names most of the time, wouldn't they? Keep in with the Masquerade, and not being discovered."
"Dinnae mind. I think Blaise has only changed the once. He probably has the mind-fucking mojo happening to just distort people's perception of him. He does it somehow, and has done it for centuries, so he must have a process. He probably had some royal prince name when he was born, like Phillipe or something. Now I wanna know. What's his middle name? Maybe that was it. I like traditional names, me. Too many fuckers trying to mix them all up these days with weird-arsed spelling just to try and be cool," Rory snorted. "Poor kiddies."
"I promise not to fuck with the kid's name. Just so you know. No weird spellings. Um, his middle name is Mathieu. I'm trying to remember what Riley's book said, but I have nothing. His name is escaping me." Buffy pulled her mouth to the side briefly as she started to think about what she would call the kid, but she was drawing blanks. She wanted to know who the father was to start planning but there was no way she could have that answer yet. Besides, Riley would just never forgive her if it was him. Rory didn't seem to need it either. "I'll ask him when I talk to him. Maybe it'll help distract him before I ask him the huge favour."
Rory nodded and shifted stiffly again. It was hard finding a spot to stick to for a long time. "You should do that sooner rather than later, you know. Is he here? I havenae seen him. Nay that I expect to. Apparently he's here when I'm oot. In saying that, I've been oot a lot, so it's nay like my schedule is gonna keep up with his or anything. You know, a bairn isnae such a tragedy. Nay really. It's actually a pretty fecking awesome thing to experience. Like nay else."
Buffy gave Rory's hand a squeeze as she stood up and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Then I guess it's something I really gotta experience. This is it. This is definitely my retirement, and it's my chance to do the one thing I never thought possible. Well, two if you count the light bulb moment. I'll see if I can find him, you just work on healing. I'm sure Airlie will be back in here shortly. Take care, okay? I know you know that I'll be back to talk to you about me breaking Blaise's brain again."
Rory just nodded again, not up to protesting. He really did just feeling like sleeping again. "Aye, okay. Take care, love. And good luck. Nay that I think you really need it, mind. He's gonna react however he reacts. Promise you will be alone if it all goes arse up," he told her with a small smile.
Buffy gave him a smile back before she let go of his hand and turned to head to the door. She opened it slightly before she glanced over at Rory with a small smirk. "Next time, feel free to be 100% naked. I won't mind."
"Get back to me on that if I'm the baby daddy," Rory returned with a small smirk and then threw her a small wave before settling back down against the pillow to probably sleep the rest of the day away.
Word Count | 6,413
Rory was sort of hovering in that space of being half awake and half asleep all at the same time. It had been a crappy day. Now that he wasn't unconscious and wasn't drugged up to the eyeballs on painkillers, he was constantly aware of the pain. It wasn't as bad as when he first woke up, but it was still there. He also just didn't feel well in general, and discovered that having a puke with broken ribs was an absolute bitch. It zapped his energy, and now he was left feeling like he really didn't want to move again for at least a week. Breakfast had been the mistake. Apparently there were cooks in the kitchen here for when humans needed food. It was still surreal to think about, but the food was top class and high quality. It seemed like a good idea at the time to eat the whole thing, but having gone so long without a proper meal, it just wasn't happening. Being out of the druggy haze, he was aware now, too, just how injured he had been. He really did need to take a bit of time to recuperate, and there was no just getting back on the horse and returning to normal.
Could he even actually return to normal after everything?
He was lying propped up on the bed, and Airlie was sitting close beside him, softly stroking her fingers through his hair as he dozed on and off. The nurse had come, stuffed a thermometer in his mouth, checked his blood pressure (ironic for a Kindred medical professional, as far as Rory was concerned) and then prescribed him some antibiotics just to be on the same side. He interrogated her about his recovery, asking her if he would ever be the same if, hypothetically, this wasn't the first time he had been drained like this. She reminded him it wasn't the first time anyway. He had been drained twice in a very short space of time this time. Rory had almost forgotten, with Blaise's power very much overpowering everything else. She did tell him that he was weak, though, and he just had to be taking it easy... then went on to politely suggest his remaining in Paris for the moment really wasn't a bad thing. Blaise would ensure he would be taken care of and have all the healthcare he needed. Maybe she had a point. It was definitely food for thought, anyway.
Now he was just resting, as ordered. Airlie had come awhile ago and had stayed when she realised he wasn't feeling well. Everything was so opulent, and Rory had to admit he was enjoying being pampered like this, even if he felt like shite. Everything was so expensive and top quality. Hell, even the bowl the nurse gave him in case he felt sick again was silver. Actual silver, and now sitting beside Airlie's leg just in case. It was nice having her here. He didn't really want to be on his own. Even if he wouldn't verbally admit it, he was a little scared in the wake of this whole thing. One didn't get attacked like that without lingering feelings of fear. It was a relief knowing he was protected within Blaise's home. But what would happen after that, when the drain wore off and Blaise had no hold over him anymore?
He opened his eyes when there was a knock on his guest room door and felt Airlie bristle protectively beside him. His hand had been resting on her thigh, so he gave it a soft, reassuring squeeze. "It's okay, sweetheart," he promised and then looked over to the door. "I'm ninety percent naked, but you can come in," he told the visitor. He had even given up on getting dressed today, sticking with just a pair of blue silk boxers.
Buffy slowly opened the door to Rory's room, and sucked in a nervous breath when she saw Airlie was there. It was stupid to just assume Rory was alone but it would have been easier that way. After a moment she gave them both a small smile. "I bet you just say that to all the girls. I didn't mean to, um, crash the whole, ah..." she waved her hand helplessly between Airlie and Rory before she tucked her hair behind her ears, "... visiting thing... I, um, I was hoping to talk to Rory alone. If that's okay, but I can come back. I probably should come back."
Ever since Rory had gotten out of that hospital facility, Airlie had trouble trusting anyone close with him. Blaise was the only one, because he had Rory protected. It was a natural reaction inside her, and she had spent most of the day at Rory's side making sure he was okay. There was still an uncertainty about Buffy, and Airlie's green eyes looked the other woman over briefly before she reluctantly shifted to press a kiss to Rory's head. "You tell the nurse if you arenae feeling good again. Nay more of the Superman complex. It isnae sexy," she chastised him and then moved to leave. She would probably come back as soon as she knew Buffy was gone, but she couldn't help it. It was her inner instincts kicking in, like part of an animal pack or something. Rory was one of her own and she would probably literally kill for him.
Rory watched Airlie go and then looked back to Buffy. "How have you pissed him off now?" he asked in amusement.
"I'm pregnant," she blurted out in answer as soon as the she was sure Airlie might at least be out of super-hearing distance. She couldn't blame the Kindred for wanting to keep watch over Rory, but Buffy really did just need to discuss the latest surprise with Rory alone. She stayed hovering by the door, watching Rory for some sort of reaction as she tried to think of what else she should say. She had wanted to lead up to it, but apparently that wasn't what her mouth wanted. "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant. Blaise went all wolfy and sniffed it out on me. He's like this weird pregnancy test."
Rory just blinked at her in response. He was sure he heard wrong, because he certainly didn't want to be hearing what she was saying. His already upset stomach felt like it clenched uncomfortably and a small frown appeared on his face. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" he asked her quietly.
"I am really hoping for yes, but I don't think Blaise's sense of humour is really that twisted," Buffy offered with a wry twist of her lips. "I'm beyond late, and apparently I smell like I have infant on me. Kindred are never wrong about this sort of thing according to Riley."
Rory wet his lips and cleared his throat in an effort to not let the churning in his stomach turn to nausea again. "Nay, they arenae. It's nay like they're working on gut instinct..." He shook his head slightly. "What's all this got to do with me? Shouldnae you be talking it oot with Blaise?"
Buffy raised her eyebrows a little. "Not really? Not until I talk to you. Blaise can't exactly be the father, can he? No sex, and no sperm. Unless he's genuinely Zeus, or God, then there's no immaculate conception going on. It's got to do with you because you and Riley were the only two guys I've slept with lately that have live sperm, and me and Riley used protection."
Rory's eyes narrowed a little as he connected the dots. "You told Riley first," he deduced. Great, now his head was hurting trying to figure it all out and he squinted a little before rubbing at his head. He was sure this whole situation couldn't get anymore worse than it was right now with this latest development. "A bairn? Into all of this? Seriously? That's... that's..." He shook his head in disbelief.
Buffy finally moved away from the door to sit in the chair Airlie had vacated and tucked her hands between her knees as she looked at Rory. "Yeah, I did. But I had to talk to someone about it, and all I could figure was that it had to be one of you two. But Riley was right. We were safe. You and me... I can't remember. We were drunk. I don't even know if it was in France, or Scotland. I mean, I'm starting to show and it would take longer than the amount of time we've been here for that to happen, but I need to see a doctor, but I can't do that until I talk to Blaise. And I can't talk to Blaise until I'm mostly sure about when I got pregnant. I don't think he's going to like it if I say there's two fathers and I have no idea which one is the real dad. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Rory. I don't know if a baby should be in this world or not, and there are all these decisions to suddenly make, and I just don't know what to do."
Rory gestured with his left hand, the thick Celtic wedding band he still wore looking extremely poignant right now. "We were safe in Scotland. I supplied the condom, I should know. Granted, I cannae mind that night here very much beyond the crappy hangover, but it seems reckless. Being in this whole... Kindred environment, it was full on and I needed a drink. What do you want me to say? I dinnae know how I am supposed to help here. I cannae even dress myself at the moment. You cannae just write it off as the other dude's. If you're saying it could be mine from back hame, it can just as easily be his. And I'm sorry, but nay. This isnae a world for a bairn! It's a bairn!"
Buffy nodded as she bit on her lip, taking in everything Rory was saying. "I know, I know. Okay? I do. But apparently no one wants this kid to be theirs. I'm in just as much shock! I never planned for a baby to be a part of my life. I never thought it would be possible. I don't know who's it is, I don't know when it got conceived. Like I said I need a doctor for that, but I'm... I just need... I don't know. I just had to tell you because I think it would be even less fair to just dump this on you at the last possible moment. There would have to be DNA tests, but I don't know when those can happen. If we have to wait for the baby to grow. But if no one wants the kid, then maybe I should just get rid of it."
Rory shot Buffy a look of annoyance. "You really are a fecking drama queen when you want to be," he muttered, resting his head back against the pillows. "You cannae just expect us to step up and say, hey aye, we all want it when there is a chance it isnae ours. You get too invested, then is sucks to hear it's someone else's. And just so we're down on all this, I dinnae support abortion in anyway, so you do that, and you're on your own. It's a bairn, and unless you're completely screwed up, they deserve a chance. Baby killing is obviously something I cannae abide by at all. But if you want to all mope for a mistake you made, and nay them, go ahead. But dinnae drag me into it."
Buffy threw her hands up in the air before she shot Rory her own look of annoyance. "Pretty sure I can't kill a baby either even if the general consensus is that I'm a killer. I just don't know how this is supposed to work. I don't know how I'm supposed to still try and be with Blaise when I'm carrying someone's kid. I don't know how a baby's supposed to be a part of this world, but kids have been a part of it. This is where the Masquerade kicks in, right? Emmeline maybe didn't know until she was older, but there was her boyfriend too. Um, the motorcycle dude. He and his Dad were friends of Blaise's. Maybe none of the kids start off a part of this place, but there's been a couple that have come here. Shit, I don't know, okay? I don't know. I just know that all of a sudden I'm pregnant."
"You were the one talking about killing bairns, nay me, so dinnae be getting up in my face aboot that," Rory warned quietly, the whole subject more than touchy for him as it was. "I dinnae know any of these people. I am here because of you. I know you're all intent on me falling madly in love with Juliette, but I dinnae even mind how that is going to happen anymore. Before, maybe. Maybe I could have had something with her, but now? Now I cannae even be sure I mind how to spell my own name. If this is the fourth time I have been drained, my brain could well be fucked. I dinnae know what a dude on a motorcycle has to do with bairns, and frankly I dinnae want to because my head hurts too much already. I dinnae even mind what or who an Emmeline is. To be honest, though, I can think of one or two more harder things in life than finding oot you're pregnant. Having a bairn is a blessing, but it means your world stops being yours and starts being theirs."
Buffy sat quietly as Rory's words sunk in. She knew she'd put her foot in it. His little daughter was dead, and she'd brought up abortion? She'd like to have chalked it up to hormones, but not every stupid thing she said was a result of being pregnant. "I haven't even mentioned Juliettte," she said quietly. "Not in the last five minutes. I wasn't going to because I know you can't fall madly in love with her. It would have been nice, but it's not about what I want for you, is it? It's about what you want for you. Can they do anything about your brain? I'm sorry, Rory. I didn't mean to be so stupid, or insensitive. I can't thank you enough for being here with me, even if I'm really regretting asking you to come right now. If you weren't in France, this wouldn't have happened."
"It's happened before, Buffy. No point getting a victim complex this time. No one can be sure this wouldnae have happened if I wasnae in France," Rory told her quietly. He had told Juliette, and Blaise would soon know. Rory was too much of a gentleman to have the conscience to leave Buffy in the dark. She had come to be a good friend to him, and he was pretty sure right now he needed all the friends around him he could get. At the end of the day, too, if nothing else, he wanted Juliette as his friend also... if she was even okay with that. "It's unlikely Airlie was my first direct encounter with Kindred. I knew about them before she was Embraced. It's why I was able to act so quickly when she was. I saved her life."
Buffy frowned a little as she watched his face and after a moment she reached out to take Rory's hand and squeezed it as gently as she could. "You were attacked before? Or you think... your wife?" Buffy asked as her green eyes narrowed slightly and she started to connect the dots.
"Take that concept just a wee bit further, and you might be on the right track," Rory mumbled and then rested his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes. Now that it was coming out, he didn't know how he was supposed to feel about it. He managed to keep himself indifferent once the initial shock wore off, but he never failed to wonder what happened to his baby daughter.
Buffy bit her lip in thought as she kept a hold of his hand, her gaze dropping briefly as she tried to work out what Rory was hinting at. After a moment it clicked into place and she felt her mouth hang open slightly as her eyes went wide. "No! Really? Well... fuck. What about your daughter, though? Surely she wasn't you-know-whatted as well?"
Rory just gave a small shake of his head. It was beyond fathomable and he was starting to feel sick again thinking about it. "She couldnae. She was too young. She wouldnae have survived. Kindred arenae babies. I dinnae mind what happened to her. It took me a long time to cope with any of it. I went from nay wanting to believe they were gone to believing they were murdered to being taught aboot Kindred and the possibility that was what happened to my wife. It just never explained my wee girl, and that's the hardest part of this whole thing. It's why I dinnae want to be controlled. I've been there, done that. I dinnae like it. Being fed on doesnae bring me the feelings it would to most. She may have tried to get me to join her in the past. I dinnae mind. There's a strong chance my memory was wiped of some things that went doon. Just like what Airlie did with Xander when she panicked, only a much larger period of time."
Buffy's frown really deepened as he said that. She didn't like anything that messed with memory. She'd been involved in one of Willow's spells gone wrong, all of the Scooby Gang wiped clean and suffering amnesia. It really wasn't fun. Even if there was a small part of her that believed being 'Joan' might have been easier. She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand slowly as she just sat there quietly for a long moment. Truth was she couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling. She used to have nightmares about becoming a vampire herself, but that wasn't the same as witnessing her mother or even Dawn become a vampire. And like everyone so loved to point out - the vampires she was used to dealing with weren't even close to Kindred. "But what Airlie did was an accident... What your wife might have done... It sounds intentional. And to memory wipe after that is just cruel. It leaves you with no real answers, but just horrible holes."
"We loved each other unconditionally, Buffy. We were each other's worlds for so long. When she was there, I could never fathom nay waking up next to her. If she was taken against her will, she wouldnae have just stopped loving me. I like to think that's what was ruling why she did it, but her conscience kicked in at the last minute. But I dinnae know. Now I'm wondering if she was taken by Brujah, and maybe her intentions werenae so innocent, but I cannae stop on that too long. It makes me feel physically sick. Fact is, though, I was seen by an old friend in Edinburgh with my wife... after her death. There isnae a whole lot that can explain that," Rory admitted and rubbed his fingers over his mouth. "She wouldnae have ever hurt me. Nay purposefully."
Buffy nodded slowly, taking Rory's word for that. It wasn't like she knew the wife, or had any real basis of comparison. She just couldn't fathom anyone hurting Rory that had loved him so much. But if she was a Childer like Airlie, then maybe it did explain things getting out of control. "Just seems too freaky. I know that's an understatement, but wow... I really can't blame you for not wanting to be controlled after something like that. Or to want to think on it. It's crazy."
Rory wet his lips and shifted gingerly on the bed to try and find a new comfortable position. "This is why Embracing against one's will is such a no-no. It's a domino effect. Princes exist to keep this shit at a minimum, but they arenae gods. Things still happen. And as screwed as it sounds, she's still my wife. I couldnae come to putting her to any harm, even if she harmed me. Shit happens. I can just keep at it, or let it kill me. I've come too far to let that happen."
"I really don't know anyone as strong as you, Rory. I know you probably don't feel like it right now, but you are. I'm always in awe of you. I just want you to be able to get back up after this knock, you know? I also know my news is hardly going to make you feel any better... I'll get the answers though, okay? Just forget about it for now." Buffy gave his hand a squeeze before she let go so she could pick up a glass of water left on his end table. "Do you want a drink? And you know if there's anything I can do for you, Rory, I'll do it."
Rory was trying to figure out how he felt about the fact Buffy was pregnant. Possibly with his child. Another baby. He always wondered about that. He never stopped feeling like a dad, even when he lost his daughter. He just wasn't sure he would have ever had it in him to replace her. Not that it would really be replacing her, but he couldn't help feel a little like it was. He realised he had fallen silent and he shot Buffy an apologetic look. "Aye, a drink. Cheers," he murmured. "I couldnae take getting too close, only to realise it isnae mine, Buffy. I know that sounds heartless, and cold. It's just the only survival tactic I know with this right now."
Buffy offered him the glass before she just gave a small shake of her head. "Rory, it's okay. I get it. If I was a guy I'd be wanting the same thing. I wouldn't expect any less. I just want to be able to give you the answers. I have to talk to Blaise first, and I'm still kind of close to peeing my panties over that. I can't help it. You just focus on healing."
"It's nay like he doesnae already know," Rory reasoned, clearing his throat before he took a small sip of the water. He also knew there was the issue of Logan and he still had no idea what to do about that, or the fact he was apparently fucking another Kindred. Suddenly, Rory's quiet simple life felt surrounded by creatures of the night. "Hardest part is over, really."
"Oh, I don't know. I guess we'll soon see, huh?" Buffy touched a hand to her no longer flat stomach and let out a sigh. Truth was she was pretty sure the hardest part was going to be hearing Blaise tell her that he really was no longer interested. That this was the point at which he was going to choose to walk away. "Can I just hide under your bed for a little while, maybe?"
Rory scrunched up his face with a small, sharp exhalation as he reached to put the water back down. "Between Juliette outside my door and you under my bed, it's enough to give a lad a deep paranoia complex. Cannae even puke without setting off some sort of psychic signal that has nurses and assistants swooping in on me. Followed by Airlie. I feel like there must be wee cameras in here watching me or something. Still think it's weird this place has cooks."
Buffy stifled a giggle as she listened to Rory before she just shrugged. "Or your just that scrumptious and all this fawning over Blaise is really just a cover, and I'm trying to steal you for myself. Personally, I'm a little glad I haven't been sick here. No offence. I'm also more than a little paranoid about the fact that every Kindred must be sensing the whole baby thing by now. It freaks me out. Airlie's just tuned into you. She's your best friend. I don't think there's cameras. I just think we're in a house filled with Kindred. Personally I'm grateful. I could never cook."
Rory pointed at the bowl, raising his eyebrows, impressed. "Silver puke bowl. Cannae get better than that. There was warm face cloths brought to me and everything. If you're gonna spew, this is the place to do it, lassie," he joked. "I dinnae mind if anyone would sense it as easily as Blaise. Maybe they just sense something is off, and that's why you've been getting the cold shoulder? Are you still getting the cold shoulder? Airlie didnae seem to pick up on anything, but she gave you the hint of the evil eyeball. But dinnae mind that. She did it to Blaise's PA, too. And the gardener who came to ask me if I wanted roses in here."
"Like I said, she's your BFF and she's Kindred. She's gonna want to protect you. I'm getting used to the evil eyeballs so it really doesn't matter. I just know that Airlie's a good woman. She makes Xander happy in a way he hasn't been in years. I can't ever fault that. Of course I'm still getting the cold shoulder! This is me, remember? I don't understand, I'm the Slayer, I talk out my ass, blah blah blah. I'll never be good enough for Blaise, I've already hurt him, I should just forget it. Cold shoulders say a lot." Buffy picked up the silver bowl and had a look at it. "Oh my god, are you serious? Who has a silver puke bowl?! Is that even allowed? I could never throw up in it..."
Rory shrugged. "They've got a point with the Slayer thing, and the nay understanding thing. You have been unbelievably thick at times. There is only so much we can spoon feed you before you need to pick up the information and run with it. He needs to trust you, nay think that you're going to continuously miss everything that comes out of his mouth. He isnae that Watcher of yours, he isnae going to keep wrapping you up in everything you need until you get it. Either you're cut oot for life with Kindred, or you arenae. No grey area here. Do you think you'll ever be good enough for him? Because if nay, how are they supposed to believe you are? And you have hurt him, just like Juliette hurt me. Shit happens, and he stills gives you the benefit of the doubt. He's a stronger laddie than I am. You can sit and cry aboot it or you can get your finger oot your arse and start thinking in the realm of Kindred. You need to think like them to live with them. It's vital. Bottom line is, they're different to us. Very different. They've existed a lot longer than we have, honed their survival skills. We have to step into their world, because they cannae step into ours."
Buffy stuck her tongue out at Rory briefly. "I'm not crying. Do you see me crying? Having a baby is not living like Kindred, is it? I think I can be good enough for him. I am good enough for him. My mouth just keeps messing it all up. All I want is a chance to just be with him. I don't want any fights, I don't want him sick. I just want to be, you know? Only it still all comes back to what I'm going to do with my retirement, and what's going on with the baby."
"Oh my christ al-fucking-mighty!" Rory cried in exasperation. "Nay wonder he gets pissed at you. You argue with everything people tell you. I could tell you the sky was blue and you would come back saying, nay, it's grey just for the feck of it. You pick and choose what you want to hear. Listen to everything I'm saying, dinnae just pick oot the bits you can argue back at me with. He's nay sick because of you, he's sick because of him. It doesnae come back to that at all. Do you see anyone pushing you to do anything? You have five star accommodation and treatment here. For what? Nothing. Not a sausage. It comes doon to you Slaying or nay, and that's it. Let's put it this way. Kindred feel aboot Slayers like I feel aboot abortion. There is nay completely right or wrong opinion, only personal experience. You say you've made the choice to give up Slaying. Hooray. A step. Better than nay step. But you havenae once told me Blaise or anyone has pushed you to do anything in a hurry. And now you're preggars. Whatever was on the menu is gonna change anyway."
Buffy sat there with her mouth firmly shut as she tried to work out a way to answer Rory without it sounding like she was just trying to argue for the sake of it. She hadn't mean that Blaise was sick because of her, but she wasn't going to try and correct Rory. She wasn't trying to be a pain in the ass. Buffy pulled her mouth to the side and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Well, if I'm a mom then I can't be a Slayer. Kinda got my decision made. But if I'm a mom, I also risk losing Blaise. I know no one's pushed me, but there's still an urgency to it, isn't there? Blaise is sick because he needs love. He won't be able to keep going without it."
Rory raised his eyebrows slightly. "I thought you said that decision was already made? Now it wasnae made, only maybe made, but is made now you're pregnant. Hmm..." He gave a small shrug. "Time to get right doon to the harsh reality here, lassie. Blaise might nay be capable of loving you if you're knocked up with another's child. It's a possibility you should at least prepare yourself for on some level. I dinnae think there is any urgency to anything, to be honest. I think the only urgency is in you understanding this world better. Nothing is going to happen overnight. From the sounds of it, I think Blaise just wants you to be an option. He's nay pressuring you to marry him, be his mate, none of that. That's all in your head. He just wants you to get him. He will keep going, he will just weaken more and more. If you cannae give him what he needs, that's just that. You cannae learn to do it. It's nay a school history lesson, it's love. Is either possible, or it's nay. I do want to know, though, why him, Buffy? Why nay Riley or someone else? Hell, me, if we're going to use examples. Why do you believe you should be the one to love Blaise?"
Buffy sat back in her chair as she smiled a little. "Why not you? I think we already covered this, babe. We would probably wind up getting on each other's nerves. But you know what? Life would be so much easier if it could be you. It would have been easier if it could have been Riley, too. There's just too much history there. We'll never be able to just forgive and forget. I hurt him way too much. And the truth is, I don't want to risk hurting you like that. I care about you a lot, Rory. Why Blaise? He's just gotten under my skin, and not because of the claim. You know what they say about first impressions, right? Maybe you knocked me off my feet, but Blaise just... fireworks. Tingles. Sparks. He's like no one I've ever met."
Rory watched her closely, his hands now resting lighting on his chest. He was lying low enough to be watching her over his knuckles, and he didn't say anything immediately. Just processed it first. It was true, his head still felt hazy and fuzzy at times. Like he was drunk, only really not. "Nay, he's not. He's quite the catch, for the right lassie..." He locked her gaze. "Do you love him?"
"Yes." The answer slipped out of her lips before she even stopped to consider it, and Buffy sucked in a breath as her eyes went wide. As her stomach fluttered nervously and her heart started to pump furiously, she knew it was true. For the first time in her life, she really did love someone.
Rory gave her a small smile and a nod. "Feels good, huh," he murmured and cleared his throat. "Meaning, the roadblock is on his side of the fence right now, nay yours. It could be because you're pregnant. You'll need to talk to him to know how he feels. Just keep your distance if he has the eye thing happening. He willnae be receptive. That means they're operating on instinct, nay feelings."
Buffy nodded. "Silver eyes means no talky. I think I can manage that. Shit, wow... I never... I... Just wow. I feel like I need a light bulb over my head. I need to try and find him. I at least have to see if he does have the eye thing happening. I want to talk to him if I can."
"Aye, you should. He deserves that much at least. Even withoot the whole Kindred mojo, five hundred years old thing, a normal laddie would find this hard to swallow as it was. A lassie they like knocked up by one of two laddies? You're like Coronation Street, or something," Rory sniggered. "Just dinnae go calling the kid Rock or Volcano or something pretentious like that."
"Coronation who?" Buffy asked with an arch of her eyebrow. "Please, gimme some credit. I wouldn't call them that. I'd just call them Zoe but spell it with five silent P's."
Rory quirked an eyebrow himself. "How aboot a silent nay fucking way?" he offered and flipped her off jokingly. "But we are in France, and you are in love with a bloke called Blaise. Although, I dinnae think that was his name when he was alive. Nay sure. I might be inventing that in my head. I think I read it before I got smashed in the head."
Buffy scrunched her nose a little before she flipped him off right back. "Still better than Angel, or Spike, isn't it? And I think you're right. I don't think it was his original name. Kindred would have to change names most of the time, wouldn't they? Keep in with the Masquerade, and not being discovered."
"Dinnae mind. I think Blaise has only changed the once. He probably has the mind-fucking mojo happening to just distort people's perception of him. He does it somehow, and has done it for centuries, so he must have a process. He probably had some royal prince name when he was born, like Phillipe or something. Now I wanna know. What's his middle name? Maybe that was it. I like traditional names, me. Too many fuckers trying to mix them all up these days with weird-arsed spelling just to try and be cool," Rory snorted. "Poor kiddies."
"I promise not to fuck with the kid's name. Just so you know. No weird spellings. Um, his middle name is Mathieu. I'm trying to remember what Riley's book said, but I have nothing. His name is escaping me." Buffy pulled her mouth to the side briefly as she started to think about what she would call the kid, but she was drawing blanks. She wanted to know who the father was to start planning but there was no way she could have that answer yet. Besides, Riley would just never forgive her if it was him. Rory didn't seem to need it either. "I'll ask him when I talk to him. Maybe it'll help distract him before I ask him the huge favour."
Rory nodded and shifted stiffly again. It was hard finding a spot to stick to for a long time. "You should do that sooner rather than later, you know. Is he here? I havenae seen him. Nay that I expect to. Apparently he's here when I'm oot. In saying that, I've been oot a lot, so it's nay like my schedule is gonna keep up with his or anything. You know, a bairn isnae such a tragedy. Nay really. It's actually a pretty fecking awesome thing to experience. Like nay else."
Buffy gave Rory's hand a squeeze as she stood up and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Then I guess it's something I really gotta experience. This is it. This is definitely my retirement, and it's my chance to do the one thing I never thought possible. Well, two if you count the light bulb moment. I'll see if I can find him, you just work on healing. I'm sure Airlie will be back in here shortly. Take care, okay? I know you know that I'll be back to talk to you about me breaking Blaise's brain again."
Rory just nodded again, not up to protesting. He really did just feeling like sleeping again. "Aye, okay. Take care, love. And good luck. Nay that I think you really need it, mind. He's gonna react however he reacts. Promise you will be alone if it all goes arse up," he told her with a small smile.
Buffy gave him a smile back before she let go of his hand and turned to head to the door. She opened it slightly before she glanced over at Rory with a small smirk. "Next time, feel free to be 100% naked. I won't mind."
"Get back to me on that if I'm the baby daddy," Rory returned with a small smirk and then threw her a small wave before settling back down against the pillow to probably sleep the rest of the day away.
Word Count | 6,413