Thank you, Nickle, for the name (and about a zillion other wonderful things.)

Giles heard the door open, and lowered his hands to find Willow tiptoeing in. She glanced at Cordelia before coming towards Giles.

"Hi," she whispered. "Everything ok?" Giles nodded as he motioned at the I.V. "They've given her something for the pain."

"Good idea," Willow agreed. "Giles, did you say room six nine six? This is six six nine. I'd better call Buffy back or she'll go into the wrong room."

 "You called Buffy?"

"Giles, I couldn't not call her. She's excited too. And, um, well, Xander….."

"Xander?"

"And Anya, but that's only because she was there with him when I called," Willow stammered. "I read up on it, and first babies can take a long time. We can, you know, take turns staying with her so that you can get a break. And, and I got ice chips, because they're supposed to be good right about now. There's a machine down the hall….." She trailed off when Giles chuckled.

"I know." He indicated a cup on a table.

Willow put her cup beside his and hugged him. "Do you want me to get you some tea? The cafeteria is open."

 He shook his head. "It's nine floors down."

 "There are elevators," Willow told him, her voice indulgent as if she was speaking to a child.

 "They're not working," Giles said.

 "Yeah, they are. I just came up in one. Maybe you need to get some sleep too." Willow went out the door.

The next one to appear was Buffy. She came in cautiously ten minutes later, and got a look of relief when she saw Giles. "Willow told me the wrong room number," she said in a hushed voice. "I met a couple in another room down the hall. She has one of those things too." Buffy gestured at the I.V. as she came slowly around the bed. She stopped several feet away from Cordelia and added, "Is she all right?"

Giles nodded. "But I wouldn't get too near."

Buffy came close enough to put her hand on Giles' arm, and gave him a Styrofoam cup. "I got ice chips."

Giles added the cup to the other two and regarded the arrangement dubiously.

 "She's awfully quiet," Buffy added, looking at Cordelia. "Has she had the baby?" When Giles shook his head no, Buffy looked surprised. "I would have thought there'd be…..screaming."

"There was."

Buffy quietly placed a chair next to Giles' and sat down. "I guess we wait then."

"It could take hours," Giles warned. He was glad for Buffy's (and Willow's) presence, but wasn't sure what Cordelia might make of a full room.

"Willow said that," Buffy shrugged. "That's ok. Willow and I are going to wait with you. She should be here soon."

"She's just getting some tea."

Buffy smiled. "See, we're taking care of you already."

Willow came back, and the R.N. soon after to check the monitor.

"Everyone's so quiet in here," Theresa said.

"It's safer to let her sleep," Buffy said, with a look at Cordelia.

"Just stay out of kicking range," Theresa suggested, sounding amused.

Time must have passed, as Giles found himself waking to the sound of Xander's voice and the awareness that he'd been asleep against Willow's shoulder. "Sorry," he mumbled, but Willow smiled and shrugged.

Xander and Anya were at the foot of Cordelia's bed, eyeing her suspiciously. "She's in labour?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Giles said.

"Where's all the yelling?" he asked.

Anya, perceptively, answered, "Wait until she wakes up and sees all of us here." She handed Giles a cup of ice chips and said, "We went into the wrong room."

 "And this woman was--" Xander cut off, paling.

Anya patted his arm and explained to the rest of them, "He looked."

"You should never look," Xander said.

Giles leaned against a bed rail and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Anya strolled amazing close to the other side of Cordelia and asked casually, "So, Giles, why *isn't* she yelling? I've seen women giving birth and it's really painful."

 Buffy said, "Ssh!" but it was too late. Cordelia's eyes opened.

"What is all this?" she demanded.

"We're here to be supportive, or something," Anya said, arms crossed over her chest as she regarded Cordelia curiously. "Does it hurt?"

Cordelia stared angrily at Giles. "Rupert!"

"I called everyone," Willow offered, from the safety of being now behind Giles and Buffy.

 "One woman told me it felt like she was being ripped right open," Anya said, still in a conversational tone. "The man that made her pregnant was living with another woman then, so I gave him this disease that caused his penis to--"

 "Anya!" Xander interrupted.

 The glare Cordelia bestowed upon Anya was enough to make Xander grab his girlfriend and pull her quickly away. "We brought ice chips," he said weakly.

 "Ooh, look! You're having a contraction!" Willow said, intrigued. She was at the monitor now.

 Cordelia grabbed Giles by the neck. "You are dead, dead meat. In fact, you are going to be dead bits of meat, because you won't be one piece."

"Wow, that was a strong one," Willow added

 Buffy disengaged Cordelia's grip on Giles. "What about we all go find the nurse? Together?" she asked.

 "Better yet, go down to the cafeteria and have breakfast. On me," Giles said, reaching for his wallet.

 "Hey, ok!" Xander started. Anya shook her head.

"I insist," Giles said, but Anya was just as stubborn.

"She could tear you to pieces, Giles," Anya said, pointing to Cordelia. "I once saw this woman giving birth who yanked off her husband's--"

"We'll get coffee," Buffy said quickly.

 "Take these." Giles handed over the cups of melted ice.

 Theresa came in as the group went out. "Hello," she said brightly, as she put on an examination glove. "Now that we have some privacy, let me check where you're at."

Queasily, Giles looked away. He felt Cordelia reach for his hand, and forced himself to look back. Under the covers, he saw that her legs were trembling.

 "It will be fine," he said. He put his other hand on her cheek. "I'm here. I'm not leaving."

She smiled up at him. "I'm sorry I keep saying those things to you, Rupert. I'm really scared, and I can feel it now. Even with the drugs. It goes from the front to the back."

 "You're at seven centimeters already," Theresa said. "This baby wants to come out. Let's sit you up and let gravity work for you. It'll make the labour go faster."

 "Can you see anything?" Cordelia asked, as she struggled to sit up. Giles helped her as Theresa cranked the bed.

"No, not yet. We won't see anything until you start pushing, which you're not allowed to do," Theresa said firmly. "If you start feeling like you want to push, do this. Puff puff puff, blow." She demonstrated, then laughed when both Cordelia and Giles did it with her.

"Just me, Rupert," Cordelia said.

He blushed, then took her hand again when she sucked in a sharp breath.

"It hurts that badly?"

 "It's strong." Cordelia's legs shook again.

 Giles kissed her, cupping her face tenderly, not caring about the R.N. a foot away.

 "I'll be back soon," Theresa called out as she left.

 "You're giving birth to our baby," Giles murmured. "It's--"

 "Scary," Cordelia said.

"Wonderful," Giles said. "It's a miracle. Cor, you'll be holding our child soon."

 She gave him such a beautiful smile that he stopped feeling entirely useless (though he still felt, in the main, of no help).

 "You can say whatever you like to me," Giles said.

 "Don't worry," she told him. "I will."

 Theresa had been right. Sitting up caused the contractions to pick up swiftly, each one seeming to start before the previous one ended. Cordelia tried to shift around, and cried in frustration as her bulky stomach, and the pain in her abdomen, stopped her at every turn.

She was using Giles as leverage when Willow returned. The latter stopped just inside the doorway.

 "What can I do?"

 "Make it stop! Can't you do a spell? Just give me a few minutes, and then I promise I'll try again," Cordelia begged, almost hysterical.

Willow came forward and offered her arms. "Do you need to, maybe, squeeze something?"

"You'll get bruised," Giles said, rubbing his prickling arms that Cordelia had been crushing.

 Willow withstood the next contractions, letting Cordelia play a reverse tug of war between her and Giles. "It won't be much longer, Cordelia," she tried.

"You are never EVER doing this to me again," Cordelia declared to Giles, during a brief respite. It was then that Buffy, Xander, and Anya returned, and they caught her words.

Buffy and Xander stayed near the door, looking frightened themselves, but Anya came over and inquisitively watched Cordelia ride the next contraction through before asking, "So, what's Giles like in bed? The never ever thing just means no more pregnancy, right? But the rest….."

"Rupert, kill her," Cordelia panted, looking up at Anya through sweat-soaked bangs.

"We'll wait out here," Buffy said, opening the door as Xander

 grabbed his girlfriend.

 "I'm only trying to take her mind off things," Anya said before the door closed.

 Theresa returned just as Willow thought her arms might actually get pulled off.

"You want to check NOW?" Cordelia sniped.

"I'll be fast," the R.N. promised. She pulled two stirrups with ties from the sides of the bed, but Cordelia shook her head.

"No way."

 "Don't kick. I need to check if it's safe to push. Do the puff puff puff blow."

 The anesthesiologist and a doctor Giles knew, Cordelia's doctor, came in to find three people puffing, and a bemused R.N. setting up overhead lights.

"Cordelia is fully dilated," Theresa said as the anesthesiologist began removing the epidural.

 "Oh God, please get this baby out now!" Cordelia begged, as the pain medication disappeared.

 "That's what we're going to do," he said soothingly. He glanced at Willow. "Hello, I'm Dr. Ingram."

 "Willow Rosenberg. I'm, um, coaching." Willow realized she had no choice, at this point. Cordelia had hold of her in a far tighter grip than she'd encountered from any demon. On the other side of the bed, Giles was in the same boat. "Unless, Cordy, you want me to go," Willow said.

"Please stay," Cordelia managed, and whimpered as another roll of contraction seized her. Holding Giles and Willow was the only thing left in her power. Pain as she had never imagined coursed like tearing fire in her abdomen, the doctor was spreading her legs where he wanted and tying them to the stirrups so that she could not move them, and the R.N. was pushing her back until Cordelia was helpless on the bed.

"Push and it will feel better," Theresa said. "Push while I count to ten. Deep breath. Now!"

 Cordelia pushed until she thought the veins in her face would explode. Giles touched her, wiping the sweat off her forehead, and she barely noticed. Her vision narrowed and sparks flashed in her eyes as she gave in to the overwhelming pressure between her legs.

"It won't come!" she whimpered exhaustedly, after it felt like she'd been pushing for hours. It was the size of a beach ball; it was too big; it was splitting her open. "I can't!" she cried. "Oh God, I can't!"

 "You can," Giles said softly, kissing the side of her face.

"You're doing so well," Theresa said.

 "I can't!" Cordelia tried, too tired to say more than that. The feeling was building up again, and she thought, 'Oh God, no!' The R.N. was counting, but she could barely hear her.

 Suddenly, she heard Willow cry excitedly, "I see the head!"

Giles' face came into her view. "Cor," he said, in a breathless voice, "The baby has the same colour hair as you."

 She felt his arms come around her and hold her as he said, "Just a little more, honey. Just a little more."

 'Once more,' she thought, 'and that's it. That's when I get up and go home.'

 Dr. Ingram's voice sounded next. Gently, he said, "Cordelia, stop for a moment. The cord's around the baby's neck."

 Frightened right through, Cordelia froze, then tried to protest when Giles moved her, but he was only lifting her up, lifting her by her shoulders. Terribly, he was crying.

 "Rupert?" She got up on her elbows. She heard a suction sound, then a baby started to wail.

 That's when she realized Giles was smiling as the tears were running down his cheeks. "Oh dearest Cordelia, we have a girl! Honey, it's a beautiful girl!"

 Willow, too, was grinning and crying, and then Dr. Ingram lifted the baby up, a writhing, protesting, sticky baby, and he laid her on Cordelia's breast.

 Cordelia, with her legs spread to the winds and the muckiest baby in the world on her chest, looked down at her daughter and started to bawl in pure happiness.

Willow went quietly out into the hall and shut the door. Buffy, Xander, and Anya were by the pay phones, eyes so wide they looked like three frightened chipmunks.

"It's a girl! Cordelia had a girl and she's fine and the baby's fine and Giles is crying, but he's fine too!"

"Oh wow!" Buffy said, amazed, and she hadn't actually thought she would be. "Giles is a daddy."

"Cool," Anya said, as Xander stood with his mouth open.

"And everyone's ok?" Buffy persisted.

"Yes," Willow nodded. "Just give them a little bit, to clean up and that."

Inside the room, neither Giles nor Cordelia noticed when Willow left. Theresa took the baby momentarily, to clean her up and weigh her, but returned her, bundled in a white coverlet, to Cordelia.

As Cordelia held her, the baby yawned, then opened her eyes and glanced up unconcernedly as if the entire ordeal had been a breeze.

"Rupert, she's so pretty. She's the most beautiful baby. Look at her!"

"Yes," he said softly, as he hesitantly touched her hair.

Cordelia looked at him and saw that his face was still wet. "Come here," she said, bringing him down so that she could kiss him. When she finally released him, she said laughingly, "I hope our second one's a girl too."

He shook his head in resignation, but he was smiling as well.

"I love you, Rupert. And I'm sorry."

"No, Cor, it's fine."

"I mean, about the wedding date. I was going to tell you this morning, before you went to work, that you're right, we should have gotten married before the baby was born."

Giles looked down at his daughter. "It will be nice to have her in the wedding pictures. It's fine, Cor." He kissed her, then the top of the baby's head. "I love you, Cordelia."

 Cordelia snuggled her daughter, and said to her, "How are you finding it so far?"

 The baby yawned again. Cordelia found one of the small fists, then the other. "And wasn't I right about your father?" she added. "He's adorable, isn't he? And he's smart too."

"Cordelia," Giles said, but she giggled.

"I'll teach you all the fun, girl stuff, and he'll teach you all the intellectual stuff. And, most importantly, no matter what may happen, you'll always be safe with him."

The door opened a crack, and Willow asked, "Is it ok to come in yet?"

"Yes," Cordelia said.

Willow peeked in cautiously, but Theresa had cleaned everything up, and Cordelia was lying in fresh blankets, with the baby in her arms. She opened the door and led the others in.

"Are you all right?" Willow asked.

With a warmth that surprised both her and Willow, Cordelia nodded and said, "Thank you. I, ah, think I left marks."

"I don't mind," Willow said. She peered over Cordelia's shoulder. "Oh! Look at her! She's so cute!"

Buffy came around to Giles' side of the bed, and he moved back to let her get near. She smiled up at him, then looked down at the baby. The smile got bigger. "She is really cute."

Xander, at last recovering from his speechlessness, said, "You really did do it, Cordelia."

"I guess I did," she agreed, amazed too.

Anya, ever the practical one, said, "So, what's her name?"

Cordelia stroked her daughter's cheek, and said, "Maren Laurel Giles."

She exchanged a happy look with Giles. Laurel had been his sister's name.

Then Cordelia, like the baby, yawned.

"We'll come back later," Buffy said.

"Can we bring you anything?" Willow asked, but Cordelia shook her head.

"Everything is fine."

When they were alone again, Giles pulled a chair to the side of the bed and Cordelia placed his daughter in his arms. He took her awkwardly, afraid to hold too tightly, and afraid he would drop her. Unworried, Cordelia turned on her side and watched him.

"How is it that you know how to hold her so naturally?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"I don't. That's where the nurse put her and I didn't dare move her. We'll figure it out together, Rupert."

"I dare say we will." Giles gazed down at his daughter, then lifted his eyes back to Cordelia, intending to say something, but she was asleep.

He looked back at his daughter who was looking up at him. "Hello," he said.

(end)