Final update for this story, everyone! I hope you enjoyed it :) Next one will start, as usual, on Monday.

"Are we sure that this is what happened?" Collard wanted to know after needing a minute to digest those news, giving the demon a helpless look, clearly upset by his son causing even further havoc even after he had been stopped, "is there a way to test it…?"

"I could hit you", Pat gave back amiably, making him flinch back – before Willow gave her a scolding look and shook her head, then told her to hit her instead, not surprised when immediately, the taller woman's eyebrows shot up in reply.

"Not hard", she quickly clarified, "just a punch on the arm or something, that used to be enough to set Spike's off…"

"…fine", the black haired woman grumbled after a moment, the idea of hitting Collard appealing much more to her, "let's go then…"

She braced herself for the pain, then clenched her fist and, just as Willow had suggested, punched her in the arm; and a second later, blinding pain shot through her head again, a shout coming from her as she grasped it with both hands, gritting her teeth, a low groan following her initial cry of pain.

"Alright", she then grumbled, while Willow placed one hand on her back, giving her a concerned look, "definitely working the way it's supposed to. Dammit, if I get my hands on that little bastard…!"

"I'll speak to my… acquaintances at the government about this", Collard let her know, looking worried, "perhaps they can help, and remove it…"

"No", the redhead told him sharply, making him look at her in surprise, "you know what the Initiative did to demons, right? Who knows what other ideas they might get if they learn that now, there's a demon with a working chip, and thus can't fight back."

"But…", the professor started, only to have Pat shake her head as well, the gesture earning her a startled look, as well, a heavy sigh escaping her before she replied, her words making him frown slightly, even though he had to admit that she was probably right.

"Willow's right", she let him know, exchanging an unhappy look with her partner, "I have no reason to trust them enough to let them in on this. As Willow said, they aren't too friendly about demons, not even demons who've helped stopping a few apocalypses, and I'm not going to take that risk with them."

"Well, I do understand that", Collard had to admit, "but then, what will you do about it? Just live with it?"

"If it works like Spike's did, fighting other demons and vampires won't be a problem", the demon pointed out in reply, "and normally, we don't fight humans anyway. Your son's super soldiers were quite the exception."

"I suppose that's a good thing?" Collard gave back, sounding rather insecure; immediately, both Pat and Willow nodded, then the witch smiled at her partner, reaching out and grasping her hand, the tender touch making the taller woman smile slightly as well.

"And maybe, we can do something about it with magic", the redhead suggested, earning nods from both Pat and Buffy this time, "we didn't really try with Spike because he was, well, Spike, but in your case…"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out", Buffy finished for her, then briefly grimaced as the bullet wound still hadn't been treated, even though it had stopped bleeding by now, thanks to her Slayer healing, "as Willow said, we didn't try too hard with Spike, but for you…"

"First, we'll find out whose child Willow's carrying", the demon decided in response, looking and sounding as if she wouldn't accept any discussion about this, "just in case it's not… mine, a thought which still seems strange to me by the way, and we have to… do something about it. Then we can worry about chips."

"Good plan", Willow nodded her agreement, glancing down on her stomach, feeling a bit uneasy about the whole situation again, "and Buffy, you should have that wound taken care of…"

"I'll do that", Buffy reassured her, "but, no offense, I don't really need the two of you around for that, so you go home and find out that what I said about this baby's daddy… or second mommy… is true."

"I can assist with taking care of your injury", Collard offered, making her nod; and since this had been taken care of, and the Slayer had made it quite clear that she wanted Willow and Pat to focus on the pregnancy, the couple left her house after she had told them once more that she'd be alright and that she could handle it, heading for their own home, the witch now feeling nervous again as she realized that soon, the truth about her unexpected pregnancy might be revealed.

"I thought I'd start with a basic prayer", Willow told her partner an hour later, sitting on the living room, the taller woman watching her from her favourite armchair, one leg propped up on the armrest as she more laid than sat in it, "try to connect to Hecate and ask her if she can help us with this, she has been quite helpful in the past, even bringing me back from the dead and everything."

"Yup", Pat agreed, fighting down the urge to light up a cigarette, telling herself that it might mess with the spell; Willow gave her another smile, then took in another deep breath, focusing on the candles and crystals she had readied, gingerly picking the bowl which contained the transparent gems up with both hands as she closed her eyes.

"Goddess, hear my prayer", she mumbled to herself while Pat gave her best to not even breathe too loudly, knowing that this was delicate work, even for someone as skilled as Willow, not moving a muscle as she listened to the redhead's mumbled prayer.

As she was speaking, the crystals began to glow, their light soon bright enough to make the flames of the candles almost invisible; and seconds after Willow had said the last word, the crystals started glowing so brightly that both Pat and she had to look away, a strong breeze coming up out of nowhere and blowing out the candles, the only illumination in the room now coming from the brightly glowing crystals, both of them glad though when the glow died down a bit, allowing them to look again.

And seconds later, they both nearly flinched back as Hecate had materialized right next to the now cold candles, spreading her arms with quite the flourish, a warm smile on her face as she spoke up, her voice as friendly and kind as it always had been so far when she had addressed them.

"You called me, and I came", she told the couple, giving them a warm smile, "how may I help you? I'm glad to see you didn't get lost in another world this time."

"Thank you for answering my call", Willow formally replied, even though she figured that by now, the Goddess and she were on quite friendly terms, "and I promise we won't occupy too much of your time, we just have a simple question…"

"Ask, child", Hecate gave back, to the relief of Pat lowering herself to the floor instead of keeping up the levitation a few inches above the carpet, looking quite relaxed as she stood there and waited for Willow to ask her question, the redhead doing so after clearing her throat and figuring out how to word this best.

"I just recently had an… examination", she then started, "and during that, we discovered that… I'm pregnant. And since, well, I haven't been with a guy that way for quite some time now, years in fact, we are kind of worried that it might be something… evil."

"It's not", Hecate reassured her at once, to her great relief, prompting her to exchange a happy look with her partner, "but your worries are understandable, of course, seeing your lack of… activity in that certain field. I can reassure you though that the child within you is not of evil origin."

"Then where did it come from?" Pat now couldn't keep her quiet any longer, even though technically, Willow had been the one to summon the Goddess and thus, should be the only one addressing her, "don't tell me Buffy's right."

"I wouldn't know", Hecate gave back, smiling slightly at her, clearly not minding the fact that she wasn't observing proper protocol, "contrary to popular belief, I don't listen in on all the conversations of my worshippers. But if she told you that it's yours, she's kind of right."

"…okay", Pat mumbled, exchanging another glance with the witch, now looking as if someone had punched her in the gut, her slightly queasy expression prompting the redhead to look at her in concern, worried that the demon might faint any second, "well, then… Can you explain how this happened…?"

"It is partly my fault, I'm afraid", Hecate gave back, to the surprise of both women now looking slightly ashamed, "you see, when Willow died and I used the power of your immortality to bring her back, the… lifeforce of said immortality, for lack of a better word, was too much to be used up by bringing her back… So it had to go somewhere. The child Willow now carries within her was… created by the essence of the two of you, so it is, in every sense of the word, yours as much as hers."

"Um", Pat gave back, at a loss for words, "that's… wow… Honestly, until right now, part of me was still sure that this can't be true, but now that you confirmed it…"

"Your doubts are perfectly understandable", Hecate reassured her, making Willow nod immediately, "it took me a while to figure it out as well. I think this is the first time ever that something like this happened."

"So you knew before Willow asked for you?" the demon demanded to know, raising an eyebrow, "why didn't you tell us before she called you?"

"It's not right to interfere with these things without being asked", Hecate pointed out, "so I had to wait until I was asked. Even I have to hold up certain rules."

"Okay", the black haired woman muttered, still looking shocked; the Goddess gave her another smile, then told the couple that now, they surely had a lot to talk about, adding that they could call on her anytime for advice or help before she vanished into nothingness, the two women staring at each other after she had left, silence filling the room for a minute before Willow spoke up again, saying out loud what they both were thinking. "So… We're gonna be mommies. I think we'll have a lot to prepare for now…"

"Hell yeah", Pat gave back, to the redhead's relief not looking as shell-shocked anymore though as she had two minutes ago, "wow. To be honest, I never saw myself as the motherly type. This will be… interesting."

"You can say that again", Willow told her, getting up from her seat on the floor and moving over to her, smiling when immediately, she was pulled into an embrace, "but you're in this with me, right?"

"Of course", the demon reassured her at once, momentarily shocked that the witch even might doubt this, then remembering her first reaction about the pregnancy and feeling rather bad about it again, "I'll do anything I can to support you through this. You're my girl, and I love you."

"I love you, too", the redhead gave back happily, making the black haired woman smile at her before they exchanged a tender kiss; and even though she wasn't sure what to think of this development, Willow felt happy and confident as they pulled apart again, sure that, no matter what might happen, her partner and she would be able to handle all of it together, strengthened by their love and with the support of their friends.

End.