Okay, I have tried to reply before, but unfortunately the ezboard doesn't want me to post at the moment! Personal replies will come very soon, but for now, here's the update! There will be a post afterwards explaining all the names, and thank you very much to LadyCallie who provided most of them!
Part 13 – Love
“Names, names, names,” Buffy muttered, flipping through a bright pink book titled “Girl’s Names”.
“So many names, so few babies,” Dawn commented, peering over Buffy’s shoulder as the two sisters perched on the Summers’ couch. “Someone else needs to have babies, because there’s just too many to chose from.”
Xander held one hand up in surrender, the other being wrapped firmly around Anya. “Don’t look at us,” he warned. “We’re taking things slowly this time.”
“Yeah, we haven’t even had sex yet,” Anya added in a disgruntled tone. “Besides, Alexander Lavelle Harris, you want kids, you better figure out how to have them yourself. I have seen too many women screaming in agony during childbirth to want them myself.”
Willow paled. “Excuse me,” Buffy said in a loud voice. “Once you’ve finished scaring Willow, Anya, we still have the issue of names for my goddaughter.”
“Mine too,” Xander added from his seat on the floor by the Slayer’s feet. He tapped her shoe.
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Fine. Mine and Xander’s goddaughter.”
“To say nothing of our daughter,” Tara added placidly. She was perched uncomfortably on the coffee table facing Willow, who was beside Dawn.
Giles cleared his throat loudly. The Scoobies continued talking and bantering happily. He tried again, and was once more ignored. Finally, giving an exasperated sigh, he marched over to Buffy, plucked the book from her hand and returned to his seat as the Slayer stared at him, her mouth agape.
“Names,” Giles reminded her, opening the front cover. “Agatha?” Buffy screwed her nose up, and shook her head. “Excuse me, that was my mother’s name!” Her Watcher said indignantly.
“That explains Rupert,” Buffy muttered under her breath, and smiled innocently at Giles.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that comment, Buffy,” Giles responded, rolling his eyes. “Perhaps, as I am to stay in America, a modicum of respect might be necessary, now. From you too, Dawn,” he added mildly, as the teenager stared at him, wide-eyed. “What about Ali?”
“Ali?” Willow asked confused. “Oh, are you done telling Buffy and Dawn off? I don’t like Ali. It’s not even a girl’s name. Besides, I can think of certain people that would lengthen it to Aligator,” she added, staying pointedly at Xander, who glanced at her in surprise. “Willow-tree.” she reminded him with the air of one who has been done grievous harm.
Buffy snorted. “Oh, Xander, you didn’t!” He nodded ashamedly.
“Poor sweetie,” Tara comforted Willow, dropping a kiss of consolation on her girlfriend’s lips. “My poor little Willow-tree.”
Giles tapped his foot impatiently. “Okay, okay Grandaddy,” Buffy sighed, and leaned over to stare at the book. “Allyson?”
Tara smiled. “I like that one.” Buffy nodded in agreement.
“Amber.” Willow stuck her hand up in the air. “That one gets my vote too,” Giles agreed.
Anya yawned. “This is boring,” she announced. “Can’t we just pick it out of a hat?”
Tara shook her head firmly. “No. We are not picking my daughter’s name out of a hat.”
“C’mon,” Anya coaxed. “We’ll all pick our favorites, and you can pick it out of the hat.”
Willow smiled wickedly. “We don’t have one here,” she reminded the demon. “Maybe I should conjure one?” Before anyone could say anything, she’d muttered a few Latin words and a top hat appeared on the floor beside Anya – complete with snowy white rabbit.
Anya shrieked, and Tara quickly murmured her own spell, relieved when the rabbit disappeared on the first try. “That was mean,” she rebuked Willow smilingly, who looked properly apologetic until Tara looked away.
“Okay, names,” Buffy reminded them, making a mental note to congratulate Willow later. “If we all pick a name, then our two mommies are the final court of appeal, okay?” The other occupants of the room nodded obediently, and Dawn, Buffy, Xander and Anya all dived for Giles and the book, spending a good five minutes arguing over who got to hold it, as Tara and Willow quietly discussed their own favorite choices.
Eventually, Willow jumped to her feet – a feat which she would not be able to manage for much longer, she noted sadly – and made her way up the stairs, reappearing with five extra books, which she handed to the Scoobies, extracting the original from Dawn for herself and Tara.
“I bought copies for all of us,” Tara explained in response to their confused looks. “Willow and I have a pretty good idea of what her name will be, so we can share.”
“Besides,” Willow retorted, “we’re more mature than you and know how to share, so there, Buffy Summers.”
Buffy only smirked. “Way to sound first-grader-ish, Will.” The redhead stuck her tongue out at the Slayer, and Tara valiantly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Despite the odd few tears, Willow seemed to be coping remarkably well with her pregnancy – apart from the fact that on occasion her mental age seemed to be no higher than that of their daughter. Then again, Tara mused, that wasn’t really something that had occurred in time with the pregnancy. One of the things that she loved most about Willow was the fact that she’d suffered horrors worse than any other twenty-one year old could imagine, yet on occasion she couldn’t help but let that endearing childishness shine through. Tara prayed that she would never lose that.
“Well?” Willow asked Tara expectantly. “Any more ideas, sweetie?”
“I really do like Allyson,” Tara admitted, “ but you’re still stuck on Amber?”
Willow nodded. “That or Ella, I think. Or possibly your mom’s name.”
“Maybe we could combine the two,” Tara suggested. “Della?” They exchanged resigned looks. “Anne? After Buffy? Dawn? Alexandra? Rupertina? Anyanka?”
Her girlfriend’s brows shot up. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Tara smiled. “Yes, well about the Rupertina and Anyanka. Perhaps the others though. Alexandra, or Alexandria, they’re pretty.”
“They are,” Willow admitted, “but she’d end up getting called Alex for short, and Xander wants to name his child Alexandra or Alexander the… um, I think they’re on number five now, and there aren’t any other shorts besides Alex.”
“You two ready?” Buffy called. “We’re ready.” She waved the top hat, and dropped her slip into it. “Leyla. I don’t know what it means, but I think it’s pretty.”
Dawn stretched for the top hat, and dropped hers in. “Joyce.”
“Celeste,” Anya announced, screwing hers up into a ball and throwing it in. “Means ‘from the sky’, and well, this child is.”
“Can’t think of anything,” Xander admitted as Willow looked expectantly at him. “Come back to me?” Willow rolled her eyes, and nodded.
“Eternity,” Giles announced, leaning over to drop his piece of paper in. “What about you two?”
Tara looked at Willow, and received a nod and a smile. Scribbling their choice hastily down on the back of a receipt, she dropped it into the hat, announcing, “Aline, a combination of Anne and Allyson.” Buffy’s eyes widened, and she looked at her best friend for conformation. Willow grinned back, and reached over Dawn to squeeze the Slayer’s hand.
“Thought of one yet, Xander?” Tara asked teasingly.
Xander nodded. “You two are called the purity goddesses, right?” he checked, and receiving conformation from Tara, he wrote his choice down, explaining, “Well, I think your daughter should be named Pure, then. Greek for Pure – Catherine.”