Between the second and third seasons, Emma almost dies in the hospital as a result of her premature birth, which involved over twelve hours of labor. This is told via exposition, with Spike telling others while showing photos of the baby. When school returns, Spike refuses to let Shane see Emma, feeling he is unreliable. However, she begins to slightly warm up to him when he begins to give her part of his allowance for child support. Although she is reluctant, she eventually lets Shane hold Emma. Later, a friend persuades him to withhold payment to attend a punk rock concert, where he is later found unconscious at the bottom of a bridge causing him neurological damage, and making him estranged completely from Spike and Emma. When her other daycare arrangements begin to unravel, Spike attempts to get a job, but this is hampered by her hairstyle, for which she is mocked by the owner of a diner. By the season finale, her grades are failing and Ms. Avery (Michelle Goodeve), who delivers her report card to her mother's salon, suggests she take correspondence courses. Spike initially balks at the idea of having a future and blames Emma for her troubles, prompting Ms. Avery to tell her to count her blessings and appreciate having her baby, as not everyone is as lucky to have one. Later, at the school dance just prior to a fire, Spike approaches Ms. Avery and agrees to the correspondence courses.
