|  | |
 |
| Some Cold Lovin', Las Vegas Style - Part 2 (chapters 4-7) by bloodshedbaby (1 Review) | | - - - abc |  | | | a/n-I hope the shifting back and forth between present and Buffy's memories wasn't too confusing! I was trying to do a "filler" chapter here, so I could advance the plot a bit, because I don't want this to be an epic fic! next chapter will see some action, I promise!
Chapter 4
Spike stepped into the demon bar and cast a cursory glance around the joint. He noticed little to set it apart from countless other demon bars he had frequented over the years. Settling himself onto a bar stool, he ordered a beer from the timid weasely man working behind the wooden slab.
"So...uh.. just passing through?" Willy asked nervously. The very nature of his business was fraught with peril, but this stranger exuded an exceedingly dangerous vibe and Willy wisely decided to tread lightly. He glanced behind him at the mirror that took up the wall behind the bar and his suspicions were proven correct. No reflection. Another damn vampire.
Spike pinned a penetrating stare on the little man, not replying to his question. "The Slayer. Tell me about her."
"Oh.. uh.... the Slayer, huh? Uh, well, she's kinda bad for business."
Spike growled his irritation and Willy hurried to supply him with a better description. "Uh, she usually hangs at the Bronze. Can't miss her, she's a looker all right. Short, blonde. "
Spike gulped the rest of his beer down and slammed the glass down on the counter. He walked out of the bar without another word to the bartender who was just getting ready to impart the rest of the gossip about the Slayer. She was one of Willy's favorite topics and a constant thorn in his side.
Outside the bar, Spike grabbed a fellow vamp by the collar of his shirt and growled menacingly. "The Bronze. Which way?"
The young vampire pointed down the street, trying to shrug his way out of Spike's grasp. He was let go, only to have his neck snapped mere seconds later.
"Thanks for your help, mate," Spike muttered, stepping over the newly gathered pile of dust on the ground. In the last two years, he had earned even more of a name for himself among the demon community. He was deadly, lethal, quick, and in possession of nothing that resembled a sense of humor. Humans hadn't suffered at his hands nearly as much as the demon population had and it had been rumored that William the Bloody had a severe ax to grind. But nobody knew what it was, most just tried to stay out of his way. Most demons that crossed his path didn't live long to tell the tale.
As for Spike himself, if asked, he would not have been able to define his reasons for taking things out on the demon community. And if he did know, he would never admit it to himself. Never admit that getting clocked over the head with a telephone had made him want to cast war on demons everywhere, when he knew the demon deserving of such harsh punishment inhabited his own body. No, whenever thoughts of that night tried crowding his head, he would shove them away and go out to do some killing.
So it was a very on edge vampire that stalked towards the Bronze. His latest challenge to himself in an attempt to divert his restlessness came to him after hearing some vampires talking about the current Slayer and how they had barely escaped with their lives. As a killer of two such Slayers, this had piqued Spike's interest. He needed a challenge and it sounded like the current Slayer might be able to provide just that. So without further delay, he set off for the town called Sunnydale where the girl apparently lived.
Spike didn't expect to engage her in combat just yet, he wanted to study her first like he had the first two. This was something he could drag out as long as he needed to. Tonight, he just wanted to get a looksee at her. He paid the cover charge at the door and walked into the dim lit hazy interior of the Bronze. He headed straight for the bar and ordered a beer. When he had his drink in hand, he turned around and leaned against the bar as he surveyed the joint.
Buffy was enjoying herself, there was no doubt about it. Her self reflection earlier had resulted in her making a few realizations about herself and how her life was going, and she was happy. And now, she was here with her friends, listening to a good band, and just enjoying some time to be Buffy. Not the Slayer. Not a mom. Just... Buffy. Those moments were rare and Buffy was determined to enjoy every moment of it.
"OOhh! I love this song!" Willow squealed as she grabbed Buffy's hand. "Come on, let's go dance!"
"You two crazy kids go ahead. The Xan man will stay and guard the table. With my life, if necessary," Xander announced.
Buffy allowed herself to be dragged onto the dance floor, losing herself in the rhythm created by Willow's boyfriend. She felt a niggling in her stomach and the scar on her neck tingled a bit, but she ignored it as she swayed and gyrated to the song. Then suddenly, it was as if her eyes sprung open on their own accord and her attention was forced behind her. Buffy spun slowly around, and her heart skipped a few beats.
Oh god, no. Please god, no. She blinked her eyes, hoping when she reopened them, the man at the bar staring intently at her would be gone. But he was still there. Oh god, he had finally found her.
Willow noticed the weird look on her friend's face and touched her arm. "Buffy?"
Buffy jumped at the contact, and looked at Willow. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I, uh, need some air." Not bothering to wait for a response, Buffy pushed through the dance floor crowd in the opposite direction of the monster and slipped outside into the alley. Bending over at the waist, arms wrapped around her, she drew ragged breaths in an attempt to calm herself.
Spike was paralyzed for just a moment. The last thing he had expected to find in this small beach town was HER. Experimentally, he had reached out and tried to connect with her. Thing had been hazy after he had woken up naked, alone, and bleeding, but he seemed to recall mumbling a few choice words in latin at just an opportune time.
He saw how she stiffly turned around to face him, her eyes going wide with terror at the sight of him. Oh yes, it was her, all right. Bloody hell, she looked amazing. It took him a moment to realize that she had bolted and with his face settled in grim determination, he followed after her. Pushing his way through the crowd on her trail, he didn't notice the redhead with the curious face staring after him.
Buffy slowly stood up, still doing her deep breathing exercises as she stood against the dirty alley wall next to the Bronze. Suddenly, she had the breath knocked out of her as something solid slammed against her and her body became pinned against unforgiving brick.
"Well, well, lookee what I found."
Buffy didn't need to look up to know who that accented voice belonged to. It was a voice that lived in both her dreams and nightmares. She stiffened in his tight hold, gasping when he pressed his erection into her.
"Let me go," she demanded in what she hoped was a confident voice. It was as if all of her Slayer training and strength had left her, by mere shock alone.
"Oh, I don't think so. I've got something I need to check out first. I need to make sure my property has been a good little girl."
Before Buffy could even think to question what he meant by that, she had a pair of razor sharp fangs tearing through her skin, right over the scarred marks he had left before. She could feel him take a deep drink, swiveling his hips against hers.
Suddenly he thrust her away so hard she fell to the ground. Slapping her hand to her bleeding neck, Buffy looked at him in confusion.
"Bloody fucking hell! You're the SLAYER!!" Spike shouted.
Suddenly, that knowledge alone gave her back her confidence, as it had done before. She allowed herself to giggle at his horrified discomfiture. "Well, DUH," she said to him, rolling her eyes in juvenile response as she watched him pace back and forth in front of her. He stopped and glared at her, his amber eyes shooting venom in direction.
The back door of the Bronze was thrown open, and Willow and Xander came rushing through it. "Buffy!" Willow called, seeing Buffy sitting on the ground with her hand at her neck. She didn't see the dangerous looking blonde stranger who had shifted back to human form at the interruption, but Xander caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye.
As Spike stalked away, he turned back to Buffy and threatened, "This isn't over. You belong to me."
By all appearances, Buffy seemed to ignore his parting words, but they slammed into her with the impact of a freight train. Willow helped Buffy to her feet, and she waved off their concerns, refusing to answer questions, just saying it was a vamp attack. They tried to coax Buffy back inside, but she demurred, the urge to get home to Blake overwhelming. Oh god... Blake...
Buffy burst through the front door, frantic eyes searching for him. She found him asleep in her mother's arms and let out a pent up sigh of relief. Her worst nightmare was coming true. Will had found her and he was just as terrifying as she remembered. She looked down at the sleeping form of her son and vowed to do anything in her power to keep him safe. Even if it involved staking her son's father.
Spike's mood was foul, and he was in a dangerous frame of mind. By a cruel twist of fate, he had found her again. And the kicker? She was the slayer he had come to town to kill. The myriad of emotions seeing her again had stirred up inside of him angered the evil part of Spike, he couldn't stand this constant tug a war between his retained humanity and his demon. Looking up into the sky, he shouted "Will you make up your bloody mind already!!" But he knew it wasn't that simple, and never would be.
He found himself in one of this town's many cemeteries and an evil grin crossed his face. Well now, violence was always good for soothing the beast, figuring he'd give that a whirl. Extending his senses, he quickly picked up on a skirmish not too far away.
When he arrived on the scene, he was amused to find a human battling a minion, who was apparently waiting for a new fledgling to arise. Since the human seemed to be somewhat holding his own, Spike settled against a tombstone and watched. His interest piqued however, after a comment made by the vampire.
"So.. where's your Slayer, Watcher? She leave you to do her work?"
"Gave her the night off, thank you for asking."
But that was where the human ran into a spot of trouble, because the fledgling had risen from his grave while he had been occupied with the minion. Now it was two against one, and the human wasn't faring as well. Stepping in, Spike made quick work of the fledgling, then just as the minion had the human pinned down and was just going in for the kill, Spike ripped his head clean off.
Giles, suddenly littered with a deluge of vampire dust after being fully prepared to feel the vampire's fangs, looked up in surprise at his unlikely savior. He saw a man with bleached blonde hair, dressed all in black who wore an amused smirk on his face. He looked slightly familiar, but Giles was unable to place him.
"Nasty piece of work there," Spike commented, pulling a cigarette out of his leather duster and lighting it up.
Ah, fellow Brit, Giles noted. "Quite." He got to his feet. "My thanks for your timely assistance."
Spike snorted, his lips twitching with amusement. "Quite all right."
"Rupert Giles." Giles held out his hand.
"Will." Spike grabbed his hand, watching his face carefully for any sort of reaction. There was none, except curious interest.
They began to walk out of the cemetery. Giles lived a block over from this particular one and he was more than prepared to end patrol for the night.
"I was just headed home to indulge in a spot of brandy. Could I offer you one as a thank you for saving my life?" Giles offered. It wasn't often he ran across a fellow countryman, and the thought of sitting home alone drinking was not very appealing.
"Sure."
Giles unlocked his front door, and Spike remarked casually, "This your place?"
"It is. Come on in." And like that, the barrier was lifted, and Spike passed over the threshold without hesitation. That was almost too easy. It was on the tip of his tongue to lecture the man about inviting strangers in. Especially with him being a Watcher and all, Spike figured he should know better. But, he didn't want to tip his hand too soon.
Giles handed him a drink and they settled down in the living room, making small talk. Spike got up at one point and began wandering around the room, looking at the pictures. He came across a picture of Buffy and asked casually, "Is this your daughter?"
"No.. she's almost like it though. Her name is Buffy."
"I heard the vampire in the cemetery refer to you as a Watcher."
Suddenly, Giles eyes finally began to narrow with suspicion. Good lord, was he really such an idiot? He had been so relieved at having another chance at life, he hadn't given this stranger much thought beyond giving him his profound gratitude. Now, he was beginning to wonder if there was perhaps a hidden agenda here.
"And what business is that of yours?" Giles asked, his voice now business like and clipped.
Spike shrugged. "None. Just curious." He continued his inspection of the Watcher's pictures, finally coming to one that had him stumbling back in shock. "Who.. is this?" he turned to Giles, and showed him the picture in question.
Giles gave him a curious look. "I already told you, that's Buffy."
Spike shook his head. "No, the baby. Whose baby is this?"
Giles eyes became hard at the tone the other man was using. "I don't see how that is any of your business."
With a snarl, Spike prepared to fly at Giles, desperate for confirmation. "Tell me."
Both men were too engrossed in their little pissing contest to notice that the front door had opened and both started when a voice broke through. "So, Giles, is it common practice these days to invite vampires into your house?"
Giles looked at Buffy, then at Spike with some akin to horror. Spike smirked in his direction before turning his attention to the petite blonde by the front door. Holding the picture up, he ordered, "Explain this."
Buffy crossed her arms in front of her chest and replied defiantly, "No."
Spike growled, then charged Buffy, slamming her up against the wall, pinning her there with his body as he had done earlier that night. But Buffy now remembered she was the slayer and wrenched Spike away from her and knocked him to the floor. She straddled him and punched him angrily in the face. "I don't owe you ANYTHING, do you hear me?"
With a savage snarl, Spike slipped into game face and flipped them, knocking over a chair in the process. "You will tell me, damn you."
At her defiant face, he growled and sunk his fangs into her once more as she cried out and struggled against his iron hold. As quickly as he had bitten into her, he flung himself off and scooted himself back in shock along the floor.
"It's mine. No one else has touched you."
Buffy got up angrily off the floor and punched him in the face again, which surprisingly, Spike let her get away with. She looked over at Giles, who was standing before her frozen in mute horror. Boy, sure glad her Watcher was on the ball, she thought bitterly. He sure had her back with that one.
Turning her attention back to the vampire on the floor, she announced coldly, "Get out."
His game face had retreated and his face was a whirlwind of confusion, and oh god... tenderness? At her harsh words though, his face hardened and he smirked at her. "Oh, I don't think so, my little Buffy."
"Get out, or I'll be sweeping you out."
Sauntering up to her, he leaned right into her face. "No. See, I believe I told you that you belong to me? Well, that hasn't changed."
All of the emotions of the last two years seemed to ball up and fling themselves at Buffy at once, and the source of it all was standing right in front of her, a smug shit eating grin on his face. And Buffy's anger flared. Drawing her arm back, she punched him in the face again, unable to control the impulse. Even when he lay laughing at her on the floor, wiping the blood from his nose, Buffy wanted nothing more than to go over and rain blow after blow on him. How could he DO this to her??? Her life was JUST finally going right. Oh, she had gotten over the fact that her virginity had been taken by a monster. She couldn't call it rape, she wanted it and knew it. But she been violated by his demon all the same.
And oh god, her son. Now her son was potentially in danger and the cause of it all was still on the floor laughing at her.
Finally, Giles roused himself out of his shocked stupor and attempted to assert some authority. "Leave, and do not come back."
That had Spike howling with laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, he looked over at the enraged and confused Watcher and said, "Well now, perhaps you should explain to your slayer the definition and meaning of Claiming Rights? She might take it a bit better coming from you, and all."
tbc..
Chapter 5
The bottom of Buffy's stomach dropped out as she looked towards her Watcher, her anxiety increased when she saw the horrified look on Giles face. "What is he talking about?" she snapped. When Giles didn't answer her question immediately, she turned on the vampire lying on the floor. "What...did....you...do....." she ground out.
Spike lumbered to his feet, an amused look on his face. "Well, since I seem to have rendered your Watcher speechless, I guess it's up to me to enlighten you. I claimed you. Means you belong to me. As in," he moved closer to her. "You.. Are... Mine..."
Buffy's nostrils flared at the injustice of it, and her fist reacted immediately, but Spike was ready for her this time. He caught her incoming fist in his, using the momentum to twist her arm behind her, bringing the back of her up hard against his chest. "Now, now, now. No more of that. Wouldn't want me to practice some of the uh... more demeaning aspects of the claim, now would you."
Buffy struggled defiantly, twisting her head around to glare at him. "Get your hands off of me."
Spike's response to that was to lick the raw puncture wounds he had left on her neck and Buffy gasped at the contact. "No," he informed her smugly.
"I swear to god, you are going to wish you never came here!" Buffy yelled, as she tried to twist in his grasp. She managed to get one arm free and threw her fist backwards, where it landed with startling accuracy against his nose again. Spike growled angrily in response, as he grabbed her renegade arm.
"Well, well, meek little Buffy has grown some claws. But don't you know, every time you do something like that, it just gives me a huge boner?" As if to prove his point, he ground his erection against her thrashing butt.
"God, crude much?" Buffy yelled. "Who the hell even says boner anymore, anyway?" That resulted in her arms being wrenched to an excruciating degree behind her back. "Giles! Little help here!"
Giles finally snapped out of his horrified daze, cursing himself for his inattention to present matters. "ENOUGH!!!! " he shouted. "Both of you, stop this!"
Buffy stopped her thrashing to look at her Watcher in shock. "Well, gee, I was thinking more of the pointy wooden kind of help, Giles."
Giles ignored her, pinning his gaze on the smug vampire who was holding his Slayer. "Let her go."
"And why should I?"
"Because I told you to, that's why," Giles stated calmly, a stake suddenly appearing in his hands.
"I've got to say, that's not exactly swaying me here."
"All right. How about this. You let her go and we'll explore the reasons why you were able to father a child."
That got Spike's attention. With a hard shove, he threw Buffy away from him and went and sat down in the chair he had occupied earlier. "So, could I get a refill here, Watcher?"
Buffy looked at Giles in stunned disbelief. "You invited him over for a DRINK???"
Giles had the good sense to look abashed. "I was uh, aware of his....undead status at the time."
Spike tipped his head cockily. "Yeah, been meaning to mention that. You might want to watch those invites you toss around so casually. Might find yourself with some not so desirable company."
"Yeah, just look in the mirror. Oh wait, you can't, can you? So sorry, my mistake. Must suck to be dead," Buffy injected snidely.
Before Spike could throw an angry retort back, Giles barked, "Buffy, please!"
Buffy looked at Giles in shock. "Uh, Giles, can I speak to you a moment? In PRIVATE?" she added meaningfully.
Giles nodded his consent, and with a warning look in Spike's direction, followed Buffy into the kitchen. "What the hell are you doing?" Buffy hissed at Giles. "Why aren't we staking him?"
Giles adopted a pained and uncomfortable look on his face. Reaching up to remove his glasses, he formulated his next words carefully. "Buffy, I am sorry if this...situation is bringing you mental anguish. However, from a Council standpoint, it would be remiss of me not to explore the implications of this."
At Buffy's stunned look, he hastened to reassure her that he had not breathed a word to the Council about her son's supernatural roots, nor would do so. "But he is the father, am I correct?"
Buffy closed her eyes briefly, then directed her gaze to the ground. She gave a brief nod in confirmation to Giles question. "And we only have his word that he claimed you. There are things that need to be dealt with here. Do you understand?"
Churlishly, Buffy finally nodded her acceptance. She knew he was right but it didn't mean she had to like it. Just in the short time she was in Will's company, he had made her emotions behave as if they were on a roller coaster. And that pissed her off.
"Right then. Well, let's go back out and see if we can get Will to answer any of our questions," Giles suggested.
"SPIKE." they heard being yelled from the other room. Buffy and Giles quickly reentered the living room to find a smirking vampire sprawled in his chair, feet up on the antique coffee table. He looked up at them when they walked back in.
"I beg your pardon?" Giles asked in confusion. Spike?
"The name. I go by Spike," the vampire drawled, allowing his feet to be knocked off the table by Giles.
"Oh Good LORD!!" Giles exclaimed, finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together, why the man seemed so familiar and mentally chastised himself for not recognizing him earlier.
"Wha?" Buffy asked.
"Otherwise known as William the Bloody, I presume?" Giles announced coldly.
A proud smile spread over Spike's face as he said gloatingly, "Ah, so you've heard of me, then?"
"Unfortunately."
"Giles....." Buffy said threateningly.
Giles heaved a big put upon sigh and slumped down heavily onto the couch. "Well, Buffy, it seems you don't have any ordinary vampire as the father of your child. Spike is quite legendary among the Council archives."
"Oh. Gee. Fabulous," Buffy muttered, throwing another lethal glare in Spike's direction. He was just about to call her on it when the door to Giles apartment was thrown open and he recognized her little rescuers from the club.
"Oh Buffy! You're here! Good, we were worried about you," Willow announced.
"Yeah. Something weird seems to be going on, thought we'd come over and talk to G-Man about it."
"Xander...." Giles lectured in a pained voice.
"Sorry." Xander replied in a voice that sounded anything but. It was then he noticed the sprawled smirking figure in Giles chair. "Merciful Zeus! I was right!" Turning to Willow, he said, "Told you he was totally blonde."
"Yeah." Willow agreed, staring at Spike.
"Want to introduce me to your little friends, Buffy?" Spike suggested in a low intimate tone.
Buffy's response was automatic and as soon as it left her mouth, she wished she could take it back. "Bite me."
Spike's eyes darkened, and he curled the tip of his tongue behind his front teeth as he allowed his eyes to slowly drink up and down Buffy's rigid body. "Well luv, thought you'd have had enough by now, but I'm always willing to oblige a lady... As you well know."
Buffy's temper flared at his not very subtle innuendo. "Screw you!" she tossed back. Wow, she was amazing herself with her quick and original comebacks. Yep, no doubt.
"Oh yes, that too can be arranged."
With a yell, Buffy's movements were quick and her aim was true. Before Spike could finish congratulating himself for taunting her, She had a very sharp and very deadly stake pointed over his heart. With a smirk, he challenged, "Do it."
Flashing eyes were locked on the other as they stared each other down, then in a surprise ending, Buffy threw the stake in Giles hands and ran out the door, tears blinding her way. As the door slammed behind her, everyone stared after it in shock. Spike made a move to get up and follow, but found his way blocked by a lethal looking crossbow and a pissed off Watcher.
"You're not going anywhere. You and I are going to have us a nice little chat, I believe," Giles informed him, his voice cold and unrelenting.
"What the hell just went on here? I thought Buffy staked vamps." Xander whispered to Willow. But Willow was too busy staring at Spike to bother answering right away. Finally, she turned to him and whispered, "Xander, look at him, who does he remind you of?"
Xander looked at Spike, then back at Willow, shrugging his shoulders in ignorance. "Dunno. A bloodsucking fiend, perhaps?"
"He looks like Blake, Xander."
That had Xander giving the vampire another inspection. "Oh sweet fancy googilies. He does." Now he knew what Giles wanted to chat with him about.
Buffy ran all the way home, her tears spilling in every direction. Oh god, things were so complicated. Why couldn't she dust him? It was her job. He had not given her any reason tonight to think he was anything but an evil vampire, so why was that voice nagging at her? Telling her that there was more there than met the eye? It made no sense, and her confusion was absolute. Was it a claim thing? And why didn't that thought disgust her? Buffy felt like smashing her head against her bedroom wall. Just like she knew her friends would not be in danger because she had left them with an apparently legendary vampire. She wouldn't have left him there if she was really concerned.
Then her mom brought Blake into her room for bed and Buffy looked into those blue eyes that were so familiar, and her heart just melted. Will, no, SPIKE had given her this. He might be evil, but he had given her the most precious thing in the world and for that, she realized she owed him a chance. Well, a chance at a non dusty existence anyway.
Feeling much better, she got herself and Blake ready for bed.
tbc...
Chapter 6
Buffy walked with Blake into his room holding him tightly to her, her face buried into the sweetness of his dark blonde curly hair. Tears stung her eyes again at the thought of him being in jeopardy. She would do ANYTHING to keep him safe. Her earlier peace had completely deserted her, leaving massive upheaval the size of a vast ocean in its place, and Buffy had to force herself to relax her grip on her son. Smothering his face with kisses, she told him goodnight gently and laid him in his crib. As she backed out of the room, she watched him settle in.
"Nigh Nigh," she heard his sweet voice tell her sleepily as he immediately shut his eyes and fell asleep. Her tears were falling in earnest when she carefully shut the door behind her. Buffy gave a small start when she caught sight of her mother standing just to the side of the door, arms crossed in front of her chest with her determined Mom look firmly in place.
"Mom. You scared me."
"How about we go downstairs and you talk to me about whatever it is that's bothering you?"
Buffy didn't dare argue, her mom was using THAT voice. The voice that Buffy knew from experience she had no chance of convincing her that there was really nothing bothering her. And truth be told, she REALLY wanted to talk this out with someone. Boy, her mom was going to be so excited to learn that there had been more secret keeping from her. Buffy had promised her, with her fingers crossed behind her back of course, that there would be no secrets between them again. Except gee... Sorry mom. Kinda forget to tell you that about that little vampire thing. But she had really been feeling totally guilty about it for some time now and was looking forward to unloading it. Her mom so deserved to know the truth though. Especially now.
Her mom turned and went downstairs with Buffy meekly following behind. Just because she wanted to tell her mom the truth sure didn't mean that she was looking forward to it. Her mom sat down on the couch and told Buffy to sit down. Joyce could tell by the look on Buffy's face that something big was going on.
"So.. what's going on that had you bursting into the house to check on Blake?"
Looking around uncomfortably, Buffy tried to think of the best way to answer that question. She must have taken too long because she was brought to attention by her mom saying a sharp "Buffy." She looked at her mom and her mind went completely blank. God, how could she do this? How could she sit here and tell her mom that her grandson's father lacks a heartbeat?
"Buffy, whatever it is, you can tell me. You're not pregnant again, are you?" Joyce was almost positive that wasn't the case, but there was always a niggling possibility.
That brought Buffy right up. "NO!" She exclaimed in horror. "How can you even have thought that?"
"Well, let's see. My daughter comes home acting all weird, won't tell me what's going on, hugs her child like it's the last day on earth.... Wait, it's not the last day on earth is it?"
Compared to the news Buffy had to impart, that would almost be preferable, than mentally slapped herself for such morbid thoughts. Ok Buffy, get yourself together. Just tell your mom you slept with a vampire. You accepted demon seed. And now? Now you have demon spawn that is asleep upstairs in his crib. Yeah, that should go over well.
"Buffy, it's not, is it?" Buffy tuned back in to see her mother's frantic look.
"Huh? Not what?"
"The end of the world!"
" Oh god no, mom. It's not the end of the world, I swear."
"Then what is it?"
"It's uh.. about Blake."
"Sweetie, you're scaring me. Is Blake alright?"
Buffy gave her an encouraging smile. "Oh, Blake's fine, mom, you know that!"
"Then WHAT is it? And this is the LAST time I am going to ask you, do you hear me, young lady?"
Buffy knew that once she entered "young lady" territory, there was no going back. She gave a sigh of relief when a knock at the door sounded, then stiffened in alarm. It was late, people knocking on doors at this hour usually resulted in a not so good situation. Her mom got up to answer it with a pained sigh of frustration, but Buffy flew to intercept her. She was the Slayer, after all.
"No mom. Let me answer it."
With an irritated sigh, Joyce gestured for Buffy to do the honors. Her stomach churned when she looked through the peephole and saw a shock of blonde hair. "Noooooo!" she wailed quietly, resting her forehead against door. "Why me?"
"I heard that, Slayer. Open the damn door."
"Go away," Buffy called back, her body tensing with coiled emotion.
"Buffy, open the door this instant!" The irritated voice of her Watcher barked at her through the closed door.
"What is going on, Buffy?" her mom asked again. "Is that Mr. Giles outside?"
Buffy ignored her as she unlocked the deadbolt, but kept the chain firmly in place. She let the door open the few inches the chain allowed and glowered through the crack in the door.
"What?" she asked surly.
"Open the bloody door," Spike ordered, his eyes narrowing as they clashed with hers.
"No."
"Open it, or I will bloody break it in. Understand?" The lethal quietness in his voice gave Buffy all the warning she needed that the vampire had every intention of following through on his threat. Mindful of her mom, she decided to give in. But just this time.
With an exaggerated sigh, she slammed the door, flicked the chain off and then threw the door open. She made sure she blocked the doorway with her body as she directed an icy glare at the man standing in front of her. She didn't notice her mom coming up behind her.
"Is that supposed to intimidate me? Please," Spike scoffed.
"What do you want?"
With a truly pained and suffering sigh, Giles intervened. "Both of you, stop this nonsense."
Buffy turned her ice queen look to Giles. "Why did you bring him here Giles?"
Ripping his glasses off in irritation, Giles replied, "I didn't BRING him here. Since I couldn't very well stop him from coming here, I figured the least I could do was accompany him and monitor the situation, make sure things didn't escalate."
"Oh, like a babysitter."
"Buffy, that is quite enough! You are behaving like a tiny prat," Giles lectured. When he caught the smirk that Spike gave in regards to his comment, added, "And you, Spike, aren't much better."
Joyce finally had had enough. Obviously, there was something going on here, something that was being kept from her and that angered her. And getting a good look at the man on her porch, she had a feeling she knew where this was headed. Taking Buffy by surprise, she knocked her out of the way and presented herself in the doorway. "Mr. Giles, perhaps you could let me know what is going on? Buffy's tongue seems frozen on the matter."
Buffy threw another glare in Spike's direction, which he replied to with an infuriating smirk. Giles glanced at the two, barely repressing the urge to roll his eyes at their behavior. Since that one breakdown when Buffy discovered she was pregnant, Giles had never seen her emotionally out of control before. Not like she was tonight. It was obvious the vampire was taking great pleasure in pushing her buttons and Buffy was just falling right into it. Hopefully once her mother was apprised of the entire situation, she could talk some sense into her daughter.
"Why don't we all go in and sit down? " Giles suggested, seeing a few lights turning on next door.
"WHAT!!!" Buffy shrieked. "Are you crazy, Giles?? I'm not inviting HIM in!"
"Why don't you screech that one a little louder, pet. Don't think they heard you at the end of town," Spike taunted, already gearing up for her violent reaction. He wasn't disappointed when Buffy came at him swinging. Laughing in her face, he blocked her punches with ease, but she still managed to get in one good punch before her mother intervened.
"BUFFY!" Joyce said, her tone indicating that Buffy had better not argue. Buffy turned and gave her mother a put upon look. "Invite him in."
Buffy looked at her in shock. "Mom, no way!"
"If you don't, I will."
"Mom, you don't understand, he's a vampire."
Joyce pinned a steely look on her daughter. "And he's also the father of your son."
Buffy's face paled and the look on her face was all the confirmation Joyce needed to know that she had been right on the money. With her daughter shocked into silence she turned to handsome man on her porch and said, "Come in, please."
Spike could feel the barrier lifted at those three words and he took great pleasure in sauntering in the door, deliberately knocking Buffy out of the way as he passed by her. That brought her crashing back to reality and she retaliated by shoving him, becoming increasingly infuriated at his taunting laughter. The look in her eyes was murderous and she responded by sticking her nose in the air as she stormed past him towards the couch. Maybe if she ignored him, he would go away. She tried desperately to ignore the smug smirk he sent in her direction, letting her know that he was aware of how much he was irritating her. Stupid idiot.
Joyce and Giles shared a look, both shaking their heads at the juvenile behavior being displayed. Joyce also had never seen her daughter act in such a fashion. Oh, she had a few things to discuss with her daughter's watcher, that was for sure. Turning to the blonde stranger, Joyce approached him and said, "I'm Joyce."
Spike took the hand that had been extended in his direction, his face showing his surprise before it was carefully masked. But Joyce caught it and was strangely reassured by it. Just as the cool skin clasped against hers was strangely reassuring. " The name's William."
"I thought it was Spike," Buffy said nastily from her position on the couch. "Oh sorry, my mistake. How could I forget? Mr. William the Bloody ."
"Buffy, please. Do try and keep things slightly civil," Giles admonished.
Buffy looked at him in shock. "OH my god! I so cannot believe you are taking HIS side in this!"
Giles ripped his glasses off in exasperation once more. "I am not taking SIDES, I am merely trying to keep the two of you from killing each other."
"Hello? he's a vampire! So what if he gets dusted? No big." Buffy ignored the warning growls she heard coming from Spike as she looked at her Watcher.
"Buffy!" Her mom chided, throwing her daughter a hard look. Buffy looked back defiantly. She knew she was behaving badly, but somehow, when she was around HIM, she just couldn't help it.
In a low voice, Spike said to her, "I want to see him."
"Who?" Buffy replied, knowing full well who Spike meant.
"The boy."
"No."
Stalking dangerously towards the couch, he stopped in front of her and said,"Go get him."
"No!" Buffy brought her chin up defiantly as she met his angry eyes. Joyce moved to intervene but Giles stopped her, shaking his head. As much as it pained him to do this, he had to see how they interacted with each other, if Spike tried to control her using the claim.
"You will got get him or I will make you." A flash of amber added to his steely gaze.
Tossing her hair back, Buffy stood up so she was inches away from Spike. "Yeah? I'd like to see you try."
Spike shrugged, and closed his eyes briefly, concentrating. At that instant, Buffy felt him take control of her mind, of her body. It was like he had slipped in and completely taken possession. Just as quickly as it happened, it was gone and with a gasp, Buffy was back in the driver's seat. Spike wasn't disappointed by the amount of time it took for her to react and had his smug grin ready for her. Laughing in her face again knowing how much that pissed her off, he effectively blocked her punches. This was getting to be quite familiar and damned if he wasn't enjoying himself. Her anger made her sloppy, and he let her pound on him until they were both startled by a large crash.
"Good one, Buffy. Ruin your mum's house while you're at it, why dontcha?" Spike said in a condescending voice.
He laughed again at the look of pure fury on her face, ah yes, his little Buffy had definitely grown some claws. And she was so much more fun this way. He looked over at the angry look on her mum's face and he became contrite. "Sorry 'bout that, Joyce."
Joyce opened her mouth to respond when she was interrupted by a pierce wailing coming from upstairs, with shouts of "mama, mama." Spike froze at the sound, the sound of that little voice cutting deep inside of him. Buffy threw another lethal look in his direction and used his inattention to deliver a sharp uppercut to his jaw which almost flattened him before she walked away with satisfaction. She didn't see her mother's horrified look at her daughter's excessive use of violence.
Opening the door to Blake's room, Buffy found him standing up holding onto the side of the crib, his eyes wide open and fearful. "Mama, mama."
"Shh... it's ok, I'm here, baby," Buffy cooed, lifting him out and holding him to her, as she gently bounced him up and down on her hip in an effort to soothe him. She turned around, pressing soothing kisses to the side of his face as he buried his face into her neck. Her breath hitched when she saw Spike in the doorway. Buffy pressed Blake closer to her, feeling the urge to shield him from the evil standing in the door.
Spike heard Buffy's heart rate pick up and smelled the sudden flush of fear that poured from her, and that angered him. Walking slowly into the room, he growled low in his throat when Buffy turned her body so the boy was hidden from his view. "Let me see him."
Buffy didn't respond, wouldn't look at him, just kept trying to ease the panic that was welling up inside of her. She was fully prepared to battle to the death to protect her child. She noticed Giles and her mom at the door, and a small measure of relief went through her when she saw the stake in her Watcher's hand. She began backing away, her stomach tightening with dread.
Spike knew that Buffy was terrified, and emotion that he didn't even know he could feel poured into him. Just the sight of seeing Buffy standing there, clutching HIS son to her and knowing that she was scared to death.... of him. God, it was gut wrenching. She was afraid he would hurt his child, and the part that sickened Spike the most was knowing that she had every legitimate right to think that. Because he was a monster, and he knew it.
"Buffy," he said, his voice colored with this newfound emotion he was feeling. "I won't hurt him. I promise."
Buffy's head jerked up at the unexpected tender voice and her eyes bored into his, searching. Then slowly she turned around, bringing Blake into Spike's view, watching his face carefully the entire time. When Blake looked up in curiosity and looked right at Spike, Buffy wished she had a picture of the look on his face. There had been the niggling feeling that Spike or "Will" as she had known him as, hadn't had entirely evil intentions that night in Vegas. And now seeing the look of pure wonderment on his face, which completely wiped off the indifferent mask he usually wore, made that feeling she had even more likely. Vampires weren't supposed to feel, or care. But that's not what Spike was showing right now.
"Can I..." Spike whispered before his voice broke off.
Oh god, he wants to hold him. Well, here goes a huge leap of faith, as Buffy extracted Blake's arms from around her neck and held him out to Spike. Blake held his arms out expectantly, waiting for Spike to take him, and when he did, Blake wrapped his arms around his neck. Oh my god, he's got tears in his eyes Buffy thought, watching Spike with their son. THEIR son. How weird was that?
Buffy looked over at her mom, who had come into the room with Giles and they shared a tender look. Giles still looked prepared to stake Spike if necessary, but was watching the vampire interact with his son with avid interest.
"How old is he?"
"Gee, can't you do math?" At Spike's look, Buffy actually looked contrite. "Sorry. He's 15 months old."
"What did you name him?" Spike asked gruffly.
"Blake," Buffy answered.
" 'ello Blake," Spike said gently, staring into the youthful version of his own face.
"Who you?" Blake asked with a slight frown.
Suddenly Spike's face broke out in a huge smile. "Who am I, you ask?" Then, risking a look over at Buffy, who didn't seem ready to object, he answered, "I'm your daddy."
tbc....
chapter 7
Suddenly Spike's face broke out in a huge smile. "Who am I, you ask?" Then, risking a look over at Buffy, who didn't seem ready to object, he answered, "I'm your daddy."
In the true resilience of children, Blake looked at Spike, blinked a few times, smiled, then laid his head against Spike's chest, telling him he was "seepy, Daddy".
Spike looked at Buffy helplessly, not sure what he should do, and found her with a strange look on her face. Unable to interpret it, he just gathered Blake closer as he breathed his scent in deeply as if to forever etch it in his mind. Since he had found out that Buffy had gotten pregnant that night, he hadn't given much thought to the actual child that had resulted. He had mostly insisted on seeing him because he knew it was yet one more thing that would get Buffy brassed off, and for some reason, he felt a strong urge to do just that. And often. He also liked making her Watcher nervous, that was turning into good fun. But now? Now that he was actually holding his living breathing flesh and blood in his arms... the feeling was indescribable. This child was a part of him, it had come from him. The resemblance was uncanny, and Spike could feel his demon retreating and a sense of calmness stealing over him. He knew they were watching him, yet he didn't care, standing there holding HIS son was the only thing important at the moment. So there they stood, a creature dressed in black, cradling a child gently in his arms, belying the evil and violence that was housed behind the misleading facade.
Giles relaxed his hold on the stake he had in his hand and motioned to Buffy that he was going downstairs. She nodded, her face looking oddly touched by the scene in front of her. Joyce followed Giles from the room, intent on getting some answers. Seeing Spike's reaction to Blake helped set her mind at ease that her grandson was not in danger from him and only hoped that Buffy saw that as well.
Going into the kitchen to make tea, Joyce turned to Giles and asked, "So, care to fill me in on what I missed?"
Giles gave a tired sigh. "Well, I'll tell you what I know. First off, my deepest apologies for keeping the uh.. status of Blake's father from you. It was not my intentions to deceive you."
"Yet you did, for 2 years."
"You are correct we did. At the time, that was Buffy's wish. I believe she was trying to repress the events surrounding the uh..conception."
At his comment, it finally dawned on Joyce that the man upstairs was the one responsible for her little girl's profound misery and torment two years ago and her resolve hardened. Well, she had a few choice words to say to him on that little matter. Nobody hurt her little girl and got away with it.
"He raped her."
Giles got an uncomfortable look on his face. "I was not given all the details regarding the uh, conception. I am afraid I am not in a position to answer that question accurately."
Joyce heard footsteps come down the stairs and went to intercept those who WERE in the position to answer her question. Her resolve softened a little when she saw Spike sitting on the couch, Blake sound asleep in his arms. Buffy sat not too far off, still prepared to come in snatch her young from the big evil monster, if the situation arose.
Both of them looked up when Joyce entered the room, the hard set of her face impossible to miss. "Mom?" Buffy asked in bewilderment, wondering what had her mom all bent.
Joyce pinned her hard look on Spike and announced coldly, "You raped my little girl."
The look of astonishment on Spike's face was almost comical, then he turned and glared at Buffy. "You told them that?"
Buffy squirmed a bit under the intense scrutiny she was under, then rallied back. "No, not exactly." At the growl that came from Spike, Buffy looked worriedly at Blake, getting ready to get him away from Spike.
"I'm not going to bloody hurt him, so stop looking at me like that," Spike snarled. "I would appreciate it though, if you could tell your mum the truth."
Flopping herself back against the cushion, Buffy sighed. "Fine." She snapped. "He didn't rape me." Then added, "exactly."
In a dangerous voice, Spike replied," You were ready and willing, Buffy, or did you conveniently forget that part?"
Buffy's cheeks flushed a bright red, and she took a mortifying glance over at her mom. The confusion there was in high evidence, but her mom also looked...relieved?
"I'm waiting for an honest answer here, Buffy," Spike announced, his voice still hard and dangerous. His eyes were cold, yet Buffy could see his hands were gentle as they held Blake.
"I didn't forget," Buffy replied. "But I was referring to the END." She couldn't help the shiver that went down her spine as unbidden memories came crashing through her. Frantically, she once again pushed them away.
Spike could smell the panic flowing from her, and a bit of the coldness left his face. "I won't apologize for that, because well, I just wouldn't mean it. But I'll apologize for scaring you."
Buffy looked at him curiously, realizing that he actually meant it. Forgetting that her mom and Watcher were in the room, Buffy sucked it in to ask him a question that had weighed heavily on her ever since that night. "Why did you get so nasty when...uh.. you weren't before?"
Spike smirked at her, and Buffy immediately wished she could have bitten back her words. She was an idiot if she thought she could have anything resembling a normal conversation with him. "Cos, luv, you gave my demon something it craves, the taste of fear."
"So, you're trying to tell me it was MY fault you were trying to kill me?" Buffy asked him, her eyes wide and incredulous.
Spike shrugged his shoulders indifferently as best he could with a child laying on his chest. "Wasn't planning on killin' ya."
Buffy snorted indelicately. "Yeah right. That's why when I knocked you out, you had your fangs buried in my throat."
A bored look on his face, Spike looked down at his son. "Think what you want. Wasn't planning on killing ya."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Please."
Giles interrupted the squabble, fearing the tentative truce the two had established upstairs in their son's room had come to an end. "Buffy, for the sake of argument, I am inclined to believe Spike on this matter."
"What????!!! Giles!" Buffy didn't even want to look at Spike's gloating face.
"Buffy, I don't know what went on that night, and quite frankly, I don't care to know the intimate details. However, for the sake of preventing yet another argument that is sure to impound my already colossal size headache, the facts do speak for themselves."
Unable to help himself, Spike arrogantly looked at the girl sitting stiffly by his side. "Yeah, Buffy, so listen up."
A crack showed in Giles tightly held British reserve as he let loose on the vampire. "Spike, we would all appreciate it if you could stop baiting Buffy. And Buffy, would you please stop falling for it every time? God lord, you two act like a couple of two year olds!"
An offended look crossed Spike's face. " Eh, watch it. 128 here."
"Oh god!" Buffy cried, throwing her head back against the cushion. Gee, only a 110 year age difference. She looked over at her mom, who had a pained expression on her face. Feeling a stab of guilt, Buffy realized her less than stellar behavior probably wasn't helping matters here. Making a mental decision to try not to react so much to Spike's taunting, she plastered a phony smile on her face and gestured for Giles to continue. Actually, she found herself curious to see how Giles had reached the conclusion he had, when she had felt it in her gut that Spike hadn't been intending to kill her that night. She found herself desperately wanting to believe that and really wanted to find out if she was right. Of course, she could just ask Spike, but she was also afraid of his answer.
Slightly placated by Buffy's apparent willingness to behave, Giles sat down on the other couch. "All right then. As far as my research has led me to believe, vampires don't usually claim victims they intend to kill. Is this correct, Spike?"
Spike's indifferent mask had been drawn firmly over his sharp features, making him seem far colder than the awed vampire that had beheld his son in stunned wonder. But Giles was beginning to see through Spike and cringed at that realization. He had wanted to keep Spike in the category of "bad", but the vampire was slowly worming himself out of it, inching towards "not entirely bad." And Giles wasn't quite sure what that meant.
"Yeah, Watcher, that's correct," Spike replied in a flat voice, keeping his gaze downcast and focused on his sleeping son.
"What are you talking about?" Joyce asked, highly annoyed once again at finding out another aspect she wasn't told about.
Giles realized that it was up to him to explain, when he took in the tight lipped faces of the two on the couch. He did catch the dirty look Buffy threw in the vampire's direction but didn't call her on it, as he figured Spike more than deserved it. Taking his glasses off and using his handkerchief to polish the lenses, he replied, "It appears that Spike placed a vampiric claim on Buffy two years ago. It's usually done between two vampires, to keep tabs on the other, but occasionally a vampire will claim a human, that uh.. takes his or her fancy."
Buffy was glad that her mom's lethal look was directed at Spike and not her as her mom asked, "And why did you do that?"
Spike's indifferent mask couldn't hold up under the wrath of Mom and he mumbled, "Dunno. Just liked the girl."
"And just what were your intentions after?"
"Vampire here, Joyce. Didn't have much in the way of intentions. Just knew I wasn't planning on killing her right away."
"Oh gee, and that just makes me feel SO much better." Buffy announced rudely, forgetting her reminder to herself to watch her mouth. Her question had been answered, but surprisingly, she didn't feel very comforted by it.
"What are you going on about? You clocked me over the head with a telephone, knocked me out. If I recall correctly, before you got all panicky, you didn't suffer too badly at my hands, now did you?"
The change in body temperature and the sudden rush of color to her cheeks was the only answer he needed. Clenching her jaw, Buffy retorted hotly, "That's so not the point. The point is, you placed a claim on me without asking. You come here and start telling me that I belong to you, and it's just....WRONG!" Buffy cursed the tears that crowded her eye as familiar feelings of helplessness possessed her.
Spike took an unnecessary deep breath to calm himself. He looked over at Buffy and let his features soften so she could read the honesty on his face. "Look, pet. You and me, we have a few things to suss out between us, ok? I know things have gone a bit rough for you, but I can't change that now. And I know you probably just as soon stake me than take a chance, but what do you say we try and not kill each other for now?"
Buffy stared at him in shock then saw he was serious. She found herself nodding. "Fine."
Giles and Joyce shared a relieved look, both wondering why they were even supporting this. Joyce was as fiercely protective of Blake as her daughter was, yet she was allowing an apparently evil vampire into his life. Into their lives. Wait, Joyce corrected. Not just any evil vampire. Blake's father. Her mind was a bit more at ease with Spike now at the admission that the events that led up to his conception hadn't involved forced sex then cringed at the visual imagery that evoked. She could see Buffy and Spike studiously ignoring the other on the couch now and suddenly she was exhausted.
"Well, now that we've got that out of the way, maybe we can think about getting some sleep. Spike, you can sleep on the couch." She felt satisfaction that she had managed to shock him as his head jerked up and he looked at her with surprise. She ignored Giles and Buffy's identical looks of shock.
"Thank you, Joyce." She nodded, and stood up with the linen cabinet as her destination. She grabbed some blankets and brought them back to Spike. "Mr. Giles, I'll walk you to the door."
Giles, knowing he was being dismissed, nodded at Buffy's mother and bid them a goodnight. He sent a warning look in Spike's direction, which surprisingly, Spike didn't react to, just tipped his head in a curt nod of acknowledgement. After he had left and Joyce had gone upstairs, both Spike and Buffy sat staring at the boy sleeping against Spike's chest.
"Want me to take him?" Buffy asked, breaking the silence.
Spike just shook his head, finding himself feeling strangely....awkward, something he wasn't used to feeling. "Tell me about him," he asked quietly, stroking Blake's hair gently, a small smile playing across his lips when the toddler squirmed in his sleep.
Realizing that for Spike- this was reaching out, Buffy obliged him without any snide comments. "He's my life," she replied simply. Spike looked over at her, his intense eyes catching hers and Buffy felt that weird feeling deep in the pit of her stomach again, the one that had drawn her that night in Vegas. The one that caused her to give her virginity to this man sitting next to her. Then Buffy asked a question that had been bothering her, realizing that Spike could probably answer it. "He is... human, right?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah, he is. Smells human anyway. You haven't noticed anything, have you?"
Buffy shook her head. "No, not really. Sometimes, he looks at me a certain way and I think there's something, but other than that, no. He's super smart, and he's always been really good. Like freakishly good."
"You complaining about that?" Buffy realized Spike was teasing her, and felt herself relax a bit.
"Me? Nooo... No complaints here." Buffy reached out to fluff her son's hair, her hand brushing against Spike's accidentally. Buffy jerked her hand back so hard at the unexpected contact and almost smacked herself in the process.
"Still as spastic as ever, I see," Spike commented dryly.
Buffy glared at him in reply, then couldn't help the smile that stole over her face. She was suddenly reminded of exactly what had attracted her to Spike in the first place, and it wasn't just his undeniably gorgeous face. For some reason, they had clicked. And maybe someone else thought so, because hello, vampires weren't supposed to be able to give 16 year old girls the cutest babies they could ever hope for.
"So, you really weren't going to kill me?" Buffy shocked Spike by asking.
"Nah, wasn't planning on it that night."
"Well, that's reassuring." A comfortable silence followed before Buffy asked, "Why did you want to keep me?"
Spike took a moment before answering. "Cos I wasn't bored when I was with you."
"And you... often have a problem with boredom?"
"Hell yeah."
"So, uh, how come you didn't try to find me, if you considered me your property and all?"
"Who says I didn't?"
Buffy blinked in shock. "Oh."
"Yeah, it was hell. I was bored again."
Buffy took a second before asking, "So, uh, are you bored now?"
Spike turned his head to look at her and gave her a wry smile. "Nope."
Buffy didn't know why his response pleased her, but it did. God, she was so whacked. Here she was, sitting on her mom's couch having a civil conversation with a notoriously evil vampire, who also happened to have traumatized her probably for life, even if it hadn't technically been rape and yet she was happy because he wasn't bored in her company. How lame was that? Thank god her mom and Giles already knew about this, they'd probably die of shock or something.
"What about you?" Spike asked.
"Huh? What about me what?"
"You bored?"
"Oh. Uh, well..no," Buffy admitted.
"Well, guess that's a start then."
tbc
| | | | | | | |
| |
|