TITLE: Sleep, I Said! (1/1)

SERIES: Bedtime Stories (#3)

AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue

DISCLAIMER: Joss owns everyone you know from TV... anyone else is mine...

RATING: PG- PG-13

DISTRIBUTION: Charity, if she wants... also Vampie, if *she* wants...

FEEDBACK: is of the good...

DEDICATIONS: to Kim, Nutmeg (Nutmeg, Nutmeg, Nutmeg!!!*teehee*), Vampie, Mystra, Lucy, Sabeth, Charity, and Ryan... thanks for the feedback on the last one!!! You are all rockin'!!!

NOTES: OK, this started out as a one shot deal, but... obviously it didn't *stay* that way!!!*teehee**teehee**te-bloody-hee* (Oh, yes, I am so very droll...) So now it is apparently a series... I don't know how long it will be, it just depends on how long I can find new 'stories' to tell... Oh, and I'd appreciate any suggestions as to names to use for principles in future parts... I'm running a bit dry on that at the moment...*G* Oh, and also, this part kind of sucks on purpose... because of who it is telling the story... hope you like it, and don't kill me!!!

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Cordelia Chase sighed deeply, wondering how she'd ever gotten herself into this mess. She was young, and beautiful, and in love... So how was it that she had ended up, on a Friday night no less!... an hour and a half away from home, watching two of the most wretched children she had ever had the misfortune to meet? She sighed again. And the fact that the elder of those two evil children called her 'Aunt Cordy' really did nothing to help! She was sure that the younger one would soon be calling her the same... once he learned to talk, at any rate. She almost smiled, wrenching the expression into a glare at the last moment. She turned that glare on the seven year old, Katie. "And what do you have to say for yourself, young lady?" she hissed, trying to make her eyes shoot fire... or at least look threatening. "You were supposed to be asleep over an hour ago, not be up playing with your raggedy little brother!"

Katie giggled, tickling Patrick again. "I'm sorry, Aunt Cordy... but Uncle Spike's still better at that..."

Cordelia relaxed, allowing her normal personality to re-emerge. "Well, what do you expect, sweetheart? I mean, your Uncle Spike's a demon! Of course he's better at 'menacing'!" She grinned at the little girl for a moment before turning her attention to the ten month old baby. "Patrick," she cooed, "Hello, Patrick... do you know that you are just the cutest thing ever?" She could see the storm clouds gathering on her 'niece's' face, and quickly continued, "The cutest thing since Katie, anyway..." She held in a great sigh of relief as she saw the little girl smile... she so did not want to have to deal with one of Katie's temper tantrums tonight!

After a few more minutes, she finally calmed the baby down enough to leave him alone... Willow always swore that Cordelia had some magic of her own, as neither she nor Angel was able to put him down in less than half an hour, and it had been the same with Katie... Cordelia found that to be rather ironic, seeing as she was the one person, out of all the gang, who would never be having children... Still, she figured that maybe it was for the best... after all, she just couldn't see Spike playing the proud Papa... She sighed. Maybe she had a future in day care? No, she'd go crazy in about five minutes, plus... visions! She sighed again, staring wistfully at little Patrick, before pasting a big smile on her face and turning to face her niece. "All right, Katie, that's enough play-time. It's off to bed for you!" She saw the little girl trying to work up a good head of steam, and growled slightly, a habit she'd picked up from her mate. "None of that now, Little Miss! Sleep, I said!" She stood up tall, towering over the tiny brunette and pointing somewhat vaguely in the direction of the girl's bedroom. "Now!" She smiled as Katie looked surprised and scampered off to her room. (Uncle Spike is better at that, my ass!) Her grin widened as she went to tuck the girl in.

"Aunt Cordy?" Katie said timidly, as the woman in question made sure that she was all covered up and snug in her bed, "Will you... tell me a story?"

Cordelia smiled gently, sitting down on the bed beside the thoroughly tuck-in child. "Of course I will, sweetheart... What do you want to hear? One of these?" she said, reaching for the bookcase near the bed.

"No!" Katie said, sounding almost angry until her beautiful, but still scary, Aunt turned back to her. "I... I want the 'Good Shrike' story...

Cordelia frowned slightly. (The 'Good Shrike' story? What the hell? And aren't shrikes those unpleasant little birds that... eww...) "Uh... what's the 'Good Shrike' story, honey?"

"It's the story Uncle Spike tells me whenever he stays with me... It's all about good Prince Shrike, who lives in Blunden. He plays a lot of cards, and drinks ginger ale, and then..."

Cordelia could feel herself smiling wider and wider as her dear little niece recounted Spike's idea of a bedtime story to her. She was almost angry that she, herself, was only mentioned in passing, but... "Hmm, sorry, my dear, I never heard that one before... How 'bout I tell you my favourite story instead?" She smiled back at her little niece as the girl snuggled into the covers, and closing her eyes, began to speak...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~and this is what she said~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, Katie, well, once upon a while ago, there was a small... town. It was stuck in the middle of a great big place called... Balifornia. The town was called... Shellmouth, and there were all sorts of nasty critters running around there, trying to snack on the good, uh... Shellmouthians! That was just the way the town worked! And in this town there lived a lovely girl... She was beautiful, and fair and kind and wise, and her name was, uh... Mordelia! Now, Mordelia was lucky, and was born into a family that had lots of money... She was also unlucky, because that same family figured that money was more important than anything else, so no one ever paid any attention to Mordelia at home. But that was OK, because she had lots of friends! They would go shopping, the whole group of them, and talk about boys, and gossip, and sometimes... very rarely, mind you, they would... make fun of the less popular!

There was one girl that Mordelia would make fun of more than any other, though, and her name was, uh... Billow! Now, Mordelia just didn't like the girl! Mostly because she was smart, and funny, and really, really pretty... plus, Billow had never made a point of choosing her friends based upon their looks or wealth, which Mordelia though was rather shortsighted of her. So, Mordelia was basically an insecure little bi... um, well, she wasn't happy! But all that was about to change, because one year, there was a new girl in town! And the new girl, uh... Tuffy, was from a big city that wasn't too terribly far away!

Now, this girl Tuffy was kind of OK looking, in a skanky, I've had a hunred lo... uh, lollipops kind of way, but she was from the city, so Mordelia wanted to be her friend right off the bat, hoping that some of that fabulous L... uh, MJ magic would rub off onto her. So imagine Mordelia's surprise when Tuffy decided to be friends with Billow, and Billow's best friend Pander, instead of her! Let me tell you, she was surprised!... Shocked even! But after a little while, she decided that it was all for the best... Tuffy really wasn't Mordelia's kind of people after all!

Of course, what Mordelia didn't know was that Tuffy was hiding a secret, and it was a doozy! See, Tuffy had been picked to be kind of an un-official cop! It was her job to run around Shellmouth, in all manner of skimpy little tops, and skirts that should be more properly called belts, and stop the big evil things from hurting the good and pure. One time, she even saved Mordelia, but like I said-- saving the good and pure-- her job!

Well, once Mordelia knew just how much evil was out there, she threw herself into helping Tuffy and her friends! There was Billow, of course, and Pander, and this really old guy names Stiles... There was also this big, broody guy named Cupid... he was attractive enough, I suppose, in his way, but I never... I mean, I know that Mordelia never really thought he was all that! I mean, sure, she tried to steal him away from Tuffy, but... and besides, Mordelia could tell, just by looking at him, that he was only with Tuffy because he thought Billow was too good for him!

Now, what with Shellmouth being the mouth of... Shell... there one day came into town a very, very handsome blond guy, and the tragic mistake he thought he was in love with. His name was, uh... Screw. (Cordelia winced, glad that the girl wasn't any older!) And his nasty companion was called... Koo. It was short for Cuckoo, which is what she was! Well, our boy Screw was actually a really great guy, in his own way... he was charming, and beautiful, and luscious to look at, plus he had an amazing ass... uh, an amazing, ass-tounding old car! Only problem was that Koo had him wrapped around her badly-manicured little finger, and so he did all kinds of nasty things, just because she asked him to!

Now, if Koo had been happy with just Screw, our story would end right here! But, of course, she wasn't... she wanted Cupid, too! She had known him a long time before, and she had decided that she missed him, which just goes to show you how nutso she really was! I mean, what kind of a moron would ever want more than Sp... uh, Screw!

So, anyway, there was a big old mess, of course, and Tuffy almost... hurt Screw a whole bunch of times before she accidentally gave Koo exactly what she wanted! Tuffy, being a bit of a slu... um, slumpy girl, snuck up on Cupid and gave him a happy... a happy kiss, I mean... and it did something to him, made him want to go find Koo! So he did, and all sorts of badness ensued!

Well, eventually, Billow found a way to cure Cupid from the poison of Tuffy's kiss, and a whole bunch of other stuff happened, but it didn't really matter to Mordelia because her Screw was gone! Sure, he'd been mean sometimes, but... she knew that it was just because of Koo.

A while later, Screw came back to Shellmouth, and boy was he looking rough! He begged Billow and her friend Pander, who Mordelia was kind of seeing, to help him do something to get Koo back... she'd left him, you see, and he really thought that he missed her! Of course, he was just a man, so he didn't know what he really felt, mostly because he didn't have a woman around to tell him!

Finally, he decided to just go back to Koo and try to talk her into being with him again!

So, a whole bunch of other stuff happened, and then, one day, Screw was back in Shellmouth again!

Mordelia wasn't with Pander anymore, but her family had lost all of their money, so even though she wanted the blond wonder, she was afraid to go after him. After all, what did she have left to offer? Her ex, Pander, had even paid for her dress for the big dance, she was so broke! Mordelia went to the dance alone, but she ended up dancing with Tuffy's friend Stiles' co-worker, uh... Messy Blither-Thrice. She'd had a bit of a crush on him, you see... I mean, why not? She couldn't have her Screw... ("Oh, god... that sounded so... off!" Cordelia thought...) So anyway, they danced, and Tuffy got a special award, and then Cupid showed up like a great big poof, and danced with Tuffy himself...

Then some other stuff happened, and Cupid moved away to, uh... MJ? Yeah, he moved off to MJ, and Tuffy went into a radical decline, from what Mordelia heard... She wasn't there anymore, as she had moved to MJ as well, hoping to find a job as an actress, or maybe a clothing designer! Fortunately for Mordelia's future happiness, neither of those professions would work out, and after a couple of months, she ran into Cupid, and went to work for him, helping people who needed help! And it was there, while working for Cupid, that she ran into Screw again!

As soon as she saw him again, all those lust... lovely feelings flowed back into her, and when he told Mordelia that she looked 'smashing', she knew that she was lost! She decided right then and there that no-one and nothing but Screw would do! (Cordelia blanched slightly, once again glad of her niece's age.) Unfortunately, he couldn't stay in MJ, and ended up going back to Shellmouth, where he helped Tuffy, and Billow, and Stiles, along with Pander and his new girlfriend Wanya who was a bit of a ho... um, horrendous former bad person... in the fight against evil. Of course, after a while he got tired of taking their crap... their craziness, I mean, and went back to MJ to help Cupid in his fight, which was similar, but not quite the same.

Eventually, Screw admitted to himself that he had a big old yen for the lovely Mordelia, but he figured that she was way too good for him, so he started acting like Cupid, and spent most of his time sitting alone in the dark, brooding!

It took a while, but one day, Cupid did something particularly heroic, and was rewarded by being told that he could go and have his heart's desire, which was, of course, Billow! So he left MJ for Shellmouth, and finally won the hand of his beautiful lady!

Of course, that left Screw in MJ with Mordelia and Messy Blither-Thrice, who had joined up with Cupid and Mordelia a few years earlier.

Don't get me wrong, Screw was thrilled with this turn of events! He had a job he loved, he now owned the company since Cupid wasn't going to be coming back, and he got to spend almost all his time with Mordelia! The only problem was, he didn't know how to approach her.

Fortuantely for him, Mordelia was a girl who knew her own mind! She had wanted Screw for her own since high school, and now that she was in a position to have Screw, (Cordelia blanched again.), she was for damned sure gonna! So one day, using her authority as Screw's administrative assistant, she sent Messy Blither-Thrice on a long trip to England, telling him to find out everything he could about every demon... uh, evil person, that they didn't have a record of at the office, and once he left, well...

Mordelia snuck in to Screw's apartment in the basement of the building one night, and waited for him in his be... uh, in his big chair! And when he finally got home, he took one look at her, and dove right into the be... chair with her, and they um, talked! Yeah, they talked a lot! For the rest of the night, and most of the next day...

And they lived happily ever after...

~~~~~~~~~she stopped speaking~~~~~

"So far..." Cordelia muttered to herself under her breath. "So, Katie," she said, looking into the still-open eyes of her niece, "How'd I do?"

Katie swallowed hard. She didn't want her Aunt Cordy to growl at her again, so... "It was... it was really good, Aunt Cordy!"

Cordelia smiled. Young children were so easy to please... she'd thought that it sucked incredibly, herself, but if Katie'd liked it... "You want me to tell you another?"

The little girl tried to keep the terror of that particular fate from her voice. "No, no, no... it's fine, I... I'm really tired now!" She faked a yawn, and settled back under the covers, feigning sleep. She stayed that way until the light went out, and she heard her bedroom door shut. (Phew!) she thought, finally relaxing, (Gotta remember never to try that 'story' stall on Aunt Cordy again!) She smiled to herself as she actually snuggled down and went to sleep.

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Spike watched his mate tenderly... she was always so sweet when she slept. He grinned, remembering their first night together. He'd come home from a hard night of demon killing, all covered with slime, and when he'd come out of the shower... there she was! Cordelia Chase, the girl who'd been haunting his dreams since before Dru'd left him, was laying, bare-assed naked, on his bed! He'd backed away a bit, convinced that some other demon had gotten to her and was manipulating her emotions, but she hadn't let him get too far! She'd jumped up from the bed, and dove at him, tackling him to the floor while pulling the towel from around his hips... he still couldn't believe that he'd let their first time together be on that cold wooden floor, but... He sighed happily. Now, five years later, he wouldn't change a thing!

Angel watched his childe as his childe watched Cordelia. The former vampire never would have pictured Spike with Cordelia, but for some unknown reason, the two of them seemed to work! He heard Spike's contented sigh, and felt nothing but happiness for the blond. His childe had had too much heartache in his years upon the earth... it was time for him to have at least a little joy! "Are you going to wake her?" He asked softly, stepping up behind the blond.

"No, mate," Spike said equally softly, "I just want to enjoy this while I can." He thought for a moment before continuing. "I figure I've got two, maybe three years, tops, before she decides to move on..."

"What?" Angel almost shouted, not caring anymore if he woke the sleeping girl, "What are you talking about, Spike?"

"Shhh!" Spike hissed, dragging his former Sire into the kitchen, "Don't wake her... she doesn't know yet!"

"Know what?" Angel growled, using one of the few gifts he had left from his centuries as a vampire. "What is it that she doesn't know, Spike!"

Spike sighed, leaning against the counter as he closed his eyes sadly. "She's going to leave me, Peaches... She's gonna wake up one morning and realize that she wants more, that she wants what Willow has... a husband, not a mate! Someone to grow old with! A nice little house somewhere, instead of a dark, windowless basement apartment... and oh, yeah, children." He sighed again, opening his eyes to meet Angel's. "Lots and lots of children. She's gonna want all the things that I can't give her, and eventually, she'll find a way to leave."

"And... if she does?" Angel asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"And WHEN she does..." The blond smiled slightly at the older, now-human man, "I'll let her... but until then..." he sighed, looking again towards the couch Cordelia slept on, "Until then, I'm going to enjoy every blessed minute." He pushed off of the counter and went back to the living room, gently plucking his sleeping mate from the sofa. "G'night, Peaches... Thanks for the bowling... and say g'bye to Red for me." He walked out the front door into the night, cherishing, as he always did, the feel of the lovely brunette in his arms.

Angel watched sadly as the blond placed the woman in the car. He waved after them as they sped away into the night, and turned, heading for the stairs to do the only thing he could think of about this situation. He was going to talk to his wife. And then... he grinned slightly through his sympathetic sorrow for his childe, and then, he was going to make love to her until the sun came up! He chuckled slightly, she wouldn't know what hit her... or maybe she would... she knew him so well, after all...

End.

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