Chapter 12:
_______________________________________________________________________
He sat on her bed for ten minutes, crying through splayed fingers.
She had left him there, unable to offer any form of comfort, no “It’s alright,”
no sympathy or empathy.
The look on her face had been of discomfort, obviously unused to having
emotional men break down in her bedroom. Especially if those men were famous AND
the father of her child.
Her son.
THEIR son.
He had a son.
A son, whose eyes were so much like his, who was three years old.
He had missed three years of a child’s life. Worse, his child.
A soft knock on the doorframe made him look up. Buffy stood in the hallway, a
peacefully dozing William balanced on her hip. “Hey,” she said. “After I put him
to bed, do you want to talk some more?”
He nodded, his bloodshot eyes fixated on his child the entire time. “Yeah.”
She nodded, then padded down the carpeted hall. Spike sat on her bed for a few
seconds before rising shakily to his feet and following her. He leaned on hip
against the doorjamb, his left hand gripping the wood frame in a white-knuckled
grip.
Buffy kissed William on the top of his head before laying him down in his race
car bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he turned over in his sleep, legs
drawn towards his chest slightly, hands resting by his face, his small, open
mouth breathing small bursts of air onto the pillow. Buffy smoothed his hair
back, then laid the back of her hand to his forehead. Sighing, she lifted her
right knee from where it had been resting on the carpet, but stayed in a crouch
as she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.
---
Buffy handed Spike a mug of hot chocolate as he sat at her table, slowly
flicking through one of William’s baby books.
As she held her steaming mug in front of her, she said, “So here’s a question:
you recognized me in the restaurant, but when you saw a picture of me from four
years ago, why didn’t you know who I was?”
He shut the thick book and pulled his drink towards him. “Well,” he began. “I
knew you from somewhere, I just couldn’t remember where exactly. Four years ago,
I went on as many one-night-only deals; so many women that you got lost in them.
So, I just remembered your face, not where I knew you from.”
She didn’t say anything, and he went on the defensive. “I HAVE changed, though.
I mean, I’m 27, for God’s sake!”
She shook her head. “No, I know you’ve changed. It’s the fact that you admitted
to me being a one night stand that hurts. I mean, I knew it all along, but it
just…hurts more.”
He opened his mouth to say something when the door opened and someone called
out, “Buffy, I got your phone call. I brought Alyson; we came to see William.”
Spike glanced at Buffy, whose face was lit up. She pushed the chair out and away
from the table and made her way into the hall. Spike stood up as well, following
her path just in time to see her hug the man he now knew as her step-brother.
“Wes,” she said, voice muffled. “Thanks for coming.” He hugged her back, resting
his chin on her head, eyes closed. Then, he opened them and they came to rest
on-
“Buffy, who’s that?” Wes asked about the bowed head of Spike.
Spike raised his head and Aly gasped. “Spike?”
He smiled slightly and gave a small wave. “Hey, Alyson.”
Wes let go of Buffy and stepped closer to Aly. “How do you know each other?”
“We were in a movie together once,” Alyson said, glancing up at her fiancé.
Noticing his darkening look, she said, “Wes, he’s just a friend.”
“Right,” Wes said, his eyes now lingering on his step-sister. “Buffy, a word?”
he inclined his head towards the kitchen. Taking her by the elbow at her wary
nod, he pulled her into the kitchen.
“Buffy,” he whispered harshly. “What are you thinking?! Bringing the father of
your child into this house!”
“I didn’t call him over!” she hissed. “He just…showed up at my door with an
envelope! He’s also the one who helped me get to William because my car broke
down. Just…” She sighed. “ Don’t make a scene, ok?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tightly. “I’ll try,” he
conceded.
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, then hugged him briefly. “Thank you,”
she whispered. “Thank you…”
---
Spike looked up as Buffy walked back in with her step-brother. He felt a small
smile pull at his lips as he took in her change of wardrobe for the first time.
Her hair lay piled on the top of her head, strands falling free every once in a
while. All make-up had been scrubbed free, leaving her face natural looking. On
her legs were some loose dorm pants with ‘SDU’ written on the left leg. But it
was her shirt that made him smile.
A plain white cotton tee, it read in print ‘WORLD’S BEST MOM’. Under that lay a
slightly smudged red hand print and a giant, scribbled ‘W’, obviously both put
there by William.
“I like your shirt,” he said softly.
Buffy held out the hem of the garment and smiled. “He made it for me about a
month ago.”
“’S nice,” he said.
“Yeah…thanks.
---
Two hours later, Spike sat in the large butterfly wing chair in William’s room,
legs spread out, elbow propped up on the armrest, hand pressed against his chin.
As the small child shifted in his bed once again, Spike drew up his legs and
rested his forearms on his knees.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?”
He jumped at the sound of Buffy’s voice and looked up to see her leaning against
the door, arms behind her back. “What’s nice?”
“Watching him sleep.” She shrugged. “He looks so…”
“Tiny.”
“He’s three, Spike. He IS tiny.”
He didn’t respond, and she walked further into the room. “Earlier today…you
commented on my shirt.” He looked up at her, and noticed that she was fidgeting
with the thing behind her back. “You know, the ‘WORLD’S BEST MOM’ one? Well,
it’s just that…when he made the mom one…he made this one too.”
She held out the shirt to him, and he took it in his large hands. He ran his
fingers over the handprint, and whispered, “‘World’s Best Dad’.”
Chapter 13:
***
He threw the shirt away from him, holding in a sob. The garment landed on the
edge of William’s bed, the part with the word ‘DAD’ hanging off the side.
He heard Buffy inhale sharply at his movement and she crossed to William’s bed
to pick it up. She walked back over to him and held it in front of him
expectantly, but he pushed it away.
“Spike, take it.”
“No.”
“Take it.”
“No!”
“Spike-”
“NO!” he yelled, then lowered his voice in fear of waking William. “I don’t want
it.”
“Why-”
“Because I don’t deserve it! I don’t deserve to get something that tells me that
I’m…”
Her eyes softened, realizing his distress. He was angry with himself for not
being there. And this shirt wasn’t going to help him to be any less mad.
“‘World’s Best Dad’,” he scoffed, burying his face in his hands once more.
“Didn’t even know I was a dad, and now I’m suddenly the best.” He looked up and
glared at the offending item. “Why did he make it, anyway? I’d assumed he’d been
told I was dead or something.”
“Well…it was the ‘or something’ part. He asked where his dad was…and I just old
him that you and I didn’t get along and you left.”
“Oh, wonderful! Now he’s going to think I abandoned you. Just make this bloody
worse, why don’t you?”
“Spike, just…calm down.”
“No! I won’t calm down, and I probably will NEVER calm down!”
“Can you try?” she asked, undeterred by his yelling. “Or can we take this
somewhere else because our son is trying to sleep.”
He seemed to relax at that, glancing over at the small child. “Yeah,” he sighed,
rubbing his eyes. “Yeah.”
---
“Wes?” asked Alyson as she lay in their bed that night.
“Hmm?” he hummed from where his face was buried in her neck.
“Do you think that Spike and Buffy can ever…” she trailed off, then shook her
head slightly. “I don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“Well,” he said, lifting his head. “Honestly? I think they can, I just hope that
they don’t.”
“What?” she said, turning around. “Why would you say that? Spike is a nice guy,
and yeah, he had that whole thing with getting Buffy pregnant, but-”
“Well, he wasn’t a nice guy afterwards.”
“How would YOU know?” she asked. “I thought you didn’t know her yet.”
“Aly, I DID know her. Our parents were dating then, and I had been at the house
when she burst into the house, crying. Do you think that she wasn’t hurt?”
“Well, I’m sure she was hurt, but-”
“No, Aly! He abandoned her the day after he slept with her, and didn’t look
back! Now, he’s facing the results of his actions and they just happen to be in
the form of my step-sister and her young son.”
She was silent for a few minutes before asking softly, “It was bad, huh?”
He sighed, and tightened his arms around her. “Yeah. It was bad.”
---
William opened his eyes, blinking sleepily. Wondering where his mom was, he
pushed the covers down, grabbed Mr. Teddy, and padded over to his door. “Mommy?”
he said quietly. “Mommy?”
He slowly made his way toward the stairs, then gripped the railing as he made
his way down. He heard his mom in the kitchen, and that strange man who had been
there while he was eating his soup.
He stood in the doorway to the kitchen, clutching Mr. Teddy to him and clad in
his jammies. “Mommy?” he asked again, quietly. But the two grown-ups ignored
him.
---
“Spike, listen to me,” Buffy said as they made their way into the kitchen. “He
doesn’t know who you are yet.”
“‘Yet’?” he echoed. “As in, he’ll know eventually?”
She sighed, leaning against the counter. “Spike, sooner or later he’s going to
need to know. I figure the sooner the better.”
“So, when are you going to tell him I’m his dad?”
“Well, I-”
“Mommy?”
Buffy and Spike froze, turning to the doorway. “William,” Buffy whispered. She
threw a glance at Spike before crossing over to him. Kneeling on the ground, she
said, “William, baby, what are you doing up?”
He shrugged, his sleepy blue eyes still fixed on the blond in the kitchen.
“Well,” Buffy said, picking him up. “You’re a sicky, so we need you to rest and
get all better.” She made her way to the stairs and started up them, Spike right
behind her. “And once you’re all better, we just might go see The Spongebob
Squarepants Movie.”
He nodded, still looking over her shoulder at Spike. And as she lay him down to
sleep, he whispered to her, “Night, Mommy.” She kissed his forehead, pulling the
blankets up his body. When she pulled back, she noticed he was still looking at
Spike. She turned around and tilted her head towards William. “You want to say
good-night to William, Spike?”
His head snapped up, and he suddenly looked unsure of what to do. “Uh…”
Buffy smiled, turning to her son. “Will, do you want Spike to tuck you in?” He
nodded, blue eyes wide.
Spike sighed and walked to the bed, crouching next to Buffy. He tentatively
reached out one hand and brushed the blond hair out of his son’s eyes. He
cautiously leaned forward and placed a small kiss on his forehead. As he pulled
back, the little boy grabbed his finger with one hand. He tugged, bringing
Spike’s ear next to his mouth. He whispered something inside of it before
letting go of the finger.
Spike inhaled sharply and drew back, pulling out of his crouch. He ran his hand
through his hair, and turned and walked through the child’s bedroom door.
After a few minutes, Buffy followed. “Hey,” she said, standing next to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you hear what he said?”
“No. Why don’t you tell me?”
He took in a shaky breath, before saying, “He said, ‘Night, Dad’.”
Chapter 14:
Spike knocked on the door, standing nervously on the ‘Welcome!’ mat. The knob
twisted and the lock clicked as Buffy opened it.
“Oh,” she said, brushing the hair out of her eyes. “Hi…”
“Hey,” he said, lifting his hand in a small wave. “Listen, I was…” he stopped
when he noticed what she was wearing; a light blue, floor length gown that
molded to her every curve. She nervously adjusted the straps, and he stared when
the gown shimmered like water at the slightest movement.
When she glanced back inside nervously, he asked, “Am I…interrupting something?”
---
The dawn is breaking
A light shining through
You're barely waking
And I'm tangled up in you
Yeah
---
“What?” she said, turning around to face him. “Oh, no. It’s just…” She turned
again and looked towards the now shut door. “It’s not a good time.” She turned
to him. “My sister, Dawn, is here, and she…she kind of hates you.”
“Buffy, this whole TOWN hates me. I think I can-”
“She bought a poster of you, wrote ‘BASTARD’ on it and then lit it on fire. And
that’s before any of this happened. ‘This’, meaning you and me.”
“Oh,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “I guess this IS a bad time then.”
---
I'm open, you're closed
Where I follow, you'll go
I worry I won't see your face
Light up again
---
“Yeah,” she said, still turning around every few seconds to look at the door.
“So, what are you-”
She never got to finish her sentence, because at that moment, the door swung
open, revealing a brunette in her late teens. “Buffy, what’s taking so long? I
was beginning to get worr-” She finally caught Spike in the corner and narrowed
her eyes dangerously. “You. You know, I’ve always wondered what it would be like
to castrate someone. Looks like I get to find out.”
---
Even the best fall down sometime
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find, you and I collide
---
She began to move forward when her sister’s arm shot out and she said, “Dawn.
Not now.”
“What?” Dawn frowned, turning to face her sister. “Why?”
“Because. If he came here to talk, then we’re going to talk,” Buffy said, using
her best Mom-voice. “Now, go get ready for the wedding.”
Dawn rolled her eyes before storming up the stairs, muttering to herself.
“Oh,” Spike said, casting his eyes to his shoes, which were very interesting all
of the sudden. “’S right…the twenty-first and all.”
“Yeah,” she said, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “Listen, it’s cold.
You want to come inside?”
“Nah,” he said, waving his hand dismissively. “I’ll just go.”
---
I'm quiet, you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know
I'm always on your mind
---
He was halfway down the sidewalk and to his car when she spoke. “William…he
wants to see you.”
He turned around, staring at her.
“I-I mean, you ARE his father…he’s been asking where you went. That’s all.”
He continued to stare at her, and she grew uncomfortable. “Unless, you don’t
want-”
“Oh,” he said, shaking his head and bringing him out of his trance. “I’ll come.
It’s just…kind of surprised me there. It is a truckload of manly responsibility
come flying out of nowhere.”
She offered a small, tentative smile before walking back into the house.
---
Even the best fall down sometime
Even the stars refuse to shine
Out of the back you fall in time
I somehow find, you and I collide
---
___
“Da!” William shrieked as soon as he saw Spike. “Da!”
“Hey, buddy,” Spike said, swinging the boy into his arms. “How’s my guy?”
William scrunched up his small face and pulled at his church clothes. “Ick,” he
said.
“‘Ick’?!” Spike gasped in mock horror. “Oh no! Not the dreaded ICK!” He held
William a small distance away from him, and ran his eyes over the boy’s form as
if inspecting him before hugging the child to him. “You know,” he whispered.
“The only way to cure ‘ick’…is TICKLING!” He dug his fingers into his son’s
stomach, sending the child into a fit of giggles.
When he stopped, William smacked his tiny palms against his father’s cheeks.
“Silly Da,” he giggled.
Spike grinned despite his attempts to look horrified. “Silly, am I? I’ll show
you silly!”
---
Don't stop here
I've lost my place
I'm close behind
---
He untucked William’s shirt, exposing his son’s small belly, before placing his
mouth on the soft skin and blowing a raspberry on it, launching the boy into
giggles.
And Buffy watched them, unnoticed, and a single thought flickered in the back of
her mind:
My boys…
She shook her head when she realized that Spike was snapping his fingers in
front of her face. “What?”
“Hey,” Spike said, balancing William on his hip. “What you thinking about?”
“Oh…um, nothing, really. I just…” she trailed off, unsure of what to say to him.
Nervously, she glanced at the clock in the kitchen. Her eyes widened and she
held out her arms for William. “Good God, we’ve got to be at the church in ten
minutes!”
Spike handed their son over to her, and said, “So you’re what in this wedding?”
“Maid of honor. Have you seen my purse?” Not waiting for an answer, she walked
to the foot of the stairs. “Dawn!”
“What!”
“We’ve got to go, have you seen my purse?”
“The blue one with the silver chain?”
“Yeah!”
There were a few stomping noises, and Dawn appeared at the top of the stairs in
a gown that matched Buffy’s. “It’s by the door,” she said, walking over to the
mirror and putting her earrings in.
Buffy walked over to the door, picked up her purse, and said, “Hey, Spike? Can
you open the door for me?”
“Sure.” He opened the door for her, and she distractedly kissed him on the cheek
as she walked out.
Dawn followed her, pausing at the door. She turned to face the star and said,
“Listen. I don’t like you. I hate you, and I really wish that you had never come
to this town.”
Unfazed, he said, “Okay.”
“That’s it? No snarky, cocky remark?” He shook his head, and she glared at him
suspiciously. “What do you want with us? You’re famous, you could have anyone
you want and throw them to the side. I mean, you’ve never had a problem with it
before. What are you trying to prove, showing up here?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” She rolled her eyes. “How original. But if you don’t know what
you’re going to do with my sister, then get the hell out of Sunnydale.” She
walked out the door, not sparing him another glance.
He watched from their doorway, a contemplative look on his face as he remembered
her question: “What are you trying to prove?”
“I don’t know, Niblet. I just don’t know.”
________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 15:
_______________________________________________________________________________
Buffy pulled the pot off of the burner, placing it on a hot pad and sighing.
Last night had been tiring; all the dancing and crying and laughing and keeping
track of William…
Not to mention the “horrendous emergency” that Giles had called her about during
the car ride home.
She had left William with Dawn and headed to the offices, silently fuming at the
prospect of going to work so late.
Catching up with Cordelia Chase had made up for it, though.
Buffy had met the brunette at college. They had never been close in the
beginning, until Parker Abrams had called Buffy a whore and a whole lot of other
worse things since she was a single mother. Buffy, still feeling tender from the
experience with Spike, had cried. She had been called a ‘whore’ and ‘slut’
before, it was how she met Faith. But Parker was the first who had demanded that
since she was so desperate, that she should sleep with him.
Cordelia had jumped into the argument, reminding Parker that he was the one with
the STD.
He had slunk away, defeated, while Buffy walked away with a new friend.
Cordelia had helped Buffy in her journalism major and with caring for William,
and Buffy helped Cordelia with her fashion design major, helping create a few of
C. Chase’s better known dresses.
“Buffy!” Cordelia had greeted, air kissing each of the blonde’s cheeks. “How ARE
you and William?”
“I’m good,” Buffy had said, sitting down in her plush leather chair. “William is
fine, he was sick a few days ago, though.” She had paused, debating whether or
not to tell her old friend about the most recent tilt on her axis. “And…his
father’s good, too.”
“Whoa, back up there, sweets. ‘Father’?”
“Oh…yeah, it’s nothing, Spike came back to town, Wesley got married, and hey!
Why are you here?” Buffy had said, hoping Cordy wouldn’t dwell on the subject of
Spike.
Her hopes had been dashed when the blinding smile on Cordelia’s face dimmed, and
she’d said, “Spike…came back?” She had slammed her palms down on the desk, the
skin colliding with the wood with a loud ‘BANG’. “That bastard! I’m gonna-”
“Cordy,” Buffy had interrupted. “The thought is appreciated. Really, really
appreciated, but not needed.”
“Fine,” the brunette had said, pulling her hands back to rest in her lap. “But
if you need someone to kick his ass…”
“I’ll call Faith.”
***
“Mommy?” William asked, pulled at his mother’s pant leg. “Mommy, what’s lunch?”
His mommy didn’t answer; she was staring out the window. William pulled on her
elbow, wrapping his arms around it before hanging himself off of her forearm.
THAT got mommy’s attention.
“Oh, William! Where did you come from?”
“Bat’room.”
His mommy smiled at him, bending so that she was looking him in the face. “What
were you doing?”
“Playing wif toof paste.”
His mommy stopped smiling and said, “Oh, no,” before running into the bathroom.
“Mama? What’s wrong? Mama?”
***
One hour later, Buffy lay exhaustedly on the couch. It had taken forever
for her to scrub the Colgate out of the tiles and off of the walls. Not only had
William squirted it on the wall, but he had somehow managed to mash it into the
shag carpet in the bathroom.
The doorbell rang and she groaned. “Not one minute of rest.”
Sighing, she lifted her tired body off of the couch and walked towards the door.
Opening it, she groaned again. “Oh, god. Who are you?”
The man smiled, undeterred by her rude greeting. “Hallo, miss,” he greeted in an
Irish lilt. “The name’s Doyle. I’m Ms. Chase’s chauffeur. She would like to
invite you to dinner with her tomorrow night. She also requests that you bring
your son along with you.” The hat that had been clutched in both hands was
placed back on his head, and he nodded in goodbye before walking back towards a
black limo.
“Great,” Buffy sighed, leaning against the doorway. “Just what I need right
now.”
Just as she spoke, a car pulled up into her driveway and a young, brown haired
man in his mid-twenties stepped out, eyeing the house through his sunglasses. He
walked up the drive, a brown paper bag clutched in his hand. He jogged up the
stairs and stood on the welcome mat, looking down at her. “Buffy Summers?”
She eyed him, standing up straighter. “Yes, may I ask who you are?”
He extended the hand that wasn’t holding the paper bag. “Xander Harris,
guitarist for the Dingoes. Spike asked me to drop something off for you. It’s a
demo of our newest CD that we just finished recording yesterday. I think that he
came to give it to you yesterday, but something about a wedding popped up. So,”
he shrugged, grinning. “I am messenger Xander, Bringer of the Stuff.”
She smiled, liking this man more and more. “Well, Bringer of the Stuff, would
you like to come in for some coffee?”
He lifted his sunglasses to the top of his head before glancing down at his
watch. Shrugging, he said, “I don’t have anything better to do.”
She grinned up at him as he walked inside, shutting the door behind them both.
+++
Xander walked into the hotel suite, smiling to himself.
Coffee with Buffy had been nice…VERY nice. The more and more he had talked to
her, the more he liked her. And William was absolutely adorable. He could tell
why Spike wanted to be around her so much.
Well, other than the fact that William was his kid.
But Buffy…she was something special.
He sighed, flinging himself onto the bed, closing his eyes in happiness. The way
that her nose crinkled when she laughed…her eyes were the most lovely shade of
green, and her son was just an added bonus.
He could have no problem falling in love with Buffy Summers.
Hell, he was halfway there.
Too bad that Spike was, too.
The door flew open, hitting the wall with a ‘BANG’, and Xander sat up straight,
looking for the intruder.
“What,” Spike demanded, standing in the doorway. “The bloody hell took so long?
You were only dropping off a CD!”
Xander sighed, flopping backwards again. “We had coffee…really nice coffee.” He
raised his head. “Your kid’s cute.” Folding his arms behind hid head, he lowered
it once more. “So is his mom.”
He could tell without looking at him that Spike had just gone rigid. “What?”
“She’s nice…what can I say? Smart, funny, cute kid…beautiful eyes…”
Spike crossed the room, sitting down in the chair. “You fancy her,” he said
dully.
“Mm-hmm,” Xander said, closing his eyes again. “She makes really good coffee.”
“You fancy her.”
He opened his eyes and turned his head, fixing his friend with a raised eyebrow.
“We’ve covered this; the fancying of Buffy. And I believe it was a ‘yes’.”
“You…fancy HER.”
“I…fancy HER, yes.”
Spike was silent when he stood up, silent when he opened the door, and silent
when he left.
Xander sighed, not out of contentment, but self-disgust for saying that to
Spike…
…who he knew was in love with Buffy.
+++
Buffy opened up the brown paper bag and took out the CD, inspecting it. It was
in a thin, clear jewel case, and the CD had the word ‘DEMO’ written across it in
black permanent marker. “Well,” she said, “here goes nothing.”
She put the CD in the stereo, waiting for the music. A guitar started playing,
sounding out a familiar tune. It wasn’t until the words had begun that she
recognized it.
She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman that I've ever seen
Unlike any other remake she had heard before, this one was actually…good. Not
sped up, sticking to the original melody, and Spike…
He was singing like she’d never heard before.
She had the sightless eyes
Telling me no lies
Knockin' me out with those American thighs
Takin' more than her share
Had me fighting for air
She told me to come but I was already there
'Cause the walls start shaking
The earth was quakin'
My mind was achin'
And we were makin' it and you -
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long
Working double t-
She pressed the button for the next song, shaking her head. That was more than
enough that she could take of that song. The digital reader said 2, and she got
ready to listen to the song.
+++
Buffy was laying on the couch, contentedly listening to the CD as it finished up
track twelve.
Her eyes snapped open when she heard Spike talking in the beginning of the last
track.
“This, uh…” his voice said. “This song was inspired the other day by a little
blonde and her son. So…I hope you enjoy it, Buffy and William.”
I sing for you and only you
Wherever I go I find you
You’re in the sound of every hello
In everything I do
You’re the song I was destined to know
And I only sing for you
Buffy looked up as William walked into the room and over to her. He held his
arms out, and she lifted him onto her lap, and they listened to the song.
I went away. I should have known
You leave so many dreams behind you
Thought you’d be fine just being alone
I didn’t have a clue
But my heart had a mind of its own
And would only sing for you
You’re in the sound of the rain
Clouds in a winter sky
In a thousand unsaid words
In a thousand crazy reasons why
You were meant to fly
So fly for me and day by day
I’ll keep hoping your heart reminds you
Nothing but love can stand in our way
But love can see us through
Maybe that’s all I wanted to say
I will always sing for you
I will always sing for you
Buffy and William were quiet for a few moments, until William looked up at Buffy
with those crystal blue eyes. “Mama? Daddy…”
Buffy smiled, letting a tear roll down her face. “Daddy sang for you.” She
hugged him to her, and he buried his small face in the side of her neck. “Daddy
sang for you…”
++++
He sang for you.
---
I sang for both of you.
I love you both.
So much.
++++
TBC…
Chapter 16:
"So..." Cordelia drawled, stirring her diet ice tea with a straw. "What's the
deal with Spike?"
Buffy sighed as she attempted to spoon mashed potatoes into William's mouth.
"I'm not sure. He just kind of...blew into town for an interview with me."
Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "And..."
"He proclaimed his undying love and devotion for me, and I reciprocated, so he
threw me on the desk where we made wild, passionate love." Buffy sighed
dramatically, placing her hand over her heart before moaning, "It was SO
romantic."
Cordelia scowled at her, "You're mocking me."
"No, really?"
"And you've not only managed to corrupt William, but you've also smeared potato
on his shirt."
Buffy frowned and turned her gaze to William, who grinned at her through a mess
of mashed potatoes. "Great, more mess." She cleaned off his face with a napkin,
pouting at him. "You're just being trouble, aren't you?" She deposited the dirty
napkin on her plate before saying to Cordelia, "Where were we?"
"What REALLY happened?"
Buffy sighed, "He DID blow into town, but then he gets to my office and acts
all...not jerky, and then writes this amazing song for me and William, therefore
confusing the hell out of me."
"One: you corrupted William again, Two: he wrote you a song? Geez...the guy's
deeper than I thought." She glanced at William. "What do you think, Willy boy?
Is your daddy a nice man?"
William nodded, smiling brightly. Buffy sighed at her son's response, saying,
"He's been smiling all day?"
"Really? Will," she said, taking on her 'Aunty Cordy' voice. "How's my best
buddy?"
"Good."
"Really?" Cordelia said, turning in her chair slightly. "That's wonderful. Guess
what would make this better?"
William's eyes lit up, obviously recognizing what was about to come. "Pezzies!"
he squealed, clapping his small hands together. "Pezzies!"
Cordelia nodded, her smile growing into un-Chase like proportions. "That's
right," she singsonged, pulling out a large paper bag. "Prezzie for William AND
his mommy."
William eagerly took to the package that she placed in front of him, tearing at
it with impatient hands. His blue eyes went wide when the contents were revealed
to him, joy brimming in his irises.
"Oh, god," Buffy said, turning to her friend. "If that...whatever you bought
him, if it makes noise? I am hunting you down, Chase."
"Easy there, Summers," Cordelia laughed, raising her hands. "You won't hate me
once you see it."
"Ma," William said, spinning the present towards her. "Look."
Buffy's eyes went wide. "Oh, my god."
---
When he walked into the hotel room, Spike was sitting on the king sized bed,
strumming his guitar.
Once the ENTIRE band had made it to Sunnydale, hotels and townspeople had warmed
up to them, offering them all they had. Spike, however, was still eyed with
distaste.
"Hey," he greeted, interrupting Spike's playing.
"Hi," Spike said quietly, avoiding his eye. "What..."
"Oh," he said, shrugging. "You know...tuning my drum set, reading, watching two
of my best friends fight..." Spike's cheeks tinged pink a bit, and Chris sighed.
"Wanna tell me why the silent treatment is going on?"
"Not particularly, no."
Chris turned around, grabbed the rolling chair and pulled it so that it was
positioned across from Spike. "Why?"
"Because."
"You know, for a twenty-seven year old, you're acting seventeen years younger."
"This coming from the twenty-four year old," Spike said, finally raising his
eyes to Chris'.
Chris shrugged, "I'm still being more mature than you, and I don't even know
what the hell is going on."
"That's right," Spike agreed. "You don't know a damn thing, so why don't you
drop it?"
"Because," Chris said, keeping his tone indifferent. "If it's bugging you so
much, you'll keep it inside yourself until you go insane. So if you want to lose
all sanity, go ahead. But, record sales won't be the same if you're convicted to
an asylum."
Spike groaned, realizing that he was not going to be left alone about
this until he gave in. "Fine. You want to know, you annoying sod? It's about
Buffy."
"Oh," Chris nodded. "The hot woman with your kid?"
Spike raised an eyebrow at him, anger simmering in his eyes. "How do you-"
"You have a picture of her right next to you, dumbass."
Spike turned to the photo that was indeed resting on his night stand. He had
swiped it from one of Buffy's albums, hoping she wouldn't notice.
She and William were at a beach somewhere, her in a white bikini and sarong set,
him in some small blue trunks and floaties. William was balanced on her hip, her
sunglasses perched on his tiny nose and almost taking up his entire face.
"Right," Spike said, turning back around. "Her."
"And she has what to do with Xander?"
"He fancies her."
"And...she fancies him?"
"I don't know."
"Right," Chris said, standing up. "You don't know. So why don't you ask her
before trying to murder Xander with silence and glares?"
He walked out of the room, leaving Spike alone for a few seconds before walking
right back in. "Where the hell am I going? This is my room, too. You leave."
Spike raised an eyebrow at him before grabbing his duster and walking out of the
room.
---
Buffy was sitting on the living room couch and watching TV, having just put
William to bed, when the doorbell rang.
She muted the TV and stood up, walking over to the door. Opening it, she stepped
back to reveal..."Spike."
He was looking into her driveway at her dark blue Honda CR-V. "Hmm?"
"Is there something you would like to tell me about my car?"
He started, turning back to face her. "Your, uh...your license plate is
'SLAYER'."
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you're here? To tell me my license plate?
That's, uh...nice of you."
He shook his head, "No, not that. Listen, can I come in?"
"Sure," she said, stepping aside to let him in.
Once she had closed the door, she turned around and jumped slightly when she
came face to face with him. "Okay, you've managed to freak me out several times
now. What do you want?"
"Xander."
"You want Xander? You're telling me this...why?"
"No, I don't bloody well want Xander, I want to know what you think about him."
"What I think about him?" He nodded, and she said, "Uhm...he's nice...and sweet,
and funny..."
"Is he your type?"
"My ty...my WHAT?"
"Your type. Do you like him?"
"I guess...as a friend? Yeah. As something above platonia? No, I can't say that
I like him that way. Why are you asking me this?"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I...I don't know. I don't know
anything when I'm with you. Two days ago, your sister asked me what I was trying
to prove, stopping by your house. And I told her I didn't know. That's just the
thing, Buffy. I don't know. When I'm with other women, one of us is trying to
prove something. They're trying to prove they can get a rock/movie star, and I'm
trying to prove that I'm bigger than anyone can imagine. And then you came
along...and I lost sight of what I was trying to prove. It's like, everything
has a reason for me to be there, and then you walk in and I just...I don't KNOW
anything anymore. In the past couple weeks, you've managed to turn my life
upside down and backwards, and I don't know if I hate it."
"Uh...thanks?"
"See, that's the thing!" he pointed at her, as if trying to prove a point. "Half
the time, I don't know what the HELL we're talking about when we have a
conversation, and the other half...I'm thinking about our son. And it still
manages to boggle my mind that I have a son! A son, whose first word I missed,
whose first steps I missed, whose first tooth I missed, whose...whose birth I
missed. I'd always been so convinced that I would never miss out on anything.
And then I came to this random ass town in California...and there you were,
ready to show me all the things that I didn't have. So, what I want to know is,
will I ever have those things with you? Can you answer me that, Buffy?"
---
The opposite of love is apathy, and hate is really the same as love. If
you're so consumed with hatred for someone, you might as well be loving them
because you're thinking about them for the same amont of time.
---
Chapter 17:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buffy stood in shocked silence as Spike finished his rant, her eyes widening to
epic proportions.
His hair was tousled and in disarray from the numerous times he’d run his hand
through the bleached strands. His ice blue eyes; the same ones that William had,
were swirling around with mixed emotions. Fresh worry lines that no twenty-seven
year old should have were becoming more and more prominent, and his nostrils
were flaring lightly.
And all of the sudden, there it was.
The same uncontrollable, unfathomable desire that had consumed most of her
youth. So, without even registering her own actions before it was too late, she
grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled his lips down to hers.
___
When she’d first reached out, Spike had been sure she was about to hit
him.
So, needless to say, it was a bit of a surprise when he found her lips firmly
fused with his own. In his brief shock, he didn’t respond, causing her to pull
away, eyes wide and fingers lightly pressed against her slightly swollen lips.
And those beautiful green eyes lowered to the floor as she whispered, “I-I’m
sorry.”
He snapped out of his stupor at that and grabbed her forearms tightly. “Don’t be
sorry,” he said fiercely. “Never be sorry.” Then he pulled her towards
him once more, his mouth desperately seeking hers.
His warm tongue traced her lips, causing her to moan and grab the back of his
head. Tongues battled persistently and teeth clashed as they used their
suppressed hormones to let four years of pain, anger, and wanting to spill over
and consume them. Their hands desperately clung to any part of the other’s upper
body, needing to keep contact between them.
Then, what started out as an angry passion, slowly drifted into tenderness. Her
hands unfurled from the tight grip they’d had on his bleached locks, coming down
to cup the back of his neck. His large hands slowly unweaved the path they’d dug
in her hair, both traveling down her body to clasp her small hips loosely.
When oxygen became an issue to both of them, they pulled away long enough for a
few deep breaths before their lips met again.
---
Twenty minutes later, Buffy and Spike were sitting on her couch, his arm around
her shoulders and Buffy’s head leaning against him.
“So,” Spike said, turning his head to look at her. “What are you doing for
Christmas?”
Buffy shrugged. “Not much. Will and I were just going to stay here and pretend
it’s snowing.”
“Oh,” Spike said, raising his eyebrows. “You’ve never seen snow before?”
“I mean, I HAVE, but it was on TV.”
“Hmm. Listen, how about this: I take you and William to somewhere where it snows
a lot in the winter, sometimes even until April.”
“You’re taking us to Alaska?”
Spike laughed, ruffling her hair a bit. “No, little girl. Baltimore. I’ve
actually got a gig there on the twenty-first…you want to come?”
---
ABOUT A MONTH LATER, DECEMBER TWENTIETH, 12:30 PM
Buffy yawned once more, trying to clear her ears. She turned her head to look
over at the sleeping forms of Spike and William and smiled, remembering the past
few weeks.
She and Spike had embraced a tentative relationship, both being worried about
what would happen to William if they were to ever break up. Spike had stayed at
their house for Thanksgiving, though it had been a bit odd for him to not have
it with his band mates. And Xander…
She sighed, staring out the window. Xander hadn’t been happy about their
relationship…in fact, he’d been downright pissed off. But, he took it out on
Spike the most, only speaking to him when he had to. He still talked to Buffy,
but all conversation either became awkward or stopped completely when it came to
the subject of Spike.
She had been informed by Spike of the extent of Xander’s crush on her, and had
been slightly shocked. She knew that if they had ever dated, it would have been
strange since his best friend was her baby’s father.
She felt something soft fall around her shoulders and she looked up at Spike,
part of the blanket still in his hand. “Thanks,” she whispered, leaning her head
on his shoulder. She could almost FEEL Xander’s eyes boring holes into the back
of her head, and she buried her face into his shirt. “What’s the weather like in
Baltimore?”
“I asked them before the flight and they said that it’ll be snowing lightly by
the time we land. So, you’ll have a white Christmas after all.”
She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, using it and his body to keep her
warm. “Where are you playing again?”
“It’s a stage downtown called POWERHOUSE LIVE. It’s by a children’s place called
Port Discovery. ‘ve heard it’s really fun, think Will would like it?”
“He likes everything. Who’s going to be babysitting him while we’re at your gig
tonight?”
“Ah,” he said, shifting around to give her a bright smile. “That I’ve figured
out. See, I have this friend named Clem…”
---
8:00 PM
“Bye, Clem!” Spike called into the suite as he closed the door. Turning around,
he grinned and offered his arm to Buffy. “Shall we?”
She giggled, “We shall.”
---
POWERHOUSE LIVE
“All right, you lot,” Spike said into the microphone as he slipped on his
guitar. “I had to bloody fly from California; WARM, SUNNY California, to be in
soddin Baltimore. But, I came because it’s because of you all that I even HAVE a
singing career, and I promised someone they’d see some snow. So, here’s a song
from our newest album highway 1964.”
There was a loud cheering as a few childish voices that sounded like they’d come
out of the Muppets sang out: Deck the halls with boughs of holly fa la la
la la la la la la
Tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la la la la la
Spike grabbed his guitar and began playing as Chris began to drum, before
grabbing the microphone and singing.
Outside the carolers start to sing
I can't describe the joy they bring
Cause joy is something they don't bring me
My girlfriend is by my side
From the roof are hanging cicles of ice
Their whiny voices get irritating
It's Christmas time again
So I stand with a dead smile on my face
Wondering how much of my time they'll waste
Oh god I hate these Satan's helpers
And then I guess I must've snapped
Because I grabbed a baseball bat
And made them all run for shelter
It's Christmas time again
It's time to be nice to the people you can't stand
all year
I'm growing tired of all this Christmas cheer
You people scare me
Please stay away from my home
If you don't wanna get me down
Just leave the presents and let me be alone.
Backstage, Buffy clapped her hands and laughed, enjoying seeing Spike onstage
for the first time in four years.
He was so alive…jumping around on the stage and laughing at some points. He
looked so happy, a shocking contrast to how he had been when he’d first shown up
in her house.
Well I guess it's not cool to freak on Christmas Eve
Cause the cops came and arrested me
They had an unfair advantage
And even though the jail didn't have a tree
Christmas came a night early
Causes a guy named Bubba unwrapped my package (hot damn)
It's Christmas time again
It's time to be nice to the people you can't stand all year
I'm growing tired of all this Christmas cheer
You people scare me
Please stay away from home
If you don't wanna get me down
Just leave the presents and then leave me alone
---
An hour passed by quickly, and Spike wiped the sweat off of his forehead.
“Jesus. You people have an inch of snow outside, and it’s a thousand degrees in
here. I knew Maryland was strange. Anyway, sorry to say this, but this is our
last song of the night.” The crowd groaned and he laughed. “Oh, come on! I’ve
been here for an hour, singing to you lot! I just want to get back to my hotel
and curl up in my bed! But seriously, this next song is, uh, dedicated to two
very important people in my life: my girlfriend and our son.” There was a
smattering of shocked gasps from the crowd and he nodded. “Yeah, I have a son.
Honestly, I didn’t know about him until a few weeks ago, but he and his mum have
slowly taken over my life. So, Buffy, want to come out here?”
Buffy’s eyes widened as Chris began to pull her out, shaking her head
vigorously. “No,” she shrieked, though it was lost over the din of the crowd.
Eventually, she found herself standing next to Spike, who slung an arm over her
shoulders. “Everyone,” he yelled. “This is Buffy Summers. Buffy, meet everyone.”
He turned to her and whispered in her ear, “Go sit on the stool behind you.”
She did, and he said, “This one’s for you,” before starting to sing.
If you want me to wait
I will wait for you
If you tell me to stay
I would stay right through
If you don’t wanna say anything at all
I’m happy wondering
Since was a young man
I never was a fun man
I never had a plan and no security then
Ever since I met you
I never could forget you
I only wanna get you right here next to me
Cause everbody (whoa) needs someone that they can trust and...
You're somebody (whoa) that I found just in time
He stood next to her while Xander played a slight solo and dropped a light kiss
on her lips before pulling back and singing once more.
If you want me to wait
I will wait for you
If you want me to stay
I would stay right through
If you don’t wanna say anything at all
I’m happy wondering
Now my life is changing
Its always rearranging
It always getting stranger that I thought it ever could
Ever since I found you
I wanna be around you
I want to get down to the point that I need you
Cause everybody (wow) needs someone that they can trust and...
You're somebody (wow) that I found just in time
If you want me to wait
I will wait for you
If you tell me to stay
I would stay right thru
If you don’t wanna say anything at all
I’m happy wondering
---
When the applause for the Dingoes finally died down, Spike took off his guitar
and said into the microphone, “Well, it’s been fun, but I really need to get
back to my son.” He winked out at the audience. “And I believe my girl and I
would like some time alone.”
Little did either of them know that what Spike had said to the audience that
night would cause an avalanche of gossip to come their way…
Gossip that would almost tear them apart.
__________________________________________________________________________
TBC…
Chapter 18:
___________________________________________________________________________
Buffy threw down The Sunnydale Sun, sighing in disgust. "Spike," she
said, addressing her pacing boyfriend. "This is getting ridiculous.
These...reporters are saying that an "exclusive, inside source" told them that
you've been hiding me in the proverbial closet all this time."
The two of them had arrived home two days ago; on Christmas Eve, just in time
for Joyce's Christmas party. William, though exhausted, insister that he stay at
Grandma's for tonight, leavin his parents all alone in Spike's hotel room...
All alone, with the exception of the tabloids.
"I know," he gritted out. "I fucking know, okay?" He ran both hands
through his hair, sighing loudly. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about
it. Maybe...keeping you and William a secret would have been a better idea."
She looked up at him, visibly wounded by his words. "So...you don't want
people knowing about us?"
"What?" he frowned, turning back around to face her. Seeing her expression, he
said, "Buffy, no..."
"So," she said, emotions getting the better of her. "Is that all I was? A...a
pity girlfriend?" When he did nothing to answer her but gape open mouthedly at
her, she grew near hysterical. "You know what, Spike?" she asked heatedly. "You
can take your pity, your music, and your shitty movies and shove them up your
ass."
She gathered up her jacket, purse, and shopping bags and slammed out of his
hotel room, leaving him and his protests behind her.
---
Buffy tore through the spinning doors, tears streaking down her face. God! How
had she been so stupid? To think that Spike actually wanted her,
not because she had given birth to his son, but because he actually wanted her?
"Excuse me, miss?"
She turned around at the interruption and came face to face with a handsome,
dark haired man, clad in a chauffeur's uniform. "I'm Lindsey McDonald. Spike
gave me directions that I was to take you back to your house."
She stood still for a moment, then nodded, stepping into the limo.
And the sight that greeted her from the inside was not a friendly one.
As soon as her backside came in contat with the seating, two large burly men
seated themselves on either side of her, nearly squashing her. Across from her,
a woman was situated in a short red rube top dress and was fingering a
dangerously sharp looking nail file.
"Hey," the woman said, not looking up at Buffy. "I've got two lessons for you.
One, don't get into cars with strangers, even your son probably knows that. And
two, munchkin, next time you try and sink your fashionably manicured nails into
a star?" She looked up at Buffy and smiled chillingly. "Make sure he hasn't
broken anyone else's heart."
---
THE NEXT MORNING
Spike cursed as he failed for the thirty-first time to call Buffy's home number.
Sighing, he searched through his address book, found her cell phone number,
dialed it, and cursed once more when he came across her voice mail.
He pulled into her driveway, frowning when he saw Joyce running out, panic
written on her features.
"Joyce?" he said, stepping out of the car. "What's wrong?"
"Is Buffy with you?" she asked, craning her neck to see into his car.
"No," he said. "I thought she came to your house last night, after I called
you."
"She didn't come, so I thought that she'd be here. She's not here, Spike. She
didn't come home at all today."
"How do you know?"
"She has a calender that she keeps on her refrigerator. Each day, she crosses it
off. If she misses one day, she goes crazy. Today isn't crossed off, Spike.
She didn't come home."
"Fuck," he breathed. "Fuck. Get William; we're going to the hotel."
---
"Listen," Spike tried again. "You must have seen her. About five foot
one, blonde hair, green eyes?"
Scott Hope, the doorman, thought for a few moments before his eyes lit up. "Ohh,
her! Pretty little thing; too bad she was crying. Yeah, she left with your
chauffeur."
Spike frowned. "She didn't," he argued. "I already called Ethan, he didn't pick
her up last night. What did this guy look like?"
When the sandy haired man didn't answer for a while, Spike barely managed to
restrain himself from hitting him. Panic was coursing through his veins,
threatening to overwhelm him if he didn't get some answers, and fast. "What did
he look like?! Did you get a name?"
"Name? Yeah, a name...it began with an 'L'...Logan? Larry? Laurence...oh!" He
snapped his fingers. "Lindsey. Lindsey McDonald."
Spike's eyes widened, fear finally consuming him. "Fuck," he whispered again.
"Not him."
"Spike?" Joyce said, tears in her eyes. "What...what's wrong? Who is Lindsey
McDonald?"
Spike turned around to face her just as a tear rolled down his face. "He's bad
news," he croaked out. "He works for Glory."
"He works for glory? Well, that's an odd thing to work for," Scott commented.
"Glory?" Joyce asked.
"She's...a mistake I made a couple months ago. I was with her for about...two
months, and she became too attached. I broke it off, she trashed my hotel
room..." He shook his head, heading to his car. "This is not good, Joyce. This
is not good. She's psychotic; she'll kill you if she has to. She told me
so."
Joyce gasped. "You mean..."
Spike nodded. "She has Buffy, and God knows what she's going to do with her." He
shut his door hard, anger etched onto his features. "But I'll be damned if she's
going to get away with it."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 19:
Buffy sat in the rather comfortable chair, her wrists tied behind her back
and her ankles tied to the front legs of the chair.
"You know," she said, addressing one of the bulky men watching her. "I still
can't believe you parents named you Dreg. I mean, thank God I went with
William."
The man shrugged. "I'm pretty sure they were high or drunk. And what about your
parents?"
"Are my parents high and/or drunk?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, what were they thinking; naming you 'Buffy'?"
"Well," she said, shifting around in her seat so that her rear didn't fall
asleep. "It's not my real name. My little sister, Dawn, she couldn't say
'Bethy', which is what my parents called me." She shrugged. "Buffy."
"Yeah, well," groused the other large man. "My parents were perfectly sober, and
they STILL named me Jeeves. Jeeves! It's like they wanted me to be a fucking
butler."
"Hey," Buffy offered in consolation. "You've got a cool nickname though."
"Jinx?" he scoffed. "That's because I was such a screw up in high school, and it
just stuck."
"Still, Jinx is cooler than Dreg. No offence," she added.
"None taken," Dreg said, waving away the apology.
- - -
THE NIGHT BEFORE
"Look," Buffy sad, looking nervously between the men that were on either side of
her. "What ever my...boyfriend did to you, I'm really sorry. Why are you taking
this out on me?"
"Because," the woman said, inspecting her nails. "You've got everything he
wouldn't give me; a real relationship, his love, even a little brat." She looked
up at Bffy again and tilted her head towards the elderly gentleman next to her.
"But if he hadn't left me, I wouldn't have met Quentin, now would I have,
Quenty?"
Buffy watched as the man gave her an endearing smile in response, and couldn't
help but think 'This is going to be the most stupid kidnapping ever, isn't it?'.
But out loud, she said: "But, if you two are . . . together, then why the
seeking of revenge?"
She stopped smiling. "I want to make him sweat a little," she said, tenting her
fingers together. "Make him panic. Make his heart crack slowly until it shatters
and there's nothing left but a disgusting, oozing, bloody mess!" She calmed,
smoothing down her hair. "I told him once that I'd kill someone if I had to. I
don't think he knows I wasn't serious. I mean, come on, prison stripes are not
flattering."
Buffy stared at her for a few minutes, then, "You're just full of the crazies,
aren't you?"
She smiled again. "Maybe. Possibly. Oh, and by the way, the two idiots next to
you are Dreg and Jinx. They'll be your body guards. You'll be staying in my
penthouse and if you want anything, just ask them."
"You're awfully calm for someone who just kidnapped a person," Buffy observed.
"You're awfully calm for someone who's just been kidnapped."
---
TWENTY FOUR HOURS MISSING
"How are you this calm?!" Spike yelled into the phone. "Buffy has been
kidnapped, and you're bloody snoggin' your secretary!"
There was an angry sounding retort on the other line, and Spike snarled, "Same
to you."
"Spike?" Joyce asked, coming downstairs from tucking William in. "Who was that?"
"Hank," the man bit out. "I'm going to call the girl."
"What girl?"
"Red. The one that's named after a bleedin' tree?"
"Oh," Joyce said. "Willow. Listen, why don't you let me call her? She's...not
too fond of you."
Spike sighed. "Yeah, I know. 's understood. I'm gonna go . . . call the band."
---
"So," Buffy said around a mouthful of a grilled cheese sandwich. "You two are
going to get me out of here, quit from Glory Inc., and do . . . . what?"
They exchanged looks. "We were wondering if maybe you could get us jobs with the
Dingoes," said Jinx. "As bodyguards."
"yeah," Dreg added. "And we don't want to work for Glory anymore. Plus . . . we
like you. And we figure that you want to see your son and fiance again, right?"
"Well, I-" she started, then stopped. "Fiance? Oh, we're not . . . engaged.
We're just dating."
"That's not what the magazine said," Dreg commented, lifting up the offending
object for her to look at.
Buffy gasped as she read the title:
FAMOUS ACTOR AND SINGER, SPIKE GILES, HAS CANCELLED HIS BAND'S TOUR IN
ORDER TO SEAR FOR HIS MISSING FIANCEE!
"Crap."
_________________________________________________________________
Chapter 20:
Buffy grimaced as Dreg tightened the ropes around her wrist. They had let her
loose for about an hour to regain the feeling in her hands and feet, but had
begun to tie her back up when Jinx had gotten a call that Glory was on her way
up.
"Sorry about this," Dreg muttered, pulling even harder on the thick rope. "But
it's only temporary."
"That's..." she winced again. "...okay."
"We're going to get you out of here," Jinx added. "As soon as Glory gets here,
we're going to go through with the plan, ok?" He looked towards the door and hid
next to it. "She's coming," he said in answer to their questioning looks. "I'm
only getting into position."
Dreg rolled his eyes, standing up and assuming his body guard post next to
Buffy's chair.
The clicking of high heels sounded louder and louder with each step that Glory
took towards the door, until the doorflew open (and nearly hit Jinx), revealing
Glory.
Her eyes narrowed on Buffy and she shook her curly hair out of her face.
"Listen, midget, this is how this is going to..." she stopped, looking around
the room and finally realizing that one of her 'devoted' henchman was missing.
"Where's Jinx?" She glared at Buffy. "What the f-"
She was cut off as Jinx wrapped his arms around her and pressed a chloroform
soaked cloth over her face. She let out a gasp and struggled against him,
scratching his arm and face with her long, blood colored nails.
After a few minutes, she finally went limp in his bulky arms, and he tossed her
unceremoniously to the floor. "Come on," he said, gesturing towards them. "We
don't have a lot of time."
Dreg hurriedly untied her wrists and feet, glancing up at her. "I think it's
time that you went home."
---
Spike ran his hands over the smooth picture frame that encased a signed
photograph of his band.
'To my biggest fan,' was what his inscription read. 'From, Spike
Giles'.
"How," he said, chucklng. "In the hell did this get here? Joyce," he called.
"Where did Buffy get this?"
Joyce popped her head out of the kitchen to see what he was talking about. "Oh,
that," she said, giving him a toothy grin. "Cordelia bought it for her and
William."
"Where did she get it?"
"E-Bay."
Spike glanced at the pricey piece of memorabelia. "Huh."
Truth be told, Spike was being extremely calm, considering the situation he was
in. But then again, if you took a close look at him you would see that his eyes
were slightly glazed over and his hair was tousled.
He was either in shock, or drunk.
Or both.
The doorbell rang, startling him out of his reverie.
"Spike?" Joyce called. "Will just threw his food at the refrigerator so I need
to clean it up, can you get the door?"
Spike heaved a long sigh and sauntered towards the door.. He threw it open, and
was greeted by Wesley's fist.
---
The only trouble that they had run into had been Lindsey McDonald, and Jinx had
quickly solved that problem with a quick blow to the head.
"Come on," Dreg said, ushering Buffy into the car. "We need to drive, and we
need to drive FAST."
Buffy closed the door behind her after she climbed in, and began nervously
rubbing at her raw wrists as Jinx fumbled with the keys.
Finally getting them into the ignition and starting up the car, Jinx tore out of
the hotel parking lot and began the drive back to Buffy's.
Back to home.
---
"You son of a bitch!"
The cry came from two people, both having heavily British accents, though one
was slightly muffled.
"You bloody bastard," Wesley spat, barely being contained by Alyson. "I knew
from the day I found out that you were back, I KNEW that you were going to be NO
BLOODY GOOD!" He started for Spike again, but Alyson squeezed his bicep, and he
backed down slightly.
"I'm no good?" Spike asked, finally bringing his hand away from his bloodied
face. "Tell me, mate, what have I done to her to be no good?"
"Everything!" he spat. "You took advantage of a nineteen year old girl! You
bloody well left her alone the morning after you took her virginity, and left
her with a son! She's had to raise that boy by herself for the past few YEARS,
and he's grown up so far without a FATHER! Do you not realize that that's the
exact same way Buffy spent HER childhood? Fatherless?"
"Wesley!' Joyce reprimanded, coming to joing the fray.
"I'm sorry, Joyce," he said. "But I cannot STAND this man! Hes the bloody bane
of my step-sister's existence, and..."
He trailed off when he noticed that Spike wasn't paying attention to him, but
rather looking out the door, past Wes' shoulder.
He turned around and saw a black Rolls Royce pull up, the windows tinted so dark
that you couldn't see inside.
"That..." Spike said, swallowing hard. "That's Glory's car."
A car door opened and a large, burly man stepped out.
"Oh, this can't be good..."
Chapter 21:
“Shit,” Spike said, turning around and running to the kitchen. “Joyce, I’m going
to get William. You get the-”
“Spike,” Alyson called. “Someone-”
“Not now, Aly,” he snapped, scooping William into his arms. He wiped his own
face with a wet cloth, and then taking another one and wiping William’s. “We’re
going to be okay, alright?”
“Spike!” Joyce called. “I think that you-”
“Not now!”
Another day is going by
I'm thinking about you all the time
But you're out there
And I'm here waiting
“But-”
“NO!”
“Would you-”
“No!”
“SPIKE!!!”
The bleached blond winced as the three voices rang out, demanding that they not
be ignored. “All right,” he called. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” He hoisted William
up further onto his hip and walked down the hall towards the door. “Now what did
you…” he trailed off, seeing who was standing at the bottom of the sidewalk.
And I wrote this letter in my head
Cuz so many things were left unsaid
But now you're gone
And I can't think straight
“Joyce,” Alyson warned. “I think you might want to take Will from Spike.”
William’s grandmother did so, and just in time, because Spike took off and out
the door, running as fast as he could towards Buffy.
Her smile was wide and brilliant, beckoning him closer with each giant leap that
he took. The force he ran at her with caused them both to fall to the ground
when they collided.
He tackled her to the grass, pressing kisses all over her face and neck while
she giggled. “Spike,” she laughed. “Stop! That tickles.” She grabbed his face
and brought it towards her own. “I’m okay, see? I’m right here, so stop
panicking.”
Spike rolled his eyes, causing the tears that lay dormant in his eyelids to fall
out. “Stop panicking, she says.” He leaned his face closer to her. “I’ve just
been through the worst few days of my life, and you want me to stop panicking?”
He dropped a light kiss onto her lips. “Not going to bloody happen.”
And with that, he pressed his lips more firmly to hers.
This could be the one last chance
To make you understand
After a few good minutes of making out on her lawn while everyone looked on a
bit uncomfortably, Buffy pulled back from him. “By the way,” she said, glaring
up at him. “When the HELL did you propose to me?!”
He frowned down at her. “What?”
“The newspapers?” she said as though it were obvious. “They said that you had
cancelled your tour to look for your ‘fiancée’. When were you going to tell me
that we were getting married? Because I wouldv’e like to have known, and-”
He cut her off with another kiss, and one of his hands left hers to search
around in his pocket. When his fingers hit the small velvet box, he pulled it
out and held it in front of her. “When you came back to me seemed like a good
time,” he whispered, and flicked the box open.
I'd do anything
Just to hold you in my arms
To try to make you laugh
Cuz somehow I can't put you in the past
I'd do anything
Just to fall asleep with you
Will you remember me?
Cuz I know
I won't forget you
Buffy gasped as she came face to face with a princess cut sapphire engagement
ring, diamonds surrounding the larger gem.
“Buffy,” Spike asked. “I love you…so much. Will you marry me?”
Buffy took the box out of his hands, stared at it for a few minutes…
And then grinned.
---
FOUR MONTHS LATER…
Buffy smoothed down her dress, trying to get the creases out of the fabric. “Hey
Willow?” she called out nervously. “Do I look OK?”
Willow walked up behind her and smiled at her friend’s reflection. “You look
fine,” she said, then began struggling with the zipper on the wedding dress.
“But this zipper is evil.”
Together we broke all the rules
Dreaming of dropping out of school
And leave this place
And never come back
With a few more tugs, the zipper finally rose to the top and they snapped it
together. “There,” Buffy sighed. “All good.”
A knock at the door caused them to jump slightly, and Buffy called out, “Who is
it?”
“It’s me, love,” came Spike’s voice. The door began to creak open. “Can I come
in?”
“No!” Buffy shrieked, throwing her weight against the door. “You can’t see the
bride before the wedding!”
“I um, I didn’t realize that those rules applied to me,” Spike said, sounding
confused.
“Well they do,” Buffy retorted. “Now go leave and make sure that Oz is ready.”
With a few grumbled curses, Spike did as he was told and walked down the
hallway.
“Okay,” Buffy said, letting out a sigh and turning back to Willow. “It’s time to
get married.”
---
Buffy leaned her head against Spike’s tuxedoed chest as they danced, and watched
Oz spin Willow around, her beautiful white wedding dress fanning out around her.
“They’re so cute together,” Buffy sighed, moving her head so that she was
looking up at her fiancé. “The wedding was just beautiful.”
“Yeah,” Spike said, smiling down at her. “They deserve each other.”
So now maybe after all these years
If you miss me have no fear
I'll be here
I'll be waiting
This could be the one last chance to make you understand
And I just can't let you leave me once again
“And just think,” Buffy said, grinning. “That’s going to be us in two months. I
can’t WAIT to walk down the aisle.”
Spike waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. “I can’t wait for the wedding
night,” he whispered into her ear.
“Spike,” she giggled, slapping at his chest playfully. “Stop it.”
He grinned at her, running his hands up and down the sides of her light blue
Maid Of Honor dress, effectively tickling her.
“Spike,” she whined, trying to squirm out of his grasp. “Stop it!”
I'd do anything
Just to hold you in my arms
To try to make you laugh
Cuz somehow I can't put you in the past
I'd do anything
Just to fall asleep with you
Will you remember me?
Cuz I know
I won't forget you
He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her slight body clear off the floor,
spinning her around.
“Hey!” Willow called. “Stop stealing my spotlight!”
Buffy grinned against Spike’s chest as she buried her face in it, her cheeks
flaming bright red.
“It’s okay, love,” Spike said, dropping a kiss onto her hair. “Don’t pay any
attention to them. It’s only me.”
She looked up at him, admiration shining in her eyes. “I love you,” she sighed
out.
“I love you, too,” he smiled. “And I’d do anything to stay with you forever.”
I close my eyes
And all I see is you
I close my eyes
I try to sleep
I can't forget you
Nanana
And I'd do anything for you
Nanana
I'd do anything
Just to hold you in my arms
To try to make you laugh
Cuz somehow I can't put you in the past
I'd do anything
Just to fall asleep with you
Will you remember me?
Cuz I know
I won't forget you
I'd do anything
To fall asleep with you
I'd do anything
There's nothing I won't do
I'd do anything
To fall asleep with you
I'd do anything
Cuz I know
I won't forget you
________________________________________________________________________
"I don't understand why we're doing this, luv. We've already done this."
Buffy looked up at her husband of two months and smiled. "Because the last time
we tried to do this interview, we had to cut it short because William was sick,
remember?"
Spike sighed, rubbing his hand across his face. "Fine. Where did we get to with
it?"
Buffy hit the plaly button on the tape recorder and they heard:
BUFFY: So, uh, I’m just going to ask you a few questions about your new movie,
Schizophrenia. What was it like working with Dana Halliwell and Christina Lyons?
SPIKE: Right, well, Dana and I had worked on a movie together before, so we got
along fine. She’s always been a breath of fresh air. And Christina? God, she’s
adorable.
BUFFY: So…you LIKE children?
SPIKE: Like ‘em? I love ‘em. Nothin better than a little kid thinking you’re the
best thing in the world...that wasn’t supposed to make me sound like an
ego-maniac. I meant that…it’s nice. Being the most important thing in someone’s
life. (pause) Makes me feel all manly.
The tape player stopped, having gotten to the end of the tape. Buffy picked it
up, eyed it for a couple seconds before pointing it in Spike's direction. "I
cannot believe that you said that."
He groaned, leaning his head back onto their couch and throwing his arm over his
eyes. "Join the bloody club."
Buffy laughed at him, tossing one of the throw pillows at him. "Come on, we have
to get this done and over with; your movie comes out in a month!'
He groaned again, not moving from his position. "Don't remind me; I hate
premieres."
"Aww," she teased, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "But that was before you
met me."
He opened his eyes, grabbed the hand mussing up his hair and kissed the
fingertips. "True."
She giggled, withdrawing her hand from his grasp. "Thank you. Now, shut up so
that we can get this over with."
"Fine," he sighed, sitting up straight on the couch. "Fire away."
---
Giles put the interview down on his desk, and lookd up at his most prized
reporter. Taking off his glasses to clean them, he said, "Well, Buffy, I must
say, despite your feelings when you first got the assignment, you managed to
make my nephew sound like a decent person..."
"And a good husband," Buffy added, rolling her eyes. "I know, I know, I put him
in the spotlight of the good people. Call me selfish, but I didn't want people
to think that I married a self-righteous..." she glanced over at William, who
had come to work with her, and covered his small ears with the palms of her
hands. "...bastard." She took her hands off of William's head and grinned at her
boss.
Giles shook his head, standing up from behind his large mahogany desk. He walked
around it and stopped next to Buffy as she stood up. "Well done, Buffy." He gave
her a small hug. "You did a good job."
She bent down and picked William up, placing him on her hip. "Thanks, Giles.
I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
Her boss nodded, and she walked out of his office and straight into Spike.
"Hey," she said, her eyes lighting up. "What are you doing here?"
"What?" he questioned, wrapping an arm around William and Buffy. "I can't come
to visit my wife?"
She grinned and kissed him on the cheek as they began to walk out the building
together. "You can visit me anytime."
"Good," he said, pushing the doors open. "I plan to."
"Butthead."
"Did you just call me a butthead?"
"...yes."
"God, I love you."
_________________________________________________
SCHIZOPHRENIA
As many of you know, I never used to be a big fan of Spike Giles. It might have
had something to do with the fact that he got me pregnant when I was nineteen,
and left me alone for the next four years. But...he's come a long way since
then. Now, he's a decent man, a good husbnd...and a wonderful father to our
three and a half year old. When he blew back into town a couple months ago, I
didn't know WHAT to think. Would he be an ass? Would he remember me? Would he
want to get to know our son? Would he find out about our son?
I didn't know.
But everything worked out for the better, and our life together now only began
with this interview.
So, if he sounds a bit too goody-goody...well, I'm sorry, but he's my hubby and
there's nothing you can do to change that, because I know that he'd do anything
for me.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________