Finally, Giles roused himself out of his shocked stupor, and asserted 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."

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 hard on 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 here 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 yelled. 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 well imagine 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, but 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 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 allowed the door to 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 narrowed when they clashed with hers.

"No."

"Open it, or I will bloody break it in. Do hear me?" 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 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, almost as if 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 the 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....

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, the 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 eyes, 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, she 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

They sat there on her mom's couch in silence again, both lost in their own world. Spike could feel his demon getting pushed further back, and his mind played over the recent events that had caused that to happen. He'd never given much thought to children, mostly because he was under the impression he would never have any. He had never gotten off on feeding on children like a lot of his kind, but now the thought of that made him sick, and he wondered what was happening to him.

"Spike?"

"What?"

"How come you've been such a jerk since you came to town?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he was always a jerk, which wouldn't be far from the truth. In actuality, he had acted in a manner far less violent than he was used to, but he knew what she was referring to and decided to give her an honest answer. "Mostly 'cos I was angry, I suppose."

"At me? What did I do?? Well, besides hit you over the head that time, but you so deserved that."

Spike gave her a half smile. "Yeah, guess I did. No, was angry at me."

"Huh?"

Spike thought she looked cute with that confused look on her face. Going for brutal honesty, he asked, "Buffy do you know what I usually do to virgins?" At the hesitant shake of her head, he replied, "I hurt them, is what. And I like it."

He could see the horror etched on her face, and he pressed on. "I'm a vampire, luv. A demon. And we like causing pain and death. It's what we do."

"But... you uh, didn't really hurt me." Buffy said hesitantly, finding herself confused. "Well, you did at the end, but that was different."

"Yeah, it was."

"So..why didn't you hurt me?"

"My demon wanted to, believe me."

"So, what stopped it?"

After a lengthy pause, Spike finally said, "I did."

"oh. So, uh.. what happened to you when I freaked?"

"The demon took control."

"Oh. I think I get that. But that still doesn't explain why you've been such an ass since you came to town."

"Like I said, I was angry."

"Yeah, but why?" Buffy pressed.

Spike looked over at her in mock annoyance. "Boy, you really ask the tough questions dontcha? Ok, you really want to know why? I'll tell you. But don't complain if it doesn't make a whole lot of sense." Buffy nodded. "The demon's pretty much been in the drivers seat for the last two years. I've been one mean son of a bitch." At her horrified look, he smirked. "Yeah that's right baby. Bad. The demon population the world over has suffered greatly."

"Demons?"

"Yeah, demons. Don't know why, but the human scene got a bit old. Demons were more of a challenge, put up more of a fight. But even that got old. Then I heard some talk about the slayer, and I thought, well, there's my next challenge." He didn't look at her as he told her this, not wanting to see the condemning look on her face. "So I arrive in Sunnydale to take out the Slayer, and who do I find? You. The Slayer. So yeah, angry here."

"It's not my fault you don't get to kill a slayer!" Buffy said indignantly.

"Yeah, well that's not what caused the anger. I discovered I felt something like guilt when I saw you. Me, feeling guilt. I don't feel guilt, I'm a vampire. But that's what I felt. And it brassed the demon off but good."

"Oh. Ok, that makes a little sense. So, are you still pissed?"

Spike smiled at her and shocked her by reaching for her hand. "Yeah, my demon's not happy with all these tender feelings I seem to be having, but I'll try not to take it out on you again, ok?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice. Because, you know, you were kind of annoying earlier." Buffy remarked with a slight teasing tone in her voice.

Spike snorted. "And like you weren't?"

"I so wasn't."

Spike's sensitive ears picked up the sound of Buffy's mom finally going all the way up the stairs. He had been aware of her presence, but didn't really blame her. At least not enough to call her on her eavesdropping. He was actually amazed she hadn't tried to stake him on sight, and another sliver of human emotion snuck in on him. But this time, he just accepted it, didn't lash out at the one his demon deemed "responsible" for it. The girl sitting next to him.

Buffy's face turned serious, and her eyes hardened a bit. "Spike, there are a few things I need to say to you, things I've pretty much been holding onto for 2 years now. I know it probably won't make a difference to you, but I have to say it anyway."

Spike nodded. "Fine."

Taking a deep breath, Buffy plunged ahead. "Ever since that night, I've been really confused. But the bottom line is, you hurt me. And you terrified me. And if I wasn't the Slayer, you'd be terrifying me right now. But killing vampires is my job, and I'm good at it. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt about that night, because I realize you really were trying to make it good for me, which added greatly to my confusion. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't seen you in the mirror, and I'd rather not think about that." Then, looking straight into Spike's intense blue eyes, Buffy added fiercely, "But what I can tell you is this. If you hurt me again, I will kill you. If you hurt our son, I will kill you. If you hurt any of my friends or family, I will kill you. Understand?"

Spike looked away, but Buffy still caught the flicker of sadness in his eyes, which only added to her confusion. Why was he so damn confusing? "Yes, I understand."

Buffy nodded. "Ok, good. And just so you know, I'm not making idle threats here. You're Blake's father, and I'm not entirely certain there isn't a reason why we were given a chance to have this baby, which is why I'm even willing to take this chance with you. I'm going on gut instinct here, so please don't make me sorry, ok? If you don't want a part of this or if you know you can't be trusted, you are more than welcome to walk away now. I won't stop you."

"Not walking away from my son." Spike replied, finding himself oddly proud of Buffy's speech to him. He had discovered she had grown claws, now he realized she'd also grown up a bit.

"Alright, just remember what I said. I'm dead serious." Looking at her watch, Buffy groaned. "Uh, time to go to bed, I have school in the morning."

Spike looked at her in surprise, then remembered how young she really was. "What do you do with the boy while you're at school?"

Standing up, Buffy answered, "Mom takes him to the gallery and watches him there."

An odd feeling hit telling him that he had missed out on a lot of his boy's life, and that tugged at him. "I can watch him."

Spike watched with dread as Buffy's face closed off and she shook her head. "No. Not going to happen."

A small glint of anger found its way back into Spike's eyes as he retorted, "He's my son."

Putting her hands on her hips, Buffy replied, "Spike, I said I was willing to take a chance. That does not mean that I trust you."

A stab of hurt found its mark, and Spike found himself with an internal war once again. But before, when he would have reacted in anger, this time he allowed himself to react in acceptance, knowing the words she spoke were most likely true. "Ok. I guess we'll have to work on that, won't we?"

Buffy gave him a relieved smile, and Spike felt like he had passed a test. "Yeah, guess so. Bring him on up, let's get him back to bed."

"Can I just sit with him a while more?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, Spike." At the look of anger on his face, Buffy added, "And if you try that controlling claim thingie on me again, I'll kick your ass."

That made Spike smile, as he drawled, "Yeah? Like to see you try."

Buffy shrugged, as she pulled him up off the couch. "Maybe we can spar sometime. Giles'd like that. I'm always pounding on him."

"Yeah, maybe." Spike followed Buffy up the stairs, noticing the light was still on in her mum's room. Reluctantly, he lowered his son into his crib, wanting to have him back in his arms again. But, he knew it was his fault Buffy didn't trust him, and allowed himself to curse his demonic side. He had been honest with her tonight, and he knew he'd been a jackass to her. Blame it on his defense mechanism, or whatever, Spike decided then and there he was willing to do whatever it took so that he earned Buffy's trust. He wanted it, and he hadn't realized how much he needed it until now, as he looked at his precious sleeping son, then back at Buffy's gentle face. He smiled at her, and allowed himself to be drawn out of the room.

Closing the door quietly behind her, Buffy asked, "So, how did it come about that you got yourself invited to Giles for a drink?"

"Saved his life, is what."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you can ask him. Think your Watcher is a bit on the lonely side."

"Yeah, maybe." She turned to head to the bathroom, then looked back at him and announced, "Just so you know, I'm sleeping in Blake's room tonight."

Spike held her gaze, then nodded his head, acknowledging her unspoken statement that she would be watching over her son against him. Again, the need to wipe that doubt and mistrust from her face stuck Spike like a sledgehammer, even while he knew he was responsible for putting it there. No, he corrected, the demon put it there. Yeah, well you helped, mate, Spike chastised himself.

"Better be getting to bed with you then." Spike commented, as he turned around and went back down the stairs, knowing Buffy was watching him walk away.

As Buffy settled into the twin bed in Blake's room, she realized that her most of her conflict surrounding that night was gone. Whatever the outcome of the future, for that she was grateful. She was glad they had been able to talk, that he now knew exactly what he had done to her. And she could so do without the piddly shit fighting they kept engaging each other in.

Joyce also finally allowed herself to shut off the light, and tried to sleep. She had no guilt about eavesdropping on their conversations. Regardless if Buffy was the Slayer and could handle herself against a vampire, she was still her little baby girl. And that vampire downstairs had hurt her. But, Joyce had also seen something else in Buffy, something that would flash in her eye when she would talk about "him." It had been enough for Joyce to allow herself the benefit of the doubt when he had shown up at their door, wanting to see how they interacted with each other. And again, it was her mother's intuition that told her that the entirety of Buffy's feelings towards Spike were not all bad. That was the only thing that kept her from sending a stake through his heart, because she just wanted to see her daughter happy. She realized most would think her foolish for giving an evil vampire the benefit of the doubt, but Joyce felt it was the right thing to do. So for now, she would just watch and see what happened. And pray she had made the right decision.

With that thought in mind, Joyce drifted off to sleep.

tbc..

Buffy snorted. "Please, you sleep like the dead. I've only been calling your name for like the last 5 minutes. Not my fault you wouldn't wake up."

"Yeah, well, I am dead. And it's my nighttime, supposed to be sleeping right now." He grumbled, running a hand through his unruly blonde hair.

"Well, I need to talk to you, ok?" Buffy informed him. Spike nodded his consent, and Buffy continued. "I'm leaving for school right now. My mom will be leaving soon, with Blake. She doesn't want you getting in her way, ok? She's kind of nervous being here alone with you without me here. Now I'm just going to ask you this one time. Does she have a reason to be?"

"I'm not going to hurt your mum."

Buffy searched his face, seeing the slightly offended look he was trying to hide from her, and nodded. "You better not. And you are not to try to see Blake this morning either."

Spike opened his mouth to interrupt her, but Buffy held up her hand to cut him off. "No Spike. We're doing this by my rules. Any contact you have with him will be with me right there, understand? "

Spike glared at her. "Wouldn't hurt my boy."

"And that's what I'm counting on Spike, and that's the only reason why you're being allowed to stay here today. But like I said, we're doing this my way. Ok?"

Spike knew by the steely and determined tone Buffy used that there was no sense arguing with her, even though the temptation was there. Slowly he nodded his head in acceptance. "Right. Won't get in your mum's way. When are you going to be home?"

"After four, or so. My mom is working until five. I'll pick up Blake on the way home."

"Right then." Spike found himself feeling awkward at this slightly domestic scene, something he wasn't used to feeling. He was the Big Bad, daily pleasantries weren't in his usual vocabulary. "Well, uh..have a good day."

Buffy gave him a strange look. "Uh, Ok, I will." Flipping her hair behind her shoulder, she headed back into the kitchen, leaving a confused vampire behind. He heard her say goodbye to her mum, telling her that she had talked to Spike, and he had promised to behave. Spike could hear the slight edge of fear in Joyce's voice when she responded, and he laid back down, finding himself oddly bothered by the fact that Buffy's mum was scared of him. The voice of the demon was growing more faint, bringing his more human emotions to the surface, where they hadn't been since he'd been turned. Annoying, but strangely comforting, and he was glad he and Buffy had come to their little truce last night. The constant war inside of him had eased a bit now, and he now knew why. Trust? No, they were right not to trust the demon, but Spike knew it was ok for them to trust William.

Spike heard Buffy leave, and the sound of Blake's sweet little voice babbling in the kitchen reached his ears, causing him to smile. Then he heard Joyce tell the boy it was time for her to get ready, and Spike pretended to be asleep when she passed through the room on her way to the stairs. He heard the swish of material and the padding of feet up the stairs, and allowed his eyes to open up slightly, looking after them longingly. He noticed the stake Joyce had gripped in her hand, and his respect for her grew. Good for her, not a stupid woman. And she was doing it to protect his son, even better. Blake waved at him from his place over her shoulder just as they reached the top of the stairs, and Spike was startled by the tears that sprang into his eyes at that sweet innocent gesture. At least one person didn't appear to be afraid of him, and Spike intended to keep it that way.

Rearranging the pillow so it was more comfortable, Spike allowed his eyes to drift closed once again and it wasn't long before he fell back into a deep dreamless sleep.

A loud crash jerked him awake this time. He jumped up and whipped his head around, all senses heightened and on direct alert. Nothing downstairs seemed to be amiss, then he heard his son whimpering upstairs. Moving from the kitchen, he went back through the room he had slept in, and crept softly up the stairs. "Joyce?" He called out, hoping to alert her he was on his way up the stairs. He didn't really think she'd do it, but he didn't fancy a stake through his heart so early in the morning.

But there was no response, and Spike's uneasiness grew. "Joyce?" He called again, louder this time. Suddenly a familiar smell hit him, and he froze. Blood, and it was fresh. Going to Joyce's door, he knocked loudly, calling "Joyce?" Spike could hear two heart beats in the room beyond the closed door, one that could only belong to his son, but it was the other that concerned him. It was rapid and somewhat thready, and Spike put his hand on the door knob, giving a growl of frustration when he realized he'd been locked out. Taking a step back, he wasted no time in kicking the door in, nearly splintering the thing from the frame in his haste. Stepping quickly inside the bright room, he was assaulted by the heady smell of blood, and lots of it. Shaking his head to clear it and push the surging demon back, he looked around, and found Joyce lying on the other side of the bed. His son was in some sort of enclosed contraption, and appeared to be staring intently at his grandmum, and Spike was able to assure himself quickly that he was alright.

He moved quickly to Joyce's side and assessed her injuries. She appeared to be unconscious, and from the awkward angle of her ankle, it was surely fractured. He ran practiced eyes over her form, noting a wide laceration to her forehead, causing a pooling of blood on the floor. There appeared to be multiple lacerations from the broken mirror that lay littered around her like sparkling diamonds. Her respirations seemed to be alright, and her heart beat was losing its thready quality and was beginning to beat with more conviction. Spike heard a hitch in her breath, as he pondered his next course of action and realized that Joyce was coming to. With a muffled groan of pain, she attempted to roll over from her prone position on the floor. Spike realized her worst injury was a laceration to the inside of her upper arm, it was bleeding profusely, and Spike suspected her brachial artery had been nicked. Grabbing a shirt he found on the bed, he crouched down next to her, and wrapped it tightly around her arm.

"Don't move, Joyce." Spike told her, his eyes taking note of the sharp pieces of glass that surrounded her body. He quickly picked her up, and laid her down on the bed, ignoring the hiss of pain that his actions caused. He then went in search of first aid supplies.

Joyce allowed her body to relax when she felt the soft bed beneath her, her body felt like it was on fire, everything hurt, and she could feel the blood dripping down from various cuts on her. So stupid. Blake had thrown one of his toys out of his play pen and she had tripped on it, falling head first into her mirror, then hitting the footboard of her bed. And now? She was at the total mercy of a vampire. 'Oh god, please let it be all right.' she thought, as the inky darkness pulled her back into its welcoming depths, and she went into it willingly.

When Spike reentered the room, he realized that Joyce was unconscious again. Well, that was fine with him, he knew what he had to do next wasn't going to feel too good, better that she be out cold for it. Putting his supplies down next to her, he looked over at Blake and saw the concerned look on his face. Now he knew what Buffy was talking about when she said that sometimes he seemed years older, there seemed to be an uncanny intelligence burning deep inside the boy, and Spike felt pride well up in him that he had had a hand in this. Blake suddenly looked at Spike and surprised him by saying "Help gwanma, dada."

Spike nodded at him, and told him he would. Blake just turned those intense blue eyes back to his grandmother, and Spike set about getting the bleeding stopped. The shirt he had tied around her arm was now saturated, and Spike ripped it off and put a pressure dressing in its place, hoping that it would do the trick. This was new to him, trying to keep blood inside of a body, rather than take it out, but he was a vamp on a mission, and he had no intentions of failing. He thought briefly of dialing that 911 thing, but then dismissed it. Too many questions involved, and most likely of the stake now, ask later variety. He could tell by her heart beat that she wasn't in mortal danger anymore, now that he'd gotten the bleeding controlled on her nicked artery. It didn't even cross his mind the lack of temptation to take a taste of what was pouring so freely, his intent was in getting the bleeding under control, and that was it.

He worked quickly and efficiently, removing glass and bandaging lacerations. Some would need sutures, and she would eventually need a hospital, but she was ok for now. Spike hadn't even realized she was awake until he smelled the very strong odor of fear coming from her. He looked up at her to find she had a look of sheer terror on her face.

"What?" He asked, tearing a piece of tape and placing it over a bandage.

In a whispered voice, Joyce replied, "Your...face.."

That was when Spike realized he was in game face, and he looked over at Blake to see his reaction to it. But the toddler just had the same intense look on his face he had had before, and Spike was relieved by that. Looking back at Joyce, he mumbled, "Sorry" and changed back into his human face. "You ok?"

"Are you going to kill me?"

Spike snorted. "No, Joyce, not going to kill you. I don't usually bother to bandage up those that I'm planning on killin', y'no?"

Joyce painfully looked down and saw the various bandages on her arms, and the huge bulky pressure dressing on her inner arm. "You did this?"

"Yeah, well, the little tyke's a bit too young for this type of stuff, so it was kinda up to me, y'no? No one else here." Spike placed a bandage over the laceration on her forehead and taped it in place. "Was waiting til you woke up to see what you wanted to do. Most of these are going to need stitches, especially the one on your arm. And I think your ankle is busted. You're going to need a trip to the hospital. I think you knocked yourself on the head pretty good too."

"I, uh.." Joyce attempted to finish her sentence, but the darkness had pulled her back, unwillingly this time. Sinking back into the dark abyss, her eyes closed and her head slumped to one side. Spike sighed. 'Well, guess it's that 911 deal after all. Not much more I can do for you.'

Fifteen minutes later, Joyce had been strapped onto a gurney and loaded into the back of an ambulance, and Spike watched it pull away. Looking at the boy in his arms, he said to him "Come on, let's go call Giles and let him know what's going on."

"Unker Giles!" Blake commented, causing Spike to roll his eyes. "Yeah, Unker Giles, all right." Blake had watched in quiet fascination as the EMS crew had worked over his grandmum, starting an IV, asking Spike questions. He had called "Dada" in the middle of it, with his arms raised, indicating he wanted to be free from the enclosed prison he had been in, and Spike happily complied. Especially when Blake had thrown his arms around his neck and hugged him. Hurt him? They thought he would hurt him? He would stake himself before he'd allow this boy to be harmed, and surprisingly, even his demon seemed to be in agreement there. This boy was HIS.

Finding the number for the library on the frilly little corkboard thing next to the phone, Spike dialed the number. "Sunnydale Library"

"Rupes, it's Spike. Got me a bit of a situation here."

"What did you do?" The cultured british voice was had gone from cordial to coldly lethal in seconds flat.

"Didn't do a thing, you git. Joyce had a bit of an accident though, the ambulance just left here. Just thought you'd like to know."

"And you want me to believe that you had nothing to do with it?"

"Believe what you want, Watcher. But I didn't."

"Where's Blake?"

"He's right here." Giles heard Blake in the background chanting happily "dada, dada" and it made his blood boil.

"Spike, you listen to me. Either Buffy or myself will be right over. And you and the boy had better be there when we get there, do you understand?"

Anger tried to take control of Spike's good sense as he snapped, "Yes, I bloody understand Watcher. it's daylight out, in case you hadn't noticed. Wasn't planning on going anywhere. One request I DO have, you will bloody well talk to Joyce before passing any judgment on me about this, do YOU understand? "

"I'll think about it. But if one hair on that boy's head is harmed, you will be praying for a quick stake through the heart when I'm done with you." Giles threatened.

"This is my SON, Rupert." Spike growled. "Nothing will happen to him as long as I'm around, got it?"

"We'll see."

"Now go get Buffy and tell her that her mum is in the hospital, will you? She lost a bit of blood, and I think her ankle is busted." With that parting comment, Spike slammed the phone down, trying to calm his anger down. Really, had he expected any different? And did he deserve any different, he forced himself to ask. The answer was no to both questions.

He scooped Blake back up and buried his face into the sweet smelling hair and breathed deeply. That alone was enough to soothe the anger and frustration brewing inside of him, and he pulled his head back slightly to smile down at his son. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Watch TV."

Chuckling slightly, Spike headed into the living room and pretended to throw a giggling boy onto his makeshift bed. Sitting down next to him, he grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels until Blake informed him which show he wanted to watch. Not content to just sit next to him, Blake climbed into Spike's lap and sprawled, burrowing the back of his head into Spike's chest.

Fifteen minutes later, the front door flew open and Buffy ran in, wild eyed and frantic, her Watcher following behind. Spike scoffed at the stake evident in his hand, and just turned his attention back to the tv.

"Momma!" Blake called happily, but did not get up from his comfortable position in Spike's lap, much to the vampire's delight.

Buffy stopped and looked at the curiously domestic scene on the couch. Spike had apparently even retrieved some snacks for Blake, and her son appeared to be in absolutely no danger. She looked back at Giles, and raised her eyebrow.

"How come you're not at the hospital?" Spike asked, but figured he already knew the answer.

"Giles thought we should stop by here first, said it sounded suspicious." Buffy replied, looking from her Watcher to Spike, and back again.

"yeah, figured as much."

"Blake, sweetie, are you ok?" Buffy asked, going over to the couch and sitting next to Spike and her son. Blake looked at her and nodded, eyes wide and serious, as he replied "Gwanma hurt."

"I know sweetie, we're going to go see her right now." She leaned over and ruffled his hair, inadvertently pressing the side of her breast against Spike's arm. He almost hissed at the sensation, and turned his attention to the tv again to get his mind of how nice it felt to be touched by her again.

"We'll take him with us." Giles announced.

Spike glanced up sharply and threw the Watcher a dirty look, then looked back at Buffy. "I can watch him."

Buffy looked torn, and looked up at Giles who had a suspicious look on his face. "Oh for god's sakes, Watcher. Go take a look at the room, I had to kick in the bloody door to even get to her."

Buffy took a deep breath, and cast her eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry. I think we're going to take him with us." She risked a look at Spike's face and saw the tightly held set of his jaw, and his rigid posture and couldn't help the stab of guilt that went through her. At that moment, she realized her fear of him had dissipated, and was reassured by that feeling. "Spike, look at me."

She realized that the eyes that he turned in her direction weren't tinged with anger, but with hurt. "Spike, I'm sorry, ok? I just need to talk to my mom. Remember, I'm still working on that trust thing."

Spike's eyes softened a bit, and he grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Go. Your mum needs you. I'll just catch up on some sleep here. Could you...uh... maybe call me later and let me know how she is?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Buffy agreed, pulling her hand away. She grabbed Blake off of Spike, surprised when he put up a bit of a fuss about leaving his "dada" . Spike gave him a kiss on the forehead and told him to go with his mum, and Buffy and Giles left the house. Suddenly, the dense quietness of the house was overwhelming, and Spike felt a sense of loneliness like no other. Well, this wasn't good, he thought to himself, and flicked the TV on loudly to surround himself with noise.

tbc...

Buffy burst through the emergency room doors, cursing herself for taking the extra time to get to her mother's side. She shouldn't have listened to Giles when he had suggested a set up, but knew he had a point. Her son had been safe though, of that Buffy was sure. And now she had her son with her, exposing him to god knows how many germs that lingered on every surface in the hospital. Ugh, how she hated hospitals.

"Joyce Summers?" She said to the admitting clerk at the registration desk. Luckily, she was dealt with in a timely and efficient manner, and it was long before they were directed back into the main hub of the emergency room, a massive influx of perpetual motion. Joyce was in a private room, and Buffy rushed in. Her mother opened pain filled eyes in her direction and encompassed them all in a weary smile. She looked pale and tired, but Buffy was just happy to see her awake.

"Mom! What happened?"

"It was so stupid. I tripped."

Giles stepped forward and asked something he was anxious to get cleared up. "So, Joyce, can you tell me if Spike had anything to do with this?"

Joyce shook her head wearily. "No, he didn't. He was downstairs. I tripped on one of Blake's toys."

A doctor entered the room at that time, flipping through a chart, thus halting any further conversation in that direction. "Ah good, you must be Ms. Summers family. I'm Dr. Kimball."

"Is she going to be ok?" Buffy asked anxiously, finding herself relieved Spike wasn't implicated in this.

The doctor nodded, looking up at Joyce and smiled. "Yes, I believe she is going to be just fine. She's rather a lucky woman. I believe it safe to say that in this case, quick medical intervention saved her life."

This did not seem to shock Joyce, she'd obviously already heard it, but Giles was stunned by this news. "Perhaps you could elaborate on that?"

"Oh, sorry. Thought you knew. When Ms. Summers fell, she severed her brachial artery on a piece of glass. It's quite possible for a person to bleed out and die as a result, especially since Ms. Summers apparently was unconscious as a result of her fall. But because pressure was quickly applied, it slowed the bleeding down, and allowed it to clot. The other injuries are mostly surface stuff, they've already been sewn up. But that laceration to her arm was a nasty piece of work. There is a possibility of a concussion, so we will be keeping her here overnight for observation, and she does have a fracture of her ankle. One of our orthopedic surgeons will be consulting later today. All in all, she's a lucky woman, it could have been a lot worse. A blood transfusion wasn't even necessary. Yes, quite fortunate. " After giving an encouraging nod to Joyce, he stepped out of the room.

The silence that pervaded the room after the doctor left had Giles and Buffy exchanging shocked glances. "So what happened after you fell, mom?" The concern in Buffy voice was in high evidence.

"I really don't know. I think I was mostly unconscious. I remember waking up at one point, and seeing Spike there. I think it was Spike, he was all fangy and I remember being scared." Joyce replied in a slow slightly slurred voice.

"But he didn't hurt you?"

Joyce shook her head. "No, I don't think so. He said sorry, and his face went back. I think he bandaged me up, then I think I passed out again."

Buffy looked at Giles, who had a pensive look on his face. "How did I get here?" Joyce asked, confusion coloring her voice.

"Spike called 911, I believe." Giles responded.

"Oh. Ok." At that, Joyce closed her eyes and fell asleep, the pain medication she had received finally taking affect.

"Giles, she could have died." Buffy said softly.

"I know"

"Spike saved her."

Giles ripped off his glasses and began polishing the lenses. Heaving a pained sigh, he admitted, "I know. However it's entirely possible that he's trying to lull us into a false sense of security here."

Buffy shook her head. "No, I don't think so. This morning I told him that mom was nervous around him, and he told me he wasn't going to hurt her. And I'm sure he meant it, Giles."

"Dada help gwanma" Blake piped in from his spot in a chair across the room.

"I take it by this change of heart that you and er, Spike, came to some sort of reconciliation last night?"

Looking down at her mom, Buffy nodded. "Yeah, we did. We talked a bit." Looking up at her Watcher, she announced, "Giles, I want to research this claim thing. Can you help me with that?"

Giles nodded hesitantly. "It might be a bit disturbing for you."

"What disturbs me is having Spike be able to throw those little surprise curveballs my way. I need to know what he did to me."

"I have the books at the library. As much as I hate to say this, I have to return to work. As it is, Snyder is sure to investigate the reason I pulled you out of class and closed the library doors during school hours. Will you two be all right?"

Buffy nodded, then looked over at her fidgeting son. "Giles, can you do me a favor?" Giles nodded his agreement. "Can you take Blake back home?"

Giles opened his mouth to argue, but Buffy cut him off. Her body was set with determination as she spoke. "No Giles, so not going to argue with you about this one. It's not fair to Blake for him to be here all afternoon when he could be at home. Spike wanted to watch him, and it was a judgment call earlier that made me say no. Well, now my judgment is saying yes. I didn't grab my diaper bag, I have nothing here for him. I'm asking you to please take him home."

Giles stared at her, wanting to argue, but seeing the steely resolve on her face, he changed his mind. He nodded his consent. Buffy turned to Blake and informed him that Uncle Giles was taking him home.

"With dada?" Blake asked excitedly. Buffy nodded, unable to help the smile at his youthful enthusiasm. It turned into a happy grin when he begin to clap his hands at the thought of being back in his father's presence. Her son was uncannily insightful, and had a strangely good judgment of character for one so young, and Buffy was relieved to see that Blake did not seem to perceive Spike as a threat. Blake had had the misfortune of being with Buffy when they were accosted by a pair of vamps, and Blake had immediately whispered "bad men" to Buffy. She didn't know how he knew, but he did.

With one last glance at the sleeping Joyce, Giles hoisted Blake into his arms, and said to Buffy "I hope you're not going to regret this."

Strangely, Buffy knew she wouldn't. "Giles, it's ok. Really."

Giles gave her a skeptical look, but moved to do as she had asked. He knew he couldn't take him to the library, the one time they had tried that, that bastard Snyder had tried to make Buffy feel like unwed white trash. And now that Blake was able to understand more of what was being said around him, more than he should really, Giles was not willing to put either one of them in that situation. Plus, the library was not set up for a highly inquisitive toddler.

So Giles took the boy home. To his father.

Spike had tried to lose himself in TV, to no avail. He was staring blankly at it, his brain working frantically around itself, when he heard a car in the driveway. Turning the TV down, he waited to see who was here. There was no knock, just the sound of a key being inserted into a lock at the front door, and then what sounded like music to his ears.

"Dada!"

Spike looked over to see his son burst through the door as fast as his little chubby legs would carry him, and a welcoming smile spread across his face. "Hey there, little one." Blake stopped at the couch and raised his arms up expectantly. Spike leaned down and swooped him up, causing an eruption of giggles to commence. He set his son down next to him, and turned to look at Giles.

"How's Buffy's mum?"

"What? Oh, er... she seems to be all right. They will be keeping her overnight for observation." Giles announced, feeling slightly tongue tied, knowing that the vampire deserved some sort of recognition for his deed, but the words did not want to spring forth from his mouth.

"Good. Had a nasty fall, she did."

"Yes, well. It seems we owe you a bit of gratitude." Giles mumbled.

Spike laughed, amused. "That hurt a bit, did it, Watcher?"

"Yes, quite, as a matter of fact." Giles admitted. "Buffy was hoping you'd watch the boy for her."

"Course I will. Already told you I would." At the look on Giles face, Spike felt compelled to add, "Don't worry, he's safe with me."

"Well, you'll have to excuse me if I have a bit of trouble believing that."

Spike shrugged. "Believe what you want. It's the truth."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why the big change?"

Spike directed a piercing looking at Giles. "Because I want what's mine."

Ah, now we're getting somewhere, Giles thought. Sitting down on the chair opposite Spike, he asked. "And what, pray tell, do you consider yours?"

Spike didn't respond, just continued to study the Watcher with that piercing look, making Giles feel slightly uncomfortable. "Ok, since you won't answer, I'm assuming you are referring to Buffy and Blake. Is this correct?"

Spike nodded in confirmation. Giles continued, "So, this whole thing is an elaborate set up so you can take what is yours?"

Spike scoffed at that. "No, you git. I don't want to take them. I want them to take and accept me."

Giles tipped his head to the side, studying the vampire in front of him. "Ah well then. And how do you propose to manage that one?"

Agitation was striking Spike hard, and he tried to quell it. "Dunno, Watcher All I know is that two days ago, I would have ripped you to shreds for daring to speak to me the way you have. But now? Now I'm just willing to sit and take it, and hope that it gets better. Dunno quite what's happening here, but I do know for the first time in my bloody undead life, it's something good. It's something that's not evil."

Giles sat and thought about his words. "So, you're saying you're not as evil as you were two days ago?"

"Thought you were a quick one, Watcher, but that's not what it looks like from my end."

"Were you tempted by all the blood Joyce had lost?"

By the slightly horrified look that flashed across Spike's face, Giles had his answer, and was strangely reassured by it. He got up to leave, saying good bye to Blake, who was fully engrossed in whatever god awful TV program Spike had been watching. "Buffy's at the hospital, don't know when she'll be home. I'll be at the library if you need anything." Then he was gone, and Spike knew that was as close to acceptance he was going to get from Giles at this time. The fact that he had left without issuing any sort of threat spoke volumes, and Spike found himself strangely placated by that fact. Yeah, he was turning all touchy feely all right. But he didn't really care. especially when his son crawled up into his lap and snuggled, and Spike wrapped his arms around him and drew him close. They sat like that, father and son, watching TV, until both fell asleep not long too after.

And that was how Buffy found them an hour later Spike sprawled on his back along the length of the couch, her son, no correction, THEIR son laying face down on his chest, deeply asleep. It was a strangely domestic scene, and that along with the heightened emotions that the day had brought, caused Buffy to fight the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

Spike opened his eyes at the sound of sniffling in the room, and saw Buffy standing there, obviously upset, as she fought a valiant battle against a pool of tears that slid down her cheeks. Scooting over a bit, he extended his arm out to her. "Come 'ere" He told her in a sleep roughened voice.

Buffy started a bit, so caught up in her little emotional trip, she hadn't realized he was awake. She looked down at him warily, but saw only concern on his face. He grabbed her hand pulled her to the side of the couch. "Lay down." he ordered gruffly. She stiffened a bit, causing him to growl a bit in displeasure. Then he said something that shocked her. "Please. Lay down with us."

She looked like she was going to bolt, but finally allowed herself to curl up next to him on the small space he had provided for her on the couch, her arm flung over Blake where he lay sleeping on Spike's chest, Buffy's head pillowed on his shoulder. Her body was stiff at first at the intimate contact, but she finally allowed herself to relax. When Buffy felt the lips press gently against the top of her head, it all became too much, and the tears came again in earnest. This time though, they were for her mother.

"Shhh, it's ok." Spike whispered against her hair.

"Oh god, Spike. I almost lost her."

"You didn't though. She's going to be ok, right?"

Buffy nodded her head, adding in a whisper, "Thanks to you."

Spike ignored her words, and continued with his reassuring words. "She'll be home soon, good as new. You'll see."

His voice was so soothing that Buffy felt herself drift off to sleep. She had only intended to come home to check on how things were here, but she was so tired, and right now, she was so comfortable, pressed against Spike and Blake. Strangely, she felt safe. Ok, how weird was that?

It might have been hours later or just minutes before they were awakened by the sound of voices. Loud and accusing voices that had Buffy cringing.

"Oh merciful zeus, please tell me I'm not seeing this."

"Sorry Xander." Willow's voice was apologetic, but curious. It was actually kinda sweet. Well, if one of the three on the couch wasn't an evil vampire and everything.

"Willow, Xander, that's quite enough." Giles voice sounded through with its usual authoritative presence. He too was a bit taken aback by the curiously domestic scene on the couch, and Spike's earlier words about wanting to be be accepted by them sounded through his head. He hadn't had the time to do any quality research, to see if anything could be found that could explain the supernatural conception of Blake's existence. Buffy had been insistent prior to this that she didn't want him delving into possible prophecies, she'd rather not know. But now, it seemed remiss on his part to have listened to her requests.

"What do you sods want?" Spike grumbled, elation going through him that Buffy had not leapt from the couch or from his arms at this intrusion. He knew she was awake and irritated.

"We came to check and make sure Buffy and Blake were still among the living, you bloodsucker." Xander remarked heatedly.

Buffy opened her eyes at that point and looked at Xander. "I'm fine, just tired. And try to keep your voice down ok? Blake's still asleep."

"I knew it! He's got you under that thrill thing again, doesn't he?"

Spike snorted. "It's thrall, genius. And no, she's not under anything."

"Yeah, like I believe that one." Xander retorted, ready to stalk over to the couch.

"Xander, cease." Looking over at Buffy, he added, "We went to the hospital, but you weren't there." Before Buffy had a chance to ask the question, Giles answered it for her. "Don't worry, your mother is quite well. We just came by to see if you needed anything."

Buffy shook her head wearily, her red rimmed eyes prominent on her too pale face. "No, I'm fine."

"Well then, we'll be on our way. Give us a ring if you need anything." Giles told her, as he headed to the front door.

"We're not leaving them here with that murderous thing, are we?" Xander asked in an incredulous voice.

"Yes, Xander, we are. Buffy is the slayer, after all. If she has a problem with him, I am quite sure she knows what to do about it." With that, they were out the door, and Buffy and Spike were alone again. As alone as one can be with a sleeping child thrown in the mix.

"Your mate Xander is a breath of fresh air." Spike commented dryly.

"I don't want to talk about him." Buffy announced, closing her eyes again and sighing lightly. She felt Spike's arm tighten around her, and snuggled closer.

tbc...

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