Chapter 29.

Buffy slumped back into the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. She hadn't had a proper nights sleep for days now, sure she had a little at the hospital, but that was more painkiller induced, than actual rest. She wanted to collapse into her bed and pull the covers over her. Actually that wasn't strictly true, she wanted to collapse into bed and pull Spike over her, but that wasn't an option for the foreseeable future. She had to settle for sharing Dawns bed, at least until Molly had gotten used to the new arrangements.

"She seems to be settled now," Spike said as he returned to the living room. He leant over the back of the couch, placing a kiss on Buffy's forehead. She couldn't help but let a smile spread across her face. He came round the front to sit beside her, casually swinging an arm around her shoulders. It was like they had never been apart.

"I'm pretty beat myself," Buffy mumbled after a while. She had been sitting snuggled against Spike for the last half hour, stifling her yawns and trying desperately to keep her eyes open, but they kept closing against her will. Finally she admitted defeat.

"You want me to tuck you in too?" Spike asked with a wicked grin on his face.

Buffy giggled, then seeing the look of horror on Dawn's face, decided that maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

"I'll try not to hog the bed too much Dawnie," she said as she made her way to the bedroom.

"You can spread out as much as you like, I called Lindsay and I am going over the stay there tonight." Dawn smiled to herself, thoughts of what she would be getting up to later flooded her mind.

Buffy was secretly relieved, Dawn had a tendency to kick out in the night, and she snored worse than any guy she had ever dated.

"When are we going to meet Lindsay," she asked, "she sounds like a really nice girl." Buffy wondered out loud.

Faith and Dawn exchanged a knowing look, and tried not to laugh out loud.

"Yeah Buffy, she's lovely," she replied as she gathered her things and prepared to head over to her boyfriends. "No boinking in my bed!" She added as she closed the door.

Faith couldn't hold her laugh in anymore and it came out, resounding around the room.

"What?" Buffy asked, trying to hold in another yawn.

"Um, nothing," Faith answered.

Buffy looked back, disbelieving.

"Lindsay'sherboyfriendandsheisgoingovertohavesex" Faith blurted out, before grabbing the remote control, and staring very intently at the screen. Sensing the sudden cold breeze that had entered the room, Gunn decided that helping Faith in her 'let's find something on TV' quest was a safe option. Buffy had snapped out of her dozy state and was glaring at Faith, who was still desperately trying to pretend she wasn't doing so.

"Ooh look the discovery channel has koala bears!" She squeaked in a most un Faithlike manner. Gunn couldn't help but find her adorable. Buffy however thought otherwise.

"You knew she was sleeping with this guy, you don't tell me, and you let her leave the apartment!" She screamed at Faith, who had no choice but to acknowledge that actually koala bears, didn't really rock her boat.

She flung her arms in the air, "She's nineteen for fucks sake B! Let the girl have a life! She's not stupid, she's being careful!" She shouted back, before realising what she had just said.

Buffy crossed her arms and glared at her friend, who was now desperately thinking of someway she could backtrack to cover her last comment.

"How do you know she's being careful Faith? Just how much has she told you? She's just a kid, she shouldn't be."

"Err pet, we were shagging at eighteen!" Spike interrupted, quickly shutting up when Buffy's fury came down on him.

"She is not us! She is my little sister!"

Spike held his hands up and backed away from the irate blonde before him. It was true, he was pretty shocked at Faith's little announcement. Dawn was like his little sister, he felt very protective towards her, but he couldn't help thinking Buffy had wrapped the girl in cotton wool for the last five years. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she was a young woman.

"What were you thinking Faith? Anything could happen. This guy could be a psycho, or, or, she could get pregnant or something.did you think of that?" Buffy rambled wildly.

Faith sighed loudly and turned to face her friend. She could almost see the steam coming out of Buffy's ears.

"He isn't a psycho, he's perfectly normal and she isn't gonna get pregnant! She is just being a teenager, you can't protect her from everything B!"

Buffy stomped into Dawn's room, shutting the door behind her. She knew she was being overly protective, but if she wasn't who would be. Dawn wasn't a minor anymore, but Buffy still felt responsible for her. She didn't want her to get hurt the way she had back in school. Spike gave her a few minutes to calm herself before following her. He knocked on the door gently before pushing it open. He poked his head round the door.

"Is it safe to come in?" He asked, before wandering in and sitting on the bed beside her. Her stroked her hair and placed his arms around her, pulling her close to him. She tried to resist at first, but it really wasn't easy to resist him, however mad she was.

"You have to let her go a little pet," he whispered, as he trailed a line of soft kisses down her neck.

She wanted to be mad at him for not backing her up, but his lips on her neck made her crumble almost instantly.

"I know, I just wish she had spoken to me, and not Faith," she mumbled, "I mean, why would she go to her?"

Spike raised his eyebrows and looked straight at her.

"Pet, if she needed to get some sex ed, then I'd say Faith would be a good place to start, and I guess she figured you might have gone mental.and lets face it, she was right!"

He was right of course, as usual.

Spike ran his hands over her shoulders, rubbing them gently. Her muscles were tense, and twitched beneath his touch.

"How about I relax you a little before bed, then you can have a good nights sleep. Things won't look so scary in the morning," he whispered.

He pulled her further back onto the bed before reaching over and pulling her sweater over her head.

"Lay on your front love," he said before jumping up from the bed and leaving the room. He returned a minute later with a bottle of oil in his hands.

"What are you doing," she asked, her head buried in the pillows.

"Just borrowed a little something from Faith pet, nothing to worry about," he said as he unhooked the clasp on her bra, pushing the straps down her shoulders.

"If it's chocolate body paint you can forget it mister," she joked as she felt him pour a cool liquid on the small of her back. The smell of ylang ylang and rosemary perforated the air, that alone made her relax almost instantly.

She felt his hands sweep from the small of her back up to her shoulders, leaving small tingles along the path they had touched. He pulled them gently down her sides to return to his starting point. Buffy smiled into the pillows, 'He always did have good hands' she thought as she tried to resist the urge to turn over and jump on him.

Spike traced the same path with his hands time and time again, paying attention to the tense muscles of her shoulders. His touch was gentle, yet firm, she was putty in his hands literally. He moved so he was sat over her ass, enabling him to get better pressure on her sore muscles. As he leant over her to sweep his hands up her back she instinctively pushed back onto him, causing him to harden instantly, not that he wasn't turned on enough already, but he was just managing to keep himself under control. He let out a small groan as she pressed herself back into his groin. He traced his fingers down her side, gently touching the sides of her breast, causing her to let out a tiny moan. This was almost more than she could bear. She was with the man she loved, but they couldn't go too far, not yet. Buffy didn't even realise the appreciative noises she was making until Faith knocked on the door, making both of them jump out of their hypnotized state.

"Hey, no boinking remember!" She laughed before running back to her own bedroom.

Buffy giggled into the pillows, and relaxed down again to allow Spike to continue. He leant down over her, crushing her into the bed.

"Feeling more relaxed pet?" He whispered, before running his tongue down her neck and softly nibbling its base.

"Mmmm a little, but I could do with a little more.relaxing."

In one move he flipped her over to lie on her back, sitting up to observe her.

"So beautiful," he murmured as he moved forward gently capturing her lips. He pulled away before she could deepen the kiss.

Buffy reached up to grab him by the shirt but he caught her hands, pushing them back behind her on the bed. She wanted to touch him so badly, but he was evading her hands at every turn. Spike traced his fingers down her body, following the curve of her breasts, she gasped as he gently ran his fingertips over her sensitive nipples, arching towards him, begging him to increase his touch. He just shook his head before bowing down his head to capture it in his mouth, softly sucking and running his tongue over it. Buffy pushed herself up into his body, she could feel his arousal and she wanted him, now.

He slid down the bed, undoing her jeans as he went, and pulling them down, until she lay below him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down until she was being crushed into the mattress. She was done with gentle, she wanted him now. Grasping his hair in one hand she pulled his head down, crashing their lips together, forcing her tongue into his mouth. He couldn't resist, he kissed her back, more passionately than he ever had before. She pulled at his shirt, desperate to touch his flesh, to feel his muscles rippling against her. They broke away briefly to catch a breath.

"Buffy, I love you so much," he whispered before leaning back into her.

They were interrupted by the sound of Molly crying in the other room.

Spike lowered his head, kissing her on the cheek.

"Sorry pet, I have to go to her, you understand??"

She nodded, pulling him to her for one last kiss.

It was ok, they had a lifetime of nights ahead of them, she could let him leave her for this one time.

Chapter 30.

Spike didn't return that night, she hadn't expected him to really, and to be honest she didn't really mind. She loved the way he was with his daughter, so protective, just as he was with her. She was his whole world, Buffy knew that, but she also knew that she came a close second, and at the end of the day that was good enough for her. She pulled the covers over herself and slipped into a dreamy sleep.

She awoke to the sound of her name being called.

"Buffy, Buffy," Molly bounced on the bed a few times, finally rousing the sleeping blonde.

Buffy rubbed at her eyes, and rolled over, trying to work out exactly where she was.

"Buffy!"

She shot around, remembering she had slept in Dawns room.

"Mmm Hi Molly," she slurred, "What's up?"

Molly continued to bounce on the bed, which juggled Buffy's brain in her head.

"Can I have some juice, Daddy won't wake up!" She asked. Buffy smiled, she knew what Spike was like, he could sleep through an earthquake literally. She pulled back the covers, thankful that she had gotten into her pyjamas after he had left her.

"Sure thing Molly, come on, let's get you sorted out," she smiled, taking hold of the little girls hand and leading her into the kitchen.

She could hear Spike's soft snoring coming from the bedroom and smiled, pulling the door closed so that he wouldn't be disturbed. There was no sign of movement from Faith's room either, and Molly was obviously up for the day, so after fixing her juice they went and sat in the living room.

"You wanna watch some cartoons?" Buffy asked, turning the TV on and searching for a kiddie's channel. Molly bounced up and down on the sofa, so Buffy took this as a yes. 'Do all children bounce this much?' she wondered as they settled down to watch Pooh Bear and Tigger. She must have dozed off again, because she was awoken again by banging on the door. She stood up and shook her head, trying to remove the cotton wool feeling that had taken residence there. Molly was still next to her, transfixed by whatever it was she had found to watch. Buffy dragged her feet as she slowly wandered to the front door. 'What sort of person comes knocking here, at 8am on a Saturday' she moaned quietly.

She pulled open the door, to be nearly knocked off her feet by Willow. "Hi Buffy! Did you miss us? I hear you and Spike are all loved up? What else did we miss? Come on give us the news!" Willow bombarded the sleepy blonde with questions, so fast she thought her brain was going to explode. She stared back with a dumbfounded look on her face.

It was then Willow noticed the gash on her head. No one had even thought to tell them what had happened, it had sort of slipped their minds.

"Buffy what happened to your head?" She asked as they entered the living room.

"It's a long story Will, a very long story, but I'll tell you about it when my brain wakes up, promise."

Willow looked on, concerned. It was then Molly chose to poke her head over the back of the couch.

"Hello, I'm Molly, I like your hair, it's red!" She grinned, before returning to watching her cartoon.

Faith had been woken by the banging on the door too, and sent Gunn to the kitchen to get her a glass of water. He entered the living room in just his boxers, coming face to face with Willow. He offered a quiet 'hello' before hurriedly making his way to the kitchen.

Buffy could do nothing but laugh, she didn't think she had ever seen Willow look quite so confused, ever.

"Willow, this is Molly, Spike's daughter.Molly this is my friend Willow, and her friend Tara." Buffy thought maybe the best way to start was with introductions. However Willow still stood like a goldfish, mouth open, with a dazed look on her face.

"Spike has a daughter?" She asked.

Buffy nodded, and as Gunn tried to sneak back through she decided it was his turn too.

"Willow this is Gunn, Faith's Boyfriend, Gunn this is Willow and Tara." Gunn nodded and scurried back to Faith.

"Faith has a boyfriend!!!"

Buffy couldn't help but laugh, it was more unbelievable to Willow for Faith to have a boyfriend.

"So Spike is."

" In my bedroom," Buffy interrupted. Willow nodded her head, taking in the information.

"And Dawn?"

"Dawn is at her boyfriend's house having sex," Buffy continued.

"Oh boy, I gotta sit down," Willow leant back on the couch.

Only a week had passed, but so much had happened, and Buffy seemed to be taking it all in her stride. Willow was impressed, even if very confused.

"Ok Buffy, did we just walk back into some weird alternate reality or something?" She laughed.

"You know what Wills, that would explain a lot, it really would!"

She let the girls settle in, before filling them in on the intricate details of the week's affairs. Needless to say both girls were shocked and upset by what they heard.

"Is she ok, Molly I mean?" Tara asked.

Buffy nodded, "She seems to be coping pretty well, it's hard to tell though, and the doctor said she may just be blocking it all out in her head."

"Or maybe she didn't feel safe before, and now she does," Willow added.

Buffy secretly hoped this was the case, she anticipated that the little girl was coping so well, because she was happier with her and Spike, but she knew that this probably wasn't the case. They had some difficult months ahead of them, she wasn't afraid to admit that.

Spike finally roused from his deep sleep around midday. He wandered sluggishly into the living room in just his boxers and a t-shirt, stretching his arms above his head. Molly jumped up from the sofa and ran to hug him, he picked her up giving her a big squeeze.

"Morning Daddy!" She squeaked.

"Morning pumpkin," he replied, hugging her tight.

Buffy coughed to attract his attention and his head flew up, to see Willow and Tara staring back.

"Um, just gonna go get more.decent!" He smirked, before leaving the room, returning moments later fully dressed.

He sat onto the couch and was immediately pounced on by his daughter.

"Daddy, Buffy and Tara and.. red hair lady are gonna take me to see Santa!" She grinned.

"Is that right," he smiled back, "well then you are a lucky girl aren't you!" He turned to Buffy.

"Are you ok taking her yourself, I should probably get to work and close everything up, we kinda left everything unfinished didn't we."

He was interrupted as Faith slipped into the room.

"It's all sorted, after you guys were done at the hospital I went over. I picked up everyone's numbers and told them they didn't need to come in till after New Year. Security is all sorted, and I posted all the mail." She beamed at the two stunned workmates, before skipping to the kitchen to get a coffee.

"Did she just skip?" Willow almost fell off the chair in hysterics. "Come on, where's Faith? What have you done with her?" She joked.

Buffy leant back into Spike, "I guess that means you can come and see Santa after all then!"

He scrunched his face up in a 'do I hafta' kind of way, and was about to speak when Molly butted in.

"Uncle Gunn is coming, aren't you?" She said, staring at him. He shuffled on his feet.

"Sure he is," Faith said, handing him a cup of coffee, "I need to see if he has been a good boy!" She pinched his ass before returning to her room to dress.

"Yay!" Molly exclaimed, jumping around the room.

"Well if I have to do this then you better call Nibblet and Xander and his bird, cos if I am doing Santa's grotto we all are!"

Buffy made the calls and Spike made himself some breakfast. Willow and Tara retreated to their bedroom for a while to rest after their journey. Spike came back into the living room to find Faith braiding Molly's hair, and putting red and green tinsel in the ends.

"Hey you make a wicked elf!" She laughed.

He turned to Buffy. "She's been abducted by aliens hasn't she!"

Molly jumped down off Faith's lap.

"I'm ready, let's go!"

He couldn't argue with that, nobody could. They collected their bags and headed out to the mall, each marvelling at how one little girl could make Christmas real.

Chapter 31.

The mall was crowded, as would be expected only a few days before Christmas. Buffy had managed to get hold of the rest of the gang, even Dawn, who actually appeared to be quite enthusiastic about the whole thing, surprising Buffy after the previous night's discovery. She had even brought her boyfriend Lindsay along for the trip. Buffy had to admit, he actually seemed like a decent sort of guy, well as decent as nineteen year old college students can be anyway. The group of youngsters squeezed their way through the crowds of last minute shoppers and excited children, their aim, to get to Santa's grotto.

Spike and Buffy, each had hold of one of Molly's hands, to ensure she didn't get lost in amongst the people, and she seemed quite happy with this arrangement. Every now and then, she would swing herself forwards between them, almost pulling Buffy off her feet at one time. Spike decided to rescue her, by lifting the youngster onto his shoulders, and out of harms way. Faith and Gunn were dawdling some distance behind, he had his arm slung around her shoulder, and she had hers wrapped around his waist. Buffy looked back at the couple and smiled to herself. She had never seen her friend looking so content, definitely not where a guy was concerned.

The queue to see Santa was enormous, not that they had expected anything different. They decided the best way forward, was for each couple to take turns standing with Molly in the queue, while the others did their last minute shopping, or in the case of Buffy and Spike their first minutes! He hadn't been expecting to see his daughter, so wasn't at all prepared for the festivities that fast approached.

Willow and Tara took the first shift.

"Can you make my hair go red?" Molly asked as she tugged at Willow's hair, an intrigued look on her face.

Willow giggled, the little girl seemed to have quite a fascination with her hair. She wasn't quite sure why, but thought it was probably something to do with the fact that Spike always made reference to it.

The redhead pulled Molly's woolly hat down over her ears, and gave her a big grin. "I don't think your dad will be too happy if I turn you into another 'red!'" She laughed. "Besides your hair is all nice and curly, I was thinking of doing mine like that for Christmas day. What do you think?"

Molly clapped her hands in agreement, before running towards the couple approaching.

"Whoa, hey Molly!" Faith giggled as the little one slid into her leg, banging her head. She jumped up and down on the spot singing a little song she had apparently made up on the spot.

Tara looked to Willow a little concerned. "You think maybe we gave her a bit too much sugar?" They both took the opportunity to escape, leaving the hyperactive child behind.

The events of the recent days didn't seem to be affecting Molly too much at the moment, she was too absorbed in the Christmas fun. Everyone was sure that eventually it would all sink in, but in the mean time, they were doing everything they could to keep her occupied, and her mind on happier things. This went part way to explaining why Faith was now sporting her very fetching furry antlers again, and Gunn was wearing a Santa Claus hat. They looked quite a sight, but it was worth it to keep Molly smiling.

It wasn't too long before they had reached the front of the queue. Faith was taking a sip of her soda when a young woman just behind her in the queue leant over.

"You have a beautiful daughter," she began, "so full of life and energy."

Faith began to choke instantly, and Gunn had to bang her on the back roughly. The choking soon gave way to giggles though when Molly spoke up.

"She's not my mummy, she's my auntie Fayf!" She giggled as she dragged the brunette through the doorway and into Santa's grotto.

......

Buffy sat on the bench, waiting for Spike to finish his shopping. He insisted on doing the last bits himself, so she would have at least one surprise for Christmas day. She sat and watched the people pass by, thinking to herself that she'd had quite enough surprises recently to last her a life time.

Things had happened so quickly, she felt her head was going to spin right off, she rested it in her hands for a second, before shaking it gently in an effort to remove the fuzziness. Nothing changed though. Everywhere she looked she was surrounded by couples, families out for a day together. Happy, smiling people. This is what she wanted, what she needed, and she knew she could have it all. She sighed deeply, this could be hers, so why did she still have a knot in her stomach? Why did she feel so terrified, sat on this bench alone in the busy mall?

She knew why.

She was scared he wouldn't come back.

She knew he was going to, but she also knew that this fear might not go away. Every time he went out and came home a little late after getting stuck in traffic, every time he got held up at work and she was at home waiting..

It was always going to be there.

Spike snuck up on her from behind, laden down with bags. He tapped her on the shoulder making her jump. One look at her face told him something wasn't quite right. She wasn't crying, but she looked as if it would take one word to cause her to burst into tears. Her eyes were glassy, and her lips trembled as she turned to him, before lowering her head.

"Buffy, what's wrong love?" He said gently, as he placed the bags down and sat beside her on the bench. She chewed at her bottom lip, unsure of where to start, or if she could even start at all. She continued to stare at the floor, desperately wishing for this feeling to pass, and for everything to be right again.

Spike placed his hand under her chin, slowly lifting her head so he could look into her eyes. She looked so scared, so vulnerable. He leant in placing a kiss on her forehead, causing a solitary tear to fall down her cheek.

"Buffy, please, tell me," he whispered, wiping the moisture from her cheek. "Tell me what's wrong?"

"You mean apart from having my childhood sweetheart come back into my life. Finding out that not only did he cheat on me! But he has a child, and nearly getting shot?"

Spike shifted uncomfortably in his seat, cursing himself for asking such a stupid question. He was about to apologise when Buffy interrupted his thoughts.

"It's none of that...not really," she mumbled, before leaning her head on his chest and allowing him to wrap his hands around her. They sat in silence for several minutes, both watching the hustle and bustle of the families around them. Finally she began to speak again.

"I'm scared Spike," she began, "I'm scared that I will never feel completely secure, not in the way I need to. I'm scared you might leave me again, and I just..I just couldn't cope with that, I couldn't lose you again, not now." She began to sob into his chest, quietly, she hardly made a sound, but he could feel her body gently shaking. Spike pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly.

"I'll never leave, never, you have to believe me," he whispered as he rocked her gently. "All I wanted was to be with you, even then. I never left you for Dru, I had to leave for Molly, and she is here. We can all be together."

He raised her head again, so she could see his eyes. "I. Will. Never. Leave. You!" He punctuated each word with a kiss. "I promise!"

He saw a smile pass across her lips and that was enough, he pulled her towards him capturing her lips in a brief kiss, and they sat together a little longer watching the world go by.

Meanwhile the rest of the gang had gathered and were searching the mall for the missing couple. Molly was the first to notice them huddled together on the bench.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look I am a tiger, ROOOOAR!" She shrieked, as she ran towards them. Both sat up a little startled and began to laugh at the sight before them. Faith strolled along behind, a wicked smirk on her face.

"Look Daddy, we all got our faces painted.ROOOOAR! I got to choose what animal everyone is!"

Buffy wiped the tears that were falling down her face, tears of laughter.

"So Faith, how come you didn't get painted?" She asked, still giggling at the sight before her.

Molly interrupted, "There's a rule that the person in charge of looking after me isn't allowed to have her face painted, so people know she is a grown up!" She stated forcefully.

Gunn swung around to face his girlfriend who was falling about laughing.

"That's how you got out of it...A rule!!!"

Faith shrugged her shoulders, "Hey, what can I say...I'm a grown up, isn't that right Molly!" She pulled him towards her and plastered a kiss on his lips, "I think you look kinda cute anyway honey, maybe I can show you just how 'grown up' I am when we get back!"

Gunn snorted, but inwardly smiled at the fact that she was going to have to make it up to him big time.

Xander appeared from behind the pillar he had been hiding behind.

"What I don't get is why all the girls get to be the cool animals, and me and Gunn are mice...I mean I was thinking, maybe something more manly..a lion perhaps!"

"SQUEEEEEK!" Molly screeched, before running back over to Faith and jumping up for a piggyback.

Faith started to bounce towards the exit, turning briefly to poke her tongue out at the mice in front of her.

"What can I say boys...I guess she says it like she sees it!"