~*~ Chapter 15 - Acceptance ~*~

The two vampires went together downstairs in the kitchen. Cordelia and Fred had set the table, complete with food and blood. They all sat around it.

“I need to talk to Wesley,” Buffy said. “Is he coming tomorrow?”

The atmosphere, which was already a little tense, worsened.

“Wesley isn’t working for us anymore,” Angel answered. “But if you need to see him, I’ll give you his phone number. You can call him tonight.”

“Thanks, that would be nice.”

“Why do you need Wesley for?” asked Cordelia with her usual discretion.

Buffy hesitated, gave Spike a questioning look as he nodded.

“Might as well tell them, pet.”

“We think that Spike is becoming…human.”

Silence fell upon and all eyes turned to Spike, who shifted in his chair uneasily.

“Human? What do you mean, human?” Angel finally asked.

Spike rolled his eyes. Like there could be a hundred of bloody different explanations of what human means.

“Human as in his heart is beating, he breathes, he sneezes, he even has to go to…”

“S’alright, love, I think he got the picture,” Spike interrupted her.

“But…how did this happen?” Cordelia asked.

“That’s what we don’t know. And we’re not even sure…that’s why I wanted to see Wesley. Giles talked to him already, and he mentioned some prophecy about a vampire with a soul becoming human.

Angel and Cordelia looked at each other.

“The Prophecies of Aberjian.”

“The Shanshu,” Cordelia whispered.

“The what now?”

“The Prophecies of Aberjian. I stole it a few years ago during a little visit to Wolfram & Hart, the law firm we are fighting. It said that the vampire with a soul, once he fulfilled his destiny, will Shanshu, which means become human.”

Angel had said that in a neutral tone. Cordelia, however, was looking suddenly very distressed.

“But that prophecy is about you, Angel, right?” she asked, looking from Spike to his grand sire.

Angel stared in his mug of blood.

“Well, the prophecy mentioned a vampire with a soul, not my name specifically. And it looks like I’m not the only souled vampire anymore.”

“No, but you were the first! You’ve got some sort of priority, right? I mean, no offense, Spike, but this can’t be…Angel deserves it.”

“Spike deserves it too,” Buffy said softly.

She understood Cordelia’s reaction, now that she knew the bond existing between Angel and her. And even if she didn’t want to rob Angel from his prophecy, she couldn’t help but thinking of all the things it implied for Spike and her if this was the explanation.

Spike raised his hand.

“Alright, before we all jump to conclusions, here, why don’t we wait for Watcher junior to enlighten us some more? I have no intention of stealing Angel’s prophecy,” he said, echoing Buffy’s thought. “And I’m still technically a vampire. Still fangy, still no reflection, still drinking blood…I guess,” he added with a disgusted look to his mug.

“But you eat real food,” Fred said, pointing to the remnants of his dinner.

“True. And I barely drink blood anymore, to be honest. Then again, I always enjoyed food before. At the Bronze, they used to have those flower-shaped onions…”

“Off topic, honey,” Buffy whispered.

Cordelia was looking at Angel, worry filling her eyes. Under the table, Angel caught her hand and squeezed it gently.

“I’m going to call Wesley tonight,” he said calmly, not betraying what he was feeling. “I’ll ask him to go once more through the Aberjian while we’re gone. See if he can find some other clues. He’s already researching…something else for me.”

“Good idea,” Spike said, standing up. “In the meantime, I suggest we get some rest. We have a long journey tomorrow.”

He could see as well that Cordelia was very upset by the news. And he had noticed the little flicker of hope in Buffy’s eyes. He wouldn’t stand it if that hope was crushed once more.

“I don’t want to steal Angel’s bloody prophecy from him” Spike repeated once they were in their room.

“Me neither. But if it happens, you won’t have stolen anything. It’s a prophecy. And you asked for your soul, remember? Angel got cursed with it. Not that it changes anything in the end. You both deserve it.”

She wouldn’t admit it, but deep inside she thought that Spike deserved it more than Angel. Angel had chose to do good after being cursed with his soul. Spike had chose to do good from his own will, and then had asked for a soul. Because he thought it would help him to be a better man.

Not that she didn’t want Angel to become human again. A few years ago, that was one of the things she had dreamed about the most. So she understood perfectly the pain she had seen in Cordelia’s eyes.

She brushed her teeth before joining Spike under the sheets. She nestled against him. One of the many good points of his probably regaining humanity was his much warmer body temperature.

“I can’t wait to see Dawn,” she whispered in the crook of his neck.

“Me too, pet. And I can’t wait to meet her charming boyfriend either,” he said in a snarky tone.

“You promised to behave,” she reminded him.

“Well, that depends on Poof Jr. And how he treated my girl.”

“I wonder if he seduced her with the same lame pick up line you used with me.”

“What lame pick up line?” he asked in an offended tone.

“You’ll find out on Saturday. I’ll kill you,” she said, trying to reproduce his male voice and his accent, and failing horribly.

“That wasn’t a pick up line. I did really intend to kill you back then. Bad luck got in the way. Oh, and your mum with an axe as well.”

She laughed at the memory.

“True. And a few months later she was drinking cocoa with you in her kitchen.”

“A nice lady she was,” Spike approved.

“I’m sure she would be happy for me. For both of us.”

She put a caressing hand on his chest, still amazed at the feeling of his beating heart.

“What if I lose my strength?” he suddenly asked out of the blue.

She looked at him.

“Lose your strength?”

“Yes, if I become human. I’ll lose all the vampiric abilities, my strength being one of its advantages.”

“You still seem to have it for now. You beat the crap out of that Guzlar demon the other night.”

“Sure, I’m still strong now. But what will happen then?”

“I guess we’ll see about that when it actually happens,” she said, and she could feel he was not satisfied.

She rose on her elbow.

“Spike…will you regret not being a vampire anymore?”

He sighed.

“Honestly…I don’t know, pet. I mean it’s a wonderful thing to become human again, because of all the possibilities it opens for us…but there are other things I’ll probably miss, yes. Won’t you miss your time as a Slayer once it’s done?”

“You mean will I miss saving the world every week, patrolling in cemeteries every night and going back home covered in demon goo? I think…no.”

She smiled.

“But yes, there’s probably some things that I’ll miss,” she admitted.

“Imagine all the tales we will be able to tell our grand-children.”

“Spike, we agreed…”

“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry. It’s just…that’s probably the main reason why I would definitely choose human over vampire.”

She yawned and put her head back on his chest.

“We should try to sleep,” he whispered. “We have a long journey tomorrow.”

“Ok,” she said, tracing little kisses on his shoulder and chest.

“I won’t be able to sleep if you do that,” he said, and she chuckled.

She whispered in his ear, “That’s the point,” and understanding what her naughty intentions were, he obligingly complied.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Did you reach Wesley?”

Angel turned around from his position by the window and looked at Cordelia.

“Not yet.”

She walked into his room and stopped a few feet from him. He could see she had been crying.

“Cordelia…”

He closed the distance between them and took her in his arms. She held on tightly to him.

“It’ll be alright,” he whispered in her hair. “It always does.”

She just nodded, afraid that if she talked she would start to cry again.

“I want to stay with you tonight,” she said softly.

Most of the time they avoided sleeping in the same bed. The temptation was too dangerous. But tonight, she really needed to feel close to him, and so did he.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn was staring at the papers she was holding, the papers that made her officially the heiress of 25.000 $.

They were in bed, and Connor was reading a magazine Nick had lent him. He turned his head to watch her.

“Are you memorizing it?” he finally asked.

She put the papers on the night table and snuggled next to him.

“No. I was just thinking that I would give anything to see her, instead of those papers. You know, I used to love going to work because I knew she would be there, and we would talk. Now it’s not the same. It’s hard.”

Connor put down his magazine and took her in his arms.

“I’m sorry, chali. If only there was something I could do…”

“Just be here with me makes it better already,” she said, kissing him.

They made love gently and slowly, and Dawn’s sorrows eased a little.

But the feeling of emptiness remained.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Buffy opened her eyes, checked the alarm clock. Still early. It was that time in the morning when it’s nice to be awake, because you know there’s still a few hours to go before having to get up and face the real world, and you can snuggle under the cover. The big bonus for her being the loving vampire holding her tightly from behind.

With a smile, she positioned herself comfortably against his strong body.

Just before a big wave of nausea hit her.

“Oh God.”

Thanks to Slayer speed, she made it to the bathroom in time.

Spike followed immediately, holding her forehead and massaging her back while she was emptying her stomach. When she was done, she sat back on the floor.

Spike wet a towel and wiped it gently on her face.

“Thanks,’ she whispered, a little out of breath.

“Are you alright?” he asked, worry creating a frown on his forehead.

She nodded.

“Yeah. I don’t think my stomach and Cordelia’s cooking are very mixy things, though.”

Her face was regaining some colors already. He helped her getting back on her feet and she leaned against his chest. He lifted her in his arms and brought her back to the bed, putting her between the covers before joining her.

He put a hand on her stomach, rubbing it gently.

“That feels good,” she whispered, putting her face in the crook of his neck, where he always smelled yummi.

“Just rest some more, my sweet. I’ll let you know when it’s time to get up.

She peacefully fell back to sleep, enclosed in the safety of his arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“What should I do? Yell at her or hug her?”

Spike finished to button his shirt and smiled at Buffy. She was packing the few things they had used. She looked fresh, all the previous morning sickness forgotten.

He came to her and stroked her hair.

“Go with the hug, sweetheart. You both need it, I think.”

“I can always use a hug, especially when you’re around,” she said, putting her arms around his neck. He pressed his lips softly to hers, dropping his hands to her back and bottom in a slow massage. She let a small sigh of pleasure escape.

The door was open but they didn’t notice Angel at the threshold. The older vampire stood there silently for a minute, unsure of what to do. A part of him wanted to make his presence known and break the intimacy he was witnessing. That little part of him that couldn’t bear to see Buffy in the arms of another man. But the other part, the one that had moved on for a long time now, was almost fascinated by the love that irradiated from the two beings kissing tenderly in the middle of the room.

He finally cleared his throat while giving a slight knock on the door.

“Morning,” he said pretending he had just arrived.

Buffy and Spike separated from each other, but Spike’s hand stayed firmly on her waist.

“Hey Angel,” said Buffy, trying to regain focus.

“We have…there’s this case we have to take care of before leaving. Cordelia and Fred will be staying here. Feel free to do whatever you want. We’ll leave as soon as the sun set.”

“Ok, thanks. We’ll keep ourselves busy,” she said, and blushed when Spike raised his eyebrow with a smirk.

“Right. See you later, then.”

Angel gone, Buffy gave Spike a slap on the arm.

“You and your twisted mind!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They decided to take Angel’s car and left right after sunset.

They had decided to drive until one hour before dawn and stopped in a small motel for the day, so Angel and Spike could rest. Both girls had slept a little bit in the car, and were dying for a coffee. They spotted a vending machine and sat on the bench next to it.

Cordelia watched the mixture in her cup with disgust.

“Urgh! And here I thought nothing could top Angel’s coffee in badness.”

She drank it nonetheless, throwing the empty cup in the trashcan next to them.

“So…you really have this thing for vampires, huh?” Cordelia asked.

Buffy smiled.

“Only two of them. And you must admit they are the special kind.”

“Oh yeah. I tried to resist at first, you know. When I realized I had strong feelings for him. When Darla came back pregnant…I was really hurt. That’s how I knew. Then a lot of things happened, with Wesley, then Connor…and just when we had the chance to really talk, fate separated us. Since we came back, things were finally looking good. Of course, there’s the curse, so we never got…intimate, but we were ready to wait. Because of the prophecy.”

“I’m sorry,” Buffy said, not knowing exactly how to react.

“I’m not blaming anyone,” the brunette added. “But it’s hard to accept.”

“Cordelia, believe me, I understand what you’re going through.”

“I know. That’s why I’m telling you. And, well, we don’t know yet if that’s the explanation.”

She laughed softly.

“I remember in high school, how I thought you were incredibly stupid to fall in love with a vampire, especially one you couldn’t even…you know.”

“I guess that makes you an incredibly stupid person too, then,” Buffy replied with an ironic smile.

“Exactly. And you know what? I don’t care. And it’s not stupidity.”

They shared a knowing look.

“It’s just love.”

TBC...

~*~ Chapter 16 - Truths ~*~

Once again they left at sunset. They arrived in Seattle a few hours later, still early in the morning.

“The first thing to do is to find a hotel, preferably in the vicinity of where Dawn and Connor live,” Angel said.

Cordelia pulled out the Seattle map she had bought and gave directions to Angel.

Once in the neighbourhood, Angel parked in front of the first hotel he saw.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At six o’clock that night, they met in the lobby after some well-deserved rest.

“Have you got the address?” Spike asked Buffy.

She took Dawn’s envelope out of her bag and they checked with the map. They were even closer than they thought, and it turned out they could walk to Dawn and Connor’s place.

The more they were getting closer, the more Buffy was becoming nervous. “I hope she won’t be mad at me for coming without calling.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be mad at her because she ran away? I think you’ve got some priority here” Cordelia replied.

They stopped in front of a timeworn building and went inside.

“Apartment 4C,” Buffy said.

The hallway had a creepy look but was clean. They heard a sudden screaming, followed by giggles, then another scream. A male voice resounded, then a loud thump. And silence.

“I think…I think that was Dawn,” Buffy said hesitantly.

Spike gritted his teeth.

“Ok, if that git touched her…”

“Spike, they’ve been living together for three months, what do you think happened?”

“Yeah, and besides, maybe she was the one taking advantage of him,” Angel said.

Buffy turned to him.

“Hey! It’s my sister you’re talking about!”

“I’ll say,” muttered Cordelia.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Connor lived in a hell dimension all his life. He doesn’t know anything about girls and sex,” Angel explained.

“And it’s not like you could teach him anything about that,” Spike intervened, smirking.

The three others glared at him.

“He’s totally innocent,” Angel added.

“So is my sister.”

“Maybe they just lived like brother and sister then,” Cordelia offered with an ironic smile.

“Yeah, right,” Spike snorted.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Ok, guys, what about we sit down to continue this nice chat and order some tea and biscuits…oh no, wait, I have a better idea: why don’t we knock on that damn door already?”

“Why knock? I suggest we barge in,” Angel said, and Spike seemed to approve.

Buffy shot them a furious glance. “No. No barging in. We knock on the door like civilized people…even though some of us are obviously not.”

Cordelia sighed.

“This is ridiculous. Let’s get done with this.” She gave a firm knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

Cordelia exchanged a glance with Angel. It was Connor’s voice.

Buffy put her hand on the door.

“Dawn? Are you there?”

There was an exclamation just before the door opened.

“Buffy!”

Dawn jumped in her arms and Buffy held her tight.

“Hey Dawnie.”

“Buffy, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” She took her sister’s hand and led her in the apartment.

“Come inside. Connor, this is my sister Buffy, and…Spike!” she exclaimed, noticing the blonde vampire. She jumped into his arms as well, much to Angel’s surprise.

“I’m so happy to see you!”

“Me too, Nibblet. You gave us quite a scare, you know.”

Angel and Cordelia walked in the apartment. Connor tensed, but his face betrayed real shock when he heard Dawn say, “Hey guys. What are you doing here?”

“You know them?” Connor asked Dawn.

She turned to him, surprised by his harsh tone.

“Well, yes…it’s Angel and Cordelia.” She was about to explain who they were when Angel said, “Hi Connor.”

It was Dawn’s turn to be stunned.

“You know each other?”

“Angel is my father,” Connor answered between clenched teeth.

“What? That’s impossible.”

Buffy stepped in. “You mean you don’t know who you are? What did you guys talked about for three months?”

“Well maybe we had better things to do than talk,” Connor said with a nasty grin, and Dawn gasped. She then realised what they must look like. Connor was wearing the bottom of his pajamas, and she was wearing the top. The bed was messed up, because they had been…well, busy. Connor pointing out the obvious was really not necessary.

Spike immediately reached out to Connor and grabbed him by the neck.

“I don’t like your tone, mate. Apologies to the girl,” he said, showing Dawn, who was now looking at Connor with hurt and incomprehension on her face.

“Spike, let him go,” Angel ordered his childe.

Connor gave Angel a angry look “I can handle myself, thank you. I don’t need your help.”

Connor shoved Spike’s arm away and went to Dawn. “I’m sorry Dawn. I didn’t mean it.” He turned to the others. “I don’t understand. Why are you here? How did you find us?”

“Your address was on the letter Dawn sent me,” Buffy explained.

Connor looked at Dawn.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had asked her to come?”

“I didn’t. And I didn’t expected her to arrive like this without warning, and with the whole gang.”

“You hadn’t given me your phone number,” Buffy said. “I could have tracked it down, but when I received your letter I just wanted to come immediately and see for myself that you were fine. You had mentioned Connor’s name, and Willow did the math. That’s why Angel and Cordelia are with us.”

Dawn smiled.

“I’m glad you came, Buffy.”

Seeing that Angel didn’t know what to do in front of his son’s opened hostility, Cordelia went to Connor.

“Connor, why did you run away like that? We were so worried about you.”

“I heard you and Dad. You don’t want me around.” And while saying that he looked more like a lost child than an angry teenager.

“Connor, that’s not true,” Angel said, finally intervening in the conversation. “I certainly never said I didn’t want you around. Whatever conversation you overheard, you didn’t stay long enough to hear Cordy and me say that we loved you and wanted to form a real family. I know things have been really hard, but why didn’t you let us a chance to explain?”

Connor hesitated. That was true, he hadn’t stayed to listen to the whole conversation. He had left without hearing the rest.

“Connor, I know I probably deserve the gold medal for the worst dad ever, but please trust me when I say I never wanted you to leave. I want us to finally build the relationship we never had the chance to have.”

While saying this, he had come over Connor and had put his hand on his shoulder.

Connor didn’t push him away.

“First, Dawn and I need to talk,” he finally said.

Dawn turned to her sister.

“I still don’t get how Connor can be Angel’s son. Did you know this?”

“Willow mentioned it to me last year. With all that happened, I never got the chance to tell you. I don’t even think Xander knows.”

“It’s a long story,” Angel said.

“And I prefer to tell her about it myself,” Connor added. “Listen, I don’t want to be rude, but…Dawn and I really need to talk. Do you mind coming back tomorrow?”

Buffy was about to protest when she saw the look on Dawn’s face. She was watching the boy with worry and love.

“Alright,” she conceded. “Cordelia and I will come back tomorrow morning, and we can all have dinner tomorrow night, what do you say?”

Dawn nodded. “It’s fine. We’re not working tomorrow. Connor?” she asked in an almost pleading tone.

He looked at her with the same love on his face that Buffy had seen on Dawn’s. It was obvious he wouldn’t refuse her anything, even if he still had a lot of reservations about the situation.

“Ok,” he finally agreed, earning a relieved smile from his girlfriend.

“Well, time to go, then,” Buffy said with a significant glance to Spike and Angel.

The two sisters hugged, and Spike kissed Dawn on the forehead, attracting another surprised look from Angel.

The four of them left, leaving the two teenagers alone with a multitude of questions hanging between them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Oh, for God’s sake, mate, stop brooding!”

They were sitting in a nearby restaurant. Angel hadn’t opened his mouth much since they had left the apartment.

He shot a frustrated look at Spike. “Well, my son hates me, so I think that for once I really deserved the right to brood.”

Cordelia put her hand on his and entwined their fingers.

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s just angry.”

“More hurt than angry,” noted Spike with his usual perceptiveness. But he certainly didn’t want to interfere between Angel and his son. He had his own teenage girl to deal with, thank you very much.

“I can try to talk to him tomorrow, if you want,” Buffy proposed.

“It’s worth the try,” Cordelia said.

Angel smiled to Buffy. “Thanks.”

Spike didn’t add anything, he was too busy eating. Buffy watched with growing alarm all the dishes displayed in front of him. He had ordered most of his favorite meals.

“Spike, you’re not going to eat all this, right?”

“I’m hungry. And I’ve wanted to eat some of these for months.”

“I thought you ate real food before”, Cordelia pointed out.

“Well yeah, but at least now it tastes something.”

“But what with the sudden gluttony? “

He shrugged.

“Like I said, hungry. And when you work I don’t fancy to prepare a meal for myself, so I just pick at whatever’s in the fridge. So I thought this would be a good occasion to have a good taste at everything. I can’t believe how much I missed it.”

“Yeah, I remember what it felt like,” Angel said dreamily, and when the girls stared at him he realised with horror what he had let slip. He was supposed to be the only one who remembered that day. One of his most wonderful and painful memories.

“You remember what?” Cordelia asked.

“Uh…nothing.”

Fortunately - and surprisingly - she didn’t insist. She put her hand on her forehead. “Ooh! Vision!”

Angel turned to her with a worried look.

“I see…I see a huge indigestion for a certain vampire in the next twenty-four hours.”

Spike glared at her.

“And I’m afraid it’s too late to save him now,” she added in a defeated tone.

“It’s my bloody stomach and I do whatever I want with it. Why don’t you look at your own plate?” he said like a stubborn child.

Buffy rolled her eyes.

“Your stomach that hasn’t seen such a huge amount of food in 120 years. Spike, I wish you’d slow down. You’re going to regret it.”

Spike looked at Buffy, saw she was really worrying. He put his fork down on the plate.

“Ok baby,” he said, and the smile he earned was worth abandoning those delicious chicken wings.

Angel watched him with a mix of surprise and disdain. “You are so whipped.”

Spike shot him an indifferent look and put his arm around Buffy’s waist, pulling her to him.

“Yeah. And you know what? I don’t give a damn.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn was sitting on the bed and Connor on the chair.

“I didn’t know you were unhappy,” he finally said.

“Connor, I’m not! I love you. But Buffy is my sister, and I love her too. I missed her so much. I told you about the letter, remember?”

He nodded, hurt written all over his face. Dawn was torn between the joy of seeing her sister again, and the pain to see the man she loved like that.

“Will you leave?”

She stared at him. “What?”

“Will you go back with her?”

“No! Of course not…Connor, is that what you’re afraid of? That I would leave you? Without a glance back? What kind of girl do you think I am?” she asked angrily.

He shrugged helplessly. “Well, I don’t know Dawn. Your sister was right. We’ve been living together for three months and we barely know anything about each other.”

Her anger vanished. She got up from the bed and came to kneel in front of him.

“Ok then. Maybe it’s time we talk about ourselves. But before we do, I want you to know that I love you. I don’t care who you are. I love Connor, whatever his last name or background can be. And nothing will change that. And nothing or no one will separate me from you.”

He felt suspicious moisture behind his eyes and closed them to repress it.

“I love you too, Dawn. I don’t want to lose you,” he said in a hoarse voice.

She put her hand on his cheek. “You won’t.”

He leaned and kissed her. She smiled.

“Time for proper introductions.”

They settled on the bed, holding hands.

“I’ll start,” Connor said. “In fact, you know already the bigger part, about me living in a hell dimension and all.”

“Yes. It’s the you being Angel’s son that I don’t get.”

“I know this is going to sound really weird, but…nine month ago, I was wearing diapers.”

She frowned, confused.

“What do you mean? You were incontinent or something?”

“What’s incontinent?”

She looked embarrassed and he dismissed the comment.

“Whatever. I mean that I was born last year. I was a baby, until Holtz took me to Quortoth. Time goes faster in that dimension. When I came back a few weeks later, I was sixteen…or seventeen, I’m not really sure. It’s not like we use to celebrate birthdays in a hell dimension.”

Dawn had paled.

“So, what you’re saying is that a few month ago, while I was going to high school and talking about fashion and boys to my friends, you were still a baby?”

“Exactly.”

“Ok. That’s kind of creepy,” she admitted.

“I know. I don’t realize it the same way because I grew up normally…if you can say so…in that dimension.”

“But how come you’re Angel’s son? He’s still a vampire, right?”

“As far as I know. Well, he was when I was conceived, anyway. And so was my mom. There was some prophecy involved.”

Dawn’s eyes grew wide.

“Your mom being…?”

“Darla. I never knew her. She died when I was born.”

Dawn nodded.

“I remember Buffy mentioning her name. But I never met her.”

“How come you knew my dad then?”

Dawn noticed he had said ‘dad’ and not ‘father’ but didn’t say anything.

“Right after we arrived in Sunnydale, a few years ago, he started to hang out with my sister, helping her to fight. She’s the Slayer.”

“I heard people talking about the Slayer in Quortoth. I thought she was more like a myth or something. I don’t remember Angel mentioning her though.”

“Probably because it’s been kind of a painful subject for a long time. They both moved on now, apparently, but your father and my sister once shared the ultimate big love. It lasted three years, with a lot of angst and tears, and Angel finally deciding to leave. He wanted Buffy to have a normal life. Not that she did. And now, it looks like she’s with Spike, so…”

“What about him?”

“Spike’s a vampire. Angel made Drusilla, and Drusilla made Spike. That makes him sort of your nephew, when you think about it…talk about a creep factor.”

Connor frowned. “I’m not sure I want to be related to that guy.”

“Wait until you know him. I know he was evil once, and he did his share of wrong deeds. But the last three years, he helped Buffy a lot. He took care of me, saved my life several times, as well as the Scoobies - my sister’s friends. He’s like a brother to me. And the way he loves my sister…I always wished to meet someone who would love me like that…and lucky me, I found him,” she smiled, and he smiled back.

“I was scared that you would be freaked out by the baby-suddenly-turned-teenager thing.”

She laughed.

“Wait until you hear my story. I’m afraid I beat you on the weirdness scale. Nine months ago, you were a baby. Well, two years ago, I didn’t exist. I was a green ball of mystical energy, aka the Key. I opened door between dimensions. And after a long and hectic story, about which I’ll tell you some other time, I just became a regular girl…I think.”

“And amazing and beautiful regular girl,” he said tenderly, caressing her cheek.

She smiled. “I think we covered the most important stuff. And we have the rest of our lives to discover all the little things.”

“Do we?” he asked, uncertainty shadowing his gaze.

She kissed him, hoping to chase the remains of doubts away, and the question she could read in his mind.

TBC...

~*~Chapter 17 - Family~*~

The following morning, Buffy got another bout of nausea. Like last time, Spike followed her closely and held her.

“Are you done?” he asked once she seemed to get better.

“I think so.”

“Ok then.”

He helped her to a sitting position on the floor before leaning over the toilet bowl himself and throwing up as well.

Once done, he just lay on the bathroom floor.

“That was a very unpleasant experience,” he said out of breath.

He opened one eye and looked at her.

“What? No ‘I told you so’?”

She smiled weakly.

“I’ll spare you. But I don’t think Cordelia will be so generous.”

“Better not tell her then. You, on the other hand, barely ate anything. So what with the sickness? And twice in three days.”

She shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe the trip, or the excitement of seeing Dawn again.”

Spike didn’t look convinced.

“If it happens again, I want you to go see a doctor.”

“I will, promise.”

She looked at them, him lying on the floor with his hands on his stomach, and herself sitting limp against the bath.

She laughed.

“What a hot couple we make.”

He grinned. “Aren’t we? We even throw up in synch. That’s what I call love.”

“You bet. I think I’ll go back to bed now. You coming?”

“I don’t know. The cold bathroom floor feels good right now.”

“Suit yourself,” she chuckled, getting up and walking out of the bathroom.

Spike stayed there for a few more minutes, then realized he had a sexy Slayer waiting for him in a warm, comfy bed. He got up and put some water on his face.

From the room, Buffy suddenly heard a scream. She jumped out of the bed and ran in the bathroom.

“What?”

Spike was standing in front of the mirror.

Where he could see his reflection.

“Oh my God.”

“Who is this?” he asked in a trembling voice.

“That’s you, honey,” she answered with a smile, as amazed as he was. She put her arms around his waist and her head on his shoulder. For the first time ever, she was able to see what the two of them looked together. Although it was probably not their best moment, since they were just out of bed, and not counting that they had just both thrown up.

Still, she adored what she saw.

Spike put his hand on his face, in his hair, muttering “What was I thinking?” but finally decided he looked kinda hot.

He wondered what he did look like when he…

He frowned.

“What?”

“I can’t morph into game face.”

He frowned again, concentrating.

“No. Looks like the vampire is gone,” he said, not sure yet of what to think.

Buffy brought her hand to his face, caressed his cheek.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m not sure…I know it’s been going on for some time, now, but….it’s really gone.”

“You’re not a vampire anymore,” she said softly, putting her hand on his chest where his heart was beating.

They looked at each other and he smiled. He encircled her shoulder with his arm and kissed her forehead.

“Let’s go back to bed, love.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Buffy finally got up several hours later, took a quick shower and get dressed. She sat next to Spike on the bed and kissed his sleeping face gently, staying with her face in his neck for a short moment, inhaling his scent. She was feeling so happy and complete, when she was with him. And the best part was she wasn’t afraid to admit it anymore.

“Why are you dressed?” he murmured in a sleepy voice.

“I have to go see Dawn, remember? I’ll be back in a few hours.”

He pulled her to him and gave her a sweet, lingering kiss.

“Bye,” she said softly, leaving the room before giving in to temptation to go back under the covers with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, Spike left to get himself a soul? Wow. That’s like…huge, Buffy.”

They were at the pier, Buffy, Dawn, Cordelia and Connor. The sun was shining and the walk to the pier was actually an idea of Connor. Buffy watched him. There was a big attitude improvement since last night. Of course, Angel wasn’t there, but still he seemed more open.

“I know,” Buffy said, turning her attention back to her conversation with Dawn. “Can you believe I rejected that guy and treated him like crap for two years? I must be the dumbest girl on this planet.”

“Well, things got pretty ugly between you last year. That’s mostly why he left, right?”

A shadow crossed Buffy’s face.

“Yeah…but still, he came back. At first, he had just come back to tell you goodbye. I thought that was so sweet…and he finally decided to stay for good. I’m so glad I stopped being denial girl and opened my eyes. I couldn’t live without him.”

Dawn smiled, watching Connor.

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

“Anyway, we’re living together now. And we think that Spike is becoming human.”

“That’s nic…what?”

Buffy proceeded to tell Dawn all that had happened to Spike over the last few months, including the events of the morning.

“So you think that Shoeshine thing is happening to Spike?”

“Shanshu. And yes, that could be it. The bad part is, it would be terribly unfair for Angel…and Cordelia.”

“Oh, right. Especially with the curse, and all. But maybe there’s a loophole, or it’s something completely different. When you’re happy, you just want everyone around you to be as well.”

Buffy took an inspiration.

“I’m sorry that you didn’t feel happy then. That you thought you were a burden.

That was never the case, Dawn. Never.”

Dawn smiled and took her sister’s hand.

“I know. Spike told me it was a misunderstanding. And I should have talked to you. It was really selfish and insane to just take off like that. Not that I regret it, considering how it turned out.”

Connor and Cordelia, who had been talking separately, came back to them.

Connor was smiling.

“Is everything alright?” Dawn asked him.

“I think I put some sense in that thick skull,” Cordelia said with a smile.

“Don’t take this badly, but you really look like your father. And I mean this as a compliment,” Buffy smiled to him.

“Thanks,” he just said, and he didn’t look too insulted.

“You should give him a chance. I know I wasn’t there and can’t really judge what happened, but I know one thing : You have now the opportunity to build something great and be happy. Don’t let that go away because of stubbornness, or some stupid pride. And here I know what I’m talking about, believe me.”

Connor nodded.

“I might do that,” he said, not compromising himself, or giving the impression he was giving in to easily.

Buffy smiled, knowing better.

“Did you guys already decide what you’re going to do?” Cordelia asked.

“We talked about it…one thing for sure, we want to stay together. And I also know I want to finish school and go to the university. But I don’t want to be that far away from you,” Dawn said, turning to her sister.

Connor hesitated for a moment and finally said, “The best solution would be to go back to LA.”

“I know Angel will be thrilled by that idea. And there’s plenty of rooms at the hotel for you to stay.” Cordelia added.

“Are you suggesting us to get an hotel room?” Dawn joked.

“You know what I mean. We all live at this big hotel, the Hyperion. That’s where we work too.”

Dawn looked at Buffy.

“I would only be two hours from Sunnydale. We could see each other several times a month. Besides, from what you’ve told me, your apartment would be kind of small for the three of us.”

“We could find another one…”Buffy started, but she could see her sister had already made her decision. She had trouble recognizing her little sister in this young woman who seemed to know exactly what she wanted, and who smiled with such happiness. And that was the important thing, finally. It was probably time to let her little sister go. And even if it pained Buffy, Dawn’s happiness had to come first. And that happiness lay now with Connor.

And at least Dawn would be surrounded by people that Buffy knew and trusted. She smiled, thinking of the fulfilled and promising life she was facing herself. With Spike.

She felt a sudden urge to feel his arms around her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cordelia and Buffy left Dawn and Connor at their apartment, arranging to meet later for dinner.

The two girls were walking back to the hotel, when Cordelia grabbed Buffy’s arm.

“Buffy…”

Buffy looked at her, puzzled, before following her look. Her heart stopped in her chest.

Spike was sitting on the hood of Angel’s car, bathing in sunlight. Not bursting into flame. Just enjoying his first rays of sunshine in 127 years, while waiting for his girl to come back to him.

So that’s what Buffy did. He smiled when he saw her approaching. He opened his legs so she could slip between them and put her head on his shoulder. His arms came to circle her waist.

“You nose is getting reddish,” she said against the rough fabric of his jeans jacket.”

“Yeah. I should probably buy some SPF 300 before going back to California…”

She laughed, raised her head so their eyes could meet. She couldn’t think it was possible, but the sunlight was making his even more blue. But the adoration she read in them was the same, though.

“I love you,” she whispered.

He kissed her tenderly, enjoying the warmth provided by the sun and Buffy’s lips and body pressed against him.

He broke the kiss and took her hand.

“Let’s get inside before I look like a bloody lobster,” he grinned.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They all went back to the same restaurant as the night before, but with Dawn and Connor this time.

Spike barely looked at the menu.

“I think I’ll just have a soup,” he said nonchalantly, trying to ignore the ironic glance from Cordelia.

“Is this an ‘I told you so’ moment?” she asked sarcastically.

“Not if you want to live, missy.”

Buffy and Angel exchanged a smile. Angel looked way more happier since they had arrived at the restaurant. Connor was still reserved, but seemed more open for conversation. And he had called Angel ‘dad’ several times, which had pleased the vampire to no end.

Dawn had explained to Buufy that Connor’s principal fear was that she would left him and go back to Sunnydale. Since he was now assured they would stay together, he had been more willing to consider reconstructing a relationship with Angel and Cordelia. He had even told Dawn that he was starting to understand the importance of having a family, and that it would be stupid of him to ignore those people who obviously loved him.

Once they were done eating, Connor cleared his throat.

“So, this is what Dawn and I have decided. We both want to come back near our families, but we will stay together. So we thought - if that’s ok with you, dad - that we could stay at the hotel. Dawn will finish high school in LA and I’ll work with you and the gang. That way we’ll be able to save some money and find a place of our own later.”

“In fact,” Dawn added, “We already have some savings. Do you remember that old lady I told you about, Buffy? She let me some money…an inheritance.”

“Really? That’s nice of her.”

“So now I’m about to be the owner of $25.000.”

Buffy’s eyes grew wide.

“Oh…that’s * very * nice of her.”

Dawn turned to Connor.

“Which remind me we have to do something about this. If we’re leaving Sunnydale, we have to let the solicitor know. See how we can arrange all this.”

“You can ask for it to be paid to the Angel Investigations account,” Angel proposed. “Then we’ll create a bank account for the two of you and will transfer the money.”

Connor and Dawn looked at each other and nodded.

“Good. Thanks, dad.”

“Don’t thank me, Connor. This is normal stuff. And I can’t even tell you how happy I am that you and Dawn will be staying at the hotel. You can stay as long as you want to. You’re my son, and this is your home as well.”

They smiled to each other, maybe the first true smile they had ever shared.

Dawn turned to Buffy and Spike.

“You guys didn’t say anything. What do you think?”

Spike’s disappointment was clear on his face.

“So you won’t come back to Sunnydale with us?”

“No. I’ve got my own life, now, and you certainly don’t need me to disturb yours.”

“But you’ll never disturb…”

“I know, Spike, that was just a manner of speaking. And I’ll spend Christmas with you, though.”

Buffy hugged her.

“I’m glad to hear that. And I’m very proud of you. You have my support, no matter what.”

Dawn couldn’t hide her surprise - and her joy.

“Thanks, Buffy. That means a lot. And like I said, we won’t be that far. We’ll see each other often, especially now that sunlight is not an issue anymore,” she said, smiling to Spike.

He pulled her to him and kissed her on the forehead. Buffy reached for a Kleenex in her bag.

“What’s the matter, pet?” Spike inquired.

She blew her nose.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. It’s not my habit to get all emotional like that. It’s stupid. I must be tired,” she added with a little laugh.

The rest of the evening ran smoothly, in a nice and carefree way. Now that everything was clear between them, they were able to look at the future with hope. For the first time in a long time, the six of them were perfectly happy.

TBC...

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