Tie Me Up
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Joss, not me. Too bad, so sad.
Summary: Making Thanksgiving dinner with kids underfoot is never easy.
A/N: Written for my 2009 holiday ficathon, as requested by spikes_heart, who wanted Thanksgiving, future!fic, established relationship, a rope, a chair, and gravy. Set in the CMNA-verse, somewhere between Cast Me Not Away and A Love As Strong As Death.


“Spike, have you seen Meg?” Buffy blew her hair out of her face and turned to her husband, who was intently mashing the potatoes.

“No, she’s watching the twins,” Spike replied absently. “Do you think these are smooth enough? Nika said—”

Buffy peered over his shoulder. “I’m sure it’s fine, Spike. Can you help me baste the turkey?”

He leered at her. “Any time.”

“Spike…”

Spike grinned unrepentantly. “Yeah, sure.”

He pulled the rack out as she basted the turkey with the juices. “Okay.” Buffy took a deep breath. “I think that takes care of it for now. Nika, Wes, and Enid should be here shortly with the rest of the sides. Dawn already called to say they were on their way, too.”

“Relax, luv,” Spike said, putting his hands on her shoulders. “It’s going to be great. We’ve done this before, remember?”

Buffy did as he suggested, taking a deep breath and trying to release some of the anxiety. She had no idea why she was so worried—unless it had something to do with the last five gatherings where something had always gone wrong. Between emergency calls for work, a broken arm (Davey), the stomach flu (all three kids), and a charred turkey, Buffy had just about given up on the idea of a peaceful, family dinner.

That was one of the reasons she was a little concerned about how quiet the kids had been.

“You know, we’d probably better go check on Meg and the twins,” Buffy said slowly. “I haven’t heard anything from them.”

Spike shrugged. “You want me to stir the gravy?”

“Please.” Buffy leaned in for a kiss. “Maybe, if you’re good, I’ll let you reenact our first Thanksgiving,” she teased.

He mock-scowled. “What? I’ll let you tie me up?”

She grinned wickedly. “Among other things.”

Spike smirked. “Kinky.”

“You love it.”

He didn’t argue with her, and Buffy went on her way, humming contentedly to herself, making plans for later in the evening, after Meg was in bed. She thought she remembered where they’d stashed the handcuffs.

Still lost in thought, Buffy stuck her head into Meg’s room, seeing Davey and Will playing quietly on the floor. “Hey, guys.”

“Hi, Aunt Buffy,” they chorused in unison.

Anyone else might have seen a picture of complete innocence, but Buffy knew better. If the twins were looking that innocent, it was because they didn’t want their most recent escapade discovered. “Where’s Meg?”

Davey shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed. Something in the casual way he replied told her that Davey knew exactly where her daughter was. “Will?”

Will, who wasn’t nearly as good at hiding his misdeeds, flushed. “I don’t know.”

“Boys…” Buffy used her best Slayer voice, and they both ducked their heads. “Where’s Meg?”

Davey turned bright red. “She might be in the closet.”

“Which closet?”

“Your closet,” Will mumbled.

Buffy didn’t wait around to ask what Meg might be doing in their closet. She dashed off for the bedroom she shared with Spike and pulled open the door to the walk-in closet. Meg looked up at her, dried tears on her cheeks. The boys had apparently discovered where she and Spike kept the rope they stored for emergencies, and Meg was trussed up a bit like the turkey that was currently in the oven.

“Oh, sweetie,” Buffy murmured, pulling Meg into a hug and quickly untying her daughter. “What happened?”

“We were playing Houdini,” Meg replied between sniffles.

Buffy turned to see Davey and Will standing behind her, wearing matching guilty expressions. “Why didn’t you untie her?”

“We couldn’t get the knots undone!” Will protested.

“And you couldn’t have gotten me or Spike?” Buffy asked, incredulous.

Davey dug the toe of his sneaker into the carpet. “We didn’t want to get in trouble.”

Buffy sighed. Loudly. “And you didn’t get the scissors?”

“We aren’t allowed to use them without an adult,” Will said to his shoes.

If Buffy hadn’t been well-versed in child-logic, she might have suspected Will of being a smartass. As it was, she suspected that’s exactly what happened. “Meg? Are you okay?”

Meg nodded, clearly trying to pull herself together. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Buffy fixed Will and Davey with a stern expression. “Just wait until your parents get here.”

The twins’ eyes went wide, and Buffy rose, ushering them out of the bedroom and down the stairs. “You two, sit on the couch,” she ordered. “Opposite ends.”

They sat, looking abashed, and Buffy took Meg into the bathroom to help her wash her face. “Are you sure you’re okay, sweetie?” she pressed gently.

Meg nodded. “Yeah. They left the light on for me.”

“You didn’t yell for us?” Buffy asked, trying not to sound as exasperated as she currently felt.

“I didn’t want to sound scared.”

“Of course you didn’t.” Buffy silently gave thanks that the prank hadn’t turned into an emergency. “Well, we’ll let Uncle Wes and Aunt Nika deal with the boys when they get here, but no more playing Houdini.”

Buffy sent Meg off to watch TV—and not in the living room where the twins were currently banished—and went back to the kitchen to fill Spike in.

Her husband wasn’t much help; Spike laughed until he cried, then shook his head. “You have to admit that it’s never boring with those three, luv.”

Buffy couldn’t help the giggle that escaped. “Yeah. I guess it’s not Thanksgiving around here unless someone is getting tied up.”

Spike gave her a hard kiss just as she heard the front door open and Wesley’s voice calling out a greeting. “You can tie me up later,” he promised.

Buffy was looking forward to it.