Summary:
What if? during Fool for Love. What if Buffy wasn't a raging ... you
know what, even kinda flirty, and what if Riley showed up at the Bronze
while Spike and Buffy were talking?
Chapter 11
Spike crawled into the bed next to Buffy. He
spooned behind her,
cradling her lower stomach with his large cool hand. The vampire kissed
the Slayer's shoulder with soft, careful caresses.
"I'm not going to break, you know," Buffy whispered softly. She tilted
her head to let Spike kiss her neck. She never thought she'd be turned
on by having a lethal vampire so close to her jugular, but it was
Spike. As if that explained it all.
"I know, luv," Spike whispered into Buffy's flesh. "I just think my
girl needs the softness sometimes to remember she's a girly girl under
that tough Slayer exterior."
Buffy rolled over to cup Spike's face in her hands. "I love you so
much, Spike. Thank you for everything." She pulled him down for a kiss.
Spike settled against Buffy's body, reveling in the feel of her naked
breasts and limbs touching him. After a few minutes he pulled away. He
cradled her head in his hands, and he played with her hair. He asked
himself how he could approach the Slayer with the idea of a mating that
wouldn't get him staked.
"That's an awfully serious face you got there," Buffy pouted. "I wanted
some smoochies."
"Pouty. Gonna get it," Spike snarked. He grinned when Buffy squealed
with giggles as he moved one hand down to tickle her ribcage.
"Stop," Buffy huffed through her laughter. "You know, my engagement
ring's still at home in my jewelry box." She abruptly switched the
subject.
Spike arched an eyebrow. "You kept that old thing?"
"Well, of course. Now I'm glad I did." Buffy nibbled on her lip for a
moment. "You know that question you whispered in my ear while we were
under the spell?" She looked up at the vampire nervously.
"About us matin' on our weddin' night?"
"I never did answer the question before Xander and Anya interrupted."
Buffy closed her eyes and forged ahead. "I'd like to answer now."
Spike felt his heart leap into his throat. He hoped that Buffy said
yes. Anything else he was sure would devastate his heart.
"Can this be our wedding night, Spike? Please say yes, and make me the
happiest woman on earth."
"Oh, Buffy, of course it's yes!" Spike replied in an enthusiastic, yet
slightly mocking tone. "I can't believe I just said that."
"I won't tell if you don't, Big Bad." Buffy giggled as she gave him a
small kiss on the lips. "Yum. Spike lips. Lips of Spike."
"When I'm done with you, pet, I won't be able to get the taste of Buffy
out of my mouth for centuries." Spike's lips went for Buffy's throat,
hitting all the sensitive spots as he did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The A.I. team entered the garden courtyard in front of the Hyperion
hotel. Cordelia was reassuring Fred, the newest member that the group
had rescued from an alternate dimension, that both tacos and soap were
still very much a staple of this dimension.
"Whose van was that parked out front?" Gunn asked. "I've never seen it
before."
"Neither have I," Wesley commented. He looked up at the hotel. "There
are some lights on upstairs. We might have intruders."
"Let me go in first," Angel cautioned. He surged forward to push open
the front doors of the building. A crossbow arrow slammed into the
wooden doorjamb, barely missing Angel's nicely coiffed hair. He
immediately put a hand up to check the top of his head.
"You owe me a beer, Harris," Spike chortled.
"I really didn't think he'd check the hair first thing," Xander
replied. "I thought for sure he'd attack you right off, Spike."
Cordelia pushed past Angel. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"Shouldn't you be in Sunnydale?"
The rest of the A.I. team squeezed into the lobby, past the now
shocked, immobile Angel.
"We needed someplace to hide from a hell-bitch." Buffy slowly walked
down the stairs. She was trying to put up a tough front, and she didn't
want the ex-cheerleader to see that she was incredibly nauseated.
Angel and Cordelia watched in amazement as Spike's eyes immediately
went to the Slayer. Instead of being full of hate and contempt like
they expected, the bleached blond vampire's eyes softened at the sight
of the Slayer. This was not the vampire that they had known in
Sunnydale.
"I thought you were gonna help Pete commune with Red and the witchlet?"
Spike hurried to Buffy's side. Staying in Los Angeles helped the
Scoobies in several ways. First, it gave them a place to hide out.
Secondly, L.A. was also home to a possible mentor for Willow's growing
and uncontrolled abilities. While in Sunnydale, Spike remembered a man
named Pete that he met quite a few years ago. He was well trained in
magic, and he had a nice little store in Los Angeles. He had hoped that
after talking to him, Pete would be willing to take Willow on as a
student. Thankfully Pete and his wife had agreed to come over and talk
to Willow personally.
Spike took Buffy's hand in one of his. She looked up into his eyes, a
little 'green around the gills'. Spike protectively lowered his other
hand to her lower stomach. "Oh, I see. Harris, get the crackers and
7-up."
"Again?" Xander asked. "I thought it was called morning sickness for a
reason." He hurried off towards the kitchen area.
"What the hell is going on?" Angel demanded to know in a loud voice.
"I already told you. We're hiding from a Hell God. She wants my Key,
and she can't have it." Buffy was feeling a little more bitchy than
usual, but she allowed her mate to guide her over to one of the couches
where they sat down.
Xander came out of the kitchen with a plate of crackers and a 20-oz
bottle of cold 7-up. He set it down on the table in front of Buffy.
Then he slowly backed away to sit on one of the other couches.
Buffy nibbled on a cracker while Spike opened the soda for her. She
took bottle from the vampire with a wan smile.
"You're pregnant?" Wesley asked. Buffy didn't look well, and the
requested crackers and 7-up seemed like a familiar remedy for a poor
stomach.
Spike looked at the tall, lean man sporting an English accent. He
glanced at Xander with an arched eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's Wesley," Xander answered Spike's silent question. Then he
studied the other man himself. "Lookin' good, Wesley. How's life been
treating you?"
Wesley in turn studied the little tableau in front of him. Buffy was
still nibbling on her crackers while Spike acted quite solicitous
towards her. It was absolutely not what he'd expect from a vampire of
Spike's stature. Xander sat back watching the proceedings with an
amused eye.
"Buffy, how could you jeopardize yourself like this?" Angel blustered.
"You should have used birth control."
"Didn't think I needed it," Buffy said around the cracker in her mouth.
"You and Giles always told me vamps shoot blanks." Then, she took a
swig of her soda.
Angel growled at Buffy's words. He stepped towards Spike when he
realized that the bleached blond vampire must be the father and not the
soldier.
"Oh, get over yourself, Angel," Buffy grunted. "I've moved on as I'm
sure you have."
Spike chuckled as he turned to give his grandsire the once over. "So,
how's the old diseased whore, Gramps? Did she spread her legs so you
could dive into that well-used cunt of hers?"
Xander and Buffy stared at Spike wondering what the hell he was talking
about. Then, Buffy remembered that Drusilla had been in town just
before Joyce had died. For the first time she wondered what exactly the
ho-bag had told Spike.
"He didn't have sex with Darla!" Cordelia gave the bleached blond
vampire a dirty look. "He said so."
"Oh, like he's never lied before," Spike chortled. "Hell, even Harris'
called him a liar."
"He told you that?" Buffy looked at the two male Scoobies with open
curiosity.
Xander looked confused for a minute. Then, his face cleared as the
memory of Parent-Teacher night came forward. "Oh, yeah, I did. You
missed it, Cordy. I think you were hiding in the closet with Willow at
the time."
"Spike, I'm going to kill you." Angel advanced on the younger vampire.
"You touch my boyfriend, Angel, and we'll be sweeping you up off the
floor with a Dustbuster," Buffy growled while her eyes flashed in
anger. "You know, I am a big girl now. I'm a whole two decades old. I
think I know myself well enough to know what I want in a mate. You and
Giles can just go shove your ideas of what's good for Buffy up your
butts." She jumped to her feet, and she stomped up the stairs mumbling
the entire way about overbearing males.
"You just had to piss her off, didn't you, Gramps?" Spike sighed. He
knew that they'd probably have to bring her more crackers soon. Her
stomach wasn't going to like the added stress factors.
"How far along is she?" Wesley asked.
"She's almost twelve weeks along," Xander answered. "Luckily Pete's
wife Junia is a midwife. She says that everything is hunky dory. We
even got to hear the heartbeat."
"It's alive?" Cordelia gave a look of astonishment.
"Well, of course it's alive, you bint," Spike growled angrily. He
wanted to rip into the brunette's neck for insulting his child. "It's
the man, not the demon that produces the sperm." Spike shook his head.
"Besides, now that I know it's there, I can hear it all the time."
"Where have you guys been all this time?" Xander asked. "Spike and I
had to go rescue a girl from this nasty demon that shoots mucus from
its nose."
"Buffy didn't go with you?"
"No, and a good thing too. She would have puked all over the place. She
can't even handle the sight of one of Dawn's peanut butter and jelly
pancakes." Xander shook his head. "She's quite hormonal right now. So,
watch yourself."
"Actually we're glad you're back." Spike rose to his feet in a casual
manner. He kept one eye on Angel as he crossed to where Willow's books
were stacked on the counter. "We're just waiting for the Watcher here
to tell us that Red's research is up to par since we're missin' our own
Wanker." The bleached blond vampire spit the last word out with such
malice that everyone except Xander blinked at him in surprise.
Fred whimpered when she heard the harsh voice. This prompted Cordelia
to lead the young woman away from the emotionally charged lobby into
the kitchen. The dark-haired ex-cheerleader just hoped that there were
taco fixings in the kitchen. She was quite surprised to find the fridge
and shelves nicely stocked, and she wondered which one of the Scoobies
had managed to do that. Cordelia had just got Fred to sit down at the
table when another woman entered the kitchen.
"H-hey. I'm Tara," the young woman said. "C-can I get you something?"
"I'm Cordelia. Fred here would really like some tacos." Cordelia
indicated the young woman sitting at the table. "We can just order out,
no biggie."
"N-no, I think w-we have what it t-takes to m-make that," Tara
stammered. She went to the fridge. "Spike likes spicy stuff. So, we
usually try to accommodate."
"You do know he's a ruthless killer, right?" Cordelia asked, earning a
whimper from Fred.
"Y-yes, it's been mentioned." Tara kept busy gathering the supplies for
tacos. "He's my friend though. I like him, and he really loves Buffy."
"It's your funeral." Cordelia shook her head and let it go. It wasn't
any of her business.
Out in the lobby, Angel and Wesley were questioning Spike, Xander, and
Willow about Giles departure from Sunnydale. Angel was getting broodier
by the second. The Scoobies treated Spike like he was part of the group
rather than the evil, soulless killer that Angel knew Spike was capable
of being. They never treated him with as much respect as they were
giving Spike.
"Your research is correct, Willow," Wesley said absentmindedly. "The
convergence is now passed. You have indeed averted an apocalypse by
running away."
"Does that mean we can go home?" Anya entered the room with Dawn. "I
need to get back to my money."
"You miss doin' your little dance to capitalism, don't you, demon
girl?" Spike smirked at the young woman. "Hey, Niblet. Tara went to
make some food. Why don't you go see if she needs any help."
Dawn nodded with a chuckle. "I'll hide the pb&J so Buffy doesn't
slay it." She hurried off towards the kitchen.
"So, is there going to be an intervention to watch because Spike and
Buffy are mates now?" Anya asked bluntly. "Because if there's going to
be vampire wrestling I want to get some popcorn."
"What?" Wesley and Angel said together. They both turned to stare at
Spike. Somehow they had missed the part about Buffy knowing what she
wanted in a mate in the comment she made earlier.
Angel let out a furious roar. He was about to launch himself at Spike
when he realized that Xander had picked up his crossbow. The young man
had it leveled at the dark-haired vamp's chest.
"You might want to rethink that, Deadboy," Xander said with deadly
calm. "Last time someone messed with Buffy's boyfriend, he ended up in
a wheelchair for several months."
"Oh," Anya moaned. "You are so sexy right now, Xander. Hurry up with
the threats so we can go upstairs and have some orgasms."
"The mating was my idea." Buffy's voice echoed through the now quiet
lobby. She came down the stairs with the most mismatched of couples.
"Junia, Pete, meet Angel, Wesley, and some guy I don't know."
Junia had dark skin and was taller than any other person in the room
while Pete was so short he looked like a little doll. They each walked
on one side of the Slayer. Pete looked the newcomers over very
carefully. "Very interesting group of beings here, Slayer."
"Yeah, but the vampire is gonna feel my hormonal wrath if he touches my
mate," Buffy grumbled.
"Now, now, my dear. No need to work yourself up." Pete patted Buffy's
leg. "Your love would not get hurt if he was attacked by Angelus. He is
confident in your commitment to him."
Buffy gave the little mage a small smile. "So, Wills, can we go home
now? I'm really ready to be back in my own bed."
"Tacos in ten." Dawn poked her head out of the kitchen door.
"I wish to discuss this, Buffy," Angel said through clenched teeth.
"What does your mother think about you dating another vampire? I'm sure
she's quite disappointed in you now." He had to talk some sense into
her, and he remembered how much Joyce Summers hated Buffy dating him
because he was a vampire.
Buffy gave Angel a cold glare. She knew that neither Angel nor the
other A.I. members knew that Joyce was dead, but that was just dirty
pool. "Mom liked Spike very much, Angel. Before she died, she was quite
happy that Spike and I were together."
"Your mother passed on?" Wesley said softly. "You didn't call to tell
us."
Buffy shrugged. "Spike and the Scoobs were there for me. I knew if
Angel came to Sunnydale, he'd try to stage an intervention. After we
eat, we'll be out of your hair, Wesley." She held her hand out to
Spike, who took the offered appendage. Together with Pete and Junia,
they went to the kitchen.
"Willow, Xander..." Angel said in a voice that was almost a whine. "You
can't possibly go along with this."
"Oh, but we do," Willow said. "Buffy's happy. She's happier than I've
seen her since she first moved to Sunnydale. If you do anything to make
her unhappy, there will be hex on your parts that will take you
centuries to lift." She glared at the dark-haired vampire.
Xander and Anya joined Willow with nods. Spike was a Scooby in ways
that Angel never tried to be. He had proved to them that he controlled
his demon, not the other way around just by not hurting them despite
the absence of the chip.
"Time to eat," Xander said.
"I don't think they like you very much," Gunn said to Angel. "What on
Earth did you do to them?"
Angel shrugged, unsure of how things had gone terribly downhill. Buffy
was supposed to find someone normal to have kids with, not a vampire.
Come to think of it, exactly how did a vampire get somebody pregnant?
It was virtually impossible. He sat down on the couch where he started
to brood as he went over the past few years in his mind trying to
figure out what he'd done wrong.
"Let's go eat, Gunn." Wesley grabbed the other man by the arm. "I'm
starved. It looks like Angel has some thinking to do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It was really nice getting to know you better, Wesley," Buffy said.
She gave the ex-Watcher a hug. "If you need anything -- anything at all
-- don't hesitate to call."
The other Scoobies had already said their good-byes, and they were
waiting inside the van for the trip back to Sunnydale.
"If you need any help researching, Buffy, I'll be happy to help,"
Wesley offered in return. He was still a little miffed at Giles for
abandoning the Slayer and the Hellmouth without finding a replacement
Watcher. Although, Wesley was pretty sure there were very few members
of the Council that wouldn't freak over Buffy's involvement with an
infamous vampire like Spike.
"I will, I promise." Buffy stepped back from Wesley. "Keep Angel out of
trouble. I'm pretty sure he's gonna be kinda difficult for while he
adjusts to my truly moving on."
"Good luck, Buffy," Wesley said. He watched as the petite blond climbed
into the van. He waved at the Sunnydale crew as they pulled away.