Title: Green Eyed Christmas Author: Pattyanne snapkik@yahoo.com Disclaimer: None of the BtVS characters belong to me Feedback: Oh, yes. Please. Summary: See parts 1 and 2 Part three..... ~~~~~ "I'll have a blue Christmas without you I'll be so blue thinking about you.." ~~~~~ Three days later, Buffy spotted Melinda and Spike together at the Sunnydale Mall. They looked to be Christmas shopping, although Spike was the one carrying all the packages. She followed behind them at a sensible distance, not wanting Spike to "sense her" presence, as he claimed he always could. Watching them weave in and out amongst the crowds of holiday shoppers gave Buffy a slightly sick feeling that she couldn't explain. She was being ridiculous, she scolded herself. It's wasn't as though she cared who Spike consorted with. If he wanted to be seen with tacky ex-cheerleader type looking females, that was his business. As long as he was leaving HER alone, Buffy's little boat sailed serene. "Oh, that figures," she muttered, watching them walk into a lingerie store. Not even a classy one like Victoria's Secret. This was one of those places that specialized in leopard skin prints and marabou feathers all over everything. Sequined pasties and edible underpants were the special deal of the day, or so the sign in the window proclaimed. Hiding behind a potted poinsettia bush, Buffy observed Melinda pick up what looked like a sexy elf costume from one of the racks. She held it up to herself and turned to say something to Spike, obviously soliciting his opinion. Buffy could almost hear him praise the trashy looking ensemble. He'd be wearing that patented smirk he'd perfected over the years, one eyebrow would arch slightly and he'd say something like, "You're filling my stocking up already, luv." Disgusting. She was well rid of him and his sexy little remarks...and admiring glances. His heart in his eyes, and the gentleness he displayed whenever she was upset. The way he'd touched her during that long, wildly passionate night together...whispering in her ear...telling her he loved her...that he would always love her and no one else. Well. So much for undying love. That annoying laugh of Melinda's disrupted her thoughts, and she looked up just in time to see Spike smiling at the girl...and leaning closer...and closer.... "Whatcha doing?" Buffy nearly jumped out of her suede boots when Willow tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around quickly, her packages smacking her friend in the side. "Whoa, slow down," Willow laughed. She glanced around Buffy and said, "You're not planning on buying something in there are you?" Flustered, Buffy shook her head and bent down to pick up the bag she'd clobbered Willow with. "In there? Get real," she laughed, a little too loudly. "Like I'd be seen dead in that place." Spike and Melinda were heading for the front of the store, and Buffy wasn't about to be caught spying by him. She took Willow's arm and began dragging her in the direction of the food court. "Come on," she said brightly. "Let's get some hot chocolate and one of those big cinnamon buns. My treat." She had a sudden unexplainable need for comfort food. ~~~~~ "Decorations of red On a green Christmas tree Won't mean a thing If you're not here with me.." ~~~~~ Buffy shivered when she walked into the house. Dark and cold and empty it was, and she was immediately conscious of the bleak feeling she'd been fighting off ever since she'd run across Spike and his new girlfriend. She dumped her packages on the sofa and turned up the thermostat, hoping to dispel the damp chill of the weather from both her house and her heart. There was a note from Dawn on the coffee table. She'd been invited to a friends house for the night and would be home late tomorrow afternoon. Buffy grabbed the phone and made a quick call, confirming this information. After speaking with Holly Westcott's mother and being assured that the two girls wouldn't be going anywhere that night, she had spoken to Dawn and instructed her to come straight home the following day. After that, there wasn't much else to do. She wandered aim- lessly around the house, cleaning up a few things here and there. Started a load of laundry and washed the breakfast dishes. Opened the mail and stuck the Christmas cards in the slats of the blinds. Hoping for a little holiday cheer, she plugged in the lights on the tree and sat beneath it wrapping a few gifts. She wrapped, labeled and set gifts for Xander, Willow, and Oz beneath the tree, then reached for the last bag and extracted it's contents; a silky shirt the color of the Mediterranean Sea that she'd bought, figuring that Dawn would want to have something for Spike. ** He'd better damn well appreciate it after I spent so much time looking for something this color..** Buffy folded the garment neatly, setting it in a shirt box and covering it with a thin slice of blue tissue paper. When it too was wrapped and sporting a decorative bow, she peeled off another label and stuck it on the box, then wrote 'To Spike from Buffy'. She was about to place it under the tree when she caught herself. Placing another label on top of the first one, she addressed it properly this time. ~~~~~ "I'll have a blue Christmas that's certain And when that blue heartache starts hurtin'..." ~~~~~ The following morning she was up early. After showering, she went downstairs to have break- fast. She made herself a cup of tea and ate a bowl of cereal, then went back to her room and made her bed. When that chore was finished, there wasn't much left for her to do, so she puttered around the house all day until Dawn finally came home. Buffy practically jumped on her sister when she came through the door. "Hi!" she said, a little too cheerfully. "Did you have fun last night?" Dawn dropped her overnight bag on and the floor and headed for the stairs, with Buffy right on her heels. "Yeah, I had fun" Dawn said when it became obvious that Buffy was expecting an answer. "I'll tell you about it later, okay?" She stripped off her jeans and sweater, then redressed in a black skirt and a cherry red blouse. Buffy frowned as she observed her sister changing and fixing her make up. "Are you going out again?" she asked, hating the prospect of spending the evening alone with no one to talk with. "Just for a little while," Dawn replied as she brushed her hair. "I'm meeting Spike at the China Palace." This nugget of information truly surprised Buffy. "You mean for dinner? You're meeting Spike to have dinner with him?" When had THAT sort of thing started happening? "Uh-huh." Dawn pulled on her leather jacket. "He wants me to meet this girl he's been seeing. I think he really likes her, but he says he wants my approval before it gets serious." ** Oh! So, it's...not serious yet?** Buffy refused to analyze what malfunction in her brain was responsible for THAT thought. "Well..." she said lamely. "Don't be out too late, okay?" Something in her tone made Dawn stop and turn around. "Did you...want to come along?" she asked hesitantly. "I'm sure Spike won't mind." Buffy shook her head. "Oh, no. No thanks. I have...stuff I need to do. Lots of...you know..." "Stuff," Dawn provided. "Okay, well..why don't you call Xander or Willow? They could come over and help you with your...whatever stuff you need to do." "Yeah," Buffy said, nodding in a short, jerky way. "I might do that. You go ahead and go. I'll be fine." "You sure?" "Totally. Go. Have fun." ~~~~~ "You'll be doing all right With your Christmas of white.." ~~~~~ She called both Willow and Xander, who both had previous plans for the evening, and who both invited her to come along with them. Buffy declined their invitations, not wanting to be the third party in what had been planned for only two. She hung up the phone in the kitchen, then wandered back into the living room. Sinking down onto the sofa, she sat and studied the colorful glow of the tree lights, which for some reason made her feel melancholy and alone. Entirely...alone. ~~~~~ "But I'll have a blue, blue Christmas.." ~~~~~ TBC..... (Well...she asked for it, didn't she?"