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Author's Chapter Notes:
Brand new chapter!!! I know it has taken a while, things have been hectic. I want to say a big big big thank you to my beta for this!!!

Please all go review!!!
Chapter 21: Family

“What are you doing here, Dawnie?” Walking up to her, Buffy embraced her sister in a tight hug before standing next to her and running her fingers through her long brown hair that was flowing freely around her shoulders and down her back.

“Oh! Mum sent me out, you know how she is.” Dawn said nonchalantly while looking directly at Spike.

Buffy could tell that Dawn was trying to act grown up around Spike. She knew in all probability that Dawn would have annoyed her mother until she had finally had enough and thrown her out the house with a job to do, or to go and get something. However, Buffy wouldn’t shatter her illusion in front of Spike, after all what where sisters for?

As Dawn continued to stare at Spike, practically drooling, Buffy realised she hadn’t introduced him.

“Dawn this is… umm…” She realised they hadn’t discussed if he wanted to be William or not.

As Buffy continued to stutter and look to Spike for help, Dawn raised an eyebrow at her babbling sister. Had she only just met this man somewhere?

Buffy heaved a sigh of relief when Spike spoke for her.

“Name’s Spike, pigeon. So you’re Buffy’s little sister?”

“That’s right, Buffy is MY sister.” Dawn made sure to put the stress on the word ‘my’. She hated being seen as the little sister, the baby, who didn’t know anything.

“Heard a lot about you, pet, good to finally meet you.”

Dawn giggled. She liked the way this man treated her. When he looked at her, she felt like he saw her as she was… a woman.

“Well then ‘Spike’ we should be getting back to the house.” Buffy cast a glance at her still drooling sister, and the expression she was currently wearing on her face. “Dawnie are you coming with us?”

“O.k.” she said it in that high-pitched way that only teenagers seemed to be able to achieve.

As they set off walking, Dawn moved round from Buffy’s side so that she stood side by side with Spike. Yeah Dawnie definitely had a crush big time.

They walked the ten minutes to the house in relative silence. Dawn making the occasional sighing noise as her arm brushed against Spike’s.

As they walked over a small hill, a little lane came into view, with small houses dotted down the lane.

Each house was tiny, but Spike knew that didn’t mean each house wouldn’t be home to numerous people. Each house had a little veranda with several people sat on it. Children were playing in the street, seeming to be having lots of fun, despite not having any proper toys or shoes.

Although each one of the houses and the people he saw were poor, Spike realised they looked happier than most of the aristocrats he knew.

“Welcome to Revello Lane, Spike.” Taking his hand, Buffy led Spike to a house in the middle.

Entering into the small house, it took Spike several seconds to adjust to the change in lighting. Outside the sun had seemed so bright, yet in here it barely managed to make it through the gloom. It made the small house seem so dark and cramped. Wherever he looked there was objects or furniture.

In one corner, was a stove, which Spike guessed served as the kitchen. Stood by the stove was a woman aged about forty with dirty blond curly hair. Spike assumed this was possibly Buffy’s mum.

On a simple looking chair sat an older man. He wore small round glasses which were perched on his nose. He was dressed well, and was reading what appeared to be a well-read thick leather bound book. Spike was unsure as to who this man was. It was possible he could be Buffy’s father, even though she didn’t speak fondly of him, she had never mentioned whether he was present in her life or not.

A younger woman with brown hair, sat in a corner nursing a small baby, while heavily pregnant with another child.

“Look who I found!” Dawn announced their presence as they entered, snapping Spike out of his reverie.

Suddenly they found all eyes on them.

“Buffy!” Joyce came up to her daughter and gave her a tight hug. “Hi, Honey, how are you?”

“Mom. I’m ok.”

“How’s work? Finding it hard?”

“Oh, uh… It’s ok I suppose. Mom, I would like you to meet Spike.” Buffy gestured towards where Spike stood awkwardly next to her.

“Please to meet you, Spike. I’m Joyce, Buffy’s Mother. So do you, umm, work with Buffy, Spike?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

Joyce smiled at him, before turning back to Buffy. “Tell you what honey, why don’t I make us all some cocoa?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Buffy spoke with a smile. She had missed her mom’s cocoa while working away.

“Spike, would you like some cocoa?”

“Thank you, Joyce, that would be good.” Spike had never been mothered before so it made a nice change for him.

Smiling Joyce turned back to the stove to make the cocoa.

As Buffy walked over to the man in the chair, he stood up to greet her. Buffy hugged him tightly, causing the man to wince slightly.

“Hello, Buffy, I see working hasn’t diminished your capacity to hug tightly.”

Buffy quickly let go. “Sorry, Giles.” Giles gave Buffy a smile showing her that he was only joking. “Giles I want you to meet a friend of mine.” She turned around so Giles could see Spike. “This is Spike.”

“Please to meet you, Spike. I’m Rupert Giles.” Reaching out his hand, Giles shock Spike’s firmly.

Spike realised that like himself, Rupert was English. “Hello, Rupert.”

Buffy then led Spike by the hand over to the woman who was nursing the baby.

“Anya! Where’s my big brother then?”

Anya looked up at Buffy. “He’s working down the mines today.”

Buffy nodded and looked over at Spike. “Spike, this is Anya, my brother’s wife, and this…” she gestured to the baby sleeping in Anya’s arms “is their little bundle of joy – Anne. Baby number two is on his way any day.”

Anya looked Spike up and down, making him feel quite uncomfortable. Finally, she turned back to Buffy and said quite matter-of-factly, “He’s good looking, Buffy. He seems like he will be quite capable of giving you lots of satisfying orgasms.”

Spike started to cough. Sure that he hadn’t heard that right he cast a glance over at Buffy. Seeing how red she had gone, her whole body flushed with embarrassment, he felt assured that he had heard Anya right.

Buffy and Spike were saved from any further embarrassment as Joyce called them over for their cocoa, making no show that she had heard Anya’s comment.

Dawn joined them at the table, making sure that she was sat as close to Spike as physically possible.

That was how they spent the next few hours, sat at the table talking, like real families did. Spike realised his family had never once done this. He enjoyed just sitting back in this relaxed atmosphere as the conversations washed over him. He felt almost like he belong here, yet the niggling thought at the back of his mind kept reminding him that he no more belong here than Buffy did in his world. Silently, he decided to banish such thoughts for the day and simply enjoy the pleasures of just being a normal person, and not some rich upper class twit. Quietly, he listened to each conversation that was going on.


***
As the day wore on, Buffy helped her mother with a few jobs, such as the washing and cooking the evening meal for everyone. Spike was left to entertain Dawn, so he sat at the table telling her stories, which seemed to keep her quite amused as she listen with rapt attention.

Giles went back to the chair and carried on reading the book that he had been engrossed with when they had first entered the house. Anya had gone back to nursing the baby in the corner.

As the sun was just starting to set, a tallish man with dark hair walked into the little house. He was completely covered from head to foot in soot, so making out features was nigh on impossible.

As the sound of the little door opening was heard, all inhabitants turned to look, it was Buffy however who was first on her feet. Rushing over, she managed to stop herself a split second before she went to hug him, as though only just realising he was covered in dark soot.

“Hi, Buffy.”

“Hey, big brother. I’ll maybe wait until you are washed before I hug you.” Buffy gave Alex a wide smile.

Raising his hand, he seemed as though going for a loving gesture, when suddenly he swiped his finger across her nose leaving her with a black smudge across her white nose.

“Hey!” Smacking him on the arm, she scowled at him.

Alexander laughed as he walked off to go and get washed and changed, never once did he notice Spike sat at the table.

***
When Alex came back down, he sat at the table just as Joyce was serving the stew she had made for everyone. As the women all helped dish up Alexander and Spike sat facing each other.

“Have we met before?” Alex sat studying Spike, trying to work out if and where he had seen this man before.

“No, mate, don’t think you have… name’s Spike, friend of Buffy’s. I guess you are the whelp of a brother she talks about, occasionally.” Spike said the last bit purely to get the other mans back up… and it worked.

“Hey!”

Just at that moment Buffy came back to the table carrying the hot strew. “Play nice you two. Alex this is my friend, Spike. Spike, this is my brother Alex. All introduced? Good. Now get along or you will both regret it.”

Although the two spent the rest of the evening having a staring match, neither said anything to the other.

The meal was eaten amidst the flurry of chatter that hadn’t let up all day. When everyone had eaten, Buffy and Joyce helped clear the table. Out of the corner of his eye, Spike caught Buffy and her mother in the middle of a disagreement. He knew not to intercept it though; he could tell that Buffy was trying to give her mother her hard earned wages, which her mother was refusing to take, even thought it was clear they needed the money. It was clear that neither wanted to create a scene, so Spike kept his head down and ignored what was going on behind him.

As he felt a small hand on his shoulder he turned round to look at Buffy who stood next to him. Glancing over at Joyce, who was stood by the stove putting the coins into a simple jar, it was clear Buffy had won and Joyce had taken the money.

“Well then, Spike, we should be getting back to the manor… wouldn’t want anyone missing us.”

Spike understood what she was saying; she knew no one would be missing her, however he was another matter entirely.

Saying their goodbyes and promising they would come visit again soon, Buffy and Spike left the little house and stepped out into the lane, where the sun was just beginning to set. A cool breeze whipped around them, causing Buffy’s hair to dance.

Silently they set off towards the manor, and back to the life where neither could pretend to be something they weren’t, yet still the place where all they did was pretend.

TBC……..





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