Spike’s Point of View
“Will you tell me what you are doing?” Buffy asks, sitting on the couch while covering her eyes.
“None of your beeswax, luv. Sit tight, I’ll only be a minute more.” I carry the last package up the stairs and place it in the spare room.
When I saw that baby moving around inside of Buffy the intensity of it all, struck me. I am going to be a father. The father of a little baby girl. Buffy insists she doesn’t want to know the sex, she’s off her rocker. I must admit that I was skeptical about the whole thing, I’m not exactly the father type. The entire thing seemed so surreal. I found the girl of my dreams, she left me after one night, then she just shows up on my doorstep. It is not the most conventional way for this to happen, but it feels right to me.
“You leave for hours upon hours, then come back and make me cover my eyes? Is it stuff for the baby? Because if it is then you better make sure I don’t go stumbling into it.” She yells.
I was at a loss when I went around to the shops. There are so many things that the shop owners tell you that you need, it’s baffling. I picked up odds and ends. While I was looking around I noticed that you have no choice but to dress your tykes in four colors. You have the basic pinks and blues, and then you have the yellows and greens.
Buffy wanted to sit down and talk after the doctor’s appointment the other day, I have been avoiding that talk like it was the plague. We have no idea where we stand with each other, we have agreed that Buffy can stay living here and I will help with the baby, beyond that? I don’t know. She recently gave up trying to talk about it. It is kind of unfair to her, but if I’m not in the right mood to talk about something I can be a fucking prick.
I carry the last box up to the spare room and lock the door behind me as I exit to go find Buffy.
“Are you done yet?” She asks. She’s standing at the bottom step holding her hands over her eyes. I stop at the top and sit on the stair.
“Yeah, luv. I’m done.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth she drops her hands and looks around. She’s amazing. She’s beautiful. I think back to the way that she looked that one night at the club and look at her now. Her face is a bit more round, her hair is longer, then there is the obvious, her breasts are getting freaking huge. They are trying to keep up with her stomach I suppose.
“Well? Where is everything?”
“It’s all hidden away under lock and key. So unless you steal the key or “accidentally” pick the lock there is no chance of you walking in on the stuff.”
“What have you been up to while I was gone?”
Her face lights up with an evil grin as she checks her watch.
“Well, you’ll see in a few minutes.”
The thought scares me. I have had enough surprises to last me for about the next eighteen or so years. “Please, Buffy? Give me some fair warning.”
“All I did was answer the phone!” She says as she makes her way over to the door. I can hear a car pulling up outside and my palms begin to sweat. Whatever this is, this cannot be a good thing. As far as I am concerned that car door that just closed is the sound of impending doom. Over dramatic, I know. “He did the rest.”
Buffy doesn’t even wait for the person to knock. She times it just right so that when the door is opened my father’s hand is poised to knock.
“Hello, son.” He smiles. Buffy squeals at the food in his hand and takes it to set up in the dining room. I shoot Buffy a glare as she walks away.
“Now, William. Leave the poor girl alone. I shouldn’t have to trick your housemate to come see you. Besides, we have to talk. There seems to be a problem with the papers we filed.”
I shove my hands in my pockets and descend the stairs.
“What could have possibly gone wrong? The lawyers were there, they said everything was settled. Dru seemed happy enough with the settlement.”
We walk to the dining room table and sit as Buffy puts the food in front of us. “As happy as she may have seemed a week ago, today she feels she deserves more.”
“On what bloody grounds? That loon agreed to adultery and took the cut as a penalty. She can’t very well go back on it now!” I don’t bother to hide the fact that I am seething. I should have known when it took Dru more than a few days to sign the papers that she had something up her sleeve.
“She claims that your infidelity entitles her to the full share.”
I drop the forks that I was carrying into the dining room when I hear Spike’s father call him out on his loyalty to Drusilla. Neither man pays me any mind, they are busy in a staring contest. Spike has a complete poker face, he is silent.
“Well, son? What do you have to say to that?” Slowly, two sets of eyes make their way to rest their gazes on me. I can practically feel my eyes bug out of my skull. Suddenly the room feels so much smaller, the fresh flowers smell too strong, the colors too bright.
“I’m just going to go get more forks.” Rushing back into the kitchen I lean against the counter taking deep even breaths. I shake my hands in front of my face in a piss poor attempt to cool myself off. Is this going to ruin their plans? Was I the only “other woman” or was he referring to someone else? I splash some cold water on my face from the faucet and take a deep breath.
“Are you okay, Buffy?” Looking into the mirror above the sink I see Spike. I don’t really know what to say, so I reach down for a towel on the counter and dry my face.
“Does he know?” I mumble into the cloth. Spike’s hands grip my shoulders and pull me back against him. “Did I give it away? Was he referring to me? I don’t want to feel responsible for things going wrong.”
“Relax, just breathe.” How am I supposed to breathe with his lips brushing against my ear? How am I supposed to relax when I have to face his father? “I don’t think he knows that it was you. Not that it makes much of a difference, I need to tell him anyway. I need to step up, right?” Looking up into the mirror again I see that he is calm. The profile view of his face resting against me with his eyes closed makes my heart jump. I turn around to hug him and see Giles over Spike’s shoulder. Where my heart jumped just seconds ago it now plummeted deep into the pit of my stomach.
“Spike.” Gently, I turn him around.
“Why on earth wouldn’t you tell me sooner, son? Throughout all of your stunts as a teenager I never once judged you, never pushed you away. Why not tell me? Why keep it a secret?” I slide myself behind Spike and close my eyes, practically hiding.
“Well, I’m telling you now. The child that Buffy is carrying is mine.”
I can’t bring myself to look up. Still hidden behind Spike’s back I begin to hold my breath, waiting for the fall out.
“Well, obviously this will need to be factored into the divorce settlement. However, that can be a matter for another day. A grandchild is something I never thought I would see.” The tension in Spike’s back reduces and I let my breath out. Does that mean he approves? Was I really looking for approval? Considering how great I feel now, I would bet that deep down I was. “You are taking responsibility for this child, correct?”
Spike’s hand slips into mine and he pulls me out from behind him. “Yes. We’re both going to be here for the baby, together.”
“I suppose congratulations are in order for the both of you then.”
The rest of the afternoon was a bit odd for me. While I got along with my father for the better part of my teenage years and now in adulthood, we never really ate together. He seemed relaxed and I realized that for as long as I can remember I have never seen him like that. His suit jacket was slung over the back of his chair as he was eating some cookies with Buffy. My father doesn’t eat cookies, he never dresses down, rarely laughs, and can’t go more than an hour or so without talking about something serious. Yet, there he was spouting off stories of fatherhood and reminding me that my child will be a pain in the ass because karma will hunt me down.
The longer my father stays, the better I feel about everything. The doubts that I had about being with Buffy just melt away as I see just how wonderfully her and my father get along. I continue to sit in silence and watch them chat the hours away like they’ve known each other longer than a week.
“Well, I suppose I should be going. I’ve already stayed longer than I intended. We will still need to talk about this Drusilla issue soon, otherwise I am letting you deal with her hounds.” My father says as he gets up and puts his jacket on once again. Buffy excuses herself for a moment and rummages through her purse by the door. Turning to him, she holds out a picture.
“This is the latest sonogram of the baby. I can’t tell if it’s a boy or a girl so if you see something I don’t, please do not tell me.” She lets out a laugh as he takes the picture.
“Don’t you want this?” he asks.
“Well Spike has the other one. If I’m jonesing for a picture of the baby I can bug him.” She gives him a half smile and gives him a hug. His arms are tensed out around her but he gives in and gives her shoulders a light squeeze. My father may not be a touchy man, but I dare say he gave her a hug.
“Yes, well then… Thank you both for an entertaining afternoon. Goodbye William, and goodbye Buffy.” I close the door behind him and take a moment to breathe.
When I turn around Buffy is still standing in the same spot. Standing next to her I pull her against me. “Thank you.” I mutter into the top of her hair.
“For what?” Buffy asks as she looks up at me.
“Everything. I know that I didn’t handle the news admirably, and for dealing with me and everyone who has been around lately. I promise things will die down just as soon as I get the divorce settled.” At the mention of the divorce her nose wrinkles in disgust but it only lasts a second. “I do want to try this. I want to be the whole package for you and the baby, Buffy. I know I’ve been reluctant to talk about it but this afternoon was great. I have never been able to just sit down and talk with him and you did that. Effortlessly, might I add. And I want to do it again. I want to make you happy.” Buffy’s hazel eyes stare straight into mine and I smooth out the lines creasing her eyebrows.
“Are you sure? Because there is a certain level of hell reserved for people who lie to pregnant women, right next to the puppy kickers.”
“I can’t guarantee I’m the best man for the job, luv. But I’m sure as hell going to try. That is, if you’ll let me.” I press a kiss to her forehead. My lips linger against her skin and her she raises her head. My lips trail from her forehead, down over her nose, and finally land on her own lips. I’ll be honest it doesn’t really remind me of our first kiss. I can’t clearly remember the first time we kissed that night, but I know it was nothing like this. This time the kiss is slow and soft not bruising and demanding. Neither of us is fighting for entry and it’s perfect. I cup her face in my hands and lace her silky hair through my fingers. She sucks my bottom lip into her mouth and I let out a groan. When I pull back she keeps her eyes closed and her hands come up to hold onto my forearms.
“We need to ease up.” My statement comes out more like a plea. I’m a full grown man asking a beautiful woman to slow down. I must sound like a sodding poofter. “I just, well I… I want to do this right. I know things aren’t the way you deserve, but I can at least make sure we do this part right.”
Her eyes open up and I get pulled back into her hazel gaze. “Then what do we do now?” What do we do now? How should I know?
“I’ve never really dated someone before, only really been in one relationship and it wasn’t really much of one at that. But I do believe, this is the part where we go on a date.” The light that makes its way into her eyes lets me know that she likes the idea. I have never been happier to do something right. “We’ll go do the normal thing, dinner and a movie?”
“Yes! I haven’t been out in so long. Let me go get ready.” Buffy starts to head towards the stairs and the phone rings. She picks up the phone next to her and looks at the Caller I.D. “It’s Drusilla.” She bites her lip as she holds the phone out to me.
“Just let it ring, then.” I wave the phone away and she smiles again before putting the phone back.
“I’ll be down in ten minutes.”
Those ten minutes slowly turned into thirty, but when she made it down those stairs it was worth the wait.