William sat in his office thumbing through his cases absent-mindedly, glancing over at the phone occasionally. He knew he needed to make that phone call but every time he reached for the phone he would pull back as if it might bite him. With a reluctant sigh, he grabbed the receiver and dialed the familiar number waiting for someone to answer on the other line.
Buffy sat on the couch flipping through the channels glumly as she engorged herself with her favorite ice cream. Angel had already left for Boston and her mother had to go the gallery for a last minute sale, so yet again, she was all alone.
Just as Buffy was about to let her foul mood get the best of her, the phone rang. With an exasperated sigh, she picked up the phone and brought it to her ear.
“Hello?” she answered desolately.
William felt his breath catch in his throat. Shit, Buffy was still at her mum’s and he had completely forgotten about it.
“Uh, hey Buffy,” he replied hesitantly.
Buffy felt a knot rise in her throat. Just great. This was all she needed right now.
“William why are you calling here?” she asked with more bitterness than she had intended to.
“I was calling to get your address from your mum,” he replied honestly.
“Oh,” Buffy replied in a small voice.
William reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did this have to be so bleeding hard?
“Listen Buffy I know this is awkward as ass, but I didn’t realize you were still at your mum’s,” he explained.
“No it’s fine, really,” Buffy lied.
“It is?” he asked trying to hide his hurt.
“Yeah, it’s time we both moved on right?” Buffy suggested keeping up her brave façade.
“Right,” he agreed meekly.
They sat in awkward silence until Buffy could stand it no longer. “So when exactly can I expect…..” She trailed off unsure of how to word what she was asking.
“Dru should have everything finished by sometime next week,” he finished for her in a flat voice.
Buffy felt hot tears well in her eyes. “Okay,” was her choked reply.
William could hear the tears in Buffy’s voice and knew he wouldn’t able to hold together much longer. “I guess since I have you on the line you could just give me the address,” he suggested quickly, swallowing down the knot in his throat.
Buffy took a deep cleansing breath. “Sure, it’s uh, 502 Park Place apartment 10 B,” she relayed as she wiped at her tears.
William quickly jotted down the address and put down his pen. “Well I guess that’s all then pet,” he sighed.
Buffy closed her eyes and held back the sob that threatened to escape at the use of his old pet name for her.
William furrowed his brow. “Buffy are you still there?” he asked concerned.
Buffy swallowed her tears and tried to clear her throat. “Yeah, I’m still here,” she replied in a tear-tight voice.
William felt his heart ache at the sound of Buffy’s teary voice. This was absolutely killing him. Fighting his own tears, he let out a ragged breath. “Buffy I’m sorry, but I can’t do this,” he choked out.
Buffy let out a small sob and let her tears flow freely. “William, I’m so sorry,” she hiccupped and hung up the phone.
William sat with the phone clutched in his hand as silent tears rolled down his cheeks. Clamping his eyes shut, he inhaled deeply through his nose and mentally kicked himself for being so weak. What kind of man was he? Here he was crying like a baby over a woman who clearly didn’t want to be with him anymore. Wiping at his tears furiously, William got up from his desk and stormed out of his office calling over his shoulder to his stunned secretary.
“I’m out for the rest of the day,” he all but growled.
Tara McClay watched with wide eyes as her employer burst through the double doors and into the street. “Sure thing boss,” she said in a small voice, shaking her head.
******************************************************************************
Buffy curled her small body on the couch and let her sobs come out in long anguished cries. Her heart felt as if it was breaking within her chest. She had never felt pain like this before, not even when she had left William had it hurt so much.
As her body slowly calmed, she heard the front door open. Looking up with tear-swollen eyes, she saw her mother standing there with concern etched all over her face.
“Buffy what’s wrong?” Joyce asked as she quickly went to Buffy’s side to comfort her in a way only a mother could.
When Buffy felt her mother’s warm arms envelope her, fresh tears surfaced and her shoulders shook with their intensity. “Oh Mom,” she wailed into her shoulder.
“Shhh, sweetie, I’m here,” Joyce soothed her hysterical child.
When Joyce was sure Buffy had calmed down, she pulled her at arms length and looked her in the eyes. “Buffy what happened?” she asked in a soothing voice.
Buffy wiped at her dripping nose and sniffled. “Will called,” she explained meekly.
Joyce gazed at her daughter with sympathetic eyes. “Oh sweetie,” she cooed as she brushed the tears from her daughter’s eyes.
Buffy sniffled again as she looked up at her mother with sad green eyes. “It’s really over,” she said dismally.
Joyce didn’t have to ask what her daughter was referring to. “Buffy honey, I know you can’t see this right now, but maybe this is for the best,” Joyce tried. She loved William like a son, but she couldn’t stand to see her daughter in so much pain, so maybe cutting all ties was really for the best.
Buffy looked at her mother aghast. “How can you say that?” she asked incredulously.
“Buffy think about it. You and William have been separated longer than you were even together,” Joyce tried to reason.
Buffy felt pure rage course through her. “So what, the four years we were together should mean absolutely nothing,” she snapped heatedly.
Joyce let out an exasperated sigh. “That’s not what I’m saying Buffy.”
“Then what are you saying mother?” Buffy asked snidely as she crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.
Joyce felt her anger bubble to the surface. “Well look at it from William’s point of view Buffy. He sees you for the first time in eight years and you’re all over another man, how is he supposed to feel, huh?” Joyce pointed out angrily.
Buffy was taken aback buy her mother’s forthrightness. She had tried to not look at it from that point of view, but when it’s thrown in your face like that, well it’s kinda hard to ignore.
“Mom I….” Buffy trailed off not knowing what to say.
Joyce instantly regretted her harsh words. “Buffy I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” she gasped putting a hand to her mouth.
Buffy swallowed back her tears and let a resolute look cross her face. “No Mom, don’t be sorry. Everything you said was true. I was wrong for leaving William for my own selfish reasons and I have no right to be hurt or upset because he wants a divorce,” Buffy stated in a calm voice.
Joyce looked at her daughter with sad eyes. “Buffy this is not all your fault.” She reassured her daughter. “You and William were both way too young when you got married and now that you are both adults maybe you can fix things and possibly salvage what’s left of your relationship by setting each other free,” Joyce suggested in a gentle tone.
Buffy looked up at her mother with glassy eyes. “But I still love him so much,” she confessed as a single tear ran down her cheek. It felt good to finally admit it out loud to someone other than herself. The truth that had been eating away at her daily.
Joyce felt her own tears begin to surface. “Then tell him before it’s too late,” Joyce replied in a tear-tight voice.
Buffy fell into her mother’s lap and let out a small sob. “I just don’t know if I can,”
Joyce stroked her daughter’s hair in a soothing manner. “Well Buffy, only you and you alone can take that leap, so you have to decide if he is worth it,” Joyce stated in a motherly tone.
Buffy continued to let her tears fall as she clung to her mother’s waist. “I just don’t know Mom, I just don’t know.”
******************************************************************************
William sat at the bar, half a bottle of tequila later, deliriously numb. He knew it was still way too early to be drinking, but he just wanted something to make the pain go away.
Tapping his shot glass on the counter he looked up with hooded glassy eyes. “Fill’er up Steve,” he demanded in a drunken slur.
Steve the bartender walked over and studied William. “Hey Will, I think you’ve had enough man,” he suggested cautiously.
William sat up on his stool and pointed a finger in the direction of the blurry figure before him. “Listen mate, I’m the payin’ cust…customer and I say when enough’s enough,” he slurred as he teetered on his stool.
Steve rolled his eyes. “Yeah well I’m not exactly in the mood to call 911 to come get your ass, so I say I’m cuttin’ you off,” Steve demanded.
William was about to retort when his eyes rolled in the back of his head and he promptly passed out cold, falling smack on the floor.
Steve set down his rag and let out an irritated sigh. “Damn it Will,” he groused as he came around the other side of the bar to help the very inebriated man off the floor.
William let out a groan and grabbed his head. “What the fu-,” but was stopped by the bile that was hitting the back of his throat. Leaning forward, he threw up the half bottle of tequila and what was left of his lunch all over the floor and Steve’s shoes.
Steve none to gently tossed William into a near by booth as a slew of profanities fell from his lips. Reaching in William’s jacket pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and scanned the phone book for the number he was looking for. Once he found the number, he pushed send and glanced over at a now snoring William. Yeah he was seriously gonna kick his ass once he was sober.
******************************************************************************
Drusilla grabbed her cell phone and looked at the caller ID. Seeing William’s name she smiled and brought the phone to her ear.
“So tell me, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” she purred into the phone.
“Drusilla sorry, it’s Steve down at Keys, Will is passed out drunk and I didn’t know who else to call,” the bartender explained as he rolled his eyes in the direction of the reason he was calling Drusilla in the first place.
Drusilla shook her head knowingly. “Very well, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Thanks Drusilla,” he replied gratefully. “Oh and you might want to make sure you have something in the car in case he gets sick again,” Steve added dryly.
“Again?” Drusilla asked curiously.
Steve looked down at his soiled shoes and clinched his teeth. “Don’t ask,” he warned.
Drusilla let out a small chuckle and shook her head. “Right, well I’ll see you soon,” and then hung up. Her poor William must have talked to his sunshine today. Well I guess it was up to her to make everything all better.
******************************************************************************
William woke up and grabbed at his throbbing head. “Fuck!” he moaned as he looked around and took in his surroundings. He was in his bed completely naked and was that the shower running? He sat up, steadying himself from the now spinning room. Oh this couldn’t be good.
Drusilla came out of the bathroom and rubbed at her wet hair. She had a dinner to be at in a little over an hour and figured she might as well get ready here and make sure William was okay. When she saw William sitting up in bed she smiled.
“Ah, he lives,” she commented playfully.
William snapped his head in the direction of the female voice and stared wide-eyed.
“Oh shit,” he groaned as he lay back in his bed, pulling the sheet up to cover his head.
Drusilla pouted her lip. “Now William, that’s no way to greet the woman who came to your rescue,” she said in mock hurt. She knew exactly what William assumed had happened and figured she needed to teach him a lesson. It could have been some other woman in his apartment in a less than innocent situation.
William sat up and made sure the sheet covered his manly bits. “Dru I…” But he didn’t even know what to say because in all honesty, he wasn’t exactly sure what had happened.
Drusilla could see that William was in great distress. With a shake of her head she reassured him.
“Nothing happened. I have a dinner to go to and I didn’t want to leave ‘til I was sure you were okay,” she explained.
William closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Not that Drusilla wasn’t a desirable woman, it’s just his heart belonged to someone else, or well it had.
“Dru I’m sorry,” he apologized.
She raised a brow at him. “For what? Almost throwing up in my car or almost killing yourself with bloody alcohol,” she asked dryly.
William tried to think about how much he had had to drink. Last he remembered he was on his fourth or fifth shot.
“That bad huh?” he winced
“Well if you call being passed out for the last six hours bad, then yes,” she replied flippantly.
He hadn’t intended on getting that drunk, but apparently his head wasn’t quite in agreement. He was beginning to notice a pattern here. Every time he talked to Buffy he woke up with the worst hangovers. It had to be a sign of some sort.
“I appreciate you getting me home luv,” he said gratefully.
Drusilla sat on the edge of the bed. “You talked to her today didn’t you.” It was more a statement than a question.
William let his head fall back to rest on the headboard, eyes shut. “Yeah, I did,” he admitted bitterly. “Grahhhhh, why the fuck does she always seem to do this to me!” he yelled as he slammed his head back on the headboard, instantly regretting it as throbbing pain coursed through his head. “Fuck!”
Drusilla winced. “William you need to calm down, you’re going to give yourself a concussion,” she scolded.
William let silent tears fall from his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was from the pain in his head or his heart. “Dru what am I gonna do?” he murmured softly.
Drusilla scooted closer to her dear friend and cradled his head to her chest. “Shhh it’s alright now,” she cooed in a gentle voice.
William pulled from her embrace and wiped at his eyes. “I’m gonna get a shower,” he said quickly, shame taking over.
Drusilla backed away and nodded her head. “I’ll leave you to it then, I’ll be in the living room when you get out alright?”
William ducked his head, unable to meet her gaze. “Sure.”
Drusilla got up and walked out of his bedroom closing the door behind her. William looked up at the shut door and mentally kicked himself. Could he be anymore of a wanker? Letting a slew of curse words go under his breath he got up and went to the bathroom to get his shower.
******************************************************************************
Buffy sat at the breakfast table staring at the small slip of paper on the fridge. All she had to do was walk over, grab it and dial the number, it was that simple. So why had she sat there for the last hour and a half just looking at it like it might jump up and run away?
With an exasperated sigh, she snatched William’s phone number off the fridge, grabbed the cordless phone, and walked out the backdoor to go and sit on the swing, their swing.
Drusilla heard the phone ring and wondered if William was going to grab it. When it rang a second time, she debated on letting the voice mail get it, but something told her to answer it. Walking over, she garbed the phone and brought it to her ear.
“Hello?” she answered in a soft sultry voice.
Buffy sat quiet for a minute, wondering if she had the wrong number.
“Hello?” Drusilla said again.
“Oh I’m sorry I must have the wrong number,” Buffy said praying this wasn’t William’s number.
“Well who are you looking for luv?” Drusilla asked curiously.
“Um, William Giles,” Buffy replied hesitantly as her heart pounded in her chest.
“Oh you have the right number,” Drusilla assured the woman on the other line.
Buffy felt her heart sink in her chest. He had another woman in his home, but her hurt quickly turned to pure out anger.
“Well then who is this?” Buffy asked heatedly.
Drusilla let a smile grace her stunning face. This must be William’s sunshine. “Oh how rude of me, I’m Dru,” she replied in a sickeningly sweet voice.
Buffy let her draw drop. Dru? Isn’t that who was handling their divorce? Well I guess she’s handling more than that.
“Well Dru can you tell William that his wife, no better yet, his ex wife called,” Buffy hissed nastily and then hung up.
Drusilla looked at the phone in her hands and frowned. “Well that was just rude,” she commented out loud.
William stood there in nothing but his favorite blue jeans, towel draped over his shoulders as he cleaned his ears. “What was rude?” he asked confused. Was Dru talking to inanimate objects again?
Drusilla looked up and set the phone down. “Sunshine didn’t want to play,” she replied with a pout in a child-like voice.
William creased his brow. “Dru what the bloody hell are you on about?”
“Your sunshine called and was quite rude with mummy,” she explained crossly.
Buggering fucking hell. As if things weren’t bad enough already. William closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Did Buffy just call?” he asked as he fused his eyes shut, feeling his headache come back.
“Well she didn’t leave a name, but she said to tell you that your wife, no, ex wife called,” Drusilla relayed with a nod of her head.
William looked toward the ceiling and shook his head. “Oh lord, why me?” he questioned as he walked over and plopped on his couch. He could see now, it was only gonna get uglier from here on out.
Thanks to spuffette, Spikesluv, DaniD, kim, MidnightGirl, dusty273, spikestheman, jt, Kimber x4 ( You always kill me with your reviews sweetie, I absolutely LOVE them!), mer, met, cordykitten, Laura, willowmouse, frederique, Meagan, Raspy_Luv, dragontiff, SarahandJamesFanatic, Renee', vitalis, Albie, and Brat for the reviews, y'all totally kick ass! I ahve to say I am tepted to find out if I can get a chat bored for this fic since y'all have so many opinions on this fic, LOL! Reall guys I am so glad everyone is enjoying, I love y'all to bits! Kuudos!
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Well I am floored by how much y'all have responded to this fic. I know you are all anxious for the Spuffy but it is still a ways down the road because like you have all said, alot has been said and done between these two adn I can't just erase the past right? Well I hope y'all enjoy adn let me know what you think. Kuddos!