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24
a/n-whoa it's been a while! I don't think I ever gave an explanation to what Chuck E. Cheese is. Basically it's a pizza place that is geared for kids that is the most insane place you've ever been to.

24 After his initial disgust at the hordes of unsupervised kids running around, Buffy watched as Spike look of disgust turned mildly accepting.

They had settled into the Toddler Zone and within an acceptable timeframe, their pizza and chicken wings were delivered by another pimply face teen. Throughout the meal, Spike had continually winced with every high pierced scream that came at him from all directions until Buffy finally handed him a napkin and told him to use it to make makeshift earplugs.

While first protesting, Spike finally gave in and stuffed wads of paper in his ears, sighing with relief when his acute sense of hearing was not continually traumatized.

After they had eaten, Spike glanced at Buffy with trepidation when she handed him a cup full of tokens and told him to go play some games with Blake. He looked down into the cup before looking back at her with a truly suspicious look on his face, eyeing the ridiculous games around them.

But Blake's enthusiasm had him containing his snide comments and Buffy watched with amusement as he headed for some of the machines positioned around the more sedate backdrop of the Toddler Zone.

But after a few minutes, Spike came back to the table with a scowl on his face. "These machines bloody rob you blind."

"No twicketss," Blake grumbled, matching his daddy's look.

"That's right. They don't give you any tickets, do they Blake?" Spike asked his son.

"No, dey don't," Blake said mournfully.

It was another moment where Buffy realized how truly advanced her son was, knowing that most children his age wouldn't be aware that the other machines in the place rewarded those who played with a varying amount of tickets, which could then be redeemed for an assortment of prizes.

Of course Buffy didn't know how much influence Spike had over this particular observation either.

"Want twickets." Blake's petulant look turned pleading as he looked at his daddy. "Pweese?"

Never one to resist that particular look on his son's face, Spike's face became determined. "Bloody right we'll get some tickets."

Buffy watched as he strode purposefully out of the safe haven of the toddler zone into the manic frenzy of the main arcade, his son safely ensconced in his arms.

She shook her head and sat back to finish the rest of her lunch, the appetite of a toddler not giving her the time to appreciate it fully.

Twenty minutes later, Spike still had not returned with their son and Buffy finally stood up to go look for them. She had quickly become bored and not just a little irritated that every mother that had settled around her since their departure seemed to be of the same yuppy mold, never raising their voice or looking ruffled at anything. She had long since found that this type of parenting bugged her, from their conservative clothes right down to their obnoxious offspring that could do no wrong in their eyes.

It didn't escape her notice either the glances to her ring finger, disapproval clearly evident on faces that had the application of natural makeup down to a science.

She so had to get out of there.

What should have been an easy task turned into an ordeal with the Saturday crush of birthday parties but Buffy finally managed to locate the two men in her life crowded against the back wall, intent on the game they were playing.

And she had to take a moment to smile.

Identical looks of determination were set on both of their faces and it just illustrated their almost uncanny resemblance, finding her eyes suddenly tearing up. Buffy could feel her heart expand and lurch just a little bit more at the sight of them; this was her family. Spike had given her this little boy and then had turned around to offer her his love, defying everything he was genetically disposed to in order to do so.

He had killed his vampire family to protect them and the reality of that ultimate sacrifice and show of devotion suddenly humbled her. Oh yes, he had her love.

"Mommy!" an excited voice called out to draw her out of her reflective melancholy. "Look! Twickets!" A chubby finger pointed to the floor next to the machine where an impressive array of tickets were falling out of the slot.

A happy and content look stole over Buffy's face as she closed the distance that separated her from the loves of her life. "I see that! Very impressive."

Spike threw her a smirk and held out his hand in the direction of his son. "Ball," he commanded, watching as Blake took the next ball out of the compartment and handed it to him, his face a mask of seriousness. "Thank you, son."

"So this is a group effort, I take it?" Buffy asked, amused by the intensity with which they were going about it.

"Got that right," Spike said distractedly as he lined up his shot. With a quick flick of his wrist, the ball traveled up the short lane and popped right into the 100 point slot.

"Good, daddy."

Spike merely smiled and held out his hand again which his son promptly filled with another ball. Using the same technique, the ball once again landed neatly in the 100 point slot and the tickets continued to pour out.

When he turned a smug look in her direction, Buffy rolled her eyes. "You do realize this is a child's game, don't' you?"

He merely shrugged. "Don't see many children playing it, do you?"

Buffy looked and discovered Spike was right. Of the ten lanes, only five were being used and beside Spike, the other four were obviously housewives-all with that same determined look on their face.

With her own shrug, Buffy took up position in the lane next to her boys and ignored Spike's grumble about her delving into 'his bloody tokens' and an unofficial competition began.

Blake was in his glory. The tickets never stopped flowing and he was the official ball boy and his giggles were infectious.

By the time they left, Spike had to admit that for what had started out as something potentially horrifying, it had turned into one of the best times he had spent with his family.

His real family, he amended. His only family.

And Blake had got to pick out quite a nice prize as well with the vast number of tickets he and Buffy had accumulated. Not a bad deal, that.

Of course he blocked out how much money he and Buffy had spent in order to win all those tickets. That was something that just ruined the moment.


*******
The next few weeks passed by smoothly, no trips to the hospital or kidnappings to interrupt the usual flow of events. A fact that had Buffy sighing with relief. She had enough trauma in her day to day life just by being the Slayer; she really didn't need to add further to that.

After Spike had almost lost her to his vampiric family, he insisted on patrolling with her, refusing to even let her step foot outside the house without his presence, her very own demonic bodyguard.

And Buffy was sooo okay with that.

Besides, it gave her a chance to really talk to him, finding that he liked to open up while stalking the cemeteries by the filtered light of the moon. Of course they stopped for some smoochies but had soon found that potentially dangerous. When Spike would touch her in an intimate way, everything else just fell away until there was only him and the way he made her feel.

Not so much with the good for keeping on your toes against the threat of evil.

So they decided to make patrol smoochy-free and that allowed for a whole other avenue of 'getting to know each other' to commence. Buffy soon came to the conclusion that she didn't just love Spike.

She liked him too.

He made her laugh. He made her think.

And he made her realize just how lucky she was that she had him in her life.

For what had started off as something sinister and horrifying, Buffy continually found herself amazed at his depths, his level of caring. She didn't even question how much he loved her-loved them. She could feel it.

And because of that, Giles' startling lack of producing anything to explain the conception that had occurred failed to bother her. As far as she concerned, no news was good news. He had tried to give her some books that explained claiming rituals but she refused to read them.

At this point in time, she found she just didn't care. Spike had tried to explain a few times, but Buffy found herself not wanting to know, more than content to bask in her ignorance.

Because it just didn't' matter.

Graduation was coming up soon and Buffy found herself more than ready to leave that part of her life behind, feeling years older than her peers already with having been the slayer and a mother these past years.

There had been no discussion regarding what the future was going to bring after graduation and neither her mom or Spike had mentioned anything about it. Buffy had made it very clear that she was not giving college a consideration at this time and her mom was smart enough not to argue about it.

Joyce had time to work on her daughter and for now was content to let her choose her own path. She was not blind to the emotions that had rapidly built between her daughter and Spike and it brought a smile to her face daily to see her daughter so happy.

As far as Spike himself, he had more than proved himself to her. The brutal reminder of exactly what he was would always haunt her as would the scars on her neck, but the fact that he had protected them above everything else was very clear in her mind.

So with graduation a few days away, Joyce found herself with much to do. After learning of Willow's parents extended trip to Europe that didn't include an opportunity to see their only child graduate and Xander's less than enthusiastic parents, Joyce was taking it upon herself to include them in the celebration.

She just hadn't counted on her ex-husband coming to town unannounced.

tbc..

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