[Reviews - 119]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1638 times

- Text Size +



Banner by me


Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. The next one will be a long one, though. ;) Thanks to Sotia for beta-reading and to everyone who has left a review so far!
Swings and Roundabouts

Chapter Thirteen

Spike had a plan. Well, more like a half-formed idea, but it was a start. He'd decided that he simply had to bite the bullet and go see Buffy—no more prevaricating.

A couple of days earlier, he'd called the number on the business card for Buffy's martial arts school and he’d spoken to an abrupt woman named Kennedy. She'd informed him that classes were back in session and that he could drop in any afternoon he liked, if he wanted to speak to the owner.

Phase one of the plan was complete. Phase two involved actually going down there and finding her, and that was where things got a little more complicated.

What should he say? How would she react? The very fact that he had found her, sought her out after so long, would speak volumes.

Spike sighed and smoothed his hair back, narrowing his eyes at the figure reflected in the mirror. Phase two would have to wait; right now, he had to finish getting ready for the meet-and-greet brunch he had set up for the Dingoes and some potential gig-organisers. It was his first official act as their manager, and he wanted to make a good impression.

Claire was spending the day at a friend's house, he was dropping her off on the way, so he smoothed his clothes down once more, picked up his car keys and hurried down the hall to see if she was ready to go.

***

Buffy flattened out the imaginary wrinkles in her dress and took a deep breath. So far, her plan of hiding in the bathroom was working like a charm.

The 'casual' gathering was turning out to be a lot swankier than Willow had let on: trendy nightclub Blue Orchid had been transformed for the event, with several round covered tables and a long trestle filled with delectable treats. Buffy felt silly and out of place despite having been officially brought along as Devon's plus-one.

She was starting to regret going. Doubts had set in when she had seen how official everything looked, and when Oz had confirmed that this was their first real step to getting onto the upper-end of the LA club-circuit, Buffy had questioned again if it was really the best idea.

If—and it was a very big “if;” she still wasn't convinced that this Spike was her Spike—but if it was he, now would not be the time to reveal to him that he had a daughter. For his sake and for the sake of the band, it would be better left to a later date.

So what was she doing there? She didn't know, and neither did her reflection in the mirror.

She should leave, then. Make her apologies for being a party-pooper and go home. She would find another way to find out if Spike was Spike—maybe Willow could snap a photo on her cellphone.

She nodded to her image and took a moment to brace herself before heading back into the throng of people in the club’s main room.

The buzz of voices was a welcome distraction from her thoughts as she made her way around the edge of the room, all at once trying to avoid making eye-contact with anyone and locate her friends.

Buffy spotted the matching red heads of Willow and Oz near the bar and cursed. Why couldn’t they have been standing near to the door? She frowned, wondering whether to leave and send a text message to Willow, or do the polite thing and actually go over there.

She had just decided to make a break for it without letting her friends know, when she saw Oz glance at his watch, kiss Willow on the cheek and head towards the exit. Buffy hurried after him, the cool air from the open door at the end of the corridor a relief after the close heat in the club.

“Oz!”

Oz turned, and smiled when he saw her. “Hey, Buffy.”

“Hey,” she replied. “Look, I’m going to take off. Will you let Willow know?”

“Sure,” Oz said, pursing his lips slightly. “I thought you were here to see—y’know.”

“Yeah.” Buffy sighed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and fiddling nervously with the strap on her bag. “I don’t think this is the right time or place to see… y’know. You know?”

“Hm.” Oz’s expression didn’t change, but when he glanced down the hallway towards the door, Buffy thought she saw a glimmer of something—worry, perhaps—in his eyes. She followed his gaze down the corridor and froze, not hearing whatever it was that Oz said next, when she saw the man standing in the doorway.

It was him. Spike. The man she had met three-and-a-half years ago, who had unknowingly made such an impact on her life. Grace’s father.

Time had warped her memory of him; over the years, she had had trouble remembering just what he looked like, and seeing him now was a shock. Grace had his eyes, his nose, and the oddly compelling angles of his face. Buffy stared at him unblinkingly, her heart pounding hard in her chest, and he stared back, looking just as shocked as she felt. Abstractly, Buffy wondered why.

Her perusal of him felt like it had gone on for hours, but in reality took only a few seconds.

She was unable to move, until she saw Spike take a halting step forward, and his mouth form her name. Then, she panicked. Buffy cast a fleeting glance to Oz before she turned and ran back into the club, barely managing to dodge the people in her way as she moved towards the service entrance she’d seen next to the restroom.

Three-and-a-half years she’d waited to find Grace’s father. Three-and-a-half-years of imagining what she would do if she saw him again, what she would tell him.

She hurried out through the door and round to the taxi rank. She managed to hail a cab almost immediately and sank down into the seat with a sigh, trying to ignore the voice in her head telling her that she was a coward.

***

Spike blinked, not entirely sure that she hadn’t been a figment of his imagination. Had it really been Buffy? He turned to look at Oz, whom he’d barely registered when he’d walked through the door.

“Did you see—? That woman, was she—?” He spoke haltingly, not entirely sure what he wanted to say.

“Buffy?” Oz nodded. “Yep.”

“You know her?” Spike asked. He let out a choke of laughter, suddenly realising why Oz had seemed so familiar when they’d first met. Spike had seen him on one of Anya Harris’s photographs in the book-shop a few weeks ago.

“She’s a friend,” Oz replied, an uncomfortable expression settling onto his face. “Look, man. I don’t think I should really talk about this—”

“So there’s something to talk about?” Spike demanded. “She’s mentioned me, then? Back then, or now, or—?”

“I really can’t,” Oz said and looked at his watch. “Besides, they’re expecting us inside.”

“Right.” Spike clenched his fists together and followed Oz into the club. “Bollocks.”

-TBC-


Chapter End Notes:
Don't hate me! I swear there will be an actual meeting next chapter. ;) Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought in a review.



You must login (register) to review.