Spike was waiting on the porch for her when she arrived at his place. His car was parked in front of one of the garage doors, while the other was open and waiting for her. She drove in and parked, gathered up her purse and laptop and joined Spike where he now stood next to his own SUV.
“Morning,” he said wrapping an arm around her and pulling her in for a quick kiss on the forehead.
“Good morning,” she replied leaning into his embrace, grateful for the feeling of security that she felt with him.
Spike looked down at her and smiled. “Ready for your big day?” He was still a little unsure about Buffy. After the previous night and their picnic, he was torn between confidence in their re-blossoming relationship, and fear of her rejection.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” Buffy said, trying to bury the nervousness that she felt. For her part, she was both nervous and excited about the coming weekend. “How about you? After all it’s your big day too.”
“It’ll be okay, pet. I promise.” Spike said, his free hand coming up to push a strand of hair behind her ear. Buffy nodded, and then looked to the street when she heard another car approaching. The little red convertible pulled into the driveway directly behind Spike’s SUV.
“Good morning you two.” Giles said getting out and quickly approaching them.
“Hey, Giles,” Buffy said, attempting to pull away from Spike. He loosened his hold, but still kept an arm around her waist. Giles said nothing, but was inwardly happy to see the two of them so close to one another. He had been sure that if they could put aside whatever differences they had they would be able to pull this plan off.
“I’m sorry I missed you at the rink this morning, Buffy. I was busy in a meeting and apparently you left before I was finished. I had a few minutes so I thought I would stop over and get that package from you.”
Buffy nodded and bent down to get into her laptop bag to retrieve the small box.
“What package?” Spike asked a confused look on his face as he glanced back and forth between Giles and Buffy.
“Apparently I missed going through yesterday’s mail at the rink and Buffy received a package from her stalker last night.”
Spike shot Giles at lethal glare and snatched the package from Buffy before she could hand it to the other man.
“Hey!” she said more surprised than upset that he took it from her. She watched as his face filled with rage when he saw what it contained.
“Fuck!” he exclaimed when he saw the garter. He snatched out the note. “Bloody hell, love! Why didn’t you call me?”
Buffy looked up at him, eyes wide in shock. She had expected him to be upset by the note, but his question surprised her. “I…I called and talked to Giles when I got it. I figured it wouldn’t matter and I’d tell you today.”
“I would have come over, Buffy.” Spike told her. “You shouldn’t have been alone, pet.”
“And that’s part of why I didn’t call you.” Buffy snapped, trying, and not succeeding, to not feel bad by the hurt look that crossed his face. Her voice softened as she continued. “I’m 22 years old Spike. I don’t need someone to babysit me every time I get a scary note. I was locked up safe in my apartment.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said sulkily. “Still would have liked to have known.” He looked at Giles and glared at the older man, upset that even he hadn’t called to let him know.
“I spoke with Jackson last night, Spike.” Giles offered in explanation. “He said to let the local authorities take a look at it and see what they might be able to garner from it. If need be I can send it to him for review.”
Buffy watched the interaction between the two men carefully. She hadn’t missed the angry look that Spike had shot towards Giles, though Spike seemed to relax considerably at the mention of Jackson, but the name was unfamiliar to her. Curiosity finally got the better of her. “Who’s Jackson?”
Spike froze. He had forgotten that even with all the talking they had done, and their previous relationship, he had never talked about his stepfather. What did he tell her? Did he admit that who Jackson was and have her question how close he really was to the investigation into her stalker? Much to his relief Giles answered before he could come up with an answer.
“Jackson is old friend who happens to be a part of the security firm that has been helping us look further into your stalker, Buffy.” True he and Jackson had known each other for a few years, though they were probably more acquaintances than ‘old friends’. However, it wasn’t his place to tell Buffy that Jackson and Spike were related, and judging by Spikes reaction, he wasn’t ready to tell her either. Giles had never understood the relationship between the two men. He knew that Jackson and Spikes mother had married when Spike was older, but he had raised him as if he were his own son. After his mother, Anne, had died Spike had stayed with Jackson until he had decided to go to Sunnydale, and it was to Jackson that Spike went when he left. Yet there was a distance in their relationship that Giles didn’t quite understand.
“Oh,” she said, not seeming to notice Spike’s reaction and subsequent sigh of relief at his reprieve.
Giles looked pointedly down at his watch and back up at the couple in front of him. “Don’t you two have a plane to catch?”
“Right!” Spike said jumping into gear. He thrust the package at Giles, and then bent down to pick up Buffy’s remaining things. “Thanks, Giles.”
Spike went to put Buffy’s laptop and purse in the SUV while she said goodbye to her father figure.
“Thank you, Giles,” she said giving him a quick hug.
“When you get back I have you scheduled for some private ice time for practice and your students. If possible I’d prefer it if you didn’t spend quite as much time on the early morning sessions when fewer staff are around at the rink.”
The thought of changing her routine annoyed Buffy, but she understood Giles’ reasoning so she simply nodded her acceptance. She knew she was going to have to pick her battles for the next few weeks at the very least and arguing over private ice didn’t seem to be that important at the moment.
“Good, now go; try to enjoy yourself a little this weekend.” He told her giving her a slight push towards the car. She met Spike at her door as he had been waiting for her. He reached out and gave her hand a quick squeeze as she reached him.
“Hop on in love, I’ll be right there,” he told her his eyes trained on Giles. She nodded and climbed into the car, closing the door tightly behind her.
“It would be to your advantage to be straightforward with her, William.” Giles said pointedly as Spike approached him, purposefully using Spike’s given name. He had never really understood why he insisted on going by Spike. It was horribly unprofessional, but then again, Spike always had been unconventional. He also had to admit the name suited him.
“I will, Giles,” Spike told him. “It just hasn’t been the right time.”
“And it may never be. I will repeat what I said earlier and advise you that it would be better for her to learn it from you than from someone else.”
Spike nodded his head, knowing that the older man was right. “I’ll try to talk to her this weekend. But if I can’t, you have to promise me not to do it, Giles. Give me a chance to do it in my own time.”
Giles nodded his acquiescence to Spike’s request before speaking softly. “Take care of her this weekend.”
“I won’t let anything happen to her Giles. Not now, not ever.” Spike said firmly with a shake of his head. In that he was absolutely determined. No one was going to hurt his girl.
“I know you won’t.” Giles patted the younger man on the back as they walked around the end of the car splitting up so they could each go to their own vehicle. Spike gave Giles a quick nod as the older man climbed into his convertible and backed out of the driveway. Taking a deep breath he opened the driver side door to his vehicle and climbed in.
The ride to the airport was spent in silence. Spike quickly checked what little luggage they had and, after securing the promise of the check in attendant that every care would be given to the wedding gown in the garment bag, they headed off in search of their gate. The flight was spent amicably discussing what they could do in Vegas over the weekend and what shows, if any, they wanted to see.
Arriving in Vegas Spike immediately rented a car and headed for the hotel. After checking in they went directly up to one of the many suites the hotel offered. It was on one of the hotels upper floors and Buffy waited nervously as the elevator took them up. Once inside she looked around taking in her surroundings, while Spike stood off to the side quietly conversing with the concierge who had brought up their luggage. The suite was beautiful. It only took one look for Buffy to realize that it was perfectly set for romance. It was also larger than she had expected. Off to the immediate right of the entry was a small kitchenette and dining area. To her left was a spacious living area with a large stone fireplace, a large plush throw rug adorned the floor in front of it. The couch and two overstuffed chairs were soft brown leather and looked so comfortable that Buffy wished she could just curl up in one of the chairs and take a nap. On the far wall of the living area she noticed glass doors that led out onto a balcony. They would have a great view of the city lights at night, she thought. Finally the door on the far wall caught her eye. It was propped open and inside she could see the large, king sized bed; obviously the only bed in the suite. Shaking her head, not ready to contemplate that thought yet, she turned to see Spike watching her with a guarded look on his face.
“Is this okay, pet?” he asked softly. “Figured since it’s s’posed to be our honeymoon a suite seemed appropriate.”
“It’s fine,” she assured him with a bit of a smile. “The room is beautiful.”
“Good,” his sigh of relief was so obvious that Buffy couldn’t help but giggle. He gave her a mock glare, that quickly changed to a shy smile. “You can have the bedroom and I’ll just kip out here on the couch.” Spike grabbed her suitcase and dress and headed towards the bedroom with them.
“Why don’t we cross that bridge when we come to it?” she suggested watching him walk across the room. She enjoyed seeing the look of surprise on his face when he snapped head around to look at her, but he said nothing, just turned back around and continued towards the bedroom.
“What time did you say we’re supposed to be at the chapel?”
“Six. What time is it now, pet?”
“Nearly 4.” Buffy said looking at her watch. “I guess we should start getting ready.”
“How long will it take you?” Spike asked as he reemerged from the bedroom.
“Maybe 45 minutes, at the most; guess that leaves me plenty of time.” Buffy told him, watching as he slowly approached her. As usual he was in black jeans, but instead of his trademark black t-shirt, he had opted for a dark blue button down. It made his blue eyes stand out even more, and Buffy again wondered why he rarely wore blue, but often favored red or black. Spike stopped just in front of her and smiled. Tentatively he placed both hands on her waist and drew her closer into his embrace. With a small sigh Buffy let her hands drift up and settle on his upper arms.
“Nervous?” he whispered leaning his head down so that their foreheads were touching.
Buffy shook her head no.
“Liar,” he admonished teasingly giving her a slight squeeze. “’s okay to be nervous, love.”
“I just don’t know how to react to everything,” she admitted softly closing her eyes, not wanting to see his reaction to her. “It’s almost as if this is all just a really weird, horrible, yet slightly wonderful dream.”
Not knowing how to reassure her Spike did what he knew best. He kissed her. Buffy was surprised only momentarily at the feel of Spikes lips on hers then she gave herself completely to the kiss. Her arms wound up and around his neck, fingers diving into his hair as her mouth opened beneath his, allowing his tongue entrance to tangle with hers. Spikes arms tightened almost painfully around her waist as he tried to pull her even closer. They broke apart moments later, both breathing heavily and flushed.
“Right,” Spike said setting Buffy away from him, afraid of where things could go if he didn’t put some distance between himself and Buffy. They hadn’t come to Vegas for that. He wasn’t going through all of this just to get her into bed. And he sure as hell didn’t want to pressure her into something she didn’t want. Sure, it was going to be hell sharing the suite with her, living with her, even touching her and yet not fully having her, but he was willing to live through it if it meant she would be safe. Maybe someday, in the distant future they could travel down that road. For now, he only hoped he could maintain some semblance of control around her.
Buffy watched as Spike backed away from her and she felt a pang of hurt and fear as he withdrew from her embrace.
“You go ahead and get ready, pet. I’ll be back in just a bit.” He told her backing towards the door, his need to escape rising quickly.
“Where are you going?” Buffy cringed at how high pitched her voice sounded, but she couldn’t help it. He was leaving her. Why did he seem so nervous all of a sudden? He wouldn’t just leave her there would he?
“Just need to run quick errand, love. Get ready and I’ll be right back. Won’t take me long to get into my monkey suit.”
“Hurry back,” she said meekly but to an empty room as Spike had already disappeared out the door.
A loud squeal filled the apartment and the dark haired man stood and watched as his red headed best friend danced around happily waving a piece of paper in the air like a flag. He couldn’t help but smile at her obvious excitement, although he had no idea what had her in such a good mood. They had ran into each other in the parking lot and he had headed up to her place to catch up for a bit before they all headed to the Bronze for the evening.
“Xander, you’re not going to believe this!” Willow squealed smiling at her best friend. “This is the most exciting thing…..ever! Well, except maybe for graduation, or perhaps meeting Darrell, or maybe going with Buffy to the Olympics…yeah that was pretty exciting too.”
“Babbling, Willow!” Xander said with a grin, his brown eyes sparkling at his best friends antics. She had a horrible tendency to babble on when she got excited, and would often forget to share what she was so excited about. It was one of things he liked about her so much.
“Sorry,” she replied taking in a much needed deep breath. “It’s just so exciting!”
“Well, are you going to share or just keep me in the dark.” The dark haired carpenter flopped down on her couch and looked at her expectantly. Suddenly a look of panic came over his face. “Wait! If it’s a love note from Darrell, I do not need to hear it. You can keep that to yourself thank you very much.”
Willow rolled her eyes and joined him on the couch.
“No, doofus, it isn’t from Darrell. Although that would have been cool too…”She thought for a moment, “Well, I guess if you take it in context not really. I wouldn’t want it to be him in the note. Then again, I wouldn’t object to a love note from him.”
“Willow!” Xander exclaimed again. He rubbed his hands over his face in frustration, wishing she would just get on with telling him what was in the note.
“Oh! Sorry. The note’s from Buffy.” Willow grinned again.
“And how is the Buffster? She’s coming with us tonight right?” He felt bad he hadn’t been around as much the past couple of weeks, but his new girlfriend Anya had been keeping him busy. She was a pretty fun girl. They had met in high school but it was only recently that they had started dating. She was overwhelmingly blunt, but he was working on that. He hoped she wouldn’t talk about their sex life when they were at the Bronze that evening. She had a knack for bringing it up in the oddest ways. He was pretty sure Willow and Buffy did not want to hear about it. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Willow talking again.
“She was supposed to, but her plans have apparently changed.” Willow had a coy look on her face and Xander suddenly was intrigued. Willow knew something, and she wasn’t sharing.
“Okay, Will, out with it. What’s the note about?”
“Buffy went away for the weekend.”
Xander frowned as he thought about it. “That’s not entirely unusual, Willow. There some competition or show I didn’t know about?”
“Xander! It’s the middle of summer. No competitions, no shows!” Willow reached out and playfully smacked him on the bicep giving him a stern look.
“Ow!” he cried out, though teasingly, not because her slap had really hurt. “So where did our favorite little blonde skater go? And why?”
“She went to Vegas.” Willow went back to grinning, though she didn’t elaborate.
“And again I ask why? That does not sound like our Buffy.” His frown deepened and he tried to think about the last time Buffy had just taken off for a weekend. He couldn’t remember any. And Vegas? What was up with that?
“Don’t know really, the note just says that she went away for the weekend to Vegas to get away and have a little fun.”
“And she didn’t invite us along? How much fun can Sin City be without your friends to bail you out of trouble?”
“She didn’t go alone.” Xander looked pointedly at Willow and she decided it was probably best not to drag it out anymore. “She went with Spike!”
Xander groaned and let his head drop back on the couch, running his fingers through his hair. “What the hell!”
Willow frowned at the tone of her friend’s voice. Shouldn’t he be happy for Buffy? Granted, she knew Spike wasn’t his most favorite person in the world, but that wasn’t the point. Buffy liked Spike, and that’s all that really mattered, right?
“This is awesome, Xan.” Willow said, deciding that she wasn’t going to let him bring down her excitement. “Maybe they finally got it together.”
“And that’s good, why?” Xander asked. Willow frowned further.
“Buffy likes Spike, we’ve known that forever. They were starting to be really good friends before. Maybe they can go that one step further this time. It would make Buffy happy, I’m sure.”
“The bleached wonder doesn’t deserve her, Will. He’s just a punk hockey coach, who wasn’t good enough to go pro. She deserves somebody better than that.”
Willow looked at her friend in surprise. His contempt for Spike was obvious both by what he said and the look on his face. She hadn’t known that he felt so strongly about Spike.
“But doesn’t Buffy deserve to be happy?”
“Sure she does,” Xander said his voice softening a little. “I just don’t see how Spike can make her happy. He left once before, I’m sure he will again.”
“People change, Xander. Besides, they just went away for a weekend. It doesn’t mean anything. I mean, I’m sure given the chance you and Anya would go away for a few days just to relax and have fun. Buffy’s been having a rough time lately; maybe this is what she needs to get out of her funk.”
“I don’t know, Wills. It just seems wrong somehow. I mean they barely know each other anymore and they run off for the weekend. Doesn’t that sound just like a guy who’s just looking to add another notch to the bedpost?”
“Xander Harris, stop that! Buffy is our friend, and we are going to be supportive of her and Spike if they do end up together.”
“Will—“ Xander stopped speaking when he saw Willow purse her lips and give him ‘the look’.
“Fine!” he snapped jumping up off the couch. “But don’t come complaining to me when Buffy comes back all unhappy because he used her and then dropped her the second they get back.”
He ignored Willows affronted gasp and stalked towards the door. “I’ll see you at the Bronze later. I’ve got to go pick up Anya.”
Willow looked back down at the note she held in her hand once Xander had left. Buffy sounded so happy in it; so excited to be getting away for a weekend. How could being with Spike be as bad as Xander seemed to think? He wouldn’t hurt her like Xander had suggested would he?
With a shrug she got up from the couch and headed into her room to change. Darrel would be by shortly and she needed to be ready. Maybe he would agree with her that Buffy and Spike going away together was a good thing. After all, he couldn’t have anything against Spike. He didn’t really know him. With that thought in mind Willow started flipping through her closet looking for something to wear to the Bronze.