Blood of My Blood
Prologue


The Crawford Street Mansion was quiet—too quiet—in the fallout of the latest averted apocalypse. The world was safe again—for the time being. The residents of Sunnydale slept soundly in their beds, unaware of how close they had come to the end, only a handful aware that something had happened. A watcher sat in his apartment, downing glasses of brandy while elsewhere some teenagers tossed and turned in their beds, trying to keep the faith in their friend—the redhead a bit more sedate in her hospital room due to her medication. A mother sat up watching the clock on the mantle.

Back in the mansion, two warriors were suffering from the aftermath. The bleached vampire sat in the corner hugging his knees with his eyes locked on the crumpled blonde in the middle of the room, lying there in a growing pool of blood. The stone statue stood as a silent observer.

Moments Before

Angelus was on his knees before Buffy after a ferocious fight between the Slayer and vampire. He looked up at her with smoldering hate before his features went slack. His eyes glowed briefly, but Buffy kept her sword held high as she watched warily. Behind him, the portal continued to grow, pulling at their hair and clothes.

“B-Buffy?” he asked hoarsely, as if coming out of a deep sleep.

Her brows furrowed for a moment then her expression hardened. This could be just another ploy to get her to drop her guard and she needed to close the portal before it sucked the world in. Biting her lip, she made a decision that was surprisingly not as hard to make as she would have thought a couple months ago. No, not after everything he had done to her and her friends, making her think she was to blame for it all. That “moment of happiness” had required two people. He carried just as much blame for that as she did, probably more considering his two centuries of experience.

That realization made it very easy to bring down the sword in an arc that removed his head cleanly. His shocked expression was the last thing she saw as he dissolved into dust and was sucked up in the portal, closing it with a final blast that knocked her off her feet and sent the sword skittering across the floor.

Buffy barely had a moment to try to regain her breath when a sharp cry pierced the room. Looking up, she scarcely had time to comprehend what was happening before Drusilla attacked her. The crazed vampiress kicked at her viciously and stomped on her limbs, breaking the slayer’s arm and snapping at least a few ribs.

******

As per his agreement with the Slayer, Spike had been taking his dark princess the hell out of dodge while Buffy took care of his wanker of a Grand-Sire. Just as he was getting Dru into the car, she came to and delivered a powerful kick to his head that had him seeing stars for a moment. By the time they returned to the heavens, she had run back into the mansion.

He had rushed after her to see that while at least Acathla’s destruction had been averted, his sire was now attacking Buffy. Drusilla raised the sword she had picked up from where it had fallen and stabbed at the Slayer, and then she brought it up as if to do it again. Something came over him and he didn’t take the time to analyze it as he grabbed a spear from the wall. There was just something about the scene that enraged his demon and before he fully comprehended the action, the dust of his sire was settling to over the injured Slayer.

A sudden sob tore from him at the loss and he fell to his knees, scrambling over to the corner where he began rocking as the adrenaline ebbed in the wake of the fight. What had he done? Why? Why did he do it?

Now he was all alone in the world. His companion of over a century was gone. By his hand. His sire was gone. His demon even surprisingly mourned the poof, because with him still undead he would have had some family, at least. Now, he had nothing. Nothing at all. There was no reason for him to survive.


******

A soft, feminine groan broke the silence. The Slayer was going to die without medical attention.

This was not readily apparent to the vampire as he remained lost in his grief. He was alone. All alone. The man didn’t have the will to go on and would have gladly stayed right in that spot until he wasted away. The demon, however, was not as ready to stop fighting for its existence and assumed control.

The now feral vampire sat up straighter and blue eyes turned gold as they looked towards the girl lying in the center of the room. His nostrils flared at the scent of the powerful blood.

Slayer.

He crept closer and nudged her with a hand, curled slightly like a paw. The responding groan caused him to back up, but at least he knew the girl was still alive. He looked at her curiously as he momentarily debated eating her, but suddenly the demon had a better idea.

Sniffing at the Slayer, Spike scooped her up carefully and made his way out of the room in search of one of the bedrooms where he gently laid her down on the bed. His demon wanted her to be his new family—to keep her. It even figured that by mating with her—once she was healthy—they could start a whole new line. A better line. It was the age old continuation of the species—the primal urge that was as old as life.

Her clothes were carefully removed so that he could inspect her injuries. The stab wound was the worst, but thankfully had missed any vital organs as Drusilla hadn’t stabbed deeply. Buffy also had some broken ribs and her arm was lying at an odd angle. The demon knew enough instinctively to do a simple splint—though he didn’t know that’s what it was—to the arm with a bed post it broke off before bending to lick at the blood on her.

Yellow eyes rolled back at the taste of the blood considered the gourmet blood of the demon world, but his plans kept him from going for anything fresher. If he drank any more he would have to turn her and then he wouldn’t be able to get her to bear his offspring. Before he could mate with her, he would have to nurse her back to health and get her strong again.

He couldn’t feed from her or act on his sudden arousal, but he couldn’t stop himself from touching her. He continued to lick at her wounds while his hand stroked her side with odd gentleness. Now and then he paused to nuzzle at her, inhaling her scent and seeming to take the time to savour it as he would her blood.

It didn’t take long before he sensed the Slayer begin to rouse again. He didn’t stop his work, feeling it was the most natural thing in the world to tend to his injured mate-to-be.

Buffy didn’t exactly see it that way upon first awaking. The scene resembled something out of one of her worst nightmares. She took one look at the feral vampire lapping at her bloody wounds and gave an ear piercing scream.


Tbc...

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 1



******


The feral vampire looked almost hurt at her reaction. That couldn’t be right. She stopped screaming and blinked at him in confusion. The vulnerable expression was at odds with the ridges, amber eyes, and mouth smeared with her blood. Evil vampires weren’t vulnerable.

Apparently taking her lack of screaming as sign he could continue, Spike lowered his head to start running his tongue along her wounds again. A shiver went up her spine and she briefly closed her eyes, feeling oddly soothed and cared for.

They snapped back open. This wasn’t normal. She shouldn’t be lying there enjoying it as if it were a spa treatment. These injuries were because his ho-bag of a girlfriend had attacked her. He was a soulless creature of the night and for all she knew he was preparing her for dinner now that the apocalypse had been averted. He had made it very clear they were only working together to stop Angelus and nothing was changing between them.

When he moved to another wound on her side where Angelus had nicked her, she noticed just where they were. Still in the mansion, by the looks of it, and in a bedroom. In fact, they were on a large bed hung with crimson velvet drapes, and she was bleeding onto a feather bed covered in matching silk.

Wait. How was he licking her wounds through her clothing?

She woke up further and realized her state of undress. And his state of undress. He had apparently shucked his clothes while working on her wounds, his demon seeing no need for such things and seeking physical closeness to fight the loneliness. Startled, she tried to lift her arm to push him away, but it was the broken one and she gave a pained cry before lowering it again.

Spike stopped what he was doing to growl warningly at her actions. He bent and studied her arm, even sniffing at it briefly. Satisfied that she hadn’t hurt it further, he turned his head to give her a pointed look.

“Sorry,” she muttered then shook her head. “Wait, why am I apologizing? I have nothing to be sorry for. I woke up naked with a vampire—also naked—licking my blood; I think my reaction was natural.”

His only response was to grunt dismissively as he went back to work.

“Stop that! That’s gross!”

Using her good arm, Buffy raised herself up to look down at him. His arm just tightened around her, not bothering to pay her protests any attention. She refused to see what was really going on there—why he was licking her wounds and why he had growled when she hurt her arm trying to push him away. And, why he had actually looked hurt when she screamed upon waking. Buffy tried to inch away but he growled at her again, giving her a gentle nip in the side.

The bite sent her back into fight-or-flight mode and she struggled even harder to get free, batting at him with her good arm as she twisted and turned. He yanked her down hard and pinned her there. His nose twitched at the smell of fresh blood and he looked down—so did she—to see that the wound in her stomach had been re-opened and torn during the scuffle.

Spike growled again, louder, right in her face, making sure she finally got the message. She was not to move or he would do something to keep her from moving was the message that came through, at least. She was even afraid to breathe, doing so slowly in measured breaths, although part of that was because of the pain that became evident once she settled down again.

“Okay, okay. I got the message...I’m not going anywhere,” she said softly—fearfully. “At least, not while I’m too injured to move much.”

His eyes lingered on her face for a moment before looking back down at her wound. He slid down her body again so that his mouth hovered over her stomach. She couldn’t help but watch, entranced by the scene. Her eyes were riveted to his mouth as his tongue darted out again to stroke the wound, cleaning up the blood and trying to lave it in healing saliva. Buffy tried to keep her attention on the process, but the blood loss and stress was getting to her again. Her vision blurred then went black as she passed out with a little sigh.

******

Slayer blood healed almost as well as vampire saliva did and the little amount Spike ingested while cleaning Buffy up helped his demon think slightly more clearly. Not much and not enough for him to realize why he was thinking more clearly, but maybe enough for him to implement his plan a bit better.

The slayer was going to be a difficult conquest, judging by the way she had reacted. Or maybe not... Spike sniffed near her thighs, purring at the delicious aroma that wafted from them ever so faintly. She had been somewhat affected by him, it seemed. That was a very good sign, and the demon wanted to use it to his advantage, but it just barely remembered that she needed to heal first. No mating until she was healthy enough for it.

He finally finished with her wounds, the job so much easier when she was unconscious. Spike moved her tenderly under the featherbed so that they could rest until dark. Then he could go out and get what they needed, provide for his intended mate the way he should. He curled up with a protective arm around her and fell into a light sleep, ready to wake up at any sign of danger.

When Spike sensed the sun was finally below the horizon, he finally roused and moved the cover back to glance his intended mate over. He lowered his head to nuzzle her neck with a soft purr before slipping out of bed. The trip would have to be fast since he wasn’t sure if she would stay put if she woke up to him gone. Not after all the struggling she had done that morning.

******

Somehow, Buffy found herself on the catwalk in the Bronze. There was a crowd dancing below to music that sounded distant and indistinct, but she was alone up here. At least, she thought she was until the slayer sense started tingling. It was a familiar signature and so she wasn’t surprised when Spike walked out of the shadows.

“We’re more alike than you realize,” he said softly. “We’re both alone again.”

Her eyes sought his and found the same vulnerable expression the feral vampire had worn. She studied him, thinking over his words.

“I have friends. They’ll wonder what happened to me and worry,” she told him.

“Then why haven’t they come already?” He cocked his head to the side then sidled closer to her. “They don’t live in the darkness with you. They try to, but they weren’t made for it like we were. The shadows we revel in scare those children you surround yourself with.”

She lifted her chin rebelliously. “You’re wrong.”

“Am I?” He came up behind her and lowered his mouth to her ear, his usual unneeded breath tickling her. “Live in denial if you want, but we both know the truth. We are alike more than you realize and I will make us one.”

“Make us what?!”

She tried to turn to him, but he kept her pinned to the railing with his body. His hand skimmed over her thigh and delved under her skirt to touch her intimately as if it wasn’t odd for her to be without panties. Instantly, she stopped, closing her eyes and trying not to moan aloud.

“You will be mine,” he whispered seductively in her ear with some forcefulness. “You are mine. Fight it all you want, but I won’t give up, pet.”

His hand continued to stroke her until he slowly started to insert a finger.

“Spike,” she gasped.

******

“Spike!”

Her gasp was louder as she woke up, eyes snapping open to the realization that she was in a dark room alone. She sat up slowly; her healing body was so very sore. The scene with the feral Spike that morning almost seemed imagined in the empty room.

Except for her being naked and injured, of course. That kept her from being able to believe it was just some figment of her imagination.

Gingerly sliding from the bed, Buffy looked for her clothes and found only bloody rags remaining. These did her no good. There was another pile, though. She picked up Spike’s red shirt and put it on.

The buttons were only half done when the tingles started up only moments before the door burst open. Spike—still feral and naked—came bounding in nearly on all fours. He backed her up until she sat back on the bed then dropped something into her lap.

Her eyes flew wide and she froze. A dead rabbit lay mangled where he dropped it, smearing blood on her thighs.

Clearly not sure why she wasn’t eating up, Spike grunted and nudged the small offering closer to her.

“I’m going to be sick,” she said, pushing the carcass off her lap and turning away from him to heave.

Buffy missed the brief flash of hurt as he looked down at the discarded form. Immediately, though, he turned his attention back to her and moved to her side. His hand gently rested on her arm as he looked her over, trying to see if she was okay. He even sniffed to make sure she hadn’t opened any wounds while she was up.

“I suppose that was like a cat bringing its owner a mouse,” she speculated once the heaving stopped and she noticed his expression, though she tried not to think too deeply about his continued concern for her.

There would be no dwelling on the caring and vulnerability, especially after her strange dream. She finally looked at him to see his eyes darting between her and the rabbit.

“I’m not a vampire or demon,” she said, fighting her reaction to the intense amber gaze. “I’m human and I eat human food like pizza, burgers, and tacos.”

The vampire actually dropped his eyes and looked away. He seemed dejected at not feeding her properly.

It caused her to quickly add, “My slayer constitution is hardy enough to go awhile without food. Don’t worry.”

Spike didn’t seem to be paying attention to her at this point, though. His head was lowered for a few moments and then he looked back up at her again. There was a sharp grunt and he gave her a gentle push back further onto the bed before turning to lope towards the door. She watched him leave, feeling a bit confused and bereft.

No, not bereft. He was gone and this was the perfect opportunity to get out of there without the primal Spike there to stop her. All she needed was something to wear home. She was already wearing his shirt so she might as well pull on his jeans as well. Then, when she got home she could prove to dream Spike that she was not alone.

Why was she stressing anyway? It was just a dream after all.

So holding the oversized jeans up so she could walk, Buffy left the mansion, but it was slow going due to her injuries. Her body protested with every step, but she was determined to get home and away from the weirdness of a feral vampire playing nursemaid.

******

Even before Spike saw it with his own eyes, he sensed something was wrong. He had thought he had caught her scent outside, but shook it off since of course she had been outside the night before. No matter if it might have been more recent. But in the room, he dropped the bags he carried onto the empty bed.

The demon threw back his head and let loose a roar that came from deep inside, full of anguish. His injured mate was running around out there. He needed to find her and bring her back. The greasy bag of food lay forgotten as he ran out of the room snarling.


Tbc...

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 2





******


Buffy didn’t make it far from the mansion. Her body hadn’t been able to heal much in the few hours she had slept that day—even with the help of the vampire licking. It made her flight for freedom very difficult and she stopped to lean against a tree with her eyes screwed closed in pain.

Where was she going to go? Home? Not really an option after the way she left, her mother’s parting words ringing in her memory. Giles wasn’t her biggest fan lately, either, with the whole “not-doing-her-duty-so-Jenny-died” thing. And, Xander? He’d weighed in pretty heavily on the side of the badness of “Buffy-not-staking-Angel” on top of the “Buffy-dating-Angel” issue. Willow was in the hospital and although Buffy did need medical attention, she never did like those places. It was just too iffy; they could somehow catch on that she wasn’t completely normal.

So, again, where was she going?

Nowhere.

A dark shape launched itself at her and brought her to the ground with a snarl. Spike was in Buffy’s face, growling animatedly as if she could understand, which she surprisingly did, a little. Obviously, he wasn’t very happy when he found her gone and was making sure to get across how he didn’t want her doing this again.

A part of her wanted to laugh as the image of a dog doing the same thing popped into her head. Now was clearly not the time to laugh at the angry vampire, though.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” she told him quietly, raising her good arm to brace her hand against his chest. “Please get off me; I’m still all with the injuries here.” Her eyes darted down for a moment then back to his. “Not to mention, a big ‘ew’ at the naked stuff touching me.”

He grunted something that didn’t sound entirely friendly then buried his face in her neck for a moment. A shiver traveled down her spine when she felt his rough tongue on her sensitive skin. She suddenly realized what he was about to do and guessed it was his way of punishing her for running away.

“Sp-,” she started, but gasped when his fangs sliced through her skin.

Her eyes drifted closed and her hands grasped his upper arms, fighting her body’s reaction to his bite. When she was bitten before it felt nothing like this. How could it feel so different this time?

“Mine,” Spike grunted hoarsely.

That snapped her back. He spoke. Her eyes searched his without the implications of his actions sinking in yet. There was something of him there again, but only very faint. It gave her hope that he would get better with some time, just as she would. And, apparently he was set on them healing together.

“Wait.” She blinked large eyes when it finally sunk in what he had just done to her. “Y-you c-c-claimed me! You c-can’t do that!”

“Mine,” he purred again and moved off her finally so that he could check her over.

Gentle hands roamed over her body, paying special attention to the spots where he knew she was injured. Then he bent to sniff more closely before he was satisfied that she was okay. It didn’t register with him that his tackling her could have hurt her pretty badly in her condition.

“Stop! Listen to me!” Her voice was rising in alarm as she sat up, swatting at him wildly.

The vampire cocked his head and seemed to think for a moment, deciding it was okay and reaching up to deliver a blow to her head that knocked her unconscious. His face showed regret that he had to resort to such an action, but she had started to panic and he saw no other way of stopping her before she hurt herself again.

Spike scooped the Slayer up and carried her back towards the mansion, kicking the door shut behind him when they reached the bedroom. After laying her down, the demon began to search for some sort of restraints. There had to be some about; he had seen his family use them on each other—among other things.

Restraining his mate just didn’t seem right unless it was something she wanted during their coupling. Still, he needed to do something to keep her from the habit she had for trying to get herself hurt. Something needed to be done so she healed and he could move on to the next part of his plan.

Claiming her, well that had been a bit premature, but his demon needed to assert itself over her after she ran away. Now there should be no doubt on her part as to his intentions with her. He was serious and she needed to believe that.

Spike crouched down on the end of the bed, dropping the chains he found on the floor nearby. He watched her quietly as she started to come around again, hoping she would be calmer this time and the restraints wouldn’t be needed. Any ensuing struggle for dominance would surely hurt her.

“Spike...what did you...?” Buffy groaned and sat up slowly, pressing a hand to her head. Noticing the chains, she narrowed her eyes at him and asked accusingly, “You planning on using those?”

His shoulders slumped and he edged closer, tilting his head as his yellow eyes met hers. The words came with some difficulty. “Don’t...want...”

She was confused by his reply and surveyed the chains again before shaking her head. Suddenly, she remembered the mark on her neck and her eyes flew back to him again, wide with distress. “You claimed me, Spike! This is so not of the good!”

At his warning look, she softened her tone, not wanting to give him reason to chain her up. “You don’t know what you did. We...” As usual, words failed her until the dream flashed into her mind. “I can’t be her, you know. I can’t be Dru for you...I won’t be a replacement for her.”

He growled softly at the mention of his Sire. “Not her.”

Buffy took that as a sort of agreement, hoping that was what he meant by it. “Look, I’m sure there’s something we can do about this. Maybe Giles-“

Before she could finish that thought, Spike was in her face again, snarling his displeasure at that line of discussion. His fingers bit into her shoulders as he held her immobile before him.

“Mine!” he cried out before biting into her savagely.

After the first swallow of blood, he seemed soothed by her taste and his grip loosened as he relaxed. She was breathing heavily, a bit scared at his vehement reaction to her suggestion that she ask her watcher to help reverse Spike’s mating claim. Apparently, this hadn’t just been a mistake on his part as she first thought; he had meant what he had done.

“Spike,” she murmured softly as she brought her good hand up to his chest. She thought to herself, What am I going to do with you? She heaved a mental sigh.

He took another slow pull at her blood then ran his tongue over her neck leisurely. A moan tumbled from her lips before she could stop it and her eyelids lowered at the unexpectedly pleasant sensations that shot through her. This had to be because of his claim...even if she had liked the previous bite as well.

She heard Egypt was a wonderful place to live.

Spike sat up and after a moment she opened her eyes to meet his gaze, still hungry but not, she suspected, for blood. It alarmed her a bit that she didn’t find his demon guise as frightening as she did before.

“Okay, I understand; no getting my watcher to try to break this claim.” She sighed and ran her tongue over her lips. “But, I don’t know how you expected to get away with this. This is insane.” She looked up at the vampire, whose head was cocked like a confused puppy, and tried not to let her resolve melt away. “I guess it’s pretty futile to reason with you while you’re all like ‘You Buffy; Me Tarzan’.” She mimicked a deeper voice.

Somehow, his ridged brow seemed to furrow as he looked at her quizzically. “Tarzan?”

“Why do I suddenly feel like Jane of the Jungle?” she said with another sigh.

He leaned into her and purred, “My Buffy.”

“My point exactly,” she groaned out.

Buffy’s gaze finally landed on the discarded take-out bag on the floor near the bed. She sat up and leaned around Spike to pick it up, looking back at him with her brow raised before peering inside.

“Did you go get this for me? Is that where you went earlier?” She sat back on the bed again with the bag in her lap.

“Feed mate,” he intoned with a solemn nod.

“And just how did you get this since you don’t seem to have money on you unless you’re keeping it in a place I so don’t want to know about,” she said around a mouthful of fries. Then she choked on the wad of food as she realized what that meant. “Oh god, you went running around town naked?! You seriously pounced on some person and got your nakedness all over them then stole their food, didn’t you?”

Spike puffed out his chest proudly and gave her a ghost of his old smirk. “Got food.”

“Yeah, Rain Man, I got that part,” she shot back with some exasperation. Her fingers massaged her temples for a moment then she gave him a softened look. “Thank you for getting me food. Next time, though, let’s just call and have something delivered, okay? Then I might be able to get to the door before you shake your danglies at the poor delivery boy.”

He frowned at her slightly and she wasn’t sure if it was in disapproval or because he hadn’t followed. It didn’t matter much to her; she would just try not to oversleep while she was stuck here so that there wasn’t a repeat of his naked rampage on Sunnydale.

While she ate the burgers he had pilfered, all the while wishing he had the cognitive abilities to think of a soda, she felt Spike slide in close to her again. He seemed relaxed and content now that his mate was where she belonged and was feeding. His head rested in her lap and he was purring like a contented feline. She could have sworn he was almost...well, cute like this, she thought, letting her fingers trail through his wild curls once she was done eating. As she reclined back against the pillows it crossed her mind that she liked him like this. It was such a shame that she was a good guy, which meant she had to help him get back to normal if she could. She so preferred him this way.

Buffy sighed as she realized that that meant that she would have to stick around. Not that she had anywhere to go, as she had realized earlier when she ran away without an actual “somewhere” to run to.

“Spike?” she finally spoke up after cuddling with him for who knew how long. He didn’t look up and she frowned then rolled her eyes in amusement. “Uh, Tarzan?”

That did it. He lifted his head to look at her. Buffy knew that Spike was going to be livid when he returned to normal, probably remembering everything that happened while he was feral. He may be a cocky son-of-a-bitch, but she wasn’t too sure he would appreciate the hilarity of him running about town in his birthday suit. He also wouldn’t be amused at thinking his name was Tarzan. Oh well...

A look of pure evil delight flashed across her face before she got it under control.

“Tarzan...I wanted to, er, thank you for taking care of me,” she began thoughtfully. “I also wanted to tell you that I promise I won’t run away again—at least, not until I’m healed. Then, I’ll need to get back to my usual slaying, okay? I can’t just let the nasties overrun the Hellmouth. I promise to help you get better, too. And then we can figure out what to do about this claiming thing.”

Buffy bit her lip, feeling awkward about that last part. As amusing as it would be to see Spike’s reaction to the other things that had happened while he was under the control of his demon, she wasn’t so sure about his reaction to the claiming. He would be pissed. He might even try to kill her—well more than he had before and with better opportunity because of the claim. She wasn’t quite sure why there was a little pang at that realization, but she shoved it aside towards the ever expanding box marked “Vacation in Egypt”.

Something dark passed over Spike’s face and he leaned in close to her, holding her securely to him.

“My Buffy,” he said with some forcefulness. He turned from her only to grab the blanket from the end of the bed and pull it over them, settling in beside her with his arms around her, tightly possessive.

Oh, I am so in trouble, Buffy thought tiredly, glancing down at the vampire looking up at her with wide, expectant amber eyes. She finally figured what he was probably waiting for and tenderly pressed a kiss to his ridged forehead, whispering, “Goodnight, Tarzan.”


Tbc...

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 3

AN: Bear with me, this chapter's not as betaed as the others since of course people are busy with the holidays. A big thanks to Meg and Zoe for having a look at it.



******


The next few days went more smoothly after Buffy’s promise. They slept the day away, resting and healing. At night, Spike insisted on checking her wounds then went off to hunt. She really hoped he wasn’t killing and just tried not to think about it. Also in the file marked ‘Egypt’, she tried not to think too much about how he continued to bring back fast food for her.

After the embarrassment, it led to bad thoughts about a naked Spike and just how athletic he could be. There would be a world of wrongness at the end of that path. Somehow, it seemed like it would be taking advantage of Spike to even entertain the thought of that sort of relations with him while he was feral. No matter how he seemed to want it. He wasn’t in his right mind, though, so it would be wrong.

Besides dwelling on troubling thoughts, she didn’t have much to do during the day. Lying in bed got old quickly and while Spike didn’t like her exerting herself while she was healing, she needed to move around a bit. So what did she do? She started nesting, fixing up their little home, not sure how long they would be staying there.

Was she seriously thinking of her and Spike in terms of “them” and as if they would be living together for awhile?

Buffy clapped her un-injured hand over her head and screwed up her face. “Egypt. Egypt. Egypt!!”

A sigh escaped her lips as she calmed herself down, dropping to sit on the settee.

Well, there was the claim. That kind of bound them together as a “them” with definite absoluteness. It also made it clear that they would be together for some time. She just needed to find out more about claims and if there was anything she could do about it. However, where would she get the information she needed?

Giles? Maybe or maybe not. He might not want to talk to her at all and if he did, he definitely wasn’t going to be happy to find out she might be involved with another vampire seemingly moments after getting rid of her previous vampire lover. Not to mention, the council would be a piss poor source of reliable information on vampire mating practices.

The only other person she could have asked was sucked into Acathla after she dusted him.

Some part of her still thought that Spike wouldn’t be too pleased about the situation when he regained his senses. When he got wind of having claimed her while feral he would go about doing something about their predicament. She only had to wait for the real Spike to get back in the driver’s seat.

The doors burst open and the vampire in question came running in at full tilt. Spike skid to a stop in front of her and began looking her over frantically. Buffy was confused at his behaviour until she remembered her outburst and realized he must have felt her distress over the link. Damn mental bond. If only she could figure out how to use it to get into his head. Maybe she couldn’t while he was feral?

“Sp-Tarzan, Tarzan,” she said, grasping his lower arms to get his attention. “I’m okay. I was just...thinking to myself about something and got frustrated. You can relax.”

Noticeably pacified, he sat down on the settee next to her to nuzzle her neck near his mark, purring softly. “My Buffy.”

His rough tongue darted out to trace the mark and a shiver traveled through her body. How was she going to last until he became Spike again if he kept doing stuff like that? She braced her good arm against his chest to keep him at bay.

“Did you feed?” She slowly turned her face to look into his amber eyes. He gave a nod and she forced herself not to ask what would confirm her fears about how he was feeding. “Well, I need to go out.”

Spike’s expression darkened and he went for the mark again. “No leave.”

“No. No. No.” She darted away before he could resume his assault on her neck. “Not leave. I need to get things and I promise I’ll be back. We got this claim thing, right? And you can see into my head, right? So don’t you see I’m telling the truth? And even if I did try to go, you’d be able to find me and you’d only drag me back.”

The vampire mulled that over for a moment, as much as his limited mental processes allowed. “I go.”

Her eyes took in his naked form that she had previously been trying to avoid noticing. “You...you can’t go to the mall like that.” A blush crept into her cheeks and she was pretty sure she wasn’t jealous at all at the thought of other girls seeing his impressive package. Oh, she did not just think about Spike’s package. Package of Spike. Ew ew ewwwwww!

“I have to go to the mall,” she told him, taking a couple steps back to put some needed distance between them. “I need clean clothes of my own instead of continuing to wear your shirts and I am not wearing Dru’s clothes after they were tainted by that skanky ho-bag.”

Her nose scrunched up. “Well, I’ll need something to wear to the mall, but afterwards I am scrubbing very hard and burning the offending scraps of cloth. Also, I need toiletries and other stuff like that if I’m going to continue living here.”

A shake of her head and a sigh of resignation before she turned to go see if she could find anything acceptable in Drusilla’s things. She had come across them along with Angel’s and Spike’s things while searching the mansion on her daily wanderings.

Her way was quickly blocked by Spike, though, and she tilted her head. “What?”

“I go.” His tone was forceful, leaving no room for argument. “Protect mate.”

Her teeth ground together for a moment then she sighed. “Fine, but you are so wearing clothes!”

Buffy flounced past him in the direction of Drusilla’s room first, not surprised when he followed. The door was shut firmly in his face before he could follow her into the room. There would be at least some sense of privacy and getting her way.

In the wardrobe, she found a white dress and some black boots. With a belt of Spike’s, this outfit could work and no one would know she had been forced to wear the clothes of a demented hoochie. She put the items on then went to open the door. Spike nearly fell into the room from leaning against that door and she stepped over him to walk across the hall to what had been his room. It wasn’t anymore because the vampire was bunking with her now. He probably didn’t even know he had a room.

A wad of bills was stolen from Spike’s wallet to pay for their little shopping trip then changing her mind, she just put the whole wallet in her pocket.

“Now, let’s get you into something and we can go,” she said as she headed over to his closet.

A good bit later, Buffy had finally wrestled Spike into a pair of jeans and a black tee. She thrust his Doc Martins at him then went to find the belt she wanted to borrow, assuming he would at least know how to put shoes on. Wrong. When she turned back around, he was sniffing the insides and trying to put them on his head.

“Here.” Her voice softened and she took the shoes from him so that she could put them on for him. She told herself it was only because it would go faster this way. Once she was finished, she stood up to look him over, “Now, you’re all with the non-dangly showing.”

Spike looked up at her and she realized there was another problem to address before they went out into public.

“I really can’t take you to the mall with that, either,” Buffy said, motioning to his demon face, which he had been wearing constantly since turning feral. “Can’t you at least try to put it away for a little bit? For me?”

She affected her most angelic face, hoping to use his soft spot for her to her advantage. It worked as he seemed to be struggling with himself for a moment before his features slowly shifted to his human guise almost reluctantly. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she gave him a soft smile.

“It’s nice to see those baby blues again.” The thought slipped out before she could stop it and she blushed brightly. Turning away, she quickly changed the subject, “We better hurry before all the stores close.”

******

Buffy had an armful of clothes after a bit and she started towards the fitting room before remembering Spike. She couldn’t leave him out here unattended like a rowdy child full of sugar. A blonde mannequin was spared some obscene pawing when she pulled the vampire towards the back. It might be weird to have him in there with her, but it was better than letting him out of her sight. Really, she had seen him naked for the last few days and they were sort of married at the moment.

“Just, um, sit right there while I try these on,” she told him with a gentle push towards the seat in the corner of the cubicle. “If you behave I’ll get you one of those mannequins to play with.”

He actually had the audacity to arch his brow at her like he was insulted.

Changing was a bit awkward with her trying her best to flash him as little as possible while she slipped in and out of clothes. To make matters worse, his eyes never left her body and were starting to bleed gold again. A blush was starting to creep not just over her cheeks, but surprisingly all over her body as well. She hurried to finish and once she had tried everything on, she paused to look at the clothes to decide if she wanted to wear any of the outfits out of the store instead of Dru’s nasty rags.

While standing there in her underwear, her attention was only off Spike for a moment but it was long enough for him to make a move towards her. Before she knew what was happening, he had her pinned to the wall and his tongue was sliding into her gasping mouth.

Her brain knew they shouldn’t be doing this in the fitting room. They shouldn’t be doing this period. Then his hands were roaming over her heated skin and suddenly she wasn’t sure why they weren’t supposed to be doing this. They were mates after all.

Large hands cupped her ass and pulled her up to cradle her pelvis firmly against his, grinding her into the wall. She moaned into his mouth, winding her good arm around his neck. Even through the material of their clothes, she could feel his hard erection straining to get to her. A thrust against her and she was no longer aware of where they were.

Spike licked and nibbled a path of pure fire from her mouth down to the mark on her throat. His hips continued to move against her in the age old motion of lust as his teeth worried at the scar, sending bolts of pure pleasure through her body straight to her center. Her hips moved with his, matching him thrust for thrust.

“Please...Spike, please,” she moaned, digging her fingers into his shoulder.

Immediately, Buffy found herself on the cold floor and it took her a few moments to come back to herself. She blinked up at him, wide-eyed and blushing. She wanted to feel disgusted at her wanton behaviour, but she couldn’t find it in her. All she found was hurt and confusion.

“What?” Her voice came out tiny, afraid. Ever since that morning with Angelus, she was afraid of other men having the same reaction to her. “Is something wrong?”

His eyes were amber as he snarled, “Me Tarzan!”

The outburst would have been laughable if he wasn’t giving her a look of utter disgust as he walked out of the changing room. She crawled after him, but the door was slammed in her face. A sob tore from her lips and she rested her forehead against the door, wondering how she had gotten herself into this mess. In reality, she hadn’t even done anything wrong, but he didn’t understand that.

How had the world suddenly turned so upside down that she was on her hands and knees crying over Spike’s rejection?

Quickly, she got to her feet and tossed Drusilla’s dress back on then jerked the door open to go after him. The only problem was that he wasn’t anywhere in sight. The salesgirl stopped her from running for the door and Buffy silently prayed he wasn’t far as she went back to pay for the clothes she had picked out. As soon as the bag of purchases was in her hand, she was running out the door to find her mate.

This was just great. First he molests her in the dressing room, then runs off because he doesn’t even recognize when she’s moaning his name all hot and bothered for him.

After several circuits of the mall, Buffy still hadn’t found Spike and she was pretty sure he had left the building anyway. Even un-feral, he probably would have only come here if he was looking for a younger meal, and she knew he really wouldn’t have went for “young meat” unless Drusilla needled him into it.

Thinking of that skank turned her hurt to anger and jealousy. The only good thing to be said about the bitch was that thankfully she never claimed Spike in all the years they spent together and now he was hers.

Buffy skidded to a stop outside, scared silly over that last thought. Where had Possessive Buffy come from? This whole mating thing had been a mistake and she shouldn’t be thinking of keeping him. This was just a temporary thing. Right?

“Okay, I should just finish my shopping and get home. Yes.” She gave a decisive nod and walked into the drug store on the corner. “No, wait. Not home. The mansion. The mansion is not home.”

Her good hand pressed to her temple at the further confusion in her head. “I’m going insane. That’s the only possible excuse for all the wiggy thoughts.”

As quickly as she could, Buffy went through the store picking up the essential toiletries she figured she would need as she continued living at the mansion with Spike. That’s assuming he ever showed up again after the scene in the dressing room earlier. She sure hoped he did, even if she didn’t want to explore exactly why she was anxious to see him again.

The mansion was empty when she returned, not that it surprised her really. She took her things to her room to put the clothes and other things away while waiting fretfully for Spike to return, if he did decide to come back. The time was used for thinking over what she was going to do to smooth this over. It figures the time when it would be most useful for him to be in her head with the claim that he would be avoiding it like the plague.

Maybe now would be a good time to try to use the link herself. How did one use a claim to contact one’s mate? In the movies, whenever someone had to do something “mystical” they were told to concentrate. So, Buffy tried concentrating. Nothing. Well this was a big bust.

Then she remembered how he had come running earlier when he sensed her distress. Ha! She could cry wolf and see if he came running like the overprotective mate that he was.

“Oh my! I think I’m in trouble!” she shouted at the empty room and affected a cheesy, dramatic pose.

Buffy gave a little pout when that didn’t work. Okay, so she wasn’t about to win an Oscar any time soon, so how was she going to make this believable? An idea came to her and she winced at the thought of what she was going to have to do, hoping it worked so that her pain would be worth it. She pulled off one of her boots and lifted it with the intent of slamming it down on her broken arm. This was so going to hurt.

A growl was the only warning she got before she was tackled to the ground again. She had been too preoccupied with bracing for the pain to notice the tinglies at her neck. Wide emerald eyes met his narrowed golden ones.

“Bad mate,” Spike admonished vehemently.

“The boot...it was only so I could get your attention with my pain,” she explained and wondered how she was the one sounding stupid compared to a feral vampire that called himself Tarzan. “Okay, so it was a really bad idea, but somehow it worked...I think.”

His expression softened, even in game face. He relaxed his hold on her and tossed the offending boot away before lowering his face to the crook of her neck. Cold air tickled her skin and she awkwardly put her good arm around him, patting his back as that was the only thing she could think to do.

“Look, Tarzan...earlier at the mall...” she began, biting her bottom lip. “I meant you, when I said Spike, I mean. I wasn’t thinking of some other guy. It was you, just you. I know you don’t understand, can’t understand while you’re like this, but there was no reason to get upset, okay?”

There was no response, not that she was expecting much of one from “Tarzan”. She turned her face and brought her hand to his cheek to force him to look at her. The bloody tears on his cheeks surprised her. She wasn’t sure Spike, an evil, soulless vampire, was capable of crying, let alone him with the demon in control.

“What’s this for?” Buffy asked as she brushed the tears away with her thumb. She quirked a small smile and joked, “I don’t smell that bad.”

“Tarzan scared,” he said, nodding towards the boot where it lay across the room.

She followed his gaze then sighed. “Oh. I said it was a bad idea. I was just scared, too, scared that you weren’t coming back.”

“My Buffy.” Spike told her and she marveled at how his simple, overused phrase could mean so much with just the slightest inflection in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m getting to realize that,” she said softly and started to move to get up.

His grip on her tightened and he drew her back, looking deep into her eyes before kissing her. This kiss was softer than the one in the dressing room and she wasn’t quite sure how he accomplished that around the fangs. His hands caressed her back and kept her securely planted against his hard body. Once again, he was straining against her, showing quite clearly how she affected him.

The kiss turned more passionate and his mouth returned to the mark on her neck like a honing beacon. He bit at her with blunt teeth while pressing his erection into her damp cleft. She was panting and ready to fall over the edge, her hips seeming to have a mind of their own as they bucked against his.

“Please, please bite me,” Buffy pleaded with him as she felt her release so close. “I need your fangs in me.”

Spike understood all too clearly and complied with her request eagerly. Each pull of her blood tugged at things deeper within her and sent her crashing over her peak with a scream.

“Mine,” he gasped, pulling away from her neck.

“Yours. I’m yours,” she panted in response, clinging to him like a limpet.

Picking up his mate, the vampire carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently. He was grinning and purring, happy to have pleased his mate and overjoyed when she had confirmed his claim. That was a big step towards accomplishing the plans he had for her. Now, all that stood in his way was waiting for her to fully heal. Most of her injuries were almost gone already, except for the broken arm and that was probably going to take awhile.

“Buffy needs rest.” His voice was still rough and halting, but there was no doubt he was a little more lucid after another dose of Slayer blood.

He was quickly shucking his clothes, eager to be rid of them again. Why did he need them now that they weren’t shopping anymore? His demon much preferred to be running around stark naked.

Buffy was trying not to watch him too overtly, but she was used to his nakedness by now. Then he slipped into bed with her and started reaching to remove her clothes. That wasn’t expected and she blushed, swatting at his hand with little conviction. Just token protest for her own sanity.

“Sp-Tarzan...no,” she said breathlessly.

His eyes narrowed on her. “You’re my mate.”

“I-I know...even if it might have been a mistake, and we were just...on the floor, but that was...I don’t know why I did that. You...you did the thing with the claim mark again and I can’t think when you do that and the next thing I know, I’m turning into Super Vamp Ho.”

He growled at her assessment of the situation.

“This is just too confusing! You’ll understand when you’re back to being yourself! You will! Then we’ll be able to figure out what to do about this!”

With that, she jumped up and hurried out of the room, set on being Avoid-y Girl. It was the easiest way to deal with things like this, hard things that made no sense to her. And if she stuck around him right then, she might turn into Buffy McSlutty again and this time it might not stop at just heavy petting.

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 4

AN: Zoe agreed to do a bit of a quick beta for me since my usual betas are busy with holiday stuff, so a big thanks to her for that as well as her usual plot advice. And if there isn’t another update before Xmas, a big Happy Holidays to everyone! *hands out the gifts for reading and reviewing*



******


The warm water was relaxing. Buffy laid back against the tub with her eyes closed, inhaling deeply and taking in the refreshing scents of the bath oils she had added. She could have stayed like that until the water cooled, but she felt the water stir as someone joined her and she had a pretty good idea who it was. Deciding he wasn’t going to just go away if she kept her eyes closed, her lashes raised and she gazed at him through the steamy haze.

Even though she thought she was used to him being naked, the sight of his bare chest rising from the water still affected her in a way she wanted to deny.

Spike was squeezing some body wash onto a loofa sponge, making it sud up before scooting closer to her and taking one of her shapely legs in hand. It was obvious what he was about to do and her hand shot out to grasp his wrist. That’s when she realized her arm wasn’t broken anymore and that couldn’t be right. This was a dream then?

“Shh, just lay back and let me take care of my mate,” he said soothingly as he moved her arm to the side of the tub so he could continue his work.

“You don’t have to take care of me,” she protested, but she made no further move to stop him. “I know you didn’t want this, that your demon forced us into this. Just tell me what I need to do about this.”

There was silence as he finished with her lower body and slid between her legs so he could brace a hand behind her on the tub while his other hand stroked the sponge over her abdomen. He leaned in close, eyes trapping her gaze so that she knew what he was going to say was serious.

“What you do, luv, is bloody well get used to me takin’ care of you. This claim was no mistake and I don’t regret it for a soddin’ moment. Do you hear me?” His voice softened. “I know after what Angelus put you through...it’s any wonder you’re takin’ this as well as you are. You just need to trust me, even a little bit of trust that I won’t be like them—your father and Angelus.”

“How do you know about my father?” Her eyes searched his, hoping for once that this was a slayer dream and all true.

“Claim, pet.” He tapped his temple then gave a crooked grin. “And it’s their loss, it is. You’re an amazin’ woman. Anyone can see it in the way you’ve been takin’ care of me, too, while I’ve been out of sorts.”

“I...I’ve done nothing,” she muttered and looked away.

He brought her face back up. “You clean me, make me better. I’m not the same vampire I was before. You make me a man and that man belongs to you.”

His lips were a breath away from hers and she stared at them frozen, afraid to take the last step. She didn’t need to as he took the plunge that brought their mouths crashing together, pressing her down.

Spike continued to lower them down into the water and she tried to resist him, afraid even if it was a dream. He seriously wasn’t trying to kill her, was he? Not after that whole speech about wanting to be hers and trusting him.

//You drown in me. We’re one and I drown in you as well. Don’t be afraid to just let go and embrace the chaos. There is peace once you give in, and comfort that only I can give you.//

She heard his voice in her head, but still she was frightened and clung to him as they submerged. Why couldn’t her dreams ever be straight forward? Why did they have to do their best to give her the wiggins?

******

Golden eyes were the first thing Buffy saw when she woke up with a start. She gave a cry of alarm and jerked back before becoming fully alert. Hurt flashed briefly across Spike’s features but was quickly gone and replaced by concern again. His hands went for the blanket to pull it back so he could look her over, as was the daily ritual.

“What’re you doing in here, anyway?” she asked, lifting her shirt for him. It was better just to let him do his thing than to struggle with the protective vampire. “After last night, well...yeah. You weren’t in here when I went to bed at least.”

“Mate have nightmare,” he explained.

For a moment, she thought there was more to the dream than she thought and her eyes widened. “You saw it?”

“Felt scared. Heard sounds.” Spike glanced around then tilted his head.

Buffy saw the state that the bed was in, blankets and pillows strewn about, evidence that she had been thrashing about as the dream became troubling. Her gaze swept back to meet his, ever filled with concern for her.

“Thank you for coming to check on me,” she finally told him, leaning forward to kiss his cheek without thinking.

How could she be embarrassed about an innocent kiss after what they had done the night before? And in the dressing room? Although, all that could just be because of the claim he did on her. Conveniently, she denied the memory of having returned it in the heat of passion.

“Have you fed yet?” she asked. He shook his head and she sighed, “Well, you go do that while I get a bath and get dressed. Maybe I’ll start reading the book I bought yesterday.”

Spike nodded and started to get up when she grabbed his hand, deciding curiosity had finally gotten the better of her.

“Do you...kill when you feed?” She bit her lip, afraid of the answer.

“I kill.” He gave a nod and her heart plummeted, but then he continued, “I kill animals for food. Mate no like me kill people.”

Her eyes watered and Buffy lunged forward to hug him. She was so grateful for the small miracle—it was a miracle to her, at least. Now she didn’t have to feel guilty for harboring a killer and feeling romantic things for him. Was she feeling romantic things? And, if he could stop killing for her then it gave her some hope for their future. Her good arm tightened around him until he finally set her away from him.

“Mate go bathe. I get food.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said with a soft smile and stretched up on her toes to give him another quick kiss before turning toward the bathroom.

******

The bath was relaxing, even with the dream lingering in Buffy’s consciousness. She knew that there was no chance that it was going to play out for real so she closed her eyes as she lay in the warm water. Her mind drifted off, but she couldn’t get it to stay in lovely daydream land.

How weird was it that she hadn’t tried to be Avoid-y Girl again with Spike when she woke up to him in her room? He had been worried about her and instead of shrugging him off, she had kissed him. Twice. There had to be some evil spell affecting them. That was it and as the Slayer, she needed to vanquish whoever was responsible.

Oh get a grip, Buffy she thought with a sigh, pulling herself out of the land of the pyramids for just a moment.

Okay, so maybe she was starting to like him. He wasn’t really acting all evil and trying to kill her anymore. Quite the contrary, he was being super sweet and taking care of her like the big protective mate that he was. What kind of ass would she be if she ignored all that?

Plans of getting rid of the claim seemed to be getting more distant every day they spent together. She still wasn’t too sure how Spike was going to take all this when he returned, but it definitely wasn’t going to be so cut and dry as them both going on their own ways.

The door opened and Buffy’s eyes snapped open, almost worried that the dream was in fact about to be re-enacted in some way. “Hello?”

Spike walked in and stopped to look down at her. Their eyes met. There was no hiding the evidence of his reaction to the view, not when he ran around naked. Her eyes were riveted to his bobbing erection and she blushed, but was unable to tear her gaze away. She might not be some virgin, but one short night did not make her experienced in any way, shape, or form.

When her tongue darted out to wet her lips, the spell seemed to be broken as he lowered himself to kneel beside the tub. He leaned in so that he could give her an eager kiss, a hand slipping into the water to massage her hip, melting her resolve even further. It was hard to live in denial over her feelings when he touched her.

After a moment, he pulled back and said, “My beautiful mate. My beautiful Buffy.”

Buffy blushed and looked down before glancing back up through her lashes. “Thank you.”

Spike leaned in toward her again and that’s when it hit her. The smell. She clapped a hand over her nose and darted across to the other side of the tub to avoid him. How had she missed such a stench while he was kissing her?

Well, duh, ‘cause he was kissing you, stupid, her inner voice mocked her and she rolled her eyes before saying, “Tarzan, you so need a bath. When was the last time you washed?”

The confused look in his eyes said it all and she wrinkled her nose. “Oh that is so gross. What, do you roll around in the garbage, too?”

The vampire looked every bit ashamed of himself and even a bit hurt.

“Tarzan take bath,” he said before trying to get into the tub with her.

Buffy scooted back and pulled her legs out of the way, blinking at him. “You...hey, you can wait you know!” A sigh fell from her lips when he looked at her expectantly. “Fine, turn your back to me and I’ll help you.”

While he complied with her request, she grabbed for the loofa to put some body wash on it. Her hand tightened on it when she noticed it was the same one from her dream. She quickly tossed it away and reached for the rag hanging nearby, sudsing it up then turning back to her waiting mate.

Naked Spike. She had to touch naked Spike. At least it was only his back and then she would do his hair. That was all.

Was he actually purring while she washed his back? That was too cute...too cute for a feral vampire, even if calling himself Tarzan was kind of adorable at times. Spike would not like being called “cute”. It would ruin his Big Bad image.

Washing his hair seemed strangely intimate, her fingers massaging his scalp. She tried to think of other things. Anything else but being naked in the tub with Spike and having her hands on him.

Rinsing his hair was an ordeal with him sputtering indignantly after she poured water over his head. He turned around then and glared at her and she just gave him a lopsided grin before starting to get up to exit the cooling bath. As she did, she felt his hand skim over her thigh and nearly fell over at the sensations the small action caused.

Spike’s nostrils flared and she blushed, knowing he was scenting the air. Vampires were so gross. She hurried from the room and the very troubling situation she had gotten herself into. It would only lead to very bad things. Very bad. Sinful even.

Oh, why was her head going wacko on her?!

The Slayer sensed Spike following her down the hallway, and she glanced over her shoulder at him. He leered at her and licked his lips, causing something to tug low in her rather than the disgust she thought she ought to be feeling.

“I’m going to get dressed and then see about getting something to eat,” Buffy said, hoping to distract him from what he was obviously thinking. The evidence was right there. Not that she wasn’t thinking the same thing. “You can just wait for me in the living room and I’ll be right there.”

Instead of doing as he was told—like usual—he stalked toward her, continuing to look at her with lustful eyes. She backed away until her spine hit the wall, trapped when he caged her in with his arms braced on either side of her. His head dipped in to inhale deeply while he gave a soft purr.

“Tarzan needs mate,” he said hoarsely, “Need to touch mate.”

“It’d be wrong to do anything while you’re like this,” Buffy returned, pleading with him to understand. Then with a grimace, she continued, “For one, because I am so not saying ‘Oh god, Tarzan, make me cum’ in the middle of sex because you don’t know your own name.”

“Buffy no talk.”

The smooth reply made her blink, so surprised at the blatantly smart-assed comment coming from the feral vampire that she thought maybe she had imagined it. She had to be hearing things, because “Tarzan” would not make a joke.

“And two, you’re not yourself and not thinking clearly, so it’d be like I was taking advantage of you.” She tried to steer the conversation back onto the right track. “If you’re still happy to be my mate and...do this...when you’re yourself again, then we can re-open this discussion.”

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, both for some measure of covering and to show that she was serious about this. It was a bit awkward with her good arm holding her broken one in place, but she made as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The act didn’t impress him and he captured her lips in another kiss, pressing her body into the wall with his own. Fire immediately erupted within her and started to melt her resolve again. His hands sliding over her soft curves didn’t help either.

“Buffy!”

A gasp had Buffy shoving Spike off her then turning to face Willow with flaming cheeks. The redhead was blushing just as brightly, her skin rivaling her hair. They seemed locked there in shock until they were brought back to reality by the growling of the vampire. His golden eyes were flashing dangerously and for a moment Buffy was worried he was about to go after her friend.

“No, Tarzan, she’s my friend,” the slayer said, turning to grab his arm. “We need clothes. Clothes would be good. Then we can get to the talking and the peaceful not biting time.”

“Tarzan?” Willow looked even more confused.

“It’s a long story, a story I’ll gladly give you once we’re dressed and not giving you mental scarring. Just wait for me,” a growl from Spike had her adding, “us in the living room right there.”

Buffy pointed the way for Willow then pulled Spike with her into her bedroom, almost thankful for the diversion from his amorous overtures. He didn’t seem as happy to be interrupted and she realized he had probably also been reacting to her distress at being caught in such a compromising position. Now she only had to hope he could behave himself while Willow was there and that her friend wasn’t arriving with bad news that could set her vampire off. She wasn’t sure she could hold him off that well with her arm still healing.

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 5

AN: Wow, lots of updates recently now that I don’t have school to mess with me. And all things considered, I don’t think that’ll be a problem for awhile. So next I need to get working on my novels as well. Thanks to Patti for offering her beta skills. I’m always grateful for help making my stories better.



******



Buffy, Spike, and Willow sat silently in the living room, glancing at each other uncomfortably then looking away again. Well, that was mostly the girls. Spike watched Buffy with occasional glances towards the redheaded intruder. He wanted her to go away before she ruined his plans for Buffy. He also wanted to be out of these uncomfortable clothes that his mate had forced him into again.

“So...” Buffy began, clapping her good leg on her knee. “What’re you doing here, Will?”

“You can’t act like that.” Willow waved a finger at her. “You can’t act like I’m just here on a social call and interrupting something—though, I so obviously was interrupting something!”

Buffy blushed bright red, causing Spike to growl softly.

“Yeah, well, we weren’t expecting visitors,” she said and sighed. “And you usually don’t make a habit of wandering through old mansions.”

“Didn’t you think we’d eventually come looking for you?” Willow asked, flinging out her hands.

“Actually? No,” Buffy admitted softly and looked down. “Especially when no one showed up immediately to check on me. I know Xander and Giles were less than thrilled with me for all the Angelus stuff. They blamed me for everything.”

The other girl was about to argue then bit her lip before saying, “I couldn’t come right away because I was in the hospital.”

“I knew you couldn’t, but no one-“

Willow cut Buffy off with a wave of her hand. “I know you weren’t meaning me specifically. But, anyway, in the hospital, they didn’t really tell me much and when I finally got out, I asked about you. They hadn’t heard from you and assumed you didn’t make it, even though you obviously stopped the apocalypse.”

“They just assumed I was dead and moved on?” Buffy asked incredulously, her voice filled with hurt. “Just because of everything with Angel they just wrote me off like that?”

“M-maybe they...really thought you had died?” Willow offered tentatively. She was just as flabbergasted by the behaviour of the male members of their group. “I mean, going up against three powerful vampires and Acathla?”

“Actually, I had help.” The Slayer glanced towards her vampire mate. “But, you guys didn’t know that. Although, that does lead me to things I didn’t know going into this battle...Something happened to Angelus before I dusted him. I almost dismissed it as a ploy to trick me.”

“Well, duh, that was me giving him his soul back,” Willow said as if she was stating the oh-so obvious. At Buffy’s clearly shocked look, the redhead questioned, “Didn’t you know I was doing it that night to help you?”

“No,” Buffy said barely above a whisper, shaking her head slowly.

“Um, well…” Her normally timid friend seemed even more uncomfortable, if that was possible. “He was supposed to tell you; Xander was...didn’t he?”

“No, he said your message was to ‘kick his ass’.” Buffy’s face was thunderous and her hands were balled into fists. “I can’t believe they had me go in there alone without knowing everything and blatantly lying to me. Then when I save the world, they just write me off! What, were they hoping the next slayer would be better since I was such a let down?!”

Willow cringed back into her seat. Spike was growling loudly, feeling distinctly all his mate’s hurt, anger, and disappointment. It made him mad and he wanted to protect her from everything, but he couldn’t. That just made him even more frustrated.

“Well, for what it’s worth, I did think their reaction was really odd...but I trusted them,” Willow finished weakly then swallowed. “But when another slayer didn’t come to replace you or Kendra—not even word of one being called—that’s when I got suspicious. And so, I came to check things out myself.”

“No, I wasn’t dead; I was just injured and at first I was being kept here by a vampire nursemaid,” Buffy said. “And then, after that, I just sort of figured no one cared if I came back and I was actually liking it here.”

“Here? With him?” Willow squeaked.

Spike gave an offended growl and shifted towards her. Buffy’s good arm shot out to block him before she gave him a look that softened his expression. In the next moment, he was snuggling against her side and causing Willow to be even more confused at the exchange. The Slayer hurried to explain—at least try to.

“See...Spike’s hasn’t just been taking care of me after I got the crap beat out of me and my arm broken, but I’ve been taking care of him. He’s feral, running around naked and acting weirder than usual.”

Buffy stopped, unsure if she could even tell her best friend about the claim thing. She decided to give Willow more time to react and adjust to everything first. If her friend continued to take it well, maybe Buffy could slip it in somewhere...find a way to break the news to her gently.

How do I break that kind of news gently? ‘Oh, sorry, you missed my wedding. Did I mention the groom was a feral vampire that runs around naked as a jaybird?’ Yeah, that sounds good.

“I just...I need to make sure he gets back to normal,” she continued. “Well, normal for Spike. He has no one else.”

“Buffy, that’s kind of the opposite of your job as a slayer,” Willow reminded her. “I mean, he’s an evil vampire who’s killed bunches of people and tried to kill you, too. And, once he’s better, how do you know he won’t return the favour by attacking you?”

Buffy looked at Spike slowly and met his gaze. “I just know, Will. Can you just trust me about this? I can’t tell you why...yet. I just know that things are different.” She finally looked back towards Willow. “I know that I’m not really the one to be asking for trust after the Angel stuff, but can you try?”

“I think the fact that I came looking for you proves I’m not holding some grudge over all the Angel stuff.” Willow gave her a small, nervous smile. “You didn’t know about the curse and you loved him...so it was complicated. I get that. Especially now that I sort of feel all those warm fuzzies for Oz.”

“Thank you.”

Tears welled up in Buffy’s eyes and her throat constricted. The little crumbs that Willow was giving her were huge to Buffy. It really meant a lot that she had at least one person on her side—besides a crazy, feral vampire.

And said vampire was growling softly, not in anger but confusion at his mate’s swirling emotions. He inched closer and nuzzled her shoulder to get her attention.

“It’s okay, Tarzan,” Buffy told him and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m just a bit choked up. It’s nice to know I still have a friend.”

“Can you at least explain the Tarzan thing to me?” Willow wrinkled her forehead at them.

“Oh, heh.” Buffy lifted a shoulder. “I made a Tarzan joke and he took it too literally...I don’t think feral vampires get the point of humour much. So now he thinks it’s his name.”

They sat in silence again, back to being unsure of what to say. This time it was less uncomfortable with most of the explanations now out of the way. Buffy idly started running her hand over Spike’s wrist as she sat lost in thought. The action wasn’t missed by Willow, who chose not to say anything but to file it away for later.

“So...what are you going to do?” Willow finally asked.

Now the question was out there and Buffy couldn’t avoid it. Her eyes darted between her friend and her mate, thinking fast. Then she realized—in a way—she had already made this decision.

“Well, I’m obviously staying here until Spike is better. He needs me,” Buffy said thoughtfully. She turned back towards Willow. “But now that you know, I have some help...like not having to drag him with me if I need to buy something. Oh, and maybe you can get me food so Tarzan here can stop molesting the local population for take-out.”

Willow giggled. “He does what?”

“Well, he normally decides to forgo clothes...and he goes out to hunt.” Buffy made a motion with her hands. “And then comes home with some sort of fast food for me. So either he steals it or I so do not want to know where he keeps his wallet.”

That turned Willow’s giggles into full laughter. Spike knew he was the butt of the joke and started pouting, pushing away from Buffy as though he knew that it was all her fault. Mates were not supposed to mock you.

“Okay, in the interest of keeping down any increases in the general public’s therapy bills, I’ll swing by every day after school and bring you something.” Willow wrinkled her nose in thought and pointed at Spike. “He doesn’t kill does he? Should I bring him something of the bagged variety?”

“Um, he told me he doesn’t kill, so I assume he goes after animals when he leaves,” Buffy said with a shrug. “But if you can get something, that might be good. Just in case.”

With that decided for the moment, Willow stood up and nodded. “Okay, well, I should leave you to take care of Spike because he’s looking a bit upset. Either that or gassy.”

It did seem to Buffy like Spike didn’t look all that happy. After all this time with him, she weirdly felt able to read him well. She figured it might be a good time to try using the claim again and sent out her mystical feelers. Not much came back, but there was a bit of hurt. Later, she could feel elated at finally getting something.

Holding up a hand, Buffy suddenly remembered something.

“Hey, wait a minute, kay?” she said then dashed off down the hall.

Willow licked her lips nervously, continually glancing at Spike while Buffy remained out of the room. Buffy had been the person to keep the vampire from trying anything and now the little geek was left alone with him. But in no time, Buffy came bounding back into the room waving something in her hand.

“Money, I got money. I wouldn’t expect you to be able to feed us on your allowance and all,” Buffy explained, shoving into Willow’s hand the roll of money she had found in Angel’s drawer. “That should cover food for a long while and hopefully Spike will be back to being Spike before it runs out.”

“He didn’t steal this, too, did he?” Willow asked.

“Oh, no.” Buffy waved a hand dismissively. “I’ve been raiding the vampires’ stuff. I mean, Angel and Dru are totally dust and so everything they had is up for grabs including Angel’s money. Dru didn’t have any because ‘hello’ insane! As for Spike’s stuff, I’m hoping he’ll understand I’m using his money to take care of him.”

“So Angel and Dru...gone?”

Both girls were sort of surprised to find that they had skipped that question up to then.

“I dusted Angel, and it drove Dru crazier than usual. Spike stopped her, but only after she gave me a good beating that included breaking my arm and running a sword into my gut.” Buffy stopped when Spike was suddenly next to her, obviously having sensed her thoughts of the horrible night. She touched his arm when it went to snake around her protectively. “Spike dusted her and I must have passed out, but when I came to he was like this. Well, worse than this, because he’s kind of gotten better.”

“And that’s all this is? You playing nursemaid to each other?” Willow’s eyes were a little too knowing.

Buffy looked at her, trying to figure out how Willow might feel about a possible Buffy-and-Spike. There was no judgment there and she felt relieved, but still couldn’t bring herself to mention the claim. That would force her to deal with it more than she was willing to yet.

“I’m not even sure what it is any more.” It was the most truthful thing Buffy could tell her friend.

Willow nodded. “And I assume you don’t want me telling the others. I don’t think they’d take it as well and would come here to stake him. Not that they would ask, since they seem to have already made up their minds about what happened to you.”

“Thank you, Willow. Thank you so much.”

Buffy was sure she was about to tear up again, but her friend just gave her a quick hug before leaving. If Buffy started crying, then Willow would start crying, and poor confused Spike would have two crying females on his hands. So it was best that Willow take off quickly.

As soon as the other girl was out of sight, Buffy turned back towards Spike. She gave him a soft smile then walked past him towards her room. Their room. As she was reaching the door, though, he moved into her way with a firm set to his mouth.

“Buffy and friend laughed at Tarzan.” His full bottom lip was sticking out and her eyes were glued to it against her will.

“I’m really sorry it hurt your feelings. We were just kidding.” She reached out to touch his cheek. “How can I make it up to you?”

At first, she didn’t realize how her question could lead to badness. Even as he stood there thinking about it, the thought didn’t click of what he might ask for. Then he got that very Spike-ish grin and it finally sank in, making her curse herself for not thinking before speaking.

“Tarzan want mate.”

Spike pulled Buffy into the room then gave her a push towards the bed so that she fell with a plop when the backs of her knees hit the mattress. Her eyes got wide as she watched him prowl across the room towards her, dropping clothes as he went. Then he was before her, gloriously nude while she was frozen in a trance.

“Buffy touch Tarzan.” His voice floated down to her from somewhere far away.

Her head jerked up to look at him. When she didn’t do what he had been wanting, he made an impatient sound and took her hand, placing it on his rigid cock. He groaned and thrust into her hand before moving her hand in an obvious motion, showing her what he wanted.

“Ohh...” she breathed softly and swallowed hard.

Eventually Spike dropped his hand, allowing hers to keep up the stroking. His head dropped forward and he watched her through hooded eyes, shifting his gaze between her hand and her face.

She glanced up to meet his eyes for a moment and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. This was...incredibly weird, but hot. Very hot. Her hand picked up the pace as her shock wore off completely and he began moaning louder.

Then the walls seemed to come crashing down, pleasure flooding over the claim so that she nearly fainted from the sheer force of it. He had been holding back or the demon had. Either way, it was open and she was ready to cum right along with him. Her moans matched his and her hand tightened around his shaft.

A choked sound was Buffy’s only warning before Spike came over her hand and arm. He had tried to verbalized his orgasm, but found it difficult in this state. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths in the aftermath and needing a moment before facing him again.

“Buffy?” His hands were on her face as he knelt before her and she opened her eyes to give him a weak smile. “Buffy good. Tarzan liked a lot.”

Laughing softly, she leaned forward to kiss his nose. “It doesn’t take much to please you, huh?”

Spike didn’t pick up on her mirth, but dipped his head towards the smell he caught coming from between her legs. “Buffy...”

“No,” she said quickly, cutting him off and turning her legs away. “It was just...the claim. Something happened and the claim went all funny.”

He tilted his head, much like a dog.

She sighed and brought her hand up to run through her hair, before realizing her one good hand was still covered in-

“Oh, gross!” she exclaimed, holding her hand away and eyeing the hair that was now stuck to her fingers. “Great! Now I need another bath!”

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 6

AN: Oooo! Smut! heehee And sadly, time to move on to the next phase of the plot. *pouts* I don’t mind if someone wants to write a ficlet or PWP with some more Tarzan fun. Just tell me where you post it so I can read and enjoy. Thank you to Zoe for her moral support and concrit, and to Patti and Ruth for their betaing skills.



******



Another book slammed shut, a victim of Willow’s shock and disbelief at what she had read. This was the fifth book in which she had found the same information; that certainly put it out if the world of coincidence. The things it said, though, just couldn’t be right.

After finding Buffy alive and agreeing to help her and Spike, Willow had gone into secret research mode. Giles’ books weren’t much help since they were Council sanctioned and she couldn’t pore over them much without raising his suspicion. So she had gone to a local occult shop that she had recently found while on the hunt for magical ingredients and found plenty of books that would have shocked the pants right off those Council members.

First, she had read up on feral vampires in the hopes of expediting the return of normal Spike. Then, Willow remembered how Buffy told her that Spike had gotten a bit better since the big battle. It led to her hypothesis that somehow Spike might have been able to drink a bit of Buffy’s blood and the potency of Slayer blood had helped him.

Not that I’m about to suggest Buffy let Spike feed off her, Willow thought with a grimace.

Either way, this caught at Willow’s curiousity and she started trying to find information on other Slayers that had relationships with vampires—if there were any. The redhead might not be so experienced, but she had noticed that there was considerably more than pity between the two of them during their short meeting.

Hello! They were groping naked in the hall when I walked in!

Willow winced at the mental images and rubbed her temples. Really, she should have done research like this when Buffy was dating Angel, but she had been so oblivious. The last two years had matured her and now she was going to see why Buffy might be drawn to vampires when she should be staking them.

Willow found she might be more than a little naïve to the way the slayer thing worked. There were suppositions that the power came from demons, just the same as the creatures they hunted. The thought that Buffy might be part demon was not a happy one and so it was to be avoided for now.

More importantly were the prophecies she had uncovered that dealt with slayers—and even more importantly, with them and vampires. The most troubling so far was the one that Willow thought might actually be happening at that very moment. It stated that there would be a child born of enemies—vampire and slayer—that would be one of the greatest champions for good.

How would a vampire get someone pregnant anyway?

So, maybe she was worrying over nothing. She chewed her lip and got up to put the book away. Still, should she tell Buffy about this prophecy...or Giles? No. Definitely not Giles, because then she would have to rat out Buffy. Between the two, she was more loyal to Buffy at this point so there would be no outing of the secret. As for the prophecy, she would do more research to see if it was even possible for a vampire to get someone pregnant before she went running to Buffy with this.

******

“Did Willow seem funny to you just now?” Buffy asked Spike as she sat down at the coffee table with the Chinese take-out. She gave a quick shake of her head. “Why am I asking you?”

Spike dropped to the floor beside her and sidled up almost uncomfortably close. His hand snaked out to snatch an egg roll from her, sniffing at it almost comically. She just rolled her eyes at him, almost used to his cartoon-ish antics by now.

“Friend nervous,” the vampire finally replied around a mouthful.

Grimacing, she poked at her Sweet and Sour chicken. “Um, could it have anything to do with the feral vampire running around in his skivvies?”

Her eyes rolled towards him and she arched a brow. Knowing that Willow would show up in the afternoons, she had started forcing him into at least a pair of loose boxers that she had found in Angel’s room. He usually ditched them not long after the other girl left.

Spike just looked back at her blankly and she sighed, returning to her food. This Neanderthal act had its good points and bad points. He couldn't talk her to death like he usually did, but sometimes she missed being able to have a normal conversation.

Buffy forgot that the link let him feel her thoughts until he laid his head on her shoulder, trying to comfort her or maybe to apologize for not being what she wanted.

"It's getting dark," she said, briefly ghosting her fingers over the nape of his neck. "I guess you can get going if you feel like hunting tonight...I know I can't keep you caged in here, even if you don't need to hunt anymore."

"Buffy come with Tarzan," he replied, lifting his head so his gaze could lock with hers.

There must have been some thrall going on, because she actually felt herself giving in. With a small nod, she got up and gathered the food to go put it away. This couldn't end well--going out with him, a feral vampire.

Then her brow wrinkled and she turned back to say, "And, if I go with you, you have to keep the boxers on, okay? Please?"

Her eyes were wide and pleading. How could he refuse that? He nodded and waited for her to finish what she was doing.

******

The two blonde mates walked through the forest in silence. One couldn't talk much and the other wasn't sure what to say. So on they walked.

It didn't stay that way for long because Spike had ulterior motives, having asked her to come with him for a reason. As they rounded a tree, he turned her towards him and pressed her back into the trunk. Her eyes flew wide, watching his mouth descend on hers for a hungry kiss.

Buffy's hand fell to his chest but she couldn't seem to find the strength to push him away. Instead, her mouth opened to let his tongue invade, then dance with her own. Fire spread from her mouth down to the bottom of her toes, melting her into a puddle of mush. She wasn't the only one affected, as attested to by the hard prodding in her belly.

A brief moment of feeling bereft washed over her when he pulled away. He was looking into her eyes, though, his own too knowing for someone caught in an animalistic state. He opened his mouth, and then paused, looking frustrated when he couldn’t form the words to express what he clearly wanted to say.

Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, Spike slid his hand down to cup her mound through her jeans. Buffy’s eyes widened again at that and she tried to squirm away, but stopped when his long fingers began stroking her. She couldn’t help the moan that tumbled from her lips. Nor could she help moving her hips against his hand needily.

“We...shouldn’t...” she began to protest, but his mouth quickly silenced hers with another toe-curling kiss.

She didn’t know how, but the next thing she knew he had them lying on the ground among the grass and leaves. He hadn’t even broken the kiss. It was almost scary how much power he seemed to wield over her with just a few simple touches. The claim had to be the culprit, because the alternative was still tucked away in the box marked Egypt.

The thin material of Spike’s boxers left little to the imagination as he rubbed against her. Her hand started skimming over the rippling muscles of his back, exploring every inch she could reach. Buffy needed to know her mate. All of him. The feeling was mutual with Tarzan tugging futilely at the closure of her jeans and giving a discouraged growl.

For some reason that she wasn’t entirely ready to name, Buffy found herself removing her pants for him; then, without prompting, she broke the kiss to lift her shirt over her head. That was as far as she went, lying there in her matching panties and bra and biting her bottom lip in the sexiest way.

“Mate very pretty,” Spike said, reaching for her again, as if he could sense her need for reassurance.

Well, he probably can through the claim, she thought wryly. I wish I could sense his thoughts, though, because it would make communicating so much easier. That probably wouldn’t happen until he’s back to himself and by then it won’t matter since he’ll be able to talk right again.

Cool lips skimmed over her abdomen and lower, causing her breath to catch. Her muscles were taut with anticipation. They jumped when he nibbled at the skin along her waistband then caught the fabric in his teeth to tear it away roughly. She yelped and her hands started to cover herself shyly.

“No,” he admonished and laced his fingers with hers so that he could pin her hands to the ground.

While holding her hands, he dipped his head between her thighs. He inhaled deeply, relishing her scent laced with a heavy dose of arousal. Then he ran his tongue over her pussy lips in a long, slow stroke. His hands tightened on hers when she started to squirm.

“Ssss-” Buffy had to clench her teeth to keep herself from saying his name, not wanting him to stop as he had done the last time.

His tongue was getting bolder, prodding at her opening and eliciting mewls from his mate that went straight to his groin. The taste of her juices, the scent of her arousal, the sound of her mewling, and the sweet feel of her flesh all combined to give him sensory overload. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Her hips were bucking against his face as she soon reached her first orgasm. She cried out at this new sensation, idly wondering why her brief encounter with Angel hadn’t been nearly this good. A growl warned her that Spike didn’t like her thinking about his Grand-Sire while they were getting intimate, and her attention turned back to him as he covered her body with his own, the boxers having disappeared while she was otherwise distracted.

“S-Tarzan,” she said softly, meeting his eyes. “Can you...I mean, not that I have a problem with it...but can you go back to your human face while we...please?”

Spike looked away then back at her, giving a soft smile of understanding and slowly letting his demonic features melt away. His lips brushed against hers and he opened up the claim enough to let her feel how much he wanted to protect her and take care of her. Also, it showed her how much he wanted and needed her, wanted for her to want and need him as well.

“It’s just, this is our first time and I want to see you, not the demon, even if I know it’s a part of you,” she told him. “And, I’ve only ever really been with one other man, and it wasn’t the same. At the time I thought it was making love like I’ve always heard of, and I guess it will always be special as my first time, but this will be much more special. Do I make sense?”

The small chuckle he gave disconcerted Buffy and she lost her nerve a bit. His hands were framing her face when she would have turned her face away, keeping her gaze on his.

“Tarzan no want push mate.” The words were simple and got the point across, making her eyes widen in wonder.

A smile broke out on her face, lighting her up completely with a radiance to rival the sun. Their mouths crashed together again and when they broke apart she gasped for air.

“I...I can do this,” she said, not sure if it was to him or herself. “You’re not pushing me. I want this. Just...please...not too rough?”

A nod and then he was kissing her again. Something rather hard was prodding at her core, begging for entrance. When she would have looked like a curious child, his hands kept her head in place so she couldn’t break the kiss. One hand left her jaw to travel down her pussy, running a finger along her swollen folds then flicking her clit to bring a gasp to her lips that he swallowed in his kiss. He coated himself in her fluids then pressed into her, allowing his head to enter her then stopping again.

The kiss broke again so that he could meet her eyes, wanting to see her face and the expressions that she made as he entered her. He pushed in little by little, stopping when he was completely inside to give her time to adjust. His mouth found her pulse, nibbling with blunt teeth at her pulse—so near his mark, but not quite touching it.

They moved together, slowly at first but picking up pace as the pleasure built. His fingers gripped her hips, urging her to move with him. At the same time, he was forcing himself not to go at her as hard as he would like, a part of him wanting to keep reminding himself that she was little more than a virgin.

The claim flowed between them, sending wave after wave of pleasure back and forth. It had Buffy tossing her head from side to side, moaning loudly while her hands scrabbled at Spike’s back. Then his hips moved to hit her at a different angle. She yowled as her nails dug into his shoulders.

His mouth found her throat again, worrying at her skin. He felt how close they both were. They needed something to push them over the edge. The vampire mask slid back into place moments before his fangs struck, eliciting a scream from her as she climaxed. Her cry of pleasure along with her delicious blood had him surging into her while he drank.

Sealing the bite closed with a couple licks, Spike rolled off her and they lay side by side recovering from the encounter. Both were breathing heavily, that being the only sound in the dark now.

It seemed like forever they were like that, but eventually Buffy gave a little shiver as the chill of the night got to her. He immediately turned back towards her, pulling her close carefully so as not to hurt her still-healing arm. His heart melted when she actually snuggled against him as if he could give her much warmth.

“Kitten, we need to get you back inside before you catch a cold,” he said in his thickly accented baritone. “Not that I would mind takin’ care of my mate.”

Her eyes shot up to his in shock at hearing that voice again. “Spike?”

She sat up and inched away from him apprehensively. This wasn’t her adorably sweet Tarzan; this was the slayer of slayers again.

“Who else were you expectin’?” He crawled after her, prowling like a large cat.

Her face scrunched up as she said dumbly, “Tarzan.”

Another foot back.

“Yeah, I suppose you were.” He chuckled and moved forward as she moved back. “An’ just so you know, luv, you are payin’ for that one.”

“Not my fault you’re kinda dense.” She pouted.

“Look at that lip. Goin’ to get it.” He closed the last of the distance to get to her, scooping her up into his arms.

He was kissing her again. Between the kiss and her thoughts, she didn’t notice when he started carrying her back towards the mansion.

Buffy started to see that maybe her fears were unfounded. He didn’t seem upset at being stuck mated to her. In fact, he strangely seemed the same as Tarzan but with a better vocabulary. What was up with that? Shouldn’t he have some problem with this whole situation? He was an evil, soulless vampire for crying out loud. William the Bloody. A killer.

That was her other problem. Tarzan had been more than willing to refrain from killing even before Willow started bringing by bagged blood. Would Spike be just as willing to bag it for her? Or would he just do as he wanted, not letting the claim stop him from being the Big Bad.

The kiss ended abruptly as she found herself dumped onto a couch and her mate pacing away from her. Damn claim...

“Spike, I...I’m sorry. This has been so hard for me. It’s so weird,” she tried to explain, not wanting him mad at her after what they had just shared in the forest.

He spun around to look at her with a definite glare. “Oh, an’ you think this has been a walk in the bloody park for me?”

“Well...no.”

“I lost my sire, the previous love of my un-life. I went feral an’ felt like a prisoner in my own mind while you treated me like your soddin’ pet.” He came closer to hold a finger under her nose. “I’ve been in your head, too, an’ you know it. You’re right you got a bit of payback comin’ your way for your antics, but nothin’ that would keep me from wantin’ to continue bein’ your mate.”

“That’s not all that I was afraid of,” she said in a small voice. “You...you hated me and wanted to kill me. I’m responsible for Drusilla’s death and now you’re...you’re stuck with me.”

His chuckle made her frown. This was not a joke.

“Were you too far gone to notice that I was the one that did the dustin’? I did it to save you, so I suppose some part of me already knew you were the one.” His face softened. “Maybe I would have done it differently if I had been myself, but I don’t regret claimin’ you before another blighter came along.”

She opened her mouth, shaking her head. He cut her off before she could say another word.

“I don’t know exactly what I feel for you,” he said. “It may be love. It may grow into love. I don’t expect you to love me. Regardless, we’re mated an’ we want to be together, so we’ll work it out. I’m not goin’ to go on some killin’ spree an’ there are other things to discuss about our situation, but we’ll find a way to do it, yeah?”

“Okay.” She gave him a tentative smile.

Spike looked around, taking in the mansion they were in. “The first thing I’m goin’ to do is get us a proper place. I don’t like it here—not with everythin’ that’s happened here—an’ now that I’m myself, we don’t have to stay here anymore.”

“How are you going to get us anything better?”

“I do have money, Slayer.” He gave her a mock offended look, and then gifted her with his patented smirk. “An’ I intend on usin’ it to spoil my mate with anythin’ she wants.”

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 7

AN: The plot bunnies keep breeding!! Hehe. I hope that’s a good thing. Thank you to Patti and Ruth for betaing.



******



When Willow arrived the next day, Spike’s absence was immediately apparent since there was no half-naked vampire hanging all over Buffy. Her brows furrowed together as she dropped the bags onto the coffee table. If it was something bad, Buffy would have come to get her. She was pretty sure of that.

“Is he still asleep?” Willow finally asked as she handed over the tacos she had brought.

“No,” Buffy said, hoping Willow wouldn’t wig out over the news. She still didn’t want the others to know and a freaked out Willow was likely to go running to Giles. “He’s out. He said he had some things to do, and I think I know what he’s doing.”

“You let him run around free in his state?” Willow’s brows disappeared into her hairline.

“Well...that’s the thing, Will. He’s not in that state anymore.” When Willow paled, Buffy quickly sat forward to grasp her friend’s hands. “No, wait. Please don’t flip out on me before I explain.”

A deep breath and then Willow nodded. “Okay, so he’s back to his normal self then?”

“Yeah, he is. Last night, he bit me and I guess that dose of my blood was enough to finally heal him. He promised me he’s not going to go back to being that killer he was.”

“And you still trust him?” Willow looked at her with a mixture of doubt and concern. “I took your word before...but I’m not sure if I can just be okay with it now.”

“I guess I should come clean about something then,” Buffy said, biting her lip. “I didn’t tell you before because I wasn’t sure you could handle it. I’m hoping telling you will be the proof you need to trust me that he’s not going to be a problem. While he was feral, Spike claimed me; and so, he wouldn’t do that because he knows it would hurt me and he doesn’t want to hurt me because...I’m his mate.” Wringing her hands, she kept her eyes down as she waited for the condemnation.

“Ohhh lordy...”

The redhead surprised her with the high-pitched response. Buffy wasn’t expecting that and her eyes darted to her friend again with furrowed brows. She walked over to stand in front of her.

“Willow, what is it? There’s something you’re not telling me too, isn’t there? That wasn’t really the reaction I was expecting.” She crossed her arms and gave the Slayer look.

“I started doing some research on my own after I first found out you were still alive,” Willow started to explain in a rush. “I mean, hoping to help by seeing if there was something to help Spike. I kind of figured out myself that your blood helped him and that got me curious about Slayers.” She started babbling even more. “I don’t know why I didn’t think to look into it before, since it would have been really helpful. I read some really weird things, though. The weirdest being this whole prophecy that freaked me out so much I wasn’t going to say anything. I didn’t even think it was possible until you told me...told me you were mated.”

Buffy stood there blinking, taking in the long ramble and letting it sink in before she could reply. “There was a prophecy that had to do with me being mated to Spike?”

“More like a myth about a vampire and a slayer getting it on.” Willow was blushing deeply at having to be that blunt. “Well, more like them having a child, but that would entail the whole ‘getting it on’ thing obviously.”

“That’s not going to happen.” An incredulous Slayer shook her head upon hearing such a farfetched prophecy.

“So, you haven’t been boinking Spike?”

A choked sound came from the blonde as her eyes got wide. “Once! As in the singular! And anyway, vampires can’t get people pregnant just because a prophecy says so!”

“Still, maybe you should tell him, so that he knows he might become a daddy.” Willow laid a hand on her arm, trying to get her to calm down. “I didn’t mean to let you know like that. I’m sorry. I was going to look into it more first.”

“No, I’m glad you told me.” She gave the other girl a smile. “Still, it could mean someone else. I’m probably not the only slayer to get involved with a vampire. It has to be somewhat common, ‘cause come on, I’ve already been with two!”

Willow decided to let her friend stay in denial for now, since it would be hard to remain there when she was several months along with a rather large tummy. Buffy might try to insist she was just getting fat, but it would be a futile attempt. Or, they could get lucky and Buffy could actually be right about it meaning someone else.

Fat chance.

“So...you’re not telling him then?” Willow asked.

“Not until we’ve done more digging into this.” Buffy nodded. “You said you were doing more research on this, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So what’re you birds gossipin’ about?” Both girls jumped at the sound of his voice, even though one of them was supposed to have an early warning system. “Cute boys?”

Spike sauntered over to Buffy and slid his arm around her. She gave him a smile while wondering how much he might have overhead before he interrupted. He had only just reassured her that he was okay with the whole claim thing; she didn’t want to see how he might react to the idea of a baby that might not even happen.

“Nope, just you,” she said cheekily, yelping when he swatted her behind. “Hey, you don’t want to undo all the work I did in convincing Willow that you’re my harmless mate.”

He growled. “I’m far from harmless, Slayer.”

Willow let out an ‘eep’ and took a step back while Buffy groaned, running a hand over her face.

“Do you want her to stake you?” Buffy shot him a dirty look.

“Look, Red,” Spike said as he slowly tore his dark gaze from his mate to look towards the other girl, “I wouldn’t do anythin’ to harm my mate or upset her, such as killin’ anyone. Also, I’d protect anythin’ she held dear—like you. Basically, we’re married—which you probably know—so, like any good husband, I intend to provide for my wife. You’re welcome in our home anytime, once we find it.”

Both girls were looking at him as if he sprouted a second head.

“If you think I’m playing the happy little wife, you’ve got another thing coming, bub,” Buffy muttered under her breath, so that only he caught it.

“You two are looking for a home? As in...a house or something?” Willow questioned before Spike could call Buffy on her comment. “How are you going to pay for that? I doubt Angel left that much money in his underwear drawer.”

“Oi! Not you, too!” He spun to look at the confused girl. “I got money. I was just off seein’ about gettin’ it transferred to a bank here in Sunnydale, I was. I also went an’ talked to someone about real estate. Got us a list here of houses we can check out tonight to see if Buffy fancies any of them.”

Buffy arched a brow and grabbed the paper from his hand as soon as he removed it from his pocket. After looking at the list, she lifted still skeptical eyes to him.

“These are from the upscale side of town. You can’t honestly be thinking of buying that pricey of a house and what would we need with a big house for just me and you anyway?” She put her hands on her hips. “You won’t even be using the top half of the house since you’ll be staying in the basement away from the evil sunlight.”

“I’m sure Red’ll be stayin’ over now an’ again for your girly nights. We can also turn one room into a trainin’ room for you an’ use another one for storin’ books an’ other helpful stuff for fightin’ the good fight.” He stepped closer to take the list back, tilting his head forward to look at her from under his brows. “An’ it would be good to keep us away from parts of town frequented by that watcher of yours an’ the whelp, don’t you think? As much as I want to rip their bloody throats out for abandonin’ you, I’ll let you deal with it how you want; but, I figure you don’t want them findin’ out about you until you’re good an’ ready.”

“That was really...thoughtful of you.” Her expression softened and she nearly forgot Willow was there as she leaned into him.

A pointed cough broke up the moment.

“Newlyweds,” Willow quipped with a roll of her eyes. Then she looked at her watch and jumped, “Oh my, I nearly lost track of time and I got distracted from my news by...well, your news.”

“You have news?” Buffy tilted her head. “Spill.”

“I really don’t know how you’re going to take this, but here goes. Giles got a call and they’re sending another slayer—the girl who was called after Kendra died. She’s arriving today and I’m supposed to go with Giles and Xander to pick her up at the bus station. Her name is Faith.”

For a moment, Buffy’s face dropped to the floor as she absorbed the news. Spike moved to put an arm around her and she shifted away, grabbing for the list of houses again.

“Well, I guess that means I’m off the hook for the slaying deal now. That’s good. I was worried, what with me being out of commission because of my arm and taking care of Spike.” She turned away from them then turned back with an overly cheery smile. “You better get going then, Will, before they suspect something; and we’ll go check out these houses.”

Willow opened her mouth to say something, her brows drawn together, but Spike gave her a quick shake of the head. So instead, she nodded and gave Buffy a hug before leaving.

******

“So, you want to tell me what’s wrong, pet?” Spike finally asked a few blocks from the mansion, glancing sidelong at her.

“Nothing,” Buffy replied, looking down at the paper in her hand again as they turned onto a new street. “I’m just eager to see these houses.”

He narrowed his eyes, studying her for a moment before deciding to let it go for the time being. There was no need to start a fight right then, because she would do just that only to avoid facing whatever her problem was. It was standard Buffy operating procedure. He could delve into her mind using the claim to get the truth, but little good that would do him if she refused to open up and talk about it. He growled softly, frustrated with his inability to make it all better.

It wouldn’t help their tenuous new relationship if he pressed her to open up to him, causing her to run away as she was prone to do in such situations. All he could do was make it clear that he was there for her and eager to help. Eventually, she had to get the picture and begin trusting him.

“There’s the first one,” Buffy said, breaking him out of his thoughts. She pointed across the street, then tilted her head. “Not bad, really. I’m still not sure about this big house thing, though.”

“Well, let’s check out the inside before we shove off to the next one.” He took her hand and led her towards the driveway. “Now, these houses are at least partially furnished. I figured to ask about that, since we obviously only have what’s in the mansion an’ it’d be nice to have better stuff than that dusty, rat-chewed garbage.”

“Especially with all the bad memories, right?” She gave him a small, knowing smile.

“Right.”

******

Two hours later, the two mates were standing in the living room of a two story house that had struck their fancy. It had a wrap around porch, a large basement, and a swimming pool in the back. The furnishings were done in dark shades and not cluttered. It was almost...perfect.

Spike tore up the list and tossed the bits in the air like confetti. “Looks like we’ve found home, luv.”

“Home,” Buffy echoed in wonder, still taking it all in. She turned around, inspecting everything again before facing him once more. “You sure you can afford this? I don’t want you to do this because you think it’s what I want or something.”

“Do I need to show you my bank statement before you believe me?” He stepped up close to her with a smirk. “An’ for the millionth time, I’m doin’ this because I take care of what’s mine.”

Her chin hitched up defiantly. “I don’t belong to you.”

“You do,” he countered, snaking an arm around her while his mouth brushed against hers enticingly. “Just as I belong to you.”

“And what if I don’t want you, huh?” Her bottom lip poked out.

“Mmm, that lip.” His teeth latched onto the piece of tantalizing flesh and gave a tug before soothing the bite with his tongue. His lips moved to her ear and he murmured, “How about we christen our new home?”

“Spike!” she gasped, slapping his chest.

Undeterred, Spike backed her into the wall while kissing down her neck. His hands slid under her shirt to skim over her rapidly heating skin while his teeth found his mark. The scent of her arousal permeated the air and made his aching cock even harder.

“We can’t...do this here,” she continued to protest, eyes closing of their own accord.

“Oh yes we can. Not to mention, you got a bit of payback comin’ your way, if I remember correctly.” He gave her a smoldering look with his tongue curled behind his teeth. “An’ I’m about to start cashin’ in.”

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 8

AN: Why are you all so sure that Willow is going to let the cat out of the bag? You have so little faith in her? *puppy dog eyes* And WHYYYYY were you all so disappointed that I spared you my bad smut? Huh? Did you need something to read and laugh at THAT badly? Lol

Thank you to Patti and Ruth for betaing. Also, thank you Zoe and DoS for giving it a read over to soothe the muses.

And my penname has changed to something more original. If you didn’t already know, I’m now Blood Faerie.



******



The bed creaked as Spike rolled over and pulled Buffy close to him upon waking. He nuzzled her neck, inhaling deeply with a throaty purr of approval. She shifted and their eyes met, slow smiles forming. His hand rested on her stomach, tracing imaginary patterns.

“Mornin’, kitten,” he said softly, brushing a kiss over her jaw.

She blessed him with a bright smile. “Well, night actually.”

“Of course.” He peered into her eyes with a concerned look. “How’s the arm doin’?”

“It’s healing and I don’t know how I’d survive without the whole slayer thing. Even sped up healing is too long to wait.” She poked out her bottom lip.

He continued to stroke her tummy thoughtfully before speaking again. “Now, pet, don’t get upset with me for suggestin’ it, but I think you should go see your mum. Let her know you’re alive. You need more support than just Willow—an’ me, obviously.”

“She won’t want to see me,” she said sullenly, her smile disappearing quickly.

“She will. Parents an’ kids say stuff they don’t mean all the time when they’re fightin’. She’s still your mum an’ she still loves you. It has to be killin’ her to think that you’re dead.”

Her lip quivered. “What if she tells the others?”

“Bugger them!” He nearly spat with sudden rage at the thought of her supposed friends. “They didn’t care enough to make sure you were alright after the fight an’ they have no say in how you live your life. If they try anythin’, I’ll rip their bloody limbs off an’ beat them with the things.”

“I just...don’t know...” She worried her bottom lip, glancing down where his hand lay on her abdomen still.

“I’ll come with you, you know. I’ll be there for support—if you want me.” His head dipped to recapture her gaze.

“Because, of course I have to show off my new vampire husband with the blindingly white hair,” she finally joked, wrinkling her nose at him. “Oh, she’s going to just love you.”

His lips curled in a cocky smirk. “All the ladies do.”

Buffy smacked him on the chest then rolled over to throw her legs over the side of the bed. Rising to her feet, she let the blanket slide off her body and once her bottom was revealed she gave a teasing little shake. The movement got the expected response and she darted for the safety of the bathroom before her mate could catch her.

Boinking Spike was so counterproductive to getting clean and dressed.

******

Outside 1630 Revello Drive, Buffy stood rooted to the spot, staring up at the house wide eyed. What if her mother didn’t want to see her? Spike laid a hand on her back and she leaned into him, seeking the support and comfort that he offered. She would never have been able to do this without him.

“Come on, pet. The sooner we get this over with, the better,” he said softly into her ear then started pulling her up the front steps. “I just hope she doesn’t assume I’m the one that broke your arm. That woman swings a mean axe.”

“I can’t believe I was ever scared of you,” Buffy muttered as she followed him and when he smirked at her over his shoulder, she added, “Wait...I was never scared of you...like ever.”

“You wound.” He put his free hand over his heart and gave a mock pout.

Both turned away with a bit of eye-rolling to face the door, neither making a move to knock. They stood there for a few moments before Spike made an impatient noise and used their joined hands to knock then hold her to him when she would have stepped back. His eyes snapped to the door in confusion a second before it opened.

It wasn’t Joyce standing there, but a buxom brunette about Buffy’s age. The girl’s eyes went straight past Buffy to narrow in on Spike before she raised her hand to reveal a stake.

“Hey hey! There will be no staking of my mate! And where’s my mom?” Buffy’s eyes were large as she stepped in front of Spike.

“Mate?” The girl’s brow went up; then she shook her head. “And Joyce’s daughter is dead.”

“I am not.” Buffy started to push past this interloper. “Mom!”

Before a fight could break out in the doorway, a soft cry from the stairs brought them all to a halt. Buffy rushed up to help her mom as the older woman collapsed against the banister. The brunette hovered nearby uncomfortably while Spike kept a wary eye on her.

“Th-they said you were...” Joyce had to stop, choking back a pained sound. Her hands came up to cradle her baby’s face. “Are you...one of them now?”

“No, and the others are idiots. They didn’t even come look for me,” Buffy said scornfully. She lifted her bandaged arm. “I was hurt and I stayed to help Spike, who was totally in crazy land. He...he saved me, Mom, and I couldn’t just return the favour by leaving him like that. Not to mention, who knows what he might have done while all with the uber growly.”

“You still couldn’t tell me? Send word to me?”

Buffy bit her lip and glanced to Spike for support. “I didn’t think you...I mean, not after how I left. You said-“

“To hell with what I said!” Both girls looked at Joyce in shock over her outburst, but the woman didn’t notice as she continued. “You’re my daughter, my baby girl! I love you, and thinking that I lost you hurt worse than anything else ever could.”

A smile broke out on Buffy’s face only to quickly be replaced by a pout. “Didn’t take you long to replace me, though.”

“Oh, honey, that’s Faith,” Joyce said as if that explained it all, and then she shook her head. “Giles is in no condition to be taking care of a young woman. Maybe it did help me feel a bit better to take her in, I will admit that, but she needed someone. She still does. I won’t ask you to be friends, but you can at least show her around the....uh, workplace better than the others.”

The girls eyed each other, sizing each other up. Each somewhat resentful of not being quite as special as they had thought.

Faith furrowed her brows then glanced at Spike out of the corner of her eye, lifting a finger towards him.

“First, explain the mate thing, and I might consider trusting you...for Joyce’s sake.”

“I wanted to find a better way to break this to my mom, but okay.” Buffy’s jaw worked then she turned back to her mom. “While I was taking care of Spike, he bit me and claimed me. It was...not exactly planned, because like I said...mayor of Crazy Town. It was some sort of dominance thing—but we’re okay with it now. We talked it out because it can’t be undone, so we figure we’re making the best of it.”

Over the link, Buffy hurriedly added the best she could, //I can’t tell her that we like the arrangement or that we consummated it all over the place. She wouldn’t be able to understand it right now, I think, especially with all we’re throwing at her. We can eventually let on about wanting things this way. So please, please, please don’t take what I’m telling her the wrong way.//

Spike didn’t reply, but winked at her so she knew he wasn’t upset with her version of events. Instead, he stepped forward to extend his hand to his new mother-in-law. How could he, of all people, be mad at her for wanting to take care of her mother? It also went a long way that she was worried about his feelings.

“My name’s William an’ I intend on doin’ right by your girl or I know you’ll be back with that axe, yeah?” He gave Joyce a boyish grin and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

“And a few other things,” she responded with a raised brow and a wicked glint in her eye. She took his hand, giving it a squeeze before releasing it.

“Okay then!” Buffy clasped her hands together. “We’re all good now?”

“Not sure,” Faith said as she continued to eye Spike. “So this mate thing, it’s going to keep him from murdering the innocent?”

“It has so far, hasn’t it?” Buffy returned with her arms crossed. “I’m still the—well, a slayer and I’m not going to give him a free pass just because I wear his mark. He knows this. No matter what some others might have told you, I’m not just vamp bait. The whole Angelus thing...not all my fault since, hello, I didn’t know sleeping with him would do that and afterwards...” She shook her head and pressed her lips tightly. “Not going to happen again. I’m not so stupid and naïve anymore.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Joyce said, putting her arms around Buffy and giving Faith a pointed look. “Now, I was just about to make dinner. Have you eaten yet?”

“No, but I mean, Spike...”

“What’re we havin’?” Spike asked eagerly. He’d been putting up with only blood and fast food for over a month.

======

A couple hours later, Spike and Buffy slipped out of the house with stomachs full of omelets and French toast. Buffy turned back to give her mom a hug, whispering in her ear the address of their new home.

“Feel free to come by and visit,” she said to Joyce as she stepped back. “And if money gets tight again, don’t hesitate to ask me to wheedle it out of Spike. What else does a vampire need it for?”

The women shared a laugh at Spike’s mock annoyance.

Faith stood off to the side, having said little during dinner and apparently not about to join in now either. Buffy turned to her anyway and extended a hand.

“I left my number on the board on the fridge, so call me when you want to do the grand tour thing or when you can get away from Giles enough to do some training once my arm is better.” Buffy looked down at her arm. “Shouldn’t be much longer, slayer healing counting for something at least.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Faith replied a bit distractedly and gave Buffy’s hand a brief shake. As she headed for the stairs, she said over her shoulder, “Maybe we can do the show around tomorrow night.”

“Sure thing,” Buffy answered and turned to Spike. “We should get going now, but oh—one last thing.”

She went back over to her mom and whispered quietly to her. “Willow knows and does some errand type stuff for us. So if you need to send us something, she’s your Pony Express. I guess the others are going to find out now...and probably not be very happy, but I’m glad you and Willow are being supportive. I needed that—we needed that.”

Joyce hugged her tight. “All a mother wants for her child is for them to be safe and happy.”

“Oh, and could you not tell Faith that Willow knew?” Buffy asked worriedly. “I...I don’t want her telling the others and getting Willow into trouble with them.”

“No problem, honey.”

With a few more promises and thanks passed between them, Buffy and Spike finally left Joyce’s company so they could get back to their own home. They made it across the street and down a few houses before stopping, turning towards each other.

“See, that wasn’t at all as bad as you had imagined, yeah?” Spike murmured, smoothing hair back from Buffy’s face. “You did well, pet.”

“I hate it when you’re right...hopefully it won’t be often.” She poked out her bottom lip then sighed. “And, I don’t know what to make of Faith. It’s weird having another slayer around—again. She’s nothing like Kendra, though.”

“Could be a good thing, seein’ as you an’ the other bint didn’t really get on that well. What with her bein’ an uptight twat.” He ignored her disapproving look. “This Faith bird seems a bit more of her own person, like you—not likely to let the Council turn her into some mindless robot.”

“We’ll see how that goes...”

“Speak of the devil,” Spike hissed as he squeezed her hand suddenly, pulling her back into the shadows of a large tree. “I got ten bucks that says I know where she’s runnin’ off to, I do. I doubt it’s to get you a weddin’ gift.”

“So now’s the moment of truth.” Buffy watched Faith run down the street for a moment before looking up at her mate. “We see how they take the news of me not being as dead as they thought and that I apparently still prefer the company of the walking dead.”

“Oi, no more comparin’ me to that wanker.”

“I only gave Faith my number, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to use it to get our address...or find some other way of tracking us down. We need to be ready for them sooner rather than later.” Her face scrunched up in contemplation and Spike swore he saw the wheels moving in her head. “Should we...put up some sort of...protection on the house?”

“As much as I hope for the best, we might do well to get some protection charms on the way home,” he told her thoughtfully.

There was only one shop in town where Spike knew that they could get stuff of the magical persuasion, but it was always well stocked, and he doubted it would be any trouble getting the needed supplies. He tugged her in the direction of the Magic Box so that they could be done quickly. He wasn’t sure how much time they would have or how long it would take to set everything up and he wanted to be ready. He really did hope they wouldn’t need any of the charms, but taking risks with Buffy’s safety and happiness was out of the question.

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 9

AN: I got a something, my first something! I got a Judge’s Choice at LSA for this story! Thank you to whoever all made that possible. And also, as always, many thanks to Ruth and Patti for betaing this.



******


The house was now magically protected and the young couple was letting out a small sigh of relief that they were able to install the charms before anyone showed up. That didn’t keep them from feeling a healthy amount of apprehension when a knock finally sounded at their door, presumably from their expected guests.

Buffy went to get it, shooing Spike back with her good arm when he would have hovered over her. “Hello, Faith told them about you but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be ready to deal with you right away.”

Not that it got him to move back very far, but at least he wasn’t stuck to her side. She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to the door, opening it slowly as if she expected them to spring forward instantly.

Except, it was only Willow standing there.

“Willow...” Buffy tilted her head slightly. “Not that I’m not kinda happy to see you sans the mob, but...well...I sort of expected it after we saw Faith run off.”

“Yeah, she did show up at Giles’ place to report what happened at your house. I was just there helping him go through some new books he ordered.” Willow glanced past her to Spike. “Be glad Xander wasn’t there, because I’m sure he’ll take it worse than Giles.”

“Giles is mad that I’m alive?”

“More like...mad that you let him think you were dead and didn’t come to him right away,” the redhead corrected with a sigh. “After that, he went into research mode about the fact that you seem too drawn to the vampire element, along with getting himself a nice big glass of alcohol. I told him I had family stuff to do tomorrow and left...I think Faith went to share with Xander.”

“He thinks there’s something wrong with me because I’m with Spike...didn’t Faith tell him everything?” Buffy looked from Willow to Spike worriedly.

“Oh, she did. It’s not like you think; she didn’t seem to be trying to start an anti-Buffy club. In fact, she tried to distract him from the books when he started with the researching. He just seems to have formed his own conclusions...and I think he was of the mind that, even if Spike was in a bad way, you should have used that to stake him.” Willow gave Spike an apologetic shrug. “I mean, after Angelus...can you blame him? To him, nursing a vampire back to health just means giving them another chance to murder someone later. He doesn’t see the whole devoted-to-Buffy thing.”

“Yeah, I so had him under my thumb,” Buffy said sarcastically. “What with the running around naked.”

The other girl blushed slightly and shook her head. “Um, well, yeah...anyway. I just came to tell you that, and that I won’t tell them where you live, unless you want me to. Xander might try something, though.”

“We know, luv,” Spike told her and motioned around them. “We picked up some protective mojo on the way home. It should be fine if they find us.”

“What if they catch you away from the house?”

“Won’t let her out of the house,” he said gruffly.

Buffy elbowed him and turned back to her friend. “I can defend myself; I’m still the slayer. Though, Spike demanded rather nastily that the warlock running the magic shop fix my arm. The upside is that we might never have to pay for anything again since the guy is now permanently scared of us.”

“Next time I need something, I’ll have you get it then,” Willow joked, then shook her head. “I need to go. Should I bring by dinner tomorrow if you’re camping out here for the time being? I can bring movies and we can have one of our old movie nights.”

“Sure...and invite Faith since she seems to be trying at this sister slayer thing, if what you said is true about earlier,” Buffy said with a small smile. “My mom will be glad we’re getting along.”

As soon as Willow was gone, Buffy faced Spike with her back leaning against the door. She lowered her face slightly and looked up at him through her lashes almost coyly, except she needed to talk seriously with him.

“You know you can’t keep me locked in the house, right?” A chuckle left her lips and she shook her head before continuing. “I mean, I’m the slayer—a slayer—and that means I have to go do the dangerous stuff. True, I’d be hurt if you weren’t concerned at all, but the best you can do is watch out for me and then nurse me back to health when I do get hurt—and I will, a lot, probably.”

“I bloody well know all that, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Especially once...” he trailed off realizing he had almost said too much.

“Once what?” She stepped away from the door and closed in on him. “I’ve gotten better at reading this claim thing since you got back to normal. Your feral state was the only thing keeping me from being able to use it before. So I know there’s something more to that. Tell me.”

“I heard you an’ Red the other day...talkin’ about the prophecy.”

Her eyes widened and she backed away. “You know...? That’s why you pushed me to see my mom, isn’t it? And you were protective before...but now you’re going to be downright smothering, too. We don’t even know that this is for real! And...vampires can’t get people pregnant!”

“Pet...luv, I...I’m sorry. I was tryin’ to avoid just this sort of reaction!” He spread his arms wide. “I figured eventually you’d tell me yourself or get pregnant an’ the point would be moot.”

“I’m still a friggin’ teenager, you moron! Maybe I don’t want to be a teen mother!” She shook her head then clenched her jaw. “Which I guess means no more sleeping with the Big Bad, since that would be playing Russian Roulette with my eggs.”

“Now, luv...”

“Don’t you ‘Now, luv’ me, Mister!” She thumped his chest. “And anyway, do we really need to make things weirder while we’re still worrying about what to do about my so-called friends and the new slayer? I still have a broken arm, too.”

“In all fairness, your arm’s probably goin’ to be healed up by the time the baby’s born,” he told her and yelped when she thumped him again. “Oi! Stop abusin’ me; I didn’t write the stupid thing!”

“I just want to know in what universe are you the one okay with there being a baby and trying to nest?” Her hands went into the air. “Did the Hellmouth freeze over?”

“It’s just my experience with prophecies that they usually do come true, especially on the Hellmouth.” He ran a hand over his hair. “Is it so bad to have my child? An’ whether it’s true or not, isn’t it better to be prepared just in case?”

“Maybe.” Her bottom lip poked out, not liking that the recently Tarzan-y vampire was making sense. “And as for having your child, it’s more of the whole teen mother thing I’m not liking, okay? So no going off to brood on me.”

“I bloody well do not brood, Slayer.”

“You pout like a big baby, though...sometimes...” Her voice trailed off when he started backing her up. “You know you don’t scare me...right?”

“No, but I can still make you scream for me.”

Spike lunged for her and she darted away with a squeal, the vampire giving chase towards the stairs that led to the basement. At the bottom, he caught her around the waist and spun her in the air then carried her towards the bed. She tried to scramble away as soon as he set her down, but his hand snaked out to grab her ankle.

“I still don’t think I properly punished you for all the Tarzan jokes, pet,” he told her as he dragged her back towards him.

“I feel properly punished, though,” she said with an innocent grin.

“Too bad that’s not the way it works.”

He gave a resounding smack to her backside that garnered a loud yelp and a surprising rush of wetness between her thighs. She pouted at him over her shoulder and grabbed for a pillow to use as a weapon. He easily caught it when she slung it over her shoulder at him.

“Is this how you’re going to treat me when you get me knocked up? When I’m someone’s mother?”

He stilled, eyes glazing over at the image it presented. “Oh...lord, woman...if I do get you preggers, I don’t rightly think I’ll be able to keep my bloody hands off you.”

“Really?” She turned over and leaned back on her hands as she looked at him speculatively. “Even when I’m all fat and hormone-y?”

“Especially then,” he growled out and leaned over her to catch her mouth in a searing kiss. His hand trailed over her flat tummy as he sat back again, asking softly, “So does that mean you’re all right with this possible pregnancy after all?”

“I still don’t like the idea of being a teen mother, if that’s what you mean.” She sighed and looked up from under her lashes. “But...if some prophecy says I have to be pregnant, then I’m glad it’s with you.”

She blushed brightly at her admission. “I mean, I just wanted you to know that—what with all my protests about not wanting to get stretch marks because the Powers think it’s okay to mess with me...so you don’t think it’s personally against you.”

“You don’t know how glad I am to hear that,” he breathed out and attacked her mouth again.

In no time at all, he had divested her of her clothing, the undergarments becoming a victim to his rampant shredding tendencies. Her hands stilled his when he started struggling with his own jeans and he looked at her questioningly. She turned them so that he was lying on his back, sliding her hands over his straining erection in the most torturous of ways, all the way down to his feet so she could tug off his boots and socks.

As she unzipped him, she licked her suddenly dry lips, amazed that she was about to say what she was thinking.

“Um, I once read in one of my magazines...this article where it said that, you know, certain positions ensure different genders for the baby,” she said tentatively. Then she looked at him and added, “I...kinda always wanted a little girl. I mean, you know how girls imagine the whole family thing when they’re little.”

Spike captured her hands to still them when they went to remove his jeans. “I’d love to have myself a bitty-version of you.”

“I...I don’t remember what...what made a girl, though,” she confessed bashfully.

“Kitten, those ideas aren’t anythin’ new,” he said as he released her hands to finish her work of undressing him. “They had them back in my time, too, an’ I think I remember hearin’ which one made which.”

“Oh?” She bit her lip as she tossed away his jeans, still not quite realizing what a vision of sexiness she could be to him. “So where should I be for our girl-making? I mean, if we do make a baby, that is...it would be nice if it was a girl.”

His hand snaked out to grip her wrist and tug, bringing her down on her good side next to him. He rolled onto his side to face her and ran his hand over her thigh then cupped behind her knee to draw her leg up towards him.

“Right here,” he told her as he got himself positioned at her entrance. “Just rest your broken chicken wing on my side if that’s more comfortable, or I can prop a little pillow under it.”

“I’m fine,” she assured him in a breathy voice, anxious for him to continue.

It was amazing how wet she was and he hadn’t even done anything to her yet, just got her into position. His hand left her leg to delve at her cleft, circling her clit with deft fingers. She hooked her leg over his thigh and mewled in protest at him not being in her where she so desperately needed him.

With a nibbling kiss at her pulse, he complied and entered her swiftly. She gasped as molten fire shot through her at his combined actions. The claim flared to life and spurred on his movements, feeding the pleasure they both felt. The link was almost a tangible thing, a glowing chain binding them together as they bucked in a primal dance.

“Spike, Spike—bite me!”

Heedless of the pain it caused at that point, she scrabbled at his bicep with the hand of her broken arm. He sensed it over the bond and took hold of her upper arm to still her while he sucked at her pulse, raising a hickey that would mark her as his, yet again.

Once she had stilled again, his fangs sliced through her supple skin and her blood flowed freely into his mouth. He lapped up the precious essence with fervor, but careful not to take too much.

“Now cum for me, Slayer. Cum hard an’ scream right pretty for me.”

The deep rumbling of his voice reverberated through her and her body responded to his command. She let out a high keening wail as she fell into orgasmic bliss, with him following closely behind, finding her cries like a siren’s song. He continued to hold her tightly to him, long afterwards.

Eventually, she pushed at him weakly and took a long breath. “Do you...think we made a girl?”

All he could do was chuckle at her question and kiss her soundly.

******

Faith let out a low whistle as she followed Willow into the house the next evening. “Nice digs, B. I should get myself a vampire mate so I can have him buy me a big house, too.”

“Funny, real funny.” Buffy rolled her eyes, closing the door before leading them towards the living room. “And Willow told me how you acted yesterday, at Giles’ place. Thank you, it means a lot to me. So that’s why I figured I could return the favour by letting you become a part of movie night tradition.”

“That’s really cool of you.” The darker-haired slayer smiled and sat down on the couch. “I figured anyone who came out of Joyce deserved some amount of loyalty for her sake. And of course, who you sleep with is your business, and you if you love him, then it’s all good.”

“I got lots of Chinese food,” Willow interjected in a rush, a bit antsy at the turn in conversation. “Um, I’ll go get some sodas from the kitchen. Yes, I’ll be Soda Girl.”

She set down the bags on the coffee table then hurried to the kitchen with the two slayers watching in amusement. They shared a look before Buffy sat down next to Faith and inspected the movies in the Movie Gallery bag. There was a yelp and a crash from the kitchen seconds later that had them rushing to see if the little redhead was okay.

Spike was standing there looking guilty as they ran in with Willow clutching at the cabinet. Sodas were sprinkled all over the floor with a couple spouting little carbonated soda geysers into the air.

“I...snuck up on her,” was all the vampire had to say in his defense.

Buffy and Faith shared a look before bursting into uproarious laughter at the scene before them. This was just priceless.

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 10

AN: As always, I am very, very appreciative that Patti and Ruth take time to beta my chapters. Thank you, too, to people I made read it as I worked on it...the hazards of being one of my buddies, lol.



******


When Buffy woke up, Spike was nowhere to be seen. She frowned and threw on a robe before going in search of him. Upstairs, she still didn’t see him and was starting to get worried—or irritated.

The claim was relatively new to her, the speaking through it, at least.

//Spike? Where the hell are you?// she demanded. //What are you doing that is so important it has to be done during daylight?//

//I had somethin’ to get that I was hopin’ to return with before you woke up,// he quickly responded.

//And how are you not fried crispy, huh?//

//Sewers, luv.//

//Ew, you are so gonna stink...badly. Don’t expect any ‘welcome home’ kisses, buddy.//

//We’ll see.//

//Yeah. We’ll see,// she shot back; then went back downstairs to get dressed.

Buffy had just gotten her shirt over her head when the door slammed upstairs and made her jump. She straightened her jeans before hurrying to give the reckless vampire a piece of her mind, but stopped dead in her tracks in the front hall.

There was said vampire stomping on a smoking blanket. Bags emblazoned with the Pet’s Mart logo, and stuffed with items, dangled from his hands. Wait. They didn’t have a pet. The puzzlement was short lived as she spotted the leash trailing behind him, and suddenly a brown and white blur launched itself at her.

A Jack Russell terrier bounced around her legs yipping, and she couldn’t help forgetting her irritation as she bent to scoop it up.

“What the heck is up with this?” she asked, turning her head from the attacking tongue to look at Spike.

“Well...” He rubbed at the back of his neck bashfully, and nearly scuffed his foot like a school boy. It was so cute that she was smiling even harder, if that was possible. “I saw her the other night an’ thought about it. The house is kind of quiet an’...well, she could be sort of practice for parentin’...not that our baby is comparable to a dog, but some people do say...oh bugger.”

She simply said with the sweetest smile, “Thank you, Spike.”

Buffy took the dog to the kitchen, while he followed with the bags so he could set up the dog stuff there. She sat on a stool and held the dog in her arms, watching him as she scratched the pooch under the chin.

“Now, she—you said she, right?—she needs a name,” she began, looking down at the dog as if it would offer suggestions. “How about Jackie?”

“Are you goin’ stark nutters? That’s the best you could think of—namin’ a Jack Russell dog Jackie?” He peered at her incredulously.

“I like it and she does, too!” Buffy huffed and stood back up. “I named her after Jackie O; doesn’t she have that regal air about her?”

“Sure, whatever you say, luv,” he muttered and straightened after finishing with the dog’s things in the corner. “Now, how about we get you both somethin’ to eat, then after it gets dark we’ll take the prima donna for a walk.”

Jackie yipped at him and he had the sinking feeling that maybe he had picked the wrong dog—for his peace of mind, at least. The only hope he had at this point would be that the little squirt Buffy popped out would be on his side...with any luck. Too bad he always seemed to be in short supply of that.

“Aww, stop pouting.” The diminutive blonde leaned in to kiss him then turned to grab the phone after setting Jackie down. “Chinese or pizza?”

******

“I don’t mind taking the dog into the cemetery with us to do a bit of patrolling while we’re out...but we probably shouldn’t let her do her business in here,” Buffy said, wrinkling her nose. “That would be wrong.”

“They’re dead; what do they care?” Spike rolled his eyes at her then made a staking motion as he added, “An’ if they do care, then you’ve got more important worries.”

“It’s disrespectful. You’d think a former Victorian gentleman would get that. I thought you guys were all about uptight manners.”

“Oi, shut your gob!”

“You’re so touchy.” She made a face at him and tugged Jackie away from a crumbling headstone that she was sniffing around a bit too suspiciously for the Slayer’s tastes. “Are you going to yell at our kid like that?”

“I bloody well will if they deserve it.”

“Nice role model.”

“An’ you’re any better.”

Her eyes narrowed at him dangerously. “I would watch my mouth when talking to the person who could possibly withhold the boinking if she so chooses. Try having a child then with only your left hand.”

“I-“

“Please tell me I did not hear what I just heard.”

They were suddenly interrupted as Xander made his presence known with a great deal of disgust. Buffy looked at him with wide eyes and tugged Jackie close to her warily. Spike just remained where he was with arms crossed, keeping up his most menacing appearance.

“Xander...” Buffy began, but the angry boy cut her off.

“I guess you’re just some sort of fang whore. You’d rather spread your legs for vampires than do your duty, huh?” He spat out.

With a growl, Spike had him by the throat and was lifting him off the ground. “I would watch how you talk to my mate, whelp.”

“Yeah, Faith mentioned you had gone and done that,” Xander gasped out.

“Considering you never even cared to check if I was alive, I don’t think you get any say in what I do with my life.” Buffy crossed her arms and looked at him impassively. “And even then, being my friend doesn’t give you automatic control of my life. Spike—yeah, he’s a vampire, but he doesn’t have a soul to lose like Angel and he’s behaving himself quite nicely—because he loves me.”

“Why hunt when he has what he needs on tap?” The boy sneered boldly.

“Give me the word an’ I’ll make sure he can never say an offensive thing ever again,” Spike snarled to Buffy without taking his face out of Xander’s.

“No, because then you’ll be proving him right and I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.” She shook her head and moved to Spike’s side, laying a hand on his arm. “Let him go, please.”

The vampire dropped Xander brusquely to the ground and took a step back. Jackie immediately charged forward, barking madly and sinking her teeth into Xander’s forearm. He yowled in pain and shook the dog off before scrambling to his feet.

“Keep your hell beast away from me!” He jabbed a finger in Jackie’s direction.

“Yeah, that looks like a ‘hell beast’ to me.” Buffy rolled her eyes and tilted her head towards the small Jack Russell. “Maybe you should just get out of here, because I honestly have no idea what you’re doing wandering around cemeteries at night when you, better than most people in this town, know how dangerous that pastime is. Me and Faith are the slayers, and we do the patrolling.”

“Funny, because you don’t seem like much of a slayer to me anymore.” Xander cradled his barely injured arm.

“Then it’s a good thing that’s not up to you to decide. Now go, before I unleash the ‘hell beast’ again; and tell Giles the same thing I’m telling you—that you both need to prove you deserve to be in my life again after you conveniently forgot to come check on me after the battle. Spike was the one that cared enough to nurse me back to health, even when he was in a feral state. So let that compare with your idea of soulless vampires.”

She took Spike’s arm and turned him away from the glaring boy, effectively disregarding his presence. She said softly, “Let’s go, honey. Jackie’s getting cold.”

******

“So, you finally ran into him?” Willow confirmed, looking up from her drink.

Buffy nodded slowly and pushed her empty glass away. “Yup.”

The girls had met up at the Bronze with their significant others, who were off at the moment getting more drinks for them. Spike had also mentioned a blooming onion thing and some buffalo wings. That guy sure could put it away when he knew there was little chance of him packing on the pounds. It so wasn’t fair, really.

“I’m sorry,” Willow replied, then added, “For myself, too, because it’s going to be even wiggier if he continues to show up for meetings and stuff. At least, most of us are on your side if they try to continue this nonsense.”

“Thank you,” Buffy told her softly and looked up when Spike and Oz arrived back at the table. She eyed the soda handed to her. “I wish I could get something stronger...”

“Even if you were of age,” Spike began with a pointed look, “With the whole pregnancy thing up in the air, I’d rather you be careful.”

“If I get pregnant, are you going to put me in a bubble?” she taunted as she grabbed for a piece of onion.

“Don’t give me ideas.”

“He could wrap you in bubble wrap,” Oz suggested with his usual impassive air.

“He said don’t give him ideas.” Buffy waved a fried onion at him.

“I’m sure he’s going to be such a cute daddy!” Willow gushed. “Spoiling the kid and being totally soft on them!”

“Will not,” Spike huffed, offended that she would tarnish his manly and bad image in such a way.

“Will so,” Buffy countered.

Before he could argue further, she took his hand and tugged him out of his seat.

“I want to go dance; I haven’t in so long and definitely not with you, yet.” The slayer gave him her best sultry look and led him along like the willing slave he was.

On the dance floor, she turned to put her back to him and slide along his body in a way that had him panting by the time she made it back up. His hands took her hips and jerked her firmly against him, leaving little to the imagination—as if she hadn’t been going for just that reaction. Her hips swayed to the music, brushing against him then pulling away just when he was considering throwing her on the ground right there.

A glance at the catwalk above had Buffy remembering the dream she had not long after Spike turned feral. Just the memory caused a little tremor to pass through her body and she gripped his hand.

“Up there. Now, mister,” she ordered breathlessly.

He gave a tilt of the head at the odd request. She immediately sent him flashes of the dream over the claim and that was all the incentive he needed, flying past her as he hauled her up the stairs.

******

An exhausted and thoroughly satisfied couple plopped back down at the table some time later. Buffy reached for a hot wing as she blew a wisp of hair out of her face, glancing at Spike with a slow smile. Workouts always made her so hungry afterwards, and boy did he give her a workout. A blush tinged her cheeks at her thoughts, so she quickly glanced across the table to her friends.

Willow just lifted her brows, clearly wondering where they had been. Oz, on the other hand, was flaring his nostrils slightly as he caught a whiff of something with his heightened sense of smell. Not that he would say anything, but that knowledge didn’t help Buffy as her blush deepened.

“Wow, you must be tired!” Willow said suddenly.

Buffy jumped and looked at her with wide, guilty eyes. “Why do you say that?”

If her friend caught the slightly higher pitch of the slayer’s voice, she didn’t seem to notice as she replied, “Oh, I mean, you were gone for awhile. Even with the slow songs and you two being all with the superness, that has got to be a lot of dancing.”

“Yeah, well I like dancing,” Buffy replied faintly and shoved some onion into her mouth.

“Especially with me, right?” Spike purred and she choked, giving him a look that would have made any other vampire quiver in fear.

“Oh, you-”

Before she could work herself up to full tirade, a scream split the air and all four heads spun in the direction it came from. Everyone else seemed to be craning to see it as well, but suddenly reversed, stampeding to get the hell out of Dodge while the four tried to get closer to help whoever it was.

“No, Willow, you and Oz make sure people get out okay...just in case there’s more of whatever-it-is out there,” Buffy told her friend, taking her arm to stop her from following.

“But...” Willow trailed off as she glanced between Oz and Buffy, who was already in slayer-mode. “Sure.”

Spike had just made it through a throng of stragglers and was trying to get a lock on what was causing such a stir when a meaty hand took a swipe at the side of his head. He staggered back from the glancing blow and blinked up at the demon that emerged from the back holding a girl’s body in his other hand. Its prey was dropped, forgotten, as it found new targets. The demon was large, with a tough purple hide and wearing something akin to a samurai uniform that had two swords strapped to the back.

“You’ve wandered into the wrong club, mate,” Spike growled, shifting into game face quickly.

“I’m looking for the Slayer. My mistress sent me to find her,” the demon said in way of response.

“You’ll have to be more specific—there’s two now,” Buffy quipped as she rushed to Spike’s side after making sure Willow left with Oz. “And you have a mistress? Aw, that’s so sweet. Is it the leather-wearing sort of mistress or the penthouse in the city kind?”

“I’m looking for the one with the vampire mate. My message is for him as well.” Her humour was totally lost on the creature.

What a waste of a good pun, she thought with a sigh then spoke up, “Well, you’re in luck, because that’s me.”

“Good.” It grinned wickedly and pulled out the two swords from the sheaths on his back, spinning them before taking a ready stance. “I wanted to make this quick.”

“Wait, what’s the message? There was a message.”

In not the smartest move, her eyes went to Spike and off the dangerous demon. The next instant, it let out a loud battle cry before launching itself at the blond duo—swords flying. A hard shove toward the bar was the only thing that kept her from becoming Slayer Sushi, and she went tumbling over the top into the glasses and bottles on the other side. Fortunately, there was something there to break her fall and that somehow her broken arm remained unscathed.

When her head popped back up over the top to make sure Spike was still in one yummy piece, she gasped when she saw him clinging to the neck of the demon and going for quite the wild ride.

“Spike!” Buffy yelped and hopped back over the bar to get to him.

The demon saw her coming and simply flung her mate right into her full force, sending her back over the bar in the most counter productive of ways. She braced herself on her good arm, looking down at her shirt—which was so stained now—then back at Spike.

“He didn’t give us a message,” she hissed indignantly.

“I think, love, that the message is someone wants us dead...or in my case, deader,” he ground out then reached out to touch her arm. “Didn’t break it again, did he?”

“No, thank god.” She gave him a weak smile then looked up. “And shouldn’t he be here right about now to fillet us?”

That got their attention and they sat up to see what was going on; not that they weren’t immensely relieved to have a reprieve from the abuse.

“Okay, don’t tell me there’s like a third slayer now,” Buffy muttered when they saw what was keeping the demon.

“Not quite,” Spike said, tilting his head. “Feels almost the same, but not quite...an’ she smells right familiar.”

“Well...maybe we should help her instead of staring?” She climbed back over the bar...again.

“Right then.”

Before they could jump back in, though, the other girl pulled out a vial of something that she immediately threw at the demon. Blue powder burst into the air then the demon was gone with an audible pop. The two would-be helpers stared dumbfounded.

“I sent him back to his own dimension,” the girl told them as she turned to face them.

There was nothing remarkable about her clothing; dark jeans and a loose tee under a leather jacket with wedge boots peeking out. There were startling blue eyes, heavily ringed with liner. Her hair was a natural blonde, but with the front bleached. Her fingernails...they were covered with a coat of chipped black nail polish reminiscent of someone else standing in the room. Besides that, she was petite and harmless looking...but then, so was Buffy and they all knew how deceiving that image was, too.

“An’ just how did you know where he came from an’ what to do with him?” Spike asked, narrowing his eyes. “You send him? Are you his bloody ‘mistress’?”

“No, but I know who did.” The new girl motioned towards the door. “We should probably get out of here before Sunnydale’s finest show up—late as usual.”

“Who are you?” Buffy hurried after her, skirting around the pile of blue stuff on the floor.

There was no response until they got outside and rounded the corner just as sirens were heard racing towards the Bronze. Somehow, the girl seemed to be walking in the direction of their house without their lead.

“So who in the bloody hell are you then?” Spike finally demanded, tired of the looks shooting between the three.

“Your daughter, Melody,” she said, giving her own version of his mocking smile. “And well...I’m sorry for the wonky way we had to meet, but I was going to approach you at the Bronze until you started making it like bunnies. Honestly, you two; I’m going to need therapy now.”

Buffy blushed bright red, not even considering the possibility that her story was a lie. She was more concerned with her mortification at the thought that someone might have seen what they were doing—not that they had tried to hide it very well. Then her eyes flew wide as her hands splayed over her stomach.

“I do get pregnant? Or, I am pregnant already?” she squeaked, stopping where she was.

“Afraid so.” Melody gave a little shrug. She looked back towards Spike, figuring he was going to be the one to talk to while her mom got it together. “Look, something bad is going down or I obviously wouldn’t be doing this.”

“I’d expect,” he returned with a tight nod. “Because, I’d definitely teach my nibblet not to mess with magic unless it was real important. So you goin’ to tell a bloke what the soddin’ problem is?”

“Oh my god, we don’t die, do we?” Buffy suddenly burst out, catching up somewhat with the conversation.

“Not in my time, but that could change if you don’t let me explain,” Melody said, rolling her eyes at the girl who was to become her mother. “Your other daughter, my twin sister, is already here, too. Amanda is trying to kill you. She sent that demon. Are those short enough sentences?”

“My daughter just called me stupid.” Buffy turned to Spike. “If she’s my daughter, that means I get to spank her, right?”

“Now is not the time to be...” Spike gritted his teeth and stretched his neck before continuing, “I’m a little more worried with the idea that we have a daughter out there wantin’ to kill us right now. So no more from either of you, got it?”

“Yes,” they said in unison then shot each other a look.

“Okay, so we got another little bit out there...but one of those evil twins?” He tried to steer this back to business. “Why would she want to kill us?”

“It’s...it’s not really Amanda, you see. I think...she was killed or turned, or something. And that dying, it gave a demon or hellgod or something the power to possess her. It’s that creature that’s come back, using her body, to try to kill you and do all those dimension destroying things that these evil powers like to do.” Melody shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. “We really didn’t get much time to research. It seemed more important to follow her and warn you guys, and then...well, see what we could do to stop her.”

“Hey, you tell me I have a daughter and then tell me she might be dead?” Buffy’s face fell.

“She might be a vampire...” Melody offered softly. “Though, that might not mean much if we have to...destroy her to stop her...” Her teeth sunk into her lip as she looked down, a matching picture of despair to that of her mother.

“Bloody buggerin’ fuck...” was all Spike could manage at the moment as he gathered Buffy to him, then as an afterthought he opened his arms to include Melody.

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 11

AN: I made a new banner to go with the new plot twist as well as my new penname. It’s not spectacular, but it’ll do. :) Oh, and sometimes I write while influenced by my sleeping medication.... hehe... though, it might be the better parts, you never know! ;) Thanks go out to Dreams of Spike, Ruth, and even Patti for their help with this chapter.

Oh, and want to see Jackie? Here’s how I imagine her: http://dailypuppy.com/images/07/biggies/josie_jack_russel_beagle_mix_04.jpg



******


Across town on Crawford Street, the house was being used yet again. Strange how it attracted so much attention. For an abandoned mansion, it never seemed to remain vacant for very long.

A young woman with dark hair sat staring into the flames dancing in the fireplace. They reflected in the pupils of her once blue eyes, now an icy silver. Other than the eyes, one could have taken her for a sorority girl very out of place in the dusty, old mansion.

Her perfectly manicured fingernails thrummed against the arm of her chair as she thought out loud.

“Chaos, what would cause some chaos for them?” she asked herself quietly. “They can’t be allowed to settle in and get comfortable—or organize themselves. Given enough time, they might even heal the broken bonds of friendship and that would make their forces greater. No, something has to be done right away...besides the message I sent them, which they no doubt dispatched of already.”

When she settled back against the chair and let her head loll back, her eyes fell on the statue that still stood silently in the corner. Apparently her parents hadn’t tried to remove it while trying to make the mansion home. Knowing those fools, they probably hoped to just ignore it and the memories it conjured.

“Hmm, problems that come with emotional baggage—those are the best.” A slow smile curved her lips and she stood to walk over to the statue. “Certainly messing with their champion will irk the Powers as well—a double bonus.”

Amanda rested her hands on the stone, tilting her head as she gave it a considering look. Then she nodded; this was a good plan. Angel might have had his soul returned to him just before he was sent to hell, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t use him to do her dirty work. Honestly, would he just sit there and let Spike take away his little slayer? She chuckled as she imagined his reaction to their mating.

Also, throw in her being Buffy’s daughter and it might not take much for her to have him wrapped around her finger, if she put on an Oscar-worthy performance.

“With her corrupted by Spike and the other slayer on their side,” she began, practicing her pout and sweet tone of voice already, “and not to mention my own sister being brainwashed by them—I’m his last chance at redemption.”

Her cackle split the air as she straightened, hands still on the statue. Her eyes glowed red as she poured power into it, the red glow flowing from her hands into the stone to encase the whole thing. After a moment, she stopped and took a step back. A fist into the core of Acathla had it cracking open like an egg, revealing its vampire yoke.

Angel fell forward, naked and trembling. His eyes rolled up to look at her and his slack mouth hung open as his mind worked to place who she was.

“You smell of sulfur! Ugh!” She pinched her nose daintily. “But then, what did I expect when I drag something from the fire and brimstone of hell?”

Shock from the sudden trip was wearing off; Angel’s nose was dissecting her scent and noting how powerful it was. In his feral state, it seemed like the perfect meal to get him feeling better. He lunged at her feet, but she nimbly stepped away and kicked at his arms.

“I don’t think so. If, and that’s a big if, I decide you are worthy of tasting my blood, it will be on my terms,” she told him, then tilted her head toward the door. “But, I’m sure there are lots of tasty morsels right out there on the streets of Sunnydale.”

******

Around sunset, Spike woke to the smell of something burning. He vaguely wandered if it was some sort of payback orchestrated by his mate. Payback for the fight they had as they were getting to bed that morning following the chaotic arrival of Melody.

Basically, he had thought it best they stick to the house for their own protection and if they had to go out, to not do it alone. She had not been thrilled with his idea, but he threatened to chain her up, so for the time being she was backing off while trying to figure out if he was bluffing.

He walked upstairs and into the kitchen where Buffy was pouting at a charred lump in a baking pan. She looked up when he walked in and he couldn’t help chuckling at the scene before him. What was she even doing when they all knew she couldn’t be trusted alone in a kitchen?

That’s when he noticed that Melody and Jackie were absent.

“Why am I wakin’ up to a burnt stench an’ a half-empty house?” he asked as he came around to her side of the kitchen.

“Melody took Jackie with her when she went into town to buy a few things for her stay here.” She dumped the burnt mess into the garbage and sighed as she tossed the pan into the sink. “And that was supposed to be a nice dinner for my family...”

“Well, not all families have a mum that cooks while the father goes off to work. Ours has a father that helps the mum do her sacred duty an’ the father cooks,” he consoled her and walked over to the phone. He held up a take-out menu and added, “Or they order pizza an’ wings.”

She shook her head with a soft chuckle, kicking the oven door closed. “Well, I haven’t got to do much of my ‘sacred duty’ while you’ve had me on house arrest. Faith’s been getting all the fun.”

Just as Spike was hanging up the phone, the door opened and Melody practically fell inside. Jackie followed her in, nosing at the girl with little whimpers. The bags that the teen had been carrying fell with a dull thud, spilling their contents. The spill went unnoticed as the worried parents rushed forward in alarm over the condition of their child.

“Slayer, pick up the bags an’ take them an’ Jackie to the other room while I do somethin’ about her injuries...please?” He glanced up to meet the eyes of his mate, trying to be the one with the cool head to take care of his small, but strange, family.

Buffy cast another look at Melody’s pale face before nodding and letting Spike take the girl from her arms. “I’ll get the first aid kit from the bathroom, too.”

Spike lifted his not-so little girl onto the counter to sit where he could wet a rag to wash her up first. He wanted to throttle whoever did this to his daughter. It was a marvel he could feel so connected and protective already, but he did.

“So, Peanut, who the bloody hell did this to you so I can tear them to wee bits?” he finally asked as he reached up to tenderly wash her face.

Melody looked every bit the errant childe, hoping her dad wasn’t angry with her as she told her story.

“I went to town to get some clothes and other stuff with a card mom gave me, even though she warned me you wouldn’t be happy about my leaving here alone...but I didn’t think it’d be a problem. I’d make it quick and Amanda probably doesn’t know I’m here yet.” She wrung her hands with her head lowered.

Spike cupped her chin and lifted it again to finish washing it. “Yeah, you should have got me to go with you. We could’ve used the sewers until sunset. But, I’m more concerned about what happened to you? Amanda?”

“No, but almost as bad...Angel.” She winced when he jerked in reaction to the name. She tilted her head to give him room to work on her shoulder wound. “He’s back and feral. He attacked me—took me by surprise—and I fought him, but when he saw I wasn’t an easy meal he took off. Someone needs to...go make sure he isn’t killing people and stop him. I...knew you’d be really mad if I continued after him instead of returning here to get patched up and tell you what’s going on.”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod then sighed. When Buffy walked back into the room, he looked at his mate with trepidation over the news he had to pass along. “Melody says it was a feral Angel that attacked her on the way home. He’s back apparently. So we have two problems it would seem.”

“Angel? But how did he...?” Buffy shook her head. “That can be figured out later, but for now that feral thing needs to be taken care of. I’ll call Faith since I assume you definitely won’t let me out now.”

She handed Spike the first aid kit then went to the phone to make her call.

Spike’s attention returned to his daughter. “No more goin’ off alone. Got it, Peanut?”

“Dad...” she began with a petulant look which he purposefully cut off with a spray of disinfectant into the scrapes on her arm. She yelped then scowled at him, much like her mother. “Soulless jerk...”

“But, you bints love me all the same, eh?” He gave her a cocky smile and received an eye roll. “I just want to make sure you an’ your mum stay safe. I’ve got to protect my girls.”

“We can’t hide here in fear forever, Dad,” Melody said tiredly. “When Mom gets pregnant, she’s going to need to visit the doctor. Also, it’s pitiful to not fight for ourselves. We’re champions.”

“Look what fightin’ got you,” he retorted, poking at the bandage he had just tied off.

“I was alone and he got the jump on me. There’s a difference between that and purposefully going out with others to hunt down the bad stuff.” She sighed softly. “And I meant to be back before dark.”

He nodded and remained silent as he packed up the first aid kit. “We’ll see what the slayers an’ Red say when the other birds get here.”

“At least Faith’ll probably agree with me. She usually does.”

“I’ll bet,” was all he said as he helped her into the living room where he settled her in on the couch.

About fifteen minutes later, Faith and Willow arrived at the house wondering who the new girl was. The somewhat proud parents gave what they could of the story while Melody interjected now and then with details and explanations.

“Someone must’ve brought Angel back,” Faith said. “Obviously.”

“So, the feralness must be a side-effect of either being in hell or being brought back,” Willow speculated then wrinkled her nose. “Do we give him Slayer blood like when Spike was Tarzan?”

Spike growled somewhat at the reminder, but more at the thought of Angel biting his mate than at the allusion to his recent condition. “I suggest we just stake the poofter.”

“Spike...” Buffy began, looking toward him with a torn expression.

“No!” He quickly stood up and pointed a finger at her, shaking with anger. “Don’t you dare start up again with takin’ up for poor Angel an’ your complicated feelin’s for him. I won’t have it. You’re MY mate!” He roared the last part, shifting into game face unconsciously. “Mine!”

Everyone stared up at him in shocked silence after his outburst. Melody was the first to look away uncomfortably. Buffy’s eyes were impossibly wide before they dropped to her lap.

“Maybe we should wait until we find out what’s going on before we make any decisions,” Willow said tentatively, trying to defuse the situation.

Faith nodded. “I should tell Giles and see what he says.”

“Then it’s a good thing he’s here, huh?” Spike said darkly. “I wonder if he just came to lurk outside like the poof or if he’s goin’ to come up an’ knock properly.”

“What with the what?” Buffy sputtered, looking at the door along with the others.

“Can sense him, luv. Vampire.” He gave her a withering look, not quite in the loving mood.

“Dad...” Melody started to say something but was cut off by a knock on the door. She shook her head and frowned as Buffy got up to answer it.

Buffy stood at the door facing Giles, both wearing similar grim expressions. He looked as if he hadn’t fully expected her to answer the door. Each was clearly formulating something to say and she finished first.

“Just so you know, we’ve got charms on the house to keep anyone from trying to do anything to us,” she told him with a note of warning.

“Why would you automatically assume I was here to do you harm?” he asked, taking off his glasses to clean them.

“It wouldn’t be to bring us a cake that says ‘Congratulations Newlymates’ or give us housewarming gifts,” she said, crossing her arms. “Especially after the run-in we had with Xander.”

“Yes, he had rather perverse joy in informing me about his encounter with you two and—these are his words—your hellbeast.” His eyes went past her to where Melody stood holding Jackie. She, along with the others, stood peering out of the living room.

“Well, from what Faith and Willow told me, you got your research jollies,” Buffy said to bring his attention back to her. “But besides that, how did you find us? I doubt they ratted us out.”

“Yes, I was rather surprised to find out they knew about this the whole time and had clearly chosen to back you regardless of whom you were dating,” he replied with some exasperation. “The truth is, after they each called to give excuses for not coming to my place tonight, I decided to go into town to do a bit of shopping. Imagine my surprise when I see them walking together and heading towards a side of town I knew neither of them lived near.”

“You stalked my friends?”

“Not on purpose.” His glasses came off a second time. “Now may I please come in so that we can discuss things that require more discretion than airing them out on your front porch will permit?”

Buffy glanced to the others before nodding and taking a step back to allow him entrance. She herded them all back into the living room, gesturing for them to sit back down as she took a seat that faced Giles.

“The ‘hellbeast’ was our new dog, Jackie,” she said, deciding to start introductions there. The easiest one. “The girl, Melody, is here from the future...and she’s our daughter. Apparently, us mating was some sort of prophecy that led to our having babies. Willow told me about it, then Melody showed up to confirm it’s true.”

“I believe that is one of the interesting things I came across when doing that research you claim gave me ‘jollies’.” He sat down and looked around at everyone. “So, with a fellow countryman in the house, there has to be tea somewhere.”

“Comin’ right up, Jeeves,” Spike finally said after being prodded by his mate.

“So you found that prophecy, too?” Willow turned toward him. “But you say one like you mean there were more.”

“Yes, the rest of my research mostly concerned vampire mating practices, mostly pertaining to claims along with other things. There were a couple more vague prophecies that may apply to this one or not.”

“I see...I think.” Buffy took a moment to let his words sink in.

Ew, he so did not read about vampire sex.

“Before we go any further, though, I need to know if Xander passed on the message and where you stand on what I said.”

“I suppose my response is this.” Giles paused and replaced his glasses on his nose as he chose his words with caution. “Seeing you as a daughter, as I find myself doing, I only have your best interests at heart usually—however misguided they may be. You know very well how parents can clash with their children in differences of opinion and views in things, but like your mother, I can’t just give up on you.”

She seemed a bit relieved by his response, but there were still issues to be cleared up. Giles wasn’t finished with his response, however.

“You know full well why I have warranted misgivings of you taking a vampire as a mate, but those are my complicated issues after...” He let it drop with a wave of his hand and she understood it was still too fresh to mention. “But, this is more serious; you’re mated. It can’t be undone, so I must get used to this and...I must admit he hasn’t gone on some mass murdering spree. In fact, vampire killings have gone down—what with both Angelus and Spike done with such behaviour. Also, that research I mentioned...implied that such unions are not as unique as the Council would have liked us to believe.”

“Really?” Willow interjected.

“Um, bigger problem,” Buffy said, sheepishly curbing the mating talk toward the more important news which contradicted part of Giles’ speech. “Angelus may not be so out of commission. Melody was attacked by what she reported as a feral Angel.”

That had the glasses whipping off at lightning speed. His hands were clearly shaking and Buffy took pity, leaning forward to pat his knee. Spike came back in right about this time to hand Giles his tea.

“We’ll find him...and stop him. Whatever it takes, I promise,” she said adamantly then noted the hint of doubt in his expression. “I will, if I have to...I’ve done it before and now, I have a mate to keep me from being confused. Heck, if anything, he might beat me to the staking.”

“You really think...” Willow began and trailed off as all eyes turned to her. “I mean, not to start more arguing...but if he has his soul again...if the spell worked like Buffy said it might’ve, then why can’t we try to ‘de-feral’ him to make sure before we jump to staking. Souled Angel, I know would be weird to have around after all he did...but he’d probably also help like before, yeah?”

Spike was pacing in the back and muttering, not liking this conversation at all. Buffy stood and went to place her good hand on his shoulder, neither saying a word but clearly communicating silently. He relaxed a bit as she massaged the back of his neck.

“By the way, how did you injure your arm?” Giles finally asked.

Buffy glanced away from her mate to look at her watcher. “Drusilla attacked me after she saw me dust Angel. She broke my arm before Spike could come running to my rescue like a knight in dark armour. Then I think the shock of losing both of the immediate family links made him retreat and the demon take over—so voila, feral Spike.”

“Feral, you say? And he did not try to attack you in that state?”

“Actually, he sort of took care of me. When I woke up, he was licking my wounds clean.” She wrinkled her nose at the memory. “He also brought me food.”

“Interesting.” The watcher’s hand was itching to write this down. “That is quite the strange behaviour for a feral vampire—or even a normal vampire, I suppose.”

“You forget that he took care of Drusilla, too,” Faith pointed out with a shrug. “Just saying...it seems to not be so unusual for this vampire to take care of people.”

“She was his sire. It still seems very out of place for him to just take care of a human girl, especially the slayer.” Giles took a sip of his tea then looked to Spike. “I wonder what he was thinking when he decided to nurse her wounds.”

Spike looked a bit startled, glancing between the watcher and Buffy. He shrugged off her hand and tried to hide his fidgeting, which only made it worse. His voice came out a bit strained.

“He...I...thought I was takin’ care of a potential mate...” he finally admitted.

All eyes were on him, but the only pair he cared about was the emerald ones belonging to his mate. Buffy’s brows were furrowed, puzzling out what he had just told them and thinking back to that night.

“You had already decided to claim me from the start?” she asked then shook her head. “You had only just got rid of Dru and I thought a feral vampire just thought about blood.”

“I’d just lost the only family I thought I had left.” Spike carefully watched his feet as he spoke. “I was feelin’ alone an’ somethin’ in me must’ve felt somethin’...seein’ as how I instinctively dusted Dru to save you.”

“It is highly odd that you easily dusted the seeming love of your unlife in favour of saving Buffy,” Giles interrupted when Buffy opened her mouth to say something. “Just as Buffy managed to recover so quickly from the trauma of dusting Angel and settled so easily into a domestic routine of sorts with you.”

Buffy’s head shot up and she looked at her watcher with wide eyes. She worked her mouth like a fish as she realized for herself how quickly she had recovered from that night and moved on to this thing with Spike. Did she use him as a rebound guy? Was she really just a whore for fang? Her pulse started to pound in her ears.

Then there were cool hands on her shoulders as Spike sensed her troubled thoughts and knelt beside her chair. He turned her face to his, speaking both for her and Giles’ benefits.

“Somethin’ in us must’ve known—known that we were meant to be mated. The fact we didn’t miss the others once they were gone, well, that just proves it, yeah?” He searched her eyes for sign that she heard him.

She bit her lip after a moment and nodded. “I guess. But, it’s still a bit weird that Tarzan looked at me as a mate from the beginning.”

“I think he was smarter than you gave him credit for,” he retorted then stood up. He motioned to Melody who was watching the exchange with a smile. “Knew what pretty kids we’d make.”

Melody blushed and grinned up at her dad.

“’Kids’? You have more than her?” Giles questioned and turned attention back to him.

“Oh,” Buffy’s mouth made a little O as they got back to business. She looked over at him and grimaced. “That would be the story of why our future daughter is here.”

Tbc...

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 12

AN: A big thank you to DreamsofSpike and Ruth for betaing this chapter.



******


After explanations were made yet again and a couple pizzas were devoured, Giles noticed it was getting to be a bit late. He was the first to start making his way toward the door.

“I shall do what I do best and research. I’ll attempt to find anything that might be useful to us,” he said, looking down at Buffy with a tired smile. He hesitated just a moment, and then laid a cautiously affectionate hand on her shoulder. “I should have said it before, but I’m deeply sorry about the way I let my grief blind me. I hope I can make it up to you.”

“I’m not completely blameless,” she replied with a sigh. “We’ll both be trying to make up for what we did—or didn’t do.”

“Yes, I suppose you are right.” He took his hand back and left with a brief nod in Spike’s direction.

Giles knew it would be a long road to becoming totally comfortable with the idea of Buffy’s relationship with yet another vampire. The loss of Jenny was fresh in his mind; he grieved for her constantly. But still, he was determined to give Spike a chance, for Buffy’s sake.

It was what a father would do, after all.

Next, Willow and Faith headed out. Willow paused to kneel and pat Jackie’s head while Faith turned to her sister slayer.

“When I get home, I’ll give your mom the skinny on her grandkids and everything else,” the brunette told Buffy. She started to go, and then turned toward the blonde Slayer again. “Oh, and I’ll make sure I’m with her if she has to go out after dark.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Buffy smiled and blushed slightly. “And tell her I love her, yeah?”

“Of course, B.”

Buffy closed the door after they left and looked up at Spike for a moment before looking past him to their daughter. That...well, it was still so very odd. She was not quite over the idea of possibly getting pregnant and hoped maybe it would be some time far off in the future if it did happen. Now, all of a sudden, their daughter was right there, proof positive that the prophecy was true.

Dammit. She was going to get stretch marks.

Well, she would just have to make sure she put Spike through as much hell as she was going to go through. It was only fair, considering that he was the one who was going to cause it.

Melody was walking toward them, covering her mouth as she yawned. Spike pulled the girl into his arms and kissed the top of her head. Buffy thought it was funny how he was the one who so easily accepted all of this. Hey, he had even admitted that he had wanted something like this from her from the very beginning, even when he was feral.

The poop.

“Get to bed, Peanut; you need rest,” Spike instructed softly as he steered Melody toward the foot of the stairs.

“Night, Dad...Mom,” Melody mumbled sleepily and disappeared upstairs after giving her mother an awkward hug.

Buffy started toward the living room to begin cleaning up, but Spike caught her hand to get her attention. She looked up at him curiously.

“I’ve been thinkin’, what with Faith pointin’ out how we’re not the only ones in danger,” he began, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. “Our house is already protected, so maybe your mum an’ the rest of them should stay here until we get things sorted out.”

“Oh, but then you can’t chase me around naked to dole out my punishment,” she quipped, batting her eyelashes innocently. Then she giggled and started to pick up the pizza boxes again. “But I guess that’s already a big no-no since Melody’s here. Really not wanting to scar our kid for life.”

Spike humphed softly. “She should be happy that her parents are obviously passionate about each other, as opposed to some kids who see nothin’ but their parents fightin’ all the time.”

“Like mine...” Buffy looked down at the boxes in her hand sadly then shook it off, hurrying into the kitchen.

Even without the claim, it was obvious to Spike what was suddenly bothering his mate. He knew it had been one of the things worrying her since finding out she could possibly someday be a mommy, besides just her young age.

“Pet...luv.” He went after her and caught her at the garbage can, wrapping his arms around her. “We’re goin’ to be great parents, Slayer, so don’t worry. An’ your mum’s the best. How any man can find anythin’ wrong with her is beyond me. His loss.”

“Thank you, Spike.” She turned around and gave him a light kiss.

It was weird, but decidedly good, how well he and her mother had gotten along, almost from the very start. Not that she would have had it any other way, but Buffy was worried that down the road there might be some ganging up on her.

He swung her up into his arms then over his shoulder, giving her backside a light swat. “Now to bed with you, too, young lady. Tomorrow we talk to your mum ‘bout protection.”

“I think she was s’posed to have that talk with us...and a little late for that now,” Buffy muttered, and then yelped when he smacked her cheeks a bit harder. “Ow! Just saying...”

“I meant about her house.” Spike rolled his eyes skyward, silently praying their children inherited his intelligence. “She an’ whoever else can move in here...or I s’pose we can do protection wards on their places, too. Whichever suits them.”

In the basement, he set her on the bed then covered her body with his. She looked up at his wonderfully expressive face and marveled at how not so long ago it had belonged to her Tarzan. A soft snort told her he was reading her thoughts like usual.

“Well, stupid, if you don’t like what you hear, then stop listening,” she huffed at him and rolled over to her side of the bed. “Doofus.”

******

Back at the mansion, Amanda cupped Angel’s chin in her hand, tutting with false sympathy over the whimpering vampire. She dipped her face in close to his and inhaled, then straightened again.

“Ah, you found my sister,” she murmured, mostly to herself, since she figured the feral creature didn’t understand her. “I hope you got a nice big bite out of her before she fought you off. She, no doubt, spread the word of your return, which is good; it’ll increase their worry.”

Angel wasn’t really concentrating on her. Instead, he eyed a cut on his arm and then started to lick it like a wounded dog. She tsked and swatted at him to get him to stop, then tugged on his hair to regain his attention.

“I don’t think I like this having a feral pet thing,” she said with disdain then rolled her eyes. “I guess I should return you to normal.”

She released his hair and balled her hand into a fist, presenting him with her wrist. He looked at it curiously, then up at her, as if he wasn’t quite sure what she wanted. Then his nostrils flared as he caught the scent of her powerful blood again, but he still looked unsure as to whether or not there would be punishment for trying to bite her.

Finally deciding that this wasn’t some trick, Angel bit into her wrist. Amanda gave a pleased smile as he gulped down her blood, unaware of the magic she wove with it. It wouldn’t do for her to go to all the trouble of bringing him back, only to have him help the do-gooders take her down.

“That’s enough,” she said harshly as she shoved him away.

With one last glance in his direction, she left the room to retire to the room she had selected as her own. Her pet remained curled up in the corner where he had fallen, watching her with fearful eyes.

******

Spike woke up to an empty bed for the second day in a row. At least there was no burnt stench this time. Hopefully this wasn’t going to become the new trend, or he would need to have a talk with his young mate. He started for the stairs before remembering their new child, and went back to throw on some jeans as an afterthought.

At the top of the steps, he followed the sound of voices to the living room. Buffy was sitting on the couch with a mirror in front of her face, while Melody handed her some gloss to add the final touch to whatever they had just done. She was the first to look up at him when he entered.

“Morning, Dad,” she said brightly.

“Mornin’, Peanut; what’re my girls up to?” He started to come closer so he could get a look around the mirror, but Melody just moved to block him. He talked around her shoulder to his mate. “Keep wakin’ up to an empty bed, I do. I hope this doesn’t become the new routine ‘round here.”

“Oh, stop pouting, ‘cause I know you are,” Buffy told him. “I had to use the bathroom because I got sick and then I heard Mel up here.”

“Sick?” That quickly got his attention. If he had a heartbeat, it would have sped up right then. Again, he tried to step closer, only to be blocked by his daughter.

“We’ve been eating so much greasy fast food lately that I’m sure it was just my body finally throwing a mutiny, you know?” She waved it away but the other two shared a look. “Besides, don’t you want to see what we’ve been up to?”

“Sure, pet.” That was the understatement of the century, he thought to himself. Then, he could get Melody to run along so he could have a word with his mate about the waking up alone and this supposed stomach mutiny.

“Well...I was feeling left out and wanted to look more like part of the family.” She finally dropped the mirror to the couch beside her and motioned Melody to stand down. There was not much different about the Slayer’s look, except that now her eyes were heavily ringed in liner and smoky eye shadow. With Melody’s help, she had added reddish highlights to her hair. “I’m all rocker chic too now!”

Melody rolled her eyes over her mother’s head and Spike chuckled, but quickly covered it by bending to press a brief kiss to Buffy’s lips. She then quickly showed him her new black nails, which were perfectly done, as opposed to the chipped coats of the other two.

“Always the most beautiful creature to me; you know that,” he said as he trailed his fingers along her cheekbone. His eyes were locked with hers, golden flecks starting to become apparent.

“That’s my cue to do the couch potato thing upstairs and leave before I need even more therapy,” Melody quipped, much like her mother before fleeing from the personal moment.

Buffy watched her go before looking up at Spike again. She stood and started to gather everything up so she could put it in a pile at the bottom of the stairs. The whole time she did this, he was watching her with a darkened gaze which she was doing her best to ignore...though, unfortunately, the claim was sending the message a hundred times stronger than the look.

“We need to...talk about a few things.” He sidled up close to her as soon as she was done straightening up and started backing her toward the basement door. “First of which bein’, if I have to, I’m goin’ to chain you to the bed to make sure I wake up beside my mate from now on.”

“Oh ho! I’d like to see you try, Tarzan,” she mocked, putting her hands on her hips even as she stumbled sideways down the steps.

“We’ll get into that more later; but first, we need to discuss this little ‘sick’ thing.”

He reached out to catch her when she almost fell down the rest of the way, swinging her up into his arms so he could carry her back to bed. She bounced a bit when he dropped her on top of the mess of pillows and blankets, then bent over her prone form to pin her in place with a stern look.

“What exactly did ‘sick’ entail?” he asked, eyes probing hers as he willed her to answer truthfully, even if he could have easily gleaned the truth through their bond.

As he waited, his hands roamed over her body as if mapping its curves all over again. They hesitated over her breasts and smoothed over her stomach before resting at her hips.

“I threw up, okay? Geez, why do you have to know all the gory details?” Her lips curled into a pout as she looked away. This was not the sort of bedroom talk she had expected.

“How often’ve you been queasy lately?”

“Well, a few days...but like I said, we haven’t exactly been eating healthy here. You need to let us go do some actual grocery shopping...and no making Willow do it.” She tried to sit up, but he kept her pinned down.

A look of wonder started to come over his features and his eyes softened as he gently prodded, “Pet, don’t you think you know what might be happenin’ here?”

“I’m eating trash and going to turn into a big fatty?” She tried to wiggle away again, with no success.

“Well, you’re goin’ to get bigger, but it’s not what you’re thinkin’,” he said, trying to get her to realize it on her own. “I think we’re going to have plenty more news for your mum.”

Her brows lowered and her pout deepened. “I think you ate too many hippies.”

“Maybe, but obviously this is eventually goin’ to happen,” he insisted before finally releasing her and rolling onto his back with his arms tucked under his head. His eyes went to the ceiling above them. “The proof is upstairs watchin’ TV. All we have to do is ask her when her birthday is.”

Pouting, Buffy remained quiet. After a few moments of silence, Spike finally propped himself up on an elbow to give her a searching look.

“Besides, I thought you were okay with this.”

“I’m okay with it happening later, when we’re older and all that.” She threw out her hands, and then covered her face with them, groaning, “We should’ve used protection or something.”

The way she was reacting to his hints that she was already with child was beginning to make him want to lash out. They should be rejoicing, not acting like this was the biggest travesty in the world. Their beautiful daughter wasn’t a curse, nor was their other currently evil one.

“So says the bird who was decidin’ we do positions to get a girl,” he muttered darkly. “Well they worked—very well, in fact. We’ve got two of them.”

“Spike,” she hissed through gritted teeth and sat up to look at him with fire in her eyes. “You act like just because I’m practical enough to think I should be older before becoming Mommy Slayer that suddenly I hate our daughters and hate you.” Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. “You know what, Spike...”

All the heat was going to her head, and she felt like her ears were burning, her cheeks flushed and pink. Never the best at anger management, she reverted back to old habits as she growled at him, seconds before her fist connected with his nose.

“I think I’m going to go have that talk we planned with my mom,” she said haughtily as she slid off the bed, ignoring his growl of protest as he covered his bleeding nose. “I don’t know when I’ll be back, so don’t wait up...honey.”

Blood of My Blood
Chapter 13




******


"So, why didn't you tell me about this before, Buffy?" Joyce asked as she set down mugs of cocoa between her and her daughter.

"Because no one talks about their sex life with their parents...that's just gross." Buffy pulled a face at the thought then sipped at her drink. "And like I said, I was hoping for it to happen a long, long while from now. He thinks it's already started, though, and got all pissy that I wasn't overjoyed at being a teen mother. Stupid vampire."

"Honey, did you try telling him that?"

"Yes! But he's still all oversensitive about it!" She rolled her eyes and then glared at her mug. "I know back when he was human, girls were getting hitched at my age and starting with the babies, but that's not the way it works these days, you know—not unless you're some sort of jail bait."

There was a soft chuckle. "I suppose that he still thinks with a Victorian mind, but honey...I wasn't much older than you when I became a mother."

"You're s'posed to be on my side," Buffy whined.

“I'm only on the side of what's best for you and now my new grandkids,” Joyce said with amusement, taking a sip of her cocoa before continuing. “Now, I admit I'm not thrilled with you getting pregnant so young and I expect you to continue with your studies. You'll have plenty of us to help you. Now, it's silly for you both to be fighting when you should be celebrating the possible good news.”

Buffy started to roll her eyes but caught a stern look from her mother, so she quickly gulped down some of the hot liquid in her cup.

“First thing's first, though,” Joyce continued. “I'm taking you over to the hospital to get you a pregnancy test to make sure this is what we think it is.”

“Mom...but, I hate hospitals.”

“Too bad. My grandbabies require proper medical care. So, just finish up your cocoa and we'll head on over.” She got up after having the final word and went to put her mug in the sink.

======

At the hospital, the two Summers women were sitting in the waiting room of one of the OB/Gyn offices, the doctor a friend of Joyce's. Buffy's head was lowered as she picked at her shirt like she was waiting on the principal. A pointed cough above her got her attention, causing her to look up and see Melody standing there with her hands on her hips. It was a look so very similar to Buffy.

Joyce lifted her eyes next and gave the girl a small smile before standing. She told Buffy, “I'm going to just go find something to drink. I'll bring you some juice, honey.”

“What did you do to dad?” Melody demanded as soon as Grandma was out of the room.

“And why is it me who did something wrong?” Buffy frowned at the annoying girl. It was hard to think that this was her daughter sometimes—difficult times like now. Melody was quite obviously a daddy's girl.

“Because dad is moping around the house and 'cause you're you.”

“I can't believe I raised such a brat. I don't talk to my mom like that,” Buffy hissed, getting to her feet to face her child.

“No, you whine to her.” Melody crossed her arms smugly.

“Well, Miss Bratty, your father sees nothing wrong with knocking up a teenage girl. That is what this is all about, okay?” Buffy threw out her hands as her voice grew louder. “Your father is such an oversensitive jerk that just because I said I wished I was older before getting pregnant, he thinks that it meant I hated him and you girls. Maybe you should be over there giving him the big fat reality check. How would he like it if some older guy got you pregnant? You look about my age.”

“I think he's just trying to make the best of the situation and be happy to be having kids at all,” Melody retorted with a toss of her multi-coloured hair. “And I think he'd kill anyone that tried to put a bun in my oven.”

“Unfortunately, I don't have a dad to sic on him...at least, not one that cares enough to do that.”

“Miss Summers?” A nurse poked her head into the room and looked at both of them questioningly.

“Coming,” Buffy told her with a smile before looking back to Melody. “I guess I'm about to go find out if there's a point to all this fighting. You already know, though...why aren't you just spilling the beans?”

“If I say more than you need to know then you'll start wanting to know everything, and that can change the future and cause problems. And for all I know, the Powers can change their plans at any time based on us coming to the past.” She gave her mom a shrug then went to find Joyce.

======

Later, back at the house, everything was dark as Buffy walked inside. She wasn't terribly surprised—why did a vampire need to turn on lights and she could sense him inside anyway. Her hands twisted together as she stood just inside the door, not sure if she should go forward or run back to her mother's house. It didn't help that she couldn't see beyond her face in the dark, adding to the urge to run even if she could have simply turned on a light.

“How long you goin' to stand there, pet?” Spike suddenly said from beside her, making her jump with a small squeal.

The light came on and she looked at him with wide eyes for a moment before reaching up to smack his shoulder.

“That's not funny.”

“Wasn't meant to be,” he said quietly, leaning against the wall and pushing the door closed. “What were you doin' at the hospital? Mum okay?”

“Yeah, she took me to get a pregnancy test after I told her everything,” she responded. Then she dropped her hands and asked, “How did you know? I figure you're the one that let Melody know I was there.”

“The claim, Slayer, an' yeah, I did.” He looked down at her, studying her silently.

It was difficult to see what he was thinking. She really wished she was better at using the claim the way he did to pry into her head.

“So, what did the doctor say?”

“Don't you already know from picking my mind?” She jabbed a finger at her temple and frowned at him, fire sparking in her eyes finally.

He took a step forward and lifted his hands as if he was going to strangle her. “Why do you have to make everythin' so bloody difficult?”

“Oh, because I apparently hate you,” she snarked, lifting her chin, unaffected by his threatening stance. “Why do you have to be so stupid?”

His fingers curled and she could hear his knuckles pop as she watched the muscles in his jaw flex dangerously. She gulped, fearing he was finally going to let anger get the best of him—he was soulless after all. In the next instant, she was sure he picked up that stray thought by the way something dark flashed in his eyes and the gold started to bleed in.

Opening her mouth to quickly apologize, she didn't get a sound out before he was assaulting her lips with his own. His body pressed hers into the wall while his fingers tangled in her hair. That was not quite the reaction she had been expecting and she stood there stunned until the kiss began to work its magic on her. She started to return the kiss, melting against him until he finally pulled away.

“Please, kitten, tell me the news,” Spike pleaded hoarsely. “We can work from there.”

“I'm...pregnant...” she said haltingly, letting out a long breath and lowering her eyes.

“You sound so bloody thrilled.”

He began to release her, but she lifted her gaze quickly and grabbed hold of his arms to keep him with her. Her eyes narrowed, tired of this crap—very tired. This was going to have to stop, especially with her being made out to be the Big Bad Bitch of the West. If she was going to be someone's mother then she needed to straighten this all out once and for all...so he could get down to pampering his pregnant mate, of course.

“Look, we can't keep doing this and this is the last time I'm going to say this. I...” she continued tentatively, “love you and our daughters, but,” then stronger, “that doesn't mean I can't be worried. I know you didn't think you'd get kids, being a vampire and all, and I know that in your time girls my age were married with babies. That's not he way it works now. I'm supposed to get to finish High School and go to college where I party my ass off then cram at last minute. Then, if I was normal, I'd get to think about all that adult stuff like career and family. Being a slayer, I was just happy if I made it to college and got to live it up a bit.”

She licked her lips then saw he was about to speak so she shook her head. “Now, on top of not getting to be a real teenager because of my calling, what little fun I get just went 'poof', right out the window. I don't even know if this means I get to attend my last year of High School. I work hard to make it this far and survive longer than a lot of slayers, but don't get to see the rewards. So gee, I wonder why I wasn't all bubbly happy over this happening now. You just make it worse by accusing me of not loving you or my daughters.”

With that, she released him and stood back with her arms crossed to signal she was finally done with her rant. He was frowning still, but at least she saw it wasn't really focused on her.

“Slayer...Buffy,” he began after pondering her words, “You'll get your Senior year, I promise you that. An' if we can, you'll get your university, too, even if we have to do it online or by mail, okay? You got me an' mum to help carry the load, once we do somethin' about Amanda, that is.”

“Yeah, 'cause if she kills us I'm sure the point is moot,” Buffy said sullenly, turning to sit down on one of the bottom steps of the staircase. “You think she's dead like Melody said? Or a vampire? I think this'll be the only time I hope someone's a vampire...”

“I'd almost take that as an insult if I weren't thinkin' the same thing.” He sat down beside her and slid his arms around her small frame. “That is assumin' that as a vampire she'd survive havin' this entity ripped out of her.”

“Hey, Mr. Party Pooper, leave me with a little delusional hope here,” she whined.

“So, we good, pet?” he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder. His baby blues peered into hers hopefully.

“You tell me. You're the one that was really upset about my lack of joyfulness at the quick pregnancy.” She blushed slightly and added with a healthy dose of shame, “And the one that got clocked in the nose...”

“Never could stay mad at you,” he vowed softly, gifting her with a small smile to make her feel better. “Though, could we curb that instinct in the future? Don't need to be teachin' the sprogs the virtues of spousal abuse...”

“Oh god, I'm a husband beater!” she instantly wailed and buried her face in his chest, causing him to groan at his stupid chosen words.

“Pet, luv... you're not an abuser,” he quickly tried to calm her down. “You hit me once. Once! Well, okay, you hit me more than that, but that was when I was tryin' to kill you. But, since we've been mated there's been just that once. If we go by since we met, then we'd be screwed.”

His ears picked up a hiccuped laugh that was muffled by his shirt. He took that as a good sign that he had made it all better, which had his chest swelling with manly pride at his skill at taking care of his mate. Well, most of the time. He needed the points where he could get them. While he was still ahead, he scooped her up and carried her toward their room. Now that they knew she was pregnant, he was definitely going to make sure she got plenty of rest and nourishment.