Chapter 6: ‘You’re Beautiful’
“You’re Beautiful”
(James Blunt Lyrics)
‘My life is brilliant.
My life is brilliant,
My love is pure.
I saw an angel,
Of that I’m sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won’t lose no sleep on that,
Cause, (hey hehehe) I’ve got a plan.
You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
Cause…..I’ll never be with you.
Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Flying high……(obscenity follows!)
Fucking high!
And I don’t think that I’ll ever see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.
You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
Cause I’ll never be with you.
You’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
Cause I’ll never be with you.
You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it’s time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.
A/N: This was a little prologue to Chapter 6 because I just heard this song for the first time. Oh God, it made me cry like a baby and I thought it fit with Spike and Buffy. But don’t worry my little Spuffy lovers, even beautiful songs can be ‘off key’ and wrong.
I promise, ‘most’ of the words in this mournful tune will apply to Spike’s desire for Buffy. However, I’ve a few tricks up my sleeve and the song may not necessarily remain the same! Let’s face it…..Spike is tenacious to say the least!
Summary: Spike finds out more information about Buffy’s past. The movie ‘undate’ begins and everything looks like it’s going to work out fine.
Chapter 6:
“What’s up Spike?” Angel O’Connor greeted his old friend amicably. The older doctor watched William Giles as he strode through his office door. Angel noticed that old Spike didn’t seem as sure of himself as usual.
‘Something’s wrong with old Willie,’ Angel surmised with a sly smirk. ‘Even his cocky swagger is a little less, well cocky?’ This new and more humble version of Spike Giles amused Angel O’Connor, no doubt about that.
“Angelus,” Spike grunted in reply as he flopped down in an empty chair across from the big man’s desk.
“What brings ‘you’ in here,” Angel asked with a slight chuckle. “And don’t tell me it’s old man Ethan Rayne’s case because I know you can handle that yourself. This is something different Willie boy that I’m sure of. So, fess up what’s got your knickers in a twist, as you’d say, huh?”
Spike eyed his old ‘friend’ nervously, then, with a shrug of his shoulders, began to explain.
“You know Buffy Summers, right?” Spike asked his friend and one-time rival cautiously.
“Oh, I get it!” Angel burst out into hearty, loud laughter and actually slammed his meaty fist onto his desk. “You’ve been hit by the Buffy Summers’ arrow of love, right?”
Angel managed to choke out the question between boisterous guffaws of laughter. He continued, rather loudly for Spike’s taste, “Buffy’s managed to it again, eh? Shot you right through the heart with her magic arrow and now you’re a dead man! I don’t know how that girl manages to ‘do that’ and not even have an inkling in her pretty head? That she’s 'done it' that is! So, Spike, how long did it take for you to fall for Buffy? A day? A night? Or maybe an hour or minutes…..” Angel continued, his words trailing off into a wicked chuckle.
“This is hardly funny mate,” Spike grumbled, frowning at the older doctor.
“Oh, shit, but it’s really hysterical!” Angel replied with a shake of his dark head. “You? Stone cold Spike Giles? Taken down by a mere slip of a girl, and a little California doll, too? It’s fucking priceless!”
Angel began to laugh again and Spike stood to leave. “Well if you’re going to sit there, braying like a bloody jackass? I’ll just take my questions elsewhere and…..” he stopped when Angel motioned for him to sit back down.
“Oh, sit the fuck down and shut the hell up,” Angel muttered trying to compose himself. “I’ll tell you everything I know about Buffy Summers and well, it’s a lot I guess. The truth is, Willie, my personal feelings aside? I think you and Miss Summers just might make the perfect couple together.”
Spike sat in his borrowed office, the one the Sunnydale General had provided for him to use. At least while he was practicing there anyway.
The blond doctor sat, mulling over the last hour he had spent with his old pal, Angel O’Connor. Not only had Angel given Spike all the current 411 on Buffy Summers personal love life, at least as ‘he’ knew it? Angel had explained some things about just how and why Buffy ended up volunteering at the nursery for terminally ill babies.
‘Not a very pretty story,’ Spike reminded himself as he thought about just what Angel had told him earlier.
Apparently, Hank Summers, Buffy’s dad had left her mother, Joyce for another woman, in LA. This had been some years before when Buffy was still quite young and in school. The woman in LA, the new Mrs. Summers, had brought a daughter and a son to the marriage.
The boy, Andrew was his name, now worked for Buffy at the coffee shop. He was younger then Buffy and had grown quite close to his Sunnydale step-sister through the years. The daughter, Faith had been her name, was older then Buffy and completely out-of-control. However, Buffy had taken an intense liking to Faith and stayed close to the older girl, even though she lived in LA with her mother, Alice and Hank.
This Faith, about seven years before this, had taken up with another loser by the name of Ford something or other. Even though Hank, Alice and yes, even Joyce and Buffy had tried to help Faith, they failed miserably. Ford and Faith both soon became immersed in the street drug life of LA and were lost to everyone that loved them.
Not only had both Ford and Faith contracted HIV/AIDS virus from tainted needles; they had unfortunately been careless in other ways. Faith gave birth to a heroin addicted little girl who sadly had contracted HIV from her.
Soon after little their daughter’s birth, both Faith and Ford shot up with a hot speedball and overdosed together. They left the child, Lizzy was her name, parentless and doomed to a horrible death sentence.
Buffy had been devastated, literally, when she lost her tragic step-sister Faith. To console herself, she took up the cause of caring for little Lizzy, who was named after her, and helping her step-mother in any way she could. The poor child had not lived to see her second birthday, even though she did successfully withdraw from the addiction her parents had caused her.
Spike frowned and sighed deeply, remembering how Angel had shook his head sadly as he related Buffy’s tragic tale. Because of Buffy’s sad family history, she had dedicated herself to helping sick children.
When her ex-fiancé had brought her to Sunnydale G. almost two years ago and she had found the special nursery? Buffy became a permanent fixture at the hospital, almost addicted to the nursery and those poor babies herself.
“That explains Buffy’s determination to see to it that those poor tots get the attention they need,” Spike reasoned with another heavy sigh. Spike himself had always detached his own personal feelings from his patients, at least pretty well anyway.
He was a heart surgeon first and foremost and even though he had lost a patient or two? He had succeeded in covering his personal feelings of loss and failure. It was like Angel had said earlier…..Spike Giles had a stone-cold heart in all aspects of his life. Or, at least he had, until he had met Buffy Summers.
Spike went over the conversations he had had with Angel just a while earlier. The one about Buffy’s personal love life. He could remember the reluctance in Angel’s dark eyes as he explained a few things to Spike:
“Buffy was engaged to that stupid moron, Riley Finn, for about three years I guess. Not that it was the best decision the girl has ever made, but that was that,” Angel rambled on in his usual monotone.
“I think it was about two years ago that I met Buffy and took an interest in her,” Angel continued, deep in thought. He made it a point not to look Spike in the eye. Angel was well aware of his good buddy, Spike’s, temperamental personality and apparently, Buffy had deeply rooted herself into his heart and soul. Angel was sure that Spike had already laid claim to Buffy’s affections and would be pretty pissed at any other man who showed an interest in her.
“Buffy is loyal, Spike,” Angel explained quickly, “and her feelings for her fiancé was no exception. She made it clear to me that she wasn’t interested in any type of romantic relationship with me. A while later; Buffy introduced me to Cordelia Chase and well, the rest is history.” He grinned, benevolently at his friend, Spike.
“When Buffy and Riley split up? I was already wrapped up in Cordy and there was never a question of any relationship with Buffy. She, on the other hand, tried to move on by dating a couple of guys that she had known for years; Parker Abrams, a tech here in the hospital; and Xander Harris, a local cop and……”
“I met Harris,” Spike grumbled lowly. “He’s a bit of a wanker, huh?”
“Yeah, poor Harris is more boy then man and that’s the problem. Buffy needs a man, not a boy in her life. Anyone that knows her knows that,” Angel finished with a slight frown.
“So Buffy’s made it bloody clear she’s not interested in this Harris or Abrams?” Spike asked hopefully.
“Yup,” Angel grunted with a shrug. “The thing is,” he continued, “is that it’s not like Riley Finn was her soul mate either. At least that’s not the drift I caught from anyone that’s known her. Actually, Buffy caught Riley with another woman; a gal that Buffy, Cordelia and even Riley grew up with. Here in Sunnydale. Her name’s Harmony Kendall and from what I hear, they’re engaged now. Finn and Kendall that is. I’ve met Harmony, she’s a real bimbo with a capital ‘B’ and that’s no lie.”
“Maybe Finn and this chit deserve each other then, huh?” Spike scowled at the thought of this idiot Finn throwing Buffy over for a seemingly vapid tramp like this Kendall woman.
‘What man in his right mind would give up Buffy for someone like this ignorant trollop,’ he asked himself ruefully. ‘The man must be a complete idiot.’
“Yes, and to think they were all supposed friends once? That’s the real stake in the heart, isn’t it?” Angel muttered under his breath; his right brow was raised in mockery.
“Anyway,” Angel continued with a frustrated sigh, “Buffy has really built some walls up around herself. They’ll be hard to break down, Spike. I’m thinking that if anyone can do it, though, you can.”
Spike fiddled with his pen, trying to write up some kind of notes on his patient, Ethan Rayne. His mind kept going back to his conversation with Angel and everything they talked about. There was more, much more that Angel had disclosed to him, but Spike was just too damned tired to think about ‘that’ now.
Right now, Spike was more interested in the fact that Wednesday, tonight that is, was one of the nights that Buffy showed at the hospital. He had every intention of being there, in the hallowed halls of Sunnydale General when the little angel, Miss Summers, showed her lovely face.
Thursday morning dawned bright and clear; another early call for Spike, at the hospital. He stumbled into Sunnydale General, his doctor’s coat half pulled about him.
After only a few minutes, Spike ran smack into Tara McClay and Willow.
“You look like crap,” Tara blurted out, not too very tactfully. “Did you get any sleep last night?”
“Not much,” Spike yawned in reply. “I had a lot on my mind,” he muttered lowly. “Let me ask you something,” he continued slowly. “I thought I’d drop by Buffy’s coffee place tonight, after my stint here. What do you think?”
“I think you’d better slow down cowboy,” Willow piped up with a bright blush. “Buffy doesn’t like to be pushed and…..”
“Did Buffy ‘tell’ you to drop by?” Tara asked quietly. She watched her old friend warily, fully aware of his votile nature.
“No,” Spike muttered gruffly. “But I’m supposed to meet her, at your friends’ house. The Pryces; Wesley and Fred? Buffy asked me to join you guys tomorrow night and……”
Willow gasped, audibly, “no way! If Buffy asked you to be a part of the traditional Friday movie night! Well, that’s big, Spike, really big!”
“It is a big step, especially for Buffy,” Tara nodded in agreement with her girlfriend. “It’s really saying something that she’d let you in, even that much,” she finished with a warm smile.
“So,” Spike began again, impatiently, “should I stop by Buffy’s shop tonight or not?”
“Yes,” both Tara and Willow cried in unison. “But only for one cup of coffee and a quick chat,” Tara added firmly. “Don’t push her, William,” she warned her friend. “Buffy will only be pushed so far then she’ll push back. I don’t think you want that, do you?”
Friday night came quickly enough for Buffy, kind of that is. Clem and Sophie, her good friends, had picked her up and driven her to Wesley and Fred’s winery for the movie night. Buffy rarely drove her own car, as she and driving had always proved to be very unmixy things.
Spike had informed Buffy that he would drive himself, following Tara and Willow out to the winery so he wouldn’t get lost. Sophie and Clem had picked up Buffy a tad late, as the baby sitter for their two children had been late to their house. By the time the trio arrived at the Pryce’s winery, the other guest were already there.
Spike was sitting in a seat outside in the front yard, chatting amicably with Wesley Pryce when Clem pulled the car up to park. Buffy watched as her ‘undate’ nearly leapt out of his chair to meet open her side of the door.
“You look amazing, sweet,” Spike purred to Buffy, eyeing her simple but pretty outfit. He held out his hand to help her from the car.
“You look pretty good yourself,” Buffy quipped coyly in reply as she took his offered hand in hers.
“I see you’re getting along, famously already with your fellow countryman?” Buffy smiled at Wesley who had now joined them and hugged her warmly.
“We’ve already discovered that Spike here and I were born quite close to each other, in London. Almost neighbors really,” Wesley chimed in eagerly.
“I’m going to go help out in the kitchen,” Buffy offered quickly, suddenly shy again. “You two talk away and I’ll see what I can do to help out Tara, Fred and Willow.”
She hurried into the Pryce house in search of her female friends, just a bit unnerved by Spike’s presence here. A part of her was truly happy that Spike seemed to be fitting in, immediately with her group, though.
“Well, I think it’s great,” Buffy could hear Fred’s soft southern drawl through the kitchen door. “It’s about damn time Buffy dropped those ‘walls’ of hers Tara here is always talking about,” Mrs. Pryce continued, unaware that Buffy was now in the room with them.
“This Spike guy seems to have made a chip in the one of Buffy’s walls and……” Fred’s voice trailed off quickly when Willow elbowed her gently. Tara smiled in affection at her friend Buffy and waved her further into the kitchen.
“Uhm, we were just talking about your ‘friend’ Spike,” Willow stammered somewhat defensively. “Fred was just saying that he seems nice and all and……”
“It’s okay guys,” Buffy giggled mischievously, “everyone would have to be blind to not see that I ‘am’ interested in the guy, right?”
When the four women went outside with the food for the movie viewing, they were met by a surprise. Xander Harris and his best friend, Jesse, were sitting in chairs by Wesley, Spike, Clem and Sophie.
Buffy could see that there was an uncomfortable tension surrounding the group and cursed Xander under her breath.
‘Why the hell is ‘he’ here,’ she wondered angrily.
As if he heard her, Xander stood up and grinned boyishly at Buffy. “Thought I’d finally take old Wes here up on an invitation and bring a ‘friend’ of my own, Buff,” he chuckled defensively. Xander gave Spike a nasty frown when he finished explaining his presence.
“Oh,” Buffy mumbled, glancing at Spike who looked anything but pleased with this.
Fred saved the moment by suggesting they dig into the delicious looking food and start the movie. The hostess quickly bade Buffy to sit next to Spike and Wesley showed the others their proper seats.
Spike politely ignored Xander Harris’ ugly scowl he shot his way. He was too busy watching the little blond next to him.
‘She looks like a kid at a Sunday matinee,’ Spike told himself. The thought brought a slight smile to his mouth.
“What?” Buffy whispered when she noticed how Spike was looking at her. The movie was starting and she didn’t want to miss any of it, but his adoring stare was unnerving her once again.
“Nothin’ Princess,” Spike murmured tenderly, brushing a lock of hair from her face, gently. “I was just thinking.”
“You’re really beautiful Buffy,” Spike whispered sincerely; never breaking his gaze from her incredible green eyes.
To be continued…..
(You’re Beautiful: Reprise)
‘You’re beautiful, You’re beautiful,
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it’s time you faced the truth……
Yes, I ‘will’ be with you.
A/N: Okay, I changed the James Blunt lyrics with a few of my own!
The next chapter will start with the continuation of the undate and a surprise ending to the evening!
Thank you for reading and please review. I love those reviews, spufette!
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for reading this. I loved all the reviews so far!