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Author's Chapter Notes:
Long time no update, sorry.
I hope there is still interest in this story and my other WIP.
Please read and enjoy...thanks, spuf
THE WORLD IS MINE


Chapter 19: ‘Spouses; In-laws …..and Other Strangers’


“I don’t understand why your folks couldn’t come out to Haddon and…..”

Buffy let her sentence trail off as she watched the passing scenery; a mix of green hills and farm houses.

Spike and her were on their way to Bath; something Buffy had originally looked forward to, but now…..

“Sweetheart,” Spike began with a soft, just enough to cut her off at the pasts, “I told you, Mum wants to kill the fatted calf and all.”

‘Yeah, kill the fatted calf,’ Buffy grimaced slightly.

“Just as long as I’m not the fatted calf,” she muttered out loud as she patted her plump tummy.

“Oh, Buffy, for Christ’s sake!” Spike hissed loudly just be fore he pulled their rented Coop to the side of the road.

“Look,” Spike began, a bit harsher then he really meant to. “My folks are not the anti-Christ’s, sweetling.”

His blue eyes bore into Buffy’s green ones with a vengeance.

“I, I didn’t mean to say that,” Buffy stammered in reply, her green eyes tearing up.

“I just meant that…..” she began again, but was unable to finish. Instead, she stared out at the rolling hills before her. There were sheep and cattle that dotted the little green hills.

‘How sweet,’ she whispered somewhat sarcastically, more to herself then anyone else in the small car.

“Buffy, sweetheart,” Spike began again, this time his tone was much more gentle; more William like.

“I just thought that if your folks came to Haddon, we could have had the Inn send up a lovely lunch and, well you know,” she grumbled under her breath.

“It will be fine,” Spike mumbled through gritted teeth; his strong hands gripped the steering wheel like a vice.

“I just don’t want them thinking I trapped you, okay?” Buffy whimpered like a child; something she hated to do but couldn’t quite seem to help herself.

She tried to glare at her groom, but only ended up staring at him in a helpless, pleading sort of way.

“Buffy, pet,” Spike cooed gently as he drove the small car past the ‘Welcome to Bath’ sign.

“It’s going to be fine, I promise,” he murmured softly, giving his bride a quick smile. “No, my folks don’t think you trapped me either,” he added with a sigh.

“Truth is,” he continued matter-of-factly, “they probably think that ‘I’ trapped you.”

“Although they love me,” Spike began hesitantly, “they know me and my faults pet.”

“Yeah, right,” Buffy muttered under her breath. “Their precious, sweet little boy trapped into marriage by the siren of Sunnydale and….”

Spike cut her off once again.

“Buffy,” he hissed through gritted teeth, “I mean it. My folks will love you…I promise.”

They continued the rest of their journey in silence, at least until Spike pulled the rented car up in front of a rather large, intimidating brick house.

“Here we are,” Spike crowed with somewhat false merriness. “Home sweet home.”

“It looks more like a fucking mansion to me,” Buffy grumbled gruffly, her arms defiantly folded across her chest burgeoning chest.

“Buffy, please,” Spike spat out in a measured tone. “Me mum don’t like foul language and…..”

“How about poor grammar,” Buffy asked wryly; her left eyebrow raised at her darling husband’s use of the slang word don’t.

“I give,” Spike groaned in defeat.

“Okay, let’s go,” Buffy cried happily as she pushed her passenger side door open.

“Huh?” Spike asked incredulously; his blue eyes wide with confusion.

He watched as his somewhat obviously pregnant wife slipped out of the car.

“Are you coming?” Buffy asked slyly, her mouth was shaped into a mischievous grin rather then the pout from earlier.

“I wonder if pregnancy is this bloody chaotic every time,” Spike muttered to himself.

He turned off the car and joined his beloved bride on the front porch of his parents palatial home.

“Keep up the erratic behavior and I’ll paddle that luscious little arse of yours when we get back to the inn,” Spike whispered into Buffy’s closest ear.

“Promise?” Buffy giggled coquettishly in reply.

Her sweet mouth was curled up into a wicked little smirk.

“I’ll never understand you,” Spike growled lowly, just before his mother answered her front door.


{Meanwhile, back in Sunnydale…..}

Anya Harris reached to grasp the doorknob of her husband’s closed office door.

When the couple had rented their Sunnydale penthouse, Xander had insisted on the private office area. Since Anya would walk over hot coals for her hubby, the office was included, of course.

The obviously nervous young woman hesitated to turn to turn the knob and open the door when she heard the loud male voices from within.

It felt as if her heart was in her throat…..

“I don’t understand why you can’t just let it go Xand,” Frank Harris stated evenly.

“Buffy is family; can’t you let her have some happiness in peace and…..” he began diplomatically before his older brother cut him off.

“I care about Buffy, a hundred times more then you little brother,” Xander snorted ruefully before he poured himself another drink of whisky.

“I doubt that,” Frank muttered under his breath.

“I’m not ‘after’ Buffy,” Xander continued dryly, “I just want that prick of a husband of hers out of the way,” he added with another snort.

“Remember,” the older brother continued matter-of-factly, “this British prick is the bane of our existence…..”

Frank interrupted immediately….. “or are you just jealous of the fact that Giles came here and managed to do something you couldn’t!”

“What would that be?” Xander asked his brother non-chalantly enough.

“Capture Buffy’s heart,” Frank murmured softly; his dark eyes focused on the office door.

Frank could ‘sense’ his brother’s wife at the other side of that door. He felt a twinge of guilt and shame shoot through his body.

‘Pity that Xander doesn’t have the pesky sense of conscience,” Frank thought, sadly shaking his dark head.

“Hey Frank,” Anya Harris murmured softly as she entered her husband’s office.

“Hey Ahn,” Frank replied quietly, his dark eyes focused on the desk in front of him.

“Am I missing something?” Anya asked quietly before she headed to the bar and poured herself a drink.

“Nothing much,” Frank muttered in reply. He tried desperately to keep the anger out of his voice.

“You know, Ahn,” Xander mumbled in his most sardonic tone as he eyed his wife’s full glass of presumably whisky. “I think if you want a kid so much, you’d lay off the fucking booze a bit,” he grunted and shrugged.

Anya looked as if someone had stuck a knife through her very soul which caused Frank to bolt from his comfortable chair.


“Do you have to be such a prick?” Frank barked angrily, his dark eyes blazed with fire.

“No, I don’t have to be such a fucking prick, but I enjoy the practice,” Xander replied harshly.

“Why practice?” Anya piped in. “You seem to have it down to an art already.”

“Now wait a minute,” Xander growled, visibly upset by now. “I…..”

“Forget it,” Frank ordered gruffly. “Can’t we just be a normal, loving family for once without all of the drama?”

“Doubtful,” Xander muttered cynically.

“We could try,” Anya whispered hopefully.

“We could try,” Frank echoed wistfully.

“Okay,” Xander sighed, “but it’ll be a stretch for us.”

“I have to go with Frank on this one honey,” Anya mumbled quietly. Her dark eyes darted between her husband and his brother.

Xander grimaced slightly and then shrugged in resignation.

“You seem to be agreeing with Frankie a lot lately,” the older man muttered gruffly. He took another gulp of his drink and shot a sour look at his younger brother.

“Like you’d notice,” Anya spat. “When do you ever notice me anymore,” she added sadly.

“Xander!” Jesse, Xander’s head henchman burst through the apartment door.

“We’ve found Angel,” Jesse gasped. “Up near Salinas,” he finished with a victorious cry.

“Who the fuck goes to Salinas?” Xander asked incredulously.

“Uhm, Bobby McGee, maybe,” Anya offered gutlessly.

Frank smirked appreciatetively at his sister-in-law’s witty reply.

Xander just glared at his bride.

“But let’s be serious,” Xander finally muttered gruffly. “What are we going to do about Angel Crawford?”


(Over at the Sunnydale police headquarters…..}

“What I don’t get,” Riley Finn stammered with that ‘deer in the caught in the headlights’ look of his…..

“Why would Angel and his wife go to a simple town like Salinas, California? Why not New York, or even out of the country or…..”

Finn was cut off by his commanding officer, Rupert Giles.

“Actually, it was smart move on Crawford’s part,” Rupert stated matter-of-factly.

“Salinas is far removed from the hubbub of city life and a peaceful place to hide out, really,” Giles continued. “Who would think to look for a shady figure like Angel in what is basically a farm village?”

“Apparently,” Riley interjected soberly, “Xander and Frank Harris.”

“Say what?” Rupert nearly gasped as he slammed his cuppa tea down on his desk.


{Back in Merry Olde England!}


Buffy sat and listened to her mother-in-law, Constance Giles, ramble on and on about such mundane things.

Oh, there was the thingy about the time little William (who was really quite little at the time) made mud pies in the back yard and actually ate one!

Wasn’t that precious though!?

Oh, then there was the time that young adult William had fallen head over heels for the local beauty, Cecily Adams, and written some horribly awful poetry for her. That she just loved by the way and they went on to get engaged.

Cecily, it seemed was a crack cook and impressed everyone with her culinary delights!

‘How nice is that?’ Buffy snorted quietly as she shoved another stuffed mushroom into her mouth. A mouth that was quite twisted in a frown by this time and…..

‘Yes I am truly in hell now,’ Buffy thought to herself as she munched her appetizer rather slowly. A way to shut herself up, no doubt.

Buffy could hear her new husband, William and his father, Geoffrey Giles in the other room. Oh, they were just talking and talking away; catching up as it were. At least that’s what Constance had insisted on, earlier that is, when Buffy and Will had arrived at the Giles’ home.

“You two just go in and catch up now,” Constance had gently commanded to her husband and only son.

“Buffy and I will throw lunch together and be out in a jiff,” she had added with a wry smile.
“Tell me about your people, dear,” Constance stated in her quiet but quite commanding voice.

Buffy gulped nervously and watched the older woman as she began to masterfully assemble some kind of egg sandwiches.

“My people?” Buffy asked, her tone sounded unsteady even to herself.

This was when Buffy had realized that she was truly in trouble and there was probably no way out now.

“Your mother, father and don’t you have a younger sister?” Constance asked, casually slapping the top bread slices onto the egg mixture.

Buffy was feeling rather queasy at the moment; quite sure that this wasn’t another bout of morning sickness.


“Buffy,” Constance asked her new daughter-in-law; a look of genuine concern on her handsome face.

That was when Buffy realized that William did look quite a lot like his mother too. He had his father’s amazing blue eyes, of course, but there was something about his mother’s face and demeanor that he possessed also.

“Buffy dear,” Constance repeated patiently.

“Yeah, I mean yes! I have people!” Buffy blurted out in reply.

“Buffy,” Constance began again in her clipped, reserved voice that made said Buffy quite uncomfortable indeed.


Buffy shyly glanced at her mother-in-law and noticed a warm, almost loving look on the older woman’s lovely face.

“They are good people,” Buffy mumbled softly, her thoughts on her mother Joyce and her endearingly sweet and impulsive Dawnie; her little sister.

The glass of apple juice on the breakfast bar in front of her looked suddenly very appetizing and Buffy gulped it down quickly.

“My father, Hank, he isn‘t so great,” Buffy finished in a subdued tone. Her green eyes focused on the empty juice glass before her and she wondered why Will hadn‘t discussed all of this with his folks already.

“My father is a jerk,” Buffy blurted out, staring at her mother-in-law with pout. “Mom is wonderful and so is Dawn, but dad is a fool! I’m not wealthy and I don’t come from rich family and I am definitely not a crack cook!”

Buffy finished her outburst with a frown.

Constance Giles sat down on the bar stool next to Buffy and refilled her glass with more juice.

“I know that your mother is an amazing woman, dear,” the older woman stated softly. “William has told Geoffrey and I all about your family and you….”

“Oh, uhm,” Buffy began hesitantly; she fumbled with the refilled glass of juice and took another sip.

Buffy felt the gentle pressure of her mother-in-law’s strong hand on her right arm.

‘Is she patting my arm?’ Buffy wondered, surprised at the turn of events.

“Buffy, honey,” Constance began cautiously, “William has told us how strong and wonderful your mother truly is. I know you love your family, even if your father ‘is’ a fool. He certainly must be a fool to walk away from a lovely woman like your mother and his beautiful daughters. We can’t choose our family members, Buffy, and we certainly cannot help it if they do stupid things. Can we?”

Buffy shot Constance an incredulous look! Her green eyes were wide in amazement.

“I just thought,” Buffy stuttered, confused. Maybe she had just misjudged her mother-in-law. Maybe Constance wasn’t the pretentious, judgemental woman that she had assumed she was?

“That perhaps I preferred someone like Cecily Adams for my only son?” Constance finished for Buffy.

“Believe me, dear, I certainly would rather pull all of my hair out or at the least have twenty-four hour root canal then have William end up with someone like that Adams girl.”

“I don’t understand,” Buffy muttered, even more confused then before. This was certainly a bizarre turn of events. Her reserved, upper crust mother-in-law appeared to have an earthy side that she would never have guessed at.

“I think you and I got off on the wrong foot, Buffy,” Constance murmered gently. “Or maybe just a misguided foot?”

“You see,” Constance continued, “Cecily Adams was supposedly everything a woman ‘should’ want for her only son. A beautiful, accomplished young woman from a so-called flawless family. However…..” she hesitated for a moment, just to put the words right.

“Cecily was something that, fortunately, William realized wasn’t right for him.”

“What was that?” Buffy gave Constance an inquisitive stare.

“A right stuck up snob and not near enough good enough for him,” Constance replied with a nod. “What’s a great cook when you’re a bloody cold-hearted bitch?”

Buffy sat, open mouthed and wide-eyed as Constance continued.

“You see, Buffy,” Constance smiled knowingly, “a man like William needs a woman like you in his life. A strong, non-pretentious woman; beautiful, smart and compassionate. Not a faded rose; fragile and self-absorbed like Cecily.”

“Not to mention…..I believe that William has been in love with ‘you’ since his Uncle Rupert sent him that photo of you years ago. Who deny a young man such a romantic fancy such as love at first sight,” she finished with a warm chuckle.

“Oh,” Buffy murmered dazedly.

“I believe that you are perfect for my son, Buffy. Geoffrey and I are thrilled that William has found such an amazing woman to share his life with,” Constance smiled and tenderly squeezed Buffy’s hand.

“So, you, uhm don’t mind that I’m pregnant and all?” Buffy asked, a little more timidly then she would like.

“I guess I thought you and Will’s dad might think I kind of trapped him and all,” Buffy added shyly.

“Of course not!” Constance gasped audibly, “that’s just the icing on the cake! After all, I was three months gone with William when Geof and I finally tied the knot!”

{We’ll drop a compassionate curtain on the rest of this little scene…..}


“Geoffrey, William,” Constance called through her parlour door. “Supper’s on. Bring your pints and set your bums down on the kitchen chairs. My beautiful daughter-in-law and I have worked our fingers to the bone on this repast.”

“Thank you,” Buffy whispered lovingly to Constance as she watched her husband and father-in-law dig into their sandwiches and salads.

“Thank you,” Constance replied under her breath. “I thank you and God for coming into William’s life.”


A/N: Well, this has been months in coming and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

A couple of points: Did anyone catch the reference to ‘Bobby McGee’ that I threw in there? I just love that song. Also, has anyone reading this noticed a ‘subtle’ change in Frank and Anya’s relationship? It may prove important in the future.

Please be patient with me as I have had a busy summer in RL and my writing muse seemed to have taken a sabbatical from me.

Hopefully I will be able to update this story and my other WIP more consistently from now on.

Since the turn of events back in Sunnydale, I believe that Buffy and Spike’s honeymoon just may be cut short.

Thanks for reading this and please review…..spufette.





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