“William you have a lovely home.”
“Thank you Joyce, it’s been part of the family for a while now.” Spike said proudly as he wrapped his arm solidly around Buffy’s small figure. The five of them, Buffy, Spike, and her family stood in the grand entrance foyer to the house. “Can I get you some drinks possibly?”
“I’ll just have a soda.” Dawn said with a smile as she moved across the space between everyone to stand next to Spike and Buffy. Her weekend here had left Dawn to accept the guy, although she was still really cautious of him.
“And you Hank? Scotch right?” Spike offered looking to the oldest man in the room.
Hank nodded his head, “Yes that will be fine.”
“I’ll just have water, can’t have anything alcoholic with the medication.” Joyce said with a smile.
Spike looked to Tara who stood off behind Joyce and Hank. “Tara can you get those drinks please,” Quickly he looked down to Buffy. “Pet, are you thirsty?”
Buffy however stood there almost in a daze, the embarrassing moments of up on the balcony still playing over and over in her head. Her cheeks were still flushed, but it wasn’t just because her parents had caught her ‘swapping spit’ as Dawn would call it, but because of the kiss she and Spike had shared as well. “Pet?” Spike called to her waving his hand in front of her eyes, jolting her to pay attention.
“Huh? Oh! I’ll just have wine please.” She smiled at Tara, who gave a quiet and polite nod.
“And I’ll take just a beer, Tara.” Spike said as Tara went on her way to fetch the drinks. They stood there for a few seconds in silence before Spike clapped his hands together. “Well! Why don’t we go into the sitting room, until dinner is ready?” Everyone nodded their head in agreements. Joyce and Hank followed behind Dawn, while Spike and Buffy stood back a little.
Buffy tugged on Spikes hand stopping him. She listened for a second and realized at how silent the rest of the house was. Not a single person such as Faith, Wesley, Xander…any of them had made an appearance. There was no yelling for a rematch at video games, or calls to take care of business. For a second Buffy had almost forgotten that Spike’s five employees and Anya lived here. She looked to Spike with a questioning expression. “Where is everyone?”
“Sent them out for the evening. The meeting is between me and your father, and I didn’t want them to interrupt dinner.” Spike told her. Buffy laughed, at the very known fact that if they weren’t eating with them, they’d still barge in. Andrew would come running in saying Faith and Anya were using his computers to do online shopping again and Xander would come running in complaining that Gunn sprained his arm while they wrestled. In the couple weeks that Buffy had spent at the estate she knew that Spike wasn’t just a mafia boss but was also Daddy to everyone in the house and some of them were even beginning to complain to Buffy as if she were their mother.
Spike held her hand in his tightly and lead her to the sitting room, his thumb stroking the side of her hand, which made her whole hand tingle. Joyce and Hank were already occupying the longer couch, and Dawn sitting in one of the arm chairs, leaving Buffy and Spike to sit on the smaller love seat. Within minutes Tara entered and gave the drinks out.
Buffy’s mother observed the quiet exchange that went between her and Spike as if trying to seek out something that wasn’t ‘right’. It made Buffy’s stomach jump with some nervous flips, worrying her well known observant mother would actually see through the lies.
“Buffy how is rehearsal going?” Joyce asked, finally breaking the silence after she took her first drink of water. She looked at her eldest daughter curiously.
“It’s going well. As Dawn might have told you, we got most of the costumes and big set orders taken care of. Lorne is getting nervous because a couple big known producers of dance companies are looking to maybe scout him as a professor for them.” Buffy said. She couldn’t tell if it was the wine, talking about dance, or Spike’s constant calming thumb that was letting her relax a little. She smiled at Spike quickly before taking another sip of her glass.
“I heard. Are you going to have the tickets sent over to us dear?”
Buffy nodded her head and took yet another sip of her wine. With the route that she was going, she had no doubt that she would be buzzed by the time dinner was served. She tried to ignore the scrutinizing look her mother was giving her. Trying to find that messed up thread of woven lies that Spike and Hank had fed the oldest Summer’s woman.
Spike looked at Buffy with a smile, leaving him to not notice Joyce scan Buffy’s left ring finger, and find still no ring. Whether Joyce made the connection or not, she didn’t say anything to bring notice.
“Oh Buffy you have to show mommy and daddy the surprise that Spike gave you?” Dawn said, with an excited jump.
Buffy gave her sister a confused look, wondering how her sister heard about the studio but Spike’s next response answered that. “I showed Dawn when she had come by for a visit that one night.” The youngest Summers beamed happily in her chair. “Why don’t you show your parents and I’ll go take care of some things that I wasn’t able to finish earlier.” The bleached blonde gave her a discreet wink which left Buffy with a hazed mind for a minute. Pretending he didn’t notice, he then looked to her family and smiled. “Then I’ll meet all of you out in the back gardens to eat out on the terrace.”
“Okay.” Was all she could slip out. She handed Spike her glass of wine. Thankful that he took it otherwise she would drink a lot more while being alone with her mother. Her parents stood up along with Dawn and followed her out of the sitting room; she hoped Spike wouldn’t be long. She could only predict how many questions her mother would throw at her about the sudden choices that had caused her life to change.
“Oh my goodness Buffy!” Joyce whispered, as she and Hank stood in the middle of the dance studio that Spike had bestowed on Buffy only the day before. They looked at the vaulted ceilings, the wall of mirrors and the vast open space that Buffy had to practice out any routine she wished.
“This is quite….grand.” Her father said checking out the state of the art stereo system.
“I know. And look, he said he got in touch with the dance company and they sent my first leading role poster.” Buffy said. She sauntered over to the framed poster and looked up at it. Her 18 year old self in perfect form, nothing out of place, as she smiled down at her ‘Romeo’.
For a second she let herself be shifted back in time to remember the memorable production. She had been both nervous and excited on opening night. From her dressing room she could hear the chaotic noise of backstage and even Michael, the company’s president shouting in a frenzy voice, yelling orders in Russian that all English speakers could even understand. Her whole dressing room had been covered in roses, from the big wigs of the company and the patrons that attended the annual production, all wishing her luck. It never did stop her frantic nervous stomach.
“Well there is no doubt he supports you in dance.” Joyce smiled at her daughter, who couldn’t help but smile herself. She remembered the reason Spike had told her he did this for her. He had simply whispered it in her ear, but it had been enough. ”Because pet, I know how much dance means to you.”
“Yeah he really does.”
“Dear, are you sure about this?” Joyce asked suddenly. Her voice turning soft and caring. The sound of worry didn’t go unnoticed to Buffy either.
“Joyce!” Hank said in a hushed whisper. He gave his wife a stare, urging her to keep quiet on her obvious worries.
Joyce ignored it though. “Hank you cannot honestly tell me that you condone this.” If you only knew… Buffy thought looking from her mother and father.
“It’s something that Buffy wants.”
Although Hank Summers was the leader of a mafia, Joyce, his wife, would not stand to listen to his arguments. “Buffy, you were never one to rush into things; do you honestly know anything about William?”
A.K.A did you know you’re living with someone who is just like your father, possibly even worse?
No. “Yes.”
“Sweetie you’re not pregnant are you?”
Buffy felt like she was hit with a truck and gave her mother a horrified look. “Mother!”
“Well honestly Buffy that’s the only reasonable explanation as to why you would rush into something and be engaged after seeing a man for a few months which you didn’t even tell us about.”
Damn you Spike for leaving me to deal with this alone!
Buffy shook her head wanting to bury it in her hands and just let out the loudest scream she could muster. Instead she gave her mother a loving look and came to stand in front of her, her hand resting on her mother’s frail shoulder. “Mommy, I am not pregnant! Now I know this is something I’ve never done before. But trust me I know what I’m doing,” Lie. “Spike he has many different sides to him.” Truth. She pointed out the whole room that they were standing in, as if it were argument enough. “Things will be fine. I promise.” I hope.
Buffy could tell her mother was trying hard to give into her daughter’s soothing words and believe her. “Sweetie, you don’t even have a ring.” Her mother held up her left hand to show Buffy as if her daughter had never seen her own hand before.
Quickly Buffy looked from her father to her sister this time that stood behind her mother. She tried to come up with a perfect excuse as to why Spike had not laid out a ring on her finger. “I…..I….I didn’t want one!”
“Huh?” Her mother looked at Buffy incredulously, while Buffy stood back herself and proudly admired how quickly she whipped that one up.
“I told Spike I didn’t want a ring. Not yet at least. Although I know what I’m doing, I don’t plan on getting married for a while. So why waste it on an engagement ring until it gets closer to when we’re ready.”
Honestly she and Spike had never thought to get a ring to at least not raise suspicions from her mother. Buffy herself was still trying to get used to living at the Giles’ estate.
“It’s true, you’re daughter would not accept the ring I offered.”
Buffy’s back went rigid instantly as she heard Spike’s cool and calm voice from behind her. Her head whipped around to look over her shoulder and look at him from where he stood at the doorway of the dance studio. He didn’t hide the wink her sent her way this time. He stood up straight and walked to stand behind her, putting his hands around her waist to bring her back and rest against her chest. She didn’t realize that the second she was in his arms she had relaxed into his embrace and felt comforted.
Joyce noticed and this had been all the convincing she needed, because she said nothing else and smiled.
“Shall we have dinner, I’ve been told it’s ready.” Everyone nodded their head but Dawn stated her feelings in the silence.
“YES! I am starving!”
“Buffy has always been the animal saver.” Joyce beamed, not bothering to hide the loving laugh.
Buffy also didn’t bother to keep in the groan. She leaned back against her chair and hid her face in her hands, as if that would stop her mother from telling the embarrassing stories of her child-hood animal rescues to Spike. At hearing her groan of distress, Spike looked at the petite blonde and laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
The five of them sat at the iron wrought patio table on the bricked ground terrace in the back gardens. It had already fallen dark by the time they had finished eating and Tara and other kitchen staff removed the plates to replace them with dessert and coffee. Garden lighting gave the dinner group sight. String lights hanging from the trees, and other pole lightings around them. Designed to give off a very magical feeling. The pool across from the table glowed a soft electric blue from the lighting underneath the water.
For the past hour as they all enjoyed chocolate cake and their coffee, they talked telling of stories, and now it seemed Buffy was being put in the spotlight.
“Mother please don’t tell these stories.”
“Oh don’t worry dear,” Joyce said hushing her daughter. “There won’t be stories. Just one, like the time where you begged your father to save that little puppy.”
Dawn let out a hysterical laughter and Hank just chuckled taking a sip of his black coffee. Buffy glared at her mother, but let her have her way. She looked to be enjoying herself, and Buffy had yet to see her mother like this in awhile since news of her sickness came about. She didn’t even appear to have been unwell under the garden lights. Her skin glowed, and although her shaved head was covered in the blue silk scarf wrapped around her head, Joyce Summers appeared to be doing quite well since her last successful treatment.
“So we’re at our summer house, which was this gorgeous little beachside property but the front faced one of the busiest roads of Monterey. Buffy’s about five-in-a-half years old,” Joyce began. She looked over at her two daughters and smiled. “I was pregnant with Dawn and usually on the summer afternoons I took a nap until before dinner, while Hank took on some meetings. Most of the time Buffy would just play out on the beach, which actually could lead around to the front where the street was. I would constantly tell Hank that he needed to get some kind of fencing up, didn’t I Hank?”
Hank who still was silent, simply nodded his head.
“Well this time Buffy wanders up front and she sees this stray puppy trying to cross the street towards her. But all of a sudden this car hits the puppy and quick thinking Buffy runs out into the middle of the street. There was screeching and blaring honks before Hank ran outside to see Buffy kneeling in the middle of the road, cars stopped all around her. She’s screaming her head off and when Hank runs out to get her all she keeps saying is ‘Daddy, daddy, save the puppy!’ With tears streaming down her face like there was no tomorrow’”
“Needless to say the puppy did get to the hospital and lived. However, from then on Buffy brought in every injured animal and begged her father to save them.”
“I did not!” Buffy argued. She put her arms across her chest in a huffing manner and looked down at her empty dessert plate.
She was lying, she truly did bring in every injured animal she came across and begged her father to save them. That was when she had been completely naïve and innocent. When she had not known that most of those meetings she interrupted for her father to take her to vet or for anything else were meetings that dealt with his corrupt business and illegal handlings. She had seen her father as a true hero from that day after the puppy incident but now she couldn’t look at him and not see what he truly did.
He was no full hero. No full hero would trade his daughter for a mafia agreement even if it was to keep her fully safe as well.
“Oh Buffy you did. Whether it was birds, stray cats and dogs, anything you could find.”
The blonde 24 year old rolled her eyes. Spike however continued to laugh. He looked at her, obvious to be happy to know something a little more about her.
Buffy felt her breathe catch from the way he was staring at her. It was genuine and powerful, leaving Buffy to forget the real reason her parents had been invited to dinner. In a few minutes her father and Spike would excuse themselves from the women and go off to Spike’s office to discuss the finer details of their now allianced ‘families’.
However Spike’s smirk wiped away her worried expression and Buffy felt just like she had the first time she had met William ‘Spike’ Giles at her parent’s home. The way he looked at her, intrigued by something he said had made her seem mysterious. While all Buffy could think of was her feigned un-interest in him.
“Well if you ladies will excuse us, Spike and I have some things to take care of.” Hank said interrupting the staring between the two blondes.
Both Spike and Buffy looked at each other, her uneasy smile returning. Her hand held his tightly, as if begging for him not to. Not to walk away and make it seem even more real that their families were beginning to prepare for the war. She wanted the moment to last as long as possible in the magical seemingly garden rather than the fight that would begin on the outside of the estate walls.
She was surprised by how desperate she was to cling to Spike, when only a couple weeks ago she tried desperately to push him away. Lorne was right….he was the best way to keep her safe.
But how long could things stay safe, until the war seeped in through the estate walls?
Spike rubbed his thumb against her hand like he had only hours ago, reassuring her that things would be fine. He stood up and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, his hand holding hers until he had to walk away.
“I’ve got contacts in on the east coast that can give us higher numbers in weapons for our runners.” Hank informed Spike. The two men sat in Spike’s office, both on the long leather couch rather than at his desk. More for a symbol of equality if they both sat at the same level, rather than one behind a desk.
“That’s good. I don’t want the same incident happening to any of our runners like a couple nights ago.” Spike said, his accent heavy from the slight buzz of the alcohol he had consumed in the past hour.
The runners were one of the most important to the mafia families. They picked up the collections from the businesses and other people that owed them money. Whether it was because they needed the family’s protection or because of a loan or loss from a gamble. Collections were one of the biggest revenues to the family, other than smuggled goods, drugs, and prostitution.
Neither Hank nor Spike could afford to be losing runners and the money that would be taken. Hank was right; they needed to load their runners heavier for their protection and the protection of assets to the family, otherwise the other two would have an easier chance of getting them diminished.
“Now what do you think is the best way to take down Finn and O’Connor?” The elder man leaned back against the couch, rubbing his hand against his temples.
“Hit them where it bleedin’ hurts.”
“And how do you suppose we do that. All of O’Connor’s biggest revenue comes in from his homeland and Finn, hell they aren’t making much.”
Spike stood up. “I’m not talking money. I’m talking people,” Hank looked at him, his eyebrows raised. He was intrigued already and waited for Spike to say more. “Take out the most important people as soon as possible.”
The sound of a car pulling into the gravel circular driveway floated from the ground level to the office through the open doors. He walked to the edge of the balcony and observed beyond. His employees and Anya hopped out of the black SUV leaving it parked by the Summers’ limo. They chattered as they walked towards the front door, arguing something that Spike guessed pertained to the movie they had just spent the past couple of hours seeing.
“Spike…” Hank asked as he watched the younger bleached blonde stare out into the night.
Spike shook himself and brought his mind back to focus. He looked at Hank and chuckled. “Basically everyone knows that although Riley Finn is the front man it’s a three man run family. Riley, his cousin Graham and his controlling and devil woman of a mother Maggie.”
“Yes, Graham is more of the muscle of the family and Riley the brains which is probably why he’s the front man.”
“Exactly. But! Although Graham is older, Riley takes care of the guy. Take out Graham and we can simply sit back and watch their structure fall.” Spike sported his most devilish smile to his allianced friend who happily returned one of his own. The two men barked out a laugh liking that it was probably the easiest way to go.
“So without a doubt Finn would be the easiest which is true. O’Connor is the instigator in all this. He’s bitter that from the way things use to be, you ended out on top.”
Spike nodded his head. He didn’t doubt any of what Hank had just said to be untrue. “And of course the sadistic bastard is the hardest to find anyone that could remotely mean anything to him.” Spike grabbed the cigarette case off of the coffee table. He quickly lit one and inhaled deeply. “The bloody fucker already got his eye on Buffy.”
Hank’s head shot up and his eyes turned dark. The man’s clasped hands tightened until the knuckles were no longer skin tone, but pale white. “If he gets anywhere near her-“
“I’ll rip him to shreds. No worries Hank, what do you think that little shoot out at Midnight’s had to do with?” When Hank said nothing Spike continued. “The ponce tried to get close to her. I knew I shouldn’t have taken her out in public so soon. Not at Midnights at least.”
“Better she’s with you, than him finding her without any sort of protection.”
Spike practically smashed his cigarette into the ashtray before picking up a manila file folder and opening it. He dropped a photo that he had Xander do surveillance on when he wasn’t with Buffy. “The only one I could find that has complete access to Angelus and can actually have some part in what he does is this woman. Darla McKnight. A previous hooker that Angeuls became infatuated with and kept around.” Spike dropped the 8X10 photo sheet on the coffee table for hank to see. It was a black and white shot of a blonde woman walking out of a boutique. Glasses on her head the woman was decked out in black from head to toe. “She was with Angelus that night at Midnights. It’s very obvious she’s his favorite.”
“But O’Connor is a true sadist; he wouldn’t care if we put a hit on her.”
“I know…give me some time, I’ll try and bloody figure something out.” Spike raked his hand through his hair, feeling the gel come undone a little.
He watched as Hank ran his hands against his face, obviously trying to wipe the exhaustion away and failing.
This was just the beginning. They were in way over their head. They had no idea how the other two were planning on taking Summers and Giles out. They were completely in the dark and trying to find the light without any sort of clues on how to get there. If things got bad, he feared he’d have to call his father for the back-up in England.
Without a word both men stood, agreeing silently that the meeting had come to the end. Both would use their resources to try and figure out a better way of attacking O’Connor and Finn before they attacked.
“Oh and Spike…you did well.”
The blonde looked at Hank confused. His eyebrow rose wondering what Summers was talking about.
“The studio. You did well.”
“Thanks Hank, glad to know.”