Author's Chapter Notes:
A little more angst and some information about Spike. Thank you for the reviews!
Buffy ran over to grab her daughter pulling her away from Spike; she didn’t miss the look of hurt that flashed across his face before he controlled it.

“What are you doing with her?” She accused her expression angry. She hadn’t expected this to happen, why did this have to happen? What would she tell Angel? This just wasn’t right!

Spike could read the thoughts as her expression changed from anger to worry and back to anger again. “I didn’t do anything. She just said it and I was trying to get her to say Spike. Didn’t you hear me?” He pleaded with her to be reasonable. He had really been trying to get her to see that they could have something between them, but now?

“Spike, I can’t believe you. Angel is her father!” Buffy continued as if she hadn’t heard a word Spike had said.

He started to get angry, “Don’t you think I know that? Some father he’s being huh! You’ve both been here months and he hasn’t even tried to contact you.” He ran his hands through his hair, “God, I always knew he was a wanker, but this? And you!” He stared at Buffy intently, “You seem to think that you owe him something? Why? What reason do you have to be loyal to the tosser?”

“Don’t try to change the subject Spike. You are trying to take both of us away from him! Why do you hate him so much?” She knew she was being irrational but she couldn’t stop. This really wasn’t good and her instinctive reaction was to lash out and blame the one person she could.

“I don’t hate him. He hates me!” Shit, thought Spike shouldn’t have said that. This can’t end well.

“I’m sorry?” Buff was confused; Angel had never really spoken about Spike except to tell her that he wouldn’t want to attend family events.

“It doesn’t matter; it’s his story to tell not mine. Buffy, luv…”

“Don’t call me that! Don’t you dare, not now!” Her voice was load and the tension in the room caused Katie to start crying.

“Shush now honey” She cuddled her daughter closer to her, looking at Spike “I don’t want to leave her with you again.”

Spike was pole axed “Buffy I didn’t do anything.”

“I don’t care! I’ll call Tara and arrange some holiday”

“Fine!” Spike was hurt and when he was hurting he often lashed out, “I hope you’re happy with your wanker of a husband. You and the little bit!” The door slammed as he stormed out the house and down the road.

Buffy stood looking at the closed door tears in her eyes she was trying to convince Katie that everything was okay; the only problem was everything had just walked out.

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Spike was fuming as he walked down the street, can’t believe she thinks it was my fault! How the hell is it my fault? I didn’t tell Peaches to knock her about and I certainly didn’t ask for them to be living with me da!

He’d give her a couple of hours and then he’d go back and see if they could sort it all out, we can’t keep avoiding these things, we need to have a talk.

His musings were interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone,

“What?”

“You’re in a good mood” a cheery voice rang down the line chilling him to the bone, not again.

“My day is now complete! What’s the matter pet, having trouble sending me my pension?” Spike made no bones about the fact that he didn’t want to talk to Susan.

She laughed “The boss wants to talk to you. Go ahead sir” She said before Spike had a chance to protest.

“Spike my boy!” A rich British voice spoke, “I have a job for you.”

“No you don’t. I don’t work for you sods anymore remember?”

“You can’t get away from us as simply as that. You know better.” The voice was firm and brooked no argument.

“Quentin, I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but I’m not ready for this and I quit. I moved back to America for Christ’s sake! What more do you want from me?”

“One last job.”

“I’ve heard that before! What choice do I have?”

“I’m glad that you have seen it my way my boy.”

By the time Spike had reached Doyle and Barb’s restaurant his mood had gone from bad to worse, he sat down at their bar resting his head on the hard surface.

He knew that Doyle would always be there for him, Doyle had been his informant on the IRA back when he was working for Quentin, things had got a little sour for him back home and Spike had helped him relocate to Sunnydale and had introduced him to Barb. The pair had been married six months after that and Spike had been the best man at their wedding.

“JD?” Doyle asked looking at his friend with a concern.

“Thanks mate.” Spike looked up at Doyle with a forced smile.

“That bad?” The glass of amber liquid was placed in front of Spike along with the bottle.

Spike downed the shot before answering “You know that saying, bad things come in threes? I’m just waiting for the third!”

Doyle smiled, “What’s happened so far?”

“Well little Katie called me dad.”

“Oh! I think that’s something you’d need to speak to Barb about. Not going to be much help there.” He looked at Spike curiously, “she’s Angel’s daughter right?”

“Yeah. Beautiful little thing she is, nothing like the ponce” the pair laughed.

“So is he coming home?” Doyle had always wondered why Angel refused to come home. He always figured that it had to do with Darla, but Spike had never explained it to him, not even when he had gotten him really drunk. Doyle knew that he’d go home like a shot if he didn’t know he’d be killed on sight.

“Don’t really know. I would never have allowed Buffy out of my sight, but you know tall, dark and broody nobody can make sense of him.”

“Maybe it’s time to bury the hatchet. It was a long time ago.”

Spike looked up at Doyle, already on his fourth drink, “Doyle, I never had a problem with him, you know we were best friends. It’s always been his decision.”

Doyle decided to change the subject. “So what’s problem number two?”

“Quentin called me.” He quickly downed another drink.

“Travers? Why? Thought you quit.” Doyle was now more than concerned, “You don’t need anymore of that shit.”

“I know, but once in never out. One last job he says!” Spike looked into his shot glass as if it might hold the answers he so desperately needed.

“You gonna do it?”

“Don’t know, might as well go to the brief. Might be important.”

“You mean they might let you take out Dru.” Doyle smirked smugly. “Can’t say I’d blame you, I’d like to ice the bitch too.”

“No.” Spike spoke too quickly, he hadn’t made a habit of killing over the years, he could normally keep his missions murder free but for his insane ex wife he would make an exception. The woman was evil, not that many people knew that they just thought she was a little unbalanced. “Not that I’d turn it down, just that I think she’s still too useful for them to kill. Also, she’d know why I was there, not the best way to stay undercover!”

“Fair enough” Doyle replied, slowly pulling the bottle back from Spike’s reach. “Think you’ve had enough mate. I’ll get Barb, maybe she can help you with the Buffy and Katie situation, I’ve gotta start the prep anyway.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem, take care of yourself.”

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Buffy was hurt when over an hour had passed and Spike hadn’t come home. She recalled her conversation with Tara and the later one with Willow, both of them had been shocked by the news that Katie was talking, but neither of them seemed surprised that she had called Spike da-da.

“It’s just that she probably can’t remember Angel” Willow said reasonably, “She’s living with a man who takes care of her and plays with her, is it any wonder she thinks he’s her dad?”

Buffy had admitted to herself that she had over reacted, but she just couldn’t work out how she was supposed to apologise to Spike for accusing him of trying to steal Katie from Angel.

Something she hadn’t admitted to anyone was that secretly she wished Spike was Katie’s father, wished that she hadn’t married Angel and most of all she wished that life was simple. But unfortunately, she thought sadly life is never simple and there are some things you just can’t have.





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