Buffy and Katie had been living with Giles and Spike for a week when the boxes from Angel arrived. Buffy had settled into the house with very little trouble and Spike and Giles were getting used to being woken by Katie at odd times of the night, life was beginning to form a comfortable routine.
Both Giles and Spike worked at the local high school and Buffy explored the local neighbourhood with Katie whilst they were at work. It was on one such outing to a local park, which strangely sat next door to the local cemetery, when Buffy first met Willow. She sat next to the red head on a bench with a sigh, her arms where killing her, she couldn’t wait for Katie’s pram to arrive.
The two of them started talking when Willow suddenly exclaimed “what a beautiful baby! How old is she? What’s her name? If it is a girl… I mean I don’t suppose you are one of those people who would dress their baby boy in pink, are you? Not that if you did I would blame you, I mean pink’s a nice colour and and…”
Buffy started to laugh, genuinely delighted by the senseless chatter.
“And I’m blabbering aren’t I?” She asked beginning to laugh too, “I’m sorry, I can’t seem to stop. Shutting up now”
“Yes, she’s a girl” Buffy answered between giggles, “Her name’s Katie”
The two of them chatted for a while; until Willow had to return to work and the two of them exchanged numbers, already firm friends.
This was why, the week after the boxes had arrived and Buffy was sick of rummaging through them every morning, Willow was the one to help her sort thorough and find homes for the items and subsequently was the one to find the letter.
“Buffy? There is a letter here. It’s got your name on it” Willow said gently, “It’s got to be from Angel, right?”
“Yeah” Buffy muttered, taking the envelope and placing it in the back of her jeans, “I’ll read it later” and turned back to the pile of Katie’s clothes she was sorting.
“I know that something awful happened between you two and I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I am here, if ever, you know, you do want to. Talk that is.”
Buffy turned to Willow; her eyes shinning with unshed tears. “Thanks, that means a lot to me, I just can’t at the moment Will, things are too raw”
Willow engulfed Buffy in a hug, both of the oblivious to the blonde standing outside the door, smiling softly to himself, it was good, he decided, that Buffy had someone there for her, someone who clearly cared.
He interrupted them after a couple of minutes, telling Buffy that Giles was working late
“Categorizing, or some such rot” he stated, smiling as the two women giggled and the tension eased, “Just wondered if you wanted to go out and get something to eat, I know a nice little place, where children are welcome” He held is breath waiting for her answer, not knowing if he had come on too strong, careful he told himself, she’s a married woman.
“Sure, I’m getting a little tired of my own cooking and honestly, how did you and Giles survive before I got here?”
“Takeaways” Spike responded with a straight face.
Willow stepped back from the situation and watched the interaction of the two blondes as they bantered back and forth, with a secretive smile on her face; it’s so sweet, she thought. She then pulled herself up short, that’s her brother in law, she told herself sharply; stop seeing things that aren’t there! But still, she thought, it’s always possible she married the wrong brother.
Before she left, Willow extended an invitation to Buffy for her to join her and her friends at the Bronze the following night.
“I don’t know” Buffy responded quickly, “I’d have to leave Katie here and that’s not fair”
“Come on luv, go out with Red here, I’ll look after the little bit for a night” Spike believed that Buffy needed a night out, to forget all the shit at least for a little while.
“Yeah, come on Buffy, Xander thinks you’re my imaginary friend, please come and show him that I’m not crazy!”
Buffy bit her lip, “I’m still not sure… Oh all right then” she decided quickly, “as long as it’s okay with you” she said looking at Spike.
“It’s fine pet, have a night out. I enjoy having the nibblet, she’s not old enough to talk back yet!”
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Later that evening, Spike offered to bath Katie so that Buffy would have time to herself for a while and she used the time to pamper herself in Giles en-suite bathroom, first taking a leisurely bath and then using her favourite cream to moisturise her slim body. She looked at her skin critically, the years of living in Washington had left her skin looking pale and she desperately needed to spend some time in the sun.
Moving towards her bedroom, dressed in a short silk robe, Buffy heard splashing and giggling and a more masculine laugh that obviously did not belong to her little one. Unable to resist, Buffy poked her head in the door and saw a drenched Spike floating Katie in a shallow bath of water, Katie was obviously having the time of her life and kicking her little chubby legs in the water, covering Spike in more and more water.
She couldn’t help it, a giggle slipped, causing Spike to peer round at her, “Your little one is a menace!” he exclaimed, “I’m soaked!”
“If you can’t cope with her now” Buffy started trying to stop laughing, “just wait until she gets bigger and has more water to cover you in!”
“Bloody bint! Try to do a good deed and all I get is laughed at!” His eyes danced with amusement though, until he got a good look at how little Buffy was wearing. Good God, he thought, his throat going dry, her legs go on forever. He swallowed trying to control the reactions of his body and turned back to Katie, busying his self with removing her from the bath and wrapping her in a soft white towel.
Buffy noticed his sudden change of mood and felt an irrational jolt of rejection, she drew her robe tightly round her, unaware of how it caused her nipples to press up against the pale silk. Spike bit back a groan and firmly pointed his eyes at the cooing little bundle in his arms that was clearly unaware of the tension in the room.
“I’m going to get dressed”, Buffy announced, turning and walking to her room. As she closed the door behind her and went in search of clothes, she pushed away the feeling of hurt she had experienced, unwilling to give the feelings any reality. I’m just tired, she thought, it’s been a really long week.
Back in the bathroom, Spike groaned softly and spoke to Katie, “Your mum’s gonna be the death of me, nibblet. God only knows where this is going!”
Katie just waved her little arms at Spike smiling softly; she obviously doesn’t share his concern.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are great! I know that some people are concerned about how this one is going to progress and all I can say is trust me. I have a plan!