Chapter 22
“Are you sure we have to go?”
Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike’s constant whining. “Stop being such a baby. We’re only going to have dinner with your father and his new girlfriend. It’s not the end of the world. You haven’t seen him in months, Spike.”
He let out a sigh. “I know, but I don’t like that he’s dating. Why are we just now hearing about her? What if she’s horrible? Let’s face it; the old man hasn’t made the best decisions in the last few years.”
“That could be said about all of us. Look, just try and give her a chance. She can’t be all that bad.”
Spike wasn’t convinced, but didn’t say anything else about it.
Buffy went into the living room to find Tara and Willow in the middle of a conversation. Willow had no trouble watching the babies while they were out. Buffy was pleased that the two women already took an instant liking to each other. She was glad that Tara seemed to make another friend.
* * * * *
“William, it’s great to see you. You’re looking well.”
Spike smiled and accepted his father’s hug. Jacob Pratt was known to be a very affectionate man, more or less. “Same to you, Dad.”
They pulled away and he gave the same treatment to Tara.
She kissed her father on the cheek. “We’re glad to be here, Daddy.”
He smiled at his daughter, then looked at Buffy. “Well, you just get lovelier every time I see you.”
Buffy smiled as well and also accepted his embrace.
Jacob then ushered them all into the house and offered them drinks before dinner. He was going on about the new woman in his life and how he couldn’t be happier, when said woman finally made her presence known.
“Binky, you should have told me that our guests have arrived.”
Spike mouthed the word ‘Binky’ to Buffy and tried not to laugh at how absurd that name was, but the amusement quickly faded the second he laid eyes on his father’s girlfriend. His jaw practically dropped at the young, blonde woman that showed up.
Jacob could see the shocked reactions on their faces and decided to introduce her. “This is my girlfriend, Harmony Kendall.”
They were still speechless, so Harmony decided to speak up first.
“You must be William and Tara,” she said and went to give them hugs, which were definitely awkward. “And you must be Bunny.”
She rolled her eyes, but pasted a smile on her face. “It’s Buffy, actually.”
Harmony looked embarrassed. “Oops, sorry about that. I’m really bad with names, but it’s great to finally meet both of you,” she said to Spike and Tara. “My Binky is always talking about you.”
Spike seemed to come out of his trance at that nickname again. “Oh, you have got to be bloody kidding me!” he exclaimed suddenly.
Buffy nudged him in the arm. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said to Harmony instead.
“She’s bloody twelve-years-old! Are we being punked? This can’t be serious.”
Jacob glared at his son, but Harmony spoke again before he got a chance to.
“I understand that our age difference might be a problem for you, but I’m only twenty-five. We’re all adults here and you should know better than anyone that you can’t choose who you fall for. It just happens.”
Buffy placed her hand on Spike’s arm to calm him, then graced everyone with a big smile. “So, what’s for dinner?”
* * * * *
“The man has lost his bloody mind. She’s a tart, for crying out loud.”
Buffy and Tara exchanged looks as they watched Spike continue to pace back and forth in the living room. He hasn’t talked about anything else since they got home.
“Honey, you need to calm down already.”
Spike looked at Buffy. “I can’t calm down. Not when he’s dating someone like that. She’s an airhead and what kind of name is Harmony, anyway? That sounds like a stripper name. Back me up in this, Tara. You know it’s wrong.”
She shrugged. “Well, he does seem happy.”
“That’s not backing me up,” Spike growled in irritation. “I’m never calling her mum. She’s a bloody kid!”
Buffy grabbed his shoulders to stop the pacing. “Okay, you need to breathe. She’s only a couple of years younger than you.”
Spike threw his hands up in the air. “Exactly, she’s younger than me. He’s dating someone younger than his own kids. There is no good that can come out of this.”
“Just look on the bright side, Spike. At least she’s legal,” Buffy told him.
He rolled his eyes. “Barely legal, I’m never going to be okay with this. It doesn’t matter what either of you say, but I don’t feel like dealing with it anymore tonight.” He grabbed Buffy’s hand. “Come on, I need something to take my mind off of this.” He then pulled her upstairs and into their bedroom.
Tara watched them go with a sigh. She would definitely be needing earplugs that night.
* * * * *
Spike rolled off of Buffy and tried to get his breathing under control. He looked beside him to see her panting just as hard.
“I still can’t get my mind off of it. We need to go again.”
Buffy pushed him away when he tried to grab at her. “That is so not happening. I’m not a machine, Spike. I can hardly even feel my legs right now. I just really want to get some sleep. I think you need it, too. I’m sure things will look better in the morning.” She pressed her finger to his lips when it looked like he was going to say something. “Just let it go and get some rest, okay? We’ll talk about it later.”
Spike nodded in defeat when she removed her finger and tried to get more comfortable. He wrapped his arms around her and soon fell into a deep slumber.
* * * * *
Tara sighed in relief when the sounds stopped. She couldn’t believe they were going at it for hours, then cringed at the thought of her brother having sex a few doors down. It was amazing what the babies could sleep through. She tried to put everything out of her mind. William’s sex life and her father getting involved with a woman half his age. None of that seemed to matter at the moment. The only thing Tara could think about was the striking red head she met earlier that day. With that thought in mind, she finally fell into a peaceful sleep.