Chapter 22
Spike trailed his fingers down Buffy’s bare arm. He had been up for about an hour just watching her sleep.
Buffy was brought out of slumber and stared into his eyes, giving him a smile. “Hey, how long have you been awake?”
“I lost track of time. It’s not every day I have a beautiful woman in my bed.”
She blushed. “Hopefully I would be the only one.”
Spike pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “There could never be anyone else. How do you feel, baby? Are you sore?”
“A little, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” she told him.
He nodded. “Are you hungry? I could go fix us something.”
Buffy’s stomach growled at the mention of food, burying her face against his shoulder in embarrassment.
Spike grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes. Wait here, I’ll be right back.” He jumped out of bed and put his jeans on, not really caring about a shirt. He gave her a quick peck on the lips, then made his way out of the room and down the stairs. Spike couldn’t remember ever being so happy in his life as he entered the kitchen, humming a song that was stuck in his head. He got out some milk and eggs to make Buffy an omelet. It was the only thing he could really do. He was too lost in his thoughts to notice the back door open, until he heard the familiar voice.
“Gross, do you always walk around half naked when no one’s home?”
Spike was startled out of his thoughts and turned around to see Dawn standing there. “What are you doing back so soon?”
She raised her eyebrows. “It’s almost one; don’t tell me you’re just now getting up.”
Spike ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, what of it? Do you have other plans that hopefully don’t involve you staying here? I kinda got used to having the place to myself.”
“You’re acting weird. Did something happen?” she wondered.
He was about to respond, but never got the chance at the arrival of Buffy.
“Dawn, hey, I didn’t know you were here.”
Her eyes widened at the sight of the blonde, wearing nothing but one of her brother’s shirts. It all became perfectly clear. “Oh my god, um, I’m not here. I was just leaving. Yeah, I’ll see you guys later,” she claimed, rushing back out of the house.
Spike focused on Buffy after the departure of his sister, wanting to take her back upstairs and ravish her. The sight of her in his shirt completely turning him on. “Sorry about that, pet. I didn’t realize it was so late.”
She smiled. “It’s okay; I probably should have stayed upstairs. Would you mind if I took a shower? I’m feeling all sticky, we didn’t exactly clean up last night.”
“That’s fine; breakfast should be ready when you’re finished. Well, I guess it would be lunch.”
Buffy nodded and went to give him what was supposed to be a quick kiss on the lips, but he had other plans.
Spike wrapped his arms around her and turned the kiss more passionate, pulling away after a moment. “I could really get used to this.”
Buffy agreed and gave him one more kiss, then headed back up the stairs.
Spike watched her go, a big smile forming on his face. She was definitely the one.
* * * * *
Buffy was in her room drawing in the new sketchbook that her father got for her. A knock sounded at her door and she closed up the book just as Hank walked in.
“Well, I have the divorce papers,” he said, holding them up for her to see.
“How are you going to get her to sign them? I doubt she would do it willingly.”
Hank shrugged. “I’ll figure something out. I know she’s staying at the Sunnydale Inn. I was thinking about paying her a visit after work tomorrow.”
Buffy nodded. “I hope it works out, Daddy.”
He nodded as well. “So do I, this has been long overdue. I should have known what I was getting myself into. I can’t say enough how sorry I am for everything that I put you through, Buffy. I should have listened to you from the beginning.”
“It’s okay; she had everyone fooled. It was only me that she showed her true colors to. I guess she figured that you would never believe me.”
That only made Hank feel even guiltier for his actions. “I’ll do whatever I can to make up for that, things are going to be different now. From now on, it’s just you and me.”
“I don’t want that, Dad. Yeah, it would be nice to finally get to spend time with you, but I don’t want you to be alone. I know you’ll find someone, someone that will be good for both of us. You just haven’t met her yet.”
He looked away from her gaze, taking a deep breath before turning back to her. “Yes, I did. Your mother was the perfect woman. It kills me knowing that I hurt her the way I did, and for someone like Addie. I’ll never be able to make it up to her.”
“If it helps, I think Mom would have forgiven you. That’s just the kind of person she was. I know she’s looking down on us now and smiling. We all make mistakes, Dad. Sometimes our choices are really bad, but what matters is that we learn from those mistakes. In the end, they only make us a better person.”
Hank felt tears form in his eyes. His daughter was so grown up and he couldn’t be more proud of the woman that she was becoming. “I got something for you, it’s in the closet.”
Buffy didn’t know what that could be and went to check it out. She was stunned when she saw the elegant, red dress that was hanging in there.
“I know you have that homecoming dance next week. The dress can always be returned if it’s not what you had in mind. I just wanted to get you something.”
Buffy shook her head. “It’s perfect, thank you.” She walked over to her father, giving him a hug.
He was taken by surprise at first, then returned the embrace. “You’re welcome.” Hank wasn’t done making it up to Buffy, but he figured that was a start.
* * * * *
“Hey, you Spike Giles?”
Spike turned around at the unfamiliar voice. He was on his way to pick Buffy up. “Yeah, who wants to know?”
“The name’s Adam Barton, I’m sure you’re familiar with my old man. Your pops put him away.”
Spike shrugged. “What? You want to thank me or something?”
Adam scoffed. “I wouldn’t say that. My dad was all I had, and now he’s behind bars. I figured that I wouldn’t be able to get near your dad, but I can make you pay.”
He rolled his eyes. “Right, that’s a load of maturity. I have nothing to do with who my dad puts in jail, all right? If you ask me, your wanker of a father had it coming. This town would be a much safer place without him around.”
Adam clenched his fists at his side. “Tell me, Giles. Do you feel safe right now?”
Spike’s eyes widened when he noticed three other guys join Adam. They seemed to come out of nowhere.
Adam only grinned. “Let the games begin.”