Chapter 23
Buffy wondered what was taking Spike so long. He would usually be at her house on time when he planned to pick her up, but he was already about a half hour late. She wondered if something was wrong. The phone rang suddenly, but she was too distracted to notice.
Hank came into the living room after he answered it. “That was Dawn. She says that Spike is sick and won’t be able to make it.”
That brought Buffy out of her daze. “Why didn’t he call me himself?”
Hank shrugged. “I’m not really sure; maybe he was losing his voice.”
Buffy nodded and went back to staring out the window. Something didn’t feel right.
* * * * *
“This is unacceptable, and you say you did nothing to provoke Barton?”
Spike shook his head. “If you think calling his father a wanker was provocative.”
Giles took his glasses off to clean them.
Jenny continued to rub some ointment on Spike’s bruised face. “I think the swelling has gone down a bit. You should know better than to get into a fight, William. All you had to do was walk away.”
He scoffed. “And be an even bigger pansy? That’s not my style, Mum. They started it, I wasn’t about to back down.”
“You could have gotten hurt worse, or even killed. Something needs to be done about those hooligans.”
Giles agreed. “I’ll make some calls, see what I can do.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Just leave it alone, Dad. You’ll only make things worse. The only reason he attacked me in the first place was because you put his father away. He couldn’t get to you, so he took it out on me.”
“Well, I’m not going to apologize for putting a criminal like that behind bars. It was the right thing to do.”
Spike stood up, gently pushing his mother’s hands away. “Yeah, it was the right thing to do. It’s always the right thing to do. You’re the one that locks up the bad guys, but we’re the ones that end up paying for it. I’ll be in my room,” he said, then left the kitchen and headed for the stairs.
Giles looked at his wife. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I wasn’t even aware that Barton had a son, and I certainly didn’t think he would come after mine.”
Jenny rubbed her husband’s shoulders. “I know that, honey. William is just upset right now, he knows that you did the right thing. That man is too dangerous to be out on the streets.”
Giles nodded and hoped that this would be the last they would hear of Barton’s son.
* * * * *
“Wow, you look horrible.”
Spike scowled at his sister. “You can feel free to sod off now.”
She ignored him and walked into his room. “I called Buffy, but her dad answered. I just told him that you were sick. I’m sure she’ll wonder why you didn’t call yourself. You could have still gone over there.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t want Buffy to see me like this.”
Dawn rolled her eyes. “She’s bound to see you like this at school, anyway. Mom and Dad aren’t going to let you stay home until your face clears.”
“I’ll deal with that when it happens, but I don’t want to worry her right now.”
Dawn sat down on his bed. “How many guys were there?” she wondered.
Spike tried to think back to what happened. “There was four, including Barton. I was outnumbered, but you should see the other blokes,” he said with a grin.
Dawn wasn’t convinced. “Please, you’re not a fighter, Spike. They probably got a few punches in before you ran off.”
He pouted now. “Why can’t you just let me have my moment?”
She shrugged and stood up. “Because I’m your sister, that just isn’t in my nature.”
Spike threw a pillow at her, just as she left the room. He lay down with a sigh, dreading what would happen once he went back to school.
* * * * *
Buffy gasped when she saw Spike the next day.
“Does it really look that bad?”
She moved closer to him, lightly running her fingers over a bruise. “What happened?”
Spike took in a deep breath and explained to her the real reason of why he didn’t show up at her house.
Buffy shook her head once he was finished. “I can’t believe those jerks did this to you. Why didn’t you tell me, Spike? I could have handled it.”
He shrugged. “I just didn’t want you to think I was a wuss.”
“I could never think that. I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said, gently pressing a kiss to his lips. She pulled away and decided that a subject change was in order. “My dad got me a dress for the dance, it’s really pretty. I’m surprised by how hard he’s been trying lately, but we don’t have to go if you don’t think you’ll be up to it.”
Spike waved his hand in the air. “This is nothing; it’ll probably be mostly healed by the time of the dance. I know how much it means to you, so we’re going. You can’t back out of it now.”
She smiled and gave him another kiss. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
* * * * *
Dawn jumped on Xander once she saw him waiting for her outside of class, attacking his mouth with hers.
He was taken by surprise, but definitely not disappointed. “What was that for?” he asked when she pulled away.
“I totally just aced my test. Besides, you’re my boyfriend. I didn’t think I needed a reason to kiss you.”
Xander shook his head. “You definitely don’t need a reason. In fact, you can feel free to do that anytime you want. I'm not about to stop you."
Dawn took his hand in hers, pulling him away from any nosy students. “Come on, I think the janitor’s closet is free.”
Xander nodded eagerly and let her lead him away.
* * * * *
Hank had no luck trying to get Addie to sign the papers. He couldn’t find her at the hotel and had a feeling that she was avoiding him, but he wasn’t about to give up. He knew that she hadn’t left town, not with the threat that she made. Marrying Addie was the biggest mistake of his life; he just wished that it didn’t take him so long to figure that out. He suspected her of inappropriate behavior for a while now; she seemed to be a bit too eager to send Buffy to Switzerland. Hank just tried to convince himself that it was all in his head because he loved her, but it wasn’t real. The second he saw Addie put her hands on Buffy, it was over. The things she said and did to his daughter could not be forgiven. It only made him feel remorse for all that he put her through. Things were going to change, and it would start with getting Addie to sign the divorce papers. She couldn’t avoid him forever.