~~Epilogue - four months later~~
“Buffy?” Spike smiled when he saw her, half-lying comfortably on the couch in front of the tv. “Didn’t think you’d be here yet.” He closed the door behind him and dropped his leather duster on a nearby chair.
She smiled back at him, sitting up. “I know, but I missed you. I decided to come early, I didn’t think you’d mind.”
He walked over to the couch, sitting down next to her and pulled her into his arms for a hug. She happily returned the embrace. “Of course I don’t mind. You know I love having you here.”
“You better!” Then she became serious. “How long do you reckon it’ll take us to drive there? We don’t wanna be late.”
“Speak for yourself.” Spike groaned, slumping back on the couch. “Do we have to go?”
Buffy shook her head. “No, we don’t, not if you don’t want to.” She paused. “But we already said we’ll be there…”
He sighed. “Never mind, we’re going. But we won’t stay long.”
She gave him an assuring smile. “We won’t.”
“One hour at the most.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “One hour won’t even be enough to finish dinner.”
“Oh bloody hell! Fine, two then. But that’s it.” He gave her a firm look.
Smiling sweetly at him, Buffy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Sure, honey.”
“I mean it, Buffy. Two hours, then I’m leaving, with or without you.” She pouted. “Oh, stop that, will you!”
She looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. “You really don’t wanna go, do you?”
Spike shrugged. “Not really, no. But if we won’t be there, he’ll just keep nagging about it. Might as well just get it over with.”
Buffy frowned. “With that attitude, we’ll might as well just stay home. Nothing good is gonna come out of tonight if you’re gonna be like that.” Her face softened, and she put her hand on his arm. “Seriously, Spike, we don’t have to do this. I can call and cancel, I don’t mind. I’m sure he’ll understand, and if not, well then he’ll just have to deal with it.”
Seeing the sincere look in Buffy’s eyes, and knowing that she’d do it in a heartbeat if he’d ask her to, Spike knew that he’d be going after all. If anyone had told him a couple of months ago that he’d go to his father’s house, willingly, to have dinner with him and his new family, he would’ve just laughed. Buffy would’ve had to drag him there, kicking and screaming. “S’okay, luv. It’s just dinner, right? Doesn’t mean everything’s forgiven, though.”
“Of course not.” Buffy took his hand, squeezing it gently. “He just wants you to be there, he doesn’t expect you to suddenly act like everything’s all hugs and puppies.”
He snorted. “Good, ‘cause I don’t see that happening anytime soon.” He paused. “I’m trying here, Buffy, I really am. But I can’t promise you anything.”
She gave him a small smile. “I know, baby, and that’s okay. This is good, though. A couple of months ago, you would’ve refused to even set foot in your father’s house. You don’t have to forgive him yet, but the fact that you can at least be in the same room as him, without wanting to kill him, is a really good sign.”
“Not sure about that yet.” He smiled, though, and Buffy snuggled closer to him on the couch.
“Have I told you lately how happy I am? And I’m so proud of you.” He ducked his head in embarrassment. “Hey, I mean that! Just watch how far you’ve come in such short time.”
Spike shrugged. “Haven’t been all simple.”
“I know.” That was true. To say that the past few months had been difficult would have been be a huge understatement. Although Spike had agreed to go see a therapist, he was most reluctant to the idea, and didn’t bother to hide how he felt about it. Buffy had tried to be loving and patient, but sometimes it was really hard. Spike had gone to his sessions but afterwords he was always angry and hostile, and Buffy knew that, even though he never said anything, a part of him was blaming her for making him go there, forcing him to face his inner demons.
Sometimes he stopped, realizing what he was putting her through, and the guilt he was feeling then knew no limits. Then he would apologize to her, over and over, promising that things would be different and beg her not to leave him. Of course, she always forgave him, and after lots of tears, talking and yelling they always ended up in bed. At first, as far as Buffy was concerned, the only positive thing that came out from their heated encounters was the hot and steaming make-up sex, but after a while she started to realize that after every conflict, no matter how painful it was at the time, she and Spike actually grew closer.
And after a couple of months, things were finally starting to look up a bit; Spike no longer came back from every therapy session mad at the rest of the world, and their relationship continued to grow stronger. In fact, lately they had started talking about Buffy moving in to his apartment for real. Buffy had also gotten a job, behind the counter at a small shop called ‘The Magic Box’. The owner of the shop was a young, refreshingly blunt woman named Anya Jenkins.
Giles, true to his words, stayed in Sunnydale, and it didn’t take long before he bought a house there and moved in with his wife and twin daughters. He also kept his promise to give Spike some time to take in the changes, but that didn’t stop him from calling every week, asking Spike and Buffy to come over to the house for dinner. At first Spike simply refused, stubbornly keeping their conversations as short and concise as possible, but after a while it seemed like he was slowly starting to get used to the idea that his father was there to stay.
And then last week, Giles had once again called and asked them both to come over, and Spike had finally, much to both Giles and Buffy’s surprise, agreed to come. Buffy wasn’t naïve enough to think that everything would go just as smooth from now on, but at least now they were finally heading in the right direction. It was a ‘two steps forward – one step back’ kind of thing, and she could live with that.
“Things will get better now, yeah?” Spike flung his arm around Buffy’s shoulders, and she happily snuggled closer to him.
“Think so, yeah.” She smiled when he, abscently, started to run his fingers through her hair. “And if you absolutely wanna leave after an hour and a half, I won’t mind.” Then she got a mischievous look in her eyes. “In fact, I’ll even let you drive tonight, then we can leave whenever you want.”
“Let me…?” Spike snorted. “Very funny, pet. You’re not getting anywhere near the drivers seat of my car, and you know it.”
Buffy pulled back, glaring at him. “Hey, I don’t drive that bad!”
“Right.” Spike chuckled. “Keep telling yourself that, luv.”
She pouted. “You’re mean.”
“But you still love me.”
Rolling her eyes, Buffy let him pull her back into his arms. “Yeah, I do.”
“You know…” Spike gave her a sexy grin that made her knees go week. “We have about an hour before we’ll have to be over at Rupert’s. I don’t know about you, but I don’t mind being a bit late.” He went on, a teasing note in his voice; “And since I’m driving, you’ll just have to deal.”
She tried to stay serious. “You don’t say? What did you have in mind?”
He shrugged, an innocent expression on his face. “Just thought we could… rest for a while.” He raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, gesturing towards the bedroom.
Buffy had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling, giving him a just as innocent look. “I’m really not that sleepy.”
“Well, that works out nicely then. ‘Cause sleeping…” He jumped up from the couch and scooped her up into his arms, causing her to squeal. “…was the last thing on my mind.” With that he placed a soft kiss on her lips, and carried her into the bedroom.
The End (?)
A/N: An idea for a possible sequel just popped up, but I don't know yet if it'll happen. Although, if enough people think that there should be one, I might feel obliged to write it. Please let me know what you think!
[Reviews - 563]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3385 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
This is the final chapter, my longest story so far is finally complete. Feels kinda... sad. :) But now I can continue writing on Saving You, hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter on that story tomorrow. Oh well, enjoy the last chapter of this fic, and thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support! Also, thanks to Katkin for betaing and to Buffymon for making the banner! :)