Buffy knew, the moment she woke up, that she would go see Spike that day. Calling him in the middle of the night had been a bad idea, she couldn’t blame him for hanging up on her. She mentally cursed herself for bringing up the accident, it was obviously something he didn’t want to talk to her about yet, if ever. She knew that if she went over to Spike’s place, there was a possibility that he wouldn’t let her in, but she didn’t care, she had to at least try.
After taking a quick shower, Buffy got dressed and put on some make-up. She decided to wear her hair down, knowing that Spike had always loved her long blond hair that way. But it wasn’t like she was trying to look extra good for him, Buffy told herself firmly. No, it was for herself. If Spike rejected her, which was most likely, she’d probably feel a little better if she knew that she at least looked pretty. Yeah right, who was she kidding? Of course it was all for him.
Grabbing her car keys from the kitchen table, Buffy headed for the door. Then she remembered the letter she’d been writing last night, after her disastrous talk to Spike, and ran back into the bedroom to get it. She read it one last time before folding it neatly and putting it into her purse. After a final look in the mirror, she decided that she’d wasted enough time already, and hurriedly left the apartment.
“Hello William.”
Spike stared blankly at the man standing outside the door, obviously expecting to be invited in. “What are you doing here, Rupert?”
“You know, I’d prefer it if you’d call me ‘dad’. Even ‘Giles’ would be better than ‘Rupert’. I doubt that your grandparents were in their right minds when they gave me that awful name.” He laughed at his joke, looking as if he expected Spike to join him. When he got nothing, his smile disappeared. “Are you going to let me in?”
Sighing, Spike took a step back, allowing his father to enter. “Come on in, Rupert.”
Giles opened his mouth, as if to say something, then decided against it and stepped inside. He was carrying a large, brown suitcase, which he put down on the floor. Spike raised his eyebrows. “Planning on staying, I see.”
Looking both nervous and a little hopeful, Giles smiled again, glancing down at his suitcase. “Yes, as a matter of fact I am, though I’ll only be staying for a couple of days, then I’m going back to England. But I don’t want to be any trouble, I don’t mind staying at a hotel.”
Spike nodded. “Alright.”
Giles' face fell, and he suddenly looked annoyed. “Jenny and the girls are just fine, in case you were wondering.”
“I wasn’t.”
As if he’d expected that answer, Giles nodded. “Mind if we sit down? It was a rather long flight, and I hardly got any sleep on the plane.”
Realizing that his father wouldn’t just give up and leave, Spike sighed and gestured towards the couch. “Have some coffee if you want. Though you’d probably prefer tea, I wager, but…” He shrugged.
“No, no, coffee will be quite alright, thank you,” Giles hurried to answer, politely, and sat down. Spike nodded and headed for the kitchen. He came back a moment later with two cups of coffee, handing one of them to Giles, who smiled gratefully.
Spike sat down, on a chair, not on the couch. He wondered about the reason for his father’s sudden visit, having a feeling that he already knew what it was about. ‘Might as well get it over with’, he thought, and looked at Giles. “Gonna tell me why you’re here, then?”
Giles took a sip of his coffee before answering, as if he needed a moment to decide what the correct answer would be. “Well, I wanted to see you, of course. It’s been a while, I was hoping we could spend some time together. Maybe talk?” The hopeful look on his face was back.
“You wanna talk? About what?” Spike felt a headache coming up. What was it with people and talking, first Buffy, then his father? He didn’t want to talk to anyone, why couldn’t they just leave him alone?
Clearing his throat, Giles looked down at his hands. “I just thought you might needed someone to talk to. About what happened, I mean.” He looked up then, finally looking Spike in the eyes.
He shrugged. “You thought wrong.” Seeing that Giles was about to object, Spike went on before he could say anything. “If that’s all, how ‘bout we just leave it there. I got things to do, and you probably should go look for a place to stay.”
“Why are you being this stubborn? I just want to help!” Losing the last of his patience, Giles slammed his cup down on the table.
Before Spike could answer, and he had no idea what to say, there was a knock on the door, again. Now what?! Grateful for the opportunity to get away from Giles, he jumped up and headed towards the door. He should’ve expected her to show up sooner or later, he figured, but he was still taken by surprise when he saw who it was. “Buffy?”
“Hi.” Looking incredibly nervous, but still as beautiful as he’d remembered her, Buffy gave him a hopeful little smile. “I’m sorry to just show up like this, but…” She swallowed then, looking like she’d might cry. “Can I come in? Please?”
“Um…” Spike didn’t know what to say. Even though he was still mad at her, a part of him, the part that still loved her and always would, was actually happy to see her. Not to mention that the fearful look in her eyes almost broke his heart. After all this time, he still couldn’t bear seeing her hurt. Then there was his father. Another visitor might make him drop the subject and get up and leave, at least for now. With his mind made up, he nodded. “Alright.”
TBC