Chapter 3
“You were such a beautiful baby. I always thought so, and you’ve gotten even more beautiful through the years.”
Buffy smiled at the compliment and put her photo album back into her purse, after letting Joyce keep one of the pictures that she liked so much. Buffy had copies of it, anyway.
Joyce glanced at the clock. “I suppose it’s time to get the girls, dinner will be ready soon.”
“I can go get them for you,” Buffy claimed suddenly.
Joyce smiled in return. “I would really appreciate that. Spike’s house is the one on the right of us.”
Buffy nodded and stood up, making her way out the back door and over to the neighbor’s house. She mainly offered to get the girls because she needed some fresh air. Everything was going a lot better than she expected, but it was still overwhelming. Buffy found the right house and knocked on the door, waiting a second until someone opened it. When she got a good look at the man that was now standing there, her jaw nearly dropped. “William?”
His eyes widened at the sight of her. “Buffy?”
The girls then came running out of the house, putting anything else he would have said on hold.
Buffy smiled at them, even though she was still shocked. “Your mother wanted you home for dinner.”
“Thanks for letting us play, Uncle Spike,” Sam commented.
He smiled at the child that he was so fond of. “Anytime, bit.”
Dawn took her hand and they headed back to their house.
Buffy met his eyes again once they were gone. “Spike?”
“It’s a nickname. Would you like to come in?”
Buffy thought about it. “Okay, but only for a little while. I should be getting back soon.”
He nodded and let her into the house, closing the door behind her. “How do you know Joyce?”
Buffy wondered if she should tell him the truth, but figured there would be no harm in it. “She’s actually my mother.”
Spike was stunned and took a seat on the couch in the living room.
Buffy sat down beside him. “You know how I talked about finding my birth mother one day. Well, I finally found her here. I had no idea that she was living in Sunnydale. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know you were here. I thought you moved back to London to live with your father after high school.”
“I did for a few months, but it didn’t exactly work out. My mum used to love visiting here when she was a kid, so she found this nice place and I’ve been here for the last few years. Are you still living in Los Angeles?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I just graduated from college. I was starting to think that I would never get out of there.”
He smiled. “Right, I know how you’re not a fan of school. I’m still in my last year, the semester started later for me. I go to UC Sunnydale, it’s not so bad.”
“Why did we lose touch, Will? We promised that wouldn’t happen.”
Spike ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know, love. I guess other things just got in the way. My mum has been sick lately. When I’m not in school, I spend most of my time caring for her.”
Buffy placed her hand over his. “I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
A sparkling jewel on her finger caught his attention. “Well, I guess congratulations are in order.”
Buffy blushed and pulled her hand away.
“So, who’s the lucky bloke?” he wondered.
“His name is Riley; we met in my sophomore year.”
Spike forced a smile on his face. “That’s great, I’m happy for you. When’s the big day?”
“Not for another year, we still have a lot of planning to do. Is there anyone special in your life?”
Spike was about to respond, but didn’t get the chance when an agitated blonde barged into the house. He cursed himself for not remembering to lock the door; she never made a habit of knocking.
“Blondie Bear, who the hell is this?”
“Bloody hell,” he mumbled.
Buffy looked at him in amusement. “Blondie Bear? Is there any other nicknames I should know about?”
He shook his head. “That’s one that I never want to catch on. This is an old friend of mine, Harmony. She’s just visiting.”
“Is she going to be staying long? You promised to take me out tonight,” she said with a pout.
Spike rolled his eyes. “I never promised that, but we’ll talk later. My mum needs me home tonight, and I have some catching up to do with Buffy.”
Harmony scrunched up her nose. “What kind of name is Buffy? Whatever, just call me later,” she said and moved over to his side, planting a kiss on his cheek. She gave Buffy one more look, then left the house.
Buffy noticed the embarrassed expression on his face. “Well, I guess that answered my question.”
He groaned. “It’s not what you think. She’s not really my girlfriend. I’ve tried to break up with the bint for weeks now; she’s just not getting the hint.”
Buffy held her hands up. “Hey, it’s none of my business. She just doesn’t seem like your type. In fact, she reminds me of those bitchy cheerleaders that used to annoy you in high school. You never would have given them the time of day.”
Spike was saved from having to answer by his mother’s voice.
“William, is that trollop gone yet? I could hear her all the way in my room. I honestly don’t know why you put up with that horrible girl.”
Buffy and Spike exchanged looks with each other, then burst out laughing.
“She’s gone now, Mum. Why don’t you come out here for a moment? I have a surprise for you.”
An older woman then entered the living room, her eyes bulging at the sight of the girl sitting with her son. “Buffy? My dear girl, is that you?”
She smiled and stood up; giving the woman a hug. “It’s good to see you, Anne.”
Spike smiled when he saw how happy seeing Buffy again made his mother. She always did have a soft spot for the girl, and she wasn’t the only one.
Anne pulled away and brushed some hair out of Buffy’s face. “My lord, you have gotten so gorgeous. Isn’t she gorgeous, William?”
He blushed a little, which wasn’t something that he did often. “She’s always gorgeous, Mum.”
It was Buffy’s turn to blush, then she immediately got into the story of Joyce being her birth mother since Anne wondered why she was in town.
“Good heavens, I don’t know why I never noticed the resemblance before. You do look just like Joyce. She’s such a wonderful woman.”
Buffy agreed. “Yeah, she is. This trip is turning out a lot better than I expected. It was really great to see you guys again, but I should head back to the house now. I wouldn’t want them to think anything happened to me.”
Anne gave her another hug. “Don’t you forget to visit us again before you go back to Los Angeles, all right?”
Buffy nodded and pulled out of the embrace. “I’ll definitely do that.”
Spike gave her a hug as well, loving the feel of her in his arms. He hated to pull away, but knew that he couldn’t hold her forever.
Buffy graced them both with one more smile before leaving the house.
Anne watched her go, then turned to her son. “You still love her, don’t you?”
Spike let out a long sigh. “I never stopped, but she’s engaged now. I only care about her happiness.”
Anne loved that about her son. He always put everyone ahead of himself, but she had hope that they would definitely be seeing a lot more of Buffy.