[Reviews - 99]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2030 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
no reviews for the last chapter, hope i haven't lost you
every review read and appreciated
They were walking through the Garden together. Just a gentle stroll in amongst the trees. In the three years they’d known each other they’d become close friends. Spike was dressed in his normal jeans and T shirt, Buffy in her favourite long skirt and white blouse. Spike, no William, thought she looked adorable.

‘William, can I ask you something?’

‘Yes love, anything,’ he replied.

‘Well Giles has asked me to see my mom, would you come with me?’

‘To see your Mum?’

‘Yes, to see my mom. Seems she’s having counselling here and has gotten to the stage where she needs to start making amends, so they’ve asked if I’ll go and visit.’

‘How do you feel about that, pet?’ Spike asked gently.

He looked around and saw a bench nearby. He placed an arm around Buffy’s waist and guided her towards it. Slipping off his jacket he wrapped it around her; Buffy was shivering and he didn’t think it was from cold, but he knew the jacket would make her feel better. Buffy snuggled into the leather. She loved the mix of smells: tobacco, leather, whiskey and the muskiness that was pure William.

‘How do you feel?’ He repeated.

‘Numb, scared, and numb,’ she answered. ‘Giles wouldn’t let me do this if he didn’t think I was strong enough, but I’m scared. I can protect myself from everyone in the world, but she has a way of slipping into my head, you know, a comment here, a snide remark there, and I’m a mess. She always made me feel like I was nothing, worthless, unimportant in her life and now she wants to see me. If we were on earth I don’t know if I could do it, but here, where words can really cut like knives, I’m scared. Least if she does hurt me here, she’ll feel it as well.’

‘I go with you luv, I’ll stay or leave as you want, but only as you want. No-one else is going to get me away from you.’

‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘I need your strength.’

Brushing her lips against his. William caught the back of her head in his hand and leant forward into the kiss. Tongues battled for supremacy, Buffy found herself wrapped around the man, literally, of her dreams and she felt no fear. Lust, love maybe, but not fear. William’s free hand circled her waist and pulled her in closer: he felt like he was on fire, Buffy seemed to be responding positively, she wrapped her arms around him and tasted him like a starving woman. Then froze. William felt the change and immediately let go.

‘Too fast pet?’ He asked gently.

Buffy nodded. ‘I don’t mean to tease, I really don’t, but I freak, you know. Am I ever going to be normal?’ Buffy started crying. Spike put his arms on her shoulders and pulled her in close.

‘You’re safe here pet, never going to hurt you. I know you’re not teasing and hey, I got a kiss.’ He smirked at her. They stood there quite a while, in silence, holding one another, taking strength from each other.

Giles was nervous. In five hundred years of helping others in the Garden, it was the first time he could ever remember being nervous. He had consulted his superiors – correction, he’d had orders from his superiors, that this was a good idea. Buffy thought that she was here for her mother’s sake but she wasn’t, it was for hers. His dearest Buffy needed closure. But firstly, William! Giles thought about Spike Atherton, William, a nice young man in sheep’s clothing, he was loud and obnoxious at times, but he had a soft spot for the youngster. Maybe in their next life Buffy and William could be together.

Giles waited until William Atherton fell asleep in his trailer. He was a huge star now, and he had all the perks, including his own luxury trailer, but William didn’t see it as a luxury. For him it was a necessity. He was on set by 6am and often didn’t leave until gone 8 in the evening. Grabbing a quick half hour’s sleep during the day was the only way he could keep going. Today was no exception. 5 hours solid in the tank with the dolphin had exhausted him, and all he needed was sleep. William slipped into the trailer and looked at his bed. It would normally be calling his name, but at the moment it was occupied but some dipsy brunette who obviously hadn’t got anything on. Spike put his head out of the door.

‘Security!’ he yelled at the top of his voice and some guy wandered over.

‘Would you please remove the trash and get the locks changed again?’

The guard looked at the woman and nodded. This was becoming far too common an occurrence and Spike just wished they’d do their job properly. Time for a temper tantrum, maybe that would sort it, was his last coherent thought as he flopped onto the bed.

‘William,’ a voice called.

Just what I bloody need, he thought. ‘What do you want?’ he said aloud.

‘Well not being sworn at would be nice, but I need to talk to you.’

That was when Spike Atherton realised who was talking.

‘Giles?’

‘Hello William.’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘Talking to you, obviously.’

‘Well besides that, you’re here.’

‘Yes. And although this is great fun, you’ll be woken early due to problems on set, so I will continue if I may?’

Spike just nodded.

‘Buffy is due to meet her mother tomorrow night, and I was wondering, if you will permit me, if you will allow me to organise a nice night out for her. In my day it would have been a feast and a dance, but I have been reliably informed a meal and dance is acceptable now.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know why a meal is acceptable but it seems it is.’
‘No, I mean why the night out,’ Spike clarified with a grin.

‘To give her a more pleasant time after the emotional upheaval of her interview.’

‘A picnic.’ Spike said.

‘A picnic, ah yes, a meal alfresco, splendid idea.’

‘Can you arrange a carriage ride for her?’

Spike and Giles settled down to organise a special night for Buffy. Giles pulled out a hip-flask, Spike gratefully accepted a swig of rather fine brandy. Everything was soon arranged and Giles went to leave. ‘Before I do go,’ he said, ‘a little gift.’

He put a hand on Spike as a blessing. ‘10 hours sleep in five minutes; you’re going to need it.’ He added with a smile.

Buffy was scared, it was the only word for it, she was she was scared. The day? Night? had come for her to see Joyce her mother. What she wanted to do was run, fast, and as far as possible, but that wasn’t possible. Not with William holding her hand in a death grip. Or was she holding his? From the pale shade he was turning, Buffy was the one with the superhuman strength.

‘I can’t go through with this,’ she said.

‘Yea you can pet, you’re strong, you can do anything.’ William opened the door that led into Giles’ study. He was sitting on the couch with a dark skinned woman, talking quietly.

‘Ah, Buffy, this is Olivia; she’s been working with Joyce for the last couple of years.’ William noticed that Giles hadn’t said ‘your mother’, but had named the woman.

‘Hello,’ Buffy managed to get out. If possible, Buffy’s grip got harder. Spike felt that his hand was going to be crushed, he tried to wriggle his fingers, but Buffy tightened her grip even more. He felt his fingers go white.

‘It’s OK pet, I’m right here,’ he whispered.


‘She’s not here,’ Olivia said. ‘She’s waiting down the hall until you’re ready.’

‘I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, I really hate the thought of seeing her here. This is the place I felt safe and having her even this close is making me feel sick.’

‘Why?’ Came the simple question. ‘You helped nurse her when she was dying. Why would you be so scared of meeting her here?’

‘I don’t know, because…’

‘Because?’

‘Because here she can really hurt me, here she can poison the few friends I have against me, just like she did the nurses, like she did my school friends. She told them that it was all my fault, and they believed her.’

‘What makes you think they believed her? Did you ever ask them?’

‘No, but she was the grown-up, the adult, and I was the child.’

‘The police officers believed you, the jury believed you, and Tara believed you; who else did you need to believe you?’

‘My mom, I needed my Mommy to believe me, and she never did, she always said it was my fault.’

‘I believe you now, if it’s not too late,’ came a voice from the doorway.

Buffy looked round, and ducked into a defensive position, almost ready to protect herself from a blow. It broke both Giles and Spike’s hearts to see the instinctive reaction that Buffy displayed.

‘Buffy?’ The woman at the door said again quietly. ‘May I come in?’

Buffy looked at Spike and then Giles. ‘Up to you, pet,’ Spike whispered, ‘but it is what we’re here for.’ He pointed out.

Buffy gave a small nod and the woman entered the room. Even if you hadn’t been told, you would have known that this was Buffy’s mother. She had the same look, the same green eyes, and the same ghosts in those eyes.

‘Hi Buffy,’ she said, quietly, shyly.

‘Hi mom,’ came the almost whispered reply.

Buffy looked at the woman who had caused her so much pain and was surprised at how small she looked. Buffy had been expecting an ogre, a giant: instead she saw a normal looking woman, average height, green, familiar eyes. No pointed teeth, no claws, no venom, just a normal, human woman. Buffy was surprised at that, she had been expecting a monster, a demon, she had been allowing this woman to dominate her life; even after her mother had died, she still dominated Buffy’s thoughts and behaviour.

That’s when Buffy realised that Giles had organised this for her benefit, not her mother’s. She needed closure, she needed an ending to the nightmare.

Joyce looked at Buffy, her heart was breaking. She knew that she was the cause of so much of her daughter’s nightmarish life.

‘I am sorry,’ she said, ‘I should have listened, I should have believed you. In some way I did believe you, but was scared to.’

‘Scared to? I don’t understand, how could you be scared to believe me about what he did?’

‘After Hank started drinking, I tried to keep everything as normal as possible for you. I needed to pretend it really wasn’t happening. Even when he hit me, I couldn’t face leaving him. The affairs he had meant that I had failed, not him. It was always my fault, you see: I wasn’t a good enough wife. I didn’t look after the house well enough, no matter what I did, I wasn’t good enough.

‘Then he left me, and in my heart I knew that everything he’d ever said was true.

‘I didn’t think that I could ever be loved again. When Ted came along, I didn’t think about what he was really like, I was vulnerable, and grateful for the attention. I was a typical victim’s mother and I was stupid, and desperate. I didn’t realise I was being groomed so he could get to you.’

Joyce started crying and Buffy was torn. Half of her wanted to hate the broken woman in front of her, but the other half of her wanted to show compassion for the broken figure. Buffy could feel that Joyce was telling the truth. It was the gift and the curse of this place. And Joyce was speaking the truth. Buffy looked again at the sobbing woman, and looked at the others in the room.

‘Can you give us some time?’ She asked quietly.

‘You sure pet?’ Asked Spike, looking her straight in the eye. Buffy nodded

‘I’m sure.’

Giles escorted Olivia out of the room and Spike watched as mother and daughter sat talking quietly.

‘I’ll be right outside,’ he said as he shut the door on them to give them the privacy they needed.

It was some hours later, and Spike had smoked his way through half a packet of cigarettes, that Buffy finally emerged. She looked red-eyed from crying, but was smiling broadly.

‘Feeling OK pet?’

She nodded. ‘I need to escape; come with me?’

‘All arranged,’ he said pointing at the Harley waiting for them. ‘Knew you’d want to run.’

Buffy smiled and climbed on. Spike kicked the powerful machine into life and roared off into the night. He rode as fast as he could, opening the machine up to maximum. If he’d been down below he would have been done for speeding, but Buffy needed the speed. The wind blew in her face, air-blasting away all the fears and pent up horrors from her mind. She felt free. If anything Buffy was disappointed when they started to slow down; she looked around to see where they were, noticing for the first time that they were out by the lake. A bonfire, just the right size for two, was lit and a blanket already spread on the ground.

Giles had already placed a picnic there, as well as an unlit bonfire. Spike helped her off the bike and wrapped an arm around her waist.

‘Safe here, pet.’ He whispered as he led her over to the blanket. Buffy was soon warmed up by the golden flames.

He started to unpack the picnic, his and Buffy’s favourites were amongst the goodies hidden in the basket. Spike picked up a strawberry and held it carefully by the leaves, he brushed it against her lips, tempting her to open her mouth. The smallest gap was taken advantage of and he slid the fruit into her mouth, brushing her tongue with it as he went.

She smiled up at him and made a lunge for the fruit, catching his fingers with her lips, her tongue tracing the line he made on the fruit. She bit down and let the juices run down her chin.

‘That must be the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth,’ she gasped.
Spike grinned at her and raised an eyebrow.

He was just too sexy like that, she thought. Sexy? Where did that come from? Buffy thought back to what she’d said and blushed. The rose coming to her cheeks made her look all the more delightful.

Spike started kissing those same cheeks. Butterfly soft kisses along the line of her jaw, and down her neck. He let his tongue escape from his mouth and taste the wonderful skin along her pulse point. He nibbled it, feeling the rush of blood under her skin. His jeans were getting tight, his body wanted to take her, kiss, hold, invade her, but he knew he couldn’t touch her that way. She needed gentle loving, not wild passion; wild passion would destroy the little confidence she had built up with him. He reached her shoulders with his hands, his mouth still busy on her neck; he stroked down her breast, brushing quickly over the nipple and onto her ribs, his hands pulling her close. He broke off the kiss to look into her eyes: they were darkening with desire, needing him as much as he needed her. Spike pulled her close again and started kissing that wonderful mouth. Buffy felt the evidence of his need, his arousal against her thigh and wanted to surrender into his arms but it was too much for her to take. She froze, just for a second but Spike felt it and relaxed his grip, allowing her to feel her freedom. He softened his kiss and allowed Buffy to take the lead. She pushed him down so he was lying on his back and started exploring his muscled chest, skimming her hands over, teasing his nipples, before reaching up with her mouth to take his. She pushed against his lips, wanting, needing entrance into his mouth; when he took the smallest breath, opening his mouth allowing her access, her tongue invaded him. Their tongues battled for dominance until Spike allowed Buffy to win and she explored the inside of his mouth completely. They lay like that, gently exploring one another’s bodies until the sun started to show and both awoke wanting and needing more, in their own bodies, half a world apart.





You must login (register) to review.