[Reviews - 189]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 1490 times

- Text Size +




Author's Chapter Notes:
Finally, an update! RL has been busy, as always, especially with this being my last year in undergrad.... But here you all go. Thank you to Mari for always helping me correct my more and more frequent mistakes as I'm too tiered to find them on my own. She's one hell of a woman *huggles* I hope you enjoy and please review to let me know!
Chapter 19 – Lessons in Love

A week. A whole week had gone by since her fight with Spike and she hadn’t heard a single word from him. Buffy tried telling herself that this was what she wanted: Spike moving on with his life. Finding someone who could be a normal girlfriend. Someone who didn’t have custody of her five year old sister. Someone who could leave her everyday worries behind and just hop on the back of his motorcycle for an impromptu road trip.

Dawn had asked where Spike was, and as much as Buffy hated to, she’d lied and said he’d been busy at work all week. Buffy didn’t think she had the heart to tell her the truth yet. But soon enough she would have to. If Spike kept his word, Dawn could still see him if she wanted to. Thinking on it, Buffy realized that she didn’t doubt for a minute that he’d want to see Dawn.

Had she done the right thing? Maybe Spike wasn’t as concerned about Dawn being around as she had thought. But he hadn’t called her. And to be honest, Buffy had expected to see him on her doorstep every night begging for another chance and was quite disappointed when he didn’t.

The knock on the door signaled the welcome arrival of Scotty and Jenny, breaking Buffy from her thoughts. The pair had arranged another play date for today after their last successful afternoon together. Dawn hadn’t stopped talking about Scotty since she met him and had been anticipating the weekend enthusiastically judging by her barreling by Buffy to open the door.

“Hi!” Dawn exclaimed in glee as the open door revealed their neighbors.

“Hello, Dawn,” Jenny smiled as she entered after her son.

“Scotty, you hafta come see my new swings! Xander made them for me. And the sunny flowers are all awake today,” Dawn didn’t wait for an answer, pulling the smiling young boy outside.

“Hi, Jenny,” Buffy greeted the woman with a smile and led the way to the kitchen where coffee and pastries were ready to go.

“You wouldn’t believe how excited Scotty has been all week. He was like a kid on Christmas morning today.” Jenny smiled her thanks when Buffy set a steaming mug in front of her.

“Dawn was the same way. When Xander was here to set up the swings yesterday she wouldn’t stop talking about what she would play when Scott came over today.” Actually excited was an understatement. Dawn had been bouncing off the walls this morning asking Buffy for the time every few minutes.

“Scotty regaled my mother with his tales of Dawn’s adventures during her visit,” Jenny said as she watched the children swing through the glass doors. Scott’s grandmother had visited him during the week and Buffy and Jenny had thought it was best to wait until she was gone before meeting up again.

“Well, they’re finally getting a chance to play again,” Buffy said, turning to look out at Dawn’s smiling face.

“How’s Spike doing?” Jenny asked, unaware she was treading into unsteady waters.

“Well,” Buffy started with a sigh. She hadn’t had the chance to talk to Willow about the whole situation yet because she had always been busy when she called. It seemed Tara and Willow had taken a liking to each other and were spending a lot of time together. Glancing over at Jenny’s kind eyes, Buffy realized she needed to confide on someone and found herself relating the whole story of the past few days, including her thoughts on the events and on Spike’s need for freedom.

Jenny was silent throughout the revelation and sat watching Buffy for a while before replying. She understood why Buffy did what she had done, but she suspected Buffy didn’t fully realize it. The young woman before her had lost both her parents tragically in a short expanse of time, had relocated from her childhood home and found herself fully responsible for Dawn’s upbringing. It was no wonder the girl could hardly think straight, especially about her own actions.

“Have you given any thought to why you think Spike is better off without you in his life?” Jenny asked carefully.

“I thought I just explained,” Buffy looked up from her hands, tears shimmering in her green eyes.

“I know you did, sweetheart,” Jenny reached across the table to grasp her hand. “But have you thought about what you want or why you’re truly doing this? Could it be that maybe you’re protecting Buffy from losing Spike? And not protecting Dawn from losing him, or saving him from being tied to a child that’s not his.”

Buffy stared blankly at Jenny. She had already lost Spike, so what difference did it make?

“Buffy, over the last few years you’ve lost both your parents and your home. Your friends are settling into their own lives and now you have Dawn to take care of. She has to be your world for a while, like you said you’re essentially a single mother for the next decade or so,” Jenny started explaining. “Then you meet a very handsome, kind and utterly devoted man from what I’ve seen, and that scares you a little. Probably more than a little. Maybe you’re worried over what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been there for you, or if he was suddenly gone. Then you start realizing how much you are relying on him and how much, and I’m only assuming here, you love him.”

Buffy nodded when Jenny paused, cold fingers of doubt crawling up her spine. She had a horrible feeling Jenny would prove her initial reasoning wrong.

“Good. The people you loved the most in the world have died and all of a sudden, you’re alone, save Dawn of course, trying to find your way in the dark, without anyone’s help. Spike and his father come along and they start becoming more and more important, helping out when you need them, taking some of your burden off your shoulders, so losing Spike or actually the two of them would destroy you, wouldn’t it?” Another nod. “So by ending it with Spike you think you can save yourself that pain,” Jenny finished quietly.

“Everyone I love leaves me,” Buffy said softly, tears falling unchecked.

“And you thought sending Spike away would make it easier for you?”

“Yes,” Buffy replied. “But maybe I was wrong. Maybe he would have stayed no matter what. And now he thinks I don’t love him and he’ll never talk to me again.”

“Nonsense.” Jenny moved closer to put an arm around Buffy. “Maybe he’s just giving you some time to figure things out. He’s a smart guy, making you miss him like this.”

Buffy looked up at Jenny hopefully, maybe she was right. Maybe Spike would come around. Or maybe she should push her pride aside and call him, crawling on her knees and beg him for forgiveness.

“Spike loves you and Dawn,” Jenny said. “I could see it from the moment I met him. I doubt he can be dissuaded so easily, so I imagine he must be scheming how to get you back as we speak.”

“But all of Spike’s plans tend to go horribly wrong,” Buffy said with a smile, wiping at her tear stained cheeks.

The loud knock on the door caused the two women to look at each other in surprise. Jenny smiled while Buffy hastily hopped off the chair to check her face in the mirror. Then Buffy opened the door to reveal her visitor.

“Hello, Buffy,” Giles greeted a little awkwardly. “May I come in?”

“S-sure,” Buffy stammered, still a little shocked at his arrival. She led the way to the kitchen, seeing that Jenny had gone outside to check on Dawn and Scott.

“You seem to have a visitor,” Giles remarked, immediately becoming more flustered when he saw who her guest was.

“Yes. Jenny and her son Scott. They are our new neighbors.” Buffy smiled knowingly noticing the older man’s reaction.

“Ah, I see.” With difficulty, Giles pulled his gaze away from the radiant woman in the backyard. “My son asked me to give you these,” he said offering Buffy a helmet and a sealed envelope.

At Buffy’s puzzled frown he added, “I have strict instructions to tell you to read the letter and meet William out front in fifteen minutes. Also, apparently I-I am responsible for Dawn this afternoon.”

Dawn had noticed who their new visitor was and came running inside, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling.

“Giles!” The five-year-old launched herself at the older man’s legs in obvious joy. “You hafta come meet Scotty and his mommy!” she said before insistently tugging on his arm. Buffy smiled at Giles when he silently asked permission to follow. Buffy stared down at the envelope in her hands before setting the helmet carefully on the counter. Carefully she unsealed the envelope and pulled out the elegantly scripted letter.

My Dearest Buffy,

I know that I haven’t kept in touch since our last discussion, and believe me I have wanted to be with you every moment since. However, I knew we both needed some time and distance to clear our minds if we wanted to sort this out. And I do know I want to. I love you more than anything else in this world. Please, Buffy, meet with me today. Take the helmet, put on a pair of boots and the leather jacket you know I love, and let Giles spend the day with Dawnie.

See you soon, Goldilocks,

Love Always,

Spike


Buffy didn’t need to be asked twice; she hurried into her bedroom to change into her jeans and her biker-style leather jacket and paired it with a cute pair of boots. She found herself giggling as she realized that even when making an impassioned plea for her to return to him, Spike had still made sure that she was dressed safely for the motorcycle ride. With a quick goodbye to Dawn and a promise to Jenny that she would fill her in later, Buffy was out the door and on her way to her impromptu road trip.


Chapter End Notes:
Reviews *smiles*



You must login (register) to review.