Spike glanced at her, a little surprised. He didn’t see why she felt the need to apologize to him, even though he could see that she was clearly upset. To tell the truth, he was a little relieved that Buffy’s father wasn’t coming, still not very comfortable around new people. But one look at Buffy told him that she was beyond upset; she looked almost crushed, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was really just because her father had canceled dinner. Slipping his arm gently around her waist, he wished he knew what she was thinking. “Sorry ‘bout what, luv?”
Buffy immediately melted against him, leaning into his touch almost desperately. Letting out a shuddering breath, her arms found their way around him as well. “For this, of course. For how things turned out.” A pause. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just wanted…” She forced back a sob, unable to go on.
“Buffy? Pet?” Spike ran her hand over her hair in a soothing gesture, then pulled back a little so he could look at her. “It’s okay, luv, really. We can do this another time. Look, I can just…” He hesitated, wondering if he should offer to leave. Not that he really wanted to, but maybe it was the polite thing to do in a situation like this. He had no idea.
She pulled back, abruptly, looking at him with tearful eyes. “You’re leaving?”
Running her fingers down her cheek, gently brushing away a single tear, Spike placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Only if you want me to, kitten.” He held his breath as he waited for her to respond, relieved when she shook her head.
“Don’t be silly!” Joyce came back into the room at that moment, having heard the last part of their conversation. She let out a sigh, turning directly to Spike. “I’m sorry this night didn’t start off very well. I know my daughter wanted it to be perfect.” She paused. “Hank won’t be joining us after all. I guess he’s got more important things to do.” Seeing how Buffy started to object, she raised her hand to stop her. “Really, Buffy, you don’t have to defend him. I know he’s your father, but let’s face it; this family stopped being his priority a long time ago.” Another pause. “Well, dinner’s ready!” She put on a strained smile.
Glancing at Spike, Buffy noticed that he looked almost as uncomfortable as she felt, and realized that she couldn’t blame him if he would just turn around and run, most likely as far away as possible. Sighing, she gave him a questioning look, relieved when she got an assuring smile in return. Still, she couldn’t wait for this dinner to be over. Hopefully, without any more awkward events like this.
Almost two hours later, Buffy was relieved to see that things were looking up a bit. The dinner went by smoothly, without any further disasters or interruptions, and she was pleased to find that not only did her mother seem to approve of Spike, but he seemed to be comfortable in her presence as well. Yet, when Joyce excused herself and got up, insisting she would make them all some nice, hot chocolate, Buffy couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief. When her mother had left the room, after waving off Spike’s offer to help, Buffy slipped her hand into her boyfriend’s. “You okay?”
Spike leaned over to give her a quick peck on the lips, but the kiss soon became more intense. Finally he pulled back a little, not missing the disappointed look on her face at the loss of contact. He smiled. “Just thought you needed to breathe, pet.” Then he sighed happily as she curled up in his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. “And to answer your question, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
It was now Buffy’s turn to sigh and she found herself clinging to him, almost desperately. “I was afraid you’d be a little… overwhelmed, or something. I mean, my mom’s great, but she can be a little too much some times.” She paused. “And I’m so sorry she forced you to look at all those photo albums.”
He shrugged. “Didn’t mind at all. And I like your mum. She’s a nice lady.”
“Still…” Buffy pouted a little. “She didn’t have to show you the ones of me running around the house naked when I was three. That was just mean.” Spike chuckled.
“Buffy? Could you come in here for a moment?” Joyce was calling from the other room.
Buffy gave Spike an apologetic look and hurried into the kitchen. Joyce was just about to pour some of the steaming beverage into large cups. She smiled at her daughter. “Do you think Spike wants some of those little marshmallows in his chocolate?”
“I’m sure he does.” Buffy frowned. “Why don’t you just ask him yourself?”
“Oh, that’s not why I asked you to come in here.” Joyce put the cups down on a small tray. “I just wanted you to know that I don’t expect the two of you to stay here all night, just to keep me company. If you want to go out or something, I completely understand.”
“Oh.” Buffy thought about it for a moment. Maybe they could go back to Spike’s place and watch a movie or something. “Okay, if you won’t mind.” Then she glanced at her mother, suddenly nervous. “So, what do you think?”
“About Spike?” Joyce found a bag of extra small marshmallows in one of the kitchen cabinets and put a couple in each cup. “He seems like a very nice guy. I like him.”
Buffy let out the breath she had been holding, relieved that she had been right about her mother’s approval. “Yeah, me too.”
Joyce smiled at her daughter. “I can tell.” Then she lowered her voice a little. “I didn’t want to ask before, but have you met his parents?”
“Um…” Buffy didn’t know what to say for a moment. Then she nodded, not meeting her mother’s eyes. “I met his mother once. But…” She hesitated, suddenly feeling very awkward. At the same time, she was grateful that her mother hadn’t asked that question at dinner. Finally she decided to just be honest, hoping that Spike would understand. “She died.”
“What?” Joyce stared at her in shock. “But you’ve only known Spike for a couple of weeks. When did this happen?”
Buffy cringed, feeling even more uncomfortable. “Just a couple of days ago.”
“Oh my God!” Joyce shook her head in disbelief, glancing towards the living room. “How horrible! The poor boy, he must be crushed.” Then she crossed her arms over her chest, giving Buffy a look of disapproval. “Buffy, don’t you think you should’ve told me about this before? What if I had asked him about his family? You would’ve put all of us in a very uncomfortable situation.”
Looking down at her feet, Buffy suddenly felt ashamed. “I know, I’m sorry. But it’s kinda complicated.”
Joyce nodded in understanding. “I can see that.” She was quiet for a moment. “I know it’s none of my business, but what about his father?”
Buffy hesitated. “He’s not around.” Well, it was true. Spike had never said anything about his real father. And she really didn’t think it was in her place to say anything about Ethan. Even if Spike had told her, she was pretty sure that he didn’t want anyone else to know about his step father.
“I see.” Joyce nodded again, a thoughtful look on her face.
“Mom, please…” Buffy gave her mother a pleading look. “Don’t mention any of this to Spike. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
“Of course not.” Joyce was silent for a moment. Then she looked at her daughter, a serious expression on her face. “Buffy, do you love him?”
Buffy stared at her with wide eyes, not having expected such a personal question. Then she nodded. “I do. Why?”
Joyce kept looking at her for a moment, looking almost sad. “I know you’re not a little girl anymore. But this relationship is still very new. I suppose I just wanted to know how serious you two are, that’s all. Because face it, honey, you really haven’t told me much.”
Knowing her mother was right, Buffy let out a sigh. “I know. Sorry about that. But it’s real, Mom. I really do love him. I’ve never felt this way before. And Spike feels the same way.”
“Then I’m happy for both of you.” Finally, Joyce smiled. Then she handed Buffy the tray with the hot chocolate. “Here. You better take this to Spike before it gets cold. Then the two of you should go out and have some fun. I’ll take care of the dishes after you leave.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Buffy put the tray down and gave her mother a long hug. Suddenly she couldn’t help but feeling excited. The night was still young, and she was really looking forward to spend the rest of it, alone, with her boyfriend.
TBC