“Come on, Will, give the girl a chance to breathe, will you?” Xander appeared in the doorway behind Willow, smiling at Buffy. “Good to see you, Buff.”
“You too.” Buffy returned his smile and hugged Xander as well, once Willow had released her and taken a step back. “And Xander?” He gave her a questioning look. “Thank you. For... well, you know.”
Xander nodded in understanding. “Don’t mention it. I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt.” He frowned. “Except that you did. How’s your head?”
“My head’s fine.” Buffy gave him an assuring smile as she stepped past him and into the small apartment. Willow closed the door behind her.
“Good. Good.” Xander hesitated for a moment before adding; “And how’s Spike?” Stopping in her tracks, Buffy spun around and stared at him in bewilderment. He rolled his eyes. “What? I can be nice!” A pause. “Look, Buffy, I’m really sorry about the way I’ve been acting lately. I’ve been a real jerk. Can you ever forgive me?” Buffy opened her mouth, but he went on; “I had no right telling you what to do, or who you should be with. It’s your decision and I should’ve just accepted it instead of hurting you like I did. And...” Another pause. “I guess what I’m trying to say is; if you’re happy with Spike, then I should just be happy for you.”
Buffy looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “Thanks for telling me this, Xander. It means a lot to me.” She glanced briefly at Willow before turning back to Xander. “Spike told me he ran into you. He said you apologized to him as well.”
“Yeah, well...” Xander shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. “I know when I’m wrong, all right? Spike’s okay, I guess. But if he ever hurts you...” He left the rest of the sentence hanging.
“He won’t.” Buffy smiled a little. “I really love him, Xander. And he loves me just as much.”
Xander nodded. “I’m starting to realize that. I’m sorry it took me so long.” He cleared his throat. “So... Wanna talk about what happened yesterday? Was that crazy bastard really Spike’s father?”
”Step father.” Buffy sighed. “And don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d rather not talk about it. At least not right now.”
“It’s okay, Buffy, we understand.” Willow put her hand gently on Buffy’s arm, a concerned look on her face. “How’s Spike dealing with everything? Is he gonna be okay?”
Buffy realized that Willow genuinely wanted to know, and felt strangely touched. The relief of not having to choose between her best friends and her boyfriend was almost overwhelming. She thought about it for a moment before answering, vaguely. “He’s... dealing.” She could see that Willow was about to ask something more, but then clearly decided against it and remained quiet. For that, Buffy was grateful. She was really not in a mood for discussing the subject more than necessary. And thankfully, Willow seemed to understand.
Maybe everything would be okay after all.
“So...” Gunn looked around the room, nervously, before turning back to Spike. “Mind if I...?” He gestured towards the couch.
“Oh. No, go ahead.” Spike was starting to wish that Buffy hadn’t left after all. He had no idea what the police officer wanted to talk to him about, and he didn’t like the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen. Might as well get it over with, he thought. “So, what’s this about?”
Gunn sat down on the couch. “Your girlfriend called me earlier. I guess you already know that?” He looked relieved when Spike nodded, and went on; “That man... Ethan Rayne. She said he was your step father.”
“Was married to my mum. So?” Spike realized that he sounded hostile, but he didn’t care. He didn’t know where Gunn was going with this, and he wasn’t really interested in finding out, either. Suddenly, he just wanted the other man to leave. However, the next question took him by surprise.
“You’re from London, then?” Gunn suddenly didn’t seem to want to meet his eyes.
Spike eyed him, a little suspiciously. “Right. What, Buffy told you? Look, I don’t see what...”
“When did you leave?” Gunn interrupted him.
“Why?” Spike crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the officer. “Said this was a personal visit, not a soddin’ interrogation. Unless you explain what the bloody hell this is about...”
“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Gunn closed his eyes for a moment, obviously searching for the right words. “All right, here’s the thing. I’m not really a cop.” Spike opened his mouth, but Gunn wasn’t finished. “I used to work in LA, as a private investigator. Then one night, about three months ago, I got a call from my sister in London. She wanted me to help her.”
“With what?” Spike didn’t really care, but still, a part of him couldn’t help but feel that whatever Gunn was trying to tell him was important.
At first, Gunn didn’t answer. Then he took a deep breath. “There was this man. Laura suspected that he was...” He looked away. “...hurting her eight-year-old daughter. My niece. Emily. Of course, she couldn’t prove anything, and the girl refused to talk about it. She tried going to the police, but they couldn’t help her without any evidence or witnesses. Basically, it was her words against his, and of course, he denied everything. So, Laura figured I was her only hope.”
Spike stared at him, eyes widening. “Are you telling me...?”
“Yeah.” Gunn nodded. “Ethan Rayne.” Spike remained quiet, an unreadable expression on his face, so Gunn went on; “Naturally, I went to London to check him up. A week later...” He swallowed. “There was an accident. Laura...”
Now it was Spike’s turn to interrupt. “He killed her.” For some reason, he wasn’t the least bit surprised. But he was still shocked by this new information. And he didn’t have to ask Gunn what Ethan had done to the poor girl. He already knew, all too well.
“It was a car accident.” Gunn let out a bitter laugh. “But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Rayne was behind it. Still, the police didn’t do a thing. That was when I realized that I was on my own. So I pulled a few strings, called in some favors. And here I am.”
Spike nodded slowly, understanding dawning on him. “You followed him to Sunnydale.”
“That’s right. Got here about a week ago.” Gunn sighed. “It didn’t take me too long to find him. When I heard about his wife...” He stopped, giving Spike an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. This must be...”
“Don’t.” Spike rolled his eyes. “Just go on.”
“There’s not much left to say.” Gunn suddenly got a grim look on his face. “You know the rest. The bastard hurt your girlfriend and showed up at your place, and now he’s dead. Case closed.”
“Just like that, huh?” Spike snorted. “I don’t get it. Why are you telling me this?”
“Because...” Gunn hesitated. “When Buffy called me, when I realized that you had to grew up with that man...”
“So, that’s what this is about.” Spike raised a brow. “What do you want me to say? That I had to live in the same hell as your niece, every fucking day for as long as I can bloody remember? This conversation is over. I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not about that.” Gunn slowly got up from the couch. “Just hear me out. Please.”
Spike glared at him. “Give me one reason why I should.”
Gunn looked him right in the eyes. “Because I need your help.”
TBC