From Night to Day
Chapter Sixteen
Inspired by and dedicated to Kar (Karbear57) and also too slackerace who gave me the nudge…
Edited by Kar….thanks sweetie
Sanctuary
Part One
Buffy walked around the campus grounds surrounded by her friends as they headed to their fifth and final lecture on Friday. She was tired from the busy nights trying to do her assignments and research papers, so that she could spend the majority of her weekend with Spike and Imogen. It made the week days go faster because she had so much to look forward to, she had some time with him during the week, but he’d always make it short and sweet so as not to interfere with her studies, which was one thing he was insistent about. They made as much of that time as they could talking, relaxing and enjoying time with Imogen. Yet never anything intimate as they’d learned that their enthusiasm made her go home late, and her mom mad.
“So girls, a night on the town for our merry troop?” Xander asked the girls knowing that he would get some lame excuse not to go from all of them.
“Sorry washing my hair.” Will replied giving up on trying to make up something that would sound plausible.
“I’m washing her hair too,” Tara spoke quietly at Willow’s side, “we’re saving water.”
“That is so lame!” Xander began to sprout at them slightly dismayed at their not wanting to go out anymore. “We never go out anymore! Is this the only place we’re ever going to get to see each other?”
“Xander!” Buffy turned towards the male of the four, “We all have things to do this weekend. People too see, shopping to do and assignments to write.”
“Boyfriends to see and friends to dump for!” Xander’s green eyed monster showed itself, unfortunately he’d become a little jealous of the man that had stolen his best friend from him.
“Girlfriends that don’t like us!” Buffy threw back at him.
“Anya doesn’t hate you! She’s just a little forwardy in her thinking and speech.” Xander defended his girlfriend.
“More like socially inept!” Buffy was beginning to get riled up and what on earth was Xander trying to prove.
“Hey guys come on…” Willow tried to calm the two before it got out of hand. “Okay, so we don’t get together as much as we used too, but…”
“But what Will?” Xander looked at his friend. “We never see each other outside of this place! Not like we used to.”
“Okay, okay Xan, you’ve made your point, we need to get together more.” Buffy nodded her head in agreement with him. “But I also have a life outside of here and the only time I get with my man is on the weekend. My mom makes it tough on us enough with out you adding to the grief!”
Xander looked away from his friend, he knew that after all the shit she’d been through with that animal Riley, she was due some happiness. Yet not at the total expense of all of them. He hoped that she wouldn’t entirely forget her friends; maybe they all need to make a more concerted effort to see each other, and make time to do it. They had a strong unit of friendship that was just too stupid to through away, and maybe it was up to him to make headway to make sure that it didn’t crack all together. Even if he had to make friends with the reason behind why the cracks where beginning to show.
“So make us part of your weekend, introduce your main squeeze to us. Let’s get to know the man.” Xander attempted to make the first step.
“‘Main squeeze’! Xan that’s even feeble for your standards!” Willow started to laugh at her friend’s sometimes-backwards use of the English language, even though she knew he was trying. She could feel Tara’s finger poking her in the back in response to her words, “Sorry Xander.”
“So Buffster what do you say?” Xander began to put the pressure on.
“To what?” Buffy was still a bit taken aback by her friends’ demand to meet Spike. Up to this point, she’d keep her life with him to herself, and she didn’t know if she wanted to share in their private world just yet. She was still exploring it herself, it’s newly found pleasures and the enjoyment she had as being a part of his everyday life. It was her shelter and haven from the rest of the world, Buffy knew one day she’d have to share and show him more of her world, but just not so soon. Yet she didn’t know if she could, or just didn’t want too.
Another thing that concerned her was just how he was going to feel about being around her much younger friends. He was a complicated man and one that she knew could adapt to any situation, but she feared that he may find her friends dull and boring. Not because they were, but because they were young and focused on making their way into the world where he had already established himself. She felt this fear because she supposed the same for herself that his friends may find her dull and boring because of her youth and inexperience in the world.
Buffy knew somewhere deep within herself that this wasn’t really true, but the fear was deeply planted in her subconscious mind. Her doubts about herself always had a way of creeping into her life. Another concern was Imogen, how would they react to the baby, she doubted that any of them knew about the baby. She knew that it would just probably add fuel to the fire with Xander and give him another excuse to fire another round at her defences. It wasn’t enough she guessed, for him to consider the fact that Spike was the reason that she was as happy as she was at the moment. Maybe she needed to remind him that despite Anaya’s inadequacies, she brought out the man from the boy and had made him so happy that he was sometimes so deliriously happy that it was laughable. Anya had made him a better person.
“Coffee tomorrow if you ladies are all agreeable?” Xander asked as smoothly as he could, laying on the charm. He watched as mixed emotions crossed over each of the girls’ face, Willow’s in agitation as she knew just how fragile Buffy must be feeling. Tara's filled with concern over his pushing against the boundaries that Buffy maybe comfortable with, and Buffy’s face filled in tense insecurity. “Come on Buffy, we gotta meet him sometime. Why not tomorrow?”
Buffy looked at each of the girls and saw their concern on their faces, and she could see the need to understand what was going on in her life written in his face. If it was really any of his concern anyway, but she could understand his desire she supposed to make sure that she was safe and happy, she hoped that was the deep seeded need why Xander needed to meet Spike. The next question was how she going to tell Spike that her friends wanted to meet him, he probably would be elated to finally meet her friends. Yet some of the fears that had surfaced during this conversation spoke loudly in her mind, making it difficult to decide what to do.
So with some great reluctance she nodded her head, “Espresso Pump at 4? How does that sound?” She just had to get herself there, it was a surety that Spike would go, but the most important thing was would she go. They chatted about everything else to avoid what had become a very uncomfortable discussion between the four. Turning finally into the building that housed their final lecture, the idle conversation ceased as they took their seats for the lecture. With one dark haired professor that had no pleasant looks for the young student in the third row, who didn’t miss a single glance of displeasure on the professor’s face.
Maybe she should think about it the prospective meeting in the afternoon some more and if necessary make up some plausible excuse if she needed to escape. All she really wanted was to find Spike, wrap herself within his body, and block out the world. To stay in their own seventh heaven they’d created together.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spike sat at his desk in front of his computer going over the figures of the monthly budget, and as much as he hated to admit it, he just couldn’t balance the funds. As usual, the spending outweighs the government grants, students’ fees and private donations. Not even every creative accounting technique could hide the truth that the University was again way over budget. Unfortunately, it was like that every month since he’d taken this job, and it had been the same at the last University he’d worked in the U.K. With a slight knowing smile, it was nice to know that no matter wherever in the world you worked, education was never funded correctly.
The best he could do was present the truth to the Board of Trustees again this month, and try to explain it to the academics why they wouldn’t be getting extra funding, and why they had to cut their budgets again. He’d have to listen to the accusations again that he wasn’t doing his job correctly by the Deans of the Faculties, and diverting money too less important faculties than their own. Sometimes he really hated his job, and the Board of Trustees meeting was the least pleasurable things in the job, and despite all this the Chancellor would come and tell him after all the abuse what a good job he was doing.
Scratching his head he was trying to think of a way to soften the blow at the meeting tomorrow, but as usual his thoughts always wandered out the window and onto the lawn below. He would lose himself in the view of the window, hoping to see a glance of her, just a look, just for a second. Yet he never saw her and he knew he wouldn’t unless she walked half of the campus to the Administration offices, the opposite site to any of where her lectures were. The window never graced her presence much to his disappointment, just once would make his day, just a look….
Picking up the phone he dialled her number for her cell phone by memory, he waited through the ring tone for her to pick up, until the engaged tone filled his ear. He looked up at the clock on the wall in defeat as he realised she’d be in her final class for the day, but he couldn’t help himself as he hit the redial button on the phone. Again it rang out. Replacing the phone handle to its cradle he knew that he’d have to wait for her to ring him back if she looked at her phone later for missed calls. Looking back at the computer screen, he tried to lose himself in the numbers that blurred his vision. Somehow, he managed after sometime to work his way through the jumble of numbers to make some sense of them, but hit the wrong key losing his work for the last hour.
“Bloody hell, you stupid fucking piece of technological crap!” Spike exploded as he tried to retrieve the last data.
“Did the big bad man break his toy?” Buffy spoke softly from the doorway as she heard his unpleasant remarks to the inanimate object. “Spike, it’s just a machine.” Buffy broke out into laughter, as he began to go a deep shade of read in embarrassment at being caught out.
“I just lost all my bloody work!”
“Calm down and let me have a look!” Buffy moved into the room, and motioned for him to move away from his desk, which she moved directly in front of him and bent over to look at the screen and keyboard. “Okay simple!” he watched as she punched in a few commands into the computer and retrieved his work. “See easy fixed.” She turned around to see him looking more at her behind than at the data that was back on the screen, Buffy turned back to the computer and saved the data onto the hard drive. Making sure that she subtlety and suggestively swayed her hips as she went about it.
“Are you finished Miss. Summers?” Spike moved his chair closer to her as she now leaned her bottom onto the front of the desk. Standing up he moved even closer as she slightly moved her stance apart to make way for his frame, sliding his hands from her hips until they lay on her cheeks, he pulled her into a deep kiss. He traced her mouth with his tongue as she teasingly refused to open her mouth to him she took her hands from the desk and lay them over his backside, softly massaging the flesh beneath her hands. Pulling him as close as she could to between her thighs, Buffy grinded herself over his front as she surrendered herself to his demanding kiss and let him in. She felt his gentle assault of her mouth begin immediately as he tasted every inch of her mouth, and entwined hers in their combined dance of ecstasy.
“Mr. Benson, the Dean of….” neither heard the approach of the department’s secretary to his door. Both quickly pulled away quickly away form each other, with Buffy quickly dashing to the widow to hide her blushing complexion. Leaving Spike struggling to straighten his now wonky tie and having to deal with the older woman that didn’t seem too shocked at finding him in a compromising situation. She didn’t even blink as she continued, “Mr. Benson the Dean of Health Sciences would like these figures reviewed for the next Board of Trustees meeting.”
“Thank you Mrs. Whitehall.” Spike spluttered out his words as he looked between her and Buffy. “I…um…I”
“Nothing Mr. Benson, it’s about time I’d say you found yourself a girlfriend,” Mrs. Whitehall had never been one to hold back her thoughts on anything. “But in the office Mr. Benson? Show the young lady some respect!” She walked further into the room and placed the files she held onto the desk, “It’s also Friday and everyone else has gone home for the day. Can I suggest that you do the same?”
“Umm...”
“It’s nothing that I haven’t seen before Mr. Benson, just go home and enjoy the weekend.” Mrs. Whitehall walked out of the office thinking to herself, at least he isn’t going to waste, or that awful professor woman hadn’t seemed to get her hooks into him yet, even if the whole university knew she was out to get him.
Spike looked at very embarrassed Buffy that still refused to turn away from the window he moved behind her and placed his arms around her. He pulled her hair away from her neck and began to place soft kisses along her skin, and playful blew in her ear. Buffy let him play for a little while before she pulled away and faced him, still slightly blushing, her face filled with mortification at being caught.
“Hey don’t be embarrassed,” Spike smiled at her trying to reassure her. “We obviously aren’t the first couple she’s walked in on, and won’t be the last.”
“That doesn’t make it any better! She found us…” Buffy gasped.
“She found two people kissing in an office Buffy! At least we weren’t naked and shagging!” Spike smirked at the thoughts that filled his head. “But then again that’s another fantasy of mine that I’d like to fulfil one day.”
Buffy responded by hitting him on the arm, as she tried to move pass him and out the office. He caught her hand and pulled her to him, as he grabbed his coat from behind the chair that was a few feet from them. Taking her hand her lead her from the crime scene and down the hallway towards the exit. Once outside, quietly lead by him they made their way to his car he opened her door for her and made his way to the drivers seat, as he gunned the engine.
“If the office turns you off, I have another fantasy with you.” Spike broke the silence.
Buffy voice cracked with her response, “Fantasy with me?”
“Yeah, you,” Spike took his eyes of the road for a second to meet hers. “You and me.” He looked at the road before, quickly turning his head and motioning to the backseat of the DeSoto.
“Oh.”
“Have to take out the baby seat though.”
“Baby seat?”
“Yeah more room,” his eyes flashed quickly at her, a deep blue with a burning desire rushing through them, but he didn’t miss the blush again in her cheeks. “Are you embarrassed again? Or shocked that I want to take you somewhere else besides a bedroom Buffy?”
“It’s just something that I never…um...never really thought about,” her words where so quiet that they were nearly silent. “Not that I’m saying that I wouldn’t want to.”
“Good Buffy, because I fully intend of having my wicked way with you whenever I can,” Spike took a hand from the steering wheel and took her hand. “Or any wicked way you want to have me.”
Buffy just blushed more if she could, it was something that she’d never really even considered because of the past that had held her in such a deep grip. Trust her to find someone that she truly loved and desired to have such a veracious appetite. She couldn’t even fathom what was normal and what wasn’t, because she’d shield herself so deeply from the world of desire. It looked like he was going to plunge her straight into the world of the unknown, but it was something that she was truly looking forward to embracing and exploring.
They drove towards the day-care centre to pick up Imogen and finally drive back to the Benson household. Spike pulled up to find Buffy lost in her thoughts and not even realising that they were home, as he shook her shoulder to make her aware of her surroundings.
“Lost little girl?”
“A little.”
“Don’t worry we’ll find our way,” both knew what he was referring to and to which Buffy was grateful to have found such a man, as the one that stood before him with a now howling grumpy baby in the backseat demanding to be feed her dinner. “But at least some one’s clear on what she wants.” He turned back to Buffy as he got out to retrieve Imogen from her baby seat, “You hungry Little Bit? Buffy?”
“Yes!”
“And for anything else?” the glint in his eye’s flashed again.
“Yes,” Buffy got out of the car and took Imogen from his hands, and began to walk to the front door with him. She stood back as he opened the door and let them in, “but that’s for later mister!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy watched as he prepared the evening meal for them, as he moved effortlessly through the kitchen, not like her usual mess she created when she tried to cook. She dreaded the day that he suggested that she cook for them, it would be a total disaster, and one that would bring shame to her mother that could make dirt taste like a gourmet dinner. Spike couldn’t miss the look of concern that filled her face, his concern grew as the silence continued, a lot of things passed through his mind what could be worrying her, and he didn’t like any of them.
“What’s wrong, pet?” Spike put down the knife he held in his hand and came around to the table where she with Imogen in her lap. “You looked worried? Exam coming up?”
‘No, it’s nothing really.”
“’Nothing really’ doesn’t look like what’s on your face Luv. Unless it’s serious, and I want to know.” Spike took Imogen from her lap and placed her into the playpen beside the table. “I worry about you sometimes,” he caressed her hair as it hung over her face. “Worry because I care, and I’m here for you. I need to know you’re okay, and not going to run off!”
“I’m not running off, and it’s nothing for you to worry about? It’s my problem, okay?”
“Does it have something to do with what happened in the office?” He was worried that his forwardness about what he desired and fantasized may have been to much, maybe she wasn’t ready for this type of play yet. “Or what I suggested Luv? If you’re not ready…”
“It’s not that. I...” Buffy looked away from his gaze. “My friends want to meet you, and they want to meet us tomorrow.”
“Is that all?” his laughter filled the room. “I thought you were thinking...”
“It’s serious Spike! These are my friends!” Buffy spluttered out with such intensity that it stopped him mid-sentence.
“What do you mean by that Buffy?” Spike respond with a quiet hushed voice as her true meaning hit him. “What haven’t you told them about us that makes you so jumpy?”
“Nothing?”
“Then why are you so jumpy about me meeting them?” Spike tilted her face in his palm as he tried to seek the truth in her eyes. “Why Buffy? Are you ashamed of something or me? Have you kept silent about me, like a dirty little secret?”
“NO! They know about you!” Buffy stood up placing a hand on his cheek in reassurance. “They know that we are together! That you’re the reason that I’m happy!”
“Then what, Buffy? Why are you so worried about them meeting me?”
“They…they’re younger than you. You might..”
“Might what? Find them what?” Spike asked her quietly. “Boring? Childish? Dull?”
“Yes.”
“Do I find you boring, childish and dull, Buffy?” Spike turned away from her and took one step back from them and shook his head in astonishment. “If I found you like that Buffy, do you think that I’d be here with you? Seriously?”
“No.” Buffy hung her head in shame at even thinking the thoughts that went through her mind.
“Since we are on the subject, maybe there’s something that’s bothering you about me?”
“No.” Buffy replied so silently that the falseness of her statement was obvious.
“Don’t lie to me Buffy. Never lie to me!” Spike voice carried his obvious anger towards her. “What is it about me that you haven’t told them?”
Buffy stood still and didn’t dare move a muscle she was afraid to cause more grief than she already had. She just didn’t know what to tell him or how to tell him her concerns about why she hadn’t told her friends the whole truth about him. She reluctantly pulled her head up too meet his hurt gaze, and watched as he walked to pull Imogen out of the playpen. He looked down at his daughter then to the woman that stood looking so helpless in the kitchen. He played with Imogen as he put her into her highchair in readiness to feed her dinner. Buffy looked even more guilty at him as he went about the task, it instantly hit him.
“They don’t know about Imogen, do they?” Reality came into play as he imagined the worst. “You haven’t told them about my baby? That your boyfriend’s a single dad?”
“No they don’t know about Imogen, I don’t know how they would react?” Buffy voice cracked under the pressure of her confession. “I don’t know if they, well one, would take the news well.”
“Does their opinion mean that much to you?”
“Spike you mean more to me than that?”
“It doesn’t feel like that at the moment Luv.” Spike moved back into the kitchen to put Imogens dinner on her bowl, and moved it place it in front of her. He watched as she grabbed the shredded carrot in one hand and shovelled it into her mouth with her fingers. “I need to know that we mean more to you than anything in the world!”
“You do, both of you!” Buffy felt the tears begin to threaten to take form behind her eye sockets. “You gave me back mine and brought me back from a non-existence that was killing me!”
“Then why do I feel like you’ve shut me out from everyone else that’s important in your life!”
“Because I’m stupid and a fool!” Buffy turned away from him as the tears began to cascade down her face. “And because I’m afraid that you’ll think you can never be a part of my friends! That they’ll try and talk me out of being with you and Imogen!”
“Could they Buffy?” Spike moved behind her as he confronted her. “Can they talk you out of being with me and Imogen?”
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