“No…no… no… no… NO!!!” Buffy shot up in bed breathing heavily. Not another one. Buffy looked at the clock and saw that Angel would be arriving in less than an hour. Fuck. She had been trying to sleep for 10 hours, but every time she would fall asleep, she would have the same nightmare. Well, almost the same. The ending alternated between her or Spike being shot, but the result was always the same. She would jolt awake screaming. And now she had 50…no make that 45 minutes to get ready for her zoo trip with Angel. She flopped back down on the bed. Fuck.
Not surprisingly, Cecily dropped the girls off early and informed Spike that they had not had breakfast…then she was out the door. Spike had dug around in his kitchen and found some eggs, but that wouldn’t do because Lisa got bit by a chicken at her grandparents’ farm in Virginia and refused to eat anything that came from the animal. So, he pulled out a box of oatmeal and started heating some water…but no, Sara won’t eat oatmeal because it reminds her of the time she ate too much tapioca pudding and vomited on one of her father’s golf buddies. Finally, Spike took the girls to a café down the street and bought them both giant blueberry muffins…of course, he had to eat the bottom of Lisa’s because that was the bad part.
Currently, they were all piled in a cab on their way to the zoo. Thankfully, the girls both seemed relatively excited about the prospect of spending a couple of hours outdoors checking out the animals. Spike didn’t know what he would have done if they’d fought him on the matter. They both had Cecily’s fiery temper. Zoo…here we come.
So, Buffy had actually been having a pretty nice day. The weather was beautiful and the animals were entertaining. Even Angel seemed entertaining and that was a feat unto itself.
“Oh, Angel, then what happened?”
“Well, he couldn’t get the ink off, so his future mother-in-law saw him with a dick drawn on his face.”
Buffy giggled. “Did you feel awful?”
“Heck no, not after he’d buried every last pair of my pants out in the snow.” They both laughed.
“So where to next?” Buffy asked opening the zoo map.
“We should hit that new primate habitat. It’s supposed to be really elaborate.”
“Sounds good! Lead the way, Captain!”
“Yes ma’am!” Angel hooked her arm and led her down the path.
As they approached the exhibit, Buffy noticed several people were already there viewing it. Almost immediately, she noticed a bleached blond head sticking out in the crowd. That couldn’t be. As they got closer, Buffy saw that there were two little girls with the man, each holding one of his hands. Faded jeans. Light blue t-shirt. All right, no way is that Spike. And he doesn’t have kids…does he? God, I’m lusting after a man I know next to nothing about. For all I know, he has six wives and twenty kids stashed away somewhere, probably at a sweatshop in Guatemala.
Buffy felt Angel tense beside her. Hmmm…maybe that is Spike. The blond man and the little girls turned from the exhibit and Buffy’s hazel eyes met deep blue.
“Buffy?” Spike couldn’t believe she was standing in front of him…at the zoo?
“Hi…Spike.” Buffy glanced nervously at Angel. His face was red and his jaw was locked. “Angel, this is…Spike. Spike, this is Angel.” Spike looked equally pleased to see Angel. “Guys, play nice, there are children around.”
At that, Spike remembered his nieces and looked down to see them shyly hugging his legs. They’re probably terrified of this brute. Can’t say that I blame them. “Girls, this is Buffy and her…friend…Angel.” He wasn’t sure what the git was to Buffy, but he was relieved when she didn’t correct his assertion that they were just friends. “Buffy…Angel, these are my sister’s kids. This is Lisa,” he said gesturing to the smaller girl attached to his right leg, “And this is Sara.” He gestured towards the girl on his left leg.
Lisa peered around Spike’s leg and studied Buffy. “Is she your girlfriend, Uncle Willyum?” Buffy blushed.
Spike smiled down at the little girl, “No, sweet bit, she’s my friend.”
Sara tugged at Spike’s pants leg, “That’s good, Uncle William, cause she came to the zoo with the big man and Mummy says that it’s not proper for a lady to have more than one boyfriend at a time…unless Daddy’s out of town.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “She’s says all that, does she? Think I need to have a talk with your mum.”
“Uncle Willyum! I want to see the elfants!!!”
“Elephants, bit?” Spike gave Buffy an apologetic look. “We should really be moving along. The girls get restless if we stop for too long. Oh, let me give you something,” Spike pulled out his wallet and removed a card from it. “This is my card, pet, it has my home phone and my office number and hours on it, but those will only be good for another week. Feel free to call me whenever. After what happened the other night, I thought you might want to talk.” Angel glared as Buffy took the card from Spike’s hand.
Buffy’s heart fluttered. “Thanks, I really appreciate that, Spike.”
“S’nothing, luv.” With one last smile, Spike allowed himself to be tugged off in the direction of the elfants.
“You two seem to be getting along well.”
“Nothing like a near death experience to bring people together,” Buffy joked. “But really, I think he just feels sorry for me. I didn’t handle the ordeal as well as I would’ve liked.”
“I don’t know, Buffy. He seemed a little too friendly if you ask me. Maybe you should stay away from him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Angel, it’s not like he’s a psycho-killer. He’s at the zoo with his nieces. I think he’s safe.” Buffy rolled her eyes.
Angel grunted, “Yeah, well, I just don’t like him.”
Buffy laughed and tugged on Angel’s arm, “Come on, cranky man, I want to see the kangaroos!”
Angel wasn’t quite as fun to be around after their run-in with Spike, but Buffy was able to enjoy the day all the same. She really did love the zoo. After they were done checking out all the animals, they had cabbed it back to Buffy’s place. After some deliberation, they ate lunch at a little diner a couple of blocks away. After lunch, Buffy had sent Angel on his way claiming that she wanted to try to get a little nap in before work. The pub was open on Sundays but closed early at midnight. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Buffy never did nap as she was sure her sleep would be peppered by nightmares. Now, it was 1am and Buffy was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. She could hear thunder in the distance.
She rolled her head to the side and looked at her cell phone where it sat on her bedside table. He said to call whenever. Yeah, but it would be rude to call him this late. But I’m so tired. She sighed. I know I could sleep if I went over to his place. I feel…safe when he’s around. And that couch looked comfier than my bed. I should call him. She snorted. Yeah right, cause he’s just gonna invite you over at one in the morning. Maybe if I just went over there…he’d have to let me in, right? Right? Buffy continued to justify herself, making sure to throw out all the logical arguments against walking alone…late at night…to the home of a man she hardly knew…uninvited. Decision made, she hopped out of bed and pulled on a pair of black athletic pants. She left on the white tank top she had worn to bed. Throwing her cell phone and a few dollars in her messenger bag, she slipped on a pair of sneakers and headed out the door.
Spike’s flat was only about two blocks away. Half a block into her walk, it started sprinkling. She picked up her pace, determined not to turn back. Then, it was like the sky opened up and heavy sheets of rain began pouring down on Buffy. Thunder boomed and the night sky was lit up by bright flashes of lightning. She ran the rest of the way to Spike’s building, stopping when she reached the sheltered alcove of the front door. Shivering, she ran her finger down the short list of names to the side of the door stilling her finger over the intercom button next to W. James. She pressed it.
Spike startled awake to the sound of a peculiar buzzing noise. “Wha--!” It took him a moment to get his bearings having fallen asleep at the dining room table with his head on a stack of tests. He looked around for a moment, then heard the buzzing again. The intercom. Who’s here at this hour? Spike walked over to the intercom and pressed the button. “Yes?”
There was static and then, “Spike…it’s Buffy…can I come up?”
“Buffy?” Spike’s heart stopped. What on earth is she doing here at this hour…or at all.
“Please, Spike, I’m cold. Buzz me in.”
“Oh, yeah, of course, luv.” Spike buzzed her in and stepped back from the door to await her arrival. Why is she here? What if something happened to her. What if that wanker hurt her. I’ll kill him.
A few moments later, there was a knock at the door. Spike took a deep breath and opened it, revealing a soaking wet Buffy. Spike took in her small form, rivulets of water dripping down her face, her neck, sliding down between her breasts…her perfect, perky breasts clearly unencumbered by a bra as her rosy pink nipples were obviously visible through her white shirt. Spike gulped. I’m in trouble.