The following two days went by quietly, with Buffy and William spending most of the time together at her place. Like an unspoken rule, neither of them mentioned Drusilla or her pregnancy, and they were finally starting to allow themselves to relax and just enjoy each others company. Then, on the third day, the calling began.
The first time Drusilla called him, William was alone in the kitchen while Buffy was taking a shower. His eyes widened when he realized who it was, but he refused to show any sign that he had been taken off guard. To tell the truth, he had been hoping she had simply taken the hint and given up, but he supposed he should have known better.
“What do you want, Dru?” He forced back a sigh, resisting the urge to just throw the phone away from him in disgust.
”We need you, Spike.” Drusilla sounded eerily calm, and he could feel an outburst coming up. ”Baby needs its daddy. You can deny it all you like, but you can’t keep your eyes closed forever.”
William could feel an upcoming headache, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was not in a mood for this. “If it turns out the kid’s mine, I’ll do what I have to do. But we’re not getting back together, Dru. No matter what happens, you and I are through.” He listened to her rambling at the other end, then, when he realized she wasn’t about to stop, simply hung up.
He kept his eyes at his cell phone for almost a minute, letting out the breath he had been holding when it remained silent. Having almost expected her to call right back, he was relieved when it didn’t happen. Buffy was right, of course; he didn’t owe Drusilla anything. Still, there was the slightest possibility that she was in fact carrying his child.
Not that he wanted it to be true. Hell, he couldn’t think of a fate worse than that; having a baby with a woman he had come to despise. Especially since he was deeply in love with someone else. But the fact remained; he was partly responsible and there was no point in telling himself otherwise. Sure, Drusilla may have lied about being on the pill, but he hadn’t exactly cared about protection at the time. He had just wanted to get laid.
But, as it had turned out, Drusilla hadn’t exactly been faithful during their short but intense relationship. Now he could do little more than hope he wasn’t the unlucky bastard who had managed to knock her up. The idea of countless sexually transmitted diseases kept nagging at the back of his mind, and he made a mental note to make a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible. At least he and Buffy had used protection. The mere thought of possibly passing anything on to her made him feel sick.
William wondered – and not for the first time – how he could have been so bloody stupid. Thinking back at his foolish actions now made him feel like the most irresponsible and pathetic person ever. But honestly, before he and Buffy got back together, he had simply not cared. And that made him feel like whatever he got now, it was no more than he deserved. Only problem was, Buffy didn’t deserve any of this.
“Hey.” The girl in question chose that moment to enter the kitchen and William nearly jumped at the sound of her voice behind him. She smiled a little. “What do you wanna do today?”
“Dunno.” He swallowed, unable to take his eyes away from her. She really was beautiful. Beautiful, sweet, kind, and all his. He just couldn’t help but wonder for how long.
“Wanna go out for breakfast? Or we could...” Buffy got cut off by his cell phone ringing, causing him to freeze in his tracks. She gave him a questioning look. “Aren’t you gonna get that?”
Casting a brief look at the display, William quickly pushed a button and the ringing stopped. He let the phone slip down in his pocket. “So, breakfast, eh? Sounds good. Feeling a bit peckish.”
Buffy frowned. “Who was that?”
Grabbing the jacket he had casually thrown over a chair, William avoided her eyes as he started to put it on. “Wrong number.”
“It was her, wasn’t it?” Buffy sighed when he still wouldn’t look at her. “William?”
“So what if it was? Not like I’m gonna talk to her.” William could hear the defensive note in his voice and took a deep breath. “Sorry, luv. Shouldn’t take it out on you. Forgive me?”
“Sure.” She hesitated for a moment. “You okay?”
“Course,” he responded, automatically, ignoring the doubtful look on Buffy’s face. “Let’s get out of here.” She nodded in agreement, giving him a somewhat uncertain smile as he took her hand and squeezed it, softly. They made it as far as through the door before the ringing started again.
“This is nice.” Buffy smiled, playing with the little umbrella in her drink. “Though I have to admit, when you said you were taking me out on a date tonight, I didn’t think this was the place you had in mind.” She and William was sitting at a small table at The Bronze, watching the people passing by on their way to the bar or the dance floor.
“Oh.” He glanced at her, suddenly feeling a little stupid. “Take you some place fancier next time, pet. Just thought it’d be nice to get out for a while.”
“Didn’t say I mind.” She gave him an assuring smile. “I like it here. After all, this is where we met.” A pause. “Again. You know what I mean.”
William chuckled. “Yeah.” Their eyes met. Suddenly the rest of the world seemed so distant. It felt good.
“It’s been quiet.” Seeing his confusion, Buffy hurried to clarify; “The phone. Hasn’t been ringing for hours.”
“Yeah, well...” He got a sheepish look on his face. “Turned it off a while ago.”
Her smile faded a little. “Oh.” She was quiet for a moment. “Can I see?”
He just shrugged, reached into his pocket and handed her the phone. She turned it on, and her eyes widened. “William...”
“What?” She held it up so he could see. The display showed twenty-seven missed phone calls. All of them coming from the same number. A number he knew all too well. “Oh bloody hell!” They both jumped as the phone immediately started ringing. William reached for it automatically, but Buffy had already flicked it open.
“What the hell’s your problem, you stupid bitch?! Just stop calling and leave him alone!” The fury in Buffy’s voice was impossible to miss, and William found himself being glad that he was not the one who had pissed her off. A moment later, she handed him the phone back with a triumphant look on her face. “She hung up.”
“No kidding...” William rolled his eyes and put the phone back down in his pocket. “I know, I know,” he mumbled as he saw her expression. “It’s getting ridiculous.”
“I think we’re way past ridiculous.” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. “William, she’s obsessed. You need to...”
“What am I supposed to do? Huh?” William struggled not to lose his temper. He was not angry at Buffy, but he was becoming seriously fed up with the situation. “I already tried to talk to her, Buffy. Told her to get off my back. But she won’t bloody listen!”
“I know.” Buffy put her hand on top of his. “I’m not blaming you.”
“Maybe you should.” He let out a sigh. “I mean it, Buffy; I’m at loss of what to do here. Not sure what the bloody hell she wants from me, but she’s not getting it.”
Buffy squeezed his hand, a sympathetic look on her face. “William, you can’t just keep your phone off forever.”
“Fine.” He picked up his beer and took a large swig. “I’ll change the number, then.”
“That won’t solve anything.” Buffy was starting to get frustrated. “She obviously won’t give up that easily.”
“Think I don’t know that?!” William slammed the empty beer bottle down, hard, on the table. “Know I screwed up, all right? Never should’ve gotten involved with her. I realize that now. But...” He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. “Point is, I did. I’m in deep shit here, Buffy. Just don’t know how to fix it.”
Buffy was silent for a moment. Then she nodded. “Okay. We’ll think of something. Just promise me one thing.” He gave her a questioning look, and she went on; “We have something here, William. Something good. Don’t let her ruin it.”
His eyes widened and he swallowed, hard. “Buffy, I...”
“I mean it.” She gave him a firm look. “I love you, William. I’m not gonna let Drusilla come between us. Are you?”
He shook his head, desperately fighting back the tears that threatened to well up at her words. “Never.”
“Good.” Buffy leaned in to give him a soft kiss on the lips before getting up. “Need to go to the bathroom. Be right back.”
“Right.” William gave her a weak smile, getting up as well. “I’ll be at the bar. Want anything?” She shook her head. He pulled her into his arms, hugged her hard before reluctantly letting go of her and headed towards the bar.
Ordering himself another beer, William waited patiently for the bartender to return with his drink. At first, he didn’t react when he felt a presence next to him. After all, the bar was crowded. Then someone grabbed him by the arm, jerking him away from the bar, and he spun around. “What the bloody...?!” He didn’t get to finish until the fist hit him straight in the face.
TBC