Chapter Spans from: February 2003 - May 2003.
Annie turned four in February.
Buffy and Spike have been married four years.
Buffy turned 22 years old on January 19th, 2003.
**~**
Mid February, 2003:
Spike pulled his attention away from the Manchester United vs. Chelsea football match that was showing on the wide screen TV in the main room of the Coven’s cabin as Buffy and Annie walked in. They were both bundled up tight against the cold weather outside, their cheeks a rosy pink from the cold and both carried ice skates in their hands.
“So, how’re my rink rats today?" Spike asked as they approached him. He stood up and started walking towards them, meeting them in the center of the room.
“I hardly fell down at all, today!” Annie announced proudly.
“Yeah,” Buffy agreed. “She’s doing great! I think I fell down more than she did,” she said, rubbing her butt.
Spike laughed. “So, you gonna be the next Wayne Gretsky, Niblett?”
“Noooo! Dorothy Hamill!” Annie said.
“Dorothy Hamill? PFFFFTTT!!” Spike said. “Gretsky’s tougher.”
“PLEEASE!” Buffy said, coming to the rescue of her childhood idol. “Dorothy could skate rings around him!”
“Yeah, until he body-checked her into the boards!” Spike argued.
“He’d have to catch her first!” Buffy retorted as she grabbed Annie’s hand and the two girls rushed past Spike towards the stairs.
Spike caught them before they mounted the first step, grabbing each of them around the waist with a strong arm and lifting their feet off the ground. Annie squealed in delight and Buffy laughed as he spun them around and then set them back down.
“What was that about catching?” he asked with a smirk.
“Well, she could let him catch and body-check her . . .” Buffy said with a sly smile as she put her arms around his neck and dropped a kiss on Spike’s lips.
Pulling away from him, Buffy asked, “So, how are all the new Slayers today?”
“Well, I haven’t heard anyone crash through the walls yet this mornin' . . .” Spike replied with a shrug.
Willow and Tara had talked to the Coven witches and determined the best spell to use to release the magic from the scythe and empower all the Potentials with Slayer strength. They’d done the spell five days ago and it had worked perfectly. The only problem they’d experienced were the Potentials (now Slayers) unused to their new strength, had been breaking things and throwing each other through the walls of the training room while sparring. Spike had trained with them for a couple of days to give them some firsthand experience with vampire strength, but, with just one of him and fifteen of them, he was getting too beat up and Buffy stopped it.
The Watcher’s Council was sending Watchers for all the new Slayers; they were due to arrive tomorrow and would be deploying the Slayers across the globe. In addition, they were still scouring the globe for other Potentials/Slayers that hadn't been brought to the safe house yet. The Council had finally coughed up some money to provide for at least the basic necessities of the new Slayers, including health care and living expenses. Buffy had pushed for them to provide a substantial clothing replacement allowance, but they balked at that. Buffy, Faith, Giles and Wesley decided to just keep the two “senior” Watchers as the trustees of the “Active Slayer” trust fund and dispense funds on a case by case basis to Slayers or Watchers who applied for assistance.
With the Watchers arriving tomorrow, Buffy, Spike and Annie were leaving tonight, right after dark, and heading for home. The rest of the Scoobies had reluctantly left shortly after the spell was done, because, despite the enormity of the safe house, there really weren’t enough beds for everyone. Not to mention the fact that Xander and Anya had to get back to work and Willow and Tara had classes they were missing.
Buffy had really enjoyed their time at the cabin. Ice skating and horseback riding every day with Annie and exploring the grounds at night with Spike – including a few trips back to the hot springs - had been wonderful, but she was ready to get back home and back to normal – or for what passed as normal for a Slayer married to a vampire. The Coven witches had been more than generous with their time and their safe house and told the Weckerly’s they were welcome back anytime, especially Annie, who had captured everyone’s heart.
**~**
It was late afternoon when Buffy entered the kitchen to retrieve the last of the blood that was in the freezer to take with them on the trip back home. Lindsey was working on preparing the evening meal, but otherwise the kitchen was empty.
“Hi Lindsey,” Buffy said giving the ‘head cook and bottle washer’ a smile.
“Buffy,” he smiled back at her. “I hear you’re leaving tonight.”
“Yeah, we are,” she confirmed.
“Listen, Lindsey,” she said, walking over to where he was working. “Faith told me about the kids you helped Angel save in L.A. and how that landed you here, hiding from Wolfram and Hart.”
“Yeah, well – worse places I could be,” he shrugged.
“Well, I just wanted to tell you, if there ever comes a day when you can leave here and you’re back in California, you should look us up – we can always use good fighters on the Hellmouth.” Buffy smiled at him and slid a piece of paper with their address and phone number on it to Lindsey.
“Thanks,” he said taking it and stuffing the paper down into his jeans pocket. “I’ll do that. If I can ever leave, that is.”
Buffy gave him another smile before turning and going back to her original mission of retrieving their cooler and the last packets of blood for the trip home.
**~**
March 2003:
Buffy was picking up Annie from her pre-school when Annie’s teacher caught up with her in the parking lot.
“Mrs. Weckerly, could I have a word with you a moment?” her teacher, Mrs. Johnston, asked.
“Sure, what’s up?” Buffy inquired as she stopped walking and turned to face the teacher.
“Could we go inside? I’d like to have a word with you about Annie,” the teacher said.
Buffy frowned. If it was something good, the teacher would’ve just said it right then in front of Annie; this wasn’t good. “Sure,” Buffy agreed and she and Annie followed the teacher back inside.
Mrs. Johnston asked Annie to work on straightening out some books at the back of the room while she spoke with Buffy at her desk in the front.
“I’m a little worried about Annie, Mrs. Weckerly,” the teacher started. “She really has a, well, quite an imagination. To be honest, I’m a little afraid that she’s having a hard time distinguishing between fantasy and reality.”
“What do you mean?” Buffy asked, concerned.
The teacher pulled out a picture that Annie had drawn. “We were drawing our families today,” the teacher explained. “And this is what Annie drew.”
Buffy looked at the picture. There were five people in it. Annie was one of them, clearly much smaller than the other four with long, dark, curly hair. There were two women who Annie drew holding hands with a bright yellow orb above them; one of the women had red hair and the other had brown. Willow and Tara, Buffy realized.
Then there was a blonde woman holding a red axe in one hand and her other hand was holding the hand of a blond man who had long teeth and what looked like ridges on his forehead. Her and Spike. Annie drew herself on the other side of Spike, holding his other hand.
Buffy sighed; it really did depict their family quite well. “Yeah, well . . . umm . . .” she started. “You see, the two women are my sisters, Annie’s aunts? They live with us. They . . . well, they’re kind of sun worshipers, that’s the reason for the sun there over them . . .” Buffy explained, desperately trying to find something to explain Spike’s teeth and ridges and the axe in her hand.
“And, well, you know, my husband has a skin condition and really bad teeth,” she continued. “And I’m, well . . . I’m a lumberjack! That’s my axe,” Buffy said smiling and looking up from the drawing to meet the teacher’s eyes – proud that she could come up with something to explain everything.
Mrs. Johnston looked at her with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. “You don’t look like a lumberjack,” she pointed out.
“Oh, well, I’m a lot stronger than I look, I assure you,” Buffy said as she stood up. “Can I keep this?” Buffy asked waving the drawing in the air.
“Sure,” the teacher said, also standing up. “You know, Annie says that her father is a vampire,” Mrs. Johnston informed Buffy.
“Vampire?” Buffy asked, her mind racing. “Well, yeah, that’s just ‘cause of his skin condition. He can’t go out in the sun. You’ve heard of it, surely,” Buffy searched her brain. They had just seen a show about it not too long ago on TV. What the fuck was it called again? Nymphomania? No, no - well, yeah, but that’s not the skin disease, stupid.
“Protoporphyria,” Buffy said, pleased with herself for being able to remember the name of the disease. “So, we just tease him and call him a vampire. It’s just a joke,” Buffy smiled at the teacher and turned to leave before she had any more questions for her.
“Ok, if you say so,” Mrs. Johnston said as she followed Buffy. “But you really should try to be more careful saying things like that around children. They tend to take what you say at face value.”
“Oh, believe me, Mrs. Johnston, I totally understand. We’ll be more careful in the future!” Buffy said as she walked over and took Annie’s hand.
Buffy let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding once they were in the car.
“What did Mrs. Johnston want, Mama?” Annie asked from the back seat.
“Oh, she just wanted to show me the drawing you did honey,” Buffy told her, holding up the drawing for her daughter to see.
“That’s us!” Annie said. “That’s our family!”
“Yeah, baby girl, it sure is,” Buffy agreed with a smile.
**~**
May 2003:
Buffy wrapped her arms around Spike’s hard body and leaned into his back as they rumbled down the highway on his Harley. He and Xander had finally gotten time to work on it after they’d gotten back from Canada and the two friends got it in top condition. Buffy had to admit that it was fun to ride on and she loved the feeling of holding onto him while the machine vibrated between her thighs and the wind whipped around her body. It was sexy goodness as far as she was concerned!
Since “cleansing” the Hellmouth back in February, the demon activity in Sunnydale had decreased significantly. Even though the Hellmouth wasn’t officially “closed”, all that vampire dust certainly had it clogged up pretty well. So, they left Annie with Willow and Tara and were taking a long weekend trip up Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, to Big Sur.
When they got north of L.A., past Santa Barbara, Buffy wished for the first time that they could travel during the day. Spike being a vamp and not being able to be out in the sun rarely ever bothered her, but right now, she wished they could find a way for him to venture into the light because she knew how breathtaking the views along the PCH were on this part of the highway. As it was, they could smell the fresh, salty aroma of the ocean and Spike would pull off onto one of the many “scenic lookouts” from time to time and they listened to the waves breaking below them.
It took most of the night to get to Big Sur, with all the stops they made along the way. Buffy had told the owner’s of the cabins where she made the reservation that they would be arriving very early in the morning and she’d paid in advance, so the owner said he’d just leave the key under the mat for them. The sun was just starting to light the sky when they got to the cabin and Buffy was glad to see that the view from the large window was as promised – spectacular! Spike grabbed the few things they’d brought with them from the saddlebags of the bike and followed her into the cabin.
It was small, but comfortable. There was one large room with a king sized bed and a kitchenette as well as a small sitting area with a TV. The west wall was basically one large window and you could see the ocean from anywhere in the room; a door led out to a deck and gazebo that overlooked the ocean.
Checking the bathroom, she found a two-person, sunken whirlpool tub and a large shower. A wicked thought formed in her mind as she stepped inside, closed the door and turned the water on to fill the tub.
When the tub was filled with steaming water, she turned the jets on and dropped her clothes on the floor.
“Spike?” she called from behind the closed door. “Could you help me a minute?”
“What is it, luv?” he was asking before he got the door fully open and saw her.
“I’ve got this itch and I just can’t reach it . . .” Buffy smiled coyly. “Thought you might be able to help me out.”
Spike trailed his tongue along his top teeth. He moved up to her, his chest just an inch away from hers, “Tell me where it itches, pet,” he whispered, leaning down close to her ear.
“Everywhere,” Buffy replied quietly before laying her palm on his cheek and taking his lips in a soft kiss.
Buffy dropped her hands to his belt and tugged it loose as she deepened the kiss. She pressed her tongue between his lips and past his teeth deep into his hungry mouth as he swirled his tongue around hers. She un-did his jeans and dropped them down around his ankles as Spike toed his boots off then kicked the jeans off after them. Buffy ran her hands up under his T-shirt, laying her palms flat against his hard body as she went up; it was like running her hands up a marble statue; hard and smooth under her touch. She broke the kiss to slide his shirt up over his head as he raised his arms and allowed her to pull it off him.
When his clothes were shed, Spike ran his hands down her body from her shoulders, down the luscious swell along the sides of her breasts, along the curve of her waist to the flare of her hips. His touch was light, barely there and sent shivers through her as her body screamed for more.
“Is that gettin’ it, luv?” he asked, his voice deep with desire.
“Not remotely,” Buffy sighed the words before taking his hand and leading him into the steaming, whirling bath. Buffy pressed him down onto one of the seats and the jets of water caressed his back – from his neck all the way down to his toes - with warm, hard pulses. Buffy straddled his hips, his hard-on caught between their bodies, as she leaned forward and resumed the kiss that was broken when she pulled his shirt off. Buffy trailed her hands through his hair, breaking the hold of the hair-gel and loosening the curls that it controlled, as her tongue delved into his mouth, tasting and teasing him with her heat.
Spike ran his wet hands down her body, his touch like silk against her wet skin as he trailed icy-fire down her sides and then up her back with his fingers. Buffy moaned in pleasure into his mouth at his touch. When he reached her upper back again, he slid his hands down, and circled her full breasts in with his fingers as she moaned again into his mouth. When he took her nipples between his fingers and began lightly pinching and pulling them, Buffy’s body jerked involuntarily, sitting back and breaking the kiss as her back arched, pressing her breasts harder against his hands.
“That the spot, luv?” he asked, coyly.
“One of ‘em,” Buffy replied as she took one of his hands in hers and trailed it down under the water to her tingling pussy. “I think this spot could use some attention,” she said as she released his hand. She took his cock into her hand and began a slow stroke up and down his length as he pressed a finger between their bodies and found her clit.
“Oh God!” Buffy exclaimed when he hit her most sensitive spot. Her head snapped back and her hand tightened around his rod as every muscle in her body tensed with the electrical shocks he was sending out from her pussy.
“That the spot, then, luv?” he asked again with a wicked smile.
“You’re getting warmer,” she replied as she went back to stroking his cock in her hand, her hips involuntarily matching the rhythm of her strokes as Spike continued his exploration of her clit with his fingers. Spike closed his eyes and moaned as her strokes on his cock with her hand got harder and faster. God, he was gonna’ cum and he had to be inside her, NOW.
Spike pulled his hand out from between them, took her by the shoulders, pulled her off him and stood up.
“What’re you doing?” Buffy asked, a little confused.
“Finding that spot, luv,” he said as he turned her around, pressed her against the side of the tub and bent her forward. He maneuvered her so her mound was directly next to one of the pulsing jets on the side of the tub and lifted one of her legs up to rest on the seat where he’d been sitting, opening her throbbing pussy so the jet hit her clit. “OH GOD!” she exclaimed as the water pulsed against her – her hips jerking towards it of their own accord. Spike pressed his hips against her ass, sliding his cock down her crack to find her throbbing slit and pressed into her.
“YES! JESUS! YES!” Buffy screamed as he entered her. His thick, hard cock stretching her cunt and filling her as she bucked back against him. He pressed her body forward, back against the pulsing jet of the whirlpool. “Arrrgghh,” Buffy yelled as the pulsing water hit her clit again and her whole body began to spasm with her building orgasm, every muscle tightened and her breath caught in her throat as her climax overtook her. Spike held her hips steady so she wouldn’t topple over; his cock still buried in her heat as her channel clamped hard around his cock. When she started breathing again, he began a slow fuck of her pussy from behind, holding her against the side of the whirlpool where the pulsing water continued to perform its magic on her clit.
“I think . . . I think you found it,” Buffy gasped out between gulps of air. “Now, scratch harder.”
Spike smirked and increased the tempo of his strokes until he was slamming into her heat with power only a vampire could possess; power a Slayer needed to satisfy her desires.
“YES! God, Spike! Jesus, FUCK ME! HARDER! FUCK ME! SPIKE! YES!” Buffy screamed at him as she felt another orgasm building from where he was pounding her cunt.
“Cum for me Buffy . . . God, let me hear you scream! BUFFY! CHRIST! BLOODY FUCKING CHRIST!” Spike screamed as he felt her orgasm start and her channel tighten around his cock as he drove into her with hard, fast strokes. Buffy’s demands had degenerated into small squeals of pleasure as she struggled to breathe and finally culminated in one long, primal scream as her orgasm burst through her – filling every cell in her body with electricity and fire. Spike kept pumping into her hard and fast as she screamed in pleasure – her whole body writhed and tightened beneath him until he could no longer hold back and sprayed his cum into her core with one final, deep stroke and a roar that rivaled the waves breaking on the shore outside.
As they both came down from heaven, they collapsed back into the warm water. Spike laid back down on one of the lounges in the whirlpool, pulling Buffy down atop him, her back to his front, as she continued to try and find enough air to satisfy her oxygen depleted body.
“That get it then, luv?” Spike asked with a sly smile.
“Mmmm, for now,” Buffy replied with a devious smile of her own as she wriggled her ass against him.
**~**
Buffy and Spike spent the next two days and nights in Big Sur. They’d explore the beach, the river and the Redwood forests by night, making love in all three, and slept during the days. They left the paradise at sunset on the third day for home, vowing to return soon.
**~**
Tara had been nice enough to tape “Passions” for Spike again, as she did anytime he was away from home. Even though they had a TV in the cabin, for some reason it had never gotten turned on (too much turning on of other sorts was going on, apparently!). Spike lay down on the couch in the great room and Buffy joined him, laying half on him and half off as they both cuddled together in the narrow space and he started the tape. It wasn’t fifteen minutes into the show that they both fell fast asleep in each other’s arms, happy and content, as the “exertion” of their vacation overtook them.