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Chapter 24


Buffy was frantically trying to get Angel out of the house before Michael woke up from his nap. Or more importantly, before Spike arrived.

“Buffy, if he’s coming over, I want to be here. I think I have the right.”

“Angel, he’s meeting his son for the first time. I don’t think we need to
add to the situation by having my boyfriend here. Now, please just let me
do what I think is best.”

“I’ll give you an hour.”

“Angel! Are you really going to stand there and give me a time limit?” she
asked through clenched teeth.

Angel stared at Buffy as she stood in front of him, seething with anger. He
knew that if he persisted with the conversation, then he would be
overstepping some very serious bounds. Ultimately, he realized it wasn’t
worth it. “Fine,” he muttered, acting like a sullen little boy. “I’ll have
my cell phone on, and I want you to call me the second he leaves.”

Buffy arched an eyebrow in his direction but finally relented. As long as
Angel wasn’t there when Spike arrived, she didn’t care what happened after
Spike left. “Okay,” she agreed. “But I need you to leave now,” she said,
turning to pick up some toys that were scattered on the ground.

“You’re in a rush to get me out of the house,” Angel said skeptically.

Buffy sighed, rolling her eyes as she turned to face him again. “What
exactly are you insinuating, Angel?” Buffy asked, crossing her arms over her
chest as she glared at him.

Angel realized he better do some damage control before things got too out
of hand. Taking a step toward her, he put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m
sorry,” he said softly. “I just get so worried that I’m going to lose you.”

“But you knew,” she said softly. “You knew when we got together that I had
a baby and that Michael had a father.”

“I didn’t know he would be involved, though,” Angel said quietly, trying to
make her see his point of view.

“It was always a possibility. And today, it’s turned into a reality. You’re
going to have to make some decisions if it bothers you too much…if
you think you can’t get past it.”

“I’ll call you later,” he said, leaving a soft kiss on her lips.

Buffy pulled away before he had a chance to deepen it, turning away and
walking with him to the door. “Bye, Angel.”

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later, Buffy was giving Michael his juice cup when she heard
a knock on the door. She let her son follow her to the door, pulling it
open to reveal a very nervous Spike. She had to smile as he nervously paced
back and forth and, she had no doubt, was desperately wishing for a
cigarette.

“Spike,” she said softly, alerting him to her presence.

Spike turned to face her, giving her a tight smile.

“You do know he’s practically a baby, right?” she asked with a gentle smile.
“You don’t have to worry about impressing him. He basically just thinks,
‘oh, a new big person to play with’.”

Spike scratched the back of his neck as he nodded. “Yeah, it’s just…”

He trailed off as he got his first look at a little boy who was a miniature
version of himself. Spike could have sworn that he was looking into his own
eyes at that age, based on his mum’s baby pictures. Kneeling down to his
level, he tilted his head, giving the toddler a soft smile as the boy held
onto his mother’s leg. “Hi, Michael,” Spike whispered, not wanting to
startle him. “You’re a big boy, aren’t you?”

Michael responded by holding his arms up in the air to demonstrate how big
he was. Spike smiled, impressed by the simple gesture.

“Yes,” Buffy agreed with a smile. “You’re soooo big.” Turning to face
Spike, she gave him a gentle smile. “Come in, Spike,” Buffy said, moving
out of the way. Michael, still not sure about this new man, stayed
partially hidden as Spike walked into the house.

Buffy turned to pick him up, smiling when he burrowed his face into her
neck. “He’s amazing,” Spike whispered, watching the interaction between
mother and son.

“He’s just being shy right now. Do you want to hold him?” Buffy asked.

“I don’t think he’ll let me.”

“No, he just has to get used to you for a minute. All you have to do is
stand close to him for a few minutes, and as long as he’s not crying, he’ll
reach for you.”

Spike took a step closer, noticing how close he was to Buffy, as well when he
felt his heartbeat pick up at their proximity. Michael slowly lifted his
head, looking at the new man.

“Does he say anything?” Spike asked, his eyes darting between the two.

“A few words,” Buffy replied. “‘Hi’, ‘juice’, ‘baby’, ‘Mama’.”

“What about ‘Daddy’?” Spike asked with trepidation.

“No,” Buffy said softly.

“Not even with Angel?” Spike asked, practically spitting out the name of the
new man in Buffy’s life.

“Angel’s not his father,” she whispered, making sure Spike was looking
directly in her eyes. “He’s Uncle Angel. I made it clear from the beginning
that he wouldn’t be filling the position of Daddy.”

“Just the position of lover,” he muttered under his breath.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Good, more jealous guy crap, that’s exactly what I
was hoping for…”

Buffy trailed off when Michael held out his little arms to his father.
Spike’s eyes widened as he took the little boy from his mother, feeling his
throat close and his eyes water as he held his flesh and blood for the first
time.

Buffy could feel her eyes watering. Biting her bottom lip to try and hold back
her tears, she quickly blinked them away when Spike turned toward her.

“Before I forget, this is for you,” he said, pulling a slip of paper out of his pocket.

Buffy gave him a curious look, unfolding the paper and gasping for breath. “Spike?”

“It’s everything I would have spent on Michael if I’d been there from the beginning,” he said, watching her carefully.

“No,” Buffy said, shaking her head and staring at the check. “This is much more than you would have spent. Spike, where did you get this?”

“I’ve been saving since you left,” he said with a shrug, turning his attention back to his son. “It was the least I could do. No arguments. If I’d been able to get to you, you would have had it a lot sooner.”

“Get to me?”

“I wanted to find you,” he murmured. “But I knew if I just showed up before you were ready to see me, it would have done more harm than good.

“You’re probably right,” Buffy whispered with tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

She was still staring at it the check in shock when the phone began ringing. Turning to answer it, she tried to catch her breath.

“Hello?” she said in a choked voice.

“Hey, baby,” Angel said on the other end.

“Angel? It hasn’t even been an hour.”

“I know,” he replied. “But I was making a reservation at Alessandro’s for
tonight, and I wanted to make sure you kept your schedule clear.”

“Um…okay.”

“Do you think your mom can baby-sit?”

Buffy turned, watching as Spike sat on the couch with Michael, bouncing the
little boy on his knees as they both laughed. She felt herself tear up
again as she smiled at the display. “Don’t worry about it. I have someone
in mind.”





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