MAKE HER OWN WAY
Epilogue:
A/N: Well as much as I hate to end this Buffy/Spike saga, it’s time to. I appreciate everyone who has read this, read and reviewed it and really kept with it! Oh, I’ve taken some liberties with places, titles (books and newspapers, etc.) and such. Thank you, thank you.
This epilogue will be long, what else!?! We’re fastforwarding 10 years to see how our dynamic duo and their offspring are doing. Thank you again, Luv, Spuf
William Giles stumbled into the downstairs kitchen and hit the automatic ‘on’ button to the coffeemaker. He stretched, pulled two coffee mugs from the cupboard and set about to fix Buffy and him a cup. For a brief moment, he considered stepping onto the back porch to have a smoke. Then he remembered he’d quit over five years before, when Buffy was still pregnant with their son William Alexander.
It was that precise ‘quiet’ moment that his twin nine-year old daughters, Elizabeth Anne and her younger sister, by three minutes that is, Jennifer Joyce came bounding down the stairs from their shared bedroom. As usual, they were ‘bantering’ with each other; that’s what Buffy always called it ‘bantering.’
“Sounds like bloody arguing to me,” he grumbled under his breath. Will had made a deal with Buffy after their twin daughters were born to stop swearing so much, at least out loud. He’d been ‘pretty good’ about it, but he still got the evil eye from Buffy whenever young Bill (as they called his son) would use the word bloody.
Jennifer Joyce, or J.J. as the family had nicknamed her, was about a year old when she first used her Daddy’s favorite descriptive expletive; that’s when the deal was forged between him and his beloved wife.
“The cameras aren’t rolling, Lizzy (Elizabeth’s pet name), “you don’t need to emote so dramatically!” Will heard JJ snipe at her sister from the living room. With a sigh, William Giles strode into the living room and shot both the honey blond haired girls a dangerous look.
“This stops! Right now!” he growled at them, his mouth in a frown. Mainly he was frowning because he was trying to keep from smirking. Lizzy was dressed up in some God awful costume, some excuse for a Queen’s outfit or something and JJ was just rolling her eyes at her.
“Where the bloody hell did you get that tiara, Liz?” he asked her, his scarred left brow cocked questioningly. Before Lizzy could answere, he added, “and why do you two go at each other so much? I thought twins were supposed to be close and joined at the hip or something! My God, you ‘are’ living mirrors of each other and clones of your Mum’s! Why can’t you two get along better?”
This was true, both girls looked exactly alike and they were clones of Buffy Summers-Giles, right down to the same color eyes.
“Well Dad,” JJ began, always the one to speak first, “Lizzy’s such a spoiled brat. Oh, and get this Daddy,” she batted her golden lashes at him, “she’s sure she’s going to grow up and be the next Sarah Bernhard! Isn’t that hilarious!”
It was William the elder’s turn to roll his blue eyes, “oh, bloody hell! A bloody actress!” he mumbled under his breath. Sadly, it wasn’t low enough for his wife, Buffy, to miss as she now entered the living room.
“It’s Sarah Bernhardt, JJ,” Buffy corrected her daughter’s pronounciation gently, shooting her husband a murderous look.
“Sorry, Princess,” William murmered to his wife, using the pet name he’d always had and would always use for her. He really was sorry, at least about the bloody hell part; but really? An actress in the Giles family?
“Grandma Giles thinks I would make a very good actress, Daddy,” Lizzy piped up with a pout on her pretty mouth. “She says she just knows that someday I’ll be treading the boards at the West End in London, or maybe doing Shakespeare at the Old Globe! Think of that! Me, William Giles oldest daughter playing Queen Elizabeth I or maybe even Cleopatra! In a black wig of course!”
William Giles stared helplessly at both of his darling daughters, then at his darling wife and just shrugged in defeat. “I give,” he muttered and headed back into the kitchen for his coffee.
Apparently, JJ wasn’t giving up that easy, she followed her Father into the kitchen, also being followed by Lizzy and their Mother coming up the rear.
“An actress, Daddy?” JJ chuckled, a sound that reminded William of someone. “I mean, poor Lizzy can’t even do her numbers proper and…..”
Lizzy beat JJ to her Father’s side at the table, “just because I don’t want to be a nasty old ‘captain of industry’ like you JJ Giles! How about that Mama? Your daughter, the lovely Jennifer Joyce Giles running a big company or working with Grandpa Giles in London? I bet neither of you would like that, would you?”
Buffy Giles was a patient woman, God knows she had to be with this crew, but right at that moment? Well, she’d had enough.
“Knock it off!” she shouted at all three of the people in front of her. “You,” she pointed at her husband, “we have a deal about the swearing! Your son, who’s not even five yet got in trouble at pre-school the other day ‘again’ for calling the Prime Minister of Canada a bloody ponce!”
She then turned her wrath on the girls, “and you Missy,” she spat at JJ, “your sister is very talented at acting, also a good artist, when she wants to be that is and she ‘does’ get all the main roles in school plays!”
Then it was Lizzy’s turn to face Mama, “and just because your younger sister wants to run a business does not make her nasty or bad. JJ is good with math, she’s got a leadership personality. The thing to remember when dealing in the business world or running a business is to handle it with ‘decorum, with grace and integrity,’ right honey?” Buffy looked over at her husband, who at that moment was shuffling the morning newspaper around on the kitchen table, basically ignoring his wife’s glare.
“Yeah, right,” he mumbled not looking at any of the three formidable females of the household.
William picked up and opened the morning Victoria Times newspaper, the one he was Editor of and ran his hand through his tousled brown curls. At Buffy’s insistence, he’d given up the bleached gelled back hairstyle years before; she liked his hair better this way. And that had been fine with him, just like staying in Victoria, Canada had suited him also. In fact, everything about his life suited him just fine.
Buffy and him had settled together quite well up here, finally marrying a few months after they had reconciled. She had insisted that they wait to marry, so he went along with it, holding off the ceremony until that fateful day that Buffy had gone into labour two weeks early. The Minister actually made it to the hospital just in time to say the words that officially united them just before Buffy gave birth to their two little golden Goddesses.
Later, Will had bought the old man a drink to celebrate with him after he rushed to call Buffy’s parents and his own. The two sets of families had converged on Victoria like a Military Operation within days after the twins birth.
Apparently, his Mother had been right all along, Rupert Giles was more interested in Grandchildren then having an heir apparent to his empire. The old scoundrel fell in love at first sight with his two beautiful granddaughters and immediately settled the trust fund from Fort Knox on them both. Just as he later did his young grandson, William Alexander.
“Bloody Hell!” Buffy heard her handsome husband shout at the top of his lungs.
“Will!” she hissed, jumping up from being startled and glancing at her three little ‘angelic children’ as they ate their breakfast. Bill had joined them a little while after the big blowout of earlier and it was Buffy’s turn to fix the breakfast that day. Will had done it all last week and the couple shared the household chores.
“Well dammit, Buffy,” her husband stammered glancing at their children anxiously, “that idiot of an assistant of mine screwed up the front page type again! This whole bloody thing is a mess!” he growled frisbeeing the paper across the kitchen. The entire family watched the newspaper pages unfold and flutter like confetti on the spotless tiled floor.
Both Lizzy and JJ burst out laughing and Bill just smirked, reminding Buffy just what a clone her son was of his Father. Same curly brown hair, blue eyes, smile and off course those cheek bones. She sighed and shook her head, “some things never change,” she muttered.
“Are you going to fire him Dad?” JJ asked excitedly with a wicked grin, “you going to show him the door this time? Can I be there when you do?”
Buffy folded her arms across her chest and started to admonish all ‘four’ of her ‘charges’ when JJ suddenly shouted gruffly, “your fired!”
Mother looked shocked at her angelic looking little daughter, “alright, that’s it! You young lady, no more ‘The Apprentice’ reruns for you and as for you William Giles, we’ll finish ‘this’ upstairs in our bedroom. I’m running late for work as it is.” Will gave her ‘that pout’ of his and Buffy mellowed immediately.
“Girls,” Buffy continued with great authority, “your Dad is taking you two and your brother to the Paper with him today. I have to get a lot of work done at the Gallery before our trip to England next week. I love my job but being an Art Gallery Curator is a harder then it sounds and I need to pull out all of the stops at work until then. And, by the way,” she went on zeroing her stare in on JJ, “Daddy is not going to fire Mr. Snyder today, are you Daddy?”
Will mumbled something to the affect that ‘no’ he wouldn’t be firing Mr. Snyder, his assistant. “Good,” Buffy hmphh’d at him, “because I don’t think…..”
Suddenly Lizzy broke in, “Mom, can’t I please, please go to the Gallery with you? I detest that old stinky Newspaper, sorry Daddy,” she added quickly, “but I would really like to take my sketch pad and finish that drawing of Queen Elizabeth I. Can I please go with you, Mama?”
Buffy stared at the mirror image of herself, except for the pout, Lizzy’s pout was like Will’s, not hers. “Okay, Lizzy,” she relented with a smile, “but you have to be good. And so do you two,” she glanced at JJ and Bill with a grin.
“Oh goody,” Bill interjected, “we’re going to Daddy’s office. Can I help run the printing press, Daddy, please?” Buffy smiled as her husband bestowed a benevolent smile on his youngest and his only son, “well I certainly have no problem with that, son,” he gushed. “However,” Will continued gently, “Mr. Wilkins is in charge of that department, I’m just his boss. He’ll have to give his okay for you to help him start the press machine.”
William grinned at Buffy lovingly, “a born newspaper man, Princess,” he chuckled, “can’t wait for him to step into the business and….”
JJ interupted her Father impatiently, “well I for one can’t stand the newspaper business, Dad, but I’ll take a day with you at your office over that boring old Gallery any time! Sorry Mom,” she finished with a pout of her own.
“I can help watch Bill and finish my book reading anyway, Dad,” she assured him with an air of confidence that reminded Buffy of someone.
“What’s the book, luv?” Will asked innocently enough of his daughter. Before JJ could answere her Father, Buffy broke in, “you know hon,” she sighed in exasperation, “the last one your Father sent our nine-year-old daughter ‘The Art of the Deal’ right JJ?”
The younger twin girl nodded vigorously, “yup! I’m almost finished with Mr. Trump’s book and next I start on ‘Martha Stewart’s Letters From Prison,’ series. I can’t wait!” And JJ ran out of the kitchen to join her sister and brother in the front of the house.
William Giles tried not to smirk when he glanced up at his loveable wife who was at this very moment glowering at him, her lovely slim arms crossed over her chest.
“Well?” Buffy inquired, her left brow quirked up at him as if to ask ‘what the bloody hell are you going to do about our burgeoning tycoon out there?’
Will sat his coffee on the table and gave Buffy his most dazzling smile, “Princess,” he began evenly, “like I’ve always said….even the little ones have to find their own path; make their own way.”
He ended with another smile, his old Spike smile and quickly went back to his reading and his coffee.
“William Giles….” His wife began, her frustration evident in her words, “if I….”
Suddenly Bill’s little voice rang out from the living room, “Mommy, Daddy, Lizzy’s gelled Mr. Gordo’s head fur again! She’s made the poor old guy look like Elvis Presley!”
Buffy shot Will her ‘we’ll talk about this later glare,’ and then she rushed into the living room. ‘Bloody hell, I better go help,’ he mumbled tossing his mug in the sink and joining his wife in 'operation save Mr. Gordo.’ The poor old rotund cat just sat by the sunny front window, something he seemed to only do nowadays and kind of gave Will that 'why me?’ look he’d perfected for over thirteen years.
“Lizzy,” William sighed looking at his overly precocious nine-year-old, “why do you gel poor old Gordo’s hair like that?”
Buffy had picked up the heavy feline and began to wipe the gunky gel from his head.
“Because,” Liz answered matter-of-factly, “you and Mom made me stop gelling Bill’s hair and I have to have a ‘live’ model for my work!”
His wife handed Lizzy the cat and ordered, “get that crud out of my cat’s hair, Missy. I don’t have time for this. I have to get upstairs, take a shower and get ready for work.”
Buffy shot Will her ‘thanks a lot’ look and headed upstairs to her shower.
“Oh, Princess,” Will called to her, “wait just a sec.” He turned to look at his three offspring and shook his head, ‘our clones,’ he thought with smug pride, ‘all three of them.’
When he reached Buffy on the stairs, he embraced her in his arms and whispered, “think maybe you could make that a bath? I could join you?"” He grinned, wiggled his brows and winked at her, ending by planting a kiss on her funny little nose.
“Hmmmmm,” is all she said to him, as she eyed the oil painting that hung in the stairwell hall. It was a portrait of her husband, William Giles, as a knight. His silver armour almost shone like spun glass. Buffy pondered the painting she had done herself, a wicked little smirk on her lips.
After what seemed like a hour, but was really only a few seconds, Buffy smiled at her husband, wickedly. “Lizzy, JJ get ready to go and take your brother with you. Make sure he brushes his hair and teeth,” she called to their three spawns that now watched their parents intently.
“Your Father and I have a corporate merger to discuss upstairs in the bath,” she finished by taking Will’s hand in hers and leading him up to their bathroom.
“Ewwwww,” cried JJ, not at all fooled by the ‘business’ lingo. Bill just shrugged and went back to his toy on the floor and Lizzy sighed dramatically, “I think it’s so romantic. To think after all these years my Mom and Dad still find time for romance. And at their ages!”
JJ just hissed, “oh brother” and removed Mr. Gordo from Lizzy arms. Mr. Gordo watched the two adults with a weary expression, ‘stupid adult humans,’ he seemed to say with his eyes, ‘they’re at it again.’
Buffy smiled at her handsome husband lovingly, “well, that was easy, huh?” she kissed him and leaned down to draw their bath water.
“Nothing about this family is easy, Princess,” Will chuckled, taking her in his arms again, “but bloody hell I would’t give up our life together for all the power or money in the world. I love you and the rugrats more then anything.”
She snuggled deep into his embrace, “me too Will,” she responded softly in his left ear.
Fin (?)
A/N: And so, this tale comes to and end. I tried not to have the epilogue too sugary sweet and all. I wanted it to end with some Spuffy romance though, but thought I should put a dose of reality in there too. Apparently, Will/Spike ‘did’ change some, not totally as did Buffy. Thank you again to all of the readers here and elsewhere and I hope this was a satisfying ending for all of you. I might even do a sequel, later, that gives us some insight to what happened to all the other characters in the story, along with the Giles clan. Please review if you would like. All reviews are read, noted and appreciated. Luv, Spuf
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