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Home is Where the Heart Is, Part 14



Home is Where the Heart Is, Part 14
By *~Rachel*~
For disclaimers, summary, notes, etc. please see the first chapter.
Sorry for the long wait...thank you for all of the kind reviews and feedback. It's much appreciated!
Also, this part is UN-beta-read. My beta is...somewhere. We haven't talked in several weeks, so these parts may get beta-read later on. So, I apologize for anything weird...she usually looks over these things first.
 
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The Night Before...
 
Buffy stormed up the stairs, heading into their bedroom and slamming the door behind her as she released a loud groan of frustration. How dare he! she angrily thought, resisting the strong urge to pick up something and throw it across the room. I showed *nothing* but support for him with "The Silver Spoon" in the last few years, so why can't he do the same for me?
Because he's scared to death of losing you, a voice in the back of her mind warned her. He knows that this is going to destroy what the two of you share. He's going to lose you entirely.
So what do I do? Buffy needed to know. Whenever she had a problem, Spike was always the first person she went to for advice, but for once, Buffy knew that she needed to deal with this on her own, regardless of how badly things turned out in the end.
Buffy walked over to their small night table and picked up the phone, dialing Mr. Evan's number. "Hi, I was wondering if I could speak to Mr. Evans?"
"Speaking," the low voice answered her.
"Oh, hi! This is Buffy Giles," she greeted. "I'm sorry to call you at such a late hour."
Evans chuckled softly, "No problem, Mrs. Giles. I'm a night owl, so it is still early for me." Then, the lighthearted humor left his tone as he then asked, "have you thought about my offer?"
Buffy took a deep breath, casting her eyes towards the bedroom door for an instant. Am I doing the right thing? "Yes, I have," she began.
"And?"
"Mr. Evans, I have decided to accept your offer and agree to move the gallery to LA," Buffy informed him. God, Spike is never going to forgive me for going behind his back and doing this to him! she realized.
"Excellent!" He exclaimed. "You won't regret this, I assure you."
Buffy hollowly laughed. "I'm sure I won't."
"Now, my staff has gone home for the evening, so is there a chance that I can call you back tomorrow?" Phillip Evans requested. "We can set up appointments, plans, and what you'll be needing easier."
"Well...well, I..." Buffy began stammering, not wanting to mention that she wouldn't be home after tonight. "Actually, I won't be able to be reached at home for a few days, so I could give you my cell phone number instead?"
"That'll be great," Mr. Evans insisted.
Buffy recited the number into the receiver before asking, "When can we get started with all of this, Mr. Evans?"
"We'll get started right away, Mrs. Giles. My team and I will come out tomorrow and look around your office some more, and you can fill us in on what type of space you're looking for," he explained.
"Great."
"We'll be looking for your input though, since it will be your office," Mr. Evans reminded her. "Bring your husband along as well, you can introduce him to the team."
Buffy's breath stopped, fear momentarily overtaking her. "I don't...he won't be able to make it," she lied. "He's always working during the daytime, and Mondays are never good for him, he's too busy."
"All right. Some other time then?"
"Of course," Buffy muttered.
"Well, now that this is settled, I'll call you tomorrow to set up an appointment, all right Mrs. Summers?"
"That's fine."
"Welcome to the team," Mr. Evans announced.
"Thanks," Buffy answered. "Good night."
After hanging up the phone, Buffy lowered her head into her hands, holding back the tears. She should have been overcome with joy that night. Her gallery was going to expand; finally, it would have the future that it was meant to have.
Then why was she so miserable?
Oh yeah, now she remembered. I'm leaving my husband.
 
~~~
 
Knock, knock.
"Hang on, I'm coming," Willow grouchily muttered, slouching towards the front door as she slowly tied the front of her bathrobe closed.
Knock, knock, knock, knock, this time more frantically.
"Just a second," she called out, as she unlocked the deadbolt.
"Hey Will," Buffy greeted after Willow opened the door. "Can I come in?"
Willow's sleep-filled eyes shot open. What is she doing here at this insane hour? "Uh, sure thing, Buffy." She stood aside to allow Buffy pass through the door. "What are you doing here?"
Buffy dropped a couple of her smaller bags on the floor as she said, "I, uh, was just wondering if I could spend the night here?"
Willow nodded. "That's fine, you can use the guest room as long as you need it."
"Thanks."
Willow had another hundred questions lined up to ask her friend, but as she saw Buffy slump towards the bedroom, Willow knew that this wasn't the night to interrogate her best friend.
Tomorrow, she promised herself.
 
~~~
 
Willow didn't have a chance to ask Buffy why she had suddenly shown up outside her apartment at two in the morning. When she had woken up, Buffy had already left to go to her meeting with Mr. Evans and his associates.
Later, that afternoon, Willow paced back and forth, her "resolve face" firmly set, to find out what was bothering Buffy. Obviously something major must have happened between Spike and her, Willow reasoned. Otherwise, why else would she have just left him last night?
The moment Buffy stepped through the front doorway, Willow walked up to her, asking, "Did you and Spike have a fight?" Her eyebrows were raised in curiosity as she asked her friend.
Buffy, who had just gotten back from her first meeting with Mr., Evans, resisted the urge to break down in tears when she heard her husband's name. "You could say that," she murmured at her friend before walking past her and heading towards the spare bedroom.
"Well, what happened?" Willow demanded to know, following Buffy through the hallway. "C'mon, Buffy...you two never fight, and if you do, you guys can usually forgive and forget what happened before dinner time."
"Will, I don't want to talk about it tonight," Buffy insisted, hoping that her friend would drop the subject.
"No! Buffy, it's my job as your best friend, to know what's going on between you and your husband at all times," Willow joked. "I'm here to listen and help you out, Buff."
Buffy spun back around, tears of anger spilling down her cheeks. "I'm leaving him, all right? I signed a contract to move my gallery up to LA, only Spike refuses to come with me."
"What?" Willow gasped. "How could you--"
"*He* refused to agree to this," Buffy argued, trying to convince both her friend and herself that she was doing the right thing. "Anyway, I already told Mr. Evans that I would accept his offer."
"So, what does that mean, exactly?" Willow wanted to know.
"That means, that before the end of this month is out, I should be relocated to Los Angeles with a bigger gallery," Buffy explained. She softened her tone, adding, "And I'd love to have you with me, but I understand if you don't want to move to LA."
"Buffy, this isn't about whether I want to move to LA with you or not," Willow argued. "This is about *you* leaving *Spike*. He's the love of your life."
"Well, then I guess we were both wrong."
"About what?"
"Love isn't enough," Buffy sadly muttered. "There's work, and living, which you can't do by just love alone."
Willow frowned at her friend's mantra. "But aren't all those things pointless without love?" I should know, shouldn't I? Willow asked herself. Oz had left her a few months back and the redhead was still trying to recover from the painful break up.
Buffy's face tightened. "No, don't you try and talk me out of this, Will. I've already signed everything. Evans is going to start showing me around places in LA Wednesday."
"I'm not going to talk you out of this, Buffy," Willow assured her. "I'm your best friend, so I'll support whatever you decide to do, but...just think really carefully before things get so bad that you can't fix them, all right?"
"All right."
Willow had a strong feeling that her words had completely flown over Buffy's head and nothing had sunk in. "Fine. You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, but...whatever you do with the gallery, please keep me posted."
Buffy nodded. "I can do that," she promised.
The phone rang suddenly, and both women jumped at the sound, both on edge from their argument. "Do you want me to get that?" Buffy asked.
Willow walked up to the phone and glanced down at the Caller ID number. "It's Spike," she announced.
The blood drained from Buffy's face and she, too, glanced at the number. "Don't pick up," she told Willow. "Just...just let the machine get it."
"Okay," Willow reluctantly agreed, knowing that this wasn't going to help working out their relationship.
After the fifth ring, the answering machine picked up and the two women stood around the phone, waiting to see if Spike left a message or not.
"Hey Red," Spike greeted after her recording had finished. "It's me."
Buffy fought back a sob that was building in the back of her throat at the sound of her husband's voice filled with despair and loss.
"I, uh, was looking for Buffy...wondering if you might have seen her around. If you do, uh, tell her that I *really* need to see her again, before...oh, bloody hell." Spike paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, if you see Buffy, could you please let her know I called? Thanks."
Willow glared at Buffy, cursing her friend's stubbornness. If there's one thing I know about the two of them, it's that they're both so stubborn, that neither one of them will try to fix this. "So, are you going to call him back?"
Buffy forcefully shook her head "no." "I can't, Will. I just...he's going to be--"
"Concerned? Worried? Afraid?" Willow shook her head, unable to comprehend why Buffy wasn't able to understand why she was wrong. "And why would your *husband* feel any of that towards you?"
"You just wouldn't understand, Will," Buffy insisted.
"I know. Okay, I understand that Oz left me, and so maybe I *don't* understand what you're going through, but...I know that you are tossing away something amazing with him," Willow spoke, trying her best to convince her friend to change her mind. "You don't just meet the love of your life in high school and throw it away five years later."
"Things change," Buffy insisted.
"So you're not going to call him?" Willow asked again.
"No, and that's final."
 
~~~
 
The end of Buffy's week in Sunnydale ended today, and Buffy was preparing to drive back to LA and get back to Angel, her devoted husband, before nightfall. Her bags were packed, her gas tank filled just hours ago, and now all she needed before she could drive back to Los Angeles was to get those damn papers signed.
Okay, here goes the last time I ever have to set foot in this apartment, I hope, Buffy thought as she approached Spike's front steps. She knocked on the front door several times, waiting for him to answer.
When she got none, she foolishly realized that Spike was probably at the restaurant. If he wasn't at home, that's usually where she was able to find him when she needed to talk to him.
Buffy hopped back into her convertible and drove to "The Silver Spoon," hoping to catching Spike when he had some free time. It was still very early in the morning and Buffy hoped that business wouldn't be too hectic yet. "Xander, is Spike here?" She asked the brown-haired man after she passed through the doorway.
"Spike? I think he's back in the office," Xander suggested for her to look first. "Y'know, whatever you said to him that first day, put him in a bad mood around here ever since then."
"What's the point?"
"Well, you aren't going to say anything...rash, are you?" He wondered aloud.
Buffy quickly smirked. "Why would I ever do that?" she teasingly asked before turning and heading for the back room where Spike was.
"Spike, are you in here?" she called out, lightly knocking on the door as she pushed it open at the same time.
Spike stared up at her from a seat behind his desk with a scowl on his features. "What do you want?" he demanded to know as he watched Buffy close the door behind her and take a seat in one of the chairs opposite his desk. "Love, you're sort of interrupting me at--"
"At a bad time, I know," Buffy finished his sentence for him. "Trust me, I remember all the work you have around here. Look, I just needed to let you know that your seven days are up. I am heading back to LA today, and I need those papers. Signed."
Spike shook his headand sighed. Rising from his desk, he moved to sit down in the chair besides Buffy, careful to conceal his feelings of love he felt from being that close to his blonde beauty again. "So, all those conversations we've had, everything that has happened between us, it still doesn't matter?"
"No."
Buffy's face was void of all emotion, and Spike couldn't tell whether she was truthful or merely trying to act brave to fool him.
"You're still going back to LA?" Spike had to be positive that she wasn't having any second thoughts. "Back to him?"
"Yes."
Again, that deadpan expression crossed her features.
Spike shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "Y'know, contrary to popular belief, you *are* allowed to have both roots and wings," Spike told her. He moved the chair closer towards hers as he added with a smirk on his features, "Metaphorically speaking, of course."
"What is that suppose to mean, Spike?"
"Meaning that you can run a full-time business in LA and still be in Sunnydale," Spike explained.
Buffy sighed. "But it's too complicated," Buffy protested. "I can't...lead a life here *and* Los Angeles and even pretend that I'd be able to stay sane."
"So come back home." Spike suggested, as if it were that simple.
Buffy shook her head as she straightened in her chair, moving her an inch closer towards her ex-husband, "This isn't home anymore, Spike."
"We're together right now, love," Spike began, "That's home for me."
Buffy scowled and sighed. "What do you know about it?" she agressively demanded.
"Home is where the heart is, pet," Spike honestly answered her. "That's what it feels like to me when I am with you, anyway."
He just doesn't understand...Buffy thought as she gazed into his clear blue eyes. Or maybe it is myself that does not understand. "Spike..." she sighed, lowering her head and tilting it towards him.
Quickly, and without thinking, Spike reached out and grabbed onto her shoulders and brought her against him, pressing her body tightly against his. He brought his lips down to hers and kissed her with a fiery passion that he hadn’t dared tempt before. Buffy responded at once, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and returning the kiss with equal, if not more, hungering desire.
When he pulled away from the blonde, He gasped for a breath before speaking. "Go back to LA," he demanded. "Leave today...right *now*, because if you don't, I won't be able to let you go again."
Buffy rested her forehead against his chin as she let his words sink in. He wasn't sending her away out of anger; he was sending her away out of desperation and anguish. He still wants me, she realized.
Buffy leaned forward and touched her lips with his once more. "The papers..." she whispered. "I need them."
Spike let out a groan and rose from his chair at such a force that it fell behind him. He stormed up to the desk and pulled the group of papers from a drawer. Spike grabbed a pen and scribbled his name on the pages before shoving them into her now shaking hands. "There." He growled, refusing to look at her straight in the eye. "Now, get out of town. You're good at that."
"Spike..." Buffy began, trying to apologize, start up another conversation, even spark another argument, just as long as they didn't part this way.
"Just. Go."
Buffy folded the papers and stuck them in her purse before standing and turning towards the door. She took a step forward before Spike's voice stopped her. "Just one question, love?"
Buffy froze, but did not turn around to face him. "And that would that be what?"
"It's been bothering me all this week, actually," Spike began, looking at her back since she refused to turn around and face him. "What *do* you want?" When he didn't receive an answer, Spike shook his head. "I guess I was right after all. You don't even know."
Answer him...tell him he's wrong! the logical part of Buffy's brain demanded. But instead, she silently walked out of his office, silently closing the door behind her.
 
~~~
 
"Well, that's it!" One of the uniformed men called out as he loaded the last box into the moving van. "Everything is secure. We shouldn't have anything move an inch from here to LA."
As Buffy had sworn, before the month was out, which was actually only a little bit longer than two weeks, she had chosen out a new home for her gallery in Los Angeles. Buffy had bought an apartment in LA. Willow was accepted into UCLA and would be nearby to continue working at the gallery once in Los Angeles.
"All right, ladies," Mr. Evans announced, as he approached Willow and Buffy. "Are you ready to visit Los Angeles and your new gallery?"
Willow cast a cold glare at Buffy, her anger of what Buffy was choosing to do, not fully settled yet. "I don't know. *Are* we ready, Buffy?"
Buffy rolled her eyes at Willow's snide remark. "Yes, we are ready."
Buffy approached her car and opened the door, preparing to climb into the driver's seat, when a head of bleached blonde hair caught her eye and forced her to stop. Spike, she thought, her breath suddenly catching in her throat. So, he finally caught up to me.
Spike stood several feet away from her car, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"What are you doing here?" Buffy softly asked as she slammed the car door.
"And a good afternoon to you, too, love," Spike sarcastically greeted. Today, however, his sarcasm didn't seem as harsh as it usually was. "I just...Willow told me what was going on, and--"
"*Willow* told you?" I'll kill her, Buffy angrily swore. I'm going to *kill* her.
Spike nodded, "So you're really going through with this, pet? You're really serious about doing this?"
Buffy raised her chin, trying to prove that his words meant nothing to her. "Yes. We're moving today. Willow is coming with me, as well since she'll be transferring to UCLA this fall."
"Well, then..." Spike's voice died off, not knowing what else to say.
Buffy fiddled with her hands, twirling her wedding ring around her finger. Looking down at her hands, she pulled the gold and ruby ring off and held it out towards him. "Then, I guess you'll be wanting this back."
Spike shook his head, "No, keep it. I don't even want it if you're not the one wearing it."
Buffy blinked and lowered her head. Damn him and his words, she mentally cursed. "Then...then I guess that's it?" Without waiting for a reply from her now ex-husband, Buffy turned her back towards him and climbed into the driver's seat.
Spike watched her back out of the parking space and begin to follow the moving van. "I guess that's it, love," he muttered.
 
~~~
 
TBC...
 
Well, that's the last past scene...part 15 is all present day and part 16 (The epilogue) is pretty short :) Yay, almost done!
 
Also, my site, Sinister Attraction is back up at a temporary host until I can save up enough money to get my own domain. The new url is http://www.stuck-in-the-middle.com/sinister/ and when this story is over, make sure to check my member profile for when I get a new URL! Thanks!





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