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STAKE YOUR CLAIM


Chapter 14: Part II ‘Thoughtless and Selfish?’


By the time they had arrived at the bottom of the path up to the Gile’s Ranch, Buffy had pretty much explained everything to Spike. All about her doomed marriage to Parker, his relationship with Scott Hope and how it had devestated Buffy, but only because she felt she had let her young husband down. Everything she had told to Tara Rosenberg a few weeks before, Buffy told Spike and then some.

Spike stopped the wagon, once again, before going on up to the house.

“Buffy,” Spike began quietly as he turned, took her in his arms and cuddled her up to his very reassuring body, “I love you very much so what I’m about to say is probably a little biased and such.”

Buffy found it difficult to meet his gaze, she was a little embarrassed still, but he fixed that by pulling her cool chin up to meet his blue eyes.

“The fact that your husband loved another man had nothing to do with you or your letting him down ‘that way’ my sweet,” Spike murmered, stroking Buffy’s cheek lightly.

“Your husband apparently loved you very much and I believe that,” Spike continued seriously, trying to assure Buffy.

“He could not help that he couldn’t love you in ‘the physical way’ a husband should love his wife. From what you told me, I gather that you didn’t feel ‘that way’ about him either, but for completely different reasons. I believe that Parker’s feelings for this Scott bloke were an Act of God, or of nature, take your pick. You see my sweet Buffy, it would take an Act of God or nature for a man not to love or want ‘you’ sexually.”

Spike hoped he was getting through to Buffy, that her young late husband was meant to love women as friends and a man as his mate.

“Only an Act of God, or natures way could keep your husband from wanting you, or loving you the way I do. It was young Parker’s nature to love Scott, nothing you could have done could change that. Do you understand what I’m saying Buffy?”

Buffy nodded with hesitation.

“You are saying that it was not something that I was doing wrong, my lack of ‘passion’ for Parker that doomed our marriage. It was Parker’s nature, or like you said, God’s act for him to care for Scott Hope that way. Right?”

Spike smiled at Buffy with so much love and affection that she could barely keep herself from attacking his lovely lips with her own.

“Yes, luv,” he said quietly, but assuredly, “just like Tara Rosenberg told you. Smart woman, Mrs. Rosenberg, Saul’s a lucky man, he is. However,” Spike grinned and snuggled Buffy closer to him, “I’m the really lucky one. I’ve got you, the love of my life in my arms, right this moment and Buffy, I’ve no intention of letting you go.”

Buffy felt like she might burst out into tears of relief or joy, or some other kind of really big emotion that she had not felt in a long, long time, or maybe ever.

“Thank you Spike,” she whispered as she placed a sweet, chaste like kiss on his warm lips.

‘How the heck is his lips so warm when it’s freezing out?’ she wondered. As if he read her mind, Spike chuckled and tweaked her under her chin, ‘your luscious lips are warming me, sweet,’ he explained simply.

Spike broke his gaze away from Buffy for a moment to peer up the path and check out the front of the ranch house.

“I’ll be damned,” he hissed, sitting up suddenly and pointing up to the house, “there’s Dad’s horse and Angel’s ‘Blue’ tied to the front gate. The small wagon Connor took with them is there too, Buffy,” he grinned, kissing her cool forehead, “they’ve got them home.”

He kicked the brake off and grabbed the reins that connected to Demon and Cloud, “hold on, baby,” Spike warned Buffy gently, “this is gonna’ get really bumpy!”

Buffy wondered if Spike was talking about the ride to the house, or the inevitable confrontation that they would certainly have with Connor and Dawn.

“I hope I handle this correctly,” Buffy whispered to Spike as he helped her out of the wagon and steered her into the Gile’s house.

“You’ll do fine,” Spike assured her with a gentle squeeze on her arm.

The first thing that Spike noticed when Buffy and he entered the house was just how dark and empty the front of it seemed. Apparently, his Father and Angel had sequestered the two love birds in another part of their home, probably the kitchen where there would be hot tea, coffee and presumably whiskey for the men.

‘Yup,’ Spike nodded, leading Buffy into the huge kitchen area, there was Dad and Angel, hovering over the two wayward young people, glasses in hand. Jennifer Giles sat in a chair, in between the two teenage lovers, her staple of a cup of tea in hand.

Connor sat, shame faced, head hung down like a whipped puppy, while Dawn was more defiant. She sat straight and upright on the kitchen chair, her head thrown back, much like her older sister’s patent stance, and her blue eyes blazing.

“Buffy!” Dawn cried, when she saw her older sister enter the kitchen, “I’m so glad you’re finally here!” she squealed as she bolted up to meet Buffy.

“That, my darling Dawnie,” Buffy hissed through clenched teeth, “remains to be seen. I mean how glad you will be.”

That put a stop action on Miss Dawn Summers in a heartbeat. Buffy watched as her sister’s expression of relief turned into a look of confusion and fear.

“I, I mean,” Dawn stammered, “I thought you’d be so happy to see us here, again and all…”

The youngest Summers dropped her stare and focused on the Gile’s kitchen floor, her face red with shame.

“I thought…” Dawn began.

“That’s just it, Dawnie,” Buffy muttered, “you did not think. At all. You or Connor.”

Buffy glanced over at Connor Giles who was longingly staring at his Mother, who was avoiding looking at her baby at all costs. Jennifer just sat, staring at the tea cup on the table before her, shaking her dark head.

“I just cannot believe this,” Mrs. Rupert Giles muttered softly.

“May Spike and I talk to these two, alone, please,” Buffy requested of the Gile’s parents, nodding at Connor and Dawn.

Rupert Gile’s seemed to hesitate, but Jennifer quickly stood up and and grabbed her husband’s hand in hers, “yes, Buffy, dear,” she conferred, “I think you and Spike should talk to the kids alone.”

Jennifer gave her husband a warning look and led him and Angel out of the kitchen. Angel seemed somewhat relieved to be free of the whole kitchen drama and shot Connor a smirk of some kind before the trio exited. Spike and Buffy, as a team, turned back to face the two runaway lovers, neither of the older couple appeared to smirk or smile in any way shape or form.

“Well, Dawn,” Buffy sighed, sitting in the chair Jennifer had vacated, “let’s hear this one. Give me a reason to not wire Papa first thing tomorrow, send you packing back to Tennessee at first chance.”

Dawn threw Buffy a precocious little pout, causing her older sister to shake her head, “not going to work this time, Dawnie,” she assured her.

“I won’t go back!” Dawn growled defiantly, “don’t have to. I can marry Connor and stay here if I want and no one can stop us!”

The dark haired girl stared at her love, Connor, who looked like anything but a virile young husband at the moment.

Spike took that precise moment to grumble, “if you laid a hand on that girl, Connor boy, I’ll beat you into one inch of your life. If I don’t, Dad or Angel will, so let’s have it. Exactly what the bloody hell happened between here and Burns. In fact,” Spike added menacingly, “Buffy and I want to know what’s happened up until now.”

Connor finally faced up to his older brother, a look of contrition on his young, handsome face.

“Nothin’ Spike,” the young man murmered, his eyes full of youthful honesty. “Dawn and I, we thought maybe if we got married, made everything legal and all, she could stay here with us. With me,” Connor added sadly, his brown eyes were full of regret, but also wistful and hopeful as he gazed at Dawn lovingly.

Dawn stared right back at Connor, a look of feminine strength in her blue eyes. She reached out her hand, right in front of Buffy and Connor took it in his.

“We wanted to ‘wait’ Spike, Miss Summers,” Connor sighed and smiled tenderly at Dawn, “me and Dawnie. We wanted it to be official before we…”

Buffy groaned and gently smacked her forehead with her tiny hand, “oh for Pete’s sake,” she muttered in frustration, “thank God, at least, you two were stopped before you could actually go through with this hair brained scheme!”

Buffy watched Dawn’s expression go from tender ‘love’ for Connor to a glare of resentment for her.

“Who are you to judge us?” Dawn hissed angrily at Buffy, “how do you know about our feelings for each other, Connor and me? How would you know what it’s like not to get everything you want. You have always gotten your way in everything, Buffy. Anything Buffy wanted, she got, no matter who it hurt or what the cost.”

If Buffy expected this outburst, she didn’t realize it before; Dawn’s harsh words cut her to the bone, “that’s not true, Dawn,” she countered. “I have never tried to hurt anyone of you, especially you. I don’t know where this is coming from, but if this is about the fact that you have to go home in January, then you must hold Papa accountable for that. If it were up to me, I would have you stay longer, at least I would have, until you pulled this immature, selfish and thoughtless stunt tonight.”



“I’m immature, thoughtless and selfish?” Dawn snorted, her face was contorted into a wicked, hateful expression. “What about you Buffy? How about when you talked Mammy Buffy into coming over to that Abrams death house, nearly coerced her into helping you nurse that worthless husband, Parker while he was sick. What did ‘that’ get everyone of our family, huh? Mammy Buffy caught the Diptheria and died, didn’t she? Who’s fault was that, Buffy? If not yours and your worthless dead husband, Parker? What, you don’t think that I don’t know what a weak, mealy mouthed spoiled brat he was, or you ‘are’ for that matter. You, Buffy Summers, are the selfish, thoughtless one in this family. Sashaying around Cheyenne, batting your stupid green eyes at Spike and Riley Finn, and God knows what other man around, getting everything you want, as usual. Too bad it wasn’t you that caught the death from Parker and joined him in the grave, of course,” Dawn smirked evilly, “I suppose your so called husband wouldn’t have wanted you then either, he …”

Buffy could not take anymore, she flung her arm back and brought her hand full force against Dawn’s smug, hateful face, finally shutting the younger girl up. Dawn’s shocked look cut Buffy like a knife.

“Do not ever talk of Mammy Buffy, Parker, myself or my marriage in the same sentence, Dawn Summers, you little ungrateful bitch! In fact, never discuss Parker or my marriage to him again. You haven’t the right to, as you know nothing about it.” Buffy hissed, shocked at the ugly words her sister had thrown at her.

Shocked and sick that they had driven Buffy to physical violence, something she abhorred, especially where her Dawnie was concerned.

“As for my selfishness…” but before she could finish the sentence, Buffy was interrupted by Spike who had remained quietly standing behind the chair Buffy occupied, at least until now.

“Let me handle this, Buffy,” Spike interjected harshly while he laid his left hand on Buffy’s shoulder, protectively.

“Connor,” Spike began evenly, “if you had any doubts about this bloody ridiculous elopement plan before, which I’m hoping you did, then I’m sure by now you must realize how really stupid it was. You’re a might childish from time to time boy, but you have a good head on your shoulders, usually, and I’m sure you now realize how unprepared either Dawn or you are to marry. For any reason.”

He, Spike, tightened his grip on Buffy’s slim shoulder, more to hold her in the chair then anything else.

“And you,” Spike directed his next sentence at Dawn, trying to remain calm, but furious that the little snit had said such awful things to Buffy. “Your big sis took you in, happily, convinced your Father to allow you to come out here and experience some kind of life and adventure. She hoped you would maybe grow up some, maybe mature some and become less of a spoiled little brat then you obviously are. But, all good intentions and all that as they say. You haven’t changed a bit, either of you. You’re both the spoiled, self centered little prats you’ve always been. That’s for certain.”

Spike watched in silent delight as Connor hung his head again, too ashamed to look him or Buffy in the eye. All of his little brother’s false bravado was gone, which was a good thing, really. Dawn had also been knocked down a peg or two, Spike could tell. The girl could no longer glare at either Buffy or him with that bitchy little look of defiance that she had earlier plastered on her face.

Finally, Dawn broke the deadly silence that had enveloped the four of them, “I’m sorry, Buffy,” she whimpered, “I didn’t mean to say those things, honest.”

Spike felt Buffy tense up again, under his hand but was relieved when his Princess stated firmly, “sorry isn’t going to cut it this time, Dawn. Not yet anyway. I’ll have to think about things for while, ponder what we need to do, immediately that is. I’m still thinking that I should wire Papa tomorrow, first thing and send you home with a suitable escort. I would take you myself, perhaps with Connor’s parents along, but now, well, I’m not sure. I don’t think I could stand a week’s trip on a stuffy train with you so close. Not after the ugly things you have said to me. Whether they are true or not is not the issue, you have cut me to the core and I am not ready to be alone that long with you.”

Spike noted that Dawn looked suitably ashamed of herself and he took a satisfaction in it.

Buffy was still stunned from the outburst of a few moments earlier. None of them had acted properly or done the right thing, she was sure of that. At least none of them but Spike himself. He had been the only one to handle the situation with any sense or grace at all.

‘He will definitely make a great Father,’ Buffy thought to herself, then wondered where that idea came from. She was so very tired and overwrought, that Buffy could not form another sentence, much less a brilliant epiphany, so she turned her head to look up at Spike helplessly.

“Conn,” Spike muttered, “get to bed, now. Buffy, take Dawn up to the guest room you two were in before. Get some rest tonight, we’ll take you home in the morning. And for God’s sake, don’t talk to each other the rest of the night. You’ll only argue and I’m saying this Bit,” he glared at Dawn seriously, “for your sister’s sake, not so much yours.”

Buffy reached her tiny hand up and patted Spike’s large one gently, “thank you,” she whispered sincerely with a tender smile. He grinned back down at her, “no worries,” he murmered, stroking Buffy’s shoulder and sending the most delicious shiver through her.


A/N: Okay, this was supposed to be a much longer chapter, full of lots of anvils, hints and yada yada for upcoming chapters! However, since my RL is coming out in full force and kicking me in the behind and my heater just went ‘kablooie’ in the coldest, most frigid ice age in Southern California history…well, what can I say. I’m going to go hop into bed with a glass of wine and covers and hubby and warmth! Anyway, please read and review. As Golum in Lord of the Rings says: “we loves the reviewesses!” Thank you for reading. Next chapter is the start of the Peril’s of Buffy! Luv, Spuf





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