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STAKE YOUR CLAIM


Chapter 22: ‘1899’


Now, Buffy Summers Giles had seen the ocean, well, the Atlantic Ocean that is. Her husband of almost nineteen years, William, had seen the Atlantic Ocean from the other side, by London, England when he was a young man.

However, their children, all seven of them, from Will, the first born, through Hank, Will’s twin, to Sarah, then Alex(ander), twins, James and Joshua, then precious little Cynthia, none of their, Buffy’s and William’s offspring had ever seen anything quite so ‘huge’ and magnificent as the Pacific Ocean.

They certainly were seeing it now, in all of it’s glory as the blue- green waves crashed against the California shore. Buffy sat on the sand, on a huge quilt that Anya, her very good friend had furnished for the picnic that the Giles and Harris family were on, together, at the ocean shore, just outside of Sunnydale. Buffy, Mother to Hank Summers Giles watched, as her second born son, just by minutes, chased a squealing, comely, Beth Harris about by the water’s edge.

“They get on good, huh, Buffy?” Anya, Beth’s Mother, asked happily.

“Yes, Anya,” Buffy giggled, “our children get on very good together.”

Buffy was not naïve, or blind, her seventeen-year-old son Hank and Beth, just a little older then him, had hit it off the minute they met each other again, here in Sunnydale, California. The William Giles family, all nine of them, along with Connor and Dawn, and their three children, Joyce, Connor Jr., and Jennifer, had traveled out to California for Holiday.

That and to go up to Salinas, California, to visit with Uncle Angel and his wife of ten years, Winnefred, and their child, Liam Alexander Giles. Of course, this was all just a stepping stone to the real goal, Berkeley, California and the Academic University that was located there. The one that Buffy had dreamed of, hoped for her oldest daughter, Sarah.

“What are you plotting, Buffy luv,” Spike Gile’s flopped down on the quilt, next to his still beautiful wife.

“Oh, nothing,” she sang, saucily, “just a little matchmaking, for our son, Hank and my Bethie.”

He watched the happy light on his Princess’s face, the one that had mesmerized him years before and kept him entranced, even now.

“Xander,” Anya chirped happily, “wouldn’t it be great if Hank and Beth made a match? We’d all be related by marriage and those high and mighty folks, back in Cheyenne would just turn green with envy, huh?”

Xander’s wife was all a flitter at the happy thought, but her husband scowled at her, “Anya, honey,” he cooed, “the kids need to decide these things for themselves.”

Buffy noticed that Xander gave his wife a loving look, however, then glanced over at his darling daughter as she screamed in delight when Hank tossed her from his arms, into the Pacific Ocean.

“I believe, Zachary Harris, that you are flirting with me,” Buffy heard her daughter, Sarah huff in mock indignation at Xander and Anya’s second born child. Sarah and Zach were close by the adults, half sitting, half laying on a blanket of their own, watching their siblings play by the water’s edge.

“Believe what you want, Sarah Giles,” the dark haired Zach Harris, a copy of his father, Xander, chuckled loudly, “I’m willing to bet, that by sunset, you’ll be lettin’ me hold your hand, at least, huh? If not,” the boy shrugged with false indifference, “your cousin, Joyce, looks appealing enough, maybe I’ll try my luck with her?”

William Giles Sr. gave his wife a ‘what the bloody hell’ look, his left, scarred brow raised in puzzlement. “Least the boy could be a little less loud, more discreet,” Buffy’s husband pursed his still lovely lips together, his brows now scrunched in dissaproval.

“Oh, yeah,” Buffy giggled girlishly, “because you were the epitome of discretion where ‘our’ courting was concerned, Will Giles.”

Her husband scowled at Buffy, then broke into a charming grin, “made you scream a few times, Princess,” he whispered as he slapped her bottom, affectionately.

“A few?” she chuckled, “I’d say more then a few times, Will, you…”

Dawn Giles hissed in dissaproval, “oh pulease,” she groaned, “we don’t need to hear about the love life of Buffy and Spike Giles. We all have had to watch you two, mooning over each other like a couple of newlyweds for years. It’s really…”

“Mum,” William Giles, the heir apparent, came tripping up to the group on the quilt, “I think we’d better face facts, Mum, Dad,” he laughed heartily. “Our Hank is in love, no question, with the lovely Beth Harris. Who wants to lay odds that they’ll be married before the year is over?”

‘Always the gambler, my son Will,’ Spike chuckled to himself. “I’ll take that bet, son,” he reached in his pocket and tossed a twenty to his oldest boy.

“Me too, Connor piped up and met his oldest, adored brother’s twenty.

“I’m in,” Xander put his own bill in the pot.

“Uhm, honey,” Buffy stammered at her husband, “isn’t it only a real bet if there’s some actual question on the odds? I mean, let’s face it, this ‘thing’ between our Hank and Beth, seems like a pretty sure thing to me. Or am I wrong?”

Spike grinned at his beloved wife with devoted affection, “baby,” he purred, “you are never wrong.”

The adults that sat on the quilt watched at their respective tribes of offspring frolicked about the shore and water. Buffy smiled in contentment as she gazed at her son Hank and Beth, pretending to be just friends as they played in and around the ocean’s water.

‘I’m losing him’ Buffy reasoned about her Hank, a little saddened, ‘I’m betting he won’t even be going back with us to Wyoming, when we go.’

Something that her husband, William, had said years before to her, echoed in her mind… “we Giles men, when we really fall in true love…it’s fast, hard and forever.” It was something like that anyway, and it was true, Buffy knew this. William had fallen for her, just like that.

Then Connor for her sister, Dawn and everyone knew about the Rupert/Jennifer story from years before. Why should it be any different with Hank…he was a Giles, through and through.

Buffy glanced over at her daughter, Sarah and Zach Harris, huddled close together on the blanket. ‘Poor Daniel Osbourne,’ Buffy thought, a little guiltily, ‘I do believe that Sarah is quite taken with Zach Harris.’

“Where’s the grub?” Jesse Harris, the youngest son of Xander and Anya chimed in as he ran up to the group of adults. “Me and the twins (James and Joshua Giles) are starved.” At only ten, young Jesse Harris was already quite tall for his age and looked exactly like his father, Xander.

“We’ll eat in good time,” Anya warned her boy, sternly, causing Buffy to grin. “In the mean time,” she continued, “you use proper grammer young man. You weren’t born in a barn you know.” Anya had proved to be a formidable mother of four; two boys, Zachary and Jesse, and two girls; Elizabeth ‘Beth’ and Kristen. She kept her children and their father in line, with discipline, kindness and of course, love.

“When will we be leaving for Salinas,” Dawn piped up, oblivous to the matchmaking going on about her.

“Day after tomorrow, Bit,” Spike responded lazily, “train goes straight through to Salinas. Old Angel, he’ll be a the station, waiting on us, I suppose.”

Connor grinned in anticipation to see his older brother again, it had been a few years since Angel had taken his wife and only child, Liam, to Salinas to try farming. He’d done a good job, made quite a farm for himself and his family. Winnefred, Angel’s wife, proved to be a God send to the lonely middle son of Rupert Giles. She had arrived in Cheyenne, a couple of years after Buffy had given up teaching for good, after Sarah was born.

As the new school teacher, Winnefred had proved to be a good instructor, but an even better influence on the wild and unpredictable Angel Giles. It took long enough, but Angel finally talked Winnefred into marrying him and they wed ten years earlier, in Denver, of all places.

Spike watched his son Hank lead Beth Harris, by her hand, of course, up to where the rest of the group congregated on the sand.

“Dad,” Hank began shyly, “I was wondering, if,well, if when you and the others went up to Salinas, to see Uncle Angel. Would it be okay if I stayed and maybe spent more time with the Harris’s, that is if it’s okay with Beth’s folks and all? I’d like to learn about the winery, more that is.”

The Gile’s patriach raised his scarred left brow at his son, who, for a twin, was not an exact replica of his minutes older brother, Will.

‘Hank looks more like my Dad,’ he mused, ‘then Will or me. Will’s a mirror reflection of me, though.’

“Well, son,” Spike said before he thought for a moment and turned to his wife, Buffy, for some input. “Your Mum and I, we kind of thought you’d like to see the North part of California. See some sights and all, but…”

Xander Harris stopped eating a piece of chicken his wife had made and chimed in, “if you don’t mind, Spike, Buffy, maybe Beth can accompany you all up North. She’s never been, might do her some good to check out the State, too?”

Buffy glanced at her son, Hank, took in his wide, blue eyes and smile, ‘he looks like Rupert Giles,’ she mused, ‘but with my Will’s gorgeous eyes.’

Then, Buffy looked over at her lovely Bethie, she’d brought that child into the world and had always felt a strong bond to her. ‘The look in my Beth’s eyes,’ Buffy noted, a tug at her heart, ‘it’s such a hopeful, yearning look. Reminds me of her Mother’s, years ago, back in the school house on the first day we met. She wanted to learn her letters, to please Xander and…’

Buffy broke her own reverie and stated quite simply, “of course Beth can join us on the trip. It would do her some good to travel and see some things. Besides, I am not sure if we could pry Hank and her apart for that long, so, she simply must come with.”

Everyone in the group broke out in peals of laughter, especially when Beth threw herself into Hank’s arms and nearly knocked him down into the sand.

The train chugged, rather slowly for Spike’s taste, up the coast of the great State of California.

“So,” Alexander Giles got his Father’s attention, “how long until we’re in Salinas, Pops?”

Spike gave his son a patient if stern look, “are you ever going to call me Father, or at least Dad, Alex,” he grumbled. “Pops makes me sound like some, well I don’t know what, but it sounds bloody ridiculous to me.”

Buffy elbowed her husband, next to her, lightly, “William,” she hissed, “if you use the word ‘bloody’ one more time in front of our innocent children, I’ll…”

James, who was nine, along with his twin, Joshua, laughed loudly, “Mom, I think the first word from our mouth was ‘bloody’ wasn’t it? Probably too late to take it back now.”

Spike glanced at his wife and gave her his most charming grin, “yeah, Mom, bit late to try and change this old bum now, isn’t it?”

Buffy sighed in exasperation but grinned at her man anyway. “Old, maybe,” she giggled merrily and squeezed Spike’s hand that held hers, “but never a bum, Will. Not ever.”

Then she leaned over and kissed Spike’s cheek, tenderly, causing him to grin even wider.

“Oh for the love of Pete,” sighed Dawn, who sat with Connor across from them, “this is just too hokey for words.” Dawn rolled her eyes at her neice, Sarah, who in turn gave her Auntie Dawn a huge smile.

“I think it’s lovely,” Sarah sighed, dreamily, “Mummy and Daddy are like two newlyweds. I believe they always will be,” she added warmly.


A/N: Well, that was a short one. Thanks for reading this and review if you like. Luv and Peace, Spuf





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