STAKE YOUR CLAIM
Chapter 25: ‘1911’
‘Springtime, 1911’
“You can drive this bloody thing, Princess,” Spike growled at his wife in exasperation, “just concentrate!”
Buffy, who had been at the wheel of the automobile for less then ten minutes, had already taken out half of the front gate, leading up to William and Buffy’s Ranch.
“I told you,” Buffy screamed back at him, “I never wanted to even try to drive this damn thing! I hate these things, why the heck don’t you get a clue, William Giles. I do not want to learn to drive an automobile! Let it go already!”
Alex, Spike and Buffy’s third son chuckled in the back seat, “I’d give it up, Pops,” he chortled gleefully, “Mom’s not going to get it, not in an eternity. She’ll end up killing us all in this thing before it’s over. You’ve owned this beast for years now, if Mom can’t learn to operate it by now, well…”
Twenty-five-year-old Alexander Giles gasped as his dear mother, Buffy, hit the gas, again, instead of the brake pedal as she should have.
“Okay, that’s it!” yelped Buffy loudly, “Alex, get your behind up here and take over this thing, if your Dad won’t. I’ve had it. I’m not going to be responsible for taking out part of my family in this hellish contraption!”
Alex Giles, who looked more like his Grandfather, Rupert, every day leapt up into the front seat, after his mother had finally found that brake pedal and stopped the auto.
“Sure Mom,” he squealed, every bit the excitable young man he’d always been. “I’ll drive us over to Uncle Connor’s place, pick up Michelle and our rugrats. The little monsters are trying to help their Mom, Auntie Dawn and Granny Jenny plant those new rose bushes. Though, God knows, that my boys, Alec and Hal have probably ripped the entire garden apart by now.”
As Alexander Giles drove the horrid beast of an automobile over to the original Gile’s Ranch, Buffy prattled on in the back seat.
“I’m thinking of having a real big party, for Anne and Elizabeth’s birthday. They will be seven this year and I think they should have a big do, don’t you honey?”
She tapped Will, her husband, on his shoulder, “I ‘spose,” he grumbled back at his wife of almost thirty years.
“Oh for Heaven’s sake, Will,” Buffy muttered, “just because ‘you’ say I should know how to drive, doesn’t just make it so. You’re not God you know, Will Giles,” she finished with a laugh.
“You used to think so,” Will mumbled under his breath, a childish pout on his mouth.
“Okay,” Buffy sighed, “so, to me you are a God, still, dear. However, that doesn’t mean I can drive one of these things. I don’t need to, do I? I mean, we still have some of the best horses in the State of Wyoming. Why can’t I utilize them?”
Spike relented and gave his wife a grin and a wink, “I suppose you’re right, as usual, Princess.”
The little reminder that Buffy still thought of him as ‘a God’ suddenly put any grumblings and complaints at her lack of driving skills right out of his mind. Buffy must have picked up on his sudden change in mood, because she tickled the back of his neck with her fingers, giggling as she did so.
‘Can’t believe she’s the Mother of seven and grandmother to…’ Spike had lost count of his grandchildren, suddenly.
‘Let me think,’ he ticked the names off in his head:
‘There’s Will’s brood; Anne and Elizabeth, Alice Marie and little William Rupert III.’
Spike shook his head in exhasperation, “Buffy, luv,” he sighed loudly, “when are we going to start calling William III by that nickname Will came up with? William Rupert Giles III sounds like a bloody Royal or something. I thought…”
Buffy patted his shoulder gently and mumbled, “I know, Will, I know. Just the other day, Alice promised they’d try the new nickname of Trace, real soon now. Just for you dear, promise.”
“About damn time,” Spike huffed, “At least it sounds better then William the bloody III, for Christ’s sake.”
Buffy gasped from the back seat, “William Giles,” she hissed, “you watch your mouth about my grandson’s name or I’ll order those twin beds for our room I’ve been eyeing. You hear me?”
Spike felt a pout form on his mouth, “you ever,” he growled menacingly, “try to move out of our double bed, Missy, same room or not and I’ll tan your still luscious arse in the middle of Main Street. You understand?”
He had turned around and was glaring at his lovely wife, trying for the world to look really evil. It must not have worked, because Buffy burst into laughter, right in his face, her green eyes lit up like fiery opals.
“What’s so funny?” Spike hissed, his blue eyes narrowed into slits, as he tried not to smirk.
“You, you old big baby,” Buffy chuckled as she wiped a few tears from her cheeks, “you know I have no intention of ordering those darn twin beds. I still can’t sleep when we’re inches apart in bed, much less feet apart in seperates. I’m just kidding with you, Will, for heaven’s sake. Get over it.”
Spike ‘humphed’ and turned around to face the front again, “better be kidding,” he muttered as his wife began to play with the back of his hair once more.
‘Okay,’ Spike began to tick off the names of his grandchildren, at least the ones he could immediately thing of:
‘There’s Hank’s tribe: The twins, Alex and Lizzy, Bill and of course, baby Sally.
Then,’ Spike frowned for some reason, ‘there’s Sarah’s brats: Zachary Harris Jr., oh yeah, ‘Jr.!’ that’s why I’m frowning; okay, let’s see Sarah II and Katherine.’
He thought some more as they drove along to his Father’s ranch house that everyone now referred to as Connor’s place.
‘Then there’s Alex’s two terrors: Alec and Hal.
Next we’ve got the Jame’s gang: twins again; Jim and Jack and little Janice.
Joshua’s (the lawyer) keeping right up with his twin brother: Joseph and Jesse, then little Julie. Of course, Josh’s wife, Cassie is pregnant again, so I guess you could say they’ve got four rugrats, really.’
“Good God, Buffy,” Spike gasped as he turned to look at his beautiful wife, “our kids are procreating a bloody Army!”
Buffy grinned, but Alex, their son burst out laughing, “yeah, like you and Mom are the model couple for population control, Pops!”
“Well, dear,” Buffy chuckled, “I’m not sure, but I don’t think we need worry about our Cindy giving us too many grandchildren, at least not too soon that is. She’s too busy learning to tread the stage back in New York and…”
William groaned painfully, “oh yeah, that’s right,” he muttered, “a bloody actress! My baby girl is going to be the next Sarah Bernhardt. Jesus Buffy, when we sent her to Berkeley, I thought she’d come out a teacher, or at least a librarian, like her big sis, but no, she wants to be an actress! Good Christ, if I’d have known…”
Buffy pinched her husband’s arm, gently, but definitely hard enough for him to feel it, “ouch! That hurt, baby,” he hissed as he rubbed the spot.
“Quit swearing about my baby, Old Man,” Buffy warned evenly, then quickly patted his arm, affectionately. “Besides, dear,” Buffy purred as she stroked Will’s neck tenderly, “it’s probably just a phase and nothing will come of it anyway. Give her some time, some room to explore, Will. After all, we’ve always known that Cindy was ‘different’ like a wild colt. You can’t fence in a wild colt, honey, you know that.”
They had arrived at Connor’s place by the time William had calmed down about poor Cindy’s choice of a career. All three of the automobile’s occupants were surprised to find Zach and Sarah’s buggy, their horses still hitched up, secured in front of the house.
“I didn’t know Zach, Sarah and their bunch would be here,” Alex said, somewhat perplexed. Zach and Sarah had their own place now, about five hundred acres that Grand Dad Giles had given them as a wedding present. Sarah’s husband, however, still worked for Connor Giles, as he had his Father, Rupert.
The trio stepped into the big house, thinking they’d find a slew of adults and children milling about. Instead, they found an empty parlor, silent as a grave.
“Something’s wrong,” Buffy hissed as she hurried into the kitchen, only to find Jenny Giles, Zach Harris and Sarah, Connor and Dawn sitting at the kitchen table. Their sad, tear-stained faces confirmed Buffy’s worst fears. Something was indeed very wrong.
“Mama,” Sarah stood up and stretched her arms out to Buffy. “Mama,” we got some bad news, just a while ago. Hank, he called from California, it’s about…” but Sarah couldn’t go on, she just fell into her mother’s arms and began to sob.
“What’s wrong Connor,” Buffy heard William ask his brother, quietly.
Connor stood up and patted Zach Harris’ shoulder, “it’s Zach’s mother, Anya. She passed away, earlier today, just a few hours ago, out in Sunnydale.”
Buffy felt her head begin to spin and everything start to go dark about her. Before she could completely black out and hit the wooden kitchen floor, she felt her husband’s strong arms catch her.
When Buffy woke up, her William still held her in his safe, comfortable arms. He was sitting on a chair, holding her in his lap, stroking her face with his big, familiar hand.
Buffy immediately broke out into tears and buried her face into Will’s chest. She began to ramble, almost incoherantly, ignoring the crowd of family hovering about her.
“Anya,” Buffy sobbed, in a voice of a child, “she wanted to learn her letters. She wanted to please Xander and start over, a second chance she said. So I,” Buffy clung to Will’s neck desperately, “so I told her I’d teach her her numbers too. She was so proud, so happy and, and so very proud of herself. So was I, proud of her, I mean and she was so grateful for my help. I loved her like a sister, and she loved me,” Buffy whimpered.
“It was me, taught her how to read and add, she…” Buffy couldn’t speak anymore, she just continued to sob into her husband’s chest as he rocked her on his lap.
“How,” Alex Gile’s finally asked his older sister, Sarah, who had finally quit sobbing, so much, anyway. Zachary Harris answered, through his own pain,
“Dad, he left for the old vines acres, forgot his lunch. Hank says Mom was livid and stormed off after him to make sure he got it. I guess Mom had been gone, for a couple of hours, but Hank and Beth didn’t think anything of it. Thought maybe Mom and Dad decided to make up and have lunch together. Dad must have come back from the old vines area a different way then usual. Showed up at the house, about noon, wondering where his lunch was.”
“Of course,” Zach paused and wiped his tears quickly, “of course that was the alert that something was wrong. They, Hank and Dad, they found Mom, lying in the middle of the little dirt road to the old vines. She, Mom, she was already gone. Doctor said her big old heart just gave out. Dad, he’s just broken up, Alex, devestated and…”
Zach began to sob again and his wife, Sarah threw her arms around him, joining in his crying. Buffy had finally began to calm a little, during the story, enough to meet her husband’s sympathetic gaze.
“Will,” she whispered in a still child like voice, “call Hank in Sunnydale. Tell him we’ll be on the next train possible, to get there, for Xander. Please, honey.”
She sat up, a little straighter on her Will’s lap and stared at Zach and her daughter, Sarah. “I want to go say goodbye to my Anya in person,” Buffy sniffled sadly.
Later, that night as Buffy and Spike lay in their big, double bed, snuggled up together, as always.
“Will,” Buffy murmered in the dark, “I mean it. I’d never order those silly twin beds, you know that, don’t you?”
Spike chuckled softly, “I know, baby,” he pulled her tighter to him.
“Will,” Buffy whispered again, “you won’t die before me, will you? I mean,” Spike felt Buffy’s little body tense up and he prepared for another onslaught of her tears, “I mean,” she continued softly, “promise me you won’t die before me. I hope we can go together, somehow. I know it’s silly, Will, but I don’t think I could go on without you around. So, promise me, you’ll never pass on, without me, anyway.”
He nuzzled his wife’s honey blonde head with his mouth, “I’m not going anywhere without you, baby,” he murmered, as he stroked her bare arms.
“And that goes for you too, Princess,” he grew quite serious, “you don’t go ‘anywhere’ without me, either. I mean, any other world, that is.”
Spike felt his Buffy snuggle even closer into him, “never,” she sighed as she smiled and kissed his bare chest.
A/N: I promised more angst. Sigh, I wanted to give readers a little insight to the Gile’s family tree also. Indeed, it’s getting quite large! Anyway, please read and review. This story is not over. Thanks, Luv, Spuf
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