[Reviews - 204]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 3077 times

- Text Size +




Buffy giggled as she watched Molly laugh. William was swinging her up the in the air. Something caught her eye suddenly when his leather bracelet moved. The jagged scar flashed like a neon sign, taking some of the happiness of this day away.

William noticed the moment Buffy stopped laughing. He peeked over and noticed the worried expression on her face and knew things were about to get interesting. He'd followed her glance and realized she was looking at his permanent reminder how far he'd fallen, thirteen months ago. He brought his baby girl down and hugged her close, waiting for Buffy to ask him to leave and not come back.

"Will, how did you get that scar?" Buffy asked, her voice carried a tone of anxiety and uncertainly.

"Can we talk about it after we lay the twins down for a nap?" William asked, wanting to enjoy a few more moments with his children. He was sure Buffy was going to tell him to leave and never come back once she found out.

Buffy reached over and traced her finger over his eyebrow, "Yes, it can wait. Don't be afraid to tell me, I won't think less of you."

William closed his eyes as he savored her touch and said, "Maybe, maybe not."

Buffy adjusted Ryan in her arms as she leaned in and lightly kissed his lips, "I'm going with the maybe not, meaning I won't think less of what you tell me."

"Buffy?"

"I can never think less of you, William. No matter what happened you are here now. I see a man that is going to be a great father to his children." She reassured him. "Now, I think your son's wanting for equal daddy tossing time."

William smiled as he opened his eyes and noticed his Buffy was looking at him with no judgment or loathing in her eyes. More like love and understanding and it took all he had not to lean in and kiss her senseless. But he knew a promise was a promise, he'd not try and take her away from her husband.

"Well then I’m sorry Daddy's Princess, but I need to toss your brother around a bit." William chuckled as he gave his little girl a kiss before giving her to her mother.

"I'm going try and get her down for her nap, and then I will come back for this one." Buffy said before kissing Ryan's head, as Will took him gently from her arm.

William watched as the love of his life carried their daughter up the stairs. He stood up with his son, walking over to the rocker, wanting to rock his boy to sleep. Will settled in the chair. His son snuggled in the crook of his neck as he started to rock his son gently back and forth. The song his mother sang to him came to mind as he softly started to sing.

Early one morning, just as the sun was shining, I heard a maid sing in the valley below.
"Oh, don't deceive me. Oh, never leave me. How could you use a poor maiden so?"

*******

Giles walked in to the empty hotel restaurant with Angel and Cordy. They were meeting Wesley for a late lunch. The only other's present were Wesley and Eric Stewart.

"I wonder why Eric is here?" Cordy asked, when she noticed Mr. Stewart sitting with Wes.

Both Angel and Giles exchanged looks with Giles asking his son, "Do you know why?"

"He has really been there for William." Angel explained, silently asking himself, why the man would be so interested in his cousin.

"I think he is the one that is paying for most of, if not all of, Will's care. Could be he feels guilty, since he's the one that introduced the bitch to William." Cordy said, still holding some resentment against the older man.

"No reason to blame him, he never expected Fred to be so off her rocker. God the look on his face that night at the hospital was awful. You would've had thought it was his own son it had happened too." Angel explained, hoping Cordy would not treat Eric poorly.

Giles after hearing Angel's comment on Eric acting as if it was his son, something clicked. He remembered something Annie had told him long ago. They had been talking one evening about first loves. She had said hers was a man who loved music more then life.

Rupert wondered if this Eric Stewart was Anne's first love. He would keep an open mind and wait until for a more private time to ask the man his true intentions toward his nephew.

"Giles, hope your flight went well." Wesley stood to great Will's uncle, shaking hands as he turned to introduce him to Eric, "Rupert Giles, Eric Stewart. Giles is Angel's father and William's uncle."

"I take it you like to be called Giles?" Eric asked as he then shook the other man's hand.

"Yes, Rupert makes me think of my Grandfather." Giles replied, looking closely at the other man's face.

Giles knew he was definitely going to have a private talk with Mr. Stewart. He looked closely at the musician. The more he looked, the more he could see pieces of William. It all fit, and if he was right, Eric, not Ethan, fathered William.

Eric felt the intense gaze of Rupert Giles upon him. His gut told him William's uncle had figured out the connection. Silently he started to prepare for the time that Giles would manage to get him alone. He prayed the man had no issues with the possibility that William might be a Stewart and not a Rayne.

Wesley secretly smiled to himself, enjoying the two men checking each other out. He would pay good money to be the fly on the wall, when ole Rupert confronted Eric about his association with William.

Cordy being Cordy, took it upon herself to come out and ask the question on most everyone's mind. "So, Eric, what brings you here?"

Eric having become familiar with Miss. Chase's blunt manner smiled as he replied, "I came to see if Will would be interested in playing a couple of tracks on my new album."

"Really, wow, he'll love it." Angel said, feeling a touch jealous of his cousin.

Eric smiled as he reassured the young man, "It's an instrumental album, strings with a little percussion in the background."

Angel chuckled, feeling guilty that he was jealous as he said, "I know he will be honored, he really respects and admires you."

Eric sighed, "I have to say I admire him as well. He has great talent and this past year has proven he’s a good man as well."

Angel and the others smiled at the man's praise. Cordy's anger at the man eased, seeing the sincerity in the man's face. The conversation changed to more average talk, weather, cities, and families.

*******

William continued to rock his son, listening to the baby breathe, telling him that Ryan was sleeping. He knew he should get up and carry him upstairs, but couldn't find it in him to be separated from his son at the moment. During this time he realized he would never be like his father. There was no way in hell he'd be able to do to his little boy, what his father did to him.

"I would die before I did anything to hurt you or your sister. You have my word." William sighed softly, not realizing that Buffy was standing behind him.

Those words confirmed to her what she had thought all along. She had met Ethan Rayne once, and it was a meeting, she wished never happened. It aroused her suspicions that William's father had hurt him in some manner. Where her issues came from her mother, thinking she had not loved her enough to kick the habit. His came from a father that somehow hurt him in a not so parent kind of way.

Buffy quietly walked around to face him with a loving smile on her face and said, "Why don't you go lay him down, and I will make us something to eat."

William looked up at her with tears in his eyes and she realized he was afraid she would ask him to leave. "Will, there is nothing you can say that will make me ask you to leave your children, nothing. Now go lay your son down in his bed and come back and talk to me."

Buffy turned and hurried to the kitchen, before she followed through with the urge to kiss him. She needed the time alone to get her body's response to her ex-boyfriend under control. Yes, she had things to work out, but the things needed worked out before she did something she might regret for the rest of her life. The last person she also wanted to be like was her unfaithful father.

*******

Giles wished there was a way to make Wesley give him and Eric some time alone. Cordy and Angel had bowed out saying they had something to do. He was sure he didn't want to know, since he'd seen the same look in his wife's eyes, he had witnessed in Cordelia's.

Eric knew that Giles wanted to talk and since he figured he knew what is was about, opened up the conversation. "I think you have some questions for me."

Giles looked from Eric to Wesley and decided to answer honestly, "Yes, I do. But I'm certain you'd want to talk in private."

Eric gave Wesley a understanding smile before he returned his attention to his son's uncle and said, "I think I know what it is you wish to say, and Wesley is well aware of the situation."

Giles turned to glare at the young doctor, "Do you now?"

Wesley turned to Giles and answered, "It's according to what it is you think you know. Why don't you ask your questions and then we can all stop beating around the bush."

Rupert looked over at Eric and asked, "Do you know a Anne Carpenter?"

Eric's smile was a mixture of happy and sad as he answered, "Yes, I knew a beautiful, loving woman by that name."

"So William is your son then." Giles sat back and glared at the man, "You left Annie pregnant and at the mercy of Ethan."

"I didn't know that Annie was pregnant. I was a man lost in a world I wasn't ready to handle at the time. If I had any idea she was carrying my baby, I hope I would've made better decisions. But I wasn't given that chance, so I don't know. So how do you know William is my son?"

Giles snorted as he began to relax, "I see him in you, and Ethan's musical talent, well let's just say he had none. So, I'm quite certain, without any doubt, that William is your son."

Eric closed his eyes and smiled as he said, "I knew it the moment I met him, I just never knew how to tell him, or if I should. Then this thing with Fred, I didn't know if he could handle more stress."

"And now?" Giles asked, seeing in the man's demeanor he had come to love William very much.

"I want my son, Mr. Giles. I want him so bad it hurt's every time I see him and he call's me Eric. I want him to call me Dad, and for me to call him son."

"You would acknowledge him as yours?" Giles question hit Eric's patience.

"Yes, he is mine and I want everyone to know it. I would have claimed him from the beginning if I had only known he existed." Eric said as he glared at the other man. "I hope to have your support, but if not I will still do what I think is best for my son."

"Then tell him tonight. I have other news that will effect him, but I think it should wait until after tomorrow. I think it will have less of an impact if he finds out you are his true biological parent before I tell him the news that his childhood tormentor is dead."

"Ethan is dead?" Wesley asked, knowing this would indeed influence greatly on William's treatment right now.

"Yes, was killed six months ago."

Rupert noticed the news didn't seem to surprise Eric at all. He became suspicious of who might have truly been behind the death of his ex-brother-in-law.

Eric was not going to let them know he knew that Ethan was dead. But he could see that Giles already suspected that he knew. How could he explain, he had told one of the powerful people in Vegas that Ethan Rayne was a child molester? Would they believe him that he didn't know this person hated anyone that did harm to children. That Ethan had owed money to this man who decided to he didn't want the money but the man's life, now that he knew.

"I think Giles is right. You should tell William tonight about being his father, and keep Ethan's death for another time." Wesley agreed, lost in thinking about what would be best for William. So preoccupied he missed the silent exchange between the two other men at the table.

Eric shook his head no, hoping Giles realized that he was letting him he didn't have the man killed as he answered, "I will do whatever you think is best for my son. He comes first, always."

"Then I welcome you to the family." Giles felt that at last things were really starting to move up in his boy's life. "You will have to bring your family to California to meet my wife, Anne's sister."

"Thank you, it's very important to get to know the people involved in my son's life. It's through you I will learn so much about him. I understand you are taking care of Abby, my granddaughter." Eric said as he confidently shook the man's hand.

"Good, for Jenny will have loads of things to tell you and pictures and more pictures of William growing up." Giles chuckled, "And yes, for now we have Abby. William is thinking of placing her up for adoption."

Eric frowned and then replied, "If he does let me know. I will make every effort to find her a good home. I will want only the best for her."

"You understand why he might do it?"

"I trust him to make the right decision, and I will support him no matter what it is." Eric firmly informed the men at the table.

"Yes, so will I, thanks to my son bringing a few things to light that I had refused to see. Denial is such an easy thing to do to avoid things you don't wish to acknowledge." Giles said with a touch of sadness to his voice.

"Yes, but it's the continued living in denial that can break us in the end." Wesley suggested. "I think we should arrange for William and Eric to have some private time this evening. I don't want him stayin up all night mind you, with what we have to do tomorrow." He looked at Eric with a determined look.

"I promise to tell him right after dinner. It should give us time to talk a few important things out and we both get to bed in an appropriate time frame, Dad." Eric promised as he teased his friend and counselor.

"I think I'm going to go and take a nap, I was up rather early this morning to catch this flight." Giles said, after he finished yawning. "Eric, if there is anything I can do to make this easier for you or William, please let me know."

"You already have, by supporting me. Now just be there for William if he comes to you, or starts to feel he might have to choose between us. I will not do anything to interfere in your relationship with my son." Eric promised, hoping the other man believed him.

"I will do everything in my power to make this transition of William being your son as easy as possible for everyone involved. You have my promise."

"Then you have my promise to do the same." Eric said as they shook hands, forging a bond that would only grow stronger over the years.

"I will talk to you both later then." Giles said as he left to return to his room.

"That went well." Wesley smiled.

"Let's just hope telling William goes as smoothly if not better." Eric said, with a nervous tone to his voice.

"I think it will go rather well. William is a rather insightful individual, give him some benefit of the doubt." Wesley said, encouraging he friend to have courage and faith in his son. "So, I think you don't need to worry about the DNA testing to tell you what Giles confirmed, except for legal purposes. You know how lawyers are."

"Yes, they will want the burden of proof, but I think I'll let them eat cake instead. I don't need no bloody test to tell me that William is my flesh and blood. I will leave it up to him to decide if he wants it done or not."

"Great idea, I think that would wise."

"You do?"

"Yes, you are giving him the choice and giving him your unconditional love and support. It is what he needs, to know you love him and accept him" Wesley said in support of his decision of not wanting the DNA testing.

"Wes, you are a good friend and I'm grateful that you are taking care of my boy." Eric praised his friend and doctor.

"He's worth every moment of my time with him. He is a good man, and I can see where he gets it from." Wesley replied, "Now I need to go and do a bit more research."

"I need to go call my wife, she made me promise to update her. She is so looking forward to having William meet his brothers."

"Linda is a good woman, and one that will definitely make your son welcome. You are a lucky man Eric Stewart."

"She is special in so many ways." Eric smiled thinking about his wife, "I will talk at you soon, mate."

"Tell Linda I said hello."

"Will do." Eric replied as they parted company.





You must login (register) to review.