October 31, 2007 11:15 AM
They lay together in the morning light that stretched lazily across the floor
of their bedroom. Spike was pressed against her body while her fingers idly
played through his blonde locks. Buffy stared out the window, letting the memories
of these past few days drift through her conscious.
It hadn’t been easy to turn control over to her family. As far as she was concerned caring for them and the house was her responsibility, and her duty as the loving wife and mother, but they wouldn’t let her lift a finger and after a few meager protests she had relinquished her control. In only this short time, she now felt more rested and lazy than she had felt since she had been chosen.
The first day, Sunday, had been a disaster because none of them had any idea of the full scope of what she really did and even if it didn’t look like she was on a schedule she had been. Elijah had woken her from a nap at two in the afternoon and asked if she could break the rules and help him fix lunch. The others, Spike in his study, and Sean and Raven in her room, hadn’t gotten hungry yet and none of them had thought of the youngest member of the house that was forbidden to try and cook. Buffy after ascertaining where everyone was, and while holding Eli’s hand, had stood at the bottom of the stairs and proved to anyone within earshot that she was Dawn’s older sister by giving out a screech that probably woke the first few rows of the dead outside their backyard. When the others had run to find out what was the matter she had turned Elijah over to them and returned to her nap.
Sean had been the one to rescue the house and its humble members from total ruin by fashioning a spreadsheet of duties and responsibilities after interviewing the only one who had any clue exactly what it took to keep them all alive and healthy. Although they had all contributed by doing chores and such, none of them fully understood, what it was to run a household of that size and copies of this spreadsheet were now posted all over the house as Buffy returned to her retirement.
Boredom had been chased away when Spike had returned from a trip to the mall with every current magazine, best seller (excluding his own), and book on pregnancy and birth that was available. She had laughed gently at him and said if she read all that then she would probably still be reading by the time the baby was in college. But she had appreciated it, as she did all their efforts to keep her safe and happy. All of them allowed her to choose what she wanted to do and only came to her with small requests, mostly of time or token gestures, to make sure she knew she was still needed.
Time with Spike had taken on new meaning in these last few days, too. The period of not wanting to touch him had reversed itself with a vengeance with a need for reassurance that their love was stronger than anything else. Their physical desire rivaled that of when she had come back from Dallas and they couldn’t even pass in the hallway without giving even a minute caress or lingering look of a soon-to-pass rendezvous. The only way either of them was happy in these days was if they were naked and wrapped around each other as they were now and even more preferable was if he was inside of her.
And for the past few nights that was how they went to sleep, still joined as if the connection could ward off any evil force that would try to separate them. She just last night had teasingly whispered in his ear, “No demon or hell god would dare attempt to defeat your penis in a battle to possess my body because you leave no room for entry.” Which had only swelled him to epic proportions again and sleep had been chased away in their need for the other.
And in his attempts to care for her and everything in their lives plus valiant efforts to discover what was happening to her, Spike had found very little time to sleep. In his almost human state it was already beginning to catch up with him and there were blue smudges beneath his eyes marring the perfection of his face and when she had woken this morning she had let him sleep.
The children had protested her entry in her kitchen again but she had smiled and said, “It’s what makes me happy”. Besides this was their first Halloween together, their first somewhat major holiday, and she wanted to be there. To make sure that Elijah had his cookies for the class party and that Raven and Sean had the treats they had prepared for their own class celebrations. She had driven them to school, so the moment could linger a little longer, and they could plot strategy for their trick-or-treating activities for later and the small family party planned afterwards. The warm glowing feeling couldn’t even be chased away when she had come home and found Raven had called her father to let him know what Buffy had done.
As she had come back through their bedroom door and found him waiting for her, she had decided that this constant hovering over her shoulder wouldn’t be gone until the baby was born, and that she wouldn’t let it bother her. While those cerulean eyes watched her, she had quickly stripped to nothing again, and flew into his waiting arms. It was then that she had whispered of what she had wanted to give him. It was a decision born in the middle of the night when everything was clearer and more serious than in the dancing light of day.
Things in this time of inactivity had become more lucid and she had realized that in the next few months that literally, her mind, her body and her very life would lie in the hands of the one she called husband and she knew that she had to make a sacrifice on the altar of trust. To prove that she had no doubts that he would make the decisions necessary with reverence toward her and the love they shared.
So, to honor this trust she offered the last vestige of purity that her body still had to him. Unsure of her motives at first he had refused but once realizing that it was an act of bonding to take away the last barrier between them, he had finally accepted. He had taken her final virginity with a patience and gentleness that had left her humbled by his love. And in the aftermath they had both lain weeping and trembling as they held each other.
This was something that no other man had come before him in and she knew she had broken him once again by the knowledge that she could love a creature such as him. She had comforted him when it was over as they knew that there was nothing that had been unshared between them. Their bodies and their blood and their very souls had been mingled until there wasn’t a part of them that hadn’t been tainted by the touch of the other.
Wherever there was one there were now the impressions of the other upon them and she could now finally relinquish control to the fates with no doubts. If even the form that she now had would be lost, inside of Spike there would always be pieces of Buffy that could never vanish, and she knew that as long as he was there so was she.
So, now, she waited for him to waken again, time was short and she wanted to play some more before the children returned from school and the house became busy with activities.
“Spike,” she whispered as she kissed him amongst the curls that were now riotously twisted around her fingers.
“Umm?”
He shifted again as he stirred to life against her leg and Buffy tired of waiting, rolled them until she was straddling him, and his hands moved almost of their own accord to her hips to steady them in a protective gesture. Her lips moved across his as she brought him from the cradle of sleep and back to her.
“I want to take a bubble bath. Do you want to join me?”
“Yeah,” he mumbled as her tongue swept through his mouth almost choking him in her demand for occupancy.
“Carry me,” she giggled deciding she wanted to play helpless invalid to his masculine nursing skills and he didn’t fail her as he swept her up and took her to the bathroom.
After much deliberation on the variety of bath products and seeing that it was Halloween, apple scented bubble bath was liberally mixed with the water before they climbed in. They settled across from each other, their toes languidly caressing the other’s bottom or hips or in his case his foot settled between her legs so that he could play amongst her curls while she smiled seductively at him.
For awhile neither spoke but it was finally, Spike who ventured them back into the world of reality and away from the dreamy like quality of their morning.
“What was Eli talking about to the baby last night? You said he communicates with him, what do they talk about?”
“Last night he was talking about Halloween and all the plans we have.” She sighed softly, “I’ve asked him if the baby says anything back to him but he tells me that’s silly because the baby can’t talk yet. He says he knows if the baby is happy or sad though.”
Spike didn’t ask it but she already knew what the question was.
“Still nothing about the baby being bad or anything,” Buffy said quietly. “He says sometimes he feels like I am not all there but it’s like a light that is getting dimmer.”
She shrugged and they let it drop again. They were back to waiting again; waiting for a new clue or a new incident or for someone to find something that hadn’t already been explored. Wesley and Fred were still looking into the soul sharing theory while here their friends and family were divided into physical cause’s research and mystical cause’s research. But in the Blood household they were into living as much as possible in as short of time as possible in case there was no more time left to them.
Spike opened his arms and Buffy moved through the water until she was lying with her head on his chest and his arms closed in a vice around her. This time she let the warmth of his body and the heat of the water lure her into a short nap. Once they left the embryonic confines of the tub, the day would only be busy and she wanted these few moments of having him to herself before it was time to share again.
October 31, 2007 3:25 PM
He watched from his reclining position on the bed as Buffy and Elijah discussed
his costume. She was making the last alterations before the big event of trick-or-treating.
Eli was chattering about his day at school and the party they had. He told them
smugly that he had gotten awe struck silence when he announced he lived on cemetery
grounds.
His parents laughed as Buffy freed him so she could do the actual sewing. The child immediately ran to his father and bounced on his stomach.
“Hey, and did you tell them that you lived in the house where they used to hold funerals,” Raven teased from the doorway.
“They did?”
Eli’s eyes had grown wide in the thought that dead people might have once been in the house where he lived.
“Don’t tell him things like that?” Buffy scolded. “He’ll have nightmares.”
“Reality in this place will give him nightmares anyway,” Raven said as she plunked down on the bed next to her father. Sean finally moved into the room and took a seat at the edge with his feet hanging over the footboard.
“So, what are you being tonight?” Sean asked. “You’ve kept it a secret from us.”
Elijah laughed, “I’m a vampire. Like Daddy. I’m Dracula.”
“Dracula’s not real,” Raven scoffed.
“Well, he was until your Mum finished him off,” Spike stated slyly.
Buffy gave him a dirty look but he was enjoying the stunned faces of their children as they all turned to stare at his wife.
“Seriously?” Raven asked.
“Yep, she dusted him. But that was after she let him bite her.” Spike turned to look at her but she was trying to concentrate on her task and avoid the conversation around her. “Show them the mark, honey.”
“Stop it, Spike.”
“You killed Dracula. Whoa, Mum, that has got to be in the Slayer’s hall of fame.” Raven said.
“Where were you?” Elijah asked. “Did you help Mummy?”
“No, I wasn’t around. Mummy was dating the little Soldier boy then.”
“Jealous much, Dad?” Sean finally chipped in. Since he realized that it was all right for him to call them Dad and Mum, he hardly ever talked to them without using these titles. It was a way to remind himself that he was now secure.
“Oh, why don’t you ask him who he was dating that year?” Buffy raised her head with her eyes dancing in mischief. “His choice was a lot more…pathetic that year.”
“Who?” Raven asked.
“Harm? Yeah, she was pathetic.” Spike said to Buffy before turning back to the inquisitive gazes of his children. “Old schoolmate of your Mum’s who was turned on Graduation Day. A real bimbo.”
“Actually that wasn’t who I was referring to.” Buffy interrupted.
Their eyes met and as Spike broke the connection with pain clouding his face, Buffy stood and came to sit beside him on the bed.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered as she kissed him on the cheek. “That was a low blow.”
“It’s okay.” He glanced back up with a slight smile. “Make fun of my desperate need for you.”
“What are you two talking about?” Raven asked.
“Nothing,” Buffy said. “It was just the year that I wasted running from your father.”
Before the conversation could go any further the doorbell rang and Raven and Sean ran to see who could answer it first.
“Dad,” Raven called. “We need you down here.”
Spike followed by Buffy and Eli ran down the stairs to find a delivery man standing at their door.
“You Mr. Blood?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve got a delivery for you. Will you sign here?”
“Who’s it from?”
The man shrugged his shoulder. “It’s listed as anonymous as to the sender. The package is coming from someplace in Chattanooga, Tennessee.”
Everyone froze when they heard the state of origin.
“Can I refuse it?”
“Uh, I guess you could but it’s alive and I don’t know how long it would sit or what would happen to it back at the airport.”
“It’s alive. What is it?” Raven asked.
The delivery man returned to his truck and brought back an animal carrier and put it down on the porch. Spike motioned his family back as he went to inspect it. Inside the carrier was a small, whining puppy that started to scratch at the door when it realized someone was looking at her. When everyone else heard the sound, they rushed over to check it out. Raven opened the door and as the puppy came bounding out, overjoyed to be free, everyone cooed as they began to play with her.
“I guess you won’t be returning it then?” The man held his clipboard out and Spike reluctantly signed for the animal.
A package was handed to him before the delivery man bounded away leaving Spike with a new addition to his family. He emptied out the package and found papers for the puppy and a small card. He slit the envelope and pulled the card out. A shiver ran down his spine as read the note. “She is especially for you. A small orphan that needs a home. I hope she cheers you up.”
“What is it?” Buffy asked. “Is it from that…from her?”
“Not who you think. It sounds like it’s from Drusilla.”
His gaze returned to the puppy playing with his children and realized that the small animal resembled Sunshine, the puppy that Drusilla had once brought to him when he was an invalid. Leaving his wife confused, Spike headed into the house to make a phone call. His first call was to Angel and he lamented the fact that he had called his Grand-Sire more in the past month than he had in years.
When Angel answered the phone, Spike immediately told him that everything was fine but wanted to check on Drusilla.
“Why?”
“Because a puppy was just delivered from an anonymous sender and it looks like that wretched animal that Dru brought to me that time I was in the wheelchair.”
“What puppy?”
“The one we ate one night as a snack and she cried about it because we had taken away her sunshine.”
Angel laughed, “Oh, God, I remember now. You think Dru sent this dog to you?”
Spike read the note to him and told him that was pretty much what Dru had said when she brought the dog.
“You remember that?”
“I’m not the one with two personalities. It’s easier for me to remember these things.”
Angel ignored the dig with a moment of silence. “Drusilla is still secure. I talked to them only a couple of days ago. Besides do you really think that she would go and purchase a puppy and arrange to have it delivered to your home? Her modum operandi would be more likely to come to Sunnydale, kill an owner, steal the dog and leave it tied up on your porch.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It just was like seeing her again.”
“I know.” Angel agreed. “What are you going to do with the beast anyway?”
“The puppy? It’s a Shih Tzu from the paperwork,” Spike replied absently as he sorted through papers that had come with the animal. “I don’t know I guess we are keeping it. The kids and Buffy are in the kitchen trying to feed it something.”
Angel started laughing and apparently couldn’t stop.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
Spike heard the phone drop as Angel continued to laugh.
“What the hell is going on?” Cordy asked as she picked up the phone.
Spike heard Angel say in the background through his laughter, “Spike has a dog now.”
“You have a dog now?”
“Yes, we have a dog now.” Spike ground out.
“I can’t believe it. What’s next? Sweater vests and a pipe? Spike, you need to stop watching those old shows.” Cordy joked.
“You know it’s really too bad that you feel that way. I ordered
those sweaters. Two of every color.”
Spike said and then hung up the phone. It was times like this that made him
wonder why he was even trying to have a truce with them because it never really
changed this game they played.
“Hey,” Buffy said from where she was leaning on the doorjamb. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Spike replied while he ran a hand over his face. “I’m going to call the police and then Max. Have him check into it too. I don’t think anyone is going to look into it on that end. Maybe his connections can help us out.”
She nodded.
“Hurry. The kids and I are going to start getting things ready.”
”I will, Baby.”
He watched as she turned and left him. It was surprising that this time she was taking another ‘gift’ so well after the bloodlust of the last time. Maybe whatever lingering doubts had been lost in the new level of trust she was giving him or maybe because the puppy was just too minor of a thing in the wake of everything else. Spike sighed and reached for the phone. It was time to get business out of the way so he could return to the family festivities that were planned.
