July 9, 2007 8:45 PM
Buffy stopped dead in her tracks while raising her arms -- signaling those around
her to be quiet. Immediately everyone around her ceased all sound in order to
give her a chance to get her bearings. She lifted her head allowing her Slayer
instincts to take control of her senses. It had to be around here somewhere.
Then with a predatory smile she turned to the right and spotted it. With quickened
footsteps she headed off to where it was hiding.
"Oh, Buffy, come on." Spike whined as soon as he realized that she was heading for the cobalt blue minivan that she had first looked at over an hour ago. Quickly he snapped his mouth shut when he realized what he had done. Looking around to see who had seen his weakness he noticed the salesman smirking at him with an expression of ‘can’t you control her?" on his face.
"Excuse me, may I test drive this one again?" Buffy leaned out the driver's window to smile charmingly at the salesman, Chad. Raven was bouncing in the seat behind her enjoying every moment of this hunt. Her relationship with Buffy still wasn't always friendly but in times like these it seemed she enjoyed teaming up with Buffy to torture Spike.
"Of course, Mrs. Blood." Chad sighed as he headed for the van giving Spike a long suffering look but only received a mirror of his previous smirk in return.
Spike shifted Elijah to his other shoulder trying not to wake him. This was why he had sat down with Buffy going through the Internet to find out what type of minivan they wanted. She had made a list of all the options that she felt was necessary so they would just have to go and find one that matched their criteria. Though as soon as they arrived she had seemed to forget everything they had discussed and while Spike was talking to Chad about their list she had spotted the line of vans and had taken off with Raven in hot pursuit to find the one that 'felt' right.
A shudder ran through him as something wet hit his neck and realized that Elijah was drooling on him. With a tissue he found in Buffy's bag he cleaned the two of them up then ditched the tissue between two vans.
"Have to do something wrong once in a while just to keep my image up," he muttered, as he looked down at himself coming to the conclusion that since the wedding he was definitely whipped. A hand smoothed down the black knit pull over shirt he was wearing. Raven had picked it out for him on one of her trips to the mall with Buffy and that was the only reason he was lowering himself to wear it was so that she wouldn't be hurt. The shoes though were really too much he thought as he surveyed the sneakers on his feet. Buffy insisted that he wear them during family time ever since he had accidentally kicked Elijah with his steel-toed boots leaving a nasty bruise.
Just then the minivan with Buffy at the wheel pulled back into the parking lot coming to within an inch of hitting another van as she parked it back in its original space.
"Way to go, Buffy," Spike called out sarcastically.
"Yeah, and if you weren't glaring at me I wouldn't have gotten nervous," she declared as she headed for a gray minivan across the aisle.
"Why do I put up with her?" Spike asked jokingly making sure that it was loud enough for her to hear as she moved past him.
Her eyebrows raised and her index finger came up in a warning as she stopped to look at him briefly before trouncing off with her giggling cohort beside her. Spike watched her turn away in a huff which made her bottom bounce quite enticingly in her denim shorts. He unconsciously licked his lips at the memory of his fingers pressing into that very flesh that morning as she had ridden him into sexual bliss. His eyes could almost see the bruises that he had left on the whiteness of her skin through the denim and he ached to touch her again.
Buffy stopped beside a gray van this time and before she could even turn around to ask Chad was already handing her keys so that she could test-drive it. As soon as they were settled in the van Spike took off down the row again to keep Chad from noticing that he wasn't visible in the mirrors. Elijah stirred against him as his small hand clutched at his shirt.
"Go home, Daddy?" He asked in a sleepy voice.
"Soon as Mummy gets back this time." Spike told him determinedly. There was no way he was going to put up with this any longer.
The gray van pulled back into the lot with Buffy driving carefully so as not to do a repeat performance of her last almost mistake. They climbed out with Chad coming to stand next to Spike. Raven was waiting for what Buffy wanted to do next. Buffy stopped in the middle of the aisle her gaze going from the cobalt blue one to the gray one in a pensive state. Then she turned to look longingly at a forest green one down the aisle some. Her mom liked forest green vehicles. As her feet started to head in that direction a hand was laid on her arm that stopped her in mid-motion.
"No, Buffy, make a decision." Spike told her authoritatively as Chad smiled in relief that he was finally exerting some control over his wife.
"But Spike, I can't just decide. Let me go look at this one then…" Buffy took a step closer to him smiling that smile that usually twirled him around her finger. A hand was delicately put on his hip so that her fingers were curled into his rear.
Spike moved so that Chad was behind him.
"Elijah is asleep and I am hungry." Spike told her softly while quickly flashing yellow eyes and fangs at her. It wasn’t an attempt to frighten or threaten her but just to let her know what exactly he was hungry for.
With a sharp inhale of breath Buffy straightened up and tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"Fine, that one." She pointed to the cobalt blue one. "But if I find that I don't like it I will return it."
Without waiting for anyone else she headed for the sales office while Spike smiled at his little spitfire walking away. There was no one else like her in the world when she was in these moods which actually showed that she was happy and feeling in control. And that only made him feel good about her and things in general.
Spike caught Chad looking at Buffy with a bit of annoyance and relief that this was going to be over soon. Spike's smile turned to a grin as he thought of how this would have gone down if he had any clue as to how this really worked. Elijah would have been with a babysitter and he would have drank his full of blood instead of the quick mug gulped before they left the house then he would have just sat back and watch Buffy go. Actually he would have encouraged her to test-drive every van on the lot just to make this chauvinistic ass earn every cent of his commission.
Slowly the others followed her in where she waited with arms crossed to allow Chad to lead them into his area. As they walked into his office he asked them for their IDs which were handed over to him. Spike and Buffy took seats in front of his desk while Raven with Elijah on her lap sat in a chair by the door.
Chad started to fill out some paperwork when he stopped to look at Spike’s driver’s license then curiously looked at Buffy’s. He looked up at them, back down at their licenses then over at Raven then finally back to their licenses.
“We’re mountain people. They’re first cousins too.” Raven told him sarcastically once she realized that Chad was trying to figure out how two people in their late twenties could have a daughter as old as she was.
“No, we are not.” Buffy said emphatically before turning to Raven, “Isn’t there a lounge down the hall that you could wait in.”
“Gee, we can’t ever stay for the good stuff. I guess we will have to make do with watching TV.” Raven replied hiking Elijah up on her hip before heading down the hall.
Chad laughed along with Buffy and Spike but he was shaking his head the whole time. This family was just a little strange for him. If it hadn’t been for their heavy platinum wedding bands crusted with diamonds he might have passed the sale on to someone else. But his commission was worth putting up with anything these two could dish out since they obviously had the money to pay. He looked up at them and started talking price with Spike.
“Now, hold on just a minute, about the price.” Buffy interrupted knowing that Spike had never done this. Well, neither had she but she had at least a clue about how the negotiations should go.
“Buffy, I can handle this.” Spike said as he looked at Chad.
“But Spike…”
“I can handle this. Now sit there while I do this.” Spike raised his hand toward her letting her know that he wouldn’t take any more argument from her about it.
Buffy shifted in her seat to look out over on the showroom floor crossing her arms and legs while one foot swung out her opinion on Spike. Let him louse up the deal and pay too much money. As she listened though her anger turned to surprise then to admiration as Spike negotiated a price way lower than the sticker price.
“Alright, you drive a hard bargain but let me go see my manager and see if he agrees.” Chad held his hand out to Spike. “You are really trying to take us for a ride.” He chuckled as he left the room.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Buffy turned to look at Spike with pride on her face.
“Impressed, weren’t you, pet? Now come over here and reward me.” Spike sexily smiled at her while tugging on her wrist. Buffy let him pull her to him where she settled onto his lap. Her hand cupped his face as she kissed him.
“Mmmm, I’m very proud of you,” she whispered before kissing him again.
“Anya told me what to do.”
Spike let her in on his secret of negotiations before pulling her down to him for another kiss. He slipped his tongue into her mouth as his hand delved between her legs to caress her.
“Stop that. There are people watching.” Buffy giggled as she pulled his hand out.
“That’s okay. I know how to make you wet and achy without touching you there.”
Another giggle from Buffy before she brushed her lips against his.
“How?”
“Like this.”
Spike twisted a little in the seat so she was in front of him then he reached up to pull Buffy’s hair from behind her ear so that it fell in a curtain in front of her face. On the other side of her face he pulled her hair back while his mouth went to nibble on her neck. Her fingernails dug into his arm when she felt his fangs pierce her skin. The pain of the bite rushed through her as pleasure making her moan in response. With a small laugh he released her while sniffing the air to verify that he had accomplished his mission.
“That’s not nice. Make me all hot and bothered and you can’t finish the job here.” Buffy whispered to him before tugging his ear into her mouth and sucking on it.
“Oh, I am going to finish it later and you are going to scream when I do.”
A trail of kisses was forged from his ear to his mouth.
“Unless I make you scream you first.” Buffy challenged.
Spike's hand slipped under her shirt to caress her along her ribs but ended up tickling her softly just so she would giggle again. Unfortunately he forgot to remove his tongue from her mouth first and ended up bitten as she tried to slip away from his punishing hand.
“Oh and how are you planning to make me scream?” He asked before sucking the blood from his tongue.
His hand was pulled out from under her shirt to be placed on her hip but it strayed down so that he could squeeze her bottom. Buffy tilted his face toward her to get his attention then while looking into his eyes she gave him his answer.
“Because we got a new package in the mail today.”
“Yeah and what new toy did my wife order for us this time?”
“You’ll find out.” With a giggle she began to kiss him again.
The sound of someone clearing their throat finally broke them apart. With an embarrassed smile Buffy looked up to find Chad watching them.
“Sorry,” she said as she turned to face the desk.
“My manager agreed to your price. Now all we need to do is fill the paperwork out.”
Spike had previously told him that he would be paying cash for the van so it was just a matter of getting everything signed and filled out. Buffy stayed primly perched on Spike’s knee as they went over the paperwork that was put in front of them. It made more sense to her because that way they could look at the paperwork together and save time. She forced herself to ignore Chad’s staring at her neck as the bite mark bruised against her skin.
The paperwork seemed interminable as one form after another was placed in front of them but finally it was over. They stood as they shook hands with Chad and were handed their copies of everything then the keys. Chad followed them down to collect Raven and Elijah who was now awake and running around the room.
“Let’s go.” Spike said holding out his hand to his son. Once Elijah grabbed his hand Spike swung him up onto his hip again.
Chad stayed behind with his manager as the family made their way toward the door of the showroom.
“That is one strange family,” he whispered to his manager. “He gave her a hickey that looks more like puncture wounds. They are only like twelve years older than their daughter and I could have sworn that girl’s eyes were glowing.” He suddenly grabbed the manager’s arm. “Look he doesn’t even have a reflection.”
In the window of the showroom Elijah seemed to be floating in the air as they made their way toward the door. Buffy was seemingly holding hands with no one.
“What’s their last name? Addams?” The manager joked.
“No, worse. It’s Blood.” Chad told him as they both laughed.
“Good night, gentlemen.” Spike called out to them then once he knew they were looking at him he showed them his middle finger before he waggled the rest of his fingers at them.
“Soddin’ assholes.” He told Buffy once they were outside while Raven and Elijah both laughed at his gesture and words.
“Don’t worry about them. We have a minivan,” she said enthusiastically and once she realized what she said her face fell into a frown. “Now, I feel old. I’m like my mom with a geek mobile.”
“Now you know how I feel.”
It was quickly decided that Spike and Elijah would take the Desoto and head for home while Buffy and Raven took the minivan and stopped to pick up Chinese food on the way. Before they went their separate way Spike leaned down to kiss her but Raven pulled Buffy away in the direction of the van before he had a chance.
“No more. Everyone was talking about you two in there. It’s humiliating and aren’t you supposed to be setting an example for me.” Raven ranted as she pulled Buffy to the van. A hand was slapped over her face dramatically as Buffy blew Spike a kiss.
~~~~~~~~~~
“We’re home.” Buffy called out as she and Raven came through the back door carrying dinner. After putting it on the kitchen table she started to head out to find Spike just as he came through the door with Elijah right behind him.
Elijah had been rejuvenated when Spike had bathed him and now, dressed for bed, he was ready for food and fun.
“Mummy, I’m hungry and so is Daddy,” he announced as Buffy scooped him up into a hug.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why we brought home lots of food. Do you like egg rolls?”
Elijah nodded as Spike moved to help Raven set the table and put the food out. Then while Buffy fixed a plate for Elijah, Spike went to heat a bowl of blood for himself. He reached over and plucked an egg roll off the table as his family helped themselves to food and started to eat.
“There’s a movie on at 11:00 that I want to see. May I stay up and watch it?” Raven asked in a general air but her eyes were peeled on Spike.
He quickly looked over at Buffy then at the calendar on the wall.
“Not tonight, Princess. You and Elijah have therapy appointments tomorrow morning.” Spike told her denying her request. Buffy made coinciding appointments with Sara and Denise, a child therapist that shared office space with Sara. Raven and Elijah had been through too much in past few months for it not to be dealt with and Spike even went to the initial appointment to show his support for the idea.
“Why do we have to go? I just sit there.”
“I like it. They play with me.” Elijah contributed.
“Well, they just want me to spill everything inside of me and it’s none of their business.”
“Maybe you should. You’re having nightmares once or twice a week still and it might help.” Buffy suggested.
“I’m not a nut case like you.” Raven declared trying to get a rise out of Buffy.
“That’s your opinion and you’re still going.” Buffy replied not letting the girl get to her despite how much her words stung.
“And I agree before you even ask.” Spike backed her up.
“God, I hate this.” Raven complained leaning back in her chair with a loud sigh.
“Mummy, want blood like Daddy?” Elijah asked pointing at Spike who was dipping his egg roll in the blood before eating it.
“Ummm, how about some soy sauce instead?” Buffy got up to retrieve a bowl then poured soy sauce in it for Elijah.
“Oh my God, you two are disgusting.” Raven wrinkled her nose and pushed her plate away as Spike and Elijah slopped up their respective dipping sauces with the egg rolls then made grunting noises as they ate.
“Spike, stop that. You don't need to be encouraging him.” Buffy reprimanded with a smile as she moved to the refrigerator to get another bottle of water.
“Kiss me?” Spike asked as she walked by sticking his blood coated tongue out.
“You are gross. No way am I kissing you with pig’s blood in your mouth.” Buffy giggled as she kept going toward the table.
However she ended up detouring back as the phone started to ring.
“Hello.”
Spike’s arm came around her so he could kiss her on the back of the neck but Buffy pulled away holding a hand up as Tara’s worried tone came over the line.
“What’s wrong?”
“Buffy, there’s been a man outside all day. Anya said that he was in the shop earlier just wandering around but never bought anything. Now, he is just standing across the street.”
“Are you and Anya together?” Buffy asked.
Tara’s school was next to the Magic Box and Xander had put in a hallway to connect the two stores making it not only easier for the two women but also for the customers.
“Yeah. The school is closed. I’m at the Magic Box.”
When Spike saw Buffy shift from being happy and giggly to Slayer mode he started to turn toward her when the window behind him suddenly shattered. Raven screamed as the bowl and egg roll he had been holding seemed to drop to the floor in slow motion as Buffy and Spike could only stare in shock at the arrow that now protruded from his chest.
