Neither Here, Nor There
by Nancy 

"Well, so now you come," the old man exhaled shakily before leaning back into his eternally young lover. "Aren’t these questions your kind should have asked before passing judgment?"
There was a moment of silence before I, head bowed, offered any explanation.
"The Council did not see the error of their ways. Your Mr. Giles’ records and notes have been located. There are questions."
I know there was defiance in my eyes as well as the respect I hoped my body portrayed. Xander turned to his lover of more than fifty years. With a silent nod of approval, they both stepped aside to allow entrance to me, the young Watcher.
William settled his lover into the most comfortable-looking overstuffed couch, before seating himself on Xander’s left with his arm draped around the old man’s shoulders.
A small service-bot brought tea and cakes then disappeared into the kitchen.
"Begin with the questions, if you must. Just remember that we’ll answer only the ones we like and you’ll take the answers in whatever way we choose to give them. If you don’t like it, you can leave now," William spoke once we all had teacups in hand.
I was startled by the response. I’d figured on Mr. Harris doing all the talking. From what I’d read of Spike…er…William, he wasn’t known for his conversation. Mentally revising the visit, I pulled out the organized notes the council had insisted I bring with me.
"Okay, first question. Glory. Mr. Giles’ journals only state that she was killed. No elaboration. Can you tell me how?"
William answered with a snort. "How do you bloody think? Waited ‘til she got tired and changed back into Ben, then…" he looked to Xander and they both said with a smile, "Off with ‘er head!"
Chuckling, I made a quick note. When I looked back up, I noticed that William’s hand had moved from Xander’s shoulder to the back of his neck. They were looking at each other gently.
With a soft sigh, I plunged on. "There seems to be some time missing from the journal. Nothing was written for approximately seven years. Can you fill me in on what happened during that time?"
"Well, that’s just a loose-ended question, innit?" William asked with a smirk.
Xander quieted him with a hand on the vampire’s knee, but when he looked at me there was a gleam in his eye that should have made me nervous. "Like Spike said before, we’ll answer in the manner that we choose. You can sit back and take notes. We’ll just tell the story. Don’t interrupt. Afterwards, you’ll tell us about who’s left."
The last was stated, not asked. The Council was stupid. They could have used him if they hadn’t been so pig-headed. With that last thought, I pulled out my hand-held and got ready to type.
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"Immediately following the battle with Glory, there wasn’t much action. It was like life had gone back to normal. Slay the evil vamps. Prevent the occasional apocalypse. Once in a while a new demon would come to town or Giles would uncover a prophecy. Willow got to be really good with magic. She was never quite the same after Tara ran away, but she found the will to go on in fighting the good fight. 
"The major thing that was missing was, of course, Buffy. When Glory killed her the glue that kept us together started to crack. Dawn moved in with Giles. There was some ancient text that referred to Buffy as the last line. He seemed to take it that any further Slayers would come from her relatives. Guess he was right, huh? 
"He watched Dawn like a hawk. I guess he hoped and feared, like all of us, that she would feel the pull. She’d be the next slayer. There was obviously no chance that Buffy would have a child to carry it on.
"He did all the tests, but everything pointed to her being a normal girl. Well, aside from the whole "being the key" thing. She did grow a bit of a wild side. Spike, here, tried following her at night, while the rest of us took turns during the day. The only time one of us wasn’t watching her was while she was in school. Even then, Giles kept tabs on her when she was absent.
"Should have figured she wouldn’t have trouble overcoming that little obstacle. It was only about two years later when she got pregnant. Poor kid. She wasn’t sure which end was up. It was a confusing time, but she was adamant that she keep the baby. The school talked to her about abortion. I swear none of us had nothing to do with that unfortunate accident the health teacher got into after upsetting Dawn like that. 
"Giles made sure she knew that they would always be welcome in his home. The whole thought of a baby brought new life into the group. I think it pulled us back together like we hadn’t been since Buffy died.
"The pregnancy did not go easy for her. She was so skinny to begin with but had a hard time keeping anything down for nearly the whole thing. Ended up on bed-rest for a while. After we’d managed to keep some food in her she built up enough strength to get around, but not without one of us. Just in case.
"The only thing she’d tell us about the father was that he was human. It’s a valid question on the Hellmouth. There was some suspicion about me, but she was like a kid sister. Plus the whole ‘Anya would have killed me slowly’ thing. Don’t get me wrong. I loved Dawn with all my heart, but I wouldn’t have done that even if Anya had left that year, rather than the next.
"So, we never did find out for sure, although the baby did look and sound a lot like Giles. I just don’t want to know. 
"Okay, back to the story. Oh, and this is the part you need to shut up for.
"On to the day Joy was born. 
"The labor was like a circus. Giles was her coach and she had thee alternates. Willow and I took turns when G-man came out looking a little green. He’d pop back in once in a while, but the contractions seemed to take more out of him than it did out of Dawn. She’d refused pain meds, and wouldn’t allow Willow to cast a small spell. She said she wanted to feel the whole thing. Either way, she was a trooper and came through it well.
"The labor itself lasted just over twelve hours. By that time, the sun had gone down and Spike came to help. It ended up being the two of us that held Dawn’s hands and coached her through it. Willow was trying to keep Giles off the floor.
"It was the most amazing experience of my life. Dawn herself seemed to glow. Just after Joy was born, the baby bustle began. 
"Everything was cleaned up and Joy whisked away to the nursery. Dawn asked for us to follow the baby. When we reached the door, I looked back at her. She looked so alone and scared sitting up in that big bed with no-one to keep her company. Spike stayed with the baby while I went back to hold Dawn.
"She cried so hard, I almost got someone to sedate her. I have to admit to shedding a few tears that night myself. The few words that were gasped out between sobs were along the lines of ‘Mom’ and ‘Buffy’. Their father never did show up, even for Buffy’s funeral, so I don’t think he was too high on the list.
"After a while, the tears stopped and I just held her and told her we were there for them both and everything would be fine. I wish it hadn’t been a lie.
"She was nearly asleep when Giles came in. I exchanged places with him and left them alone. Willow had gone back to the house to get whatever Dawn needed. 
"I found Spike staring with wonder through the nursery window. It was after visiting hours but the nurses took pity on us for a few minutes. Dawn had given permission for all of us to hold the baby but they were only allowing viewing right now.
"She was so small and wrinkly. Must have been the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You could see the intelligence shining out of those piercing eyes. It almost felt like we were being evaluated. Guess we must have passed criteria ‘cause she just yawned, stuck her little wrinkled thumb into her mouth and went to sleep.
"When I could drag my eyes away, I noticed the tears falling silently down Spike’s cheeks. We must have all been thinking of what could have been. Seemed to be a night for emotions. 
"I took a step closer and he put one arm around my shoulder while continuing to look at Joy. I wrapped my arm around his waist and leaned into him and we just watched her sleep.
"They both came home a few days later and life went on in the Giles/Summers house. The baby was christened Joy Elizabeth Summers after her grandmother and aunt.
"In the mean-time, Giles continued to wait for a Slayer while Spike and I continued to do the patrolling. Willow managed to cloak a lot of the power seeping from the Hellmouth so activity wasn’t real high. An evening patrol would only last about two or three hours.
"Spike and I would go to a movie or get a coffee and talk every night before patrol and after, he’d walk me home before going to his crypt.
"After a while, we started taking the conversations inside."
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Xander stopped here with an evil smile that was mirrored on William’s face. I had a feeling that a graphic description was about to come up, not that I minded at all. They were probably trying to scare me off or freak me out. Too bad for them, that I don’t play along.
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"Where was I? Oh, right. The first few times Spike stayed over, we’d ended up talking until the sun was peeking over the horizon. I hadn’t realized we’d gone on for so long.
"Since my bedroom had no windows, I put him in there while I did the chivalrous thing and slept on the couch. It's not that I wasn’t attracted to him. I was also fairly sure of his attraction to me. I just figured because he was a vampire, Spike would want to be the dominant one. Boy was I wrong, huh, luv?
"It took me nearly two weeks of constant frustration before I broke.
"One night, sometime around 2 A.M., I lost all control. I can still remember everything like it was yesterday. We’d run out of things to talk about and were just watching some stupid late-night infomercial. 
"I looked at Spike out of the corner of my eye and saw him staring back at me with a very dreamy look on his face. When I turned my head to look at him full on, he actually blushed. Well, sort of. You see, vampires don’t look quite real when they blush. Have you ever seen those colorized black and white pictures from the 1950’s? You know how they put a little color into the hair, eyes, lips and cheeks? That’s how he looked in the surreal light coming from the TV. 
"Any color that had been in his skin was bleached from the light, but his eyes seemed to glow blue for just a second before these pink splotches appeared high on his cheeks. It was amazing and I couldn’t hold myself still anymore
"I didn’t want to make a mistake either, so I went slowly. His hand had been resting loosely in his lap, but was now tense and fisted. Watching his face for a negative response, I tentatively put my hand over his. When he didn’t pull away, I picked it up and laced our fingers together. He relaxed in to the couch.
"I started by kissing the knuckles of the hand I was holding. His eyes got round and he sucked in an unneeded breath, but didn’t tense or pull away. I took it as a good sign.
"Moving very slowly I got to my knees and leaned over him, letting go of his hand. He put both hands to my shoulders. I froze, thinking I’d made a mistake. Thinking maybe he was going to push me away. 
"Instead, he slid his body so he was lying on the couch with his legs open and his hands up so they were on the tops of my shoulders. I breathed a sigh of relief before settling myself into the crook of his legs.
"The first kiss was tentative, just my lips swiping his. It was so perfect that I thought I was dreaming. The feel of his cooler skin was enough of a shock when I put my cheek on his that I knew this was real. 
"I can’t say that everything was perfect. There were a few times we bumped noses and chins. We had a bit of trouble with the couch too. It was a good thing I had a large bed in the other room.
"After a while of making out like teenagers on the couch, I got off of him and he actually whimpered. Oh, don’t pout like that. We agreed that if anyone came asking, I could tell the whole story.
"Anyway, it was too cute for words. He still does it, you know. After I’m finished with the story, I’ll show you. You’d like that wouldn’t you?
"Back to the story.
"I leaned down to place one more kiss on his swollen lips, before taking his hand and pulling him into my bedroom. He hesitated at the threshold, but when I looked at him he had a dopey smile on his face and followed me in.
"Once we reached the edge of the bed, I turned him to face me and started unbuttoning his silk shirt. I think the thing that surprised me the most about Spike as a lover is that he’s so passive. Even now when we’ve been together for longer than I expected to live, I’m the one who takes control.
"All right, I’ll stop drifting.
"Where was I? Oh yes. He wasn’t wearing a T-shirt that night. Once I’d slipped the silk off of his shoulders, I had this wonderful expanse of milky smooth skin to feast my eyes on. 
"That wasn’t the only part of me that got into the feast. It didn’t take very long before I had pushed him onto the bed so I could lick and suck every inch of his chest, arms, belly, oh hell, anything that was exposed and a few places that weren’t. He tasted so good. I’d only tasted the skin of a few men, but none of them could compare to this.
"Once I got the rest of the clothes off him, I stood back up to get the whole view. It’s breathtaking. You’ll have to take my word on it, Watcher. No-one else will be seeing him like that for a few years yet. Oh, stop it! You didn’t let me finish. But it still depends on if I let you bring me through the change or not.
"So, he’s all nekkid and I’m fully clothed, ogling him. He gets this desperate look on his face, so I decide to put him out of his misery.
"Moving to the music that I started humming, I gave him a show that the women at ‘The Fabulous Ladies Night Club’ only got a portion of. His interest was definitely more than peaked.
"Once I’d taken everything off, I got to my knees between his legs that were hanging over the edge of the bed. I could hear him making some noise, but I’m not too sure what he was saying. Sounded like Xan to me, but I could be wrong.
"Starting at his inner knees, I licked, kissed, and sucked all the way up to his bellybutton, avoiding his heavy cock. It was quite a sight. All smooth and marble-like, curving up and dripping from the slit.
"I moved onto the bed so more of him would be in reach, then continued my taste-testing of his skin. Once I reached his neck, I sucked as hard as possible, then pulled back to see if I’d left a mark. Guess I did a pretty good job of it, because it didn’t fade ‘til the next morning.
"One more look at his blissed-out face and I just had to kiss him senseless again. He’s quite a kisser, you know. So I guess we kissed each other senseless.
"…
"Oh, sorry. Got lost remembering again. So there we are, grinding against each other and I just can’t find it in me to hold off. He’s making these whimpering noises that still get to me after a lifetime together. How could anyone expect me to resist?
"He wrapped his legs up around my waist and both of us had our arms wrapped so tightly around each other I’m surprised we didn’t merge. It sure felt like something did, even if it wasn’t our corporeal bodies.
"It didn’t take too long before we came. I made sure that he went first, like any gentleman, but it didn’t take me too long to follow. While I was trembling out my own completion, I heard something that made it all the more powerful for me. Spike had whispered, ‘Xander…I love you.’ Isn’t that beautiful?
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"Are you okay? You’re looking a little flushed. Should the ‘bot bring you some water? Okay, as long as you’re all right.
"So, Spike moved in with me after that. No biggie. Turned out, everyone thought we were a couple since Joy was born. When I think about it, I guess we were. Just took us a little longer to figure it out. Isn’t that right, luv?
"Okay, moving ahead a few years. Nothing much changed for a while. Giles, Dawn and Joy still lived together, though Dawn did calm down quite a bit. She finished school and we all took turns with the baby.
"When she was about four, I’d say, is when it happened. She’d been raised in the training room. What we did was just a way of life for her. One night Dawn had been hurt at work and Giles couldn’t reach any of us, so he had to take Joy with him when he went to pick her up. She started holding her stomach and complaining about having a bellyache just before Giles was attacked by a minion.
"The vamp was easily dispatched, but now Giles was sure that she was the next Chosen One. He put her though the same battery of tests that the Council uses, and came to the conclusion that he was right. Dawn was, understandably, upset. As were we all. Giles took the two of them and ran. We never were sure exactly where they went.
"It was another year before you lot caught on and sent someone out. I know no-one believed us at the time, but we weren’t hiding anything. Not that we would have told you if we were. 
"It wasn’t until Joy was twelve that we heard anything. There were stories about this girl with long dark hair that had taken out five master vamps at one time. She was traveling alone with an elderly man who was presumed to be her grandfather. 
"We didn’t know about Dawn then. Excuse me. I just need a breather.
"…
"Okay. Like I said. We hadn’t had any news yet, but Dawn had died in a fight. Luckily, she hadn’t been drained because of the whole "key" thing. Never know what would have happened. So, she died in her daughter’s arms where she exacted the promise to come back to Sunnyhell and find us.
"What a joke, huh? She didn’t know that you lot had sent us to this place as punishment for some perceived crime. At least she had Giles for a few years before he died. That Watcher she had after him was a total idiot.
"So, now I have some questions for you. Is Willow still alive? We haven’t been able to find her. Are you Joy’s granddaughter’s Watcher? We saw her die. And lastly, are you going to bring us home?
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Willow’s still alive and has managed to keep herself pretty close to the Slayers over the years. If things go well here, when I get home I will be assigned to Elizabeth "Buffy" the second. I’m also here to take them home.
With that announcement, Xander leaned over and kissed William senseless. The passion of the older man would have had any human breathless. After a few minutes, he pulled away and stood up.
Yup, I just heard Spike, William the Bloody, whimper.

END