Chapter 36
Author’s Note: Thanks to the wonderful Ali for betaing this so quickly! You’re the best BETA mom!
He let his head fall to the crook of her neck, lightly nibbling his way down to her collarbone when the sound of footsteps just outside, in the hall, snapped the two teens back to reality. Panic filled them as they heard the doorknob turn.
“Oh, my-“ Buffy wasn’t even able to finish her sentence as Spike grabbed her by her arm and pushed her down to the floor while he stood up and watched the door open.
“Spike, have you seen-“ It was Mrs. Summers’ turn to be cut off as the door opened to reveal a stark naked Spike standing behind his bed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very tall, reaching only up to his knees and thus failing to conceal any of the important body parts that he would have preferred to have remained hidden from his father’s girlfriend.
“Oh, god!”
“Bloody hell!” The two shouted in unison.
One of Joyce’s hands immediately flew to cover her face, the other clumsily reaching for the door in a desperate attempt to grab the handle while the bleached teen, equally surprised, fumbled with the sheets, pulling them against his abdomen, frantically trying to cover himself. After a few very awkward and disturbing seconds, the older woman managed to close the door.
“Bloody hell, you’re mom just saw me naked.” Spike hissed at the girl lying at his feet.
She was about to answer when a faltering voice carried through the bedroom door.
“Um… Spike… Um… I-I’m sorry. I-I didn’t…
“It’s ok Mrs. Summers.” He said, frowning when he suddenly realised he had reverted back to calling her Mrs. Summers.
“Well… H-have you seen Buffy?”
The lines over his eyebrows grew deeper as he and Buffy exchanged looks.
“Um… No, not really. Isn’t she in her bedroom?” That earned him a swat across his calf. “What?” He whispered to the girl sitting at his feet.
“She’s gonna go and check now.” She explained.
“Or maybe she’s-“
“I’ve already been to her room. She’s not there.”
“… already checked.” Spike finished his sentenced with a look that screamed ‘duh!’, then, turning to stare at the closed door, continued: “Maybe she went out for a walk.” Another smack. “Bloody hell will you stop doing that!” he hissed at Buffy.
“What am I supposed to do now?” She asked, despair evident in her wide eyes.
“Go to your room and get dressed.”
“But I’m all yucky and sticky! I need to take a shower!” She protested in a babyish tone.
At her frown he ordered: “Now!”
As silently as she could she opened the connecting door and started looking for clothes.
“…going out?”
The sight of Buffy, bare naked, squirming her way to her room caused Spike’s brain to short circuit and by the time he had all the wiring reconnected he had only managed to hear the last few words of the sentence.
“Sorry, Mrs. Summers I didn’t hear what you said.” He tried to control the hoarseness in voice as he watched Buffy frantically go about her room, urgently looking for something to wear. God, she was beautiful!
“I asked if she told you anything about going out.” Joyce repeated, the awkwardness of what had happened just seconds before still evident in her tone.
“Um… I… Um…” ‘Naked Buffy! Naked Buffy! Naked Buffy!’ His brain insisted on chanting as he watched her putting on her jeans. “I think she said something… um…” Finally, as she slipped her thick sweater on, he was able to finish: “… something about going out for a walk. Um… Enjoy the clean air of Nature.”
A deep frown settled on Buffy’s eyebrows as entered the room mouthing: “Clean air of Nature?”
At that Spike simply shrugged, lifting both his eyebrows apologetically.
“Buffy woke up early? For a walk?” Joyce wondered out loud.
“Yeah, go figure, huh?”
“Well, did she tell you when she was coming back?” Joyce continued to question on the other side of the door.
“Around eight or something.” Spike blurted out.
“Oh, okay. Well, Rupert and I are downstairs. Breakfast is almost ready and just as soon as Buffy comes home we’ll start opening the presents, ok?”
“Ok, Mrs. Summers.” Spike shouted back. He was about to say something to Buffy when Joyce’s voice reached them again:
“Oh, Spike?”
“Yeah?”
“M-merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, Mrs. Summer!”
The two teens waited a few moments in complete silence. Suddenly, Buffy’s hand flew towards Spike, smacking him across his arm.
“Bloody hell Summers, Will, you stop hitting me?” Spike hissed rubbing his arm.
“I’m sorry, that’s what I do when I get nervous.” She said apologetically.
“You hit people?” He asked cocking up a scarred eyebrow.
She simply shrugged as she questioned:
“What now, Einstein? Our parents are downstairs, how am I supposed to leave the house without them seeing me, huh?”
“Through the window.” He replied matter-of-factly.
“The window? Are you insane?! We’re on the second floor!” She noted.
“Actually, we’re on the first floor.” Spike corrected.
“First floor? What are you talking about? We’re on the second floor. Or do you think the kitchen and the living room are underground?” Buffy quipped rolling her eyes.
“Depends on your point of view, I’m English; therefore *I’m* on the first floor.” Spike replied haughtily, while Buffy simply stared wide eyed at him. He let out a long sigh and explained: “The floor underneath us is the ground floor; the floor above it, the one we’re on, is the first floor, the one after that is the second and so on and so on.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, Forget it.” He gave up. “You Yanks have it your way. It’s the second floor.”
“Huh…?” She repeated before shaking her head and adding: “Whatever… Still doesn’t explain how you’re planning on getting me out of the house without our parents noticing.”
“I’ll lower you down.” He explained.
“Ok, I’ll repeat this. It’s seven thirty in the morning, your brain is probably not able to catch all these little subtleties this early in the day but – We’re on the *second* floor.” She spoke as if she was talking to an eight year old.
His response was a forced smile which crumbled in seconds: “Do you have any other ideas? Sarcasm not included?”
She narrowed her eyes and made her way to the window with Spike trailing right behind her.
“See, there are bushes there to soften your fall and everything.” Spike pointed out.
“Yeah, rose bushes!” She stared up at him.
“What? I’ll swing you.”
“Oh, not only do I have to jump off the second floor but I’m gonna be swung over a rose bush while I’m doing it?” She asked incredulous.
“Oh, Come on, Buffy!”
Once again she dangerously narrowed her eyes at him as she swung one leg over the window ledge.
“This is all you’re fault.” She grumbled.
“My fault? You’re the one who came into my bed in the middle of the night.” Spike replied, but seeing the murderous look she was giving him decided to change strategies: “Ready?” He questioned grabbing a hold of her wrists.
“Yes!”
He was about to push her out when she grabbed his arms.
“Wait!”
“What?”
“What about our parents? They’re downstairs, they are gonna see me fall if they look through the window.” She noted.
After a moment of thought he said:
“I’ll swing you diagonally so you’ll be able to jump over the bushes and fall where there is no window.”
“Are you sure?” She questioned doubtful.
“Seems pretty simple.”
“Yeah, cause you’re not the one doing the jumping.” She grumbled.
“Just relax. Take deep, long breaths.”
She closed her eyes and inhaled.
“That’s it. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inha-“
“Ok, I’m getting kinda dizzy here. I don’t think it’s working.” She mumbled.
“Sorry.”
“You better be.” She pressed her lips together, inhaling one last time.
“Ready?”
She nodded and pushed herself off the window ledge as he held her by her arms.
“Ok, I’m gonna swing you over now.” He announced as he began to move his arms. After a few long motions he let go of her and she went flying over the brush, landing on the grass with a loud thud.
“Ouch!” She protested as she rolled off the ground and clumsily stumbled onto her feet.
“Are you ok?”
Buffy wasn’t able to answer as Giles came rushing around the corner.
“Buffy?”
“Hey, Giles!” She greeted weakly. “Merry Christmas!”
“Um… Merry Christmas! A-are you ok? What happened?” He asked helping her as she limped her way to the front door.
“I kinda tripped.” She lied and threw an evil glance at Spike. The teen stood at the window, watching as his father and Buffy rounded the corner, trying hard to keep from laughing.
~+~
The rest of the day went by uneventfully and mostly centred on the gift exchanging. They sat around the fireplace, each making their way through the wrappings of their respective presents.
“Oh! It’s beautiful!” Joyce exclaimed gazing at the twin sapphire earrings. “Thank you so much!” She breathed still overwhelmed, leaning in to give Giles a kiss when she thought the ‘kids’ weren’t looking.
Buffy and Spike merely decided to ignore the sight, focussing on their own presents.
“Bridget Jones’ Diary?” Buffy asked inspecting the cover of the book she held in her hands.
“It’s a real grabber according to a friend of mine back in London.” Giles explained.
The petite blonde smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“Thanks, Giles!”
“It was actually William’s idea.” The older man corrected adjusting his glasses.
Buffy tried to suppress a chuckle at the sound of Spike’s real name, but said nothing about it, merely nodded and replied: “Thanks, William.” This earned her a glare from the bleached teen but it soon faded away when he glanced at his gift, finally unwrapped.
“Oh, cool!” Spike piped up as he turned the CD to see its cover. “The greatest hits of the Sex Pistols!”
“You’re father told me you liked them. I don’t really know much about the punk movement. Is it any good?” Joyce questioned a bit worried. “You can exchange it for something else if you like.” She quickly added.
“No, no! It’s perfect! Thanks Mrs. Summers.”
“Spike, we’ve been over this. Call me Joyce.”
“Right… Joyce. Sorry.” He apologized. Somehow, after the ‘incident’ that very morning, calling her by her first name just seemed… wrong.
“Oh, my God! A Kattar dagger. Where did you find this?” Giles asked, gawking at the watered steel curved blade he held in his hands.
“I pulled a few strings.” Joyce answered smiling at him.
“T-this is unbelievable. I-I’ve been looking for this since… forever.” He stuttered, his eyes never leaving the dagger as he occasionally fumbled with his glasses, nervously trying to adjust them.
“I know.”
“Thank you, thank you so much.” He said, bringing one arm around her waist and pulling her close for a long kiss.
“Yew! Can you guys get a room or something? Minors present, remember?” Buffy protested giving them a disgusted look, quickly seconds by Spike:
“Yeah! Please don’t scar us for life.”
At this, the couple pulled away, rolling their eyes at each other.
“Well, I guess we should get working on the Christmas lunch, huh?” Joyce suggested clapping her hands together.
“We’re gonna cook? All of us together? Again? I don’t think that’s such a hot idea, mom.” Buffy said pulling her eyebrows together for a doubtful frown.
“No, we are going to cook.” Her mother corrected pointing at herself and Buffy.
“What? And what are they going to do? Lie around, belly up, picking their teeth? ” Buffy asked outraged while Spike and Giles spread out on the couch.
“No. They are going out to chop some wood.” Joyce explained.
“What? We already have wood.” Giles said sitting up straight.
“The logs we have down in the basement are too big. We ran out of the small ones and the ones left don’t fit in the fireplace. You guys are going to have to chop them in half.”
“We’re leaving today anyway. Why chop all the wood?” Spike asked.
“But it’s so cold.” Buffy pouted, batting her eyes at Spike
“Yes, you don’t want us helpless little women catching a cold, do you?” Joyce added, mimicking her daughter’s actions as she eyed Giles.
“But…” Spike tried to protest as he watched the women stand up and head for the kitchenette.
“No buts. Go. Be manly!” Joyce shushed them.
~+~
Buffy mewled letting herself drop on the bed with a loud thud.
“I don’t feel so good.” She grumbled holding her stomach as she stared up at the ceiling.
“No wonder. With the amount of food you gobble up.” Mrs. Summers said shaking her head disapprovingly. “I told you not to eat that third slice of pie.”
“Erg! Don’t mention food. Pleeease!” The teen begged, rolling onto her side, her hands still resting protectively over her swollen stomach.
“That’s what you get for being a glutton.” Joyce continued.
“It’s Christmas Day. There is no such thing as gluttony.” Buffy countered barely able to speak.
“Come, get off the bed and help me pack.” Mrs. Summers replied ignoring her daughter’s ‘suffering’.
“I still don’t understand why we have to go home so soon. I mean, it’s Christmas Day!” Buffy noted closing her eyes as she felt another strong spasm lurking.
“I told you, I have to go back to the gallery and Rupert wants to have the bookshop open tomorrow.”
“Who buys art or books the day after Christmas?” Buffy inquired holding up her hands and frowning.
“For someone who didn’t even want to come here in the first place you’re not too keen on leaving, are you?”
“Oh, my God! You said ‘keen’. Maybe we have spent too much time with the Giles family.” Buffy grumbled, forcing herself into the sitting position.
“Lets see.” Joyce took in a deep breath and opened her daughter’s wardrobe.
“Can’t we just wait a couple of hours?” Buffy asked dragging her feet on her way over to where her mother stood.
“It’s four o’clock. By the time you’ve packed it’ll be six. I don’t want to be driving down the mountain at night. That road is really tricky, especially if it rains.” Joyce explained as she began taking the clothes from the wardrobe and putting them into the luggage.
~+~
Within an hour they were all packed, the truck of the car was already full and the four prepared to leave.
“Are you certain you didn’t leave anything behind?” Joyce asked for the fourth time.
“I’m positive mom.” Buffy mumbled as she entered the vehicle.
“Just making sure.” Mrs. Summers said buckling her seatbelt.
“Even if you’ve forgotten something, it’s just a half an hour’s drive away. We can always come back and get it.” Giles explained as he turned the keys and the engine roared.
Slowly and evenly the small car set to the road, taking each tortuous curve at a time. In the backseat, Buffy swung her legs over Spike’s, their hands secretly intertwined.
Joyce’s gaze glided over the landscape and finally fixed, for a few seconds, on the man driving the car. An unconscious smile settled over her lips when she glanced over her shoulders to find Buffy slowly drifting into slumber, her head resting over Spike’s shoulder as he looked out the window. As her returned to the road, she let out a content sigh and she let her mind drift over the events of the last few days spent up at the cabin.
~+~
“Well, this is our stop, I guess.” Joyce announced as the car pulled up to the familiar driveway. Turning to face Giles she smiled: “Thanks again for a wonderful holiday. It was one of the best Christmas by far.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. We should go up there during the summer. It’s actually warm enough to swim in the lake.” Giles said as he opened the car door for Joyce.
“We’ll think about it.”
In the meantime, the two teens stood on the other side of the car staring at each other, silently saying their goodbyes.
“Buffy, are you coming?”
Her mother’s voice seemed to snap her out of her daze.
“Coming.” She shouted back before turning to Spike and saying: “I’ll see you later.” She was about to leave when she felt him grab her hand.
“I’ll call you tonight.” He whispered.
“I’ll be waiting.” She flashed him a quick smile before running up to the house. “Thanks again, Giles.” She shouted waving her hand as she watched the car drive off.
~+~
“Well, I better go now Willow. He said he’d call me tonight.” She announced twirling her finger around the plastic cord. “Ok, bye then.” She said before putting down the receiver.
She let out a deep sigh, staring up at the ceiling and letting her eyes drift close for a second. She had just finished an hour-long telephone conversation with Willow, detailing everything that had gone on up in the cabin. Actually, it had been more of a monologue with occasional interrupting ‘uh’s and ‘ah’s coming from the other side of the line.
She felt her limbs get number and number, her eyelids heavier and her breathing slower as she drifted into sleep. Suddenly, the sharp sound of a phone ringing snapped her out of her thoughts. She was about to grumbled something when she realised who it was. Quickly, she rolled onto her side and reached for the receiver.
“Hey! I thought you’d never c- Giles? Is that you? Oh, sorry, thought it was… someone else.” She couldn’t help the disappointment evident in her voice. “Yeah, I’ll call my mom. Mom!” She shouted, but there was no answer. Reluctantly, she stood up and made her way to the hall and down the stairs. “Mom?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Phone. It’s for you. Giles.” Buffy grumbled stomping her way upstairs and putting the receiver back into place before coming back down the stairs. Since she was up, she might as well have something to drink. Drink, no eating. Eating was definitely out of the question for the next two days.
She walked about the kitchen getting a glass and pouring herself some orange juice when she heard her mother come in.
“That was Rupert.”
“I know mom, I picked up the phone, remember?” Buffy mumbled taking a sip of her drink.
“You’re in a good mood.” Joyce noted.
“I’m just tired.” She excused herself as she sat on a nearby stool.
“Well, he wanted to know if we were going to the Chase’s this year, for New Year’s Eve.”
“Isn’t that what we always do?”
“Yes, it is. I was trying to get him to go.” Joyce said leaning on the counter as she sipped from her own glass. “He never goes. Thinks it’s too official.”
“Can you blame him?”
“I guess not.”
“It’s just so dull and boring. All of Sunnydale is there. Plus it’s a black tie event,”
“Exactly!” At her daughter’s frown, Mrs. Summers elaborated. “Black tie means Rupert in a tuxedo.”
‘Which means Spike in a tuxedo.’ Buffy realised. Suddenly, the thought of going to the Chase’s New Year’s Even party was actually *very* appealing.