Chapter 6
It was finally Friday. As Buffy staggered out of bed to begin her morning routine and attempts to prod Dawn awake, she bumped into Willow in the hallway.
“Hey, Willow, got an early class today?” Buffy knew that she probably should already have a clue, but she just couldn’t remember when Willow was coming and going these days. She needed to more supportive, what with the whole magical addiction, etc. She sighed and mentally added item #178 on list of things to do – be more SupportoGirl with best friend.
“Um, Willow, what are you doing this weekend? Maybe we could hang out tomorrow night?”
“Oh, thanks Buffy, that would be good, but I can’t this weekend.” Willow replied.
“Oh, do you have a date? Are you seeing Tara?” Buffy hoped that Willow and Tara were finally reconnecting, there had been definite sparks at the party.
“I wish. No, I got some bills from college and I need to go and spend a weekend with the parents, bond, get some money to pay tuition and stuff.” Willow replied.
“When will you be back?” Buffy asked, the seeds of an idea running though her head even as she swallowed some frustration at Willow’s ready source of funds compared to her own sad stream of income from flipping burgers. Item #179 was added to the list- find a new job.
“Probably Sunday night, I figure a complete weekend of family togetherness will do it and then they’ll forget I exist again for a while. Thanks for the offer though, we should do a movie night or something soon. Anyway, I’m going to go ahead and shower real quick before Dawn gets up.” Willow entered the bathroom and shut the door.
Buffy continued to Dawn’s room and knocked lightly, then harder.
“Dawnie, get up. You know you can’t be late for school again. Xander will be here soon – move it.”
No sound, so Buffy opened the door and marched over to the pile of covers on the bed. “Come on Dawn – you have until 5 or I’m taking more aggressive action.”
Dawn peeked her head out of the covers and rolled her eyes.
“Fine, I’m getting up.”
Buffy started to leave, when Dawn stopped her.
“Buffy, um, I got a B+ on my history test yesterday.”
Buffy turned. “That’s great Dawn, I knew you could get your grades up if you worked a little harder.”
Dawn smiled, knowing she had scored some points.
“Well, since I’m doing so much better, canIspendtheweekendwithKaren’sfamily?”
“What? Slow it down, Dawn.”
“Can I spend the weekend with Karen’s family at their lake house? It’s sounds really cool and she invited me to come and you can call her mother and everything. I couldn’t ask you last night because you worked late and then patrolled.”
Buffy paused. “Who is going? How long will you be gone? Will you do you homework for the weekend if I say yes?”
Dawn knew she was close to victory. “Her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, Karen and her two cousins, who are twins, the same age as us. They go a lot on weekends and fish and swim when it’s not too cold. Buffy, it sounds great and they’re really nice people, not demony at all. Please let me go. They want to leave this afternoon and we’ll be back on Sunday afternoon. And I promise to do all my homework.”
Buffy had to admit, the situation sounded Ok and a reward for bringing up her grades would be a good positive reinforcement – hey maybe she had learned something in the Psych class after all – go Pavlov . She knew she should keep Dawn grounded for, well probably for years for the shoplifting, but she had returned the items and started to work off her debts.
“Tell you what, leave me the number and I’ll call Karen’s mom this morning. Assuming it all checks out, you can go – but remember – don’t use this as an excuse to let the grades slip. The last thing we need is Social Services breathing down our back again. I have to work tonight, so if I don’t see you before you leave, have a good trip and be polite.”
Dawn leaped from the bed and flung her arms around Buffy. “Yeah, thanks, you’re the best!”
As Dawn began pounding on the bathroom door for Willow to hurry up, Buffy realized what this meant. She had the entire weekend free. She could be gone all night, heck, all weekend even, and no one would be the wiser. She grinned as she hurried to call Karen’s mom and make sure the invitation was legitimate.
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Buffy stared at the time clock in the corner, listening to the excruciatingly slow ticks as she waited impatiently for her shift to end. At least she didn’t have to close tonight – she’d have been here forever and she had big plans for the weekend. She started to drift off again into the daydreams of Spike lovin’ she’d been toying with all day only to be rudely snapped back to attention by a very annoying gaggle of teens wanting a post-movie snack.
At last 11:00PM arrived. Buffy eagerly finished her shift at the Doublemeat and raced home to change. She had to move quickly to make it to the designated rendezvous point by 12:00PM and she wanted to pack a bag for their little game, assuming Spike had accepted his role. And she doubted he’d turn her down.
What he didn’t know was that she intended to stay this time, for the whole weekend. She had no shifts this weekend, and Dawn and Willow wouldn’t be around to check up on her suspicious absences and failure to come home. She hummed as she hastily showered and scrubbed away the eau de Doublemeat, then quickly got out and began her beauty preparations.
She had to admit, she was liking this plan, a lot. When was the last time she had gotten dressed up for a date? She blow-dried her hair and set it quickly with curlers. At times like these she wished she hadn’t cut her hair, but she did have some bouncy waves in it, which was nice. She applied her makeup, then delved in her closet for the long, high-waisted white sundress she knew was in the back. She hadn’t worn it in years, and it was probably too nippy outside, but she felt the need to look the part somehow and this was the closest thing she had. So she laid it out, along with some extra clothes to change into, and her one truly beautiful floor length negligee.
She’d gotten it sometime over that summer when she had been dating Riley, thinking they’d have a chance to maybe have a long weekend and she could surprise him. But the time had never come, and she had pushed the long champagne colored silk and lace confection to the back of her drawer. It wasn’t overtly sexy, but very romantic and honeymoonish.
Buffy paused and sat down on her bed. Did she know what she was doing here? She was planning to play a game with her sex-toy, her vamp that she had beaten nearly to a pulp a few weeks before. And yet she was packing as though this were a romantic getaway with a man she loved. The dichotomy was fairly glaring, but rather than become introspective, Bad Buffy ordered an end to such contemplation and noted the time, 11:33 PM.
It’s OK, Buffy’s not having a weekend with Spike, Guinevere is engaging in a romantic tryst with her Lancelot. It’s fine, this will be good. I need the break and it’s all a game, it’s not real.
Back to the packing. Undies? To wear or not to wear? They frequently ended up damaged, but Spike, her Lancelot, would be wooing her tonight, so perhaps something romantic? She dug in her drawer and found the perfect set, a lovely pale pink Victoria’s Secret set she had treated herself to for her birthday. OK, clothes, check, stakes, check, reality, out the window. I am Guinevere – off to meet my knight in shining armor. Buffy pulled on her jacket and locked the door as she departed for the Restfield Cemetery.
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Spike looked around the crypt. He had cleaned and swept, added candles in strategic locations and placed a few flowers around the upper crypt – just to set the mood. He had made a quick trip to the grocers after the sun set and purchased bottled water and other beverages, and some snack food, just in case she decided to stay for a while. If things went like he planned, she wouldn’t leap up and run out, virtue fluttering, when she was done shagging him tonight.
He’d stocked up on his blood supply and purchased a bottle of wine, remembering her distaste and bad luck with his hard liquor in the past. Spike wasn’t sure he trusted Buffy with alcohol, past experience didn’t bode well, but maybe a little would loosen her up.
Patrol had been fairly uneventful, so he anticipated no problems requiring the Slayer’s attention to anything other than her personal demon, him, that night. He’d done a quick sweep of the local hot spots and shut down any trouble for the evening.
But the downstairs, that was his crowning glory. He had cleared away all the talismans of death, no coffins or skulls could be seen, and instead a rose petal covered bed waited in the center of the room. He worried that she might be cold, given the drafts that sometimes swept through the lower half of his crypt, so he’d added a few extra blankets under the crimson spread. The carpets she had admired earlier were strategically scattered so her delicate foot would never have to touch the cold floor of the crypt. Candles surrounded the bed and other available surfaces to provide a subtle glow. All told, he felt he’d created quite the scene for a romantic seduction.
Finally, he picked up the crown of flowers he had made, straightened his black silk shirt, with just a button or too undone, and prepared to meet his lady at the stroke of midnight. He looked around the crypt one last time. William, my boy, you really are a frightful git, but if she wants a Lancelot, that’s what I’ll be. With that, he took the crown and strode out of the crypt to meet Buffy.