Title: A Slayer, Two Vampires, and a Baby (Part 5 of the 'Coming Home' Series)
Author: DivaDelilah (divadelilah@aol.com)
Description: Short fic, set after Buffy's return, now becoming a series. Spoilers
Season 6
Disclaimer: In short, not mine. Joss/Fox/SandDollar/Mutant Enemy/UPN own all.
Distribution: Fanfiction.net, Death Marked Love (http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/spikefic/coming.html
), Willow's Ripper, http://www.angelfire.com/super/btvs13/spike_buffy.html,
anything else I okay, including award sites and various lists. Hell, just tell
me where it's going.
Feedback: Mmmmmmmm…feedback. @dr00l@
***********************************************************************
Willow looked at the trashed living room in exasperation. This was the third
time this month this particular room had been destroyed. They couldn't afford
to simply keep replacing all this stuff, especially with their current money
troubles. A frown flitted across Willow's face when she realized it was technically
her fault the room was messed up. It had been her tossing Angel about. A smile
crept over her face when she realized that she could quite easily fix this.
Concentrating, she snapped her fingers, and the whole room seemed to go into
'rewind' mode. Everything flew backwards, reassembling itself from pieces into
whole items. Tears started sewing themselves back together, and dirt seemed
to vanish from the carpet.
Tara walked just in time to have a broken lamp fly past her nose, busily gluing
itself as it rushed back to its perch on the now repaired end table near the
door. She frowned briefly. This was just another example of how much Willow
was overusing magick. "Where did Buffy and Spike go?" she asked, trying
not to focus on the issue that was causing so much friction between her and
her girlfriend lately.
'They went with Angel to go beat up Willy for information," she muttered,
keeping her eyes on the last few objects flying to their original locations.
When they all landed nice and neat, Willow looked up at Tara's shocked face.
"Angel? Um, isn't he… well, wasn't he… what about B-Buffy and
Spike kissage?"
"Oh, Goddess. It was almost funny… let me tell you the whole story.
We'll go fix some lunch, and I'll tell you," Willow replied, giggling.
*******************************************
A loud crash echoed through the bar as a bottle broke in half on the edge of
the bar. Spike grinned menacingly as he waved the ragged end at Willy. "Now,
mate-"
"Spike, what are you doing?" Buffy asked sternly, holding the squirming
Willy up by his shirt collar.
"Uh, well.. I was…looking for the other half of this bottle, Slayer.
See? There it is," he said sheepishly, pointing at the glass on the floor.
"Okay, Happy Gilmore. We're here to rough him up, not permanently injure
him," she said, a hint of a grin teasing the corners of her mouth.
Angel sighed. He'd never felt so left out in his whole existence. Spike and
Buffy shared jokes and memories that he could never be a part of. And they were
mostly happy, but even the sad ones seemed to bond them closer together, not
farther apart. It ate at him every time he saw Buffy smile that special smile
she reserved for those she loved deeply at his Childe. Spike was the one member
of his family that he could never truly hate, yet never truly like. As if their
relationship hadn't been strange before, now with Buffy in the middle…well,
it was like something out of the soap operas Spike apparently loved. Before
they'd left the Summers' house, he'd seen his Childe sneak into the living room
to set up a tape in the VCR. Curious, Angel had popped it out for a minute to
read it. The tape read 'Spike's soaps' and the date. He had almost fallen over
laughing. And Spike calls me a 'poof', he thought, grinning.
"Angel? A little help here?" Buffy called impatiently.
Angel grinned evilly and grabbed Willy by his neck. "See, I'm willing
to bet you know all about what's happened in LA the past few months. And I'm
betting you know what I'm capable of if you piss me off. So…what do
you know?" he growled.
"L-Look g-g-guys. I'll tell ya what I heard. I heard some vamps are looking
to worship the baby. I heard some lawyers want it too. But worst of all I heard
some enemy from the past is looking to hunt you and the bitch down… but
he don't know about the baby. And the baby…well, it's a mystery to the
demon community. Maybe you oughta try the higher ups. You know what I'm saying?"
The snitch looked around nervously, straining to see if any customers were coming
in to see him with the opposition.
"Very good, Willy. Now, let's have my goodies for the week and we'll be
outta your hair. Got it?" Spike said, his eyes glittering.
Willy nodded quickly, getting a large brown sack from behind the counter. He
dropped some packets from the fridge into it and a bottle of tequila, then at
Spike's glare, a few more bottles of liquor. His hands shaking, he handed the
bag to Spike, and gazed at the Slayer and Angel fearfully. When Buffy smiled
her bitch smile, he groaned, knowing what was coming.
"Willy? If you tell anyone we were here….I'll rip out your intestines
and give your leftovers to Spike for supper. Capiche?" she asked, smiling
innocently at him. When he nodded, she punched him hard in the nose, and he
passed out like always. "Ready baby?"
Spike nodded. "Nice job on the Italian, pet. Told you I could teach you."
"Spike, your version of teaching me Italian was a Godfather marathon on
TBS. Then you spent two hours beating on me in the practice room until I could
say a few sentences," she snorted.
He goosed her as he walked by and she shrieked. "But you learned something,
didn't you?" he grinned and took off down the sewer ladder.
"You…you ass!" she muttered, sliding down the sides of the ladder
quickly taking off after him.
Angel sighed heavily. Why does it feel like I'm the only adult on this trip?
He trudged down the ladder, sloshing his boots in the water as he followed
them to the Magic Box through the tunnels. Their laughter and taunts floated
to him on echoes and his heart hurt every time he heard a kiss or growl of passion
from Spike. Why does Spike deserve her and not me? What kind of cosmic irony
would give such a creature of light to someone so dark? But maybe Spike
really had changed. He'd immediately caved when Buffy called him on the bottle,
almost looked ashamed. I told Spike once that demons could change and he
disagreed. I wonder how he feels about that now? Shaking his head, Angel kept
going until he caught their scent on a ladder to the surface. Climbing up
it, he prepared himself for the whole gang and their reactions to his misdeeds.
Suddenly, he felt like the child getting ready to be punished for his bad behavior.
**************************************************
When Angel emerged inside the back room, he squinted, checking to make sure
all the windows in the place were blackened. After it passed his cursory inspection,
he glanced around to see where Spike and Buffy had gone. To his amazement, Buffy
was doing a handstand on the balance beam, moving quickly away from Spike, who
appeared to be chasing her. Also upside down. He shook his head, and smirked.
His smile grew as Buffy vaulted off the end of the beam, doing a series of backflips
until she landed just on front of him. Spike imitated her, almost losing his
balance a couple of times.
"Told ya, pet. Anything you can do…" he hummed.
Buffy stuck her tongue out. "No, you can't." She vaulted onto the
beam again, doing front walkover then sliding into the splits on the beam. Lifting
her head defiantly, she called, "But I'd sure like to see you try, you
Eighties reject."
Spike looked at Angel, who shrugged. He had zero inclination to do anything
but stare at Buffy when she was in that position. He tried to speak, but his
mouth seemed to have forgotten how to work. It dropped open and simply hung
there.
"I think he's suitably impressed, Buff. But if you want his brain to turn
back on, you're gonna have to move away from the beam," Angel said, snickering.
His dark eyes danced with mirth, and Buffy smiled at him tenderly. Angel was
being so great about her and Spike. It was obvious that he was doing well in
LA, and that this baby, though worrisome, was a good thing for the brooding
vamp. It gave him perspective. And I'm all for that. Sometimes changing your
perspective is exactly what you need to make yourself complete, she thought.
God knows I'd never be with that bleached idiot if I hadn't learned that.
She looked at Spike, who was still staring at her raptly, his tongue almost
hanging out. Shaking his head, she wrapped her legs around the beam, pushing
up with her hands until she could stand, then jumped off. "Come on you
two. Let's go play Twenty Questions."
***************************************************
"Oh my God, Angel. What are you doing here?" Dawn shrieked, combing
back her hair, and adjusting her clothes. She had always had a major crush on
Buffy's ex-boyfriend, and it just wasn't fair for no one to warn her that he
was going to be there.
Xander raised an eyebrow in suspicion. He wasn't sure if liked Buffy showing
up with Angel and Spike, early in the morning, especially after what he suspected
Buffy and Spike did last night. A slight glance confirmed his suspicions about
Spike, because the blond had his arms firmly around Buffy's waist as she leaned
against him. He grinned. He'd have to rib Spike about waking up to Angel this
morning. And he'd have to rib Angel about Spike. Looks like my day's looking
up, he thought, grinning evilly to himself.
Anya gave them all a nod of acknowledgement, then went back to working on register
receipts and inventory that had to be checked before the shop opened. She took
running this store very seriously, and she'd be damned if she'd just drop everything
because Buffy's ex boyfriend was in town.
Giles came from the basement, calling up to Anya as he opened the door. "Did
Willow and Tara arrive yet? I really need their help on identifying some of
these herbs that just came in. I guess I could just ask Spike, but I doubt he'll
be here until-- right now," he said, blanching as he almost bumped into
Buffy and Spike snuggling near the stairs. "Well, I suppose I could just…wait…if
you're busy…Spike." Rubbing his temples tiredly, he didn't even notice
Angel as he whipped his glasses off to clean them nervously.
Dawn grinned at Giles. "Isn't it cool? My sister quit being an idiot and
Angel came for a visit all in the same day. We must have good karma, as Willow
would say."
"Oh, no, Dawn. I think Buffy stopped being an idiot sometime around midnight
last ni-," Anya started before Xander rushed over to cover her mouth. She
glared at him and he gave the crowd a sheepish look.
"Still working on the tact thing," Xander clarified. He took Anya
aside, whispering in her ear about age appropriate remarks.
"No kidding," Buffy muttered. Spike snickered and she glared at him.
"What? What did I do?"
"I think the better question is who," Angel retorted softly.
"Hey! You shut your gob, mate, or I'll--"
"Do nothing at all," Buffy replied sharply, stepping on his foot
hard.
Everyone stared at the fighting trio in surprise. Angel shrugged his shoulders
and sat in the nearest chair. Buffy smiled brightly, trying to cover up her
irritation with her mate and her ex. Spike was rolling his eyes as he stomped
on Buffy's foot in the same way she was still stepping on his.
"Just what in bloody hell is going on here?" Giles asked quietly.
All three of them started to speak at once, and Dawn covered her ears at the
noise. "One at a time!" he shouted. "Buffy? You first. What do
I need to know?"
Buffy stared at the ground, digging her toe into the rug. At Spike's growl,
she lifted her head, turning to look at him, and almost gasping at the hurt
reflecting back at her. Her heart melted, and she turned to Giles, looking him
straight in the eye. "Spike and I are an item. He's going to move out of
the crypt and into my house. I trust him, and I love him. That's all you need
to know."
Spike fought back a flood of intense emotions, trying not to act like a nancyboy
in front of everyone, especially Angel. He wrapped his arms back around Buffy's
waist and buried his face in the back of her neck for a moment. When Giles spoke
to him, he raised his head and gazed steadily at the Watcher. "I'll take
care of her and the Nibblet with my dying breath. I won't fail her again. And
if I try to hurt her, you and Harris can hold me down and kill me."
Giles nodded slowly, weighing the truth in the vampire's words. He really means
it. He really loves her and would die to protect her. It's fascinating, he thought.
"Alright. That leaves you, Angel. Why are you here?"
"I need your help. All of you. Darla is back, and without going into the
whole story, she's pregnant with my child. Wesley and I have been searching
everywhere to find out how this is possible and have had no luck. We need you
to help us find out, before it's born, whether this will be a thing of good
or evil. Willy said the demon community doesn't know how it happened. He recommended
checking with the higher ups."
The room grew somber as the gang contemplated what Angel had told them. When
the shock wore off, Giles raised his head and looked Angel straight in the eye.
"What do you plan to do Angel?"
"If it's good, keep it, I suppose. If it's evil…what I have to do,
Rupert. But I need to know so I can prepare myself, because it has a heartbeat
and a soul. It's my baby," he said, staring at a point on the wall opposite
him.
Xander stared at his shoes for a moment, then spoke. "Well, man, I'm not
too fond of the Darla. She killed my best friend. I'm still not too fond of
you. But I'd never leave someone as needy as you just hang cuz hey…not
wanting Angelus to visit next time. So…where do we start?"
"Yeah," Dawn said. "Point me toward some big dirty books."
Angel smiled briefly, heartened by their acceptance. He looked at Giles once
more, and the Watcher sighed.
"How do we get in contact with these 'higher ups', as Willy termed it?
Do you have a plan?"
Buffy stepped in. "Why don't you, Xander and Dawn hit the books. Watcher's
Diaries, histories, the big Vampyr one, and anything you can think of that has
dark spells or whatever. Anya run the store; when we get back, we'll need you
to contact your former boss and see what he knows. When Willow and Tara get
here, have them do some sort of aura-mojo-magick thingy on Angel and kind of
tap into whatever they can from there. Angel, Spike and I will go visit the
big boys. However we do that."
Spike smiled, watching Buffy take over and run the whole place. He loved when
she did this. Strong women were such a turn on. "Pet, do you really think
any higher beings of light are going to want me along for the ride?"
"We're a package now. They want me; they get you, too. Got it?" He
nodded, grinning like an idiot, and she stroked his cheek lightly. "A girl
as famous as me has to have a bodyguard, you know."
Angel cleared his throat, and they stared at him. "If I can interrupt
this Hallmark moment, can we get down to business? We'll need a couple of things
from the shop to do this, and Spike, maybe you can talk the cash register Nazi
over there into giving them to us," he muttered.
"Or I could just nick them," he said, his tongue sliding behind his
teeth as he waggled his eyebrows. "A fellow's gotta get his evil kicks
somewhere…"
Buffy rolled her eyes, and sat on Spike's lap while they planned their visit to the Powers That Be. At least my life is never boring…