| Chapter 2: Leading the Life |

Glancing into the faintly moonlit room across from the kitchen, Xander retrieved his rich, dark brown locks from the bedroom which Emily occupied and gazed back at the blonde pouring herself a cup of coffee. ‘Better go join the Buffster,’ he thought to himself absently, without any hastle nor happiness in mental voice. He knew he could stare at Emily forever, watching her sleep, watching her breathe, watching her grumble in her sleep as if she was his own child. She practically was.

“Save a drop for me?” Xander inquired, pointing to the steadily dwindling amount of black liquid in the coffee pot. Buffy just smirked at her friend and let the coffee pot be.

“Well, only if you ask real nice,” she replied slyly. “Now sit. Emmi’s going to be fine. She’s asleep out for sure. She’s always tired after doctor appointments. It’s probably the shots or anti-biotics they give her.”

Pouring himself a shallow cup of coffee and putting on some more, Xander settled down at his usual spot across the table in the kitchen and stared at Buffy. He could probably write out this routine as an itinerary and print it out in glossed copies.

He and Buffy – the only remaining members of the Scooby team as they knew it – would always get together at his place for coffee at 10 p.m. She’d always come with Emily and Xander would be the one putting her to bed out of habit. It started out as a love for children and needing to spend ‘quality time’ with Emily, and habit ensued. Then, Buffy would drain all of the coffee, wait for Xander to retrieve his mug and get his sliver of Folgers, and have a never-ending staredown until it was got too late. She’d, then, collect Emily, say her ‘good-bye’s to Xander and set off towards her own home. It’s been that way ever since what happened…

Tonight, Xander didn’t see any change of pace. Buffy’s eyes didn’t leave Xander’s as she picked up her mug and brought it to her lips to taste the bitter liquid.

“How’s Kato’s?” Xander attempted, referring to Buffy’s job at Kato Ring’s Diner.

Buffy laughed humorlessly and shrugged. “How’s it ever? Not quite Plaza Hotel, but it’s work.”

Xander grinned at that despite the graveness in Buffy’s voice. “I know how that works,” he concurred. “You’d think being Assistant Board Advisor would be more…glamorous. All I get is more work at the construction site. Can’t wait for my month vacation.” Xander smiled blissfully, gazing off into the distance as he imagined time off from work. “Just me, Taylor, and a couple of beers. Maybe a drive down to Los Angeles to a couple of the clubs.”

Buffy smiled at the mention of Taylor Strowback, Xander’s girlfriend. The girl had always been sweet from the moment Buffy’d met her, despite the obvious closeness she and Xander shared.

“How’s Taylor doing? Is she back from Miami yet?” Buffy inquired, replacing her coffee cup back to its original spot on the kitchen table.

“Tomorrow at 7:30,” Xander answered promptly. “P.M.” Buffy couldn’t suppress a chuckle at that.

“Yes, Sergeant Xander,” she mocked. “Although, I always thought it would be 19 hundred hours.”

Xander scowled half-heartedly and shook his head at his best friend. “Funny. Really. Bested my jokes by far.”

“Too easy,” Buffy replied, grinning from ear to ear. “You left that one wide open. I had to refrain myself.” She stood up and deposited her mug into the sink as she earned another scowl from Xander.

“You know, we should have dinner on Saturday. Tay will most likely be jet-lagged tomorrow night, so there’s a no-go,” Xander suggested as Buffy reclaimed her spot at the kitchen table. She squinted at him, deep in thought for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“Saturday? Um…I don’t know. I really don’t think I can get Laura to baby-sit. Besides, I have a lot of work to do. Sadly, Saturday-Night type of work. You know, college re-applying forms?” Buffy replied, scanning her mental daily planner for her Saturday activities, then frowning. “I’m sorry, Xand. I wish I could.” The blonde looked down at her hands on her lap for a minute, then added, “Really.”

“Listen, Buff,” Xander started, shaking his head at the Self-Pity Act #17 he was viewing. “You’ve got to move on from…You can’t just ignore life just because Colin – “

Buffy stood up from the kitchen table abruptly and drew her hand up to pause Xander in mid-sentence. “I know, I know, Xander.” Folding her hands and looking down, her Hazel eyes glistening with unshed tears, she rubbed arms slowly. “I think I better go. I’ll get Emmi and…”

She left her sentence hanging and ventured into the bedroom which her daughter occupied. Xander remained at the kitchen table, clenching and unclenching his fist. He hated it when Buffy was like this. ‘God, if only I could get my hands on Colin, I’d…’ Xander threatened mentally. ‘He’s who ruined Buffy. Emily.’ Finally following suit and carrying his coffee cup over to the sink, Xander shoved his hand forcefully into his jean pockets. That didn’t issue him any comfort, but it restrained him from punching something in the kitchen. Like an unsuspecting soup bowl.

Buffy emerged from the bedroom, Emily safely secured in her embrace, and smiled at Xander. “Thanks, Xand. Sorry about Saturday. I wish I could have made it.”

Xander forced a smile onto his face. ‘Seems she’s already recuperated,’ he thought bitterly. He hated when Buffy did. She just shoved her feelings down her throat and kept them locked up until her next emotional break-down. His patience was wearing thin on her self-pitying acts and dependency issues. She could have easily picked up the pieces and gone on with her life already if she hadn’t…

“I’m really sorry to hear that,” the brunette answered truthfully as he pulled Buffy into a bear hug and kissed the sleeping Emily on the forehead. “Drive safe.”

Buffy gratefully accepted his hug and held on an extra beat before letting go and venturing towards the door, saying her good-bye in a smile. Drive safe echoed in her ears.

‘I always do.’

* * *

It's a new day but it all feels old

It's a good life that's what I'm told

But everything it all just feels the same

And my high school it felt more to me

LIke a jail cell a penitentiary

My time spent there it only made me see

That I don't ever wanna be like you

I don't wanna do the things you do 

I'm never gonna hear the words you say

'Cause I don't ever wanna, I don't ever wanna be

You... don't wanna be just like you

What I'm sayin' is this is the anthem

Throw all your hands up, you, don't wanna be you

Go to college, a university

Get a real job that's what they said to me

But I could never live the way they want

I'm gonna get by and just do my time, out of step while they all get in line

I'm just a minor threat so pay no mind

Do you really wanna be like them, do you really wanna be another trend

Do you wanna be part of that crowd.

'Cause I don't ever wanna. 

No I don't ever wanna be you.....

Sweaty bodies were pressed against one another firmly as they moved chaotically to separate rhythms. The air was heat and humid with alcohol-tainted breaths filling its area. The speakers seemed to be situated right next to everyone’s ears, delivering the music in tangible, pumping waves. And Spike loved it.

“Drink?” He looked at Alexis grinding her hips against his slowly and grinning seductively the way she knew made him crazy. Bringing her navy blue to level with his, she slowly placed a finger on his lips and stopped moving, making it seem like the two of them were frozen in time while everyone else was dancing away their lives. She ran her index finger slowly over his bottom lip and removed it just in time for his tongue to poke out to catch.

“Strawberry margarita, babe,” she finally answered breathily. If he didn’t know any better, Spike would think that this girl was a hot-red seductress that you only met at clubs and had amazing one-night stands with. Of course, he did know better, not to mention that her impeccable cool was wavering and soon she was laughing like she was a little kid.

“Vixen,” Spike commented dryly before breaking into a grin of his own and pushing his way through a sea of bodies and reaching the bar. He placed his order expertly and turned around slowly, running a quick survey of who was here. He spotted a few of the regulars, a few guys and a chick that always showed at PierSweet on Thursday nights and millions of others that he, of course, couldn’t identify.

Scanning the crowd, he searched for a few of his buddies. He might as well catch up on some old times if he was doomed to having to make trips to the bar every ten minutes for the one and only Alexis Hamilton. ‘Oh, you know you love it,’ his mind scolded as he grinned to himself.

“Just see a photo of yourself or is something else funny?”

Spike turned his head to the right abruptly, in search of whose voice was mocking him shamelessly. Of course, he came face-to-face with the one person who would get away with doing it.

“Dawn,” he greeted calmly, rolling his eyes and returning his eyes to the crowd. Before she knew it, Spike’s attention was on her suddenly. “Dawn? What the bloody hell are you doing here?” he demanded, looking around nervously. “You’re 19.”

Dawn swiveled her body to face the bar and gathered the strawberry margarita and beer that Spike ordered before turning her attention back to him. She handed him the beer, enjoying the stunned look on his face and shrugged as she hung on to the margarita.

“The guy at the door didn’t think I was 19,” she replied innocently, looking in the other direction. “In fact, he was more than willing to let me in.”

Spike sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, taking a considerably long swallow of beer. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re becoming so…” Spike searched for the right word while waving his arm around, hoping to grasp the right word with his hand.

“Resourceful?” Dawn attempted with fake innocence. Off Spike’s unbelieving look she added, “Mature? Persuasive?”

“Pain in my arse-ive,” Spike deadpanned before slipping off the bar stool and descending into the crowd of grinding bodies in search of Alexis.

He came up behind her as some muscl-y, auburn-haired guy pressed himself firmly against Alexis. Spike paused to see what was going on – ceasing his thoughts of beating the guy into the ground for a moment. The guy seemed to be coming on to Alexis nicely, while she herself hadn’t noticed him there.

Noticing that something hard was pressed against her butt, Alexis whirled around grinning, her eyes still shut. “Hey, baby,” she whispered seductively and leaned into Mr. Muscl-y. The guy sneered and leaned in to whisper something in her ear while cupping her butt with his hands.

Spike was just about to drop the drinks and break off all of the male’s body parts, when Alexis’ eyes shot open.

“Oh my god! Who the fuck do you think you are?” she yelled, astonished that she actually said ‘Hey, baby’ to some stranger, mistaking him for Spike. “Get off of me!”

The tanned skin of her arms flashed from underneath her long-sleeved halter top as she pushed away the muscl-y creep that was coming onto her. The guy, obviously, had other plans however and pressed himself back up against her, despite the nauseating look Alexis got when he neared her. Thinking she’d had enough, Alexis stopped struggling and leaned into the man’s ear.

“I’ll give you to the count of three, honey,” she stated slowly, her voice never wavering, “to get your over-muscled, greasy, lop-sided piece of testosterone off me.”

The guy just sneered nastily, his white teeth flashing and he continued to grind against his unwilling victim. “What’s that precious? Never been with a real man?”

“Egotiscal perv – “ Alexis began only to be caught off guard by the muscl-y monstrosity detaching himself from her rapidly. His body was flung backwards, his landing revealing an pissed off Spike holding two mugs in one hand and wearing an extremely pissed off expression on his face.

Alexis flipped her golden-brown, shoulder-length hair over her shoulder and leaned over the still recuperating muscl-y man to smile broadly at Spike.

“Hi, honey,” she said, plucking her margarita from his hand and taking a dainty sip from it, then handing it back. “I’ll handle this, babe. You just enjoy the show,” she whispered softly in his ear, then stepped back as the brown-haired gym advertisement rose back up to his feet. He growled deeply and narrowed his eyes at the bleached blonde currently holding two beers. Spike was received the glare and was about to disobey Alexis’ request about letting her ‘handle this one’ when she shook her head and tapped the man on the shoulder.

“Hi…guy?” she asked sweetly, extending her hand. “You owe me a dance…don’t you?”

He smiled slightly at her and pulled her against him only to have his arm twisted backward and pushed to the floor. She pinned him down with her knee forcefully and lowered her mouth to his ear. “How’s it so far, baby?” she asked saucily , enjoying the way he struggled under her uncanny strength.

Letting him get to his feet, Alexis ducked at his massive, random swing and caught his arm, holding him steady. Raising her free arm, she swung at his face, drawing blood from his nose as he howled. Swinging once again for good measure Alexis, then, kicked his feet out from under him and watched him as he rocked in pain on the floor in the middle of a steadily-forming crowd.

“Thanks, I really enjoyed myself,” Alexis stated honestly, stepping over the pained man and looking down over her shoulder. “Maybe we could do this again sometime?”

Grasping her strawberry margarita again, Alexis let Spike wrap an arm around her waist and lead her through the crowd of awed spectators.

“Pet, you’ve got to stop showcasing how you can kick every male’s arse,” Spike said, smirking despite his voice. “It’s going to start raising some eyebrows.” He was surprised that every guy at PierSweet still didn’t know to stay away from the sassy, fiery brunette for their own good. Spike could have easily set that rule himself if he wanted, acting all testosterone-induced like he was know to do. Of course, Alexis would have none of it. “I can easily kick any guy’s ass that touches me. I don’t need you to stroke your ego doing exactly what I’m capable of,” Alexis had teased.

‘Damn straight,’ Spike thought, thinking back to that statement. ‘Wouldn’t want to be the bleedin’ muscl-y poof on that dance floor.’

“Why not?” Alexis pouted, taking another sip of her drink as Spike took a long swallow of his beer. She put a hand on his shoulder and started swaying to the beat of the music. “It’s so fun.” Her seductive self took a break as she rolled her eyes and took another sip of her drink. “God, are all the guys here just complete morons?” Off Spike’s quirked eyebrow, she quickly backpedaled and grinned. “I don’t mean you, honey.”

“Damn right,” Spike said gravely, his happy grin downplaying the threatening look he was going for. Alexis smiled brightly at Spike’s Macho Man attempts and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and the two swayed slowly to a fast-paced song among thousands of couples. Alexis pulled back slightly and pressed a tender, open-mouth kiss on Spike’s lips, who gratefully returned it.

“What was that for, luv?” Spike asked. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Alexis smiled, her blue eyes twinkling in tune with this as she licked her pink, glossed lips. Her hearts swelled at his sexy, sweet smile.

“Because I love you,” she answered simply and rested her head against his shoulder again. Spike smiled as he nuzzled his face into her hair. ‘God, this woman is perfect,’ he thought blissfully.

“I love you too, Lexi,” he answered softly. They swayed together slowly, each enjoying the feel of being in the other’s arms. Suddenly, Alexis pulled back and looked at Spike mischievously.

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