After dinner Buffy and Spike had gone straight up stairs to Buffy's bed room for a nap. They hadn't realized how tiered they really were until their heads hit the pillow and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Two Hours Later saw Buffy and Spike showered and clean, completely rejuvenated.
"Mom?" Buffy called, coming into the kitchen in a pair of pajama pants and tank top. Spike walked in directly behind her wearing just his jeans.
'I don't think she's here, luv.'
'Ya, you're right, there's a note.'
"What's it say, luv?" Buffy smiled at him, she would never get tired of hearing him call her that.
"Huh, says that she got a call from the gallery, and had to rush out real quick, she should be back sometime around ten."
"Right then, you want to watch some telly?" he said, raping his arms around her waist.
"Mmm…sure, we don't have to patrol tonight, Ooooooo, let's make this a tradition!" Spike smirked at her, "what's that luv? Watch some telly?" he asked with sarcasm.
Buffy laughed a little and smacked him on the chest. Causing Spike to chuckle again, as he pulled her into his lap on the couch.
"No, fang-face, I mean, you and I, we don't patrol on the anniversary of this night." She smiled big at him, and Spike's heart swelled with love for his Mate.
'Ya, and spend it doing other…things...' she said in her head wickedly.
Spike buried his face in her hair and grinned, he didn't think that she remembered that he could hear her.
'Heard that, luv.' He teased.
'I know'. Buffy was grinning wickedly, yet blushing at the same time, though Spike couldn't see her, he could hear it in her voice. Making him growl.
After finding a show that they could both agree upon, Buffy and Spike settled into a comfortable silence, waiting for Joyce to get home.
"I'm home! Is it safe to come in?" Joyce yelled coming into the house covering her eyes.
"Hey mom." Buffy said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, and sitting up from her position on Spike's chest as the both of them had fallen asleep on the couch to watch a movie.
"Ya, hey mum" Spike murmured as he tried to roll over on the couch, sending Buffy to the floor.
'You're an ass.' His only response was a smart little grin.
Joyce gave Buffy a confused look as she picked herself up off of the ground without saying a word. Buffy saw her look and smiled.
"Come on mom, you and I need to talk."
'What, your braken' up with mum for me luv? I'm touched, really.' He thought, chuckling at his own joke.
"Shut-up Spike." She said out loud, knowing that he could hear her.
"Buffy, are you feeling alright?" Joyce asked, looking at her daughter worriedly. Buffy laughed, and they sat down at the kitchen island.
'You too, Spike, I'll probably need your help with some of this.'
"Right here luv." He said, walking into the kitchen. He walked right over to Buffy and gave her a small kiss, before jumping up and settling himself on the counter beside her.
"Ok," Buffy said to Joyce. "I know that you have questions, so, spill, what do you want to know?" Joyce sat and took in the couple, and the easy familiarity they seemed to have with each other.
"Ok…Spike. What are your intentions towards my daughter?" Buffy blushed and averted he eyes from her mother.
'Can you, umm…you know…explain…would you mind?'
'No worries pet.' Spike smiled fondly down at her, before turning to face Joyce.
"How much has Buffy told you about me? Or more, about us?" Spike questioned easily.
"Well… I know that you're a vampire, and that she's the Slayer, and that, the two of you are together, and have a very strong bond. But that's really it." Spike smiled and ran his fingers through Buffy's hair, and a soft smile befell her lips.
"Well, Joyce, Buffy and I, are Mated." At her blank look, Spike smiled again.
"Ya see, in the Demon world, to be mated is, essentially, marriage, but is much stronger than that. See, everyone has a predestined Mate. They're just not very easy to find. A few months back, my Sire, Drusilla, had a vision, she said, in no few words, that the Powers That Be, had sent me my Mate, but that she was in LA. So, naturally, she kicked me out. Wouldn't let me in for anything, even as the sun was rising. At the last minute, I managed to reach the airport, and made my way here."
Joyce was…well; she didn't know what to feel. Her daughter was, essentially, married at sixteen, to a vampire, no less.
But, despite all that, it was all incredibly romantic. Their story was like a soap opera, and Joyce was hooked.
"Ok…so, how exactly did you find Buffy?" she asked, resting her cheek on her hand, and leaning in.
Spike and Buffy both smiled at her.
"Well, when the plane landed, I realized that I had no clue what I was doing, or where to go. So I just started walking. I ended up walkin' past one of the main cemeteries, you know the one over on Harwood?"
Joyce nodded; she drove past that one every day on her way to work.
"Ya? Well, that's where I first saw her. She was fighten' this demon, see, and he thinks he's got her trapped, he does, but not my Slayer, no, just as he's goin' in for the kill, she kicks up, snapin' the basterd's neck. My god she was beautiful…" Spike trailed off, forgetting that he was actually in the room.
Buffy blushed at the look her mother gave her.
"Anyway…" Buffy said, reverting the subject back on topic. "Mom um…where were we?" she asked, flustered.
"Oh, you were going to tell me more about what Mating really entailed…" Joyce pried gently.
'Wow, your mum's really good at that, eh pet?' Spike teased in her head.
'You have no idea.' Buffy snickered.
"Well, for starters, we can talk to each other telepathically…and that's really all I know, so far…haven't really had time to, you know…test them out yet…" Buffy said, averting her eyes.
Spike ran his fingers through her hair again, soothing any worries she might have.
"Uh, ya, we can read each other's minds, transfer strength to one another, we know what the other is feeling, be it; emotional, physical, or spiritual, at any time. And that's all I know. There come different aspects of clams in time, and very with the type of demon. I personally, have never heard of a Slayer being mated to a vampire, so, I'm not completely positive, as to what to expect." Spike explained.
Joyce sat at the counter in silence, staring at her hands.
"Mom? Are…can…say something?" Buffy asked in a small voice, not knowing what to expect.
Joyce sighed, and looked up at the couple, really looked at them for the first time.
Buffy's face was a mask of worry, but just under the surface, she could see the stubbornness of a Summer's woman, and realized that, if she didn't accept this, she would, undoubtedly, lose her daughter, and she wasn't willing to risk that.
Her ignorance wasn't worth it.
Next she looked at Spike, really looked at him; He wasn't some boy. Not some random fling, or weekly crush; He was, in effect, Buffy's husband, more than that, he was her mate.
Joyce knew that she had yet to come to terms with the full weight of what that meant. And she was surprised to realize that, she was…willing, if not grateful to wait and find out.
"Umm, mom? Say something…what do you think?" Buffy asked again, her nerves would have been eating at her normally, but she could feel Spike behind her, and just knowing that he was there to support her gave her strength.
"I think…" Joyce said, at length. "That I won't be lifting a damn finger when we move." She finished with a smile.
Spike laughed, full and hearty, and Joyce found herself liking the sound.
"You're a hell of a woman, Joyce, hell of a woman." Joyce blushed, and smiled back at him.
"Move?" Buffy asked. This was news to her; Joyce had never mentioned moving before.
"Buffy listen…"Joyce reached her hand out and placed it on Buffy's forearm. She didn't bother to glance at Spike, automatically knowing that he would be included in all family discussions.
"Buffy, you know that your father and I haven't been getting along lately." Joyce rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself. "Lately, ha, I wouldn't call the last four years lately." She said with a sad, almost guilty laugh.
Untangling herself from Spike's arms, Buffy rose from her seat and went to comfort her mother. "I know mom, I know." Joyce hugged her daughter and buried her face in her hair.
"Mom, listen to me; I'm not deaf or blind. I've heard you and dad fighting at all times of night, I've seen him come home and go straight to the liquor cabinet and into the den. I've known that you haven't been happy for a long time. And moving? Standing up for yourself? That's a good thing, mom. It's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about." Buffy said, still stroking Joyce's hair.
Giving a hiccupping laugh, and sniffling, Joyce pulled back and smiled proudly at her daughter. "Thank you Buffy. You don't know how I've been worrying about telling you since I made my decision."
Buffy nodded her head in understanding. "Listen, mom, from now on I don't want you to hesitate in coming to either Spike or myself. I need you to know that, just as we can come to you, you can come to us."
Joyce nodded her headand whipped her eyes before changing the subject. "Now, on a lighter note, how would the two of you like some hot chocolate?" Both Buffy and Spike smiled.
"Sure." They said in unison.
"Buffy? Do you want your marshmallows?" Joyce asked, just as Spike was about to speak.
"Yes please." She chirped. And gave Spike a dopey smile, as Joyce sat a bag of mini-marshmallow's down in front of her.
"There my favorite, you want some?" she asked. She looked so innocent in that moment, that Spike couldn't help himself.
Without thought, Spike swooped down and captured her lips in a searing kiss.
"Ya, I would, thanks." He whispered pulling away from her lips suddenly and snatching one from the bag, and popping it in his mouth.
"You're, mean…" she pouted, still trying to recover from his kiss.
"Maybe, but your stick with me anyway." Spike said grinning, taking another hand full of marshmallows.
Buffy smiled, and looked at Spike speculatively.
"Lucky me." She said, with no sarcasm to be found.