Title - A Birthday Gift
Author - Evil Willow
Email - evlwillow77@aol.com
Rating - PG-13 - nothing you wouldn't see on the show
Spoilers: Oh, I go along with the history and stuff Joss gave us in
Fool for Love. Just this once, though. So there are hints of things
mentioned in that episode.
Disclaimer - they're not mine. They're owned by Joss Whedon, the WB,
and FOX
Distribution - If you want it, ask me
Category - Vignette/Humor/Angst
Couple - Spike/Dru
Keywords - Pre-timeline
Summary - This is a fluff fic to answer the question "where did
Miss Edith come from?"
Author's Notes: This was written to fulfill a challenge that my good
friend and beta reader Dru gave me. She was mad about the fact that
I killed Spike and Dru in one of my recent stories and issued me a
challenge/threat. I felt obliged to go along with her wishes,
since I did want her to keep talking to me. ;-) The details
of her challenge are at the end of the fic

Written in Spikes' POV.
**********

I watch her, she's been sitting in that corner of our house for two
weeks now. She stopped feeding two days ago and I don't know what to
do to get her to start again. She just sits there. Humming. Rocking
back and forth. My beautiful, dark goddess, reduced to this.

Who would've thought? After all the torture he inflicted on her, on
the both of us, she is mourning his disappearance now. He left us
all three weeks ago, when we were in China. Darla went a little mad
and returned to the Master. I stayed here with Drusilla, afraid to try
to move her anywhere. She kept insisting he'd come back, I guess a part
of me wanted to believe her.

But I've given up on him coming back, by this point. There's
been talk circulating among the demons in the area, and there are two
different stories: one is that Angelus has been killed; the other is
that he crossed a band of gypsies a while ago, and they exacted some
awful form of revenge on him. Either way, the end result is he's gone.
And part of me is sad, but the remaining ninety percent of me says 'good
riddance.'

I keep both stories about the possible end of Angelus from Dru. She knows,
though. She started ranting a week ago, about pain, and tears and blood.
She hasn't stopped chanting "Daddy's dead, Daddy's dead, Daddy's dead..."
for the past five days. I swear, it's enough to drive me insane, too!

I look up as my fledgling Jonathan finally arrives. I sent him out
two days ago for a present for Drusilla. She may not realize it at the
moment, but it's her birthday. Angelus turned her fifty years ago today.
Jonathan hands me the present, it's wrapped nicely in a box about a
foot long, and six inches wide.

"I found it just where you said it would be, Sire," he says.

"Good. Now get lost," I growl, and walk toward Drusilla with the box.

She looks up at me, "The lemons are growing on the orange trees now."

I've given up understanding her when she's in this state. It's
another thing that would drive me insane.

"Dru, Baby, Happy Birthday. I got you something, maybe it will cheer
you up," I say, crouching next to her and handing her the box.

She takes the box, and looks at me fearfully. "Please don't leave me
too," she whispers.

"Oh bloody hell," I mutter. All my fledglings are gone, thankfully,
because she has succeeded in reducing William the Bloody to a pile of
mush. I sit next to her and pull her into my arms, stroking her
hair. "Listen to me, Luv. I'm not going anywhere. Ever. You're my reason
for existing, do you hear me?"

She sniffles and nods, and I hope that my words helped her a little.
She puts her arms around my waist and holds me tighter. The box is
forgotten for the moment, sitting next to us. She lifts her head
finally, and looks into my eyes. Some of the light in them has
returned, and it makes me feel hope. Maybe I won't lose her
completely, after all.

I bend my head to kiss her, gently, and wait until she responds. She
does, parting her lips slightly to grant my tongue entrance. I
explore her mouth, before withdrawing my tongue into my own mouth when
she fights for dominance.

She pulls her head away, to my momentary disappointment, and then
starts kissing down to my neck. She sucks on the spot just above my
jugular vein with her blunt teeth, and I groan, "Tease." Her hands
have been busy as well, she's unbuttoned my silk shirt, and now her
hands are roaming over my bare chest.

I haven't been lazy myself, my hands are squeezing her breasts through
her dress. She's very overdressed at the moment, but I can't think
clearly enough to do anything about it. She rakes her nails down my
chest, drawing blood, and I growl, slipping into game face.

She laughs and raises her head, to meet my now-golden eyes with her
own. "I love you," she whispers. And before I can process that bit of
information, her fangs are in my neck and she's drinking from me.

I moan, and pull her body closer against mine. I want so badly to
taste her blood too, but I resist the urge. She's my sire, after all,
as little as she acts like it; and childer do not drink from their
sires without permission. As if reading my mind, her hands are behind
my head, pulling my face to her neck. I don't think twice about the
offer. I sink my fangs into her neck, drinking the blood which flows
into my mouth.

When she withdraws her fangs, I do as well. She licks her lips, and
smiles at me. "Let's go upstairs," she suggests. I am never one to
deny my princess what she wants, especially if it's something I want
too. I lift her and carry her upstairs to our bedroom.

Two hours later, I go back downstairs to retrieve the present. As I
walk back into our room, she's awake. "Hello, Luv. Did I wake you?" I
ask, returning to bed.

"I can't sleep without you next to me," she says.

I hadn't bothered to dress when I got up, nobody dares to enter our
house without knocking, and I slip back under the sheets next to
her. She curls up next to me, and takes the present.

"Go on, open it," I prod. "I think you'll like it."

I watch her as she removes the ribbon, and the lid of the box. She
gasps in what I hope is happy surprise, and takes out the doll. "It's
Miss Edith," she says, looking up at me in amazement.

"Say again?" I ask.

"My housekeeper, before Daddy... her name was Miss Edith," Dru explains
slowly. "She was like a mother to me. She left when I was fifteen,
but I remember her."

"So that's her name, then?"

"Yes," she nods. She smiles at me, happier than I've seen her in a
long time. "You spoil me, Spike. Your birthday is coming up next
month. What do you want?"

"Other than you?" I reply. She rolls her eyes and hits me
playfully. "Okay, okay. Let me think. Well.... when I was a boy,
I always wanted a pony," I grin.

***********
The End

Dru's Challenge requirements:
a period piece... after Angelus gets his soul and is gone... answer
the question: where did Miss Edith come from? was she a present from
Spike? did she get her from a small little girl? where were they?

things to include:
-FLUFF AND FUNNIES! (in classic spike/dru style)
-MISS EDITH (duh...)
-reference to lemons
-groping (not smut... but some kissage, and perhaps some
gropes/grabs/smoochies)
-blood
-a horse