(O.O)

It was a lovely Monday morning and although the vampire wasn't able to see the sun due to the heavy drapes he placed on his house, he still knew it was going to be a beautiful day.

He stood up and walked towards the crib that stood a few feet from his queen-sized bed and stared adoringly at the little miracle that was cooing inside it.

"Good morning little one," he said, before picking up his daughter and showing her with gentle kisses.

The gurgling and cooing noises she was making was music to Spike's ears.

She really was a miracle.

Afterwards, the vampire was in his kitchen, preparing breakfast for him and his kid.

This was another thing he had in common with his baby. Their meals were both composed of liquid diets.

He couldn't help but snicker at the thought as he finished testing the bottle if it was cool enough to give to his kid. Once he was done checking, he settled on one of the kitchen's stools and fed his very hungry child.

As he watched his little miracle devour her meal, Spike started thinking back on the past few months leading to this very peaceful morning.

Surprisingly enough, the vampire found that he wasn't as bad at this being-a-father stuff as he thought he'd be.

Sure there were a couple of rough starts, like finding a new home for himself and his baby, and figuring out the proper sleeping schedule for them.

Spike was still a vampire who was supposed to have nightly hours while his baby needed to sleep at night and stayed awake during the day.

There was also the issue of what sort of foods were appropriate for an infant because choosing the right baby formula was actually something he also needed to learn.

But overall, he patted himself on the back because he was able to take care of all those things and his kid was still alive after two months of being with him.

That was quite an accomplishment, if he did say so himself.

Two months into his experience as a dad, the vampire realized that he wanted to celebrate his success. He also wanted to show his appreciation to the people who helped him throughout his journey to fatherhood.

So that morning, as he fed little Joan, he decided that he was going to host Thanksgiving– which was happening that week– for himself and his new friends.

Immediately he started making calls.

It didn't take long before he received positive responses to his plans.

"That's great, Spike," Hilde exclaimed over the phone, "I'm sure the girls would be ecstatic to join you two for Thanksgiving."

"So I'll see you then, pet?" Spike asked one last time.

"Yes, we'll be there. We'll even come early to help you with the preparations."

"Ta. That would be appreciated."

Spike put the phone down and sighed in relief.

That was the last person he needed to call and he was happy that all of his new friends had agreed to come to his party.

He never had that in the past. People he could call close friends that he would invite to celebrate stuff with him. It was all new to him and it felt nice.

He looked down at the gurgling bundle of joy in his arms and smiled.

Joanne was the reason he was able to experience all these new and wonderful things.

If she hadn't been there he didn't know what sort of life he'd be living at that moment.

Probably would still be in Sunnydale, mooning over Buffy.

Spike thought back on his Slayer.

He still missed her. Not a day went by without him wondering about how she was doing.

She was probably having the time of her life now that he was no longer there to ruin things for her.

The vampire winced at this stray thought.

It was unhealthy that despite being completely happy with his current life, his thoughts still wandered towards the Slayer.

Buffy had most likely moved on without him.

He couldn't do the same thing. He still had days where he wished she was there with him raising their daughter together.

It was pathetic really.

He felt baby Jo move in his arms, letting him know that she was finished with her meal.

This brought out of his musing. He looked down on her once more and smiled again.

His girl always caught his attention every time his mind would think of the Slayer. She probably wasn't doing it intentionally, but Spike didn't care.

It helped ground him to the present and got him to focus on what he had instead of what he couldn't have.

"We're going to have a party, little one. Isn't that exciting? This will be a first for both of us."

His baby smiled and made more gurgling noises, which he took as a sound of approval.

"That's right. It'll be so fun and you're going to help daddy by staying pretty and cute as you always do!" Spike swayed and danced a bit, beaming at the smile on his daughter's mouth.

He loved talking to his kid. Sure, she didn't really give him any response other than the cooing and gurgling noises babies were known to do, but Spike preferred those sounds than the horrible whispers in his head that told him how he was never going to be worthy of love.

(O.O)

If someone told Hilde Coleman two months ago that she would be slaving away in the kitchen helping a vampire cook food for Thanksgiving– she would've had that person admitted at a mental institution.

However, as crazy as that sounded, it was exactly what was happening to her.

Earlier that week, she got a call from Spike and accepted the invite to celebrate Thanksgiving with him and his daughter. She even offered to help cook the food for the party. This then explained her presence in the vampire's kitchen.

The redhead was assigned to do the dessert part of the meal, since Spike had already finished prepping for the majority of the food for that evening. At that moment, she was making the crust for the two pies she planned to make.

"So how are things with that coven of yours? Are you still getting attacked by those demon monks?" Spike asked from his side of the kitchen.

He was leaning down to check the turkey that was cooking in the oven.

"Not anymore." Hilde answered, "I guess they finally decided to quit since they couldn't get past the barrier we placed around town."

Satisfied with how the turkey was cooking, Spike closed the oven before turning to face Hilde.

"So you lot really went through with those plans of yours and placed that mystic shield around Palo Cedro?"

The redhead nodded and caught the worried look on the vampire's face.

She immediately understood her friend's concern.

A month ago, Hilde and her coven were able to create a spell similar to the barrier that surrounded the womb where Spike's daughter developed. That kind of magic was strong enough to prevent any outside force (both magical and physical) from harming whatever was under its protection.

Spike wanted a spell with similar effects to be placed on his daughter and himself, so he asked her coven if they could recreate it.

They were able to do it, of course, but the spell around the two had a more specific intention. It was set to prevent anyone from finding them, instead of a full on protection spell against all harm.

The vampire didn't want a spell to prevent all harm– like the one he had while he was carrying his baby– because he thought that such magic seemed too much of an unfair advantage for himself and his kid.

Hilde actually found it weird that the vampire didn't want to have such an invulnerability spell to be casted on himself and his kid, but then she wasn't all that surprised. In the time she spent with him, the redhead found that Spike was oddly honorable for someone who was supposedly evil.

The spell was indeed an unfair advantage and if Spike did decide to turn against them– something she realized was never going to happen– then he would've been a very difficult opponent.

So, the coven made adjustments before casting it on Spike and Joanne.

Later, the redhead and the rest of the witches in her coven decided to take the spell further by changing its effects and thus it became a barrier spell that did not just ward off specific magic but all forms of magic, especially demonic magic that all demons seemed to emit.

This barrier would prevent any type of demon from entering their community.

Of course, this also explained why Spike was worried.

The vampire's house was located in the woods near Lake Shasta, which was a few kilometers away from Hilde's home. While he lived outside of town, he still regularly went to Palo Cedro to shop for supplies or to visit her and their friends.

Hilde sent him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, you can still come to town, Spike. You and any other peaceful demons. The barrier in town only restricted access to violent demons or any demons who wish harm on the townspeople. As long as you remain peaceful, you can come and go as you please."

He still looked worried, but he accepted her reassurance and dropped the issue. Instead, he asked more about the demon monks and if they were able to discover why they had been after her nieces.

"Unfortunately, we haven't found any answer to that part yet. All we know is that they want my girls dead, which is frightening as it is." She bit her lip.

She was worried. Nearly three months had passed since the first attack on her girls and yet none of the seers in her coven could uncover why these demons wanted her nieces dead.

"I could try and ask my old contacts to see if they know something," Spike offered.

Hilde shook her head and declined the vampire's offer. While it would indeed help her, it would also defeat the purpose of the spell her coven placed on Spike and his daughter. He wanted a fresh start and had turned his back on all his demonic contacts so he could raise his child.

Him calling them would simply inform the demon world that Spike was around and would probably tip others that he had a means to hide himself away from everyone, which then would spark interest into why he was doing so. And if anyone would find interest in the why, then the secret of Spike having a kid would be known.

She didn't want her friend to take that chance.

"It's alright, Spike, really. The spell around town will protect my girls, so you don't have to go out your way to find out why they are targeted. I appreciate the offer though." Hilde replied with a smile.

"You're welcome, pet."

The two went back to work.

After a couple of hours, they heard a knock on the front door, signifying that another one of Spike's guests had arrived. They came just in time too, because the pies had just finished baking and the vampire's turkey was almost done cooking in the oven.

Spike left the kitchen to greet them, while Hilde helped plating some of the delicious food the vampire made.

Moments later, Lucy entered the room, in her arms baby Jo was cooing happily.

"Wow, Auntie, the kitchen smells divine!" Lucy exclaimed. "Whatever you guys are cooking, I can't wait to try them out!"

Hilde smiled at her niece. "Well, I didn't do much. Spike did most of the cooking and I only made the pie so far."

A look of admiration was seen on her niece's face.

"So aside from being an awesome dad, Spike's also a great cook, huh." The smile on her face grew brighter, as she said this. "It's a wonder why he's still single."

"Lucy, no." She told her niece.

It wasn't a secret that the young woman had a crush on the vampire. It started the night he saved them from those demon monks in the woods and the feelings grew as she got to know him and watched him take really good care of his baby girl.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to. Spike's a friend and I don't want you going out of your way trying to woo him over and making him uncomfortable."

"Nobody uses woo anymore."

"That's besides the point. He's still adjusting to this whole dad-thing. It's a miracle that he hasn't experienced any problems yet. But the last thing he needs is a horny teenager trying to get in his pants."

"I'm 19 years old, you know. I'm practically an adult."

Hilde rolled her eyes at this. "Right. Then maybe you should act your age and respect Spike's boundaries, instead of finding ways to test them."

Spike was off limits. The redhead wanted to get this message across.

It wasn't just because he was new to the whole father-thing but the vampire himself told her during one of their late night drinking sessions with Arthur about his horrible history in the romance department.

Spike wasn't ready for love. He'd been burned in the past and had taken a vow not to pursue any other romantic partners for the foreseeable future.

Hilde saw the resolve in the vampire eyes and she wanted to respect his wishes. So she's stirring her niece away from her friend.

"Auntie is being mean, sweetie," Lucy said, talking to Joanne in her arms. "She doesn't want me to be with daddy. You think that's stupid, don't you."

"Cooo."

"That's right. You know I'd make a good mother, don't you sweetie."

"Aaahh."

"I knew I could count on you!"

Hilde merely rolled her eyes again. So much for being practically an adult. Using a baby to win an argument was something a mature person would indeed do.

Deciding to ignore her niece, she turned back to the counter to do a bit of cleaning.

A few minutes later, Spike reentered the kitchen, with Alma, Arthur's wife, behind him.

"Wow! It smells amazing here," Alma noted.

"Ta, pet. I just hope it tastes as amazing as it smells though," Spike shyly replied.

"I'm sure it will, Spike. You did a great job preparing all these foods," Lucy proudly complimented from her spot next to the fridge.

Once again, Hilde rolled her eyes. Her niece was incorrigible.

"Appreciate it, dove," the vampire responded before moving closer to Lucy and leaning in to pick up his daughter from her arms.

He missed the blush that grace Hilde's niece's face, his attention was too focused on the infant before him.

"And you look lovely as always, my little miracle!"

He lifted his daughter before raining down kisses on the baby, who cooed and gurgled in response.

The ladies in the room watch the scene before them with a smile. There was no question that Spike loved his daughter, the fact that he's supposed to be an evil vampire that supposedly ate babies made the image all the more amazing.

It was that love that radiated from the vampire that got Hilde to befriend him and help him not just when he gave birth to his kid, but afterwards as well.

She knew how hard it was to be a single parent. Spike, though was an amazing father, wasn't as prepared for the task as he thought he'd be.

The vampire didn't even have a place to stay before giving birth to Joanne. So Hilde let him stay at her house for a couple of weeks until she was able to convince another friend of hers, Jerry, to sell Spike his house.

Jerry owned the big cottage house in the woods, that he refurbished and furnished, and had planned to sell it for extra money for his retirement/vacation trip to Australia. The redhead introduced the two and afterwards, Spike found himself the owner of the lovely house they were spending Thanksgiving in.

Hilde and Arthur helped Spike move in and shop for the things he might need for his daughter.

She was quite proud of herself because the vampire was very happy to have a place to call his own and have somewhere where he could raise his daughter in safety.

"Why don't you and baby Jo go and change clothes, Spike, while we all help set the table," Alma told the vampire, pulling Hilde out of her musing.

"I feel like I shouldn't let my guest do that," the vampire responded.

"Nonesense. You made all these foods, this is the least we can do. After all, family should help each other."

Hilde saw tears in corner of the vampire's eyes and she felt for him. She had a feeling that before he met them, he'd never had anyone to call his friends or family.

"Go, Spike. We'll take care of everything here," Hilde added with a gentle smile.

The vampire finally conceded and took his daughter with him to change.

"Such a sweet man," Alma suddenly said.

Hilde merely nodded his head in agreement, before she started helping everyone prepare the table for dinner.

(O.O)

Spike took a quick shower and changed into one of his cleaner shirts that he owned. It was a dark blue button up shirt that he only wore for special occasions.

It brought out his eyes and he wanted to at least look presentable for that evening. He slicked his hair back and wore a bit of cologne.

After giving himself a once over and was satisfied with his looks. He then turned to where he left baby Jo.

He smiled again at the sight of his girl. She looked so adorable in her little pink ruffled dress. She wore a pink headband to keep her blonde hair away from her face and soft white socks to keep her tiny feet warm.

She's a right beauty.

Spike still couldn't believe she came out of him. She was just so perfect in every way that he knew he didn't deserve her.

He was flawed, evil and soulless. His hands were covered in blood and his sins were big enough that he knew it warranted him a place in hell.

And yet, he was still blessed with this beautiful angel.

God, how he loved her.

Spike picked up his girl and settled her in the crook of his arm. His eyes never left her face.

"I may have cooked a great meal, but you're going to be the star of the evening, Princess," he whispered to her and received a little coo in response.

His smile never left his face as he slowly walked towards the door. Spike could hear all his friends laughing and having fun without them and that simply wouldn't do.

He continued to make his way towards the door when he was suddenly assaulted with an excruciating pain coming from his head.

His legs bulked. Luckily, he was able to grab hold of the door's handle and used it to keep him and his kid upright.

"Bloody hell!" Spike cried, as the pain continued to sear through his skull.

He leaned his head against the door and was about to call for help, when suddenly the pain disappeared.

Spike was breathing heavily, his eyes were a tad blurry and his body felt too heavy.

He was confused. He had no idea what that was. The pain felt like the chip firing and yet ten times more painful than that.

What the hell caused it?

Then he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Spike? Is everything okay?" It was Sasha. She'd come to check on him.

"Everything's fine," he replied, trying to keep his voice even.

The vampire didn't want them to worry.

Tonight was supposed to be a night of celebration, he wasn't going to ruin it just because of a sudden headache.

Even if that said headache was equivalent to the pain from being struck by lightning.

"Are you sure?"

He could tell that the girl was worried. She was always the one out of the two sisters who was more perceptive to others. Spike had no doubt that she might've caught in on to his lie.

"Yeah. Just finishing up here. Give me a couple of minutes and we'll be out to join you and the others."

"Oookay. If you say so. Just want you to know that the table's set and everyone's just waiting for you two to come back."

"Right. We'll be there in a mo, pet."

He heard her footsteps leaving the door and Spike let out a sigh of relief before accessing himself.

The pain was indeed gone, but the vampire was still reeling from the experience. He still didn't know where it came from, but he hoped that it wasn't going to happen again, especially since he had a lot of people visiting.

"Come on, Luv, we shouldn't keep out guests waiting," he said to his daughter.

There was a frown on her face and Spike wondered if she noticed what happened to him.

Then again, she was still too young, so she probably was as clueless as he was.

Seeing that he was now okay, Spike finally left the room and rejoined his friends.

Tonight was a night of celebration. He'll think about that incident later after the party.

TBC

(O.O)

And that's the update. Spike sure is amazing. At least in my head, I think he can actually do a successful Thanksgiving dinner for his friends with no problems whatsoever. I mean, Buffy did it in the show and she even did it mostly alone, so why can't he, right?

As you can see the chip has started malfunctioning. It's a little too early than what happened in the series. But in my headcanon, I think that the chip really did started acting up earlier in the season but Spike had other things to focus on (aka being kept as the First's puppet) that he didn't notice the chip firing.

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed the update. Thanks for reading and hope to see you guys again in the next chapter! Bye!