Ten: FOR RICHER, FOR POORER
After several months of happily struggling to balance both their chequebooks and their day-jobs with Buffy's slaying and life in general, one day came the prospect for a little extra cash. Now this wasn't the first time Spike found himself across the bar from some bloke with an idea ("scheme", the word Buffy would be apt to use) to make some money on the side. He'd had lots of opportunities but out of loyalty to his love (given her reaction after the Suvolte demon egg debacle a couple of years earlier), Spike was determined to stick to the straight-and-narrow. On this particular occasion, Spike had been chatting up a couple of his regulars --- guys who knew something of his old life --- when a fellow he thought he recognized but couldn't seem to place, sat down at the bar.
"So tell me, friend," the man began after ordering a beer, "you ever think about putting some of those stories down on paper?"
Matter of fact, I've been working on the memoirs off and on for the better part of the last century. Casually, Spike inquired, "Why do you ask?"
"I'm in the business. Horror pictures mostly. In town scouting for the sequel to Arac Attack," the guy explained. "Filmed here a while back."
"Right." Now Spike remembered the man: he'd been yelling explicatives at Buffy who'd interrupted the filming of his picture by almost impaling his giant mechanical arachnid believing it was a Kralliq spider bound on terrorizing the good people of Sunnydale. Spike couldn't help grinning as he thought back to those early days after his return from Africa --- and to the living. "Seems to me, I heard something about that," he chuckled.
"So yeah. If you're interested... Get something written. I could pass it along to some people. Maybe make something out of it."
Spike took the man's card, Mike McKinney, and agreed to get in touch with him if he came up with anything.
------- o -------
After work that evening, Spike headed upstairs and dug his lock box out of the closet. Inside there were several small notebooks of various ages and sizes; sketches of Spike, some with his vampire relations --- mostly with Drusilla, drawn by Angelus or some street artist that had, perhaps, become a snack afterwards; a very worn and faded photograph of his long lost human family; and a couple snapshots of Buffy that he'd salvaged from his shrine to her.
For the next several weeks, Spike spent much of his free time scribbling notes and typing at the computer.
Months later, Mike McKinney came back into the "Fox and Hound".
"Oi mate," Spike greeted. "Filming started?"
"Yep. Just taking a break. Crew's driving me nuts," complained the man better known in the slasher film business as "Movie Mike", as he sat down on a stool. "So, you give any thought to my offer?"
"Matter of fact, I've put down several ideas. Bunch of short stories. Don't s'pose you know a publisher?" Spike inquired half-joking.
"Actually, I do. A lotta my stuff comes from books... or becomes a book after," the guy told him. "What sorta stuff you got?"
"Well, seein' as you do horror flicks, that's what got me started," explained Spike enthusiastically. "Thought maybe I could get a book together."
They chatted a while longer and Spike jokingly tossed out an idea for a movie about a teen-aged girl who kills vampires.
"Hey... that sounds great," Movie Mike declared. "Give the young gals a role model and guys some eye candy."
Eye candy. Yep. She sure is that, Spike thought of his beautiful wife.
Some time later, Spike met with an editor to flesh out his ideas into a collection of dark and sinister stories of a "fictional" vampire's life.
------- o -------
The following year, Spike had a special gift for his wife. "Happy anniversary, luv," he said, brushing a gentle peck across her lips. "I know 'paper' is the traditional gift for the first anniversary... so this is a little late." He pulled out a large manila envelope tied with a loose ribbon. "But I hope you like it."
"So what is it?" Buffy asked curiously, holding the package.
"Op'n it."
She unlooped the clasp on the overlap of the envelope and pulled out a thick stack of bound paper. The centre of the top sheet read,
BLOODY DARK MEMOIRS
-- through the Vampire's Eyes --
An Anthology of Gruesome Tales
By T. B. Williams
"Spike," she said tentatively, "I don't understand. What is this? Who's T.B. Williams?"
He grinned. "Well... what if I told you the 'T.B.' stands for 'The Bloody'?"
"Spike, what are you talking about?"
"It's my manuscript, luv," he announced. "I've written a book. 'bout my life. Well, parts of it anyway."
"Great..." she commented, in a "not really" sort of way. "That should be... hmm... I guess 'gruesome' is as good a word as any. What ever gave you the idea you could write a book? Or should write a book, for that matter?"
"Met a guy," he explained. "He put me in touch with some people... They're going to publish it."
"What?! Really? That's incredible news!" She dropped the stack on the table and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so proud of you."
Spike's heart skipped. "I'm proud of you." He beamed her words.
"Got somethin' else," he said slyly, handing her a second envelope.
"What's this? More presents?" She tore into the second envelope. "Oh my god!"
Spike had presented Buffy with (what for the pair was) a sizable cheque advance on expected royalties from what would become one of the most successful horror genre compilations in history --- although the work would never make it to "Oprah's Book Club" list.
------- o -------
The following summer, the low-budget film Joan the Demon Hunter hit theatres. Though the movie didn't fare well at the box office, a network executive whose teenaged daughters thought it was "cool" offered a TV pilot. A decade after the movie release, the TV series (going into its seventh season) had become a world-wide "cult favourite" making big stars out of relative unknowns, spawning two spin-off shows including the incredibly popular, Randy: The Series, and earning critical acclaim for reclusive creator Bill Stewart (yep, another Spike pseudonym).