Ch 12: Daddy

Buffy finished off her second cup of coffee as she made lunch for Maggie. She still couldn't believe that she had slept in until 11, and that Spike had been up all morning with their daughter. She crept back to the living room door and gazed at the two of them, still sound asleep in the big, comfortable chair where he'd been reading to Maggie. Maggie had obviously fallen soundly asleep, and was totally relaxed. Her little arms fell limply at her sides, and she was curled up so that her head rested sideways on Spike's shoulder. Her little mouth was tightly closed, almost forming a pout, which only highlighted her little cheekbones more than usual. She was so relaxed that Buffy would be afraid of her falling in the floor, mid-dream, if it weren't for the way Spike was holding her.

Spike's arms were wrapped securely around the little girl, as if his very life depended on protecting her. His head was cocked to the side ever so slightly, just enough that Maggie's little forehead rested on the edge of his chin. From this angle, Buffy could see just how much Maggie resembled Spike. She had always thought that Maggie was the perfect little combination of the two of them, but now it was so much easier to over look the resemblances to Buffy and concentrate on her resemblance to Spike. They shared the same cheekbones, the same curl in their hair (if only Spike wouldn't comb his back so straight-like), and after Maggie's little incident with Alex, it looked like they might even share the same scarred eyebrow.

Buffy stood there for a few more moments, completely loosing herself in her thoughts. She had to tell Maggie soon that Spike was her father. But she honestly had no idea how to do it. She'd told Maggie so much about her father over the years, and now she wondered how her little girl would think Spike measured up to the stories.  * This would be so much easier if I had known he was coming *  Buffy thought. * Then I could have prepared her… Now that he's here, what do I do? Say 'oh, by the way, that guy that you've gotten really attached to? He's your Daddy.' Of course that's not what you tell a 5 year old. Maybe Spike will have some idea of how to tell her. But we have to tell her soon…*

The beep of a kitchen timer snapped Buffy out of her thoughts, signaling to her that the cookies she'd put in the oven were done. Buffy scurried back into the kitchen to take them out of the oven before they burned and the smoke detector alarmed the whole neighborhood. Buffy put the cookies on a plate to cool while she finished up making Maggie's favorite lunch. The phone rang, and she snatched the cordless out of its cradle before the second ring, hoping that she caught it before the ringing woke either Spike or Maggie.

"Buffy, Hi!" She smiled when she heard Willow's voice.

"Hey, Will. This is twice in two days I've talked to you on the phone. I feel honored," she almost laughed as she talked with her best friend.

"Well, I emailed you, but you didn't write back, so I figured I might as well call you on my break," Willow sighed.

"So sorry, Will. But I've been a little pre-occupied.  Haven't even switched on the computer in the last couple of days. Nothing's wrong is it?"

"No! No, Buffy, I was just letting you know that everything here is working out much more smoothly than we'd anticipated. So it looks like I'll be able to make it out a couple of days early for the big 5th birthday party!"

"Wonderful! Maggie will be so excited. She was just asking me the other day if Auntie Willow was coming for the party. She'll be glad to get to see you before the party. That is… if I can tear her away from Spike long enough." Buffy giggled, and Willow did too.

"So, am I to assume that things are going well between all of you?" the witch prodded.

"Yeah, things are going really well, Willow. Maggie has Spike wrapped around her little finger, and he's really great with her. I haven't quite figured out how to tell her about him yet, though."

"Well, Buffy, I'm sure that it will all work out. Listen, I've got to run in a minute, students will be coming in… I'll be back in Sunnydale on Thursday now, instead of Saturday, and Xander is picking me up from the airport. We'll call you as soon as we get to his house and I get settled in."

"Oh crap… Xander!" Buffy exclaimed.

"What? Oh… you haven't told him about Spike?" Willow inquired.

"No. I haven't even talked to him or Anya lately. He's gonna flip, Will."

"Nah, he won't. I think he finally realized how important it is to you to have your family together. Xander's grown up a lot over the last five years, Buff. He'll be ok. You just concentrate on my favorite little munchkin and her birthday."

"Can do, Will. Call us as soon as you get here. Talk to you then."

Buffy snuck back into the living room, and held her breath as she hoped that Spike still slept as soundly as he had five years earlier. She gently loosened his grasp on Maggie, and sighed when she realized he hadn't really budged. *Still sleeps like the dead * Buffy mused, as she gingerly picked her daughter up in her arms. She carried her down the hallway, and Maggie warily opened her eyes to look at her.

"Good morning sleepy-head." Buffy cooed to her little one.

"Mommy!" she said excitedly, around a yawn. "Spike and I were playing and I fell asleep."

"I know you did. Come on now, let's wash up for lunch." Buffy told her, as she pulled a little step stool up to the kitchen sink so that Maggie could reach her hands under the faucet.

"Where's he at?" Maggie inquired as Buffy helped her rinse her hands and dry them on a towel.

"Hmm? Oh, Spike's still sleeping in the chair. You woke him up awfully early this morning, Little Bit."

Maggie was dancing around the kitchen, while Buffy was bringing their plates to the table. Buffy was still thinking about how sweet Spike had been that morning and how they would tell Maggie that he was her father, as she heard Maggie talking. "I'll go get him so he can eat lunch with us" Maggie said as she danced around the kitchen island toward the door.

"No," Buffy said, still lost in her thoughts, "Let your Daddy sleep a little longer, he was up very late last night."

As soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth, Buffy's eyes grew as wide as saucers, and her hand came up to cover her mouth. Maggie looked a little confused, then squealed. Spike immediately sprang to the kitchen door when he heard Maggie's squeal, mistaking it for a cry.

"What's wrong, pet?" He asked, taking in the horrified look on Buffy's face and the look of wonderment crossing Maggie's features as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Everything was happening too fast, from where Buffy was standing. She sat down heavily in the chair, holding her head in her hands. She felt like she could still feel that word, "Daddy", bumping around in her brain, and still she couldn't believe she'd been so lost in her thoughts that she let it fly unchecked out of her mouth. She peeked out at the scene before her through her fingers, wondering what Spike's reaction to her verbal blunder would be.

She watched as a huge grin broke over Maggie's face, as she looked up at Spike. "Daddy?" she questioned, searching  his face for an answer.

^^^^^^^

Notes: I was finding it very hard to write in the last couple of weeks… everything was so dark and hopeless on the show. But now, after the season finale, I have sudden inspiration smile Add to that the fact that I have lots of time on my hands, being out of school and all, and I should be writing more updates to this fic much more often. Thanks to everyone who's still with me. I promise there's still more to come. Let me know what you think about it!