Spike awoke feeling warmer than he'd felt in years. He sighed before opening his eyes, relishing the feel of waking up holding the woman he loved in his arms. When he did open his eyes, he could almost felt his heart beat, noticing how beautiful Buffy looked. She was curled up in his arms, with her head resting on his chest, a peaceful look on her face and a contented smile gracing her lips. He felt a wave of happiness wash over him; before she had never let him hold her like this, they'd never spent an entire night together (aside from the first night in that abandoned house) and he certainly had never woken up to see a smile plastered on her face before she even woke up. Then a stab of pain found its way into his heart as he remembered the few times that they'd actually spent any time together after their marathon romps around the crypt. He remembered how he would think that he saw a spark of caring in her eyes, and then they would glaze over again, replaced with a cool, non-caring gaze before she would remind him what a huge mistake they were making and then bolt out the door. His eyes misted up with tears when the fear and uncertainty of her reaction this morning crept into his mind. What if she did it again? What if what happened last night was all just comfort for her, and this morning she would again think that they'd made a mistake? Spike didn't think that he would be able to take it if that was her reaction, and he carefully started formulating a plan to try and avoid any reaction at all from her. He tried to contemplate a way that he could get up and sneak out, but judging from the way Buffy was still wrapped around him and holding onto him, he didn't really know how he could manage to escape.
Buffy shifted a little in her sleep, and her slight movement jarred Spike from his thoughts. He flinched when he felt her move, and jostled her just enough to wake her from her peaceful sleep. She opened her eyes, a little warily at first, and turned her head to squint up at Spike. He waited for her reaction, having already convinced himself that it was going to be bad; that they were doomed to fall back into their old patterns.
She studied him for a moment, creasing her forehead with worry while she took in the hesitation and uncertainty in his eyes. Finally, she said "Good morning Spike."
Good morning. That's a new one, he thought as he continued to stare at her. "Morning, Love," he replied.
The silence stretched between them once again, and they just continued to lay there, neither one moving. Finally, Buffy let a huge grin break over her features. "Morning? That's all I get, Spike? Really, I thought that given the chance you'd be a lot more romantic." Shock took over the look of uncertainty as she started to pout at him. "Don't I even get a good morning kiss?"
"Oh, I'll show you romantic, pet. I've been waiting five years to show you romantic," he practically purred.
Buffy squealed as Spike held her closer to him and rolled her over on her back. Neither of them cared that the sheets were now tangled around them or that they'd just managed to kick the comforter off into the floor. Spike leaned down and kissed Buffy until she was breathless, and then kissed her a few more seconds before releasing her to breathe.
He pulled back slightly to look at her flushed face. He grinned as her eyes fluttered open again and she panted to catch her breath. "Good morning, Love."
She smiled and reached her hand up to caress his cheek. "Wow," was all she could come up with. She swatted his hand away as he tried to pull her closer to him again.
"Spike… stop. If you don't stop I'll never get anything done today."
"Would that be so bad, pet?"
She rolled her eyes and playfully said "No, I guess not. We'll just stay here in bed all day, then you can explain to your daughter why her birthday party isn't planned."
"Right then. Off you go."
She kissed him and scampered off to the shower. He propped up in the bed, and contemplated how great things were turning out. Then, he remembered that Maggie's party was in a few days, and he started thinking of how much of Maggie's life he'd missed out on. When Buffy came back from the shower, she found Spike sitting in the middle of her bed, flipping through a photo album and looking like he was on the verge of tears.
"Spike?" Her brow knit together when he looked up at her and the look in his eyes made her heart feel like it was breaking. "What's wrong, Spike?"
"I just can't believe I wasn't here. I missed her birthday parties, and all of this other important stuff in her life, and there's no way I can make that up to her. Ever."
"Spike. You have got to stop beating yourself up about this. Sure, I would've loved it if you were here for all of those birthdays and milestones. But you're here now, and you'll be here for all the good things that will happen from now on. She's so excited that you've come home, and she's not going to understand if you're sad every time you look at her because you regret not being here." She pulled him into her arms and held him, trying to soothe away his sadness. "I think that from now on, we should just have no regrets. What's done is done, and if we dwell on what happened five years ago, how can we make the next five years of her life wonderful?"
"I know, Buffy. Ok then, no more regrets. So what do we have to do to make sure our princess has the best birthday party ever?"
+ + + + +
The next few days passed by quickly, and each day Maggie got more and more excited about her party. On the morning of, Spike and Buffy were awakened by an overly ecstatic Maggie jumping on their bed. She climbed up onto the bed, and pounced right in the middle of them.
"It's my day! I'm five! I'm five!" She chanted as she bounced on the bed. Buffy stifled a giggle as she heard Spike groan and open one eye to look up at Maggie.
"Sweetie, stop jumping on Mommy's bed." Buffy prodded, trying to get her child to calm down, even though she knew that it was probably a lost cause.
"But it's time for my party, Mommy! I'm so excited…" she said, as she started to test her bouncing skills again. "And Auntie Willow is coming today, right? And I get to have cake, and Daddy will be there. It's my best party ever!"
Spike decided he should probably jump in. "Uh, Bit, it's still pretty early. Your party doesn't start until later this afternoon, remember?"
Her smile faded as she considered what he said. "Oh. Yeah." She stopped bouncing and just sat there, looking at Spike as a frown settled on her face.
"Oi, what's that frown for?" Spike asked as he reached out and grabbed Maggie, pulling her close to him and cradling her in his arms.
"Nothing," she said quietly. "I just want my party to be here, and you said I had to wait."
Buffy watched in awe, knowing that Maggie was just working to wrap Spike around her little finger a little bit tighter. Spike kissed the top of her head, and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Tell you what, Lil'Bit… you go in your room and get your little table cleaned off, and I'll go make us some breakfast, and you and I will have our own early party, just for us. How does that sound?"
Her eyes lit up as she thought about his proposition. "We can eat breakfast in my room?"
"We sure can," Spike told her.
"But… Mommy doesn't let me eat in my room, only if I'm sick." She told him.
"Well, I think that Mommy will let us make an exception for your birthday. And if you like, it'll be our special time. We'll always have birthday breakfast from now on. Just us."
"Really? You mean it?" She asked, the smile that lit his world slowly returning to her face.
"I really mean it. Now go on, and get ready. I'll be there in just a bit."
"Ok!" she exclaimed, jumping off the bed and heading for the door. When she got to the door, she turned back. "Mama, you'll help Daddy cook my breakfast, right? So that it's good?"
Buffy almost laughed out loud, right in front of Maggie. The look on Spike's face was priceless as his daughter questioned his cooking skills. "Yeah, sweetie, I'll make sure he gets it right," she said, turning to wink at Spike. Maggie seemed satisfied, and ran down the hall to her own room. Buffy snickered, and finally just lost control and started giggling, much to Spike's dismay.
"Uh, pet, what's so bleeding funny? Have you lost it or something?"
"No, Spike… I just wish that you could have seen your face, when she asked if I'd make sure you made her a good breakfast. It was like she'd just delivered the insult of the century." By this time, she was laughing so hard, she was gasping for air. "And I just kept thinking… the Big Bad Vamp is sitting here, with his pride wounded because his daughter thinks that he can't cook."
Spike rolled his eyes and flopped back down on the bed. "Fine, have a good laugh, slayer. I just wanted to do something special," he grumbled, as he turned away from her. Buffy could tell that she'd pushed too far.
She scooted over closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, despite his attempts to squirm away. She placed a little trail of kisses from his temple to his ear, and then whispered "I think it's sweet that you wanted to do something for her birthday, just the two of you. And you'll never know what that will mean to her. She'll look forward to it, every year."
Spike turned to face her. "Well, pet, I just wanted to try and make up…"
"Spike, remember what we said a few days ago. No more regrets."
"I know…"
"Oh! And you just experienced a family tradition. I forgot to tell you. She always comes in and wakes me up like that on her birthday. Dawn actually started it, and now that Maggie's old enough to get up on her own, she does it every year. She comes in and pounces like that, and reminds me what day it is, as if I could forget."
Spike smiled. "What do you mean Dawn started it? Tell me the story."
"Well, Mom used to wake us up early on our birthdays and remind us that it was our special day. When Maggie was one, Dawn remembered how Mom used to do it, and decided to alter the tradition a bit. She went in and got Maggie up early, and then crept into my room, and bounced on the bed with Maggie, singing some little song she made up about it being her birthday. Maggie's done it ever since. On her birthday and at Christmas. I'm so used to her doing it, that I totally forgot to tell you last night that she'd likely wake us up this morning."
"I actually sort of enjoyed the surprise, Love. Now, I guess I'd better get up and go make breakfast for my princess."
+ + + +
While Spike and Maggie had breakfast in her room, Buffy
finished cleaning up the living room and the kitchen in preparation for the
impending onslaught of the 5-year-olds of the neighborhood. Just as she was
pouring her second cup of coffee, a small knock on the back door caught her
attention. She went to the door, and was happily surprised when she opened it.
"Willow! I didn't think you were coming over until later, with Xander!" Buffy ushered the red head into the kitchen, hugging her as soon as the door closed behind them.
"Well, that was the original plan. But I woke up this morning with way more energy than I though I'd have after my flight yesterday, so I decided to come see how my favorite little munchkin was doing."
"Well, she's actually upstairs having a special birthday breakfast with her father," Buffy told Willow, smiling slightly at her best friend. "Come upstairs, but quietly. You have to see this."
The two friends climbed the stairs and stood quietly outside Maggie's room. Spike was sitting on the floor, and Maggie sat in her little chair at the tiny table in her room. A little tea set sat in the middle of the table, while full size plates, forks, and glasses took up most of the room on the table. The two sat there, happily munching on pancakes and scrambled eggs, and Maggie sipped milk from her glass while Spike nonchalantly sipped a strange combination of coffee and blood from his coffee mug. They each wore a little paper hat, with "Happy Birthday!" written on the front, that Spike had found among the party decorations that Buffy had assembled for later. While they ate, Spike was telling Maggie an amazing story about a princess and her father, the king, who celebrated birthdays in a castle in England.
Willow's eyes got misty as she stood and watched the two of them together. She couldn't believe that she'd had any doubts about Spike being back in Buffy's life, and at that moment she knew that she'd do nothing but support his presence.
Buffy tugged on Willow's sleeve, and motioned for her to follow back downstairs. Once they were back in the kitchen, tears began to slip down Willow's cheeks. "Will, what's wrong?" Buffy asked, growing concerned.
"That was the sweetest thing I think I've ever seen," she started. "Buffy, about the other day when I called. I didn't mean to not be supportive. And I just want you to know that I'm so happy for you that he's back, and I promise from now on I'll be nothing but supportive for you and your family."
Buffy walked over and hugged her friend again. "Oh, Will, I know. And thanks. I'm so happy to have my family together and happy, and it means so much that you're happy for me."
They smiled, and Willow wiped the tears from her face. Buffy, however, started to chew on her bottom lip, worry crossing her features. "I knew that you would be happy for me, Willow, and Dawn was too, once she got over the initial shock. Xander on the other hand…"
Willow put her hand up, motioning for Buffy to stop. Then she put on her famous resolve face. "Don't worry about it. You just let me handle Xander."
(TBC…)
