New Horizons: Chapter Fifty-Two
The Continuance
By Annie
06-09-2002
Jonathan glared at Warren who was slurping his coffee and looking through the morning paper, rattling the pages loudly and then swallowing with a gulp before repeating the process.
Finally Jonathan got to his feet.
"I'm going out," he said abrubtly before walking up to the door, taking the steps quickly and pushing the door open harshly.
Warren looked up at it closing behind Jonathan's back and then he turned to Andrew.
"He knows," Warren grumbled, setting down his cup and Andrew's eyes grew slightly larger at that.
"What do you mean 'he knows'? How could he 'know' anything?" the latter asked in the nervous mouse manner that always made Warren want to build a huge trap for the former to get painfully caught in.
"He's acting all weird, incase you haven't noticed," Warren said, folding the newspaper up and throwing it on the chair next to him before leaning forward slightly. "We need to figure out a way to get rid off him," he now added and Andrew stared at him for a second before slowly nodding.
"Have you got anything in mind?" he asked and Warren grew thoughtful; then he was about to answer but the door to their small space being opened with a hard tug made both he and Andrew twirl their heads that way, more than startled.
Torah came down the stairs and smiled a little at their expression.
"You know, every time I see you boys look at me like that it warms my heart," she said softly as she walked up to them.
They both started to relax slightly as she sat down on the edge of the seat of one of the chairs and gave them both a grave stare before turning her head to the empty place opposite her.
"Where's the little one?" she asked and Andrew giggled, stopping immediately as Torah gave him a cold glare.
"He went out for a while," Warren answered her.
She raised her eyebrows, turning her head to him.
"He'll be back soon," Warren added and she sighed, shrugging.
"Fine," she said. "I'm here to tell you things are moving slower than I even expected possible," she now grumbled and Warren's eyebrows shot up in annoyance.
"I thought you were more powerful than all the demons in the underworld," he growled impatiently and now her eyes filled with such flaming anger that he recoiled slightly.
"I AM," she exclaimed, almost getting off her seat and then seemingly calming down because she sunk back down again, shaking her head. "But I'm not stronger than pure love," she murmured, starting to look at her nails.
Warren stared at her for a moment.
"You can't honestly mean that the Slayer loves a vamp so much that you can't break the God damn spell," Warren said skeptically, and her head shot up, her nails forgotten as she drew a breath in indignant disbelief.
"Fool," she said in a low voice. "Love has nothing to do with spells or magic tricks, love comes from the heart and true love is something magic can't tare up or break down. This love is twice as strong because they SHARE it. The Slayer loves this vampire who loves her back with no restraints what so ever. It makes me SICK."
Warren's eyes had grown and so had Andrew's at that little speech and now they sat back in their chairs as Torah sighed, doing the same.
"There must be something we can do. Some way to bring out the evil in Spike again," Warren grumbled and Torah sighed a little once more, shaking her head.
"That would take a lot of force, to beat the demon in him back to consciousness enough to have it take him over again." she muttered, adding: "And a damn miracle to be able to get to him when he's weakened and alone and." she stopped herself, swallowing and staring straight ahead.
The two mortals turned their eyes on her when she so suddenly cut herself off and the growing glow in her eyes competing with the small smile curling her lips made her look so evil they both felt shivers start traveling up and down their spines.
"Oh, of course. This is perfect," she said, nodding slowly to herself. "This is just perfect."
***
Buffy slowly woke, squinting in the sunlit room she thought of Spike and if the sun hit him.! She sat up straight, drawing a frightened breath, cursing herself for not closing the curtains and turning her head to see that the bed was empty except for her. A note was lying on the pillow next to hers and she smiled a little as she lied down to read what it said.
"Breakfast, pet."
She smiled wider as she skipped out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweater before jumping happily out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen where the smell of frying bacon and eggs hit her nostrils, making her mouth water.
He turned around when she walked in, wearing nothing but a pair of his black jeans and.
"Remember what you said, love?" he asked as she stared at him having come to a sharp halt at the sight meeting her. "'All that's missing is the apron.' Well," he said as a smile started growing on her face. "Took care of that."
She held back the giggles, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrows quizzically.
"What's the occasion?" she asked and now he smiled at her, reaching back and retrieving an envelope from one of his back pockets.
"This is," he answered, walking up to her slowly and she drew a small breath, as always amazed at how incredible he was, how beautiful, and what strength he simply radiated out of every cell of his being, the warmth resting gentle in his eyes and she swallowed slightly as she felt a stir of the heat he always kept burning inside of her make itself known.
Then she turned her eyes on the envelope, curiosity taking over as she furrowed her brow slightly.
"What's that?" she asked and he smiled wider, handing it to her and she took it almost carefully out of his hand.
"It's for you," he simply stated. "Open it," he added and she observed it for a moment before following his request and pulling the flip up, letting her fingers slide inside and her eyes grew slightly when she realized what it was. "Remember I told you I needed to do something last night.?" he asked silently and she nodded, bringing out the dollar bills. "First legal payment I've held in my hands in over a bloody century," he now added and she looked up at him with such a mix of shock and love and surprise that he smiled a little. "I want you to have it."
She swallowed hard as her hands trembled slightly, her eyes running over the money she was holding.
"Spike." she said hoarsely as she met his gaze again.
She didn't know what to say, didn't know how to tell him what this meant to her, the mere gesture of it meant more to her than the money. The money made her feel like a little kid at Christmas but the fact that he had done that, gone out and worked, for HER, melted her heart and she felt her eyes fill with tears as she started laughing, stepping up to him and throwing her arms around his neck she hugged him tight.
Spike smiled widely at that, closing his eyes and holding her to him as she both laughed and cried against his shoulder. Then she pulled away enough to kiss him, deepening the kiss with such fervor that he moaned slightly. They slowly broke it, looking at each other, both smiling contently.
"You didn't ha-." she started, but he interrupted her softly.
"I wanted to," he stated. "I can't just sit here and watch you bloody well press yourself close to death and not do anything about it, when I know I can," he added. "From now on this house will have two steady incomes, and there's not one bloody thing you can say about it."
"Bu-."
"No 'buts', Buffy," he interrupted again, bending down and kissing her gently on the mouth. "'Not a bloody thing you can say about it', remember?"
She smiled a little and then nodded slowly.
"Thank you," she said and he frowned slightly, pausing before sighing and saying with a small shrug:
"Okay, maybe ONE bloody thing you can say."
She giggled at that, shaking her head and pulling herself closer to him as she drew in a breath of spice and smoke and him, her lips against his neck she started kissing his cool skin and the grip he had on her back tightened.
"Bloody hell!" he suddenly exclaimed, pulling away and running up to the stove to grab the pan. "My sodding eggs," he grumbled as he started investigating the damage. "Seem all right," he then said with a smirk and tipped them over to the already brought out plate.
Buffy stood where he had left her, looking at the muscles of his back move underneath his skin as his arms worked the pan, the plate, the teapot and the toast, already prepared as well and kept warm in a small basket wrapped in a towel.
She licked her lips slightly, watching his profile as he concentrated on what he was doing and wishing she had a camera.
Wouldn't work, she grumbled, annoyed.
Then she smiled a little, walking up to him and stopping by his side, sliding a hand in between the fabric of the front of the apron and his stomach, letting her fingers caress his skin lightly and meeting his gaze with one that said exactly what she wanted.
He smiled a little crookedly and then closed his eyes with a small gasp as her fingers traveled down and slid inside the edge of his pants.
"Breakfast can wait," she mumbled as she let her hand slide up again and he swallowed hard, opening his eyes and meeting hers.
She turned slowly, walking ahead out of the kitchen and he stared after her for a moment before throwing what he had in his hands down and following. She laughed with tease as she ran ahead up the stairs.
***
Dawn scribbled in her diary, feeling like it was the dumbest thing to be doing at lunchbreak with a billion fellow students around her, but she just had to write down the thoughts swirling around in her head.
"Anything happen?" an unfamiliar voice asked behind her and her head shot up as she turned partially around to meet a pair of blue-green eyes belonging to a guy she'd never seen before.
"What?" she asked, closing the book, slightly on alert, and he smiled disarmingly.
She liked his smile, she concluded, but she was still suspicious. Ever since the Halloween incident she didn't really trust members of the opposite sex. Kind of ironic that one of the three she DID trust happened to be a vampire.
"Sorry, it's just I find that when people are that engulfed in something they're doing, like writing, something bad or good has happened," he elaborated and she smiled a little hesitantly, shaking her head.
"Nothing bad has happened," she said. "Nothing good, either, really. I-I just needed to.write."
He smiled brightly at that and nodded a little.
"Right, of course. Sorry to bother you," he said and seemed to be about to walk away.
Dawn felt she HAD to say something and so.
"No bothering here! I mean, I was just sorta. thinking," she said and he paused, furrowing his brow slightly and then nodding again.
"I do that too sometimes," he then stated with that smile growing back on his lips and this time she found herself smiling back fully. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Dawn," she answered and he held her gaze for a second before saying:
"My names Devon," and reaching out a hand.
She looked at it for a moment before reaching out as well and taking it. His grip was firm and warm and she felt a small swarm of butterflies eagerly start batting at her nerves.
"Nice to meet you, Devon," she said and he smiled again, letting go of her hand.
"Nice to meet YOU, Dawn," he stated and then the bell rang.
Dawn got up hurriedly and smiled a little at him.
"See you later?" she asked and he nodded.
"For sure," he stated and she smiled wider at that before they parted.
Dawn bit her lower lip, trying to keep a level head and not get too excited about the little encounter. But those eyes, and that smile, and. OH! This was shaping up to be a great day!
***
"He WHAT?" Willow asked, surprised and smiling as she sat down beside Buffy at the table in the crowded little café where they had chosen to meet after Buffy's shift at the Double Meat and Willow's humble last day of school before the summer.
"Yep, he got a JOB, Will," Buffy confirmed with a huge smile back and Willow laughed a little, shaking her head.
"I can see it now," she said wryly. "Cloaked in a daze of sleep at day the rescuer of innocents and lover of the Chosen One saves lives before pulling off the silk gloves to do some real hard labor at night time."
Buffy slapped her arm with a giggle, shaking her head.
"He's just so." she started, trailing off and getting a dreamy look on her face which made Willow swallow her iced tea with a small gulp and then start to laugh again.
"I don't think I wanna hear this," she said and Buffy grinned at her.
"I won't go there," she retorted and then looked down on her hands in her lap. "He's wonderful, Wills," she then said, her voice so truthful that Willow grew serious and Buffy looked up, still smiling slightly. "He's more than I could ever have wanted, more than I could've hoped for," she said and Willow smiled a little back, nodding.
"And I'm happy for you," she stated, reaching out a hand and grabbing the Slayers firmly. "I'm SO happy for you, Buffy."
Buffy drew a breath and sighed a little contently, something she seemed to do a lot lately and Lord, she didn't mind it.
"You have no idea how good I feel right now," she then said, bringing up her glass of icy lemonade to her mouth and taking a mouthful.
Willow smiled a little at that.
"Oh, I think I can imagine it," she said and Buffy paused for a moment before swallowing and squeezing her friends hand.
"Tara?" she asked and Willow's eyes lit up slightly. "Are you getting back together?"
"I'm not sure yet," Willow answered as they let go of each others hand. "But I think that, yeah, maybe it seems like it might be going that way," she added and Buffy smiled brightly.
"That's wonderful," she said and Willow nodded.
"I know," she said. ".So, to change the subject, did you talk to Giles any yesterday?"
Buffy sighed at that, leaning back and shaking her head.
"No, he successfully avoided me 'til I had to put on my happy-face and go to work," she grumbled. "And, of course, he had already gone to bed when I got back from patrolling," she added glumly and Willow sighed a little.
"Of course," she said, then added: "But I'm sure he must have a good reason for it."
"I'm sure he has a reason, but if it's 'good' or not remains to be seen," Buffy answered, taking another swallow of her lemonade, enjoying the tart taste playing on her tongue and thinking it kind of reminding her of Spike's.
Her eyes grew large and she blushed slightly, looking down on her hands again and trying not to giggle at that. Willow observed her for a moment.
"What?" she asked and Buffy jerked her head up, shaking it slightly.
"Oh, God, Will, don't ask," she said and Willow grinned a little before nodding agreement.
"I don't think I dare," she stated and at that Buffy couldn't hold back a fit of laughter.
***
Dusk was settling over Sunnydale when Buffy left the house to walk over to the Magic Box. She and Spike were going to start Dawn's training and the vamp and younger Summers were already there. She had decided to do a quick sweep of downtown and a few of the larger cemeteries before going over to the shop and as she approached the Museum of Fine Arts she heard the sound of shattering glass.
She started running immediately and rounded the corner of the building just as Jonathan jumped to the ground from the sill of the window he apparently had broken. He met her eyes for a moment and then turned, running away from her.
She gained on him and when she was close enough she leaped into the air, throwing herself at him and reaching out her arms, her hands almost grasping the fabric of his black jacket, but then suddenly proceeding to glide straight through his body and she landed with a hard thud on the ground; getting to her feet with a frown and looking around.
The young man turned 'villain' was nowhere to be seen and she started grinding her teeth.
"Warren, when I get my hands on you." she grumbled, annoyed that yet another trick had been played on her.
Then there was the sound of the alarm system going off inside the Museum and she felt her eyes enlarge as the irritation just kept building.
Had the Trio of the Absolute Most SODDING WANKERS EVER In All The History Of The BLOODY UNIVERSE just gotten away with another grand theft? No. Not possible. She had been RIGHT THERE for crying out loud.
Then a uniformed man come running out through the front doors and she hesitated a moment before running up to him as he raced down the walk leading to the street.
"What happened?" she yelled after him as he didn't seem to take any notice of her and he turned around, yelling back:
"The necklace of Karatka.It's gone!"
Buffy slowed to a stop, staring after the man and then a growl rose in her throat that turned into a scream of disbelief.
***
Dawn ducked in slow motion as Spike kicked out his leg over her head just as slow.
"Good," he said, nodding approvingly. "Lets see how much you picked u-."
"Those damn sodding wankers I'm gonna bloody well see them in jail if it's the last God damn thing I do in this lifetime!" he suddenly heard the voice of his girl scream outside the door of the sparring room before she in person kicked it open and trampled down the steps. "Dammit, I'm furious with myself!" she exclaimed and Spike cocked an eyebrow, Dawn just gaped at her and Buffy stared at them both before trying to take calming breaths.
It didn't work.
"How can I be so frigging slow, Spike, TELL me that!" Buffy now yelled, starting to pace as she pulled her sweater off, the tank top underneath it already stained with perspiration and he realized she must have done some heavy duty patrolling before getting to the Magic Box.
"What are you on about?" he now asked and she sighed, shaking her head as she started jumping to warm up.
"Those." her eyes landed in her sister's and she smiled a little. "Hi, Dawnie, sorry you had to hear that but right now I'm just so damn mad I don't even care," she stated and Dawn smiled hesitantly before starting towards the door.
"I understand," she said. "You get some of that steam out and I'll join you guys in a few," she added and Buffy smiled, appreciating that gesture, as her sister walked up the stairs, being met by Giles who came to silently stand in the doorway.
"So," Spike said, positioning himself in front of Buffy who took a step back, growing concentrated. "Tell me all about it."
"Well," she said, twirling around and kicking her foot out, wanting to hit him in the chest, only he grabbed her leg and spun her back around, making her almost lose her balance, but she regained it quickly. "This Trio is getting a little bit," she jabbed, he caught it, she tried an upper cut, he averted it easily, "on my nerves," she growled as she finally got in a perfect hit on his chin and sent him stumbling backwards.
He moved his jaw a little and then smirked slightly.
"Yeah?" he asked, moving in on her and ducking when she kicked her leg out again.
"Yeah," she said. "They don't only get on my nerves," she then continued, jumping up and kicking out her right leg, hitting him in the chest as he straightened his back and sending him flying, "they get under my skin," she finished and he got to his feet.
"And you hate that," he stated and she nodded, moving towards him and stopping in front of him.
"Well, unless it's, you know.you," she then said and he smiled at that before receiving another hard blow to the chin and a hook to the cheek which made him lose his balance and fall to his knees, supporting himself with one hand he looked up at her.
Then he rose and started delivering fast punches, which she averted most of, and she started backing away as he began walking forward.
Giles still stood silent, observing them.
Buffy ducked away from a punch to the face and delivered one to Spike's side which made him wince and he hit her back, his landing on her cheek which threw her off guard.
"Buffy," Giles said and she drew a breath as she took another hard blow to the face from her lover.
"Yes?" she asked, ducking and hitting Spike just as hard in the stomach.
"I think we should."
"Wait just a moment," she interrupted, averting a blow with her left arm and receiving one in her side she took a step back, bracing herself and then threw another punch to Spike's face.
He took it and at the same time pulled his hand back in a fist, it hitting her hard on the chin and she drew a sharp breath, close to losing her balance again she didn't see Spike draw back, spin around and kick his leg out, hitting her hard in the stomach she flew back and landed with a hard thud against the wall.
"You okay, love?" he asked and she smiled a little, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.
"Takes a little more than that to break me, remember?" she stated and he smirked, nodding.
"Buffy," Giles said again and she turned her head to him, raising her eyebrows a little.
"You know, we just need to finish up," she said impatiently. "Sorry if this is the time you've chosen to 'tell all' or whatever but we're a little bit busy," she added.
Spike looked at her and then at the Watcher, not planning on getting in the middle of this one.
Giles smiled a little.
"Buffy, I ju-."
"No," she interrupted again. "Not right now. We'll be out in half an hour or so and then we can talk."
She looked at Spike and he returned her gaze as she seemed to position herself in fighting stance again. He did as well.
"Buffy," Giles repeated, this time with a little more authority and she sighed, turning to him once more.
"What?" she asked and he drew a small breath before answering:
"You're pregnant."
The Continuance
By Annie
06-09-2002
Jonathan glared at Warren who was slurping his coffee and looking through the morning paper, rattling the pages loudly and then swallowing with a gulp before repeating the process.
Finally Jonathan got to his feet.
"I'm going out," he said abrubtly before walking up to the door, taking the steps quickly and pushing the door open harshly.
Warren looked up at it closing behind Jonathan's back and then he turned to Andrew.
"He knows," Warren grumbled, setting down his cup and Andrew's eyes grew slightly larger at that.
"What do you mean 'he knows'? How could he 'know' anything?" the latter asked in the nervous mouse manner that always made Warren want to build a huge trap for the former to get painfully caught in.
"He's acting all weird, incase you haven't noticed," Warren said, folding the newspaper up and throwing it on the chair next to him before leaning forward slightly. "We need to figure out a way to get rid off him," he now added and Andrew stared at him for a second before slowly nodding.
"Have you got anything in mind?" he asked and Warren grew thoughtful; then he was about to answer but the door to their small space being opened with a hard tug made both he and Andrew twirl their heads that way, more than startled.
Torah came down the stairs and smiled a little at their expression.
"You know, every time I see you boys look at me like that it warms my heart," she said softly as she walked up to them.
They both started to relax slightly as she sat down on the edge of the seat of one of the chairs and gave them both a grave stare before turning her head to the empty place opposite her.
"Where's the little one?" she asked and Andrew giggled, stopping immediately as Torah gave him a cold glare.
"He went out for a while," Warren answered her.
She raised her eyebrows, turning her head to him.
"He'll be back soon," Warren added and she sighed, shrugging.
"Fine," she said. "I'm here to tell you things are moving slower than I even expected possible," she now grumbled and Warren's eyebrows shot up in annoyance.
"I thought you were more powerful than all the demons in the underworld," he growled impatiently and now her eyes filled with such flaming anger that he recoiled slightly.
"I AM," she exclaimed, almost getting off her seat and then seemingly calming down because she sunk back down again, shaking her head. "But I'm not stronger than pure love," she murmured, starting to look at her nails.
Warren stared at her for a moment.
"You can't honestly mean that the Slayer loves a vamp so much that you can't break the God damn spell," Warren said skeptically, and her head shot up, her nails forgotten as she drew a breath in indignant disbelief.
"Fool," she said in a low voice. "Love has nothing to do with spells or magic tricks, love comes from the heart and true love is something magic can't tare up or break down. This love is twice as strong because they SHARE it. The Slayer loves this vampire who loves her back with no restraints what so ever. It makes me SICK."
Warren's eyes had grown and so had Andrew's at that little speech and now they sat back in their chairs as Torah sighed, doing the same.
"There must be something we can do. Some way to bring out the evil in Spike again," Warren grumbled and Torah sighed a little once more, shaking her head.
"That would take a lot of force, to beat the demon in him back to consciousness enough to have it take him over again." she muttered, adding: "And a damn miracle to be able to get to him when he's weakened and alone and." she stopped herself, swallowing and staring straight ahead.
The two mortals turned their eyes on her when she so suddenly cut herself off and the growing glow in her eyes competing with the small smile curling her lips made her look so evil they both felt shivers start traveling up and down their spines.
"Oh, of course. This is perfect," she said, nodding slowly to herself. "This is just perfect."
***
Buffy slowly woke, squinting in the sunlit room she thought of Spike and if the sun hit him.! She sat up straight, drawing a frightened breath, cursing herself for not closing the curtains and turning her head to see that the bed was empty except for her. A note was lying on the pillow next to hers and she smiled a little as she lied down to read what it said.
"Breakfast, pet."
She smiled wider as she skipped out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweater before jumping happily out of the room and down the stairs into the kitchen where the smell of frying bacon and eggs hit her nostrils, making her mouth water.
He turned around when she walked in, wearing nothing but a pair of his black jeans and.
"Remember what you said, love?" he asked as she stared at him having come to a sharp halt at the sight meeting her. "'All that's missing is the apron.' Well," he said as a smile started growing on her face. "Took care of that."
She held back the giggles, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrows quizzically.
"What's the occasion?" she asked and now he smiled at her, reaching back and retrieving an envelope from one of his back pockets.
"This is," he answered, walking up to her slowly and she drew a small breath, as always amazed at how incredible he was, how beautiful, and what strength he simply radiated out of every cell of his being, the warmth resting gentle in his eyes and she swallowed slightly as she felt a stir of the heat he always kept burning inside of her make itself known.
Then she turned her eyes on the envelope, curiosity taking over as she furrowed her brow slightly.
"What's that?" she asked and he smiled wider, handing it to her and she took it almost carefully out of his hand.
"It's for you," he simply stated. "Open it," he added and she observed it for a moment before following his request and pulling the flip up, letting her fingers slide inside and her eyes grew slightly when she realized what it was. "Remember I told you I needed to do something last night.?" he asked silently and she nodded, bringing out the dollar bills. "First legal payment I've held in my hands in over a bloody century," he now added and she looked up at him with such a mix of shock and love and surprise that he smiled a little. "I want you to have it."
She swallowed hard as her hands trembled slightly, her eyes running over the money she was holding.
"Spike." she said hoarsely as she met his gaze again.
She didn't know what to say, didn't know how to tell him what this meant to her, the mere gesture of it meant more to her than the money. The money made her feel like a little kid at Christmas but the fact that he had done that, gone out and worked, for HER, melted her heart and she felt her eyes fill with tears as she started laughing, stepping up to him and throwing her arms around his neck she hugged him tight.
Spike smiled widely at that, closing his eyes and holding her to him as she both laughed and cried against his shoulder. Then she pulled away enough to kiss him, deepening the kiss with such fervor that he moaned slightly. They slowly broke it, looking at each other, both smiling contently.
"You didn't ha-." she started, but he interrupted her softly.
"I wanted to," he stated. "I can't just sit here and watch you bloody well press yourself close to death and not do anything about it, when I know I can," he added. "From now on this house will have two steady incomes, and there's not one bloody thing you can say about it."
"Bu-."
"No 'buts', Buffy," he interrupted again, bending down and kissing her gently on the mouth. "'Not a bloody thing you can say about it', remember?"
She smiled a little and then nodded slowly.
"Thank you," she said and he frowned slightly, pausing before sighing and saying with a small shrug:
"Okay, maybe ONE bloody thing you can say."
She giggled at that, shaking her head and pulling herself closer to him as she drew in a breath of spice and smoke and him, her lips against his neck she started kissing his cool skin and the grip he had on her back tightened.
"Bloody hell!" he suddenly exclaimed, pulling away and running up to the stove to grab the pan. "My sodding eggs," he grumbled as he started investigating the damage. "Seem all right," he then said with a smirk and tipped them over to the already brought out plate.
Buffy stood where he had left her, looking at the muscles of his back move underneath his skin as his arms worked the pan, the plate, the teapot and the toast, already prepared as well and kept warm in a small basket wrapped in a towel.
She licked her lips slightly, watching his profile as he concentrated on what he was doing and wishing she had a camera.
Wouldn't work, she grumbled, annoyed.
Then she smiled a little, walking up to him and stopping by his side, sliding a hand in between the fabric of the front of the apron and his stomach, letting her fingers caress his skin lightly and meeting his gaze with one that said exactly what she wanted.
He smiled a little crookedly and then closed his eyes with a small gasp as her fingers traveled down and slid inside the edge of his pants.
"Breakfast can wait," she mumbled as she let her hand slide up again and he swallowed hard, opening his eyes and meeting hers.
She turned slowly, walking ahead out of the kitchen and he stared after her for a moment before throwing what he had in his hands down and following. She laughed with tease as she ran ahead up the stairs.
***
Dawn scribbled in her diary, feeling like it was the dumbest thing to be doing at lunchbreak with a billion fellow students around her, but she just had to write down the thoughts swirling around in her head.
"Anything happen?" an unfamiliar voice asked behind her and her head shot up as she turned partially around to meet a pair of blue-green eyes belonging to a guy she'd never seen before.
"What?" she asked, closing the book, slightly on alert, and he smiled disarmingly.
She liked his smile, she concluded, but she was still suspicious. Ever since the Halloween incident she didn't really trust members of the opposite sex. Kind of ironic that one of the three she DID trust happened to be a vampire.
"Sorry, it's just I find that when people are that engulfed in something they're doing, like writing, something bad or good has happened," he elaborated and she smiled a little hesitantly, shaking her head.
"Nothing bad has happened," she said. "Nothing good, either, really. I-I just needed to.write."
He smiled brightly at that and nodded a little.
"Right, of course. Sorry to bother you," he said and seemed to be about to walk away.
Dawn felt she HAD to say something and so.
"No bothering here! I mean, I was just sorta. thinking," she said and he paused, furrowing his brow slightly and then nodding again.
"I do that too sometimes," he then stated with that smile growing back on his lips and this time she found herself smiling back fully. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Dawn," she answered and he held her gaze for a second before saying:
"My names Devon," and reaching out a hand.
She looked at it for a moment before reaching out as well and taking it. His grip was firm and warm and she felt a small swarm of butterflies eagerly start batting at her nerves.
"Nice to meet you, Devon," she said and he smiled again, letting go of her hand.
"Nice to meet YOU, Dawn," he stated and then the bell rang.
Dawn got up hurriedly and smiled a little at him.
"See you later?" she asked and he nodded.
"For sure," he stated and she smiled wider at that before they parted.
Dawn bit her lower lip, trying to keep a level head and not get too excited about the little encounter. But those eyes, and that smile, and. OH! This was shaping up to be a great day!
***
"He WHAT?" Willow asked, surprised and smiling as she sat down beside Buffy at the table in the crowded little café where they had chosen to meet after Buffy's shift at the Double Meat and Willow's humble last day of school before the summer.
"Yep, he got a JOB, Will," Buffy confirmed with a huge smile back and Willow laughed a little, shaking her head.
"I can see it now," she said wryly. "Cloaked in a daze of sleep at day the rescuer of innocents and lover of the Chosen One saves lives before pulling off the silk gloves to do some real hard labor at night time."
Buffy slapped her arm with a giggle, shaking her head.
"He's just so." she started, trailing off and getting a dreamy look on her face which made Willow swallow her iced tea with a small gulp and then start to laugh again.
"I don't think I wanna hear this," she said and Buffy grinned at her.
"I won't go there," she retorted and then looked down on her hands in her lap. "He's wonderful, Wills," she then said, her voice so truthful that Willow grew serious and Buffy looked up, still smiling slightly. "He's more than I could ever have wanted, more than I could've hoped for," she said and Willow smiled a little back, nodding.
"And I'm happy for you," she stated, reaching out a hand and grabbing the Slayers firmly. "I'm SO happy for you, Buffy."
Buffy drew a breath and sighed a little contently, something she seemed to do a lot lately and Lord, she didn't mind it.
"You have no idea how good I feel right now," she then said, bringing up her glass of icy lemonade to her mouth and taking a mouthful.
Willow smiled a little at that.
"Oh, I think I can imagine it," she said and Buffy paused for a moment before swallowing and squeezing her friends hand.
"Tara?" she asked and Willow's eyes lit up slightly. "Are you getting back together?"
"I'm not sure yet," Willow answered as they let go of each others hand. "But I think that, yeah, maybe it seems like it might be going that way," she added and Buffy smiled brightly.
"That's wonderful," she said and Willow nodded.
"I know," she said. ".So, to change the subject, did you talk to Giles any yesterday?"
Buffy sighed at that, leaning back and shaking her head.
"No, he successfully avoided me 'til I had to put on my happy-face and go to work," she grumbled. "And, of course, he had already gone to bed when I got back from patrolling," she added glumly and Willow sighed a little.
"Of course," she said, then added: "But I'm sure he must have a good reason for it."
"I'm sure he has a reason, but if it's 'good' or not remains to be seen," Buffy answered, taking another swallow of her lemonade, enjoying the tart taste playing on her tongue and thinking it kind of reminding her of Spike's.
Her eyes grew large and she blushed slightly, looking down on her hands again and trying not to giggle at that. Willow observed her for a moment.
"What?" she asked and Buffy jerked her head up, shaking it slightly.
"Oh, God, Will, don't ask," she said and Willow grinned a little before nodding agreement.
"I don't think I dare," she stated and at that Buffy couldn't hold back a fit of laughter.
***
Dusk was settling over Sunnydale when Buffy left the house to walk over to the Magic Box. She and Spike were going to start Dawn's training and the vamp and younger Summers were already there. She had decided to do a quick sweep of downtown and a few of the larger cemeteries before going over to the shop and as she approached the Museum of Fine Arts she heard the sound of shattering glass.
She started running immediately and rounded the corner of the building just as Jonathan jumped to the ground from the sill of the window he apparently had broken. He met her eyes for a moment and then turned, running away from her.
She gained on him and when she was close enough she leaped into the air, throwing herself at him and reaching out her arms, her hands almost grasping the fabric of his black jacket, but then suddenly proceeding to glide straight through his body and she landed with a hard thud on the ground; getting to her feet with a frown and looking around.
The young man turned 'villain' was nowhere to be seen and she started grinding her teeth.
"Warren, when I get my hands on you." she grumbled, annoyed that yet another trick had been played on her.
Then there was the sound of the alarm system going off inside the Museum and she felt her eyes enlarge as the irritation just kept building.
Had the Trio of the Absolute Most SODDING WANKERS EVER In All The History Of The BLOODY UNIVERSE just gotten away with another grand theft? No. Not possible. She had been RIGHT THERE for crying out loud.
Then a uniformed man come running out through the front doors and she hesitated a moment before running up to him as he raced down the walk leading to the street.
"What happened?" she yelled after him as he didn't seem to take any notice of her and he turned around, yelling back:
"The necklace of Karatka.It's gone!"
Buffy slowed to a stop, staring after the man and then a growl rose in her throat that turned into a scream of disbelief.
***
Dawn ducked in slow motion as Spike kicked out his leg over her head just as slow.
"Good," he said, nodding approvingly. "Lets see how much you picked u-."
"Those damn sodding wankers I'm gonna bloody well see them in jail if it's the last God damn thing I do in this lifetime!" he suddenly heard the voice of his girl scream outside the door of the sparring room before she in person kicked it open and trampled down the steps. "Dammit, I'm furious with myself!" she exclaimed and Spike cocked an eyebrow, Dawn just gaped at her and Buffy stared at them both before trying to take calming breaths.
It didn't work.
"How can I be so frigging slow, Spike, TELL me that!" Buffy now yelled, starting to pace as she pulled her sweater off, the tank top underneath it already stained with perspiration and he realized she must have done some heavy duty patrolling before getting to the Magic Box.
"What are you on about?" he now asked and she sighed, shaking her head as she started jumping to warm up.
"Those." her eyes landed in her sister's and she smiled a little. "Hi, Dawnie, sorry you had to hear that but right now I'm just so damn mad I don't even care," she stated and Dawn smiled hesitantly before starting towards the door.
"I understand," she said. "You get some of that steam out and I'll join you guys in a few," she added and Buffy smiled, appreciating that gesture, as her sister walked up the stairs, being met by Giles who came to silently stand in the doorway.
"So," Spike said, positioning himself in front of Buffy who took a step back, growing concentrated. "Tell me all about it."
"Well," she said, twirling around and kicking her foot out, wanting to hit him in the chest, only he grabbed her leg and spun her back around, making her almost lose her balance, but she regained it quickly. "This Trio is getting a little bit," she jabbed, he caught it, she tried an upper cut, he averted it easily, "on my nerves," she growled as she finally got in a perfect hit on his chin and sent him stumbling backwards.
He moved his jaw a little and then smirked slightly.
"Yeah?" he asked, moving in on her and ducking when she kicked her leg out again.
"Yeah," she said. "They don't only get on my nerves," she then continued, jumping up and kicking out her right leg, hitting him in the chest as he straightened his back and sending him flying, "they get under my skin," she finished and he got to his feet.
"And you hate that," he stated and she nodded, moving towards him and stopping in front of him.
"Well, unless it's, you know.you," she then said and he smiled at that before receiving another hard blow to the chin and a hook to the cheek which made him lose his balance and fall to his knees, supporting himself with one hand he looked up at her.
Then he rose and started delivering fast punches, which she averted most of, and she started backing away as he began walking forward.
Giles still stood silent, observing them.
Buffy ducked away from a punch to the face and delivered one to Spike's side which made him wince and he hit her back, his landing on her cheek which threw her off guard.
"Buffy," Giles said and she drew a breath as she took another hard blow to the face from her lover.
"Yes?" she asked, ducking and hitting Spike just as hard in the stomach.
"I think we should."
"Wait just a moment," she interrupted, averting a blow with her left arm and receiving one in her side she took a step back, bracing herself and then threw another punch to Spike's face.
He took it and at the same time pulled his hand back in a fist, it hitting her hard on the chin and she drew a sharp breath, close to losing her balance again she didn't see Spike draw back, spin around and kick his leg out, hitting her hard in the stomach she flew back and landed with a hard thud against the wall.
"You okay, love?" he asked and she smiled a little, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.
"Takes a little more than that to break me, remember?" she stated and he smirked, nodding.
"Buffy," Giles said again and she turned her head to him, raising her eyebrows a little.
"You know, we just need to finish up," she said impatiently. "Sorry if this is the time you've chosen to 'tell all' or whatever but we're a little bit busy," she added.
Spike looked at her and then at the Watcher, not planning on getting in the middle of this one.
Giles smiled a little.
"Buffy, I ju-."
"No," she interrupted again. "Not right now. We'll be out in half an hour or so and then we can talk."
She looked at Spike and he returned her gaze as she seemed to position herself in fighting stance again. He did as well.
"Buffy," Giles repeated, this time with a little more authority and she sighed, turning to him once more.
"What?" she asked and he drew a small breath before answering:
"You're pregnant."