CHAPTER 35 - "WE'LL COME BACK HERE!"
Buffy raised her head to look at Spike, "That's really cheating," she said, grinning, "not that I'm complaining."
He grinned back, "Yeah, guess it was. Tell you what, this time we both get dressed at the same time," he said, and kissed her once more.
Laughing, she got off of Spike and they both got dressed.
Taking her hand, they walked out into the living room and into the kitchen.
Buffy threw out the old coffee and started another pot, and put the pan on the stove, while Spike beat some eggs and milk together, throwing in some cinnamon and nutmeg into the mix.
A few minutes later, Spike added some oil to the hot pan, while Buffy set the table.
Dipping the sourdough bread into the mixture, he started the French Toast, while Buffy set the table and poured them two cups of coffee and orange juice.
Then remembering, Buffy went to the refrigerator and got out a bag of blood, "Got a pan for this?" she asked Spike.
"Don't have to do that, I can drink it cold," he answered, "don't think heated blood would wash up too easily out of this old pan."
"Nonsense!"
He shrugged and reached for a pan.
She filled it with water and put it on the stove next to the eggs and turned on the burner. Once it started bubbling, she put the bag of blood into the heated water.
"Never thought of that!" he said, admiringly.
"Used to baby-sit, back in L.A., before I was the Slayer. Just like warming up a bottle of milk."
"Thanks!" he said, with mock indignation.
"Just think of it as a pre-microwave way to warm up something," she said, patting Spike soothingly on the back.
"Okay, okay," he ceded, "it'll work. Thanks."
Spike finished the French Toast, and placed it on a platter, setting it on the table, while Buffy took the warmed blood off of the stove and poured it into another coffee mug.
She put it down in front of his seat, as he finished bringing the powdered sugar, butter, and maple syrup to the table.
Buffy then sat down and so did Spike.
"Looks good," she said, as he placed a couple of pieces of French Toast on her plate.
"Sorry we don't have any bacon this morning, ate it all yesterday," he said.
"It's fine. This...it's fine. It's lovely," she said, looking at him.
He looked at her across the table. Her hair was still all mussed up from their latest lovemaking and it made him smile.
"What?" she asked, looking at him quizzically.
"Nothing," he said, still smiling, "just you look so nice, so...happy."
"Sure, I'm sure I look just great, after..." she said, putting her hands up to smooth down her hair, which she knew was a mess.
She put her fork down, and reached across the table to take his hand, "But I am...happy. Truly happy, happier than I've been in a long time, maybe ever. I...this has been a wonderful weekend, Spike."
"It has, hasn't it?" he asked, wonder in his voice, as he interlaced his fingers with hers.
They sat staring at each other for another few minutes, lost in each other, in the feelings, the emotions, breakfast and everything else forgotten.
Spike was the one, who came back first, to the present, "Buffy?"
"Huh?" she said, staring at him, as if it were the first time.
"Better eat, luv, it's gonna get cold," he said, gently unlacing his fingers from hers.
"Okay," she said, looking back toward her place, rather shyly, it appeared, but really to get a grip on the strong emotions that threatened to overtake her.
"This is really good," Buffy said, concentrating on chewing her Sourdough-French Toast, "like what you did to the batter."
"My mum used to make it this way," Spike said, "just remembered it when I started it, haven't had it this way in...about 100 years."
"Sourdough bread, too?"
"No, don't think so, but bread back then did use to be a lot hardier that the crap they sell now-a-days," Spike answered.
She nodded. For a vampire, he sure seemed to keep up on current trends. She smiled to herself.
They finished eating, making small talk about food, places, and people.
Buffy put her fork down, "Well, once again, I've overfed at the trough of William Worthington!"
Spike laughed, "That's because William Worthington keeps working up Miss Elizabeth's appetite!" he said, a slow, sexy smile spreading over his face.
"Indeed, he does," Buffy agreed, fanning herself in mock embarrassment, using one of the restaurant napkins that had been sent along.
They cleaned up the breakfast dishes, Spike washing and Buffy drying.
"Where do they go?" Buffy asked.
"Just leave 'em in the drainer, Buffy," Spike said, but Buffy shook her head no.
He looked at her, then nodded.
"Dishes go up here, cups in that one," he said motioning with his head, "and silverware in the drawer next to the stove," he told her understanding that she was putting things back the way they were, before they had come here.
"Okay," she said, trying to keep her voice sounding cheery.
They finished up stood facing each other in the middle of the kitchen.
Spike held out his hands to Buffy and she took them, letting herself be pulled in close.
He kissed her softly, as her arms went around his neck; his arms went around her waist.
"Love you," she whispered.
"Love you, too," he said, as he continued kissing her lips, her neck, her ear.
He pulled back and looked at her, "What do you want to do, today?" he asked.
"Besides this?" she asked, "you mean there's something else? Other than this?" she joked.
"Wouldn't know it by us, would ya?"
She shook her head no, giggling.
Spike glanced out the window, "Look," he said pointing, "starting to snow again."
Buffy smiled, "I'm glad, looked at Snowman Spike a little earlier and he was beginning to show some wear and tear."
"Walk?"
"Yeah, let's," she said, kissing him.
They went off to get dressed and Spike checked in quickly with home.
"Ready?" Spike called out.
"Ready," Buffy said, as she hurried back into the kitchen, pulling on her gloves.
Spike reached over and buttoned one more button on her coat, "Don't want you to catch your death..." he stopped at the not so funny joke.
"Thank you," she said.
They walked out through the porch and Buffy stopped to fix-up Snowman Spike, first.
"Snowman Spike is a high maintenance kind of guy," Buffy said.
"Like his namesake?" Spike asked.
She put the finishing touches back on his face, having smoothed his middle, added to his bottom, and reinserted his fangs, "Wouldn't have it any other way," she answered, tossing a snowball in his direction.
"Oh, you don't want to get me started, Slayer!" he threatened.
"Oh, don't I?" she said lobbing another one at him, then taking off running toward the woods.
Spike laughed and took off after her; "You're dead now!"
"Gotta catch me first, Spike," she yelled, looking back.
She stopped, "Where'd he go?"
She turned and was surprised by Spike standing there in front of her, "Vampire, you know! Super speed, when needed."
She laughed, "Yeah, forgot. Well, super-speed this," she said, pushing him back and onto his bottom as she took off again.
He soon caught up with her, the old fashioned way and tackled her from behind. They rolled onto the ground laughing and trying to mash snow into each other's faces, until laughing eyes turned serious and their lips found one another's once more.
"Spike," she murmured between kisses.
He felt his face get wet and looked at her. She was crying.
"Now, luv, what's this?"
"Oh, Spike, I'm going to miss you so much," Buffy said, sniffling.
"Don't have to miss me, Buffy, I'm not going anywhere, not leaving your side, you know that, pet," he said, looking into her eyes, wiping her tears away.
"I'll miss you. Miss knowing you here, it's so easy here, easy to love, easy to be happy, hell...it's even easy to be me! A me I didn't even know was me!"
"Buffy!" Spike said, seriously, pulling her up until they were both sitting, "I promise you, you will come back here, we both will! Please believe me, okay?"
She looked at him, his face so sincere and for that moment, she could almost believe him; did believe him. She nodded, "I believe you."
"Say it!" he commanded, "say we'll come back here!"
"We'll come back here," she whispered.
"Say it like you mean it!"
"We'll come back here!" she said, louder.
"Again!"
"We'll come back here!"
"Louder!"
"WE'LL COME BACK HERE!" she shouted as loud as she could.
"AGAIN!" he said, pulling her up.
"WE'LL COME BACK HERE!" he shouted right along with her this time.
"That's better!" he said, nodded and kissed her on the mouth.
He took her hand then, and they continued up the path.
About half an hour later, Buffy said, "I know where this is!" she said, and letting go of Spike's hand, she walked over to a cherished landmark, "Hello, Tree, old friend," she said, giving it a pat.
Spike pulled a knife out of his boot and walked over to the backside of the tree.
"Don't hurt it!" Buffy said.
"I won't, I wouldn't, just a little decorating," he said, as he started working on something.
"Hey, no peeking," he told her, when she tried to see what he was doing.
She stopped, and just stood on the path, imagining the picture Spike had drawn of he woman's body, shadowed on the tree, and smiled at the boot he'd put on the ground.
"Okay, you can look now," he told her, as he stepped back.
She went around to where he was. He had carved a heart into the bark and it said,
"W Loves E."
She smiled at him, "I don't think I've ever had anyone ever carve declarations of love to me in anything before!" she said, "thank you."
He smiled back at her and looked admiringly at his handiwork. He then bent down and picked up some of the bark he had to strip from the tree. He handed them to her, "A memento, " he said.
She put them into her jacket, patting the pocket, "A piece of tree," she said, then inspired, "a piece of thee!" she added.
"Gahhh!" Spike snorted, rolling his eyes.
"What? Don't I sound like the Bard?"
"Oh yeah, you sure do!"
She giggled, and taking his hand, pulled him toward her for a soft, lingering kiss.
"Now that's poetry!" he said, kissing her back.
"Then I should publish it, right? Do public readings, perhaps?" she asked, teasingly, between kisses.
"Better not, missy! You're my poetry, mine only, understand?" he said, kissing her harder.
"Yours, lover, only yours, Spike," she agreed.
He broke off the kiss and yelled, "WE'LL COME BACK HERE!" and she joined in, until their voices echoed throughout the woods.
Buffy raised her head to look at Spike, "That's really cheating," she said, grinning, "not that I'm complaining."
He grinned back, "Yeah, guess it was. Tell you what, this time we both get dressed at the same time," he said, and kissed her once more.
Laughing, she got off of Spike and they both got dressed.
Taking her hand, they walked out into the living room and into the kitchen.
Buffy threw out the old coffee and started another pot, and put the pan on the stove, while Spike beat some eggs and milk together, throwing in some cinnamon and nutmeg into the mix.
A few minutes later, Spike added some oil to the hot pan, while Buffy set the table.
Dipping the sourdough bread into the mixture, he started the French Toast, while Buffy set the table and poured them two cups of coffee and orange juice.
Then remembering, Buffy went to the refrigerator and got out a bag of blood, "Got a pan for this?" she asked Spike.
"Don't have to do that, I can drink it cold," he answered, "don't think heated blood would wash up too easily out of this old pan."
"Nonsense!"
He shrugged and reached for a pan.
She filled it with water and put it on the stove next to the eggs and turned on the burner. Once it started bubbling, she put the bag of blood into the heated water.
"Never thought of that!" he said, admiringly.
"Used to baby-sit, back in L.A., before I was the Slayer. Just like warming up a bottle of milk."
"Thanks!" he said, with mock indignation.
"Just think of it as a pre-microwave way to warm up something," she said, patting Spike soothingly on the back.
"Okay, okay," he ceded, "it'll work. Thanks."
Spike finished the French Toast, and placed it on a platter, setting it on the table, while Buffy took the warmed blood off of the stove and poured it into another coffee mug.
She put it down in front of his seat, as he finished bringing the powdered sugar, butter, and maple syrup to the table.
Buffy then sat down and so did Spike.
"Looks good," she said, as he placed a couple of pieces of French Toast on her plate.
"Sorry we don't have any bacon this morning, ate it all yesterday," he said.
"It's fine. This...it's fine. It's lovely," she said, looking at him.
He looked at her across the table. Her hair was still all mussed up from their latest lovemaking and it made him smile.
"What?" she asked, looking at him quizzically.
"Nothing," he said, still smiling, "just you look so nice, so...happy."
"Sure, I'm sure I look just great, after..." she said, putting her hands up to smooth down her hair, which she knew was a mess.
She put her fork down, and reached across the table to take his hand, "But I am...happy. Truly happy, happier than I've been in a long time, maybe ever. I...this has been a wonderful weekend, Spike."
"It has, hasn't it?" he asked, wonder in his voice, as he interlaced his fingers with hers.
They sat staring at each other for another few minutes, lost in each other, in the feelings, the emotions, breakfast and everything else forgotten.
Spike was the one, who came back first, to the present, "Buffy?"
"Huh?" she said, staring at him, as if it were the first time.
"Better eat, luv, it's gonna get cold," he said, gently unlacing his fingers from hers.
"Okay," she said, looking back toward her place, rather shyly, it appeared, but really to get a grip on the strong emotions that threatened to overtake her.
"This is really good," Buffy said, concentrating on chewing her Sourdough-French Toast, "like what you did to the batter."
"My mum used to make it this way," Spike said, "just remembered it when I started it, haven't had it this way in...about 100 years."
"Sourdough bread, too?"
"No, don't think so, but bread back then did use to be a lot hardier that the crap they sell now-a-days," Spike answered.
She nodded. For a vampire, he sure seemed to keep up on current trends. She smiled to herself.
They finished eating, making small talk about food, places, and people.
Buffy put her fork down, "Well, once again, I've overfed at the trough of William Worthington!"
Spike laughed, "That's because William Worthington keeps working up Miss Elizabeth's appetite!" he said, a slow, sexy smile spreading over his face.
"Indeed, he does," Buffy agreed, fanning herself in mock embarrassment, using one of the restaurant napkins that had been sent along.
They cleaned up the breakfast dishes, Spike washing and Buffy drying.
"Where do they go?" Buffy asked.
"Just leave 'em in the drainer, Buffy," Spike said, but Buffy shook her head no.
He looked at her, then nodded.
"Dishes go up here, cups in that one," he said motioning with his head, "and silverware in the drawer next to the stove," he told her understanding that she was putting things back the way they were, before they had come here.
"Okay," she said, trying to keep her voice sounding cheery.
They finished up stood facing each other in the middle of the kitchen.
Spike held out his hands to Buffy and she took them, letting herself be pulled in close.
He kissed her softly, as her arms went around his neck; his arms went around her waist.
"Love you," she whispered.
"Love you, too," he said, as he continued kissing her lips, her neck, her ear.
He pulled back and looked at her, "What do you want to do, today?" he asked.
"Besides this?" she asked, "you mean there's something else? Other than this?" she joked.
"Wouldn't know it by us, would ya?"
She shook her head no, giggling.
Spike glanced out the window, "Look," he said pointing, "starting to snow again."
Buffy smiled, "I'm glad, looked at Snowman Spike a little earlier and he was beginning to show some wear and tear."
"Walk?"
"Yeah, let's," she said, kissing him.
They went off to get dressed and Spike checked in quickly with home.
"Ready?" Spike called out.
"Ready," Buffy said, as she hurried back into the kitchen, pulling on her gloves.
Spike reached over and buttoned one more button on her coat, "Don't want you to catch your death..." he stopped at the not so funny joke.
"Thank you," she said.
They walked out through the porch and Buffy stopped to fix-up Snowman Spike, first.
"Snowman Spike is a high maintenance kind of guy," Buffy said.
"Like his namesake?" Spike asked.
She put the finishing touches back on his face, having smoothed his middle, added to his bottom, and reinserted his fangs, "Wouldn't have it any other way," she answered, tossing a snowball in his direction.
"Oh, you don't want to get me started, Slayer!" he threatened.
"Oh, don't I?" she said lobbing another one at him, then taking off running toward the woods.
Spike laughed and took off after her; "You're dead now!"
"Gotta catch me first, Spike," she yelled, looking back.
She stopped, "Where'd he go?"
She turned and was surprised by Spike standing there in front of her, "Vampire, you know! Super speed, when needed."
She laughed, "Yeah, forgot. Well, super-speed this," she said, pushing him back and onto his bottom as she took off again.
He soon caught up with her, the old fashioned way and tackled her from behind. They rolled onto the ground laughing and trying to mash snow into each other's faces, until laughing eyes turned serious and their lips found one another's once more.
"Spike," she murmured between kisses.
He felt his face get wet and looked at her. She was crying.
"Now, luv, what's this?"
"Oh, Spike, I'm going to miss you so much," Buffy said, sniffling.
"Don't have to miss me, Buffy, I'm not going anywhere, not leaving your side, you know that, pet," he said, looking into her eyes, wiping her tears away.
"I'll miss you. Miss knowing you here, it's so easy here, easy to love, easy to be happy, hell...it's even easy to be me! A me I didn't even know was me!"
"Buffy!" Spike said, seriously, pulling her up until they were both sitting, "I promise you, you will come back here, we both will! Please believe me, okay?"
She looked at him, his face so sincere and for that moment, she could almost believe him; did believe him. She nodded, "I believe you."
"Say it!" he commanded, "say we'll come back here!"
"We'll come back here," she whispered.
"Say it like you mean it!"
"We'll come back here!" she said, louder.
"Again!"
"We'll come back here!"
"Louder!"
"WE'LL COME BACK HERE!" she shouted as loud as she could.
"AGAIN!" he said, pulling her up.
"WE'LL COME BACK HERE!" he shouted right along with her this time.
"That's better!" he said, nodded and kissed her on the mouth.
He took her hand then, and they continued up the path.
About half an hour later, Buffy said, "I know where this is!" she said, and letting go of Spike's hand, she walked over to a cherished landmark, "Hello, Tree, old friend," she said, giving it a pat.
Spike pulled a knife out of his boot and walked over to the backside of the tree.
"Don't hurt it!" Buffy said.
"I won't, I wouldn't, just a little decorating," he said, as he started working on something.
"Hey, no peeking," he told her, when she tried to see what he was doing.
She stopped, and just stood on the path, imagining the picture Spike had drawn of he woman's body, shadowed on the tree, and smiled at the boot he'd put on the ground.
"Okay, you can look now," he told her, as he stepped back.
She went around to where he was. He had carved a heart into the bark and it said,
"W Loves E."
She smiled at him, "I don't think I've ever had anyone ever carve declarations of love to me in anything before!" she said, "thank you."
He smiled back at her and looked admiringly at his handiwork. He then bent down and picked up some of the bark he had to strip from the tree. He handed them to her, "A memento, " he said.
She put them into her jacket, patting the pocket, "A piece of tree," she said, then inspired, "a piece of thee!" she added.
"Gahhh!" Spike snorted, rolling his eyes.
"What? Don't I sound like the Bard?"
"Oh yeah, you sure do!"
She giggled, and taking his hand, pulled him toward her for a soft, lingering kiss.
"Now that's poetry!" he said, kissing her back.
"Then I should publish it, right? Do public readings, perhaps?" she asked, teasingly, between kisses.
"Better not, missy! You're my poetry, mine only, understand?" he said, kissing her harder.
"Yours, lover, only yours, Spike," she agreed.
He broke off the kiss and yelled, "WE'LL COME BACK HERE!" and she joined in, until their voices echoed throughout the woods.