A/N : Finally got this chapter done. I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter - you are wonderful people and it's you that makes me want to write so much. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
(For disclaimer, etc - see chapter 1)
Chapter 8
Buffy and Xander came out from the back room at the sound of a loud thump. They soon discovered that thump was the result of Giles hitting the floor, completely passed out. Next to him, the teens found Buffy's next door neighbour.
"Jessica, hi" the girl greeted her as Xander tried to bring the librarian back to land of the living.
"Hello Buffy, how are you?" the woman smiled nervously, as Giles finally opened his eyes and Xander spoke to him as he helped him into a nearby chair.
"I'm fine" Buffy nodded "Are you looking for Spike?"
"No, I'm here to see Rupert" Jessica told her as both women got their feet again.
"Spike?" Giles echoed, holding his head, Xander stood by him looking equal parts confused and forgotten.
"Yeah, Spike who you met yesterday, he's Jessica's son" Buffy turned to her Watcher and explained.
"Oh, I see" he nodded slightly, his head beginning to clear and his eyes locked on the older woman before him "Buffy, Xander I need to speak to with Jessica alone, do you think you could come back later" he asked them.
"Sure" Buffy answered with a dubious glance at the two adults. She started to walk out of the library, grabbing Xander's arm along the way, forcing him to go with her.
"What's going on?" he asked as they exited the library and Buffy shut the door behind them.
"What do you mean?" she asked him.
"Well, Spike knows about Slayers and his Mom knows Giles who is the Watcher" Xander pointed out "What is it with your new neighbours?"
Buffy shook her head, as they walked along the near empty corridor. She looked thoughtful and then she gasped.
"Oh God"
"What?" the brunette beside her looked a little scared.
"Spike's Dad was British" Buffy began to explain "and he thought the book he found about Slayers and vamps and everything belonged to his father. He never met the guy because the man never knew Jessica was pregnant, he left the country"
"So?" Xander was confused, as usual, and it infuriated his friend.
"Don't you see?!" she said, too loudly "Jessica knows Giles and came here to see him! Giles is Spike's father!"
"What did you say?" said a voice behind Buffy and she swung round to see the person she'd dreaded it was.
"Spike!" she exclaimed, desperate to change the subject she continued "Oh, I wanted to talk to you about earlier, look I'm sorry I was so off about that kiss..." which was true even if it was a cover. She did feel bad about how she'd behaved this morning.
"You two kissed?!" the brunette exclaimed.
"Shut up Xander!" Buffy and Spike told him together.
"I asked you what you just said" the bleach blond demanded from the girl, she glanced away and then looked back with fake wide-eyed innocence.
"About what?"
"Buffy don't play games with me!" his tone was cold and deadly "Did you just say that Giles was my father?"
"I don't know if it's true, I'm just guessing, but...yeah, that is what I said" she conceded.
For a moment there was silence in the halls of Sunnydale High. Buffy wasn't sure whether speaking would be a good idea right now and Xander was far too shocked by the revelations that, one - Giles had a son and that was Spike, and two - Buffy and Spike had kissed!
As for Spike himself, he was now leaning back against the wall and from his expression Buffy guessed he was somewhere between confusion, anger and shock. He was either going to cry or explode and the girl was actually afraid to go near him to find out. She'd faced demons and vamps, but real human people with their human emotional problems, well, they could be just as volatile and dangerous.
After about two minutes, although it seemed longer, Buffy took a chance and stepped toward Spike, his eyes fixed on the ground.
"Spike, are you okay?" she asked, nervously, placing a hand on his leather jacket covered shoulder.
He flinched and shrugged her away, turning to lean his side against the wall and facing his back to her. Inside of his head, thoughts were spinning. He'd met his father and he hadn't known it. His mother had moved them to Sunnydale - did she know her father was here? Why had he left her all those years ago? Would he want to be part of their lives now? Did they want him in their lives? The shock and other emotions brought tears to his eyes that he was determined not to release in front of Buffy and especially not in front of that idiot Xander.
The bell sounded and students began to come into the halls.
"Buffy, we've got to get to class" Xander told her.
"You go" she said turning to her brunette friend, "I'll be there soon"
Xander knew not to argue and with a nod of his head he left. As Buffy turned back she realised Spike was gone.
"Jessica, it's such a shock to see you after all this time" Giles shook his head as he sat down and gestured for his old girlfriend to do the same.
"I just moved to Sunnydale with my son, William" she told him, carefully working up to the point where she would 'drop the bomb' and tell him William was also his son.
"Oh yes, I've met him" the librarian nodded now "So you're married?" he guessed.
"No, I'm not" the woman told him "Are you?" she was worried now, if this man had a wife and family of his own now he would not necessarily want to know his son or her.
"Good lord, no" Giles laughed at the idea, and Jessica let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. The room plunged into silence as they both glanced around the room to avoid looking at each other. Suddenly, Giles spoke.
"Jessica I want to tell you I'm sorry for leaving so suddenly al those years ago. It had to do with my being the Watcher, you remember me telling you about that?"
"Of course, in fact I know more than simply what you told me" she admitted and he looked at her with a puzzled expression, so she explained "when you left, you left a few things behind and this book was one of them" she said, producing a red leather bound volume from her shoulder bag.
"Oh my goodness" Giles took the book from her hands and flicked through the pages "You kept it all this time?"
"For a long time I thought...I hoped" she amended "maybe you would come back"
Her voice was suddenly very small and she saw guilt play over Giles's face as she glanced up at him.
"I wanted to, heaven knows Jessica, I did want to, but my duties as a Watcher, I had to think of them first" he tried to explain, "I was sent here to train the young Slayer and after that I became too scared to think what you would say if I ever tried to find you" he admitted, standing up from his seat and pacing a little as he cleaned his glasses "but there have never been any other women in my life" he told her "except for Buffy and she is really much more of a daughter to me..."
"Buffy?" Jessica interrupted "Why would she...?" she started before realising Giles's attachment to her new next door neighbour, "The Slayer?"
"Yes, indeed, Buffy Summers is the Slayer" he told her, knowing he could trust her with such secret information, even after all these years.
"Do these strange coincidences often occur in Sunnydale?" the woman asked with a smile.
"A great many strange coincidences occur in Sunnydale I assure you" he smiled back at her and wondered why she looked so nervous and then looked away from him completely.
"I have one more thing to say that you might find strange" she began "or at least surprising..."
Jessica was interrupted by the library doors swinging open and a rather angry looking boy striding in, straight toward them.
"William?" Jessica stood up and saw her son enter the room. Without a word Spike headed straight for an unsuspecting Giles, punching him in the face and almost knocking him over completely.
"William Hart what on earth do you think you're doing?!" Jessica yelled, but the boy took no notice.
"That's for leaving my Mum when she needed you" he shouted, before administering a second blow "and that's for not being there when *I* needed you"
Before anyone could say or do anything, Spike turned on his heel and left the room just as swiftly as he had entered it, leaving his mother to tend to the injured librarian.
Buffy had gone full circle around the school grounds hunting for Spike when finally she spotted him as he headed from the library to a bench outside.
As she came through the doors and out into the sun she saw him, elbows resting on his knees, staring off somewhere. 'He looks so alone' Buffy thought as she approached him carefully.
"Spike?" she said as she reached his side "Where did you go?"
"I hit him" he told her, simply, without looking at her "and I'm not even sure why..."
"You hit Giles?!" Buffy interrupted, shocked and somewhat annoyed, she was ready to give this boy a piece of her mind until he glanced up at her and she saw tears streaming down his face.
"Spike..." she said in a softer tone, feeling desperately sorry for him all of a sudden. She really didn't know what to say to him. It had to be a shock and very confusing to find your father after all this time of not knowing.
"I'm sorry, I am, I just..." he tried to explain but the lump in his throat took his voice away. Not knowing what else to do, Buffy sat beside him and put her arm around him, nervously since she wasn't sure how he would react. She was surprised but also relieved when he allowed himself to go into her embrace. Not knowing what to say she just held him close and comforted him as he cried. He wasn't as big and tough as he pretended to be, and she knew what that was like, because despite being the Slayer, sometimes she just wanted to be held while she cried too. No-one did that for her, but at least she could be content with the fact that she could do it for someone else.
To Be Continued...
