A/N: Ahh, reviews. Reviews are wonderful, and so are you guys. Thanks so much!
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Chapter 29: A Second Home
Spike's kitchen was a mess. Food was everywhere, and the dishes he had set out on the table were shattered beyond recognition. Glasses were broken and silverware littered the floor. Buffy stood in the middle of the chaos, chest heaving and eyes flaming. Quite impressive. Spike thought.
Spike wasn't the only witness to Buffy's display of temper. The other combatant in the destruction of Spike's kitchen stood against the opposite wall, staring down at the diminutive blonde. Edward Giles was half appalled, half amused at the woman who caused such destruction. Since his arrival at Spike's home, the elder Giles had been on a continuous defense against her attacks. Their conversation had quickly deteriorated into a loud shouting match which led to the crockery missiles, most of which missed Edward, but proved Buffy's point nonetheless.
Spike finally stepped in to intervene when Buffy began threatening physical harm to certain parts of Edward's anatomy. "Now, luv, no need to threaten the crown jewels."
Buffy turned her temper to Spike. "He knows who that psycho is! Why should I be nice to that rat bastard when he's the one who started all this shit?"
Edward stared at her impassively. His blue eyes were stone cold and hard. "Temper, temper," he said sardonically.
Spike had to physically restrain Buffy from ripping Edward's throat out. "Pet, calm down," he whispered. "If you want to win against this man, you've got to keep your cool. Threatening to rip his genitals off through his nose won't do anything but amuse him. He's a fucking lawyer, threats do nothing."
Buffy forced herself to calm down and count to ten. Gripping Spike's hand, she turned and faced Edward again. She gave Spike a gentle squeeze and dropped his hand. Spike looked at her with questions in his eyes, but Buffy didn't answer him. Instead, she moved toward Edward and quietly whispered in his ear. "Listen to me, Edward. You give me a name, or I'm taking everything I know to the nearest tabloid. I'll spread your dirty little secrets all across the gossip sections of every local paper. When I finish with you, no one will hire you. You'll be the biggest joke on the West Coast."
Edward's eyes narrowed. "You do that, and you'll ruin everyone's life, not just my own. You think William won't get hit by the backlash? Even you. Expose me and you have to expose your background. I'm a respected attorney, you're a former stripper. Who do you think will win the battle in the news, me or you? Take me on and I swear to God, I'll drag you and your family down with you."
Buffy had counted on this reaction. Time to pull out the big guns. "Oh, really?" Buffy raised an eyebrow and whispered something to Edward. Edward's eyes bugged out and his face turned white. He looked at Buffy, and she nodded, looking him dead in the eyes.
Spike had enough. He stomped up behind Buffy and pulled her into his arms. "What are you two talking about?"
Buffy looked from Spike to Edward and raised an eyebrow. "Well, Edward. I'm waiting."
"I don't know," he replied tightly. "I can find out."
Buffy nodded. "Do it."
Edward nodded stiffly and walked out of the house.
Spike turned Buffy around and forced her eyes to meet his. "What the hell just happened?" he asked through clenched teeth.
Buffy took a deep breath. "Your father and I just reached and understanding, that's all."
Spike shook his head. "Not getting out that easy, luv. Tell me what you two talked about."
As he spoke, Spike led Buffy to his living room. Xander and Anya had helped clean up the glass before they left. Xander wanted to stay and confront Edward, but Spike convinced him to take Anya home and let her relax. Now, the windowpane's stood bare, the dusk breeze blowing in and fluttering the curtains. Spike faced Buffy and tiled her chin up so her eyes met his. "What was it, luv?"
Buffy sighed. Spike certainly wasn't going to let up, and she doubted he would appreciate her tactics. "I just threatened him with a little bodily harm, that's all."
Spike wasn't buying it. "Now, luv, it's not nice to lie. I know that threats don't work against that man; his heart's made of stone. What could you have possibly said to change his mind?"
Buffy took a deep breath. Time to face the music, not just for her, but Spike as well. She was about to throw his entire existence out of whack, hopefully she was strong enough to help him pick up the pieces. "Spike," she began, "How well do you know your mom?"
Spike was completely taken aback. "My mum? Gods, pet, I don't really know her at all. I barely saw her when I was growing up, she'd occasionally pop in and out of my life. Why?"
Buffy swallowed nervously. Her mom had broached the idea with her a couple of nights ago, during the impromptu dance lessons. Joyce hadn't been sure, neither had Buffy until now, after confronting Edward with the cold hard truth. "You two never talked that much, about anything?"
Spike shook his head. "Not really, pet. Mum liked to pretend I didn't exist. My father did too, until he needed someone to yell at."
Buffy nodded. It made sense, things fell into place. She opened her mouth to talk when the world around her exploded.
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Willow sighed happily. There was absolutely nothing in the world better than a warm bubble bath. Unless of course, it's a warm bubble bath and Oz. Life seemed damn good right about now. She was out of the hospital, she had quit stripping and now she had Oz washing away while she sipped cold champagne. And taking a bubble bath of course. Ahh, life is good.
Oz's thoughts were just about mirroring Willow's. Happy that Willow was alive, happy that he was here with here, hell, Oz was just plain happy. How much of it actually showed was a different story. Still, as he washed his Goddess, Oz couldn't help and crack a smile. Which, was very similar to a non-smiling face, but Willow was attuned enough to know the difference.
They sat in Willow's bathroom for awhile, just enjoying the feeling of one another. Then, Oz began to shift around constantly, alerting Willow to his condition. She smiled and let out a throaty chuckle. Standing up, Willow let the sudsy water rush down her body. Oz watched as she exited the bathtub and wrapped a robe around her creamy flesh. His mouth went dry and his excitement level kicked up to full throttle.
"Coming?" Willow asked as she walked to her bedroom. Oz swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.
Willow walked into her small bedroom and lit a few candles. She removed her robe and sat on the bed, waiting for Oz. Outside her door, Oz was taking a few deep breaths to prepare himself. He opened the door and gasped at the sight before him. Willow lay on the bed, her vibrant red hair spread around her like a halo. It contrasted greatly with the gold tone of her skin, making her look ethereal and beautiful.
Licking his lips in anticipation, Oz advanced toward the bed. He stripped off his shirt and laid down next to Willow.
And the phone rang.
"Shit!" Willow hissed.
"Ignore it," Oz said, pulling Willow back to the bed.
The phone stopped ringing. Oz breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled Willow back to the bed and began to caress her skin. She moaned and ran her hands down his back. Their lips met in a heated kiss.
The phone rang again.
"Dammit!" Oz yelled. Willow looked at him and couldn't help but laugh. Usually so calm and stoic, Oz now had hair sticking out every which way, his eyes were wide and his chest was heaving.
Willow stopped giggling and rolled over to answer the phone. Oz watched as her happy face dissolved into a frown, then into look of horror.
"We'll be right there," she said into the phone.
Willow turned to Oz and he could see her eyes filling. "What's wrong, baby?" Oz asked as he hugged her.
"Buffy, Spike, something happened," she choked out.
Oz stroked her back and whispered to her. She calmed down and told Oz what Joyce had told her. Buffy and Spike were in the hospital and there had been an explosion at Spike's house. "That's all Joyce knew."
Oz hugged Willow tightly. "They're going to be okay."
Willow nodded. They dressed and headed for the hospital. It was becoming like a second home for the group lately.
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Spike was swimming. He lazily floated around, drifting on the current of painkillers. Slowly, he moved toward the surface of consciousness. When he broke through, Spike felt pain slamming though his skull. It felt like someone had taken a mallet to his forehead and then drilled to his brain. Stifling a moan, Spike tried to open his eyes.
Harsh, bright, white light greeted him. He hissed out his pain and immediately closed his eyes again. Cor, what the hell happened to me? Did I get hit by a bloody truck? His memories of what happened were dim and fuzzy. An explosion? Did my house explode, or just my head?
Piece by piece, his fuzzy memories slowly drifted back to him. Talking with Buffy. Asking her something. What was is? Spike struggled to remember what happened.
Down the hall, Buffy was slowly coming awake. Like Spike, she too was trying to remember what the hell happened. Standing with Spike. What the hell were we talking about? Her pounding head made thinking a tad difficult. She moaned. Instantly, she felt Joyce at her side.
"Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?" Joyce asked quietly.
"Thirsty," she whispered.
Joyce left and returned with a cup of ice chips. "The doctors said that too much would upset your stomach. Suck on these."
Buffy nodded. "Sp-Spike," she whispered.
"He was still unconscious, last time I checked. I'll go see right now," Joyce replied.
Buffy nodded. The effort it took to simply move her head was enormous. She sighed and closed her eyes as her mom slipped from her room.
Joyce quietly walked into Spike's room. He seemed so pale, almost matching the sheets he rested against. Joyce's heart fluttered. She was afraid, not only for her daughter, but for this man who wormed his way into her heart. Bruises marred his face, and there were burns on his hands and back. The doctors who treated him said that he was found covering Buffy with his own body against the burning debris that flew into the house. It made Joyce both proud and angry that he risked himself to protect her daughter.
Slowly, Joyce walked to his bed. She gently wrapped her hand around his. Joyce almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Spike squeeze her hand. "Oh, Spike! You scared me!"
Spike managed a ghost of his old smirk. "Sorry, Mum. Didn't mean to."
Joyce smiled down at him and smoothed a curl back from his forehead. "You are incredibly brave, yet very stupid man," she murmured.
Spike let out a weak chuckle. "Why's that, Mum?"
"You know why," Joyce replied. "She's awake too. Looks a lot better than you do, but then again you did take the brunt of the damage."
Spike attempted to shrug a shoulder, but it hurt too much. "What can I say? I love 'er."
Joyce's eyes prickled with tears. "I know you do. You're a good man, William."
Spike smiled. "Don't tell anybody."
"Okay," Joyce replied.
"Kinda tired. Think 'M gonna go back to sleep now, Mum," Spike said with a yawn.
Joyce leaned down and brushed a kiss across his bruised face. "Sleep well. I'll be here when you wake up."
Spike murmured something intelligible, already half asleep.
Joyce left Spike's room. She stopped in the hallway for a minute to collect her emotions before facing everyone out in the waiting room. Once she was sure she wouldn't cry, Joyce stepped out into the lobby. Almost immediately A.J, Willow, Xander, Oz and Anya jumped up and ran to her.
"Are they okay?" Xander asked anxiously.
Joyce nodded and the friends gave a collected sigh of relief. "Spike took the worst of the damage," Joyce said. "They're both resting right now. The doctors said that we should get some sleep, they won't wake up until tomorrow."
"I'm not leaving," Xander said stubbornly. "If I would've been there in the first place I could've done something."
Joyce gave the young man a sympathetic smile. Having just met him mere hours before, Joyce's first impression of Spike's best friend was a good one. "There's nothing you can or could have done, Xander," she said softly.
"What happened?" Willow asked. "We haven't been told anything."
Joyce stretched her shoulders. This wasn't a pretty story to tell. "Edward's car. The police said that someone planted a bomb on his car. When he started it, it exploded."
Willow and the others were stunned. "So, that means it was deliberate?" Willow half-asked, half-said.
Joyce nodded her head. "The bomb was so powerful that it blew part of Spike's house away. Spike and Buffy are two of the luckiest people alive."
"Who would want to kill Edward?" Xander asked.
"Who indeed?" Joyce replied.
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A/N: Until next time, my pretties. We're getting closer and closer to the end. Anticipation is a good thing, right?
