three.
"It was so beautiful, Buffy! You should have seen it. We streaked across the clouds just -- just like in the movies and.. and she had these, like, really cool talking animals. They were enchanted, she said. Then she was a real whiz in .. in the unpacking stuff... She had all of her stuff in these three trunks. Oh! And she uses a wand, which is pretty weird. She says it makes her magic more focused..." Willow gushed as she and Buffy walked leisurely across the street where the Magic Box was located.
Buffy grinned at her friend's excited chatter. When Willow gets like this, there was no knowing when she'll be able to stop.
"... and then she just gave this little wooden wand a wave and all her stuff from the trunks just.. appeared and arranged themselves throughout the rooms. It was so fantastic! She had this state-of-the-art entertainment system. And she had a white grand piano, the one she inherited from her grandma. Oh, and she had this really great, great, great library at the attic..." Willow almost drooled at the memory of it.
"Okay, drool alert, Will. "Buffy teased. She laughed at her friend's embarrassed expression. "Only you would get excited at the thought of dusty old books."
A thought suddenly came to mind, causing Buffy to groan softly, " I almost forgot! Mom bumped into Anne at the mall the other day. Anne ended up inviting her and the rest of the gang for a dinner party. Mom even made her famous chocolate cake. We were supposed to go over to Anne's place tonight and give her a big 'Welcome to the neighborhood' greeting or something. Wanna come with?"
"You wouldn't mind?" Willow asked, a hopeful expression in her face.
"Of course not! Giles, Anya, Xander, and Angel are coming too. You could bring Oz if you want." Buffy offered.
Willow grinned, "Okay. Wow, this is just like a.. a big official Scooby welcome. This is so much fun." She clapped her hands like an excited child. "But what about Spike? Shouldn't he be included too?" She amended, "You know... since he—he's fighting with the good guys now."
Buffy shrugged, "I could invite him, I guess. If I get to see him today."
Arriving at the shop, Buffy spied the bleached blond vampire lounging by the cashier counter, in all his black duster glory. She sighed dejectedly, "Speak of the devil. Now I have no choice but to ask him." I hope Angel won't get too mad.
"Hey Slayer. Red. Any new nasties come to town?" Spike greeted lazily as he watched their approach.
Buffy snorted, "The only nasty I know of at the moment is in front of me... and I couldn't even dust him." She slumped on a stool. "Oh, woe is me."
"Tut, tut, Slayer. You shouldn't say things like that. Hurts my delicate feelings and all." He smirked.
Willow grinned, "Delicate? Try nonexistent."
Spike raised his eyebrows in mocking indignation, "I would have you know that even us soulless demons are capable of feeling... something."
"Oh yeah? Well, feel this!" Buffy poked him on the stomach. Hard.
"Ow! Dammit, Slayer! Tha' hurt." Spike rubbed his sore stomach.
Angel suddenly stepped out of the training room, grinning at the girls' teasing of his childe. "Hey there..." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around Buffy, pulling her into a welcoming kiss.
"Hmmm..." Buffy smiled languidly, her lips lingering on Angel's.
Spike sighed, shaking his head, "Red, make them stop. Please. Such loving sweetness makes me heave."
Willow patted him on the back, "What happened to the feelings you were talking about?"
"About to go out the window." was his deadpan answer.
Willow laughed as Spike continued to groan as his Sire continued to kiss Buffy senseless.
Finally Buffy reluctantly pulled away, facing a bored Spike and grinning Willow. Turning to the peroxide vampire, she said, " Hey, Fanged fiend... we're having a 'Welcome to the Neighborhood' gathering later for my new next-door neighbor. Wanna join the gang?"
Spike looked surprised at the sudden invitation. He asked cautiously, "Okay, I'll bite. What's up with this, and how is it going to affect me?"
Buffy sighed impatiently, "Look, William. We just thought that maybe you'd like to hang out with us. No strings." She grinned teasingly, "Besides, a vampire in touch with his feelings, such as yourself, should never have to spend too much time on his lonesome."
Willow nodded, "Could result to mental derangement."
"Hah!" Angel coughed to hide his sarcastic laugh at Buffy's pointed glare." Too late."
Spike chuckled, "Izzat so? Who's the chit?"
Buffy replied, " Her name's Anne Sinclair. She just moved here from London."
Now why does that name sound so familiar? Spike wondered. Hell, you git. There could be hundreds of Anne Sinclair's. Probably heard it on the telly.
"And ...?" He prodded, instantly knowing that there was something more to this than a simple welcome wagon gathering.
"... aaand," Buffy paused dramatically, "She's going to be our second resident witch." She added as a thought came to her. "I guess she could double as a watcher and slayer of sorts, don't you think?"
"I don't think so. She said she'd rather fade in the background..." Angel reasoned.
"Yeah, but she said she could still help if we needed it. Besides, she's half-slayer and half-vamp. She'll be a really formidable ally." Willow pointed out.
Spike raised both arms to stop their conversation, "Stop, stop. I got lost for a minute there. What do you mean she's half-vamp and half-slayer? Last time I heard, we were off the 'potential daddy' list."
"Technically, no." Willow answered. "Anne had a book in her library about this particular topic. It was a really old one, mainly parchments of hastily documented research done by the Magical council on her condition. It was kept in her family, for years. I was able to borrow it and spent the better part of last night poring over it."
"Magical Council?" Spike arched a brow.
She extracted a large hardbound compilation of yellowish paper from her bulging backpack and quickly opened it to the page indicated by her bookmark.
"It's just amazing, really ... Here it is. It has a lot of technical wordings but basically, it says that male vampires have slimmer chances in getting a mate pregnant than what is normal for humans. Although this chance slightly increases if the woman is not entirely human. Be it a Slayer or a demon of another kind."
"What about female vamps?" Buffy asked.
"Well, the book says that although male vampires have the slight chance to impregnate, their female counterparts can't carry a child." Willow explained.
"So we could still get to have our little juniors as long as we shag a demon or a slayer?" Spike asked, interested.
The other three shuddered at the thought of having little Spikes terrorizing the whole of Sunnydale.
Buffy grabbed the book and quickly scanned its contents. She pointed out another information it held, "Technically, yeah. You can have your little boy blue... but not of the vampire variety." Slamming the book shut, she added, "And judging from what we've seen of Anne, looks like only certain traits are inherited. Probably no demon."
"Thank God." Angel mumbled inaudibly.
"How come no one knows about this? Shouldn't there be chronicles or something at the Watchers Council?" Spike frowned.
Willow shrugged, "Anne said she was the only one of her kind. The book said that it would be a very difficult thing to pull off. But her parents were able to do it."
"And the fact that we don't normally seek out slayers, or other demons, for mating purposes, nobody would have been able to discover this possibility." Angel said thoughtfully.
"Does Giles know about this?" Buffy asked.
Willow nodded. "I stopped by earlier to inform him of this. He was as shocked about this piece of information as we are."
Spike suddenly laughed. All three looked at him strangely as he tried to explain between bouts of mirth, "Slayer, I think yo--you and my dear old Sire should consider using ... con—control mea...measures ..." He choked before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
A look of realization dawned on them. Buffy turned beet red while Willow fought back a laugh. If vampires could blush, Angel would have his face flaming too.
"Ooh... This is priceless! A vampire, using contraceptives..." Spike hooted.
Angel growled, "Shut up, Spike."
"Oh, my God! He's right, Angel. I never thought about it that way last night. What if...if..." Buffy turned her anxious eyes on her lover.
Angel searched her eyes before pulling her close, " Don't worry. We'll just have to take extra measures now that we know it can be a possibility." He murmured so only she could hear.
"But would it be so bad? " Buffy suddenly asked, her expression wistful.
Angel wrapped his arms around his slayer, "Of course not. But we have to make sure we could straighten out our commitments first before we even think of raising little Buffy here." They both closed their eyes at that beautiful thought.
Giles chose that moment to poke his head from the training room's doorway and interrupt their poignant moment, "Buffy! We have work to do!"
Buffy sighed. She gave her loving vampire another lingering kiss before extracting herself from his embrace. She glanced at the still laughing Spike, "Hey, funny vamp, you still coming with us later?"
He shrugged, a wide grin on his face, "Oh, Hell. I don't have anything better to do anyway. I want to meet this vamp hybrid too. What time should I be there?"
"We'll be meeting at my house at sunset." She turned to walk towards the training room for her session with Giles, "Oh, and don't forget to be your usual charming self. Wouldn't want to scare her away."
Spike looked at Willow and Angel, "Scare her? Now why would I do that?" He asked innocently, chuckling as the two rolled their eyes at him.
He had a feeling that life, and unlife, just got a lot more interesting at the Hellmouth.
****************
"It was so beautiful, Buffy! You should have seen it. We streaked across the clouds just -- just like in the movies and.. and she had these, like, really cool talking animals. They were enchanted, she said. Then she was a real whiz in .. in the unpacking stuff... She had all of her stuff in these three trunks. Oh! And she uses a wand, which is pretty weird. She says it makes her magic more focused..." Willow gushed as she and Buffy walked leisurely across the street where the Magic Box was located.
Buffy grinned at her friend's excited chatter. When Willow gets like this, there was no knowing when she'll be able to stop.
"... and then she just gave this little wooden wand a wave and all her stuff from the trunks just.. appeared and arranged themselves throughout the rooms. It was so fantastic! She had this state-of-the-art entertainment system. And she had a white grand piano, the one she inherited from her grandma. Oh, and she had this really great, great, great library at the attic..." Willow almost drooled at the memory of it.
"Okay, drool alert, Will. "Buffy teased. She laughed at her friend's embarrassed expression. "Only you would get excited at the thought of dusty old books."
A thought suddenly came to mind, causing Buffy to groan softly, " I almost forgot! Mom bumped into Anne at the mall the other day. Anne ended up inviting her and the rest of the gang for a dinner party. Mom even made her famous chocolate cake. We were supposed to go over to Anne's place tonight and give her a big 'Welcome to the neighborhood' greeting or something. Wanna come with?"
"You wouldn't mind?" Willow asked, a hopeful expression in her face.
"Of course not! Giles, Anya, Xander, and Angel are coming too. You could bring Oz if you want." Buffy offered.
Willow grinned, "Okay. Wow, this is just like a.. a big official Scooby welcome. This is so much fun." She clapped her hands like an excited child. "But what about Spike? Shouldn't he be included too?" She amended, "You know... since he—he's fighting with the good guys now."
Buffy shrugged, "I could invite him, I guess. If I get to see him today."
Arriving at the shop, Buffy spied the bleached blond vampire lounging by the cashier counter, in all his black duster glory. She sighed dejectedly, "Speak of the devil. Now I have no choice but to ask him." I hope Angel won't get too mad.
"Hey Slayer. Red. Any new nasties come to town?" Spike greeted lazily as he watched their approach.
Buffy snorted, "The only nasty I know of at the moment is in front of me... and I couldn't even dust him." She slumped on a stool. "Oh, woe is me."
"Tut, tut, Slayer. You shouldn't say things like that. Hurts my delicate feelings and all." He smirked.
Willow grinned, "Delicate? Try nonexistent."
Spike raised his eyebrows in mocking indignation, "I would have you know that even us soulless demons are capable of feeling... something."
"Oh yeah? Well, feel this!" Buffy poked him on the stomach. Hard.
"Ow! Dammit, Slayer! Tha' hurt." Spike rubbed his sore stomach.
Angel suddenly stepped out of the training room, grinning at the girls' teasing of his childe. "Hey there..." He whispered as he wrapped his arms around Buffy, pulling her into a welcoming kiss.
"Hmmm..." Buffy smiled languidly, her lips lingering on Angel's.
Spike sighed, shaking his head, "Red, make them stop. Please. Such loving sweetness makes me heave."
Willow patted him on the back, "What happened to the feelings you were talking about?"
"About to go out the window." was his deadpan answer.
Willow laughed as Spike continued to groan as his Sire continued to kiss Buffy senseless.
Finally Buffy reluctantly pulled away, facing a bored Spike and grinning Willow. Turning to the peroxide vampire, she said, " Hey, Fanged fiend... we're having a 'Welcome to the Neighborhood' gathering later for my new next-door neighbor. Wanna join the gang?"
Spike looked surprised at the sudden invitation. He asked cautiously, "Okay, I'll bite. What's up with this, and how is it going to affect me?"
Buffy sighed impatiently, "Look, William. We just thought that maybe you'd like to hang out with us. No strings." She grinned teasingly, "Besides, a vampire in touch with his feelings, such as yourself, should never have to spend too much time on his lonesome."
Willow nodded, "Could result to mental derangement."
"Hah!" Angel coughed to hide his sarcastic laugh at Buffy's pointed glare." Too late."
Spike chuckled, "Izzat so? Who's the chit?"
Buffy replied, " Her name's Anne Sinclair. She just moved here from London."
Now why does that name sound so familiar? Spike wondered. Hell, you git. There could be hundreds of Anne Sinclair's. Probably heard it on the telly.
"And ...?" He prodded, instantly knowing that there was something more to this than a simple welcome wagon gathering.
"... aaand," Buffy paused dramatically, "She's going to be our second resident witch." She added as a thought came to her. "I guess she could double as a watcher and slayer of sorts, don't you think?"
"I don't think so. She said she'd rather fade in the background..." Angel reasoned.
"Yeah, but she said she could still help if we needed it. Besides, she's half-slayer and half-vamp. She'll be a really formidable ally." Willow pointed out.
Spike raised both arms to stop their conversation, "Stop, stop. I got lost for a minute there. What do you mean she's half-vamp and half-slayer? Last time I heard, we were off the 'potential daddy' list."
"Technically, no." Willow answered. "Anne had a book in her library about this particular topic. It was a really old one, mainly parchments of hastily documented research done by the Magical council on her condition. It was kept in her family, for years. I was able to borrow it and spent the better part of last night poring over it."
"Magical Council?" Spike arched a brow.
She extracted a large hardbound compilation of yellowish paper from her bulging backpack and quickly opened it to the page indicated by her bookmark.
"It's just amazing, really ... Here it is. It has a lot of technical wordings but basically, it says that male vampires have slimmer chances in getting a mate pregnant than what is normal for humans. Although this chance slightly increases if the woman is not entirely human. Be it a Slayer or a demon of another kind."
"What about female vamps?" Buffy asked.
"Well, the book says that although male vampires have the slight chance to impregnate, their female counterparts can't carry a child." Willow explained.
"So we could still get to have our little juniors as long as we shag a demon or a slayer?" Spike asked, interested.
The other three shuddered at the thought of having little Spikes terrorizing the whole of Sunnydale.
Buffy grabbed the book and quickly scanned its contents. She pointed out another information it held, "Technically, yeah. You can have your little boy blue... but not of the vampire variety." Slamming the book shut, she added, "And judging from what we've seen of Anne, looks like only certain traits are inherited. Probably no demon."
"Thank God." Angel mumbled inaudibly.
"How come no one knows about this? Shouldn't there be chronicles or something at the Watchers Council?" Spike frowned.
Willow shrugged, "Anne said she was the only one of her kind. The book said that it would be a very difficult thing to pull off. But her parents were able to do it."
"And the fact that we don't normally seek out slayers, or other demons, for mating purposes, nobody would have been able to discover this possibility." Angel said thoughtfully.
"Does Giles know about this?" Buffy asked.
Willow nodded. "I stopped by earlier to inform him of this. He was as shocked about this piece of information as we are."
Spike suddenly laughed. All three looked at him strangely as he tried to explain between bouts of mirth, "Slayer, I think yo--you and my dear old Sire should consider using ... con—control mea...measures ..." He choked before bursting into uncontrollable laughter.
A look of realization dawned on them. Buffy turned beet red while Willow fought back a laugh. If vampires could blush, Angel would have his face flaming too.
"Ooh... This is priceless! A vampire, using contraceptives..." Spike hooted.
Angel growled, "Shut up, Spike."
"Oh, my God! He's right, Angel. I never thought about it that way last night. What if...if..." Buffy turned her anxious eyes on her lover.
Angel searched her eyes before pulling her close, " Don't worry. We'll just have to take extra measures now that we know it can be a possibility." He murmured so only she could hear.
"But would it be so bad? " Buffy suddenly asked, her expression wistful.
Angel wrapped his arms around his slayer, "Of course not. But we have to make sure we could straighten out our commitments first before we even think of raising little Buffy here." They both closed their eyes at that beautiful thought.
Giles chose that moment to poke his head from the training room's doorway and interrupt their poignant moment, "Buffy! We have work to do!"
Buffy sighed. She gave her loving vampire another lingering kiss before extracting herself from his embrace. She glanced at the still laughing Spike, "Hey, funny vamp, you still coming with us later?"
He shrugged, a wide grin on his face, "Oh, Hell. I don't have anything better to do anyway. I want to meet this vamp hybrid too. What time should I be there?"
"We'll be meeting at my house at sunset." She turned to walk towards the training room for her session with Giles, "Oh, and don't forget to be your usual charming self. Wouldn't want to scare her away."
Spike looked at Willow and Angel, "Scare her? Now why would I do that?" He asked innocently, chuckling as the two rolled their eyes at him.
He had a feeling that life, and unlife, just got a lot more interesting at the Hellmouth.
****************
