94

Falling for You

Spike wasn't taking a stroll, or even so much as a jog or a run. More like using the city streets as an obstacle course. Vaulting over cars, running at telephone poles and grabbing them to change direction without losing momentum. Sprinting across a small bridge on the railings quicker than a human could have crossed it in a more conventional manner.

He moved and acted like someone who was trying to work themselves into complete exhaustion.

He was.

He wasn't going to be sleeping with his pal Jack tonight, so the only way he was going to be able to get to sleep was to simply burn off the energy until he was too tired to see straight.

He had an awful lot of energy to burn.

&&&&&&&

"Look at him play, Henrietta," Drusilla whispered. "Isn't he quite the most handsome boy you've seen?" She glided on a few yards to keep Spike in sight. It wasn't as difficult as it might seem, since Spike wasn't flat out running, but making all sorts of detours as he ran his obstacle course. Drusilla didn't approach him, yet, but she did keep him under close observation. And she didn't like something she was seeing.

"So that's why my darling's working in that awful place and living with the sweet little girl," she said sadly. "Poor, poor Spike. Someone's gone and given him a soul."

Henrietta stared at Drusilla with unblinking doll eyes.

"What was that, Henrietta?" Dru's attention was divided between Spike and the doll. "A spell? Do you think the witch could cast a spell to get rid of that stuffy old soul and get our Spike back?" She watched as Spike went over another car, doing a handspring on the way, hands barely making contact with the vehicle's roof, before continuing on. "Yes, I believe you're right," Drusilla mused. "We must talk to the witch about his soul. How very embarrassing."

&&&&&&

"Rose, you look like hell." Gunn was so startled at the sight of her, he forgot his manners.

"I know," Rose replied wearily, pushing the ever-present lock of hair out of her face. "And do you know what, Charles? I'm not entirely sure that I care. I feel like I am in hell."

Gunn laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, but Rose forestalled any comments he may have had to make.

"Please, Charles, don't say anything," she pleaded. "Especially not any sympathy. Not only do I not deserve it, but it's all I can do to hold it together now. If you showed that you felt sorry for me, I'd go to pieces."

Gunn removed his hand, slowly, carefully. "Come with me, Rose," he ordered softly. "No sympathy, no remarks, but there's something you might want to see."

Rose followed him along obediently, curious as to what he was up to. And her curiosity shot through the roof when he led her to the main security station.

"Hello, Mr. Gunn," the agent on duty greeted him. "What can I do for you today?"

"Ops on camera, Patterson?" Gunn asked.

"The whole building is, sir," Patterson replied. "Except for Mr. Angel's penthouse, and of course, the senior partner's suite."

"Ops will do," Gunn said. "Let's see what's going on."

Patterson obligingly brought up the appropriate camera. "You ought to see those two new guys," he remarked. "For vampires, they sure suck at fighting. I almost let myself get distracted sometimes just watching those two eight-balls."

Rose knew what Gunn was up to now, but look as hard as she might, she couldn't see Spike.

Gunn didn't see him either. "Try the office," he suggested.

The guard clicked a few more keys, and there was Spike's office. Pictures of and by the children. Desk in disarray, and then, in walked Spike.

Rose watched him, memorizing the picture, catching every nuance of movement.

"Rose?" Gunn nudged her. "Spike may not have to breathe, but you do. So why don't you?"

Rose realized that she had begun to feel a little giddy, and she exhaled gustily. Her eyes still hadn't left the screen.

Gunn was arriving at the conclusion that he wasn't going to hear from her as long as her Blondie Bear was in view. She could watch him without any painful confrontations. He didn't know if this was a good thing or not, but right now, it was the best he could do for her. He looked at his watch. "Might as well call it lunch," he remarked to anyone who might be listening. He turned back to the guard. "I'll make sure her department head knows that she's here, but if you could give her a nudge when her lunch break is over, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure thing, Mr. Gunn," Patterson said cheerfully. He glanced at Rose, still riveted to the image of her beloved, then shook his head. One of the reasons he was still a bachelor and intended to stay that way.

&&&&&&&

"She is on a major guilt trip," Harmony told Fred. "She thinks that everything that happened is all her fault. Like she just jumped on the boss and took advantage of him."

Fred shook her head sadly. "Angel is just as bad," she replied. "And they've been avoiding each other like the plague. I hope that whatever Wes is getting from that witch will help patch things up between them."

"I don't understand why Spike is being such a jerk," Harmony said in disgust. "Couldn't he tell that something was wrong with her? We all noticed."

"I'm sure he did," Fred conceded. "But knowing things with your head and knowing them with your heart are two different things. Maybe Spike will even figure that out on his own. If you look at things from his point of view, though, you got to admit, it probably looked pretty bad. I doubt that he was doing much thinking at the time. It's a lucky thing he didn't start a major fight right there."

"You're too nice, Fred," Harmony retorted. "Spikey needs a swift kick in the seat of his pants. Rose is a mess, and it's all because he isn't there for her."

"I think it's a little more complicated than that," Fred pointed out. "At the moment, though, I think I'd like to give them all a kick in the pants. And I would too, if I thought it would help straighten this mess out."

&&&&&&

Lunchtime by the clock. Spike stayed glued to his office chair. He wasn't doing any paperwork, or much of anything at all. But he wasn't about to pry his ass off the chair to see if the ponce had the gall to show up for their sparring session. He could go bugger himself. Should have done before he laid a hand on Rose. Stupid git. Still, Spike found it hard to blame him for being attracted to her. Sweet and beautiful and sexy as hell. He was surprised that there wasn't a queue of men following her around, trying to make time with her. He heaved a sigh. Even with the workout, sleep had been a long time coming last night. Woke up half a dozen times, groping around the bed before realizing that he was all alone. Another sigh. Well, he'd see her tonight, he supposed. He was of two minds about that, too. Part of him wanted to just sweep her up in his arms and forget about the whole thing. The other part was still hurting from the sight of her and Angel swapping spit on the sofa in the pouf's apartment. Another sigh. Bloody hell.

&&&&&&

Rose was positively vibrating with nervous energy when she reached the apartment that night. Oz could practically see it coming off her in waves. And it was no big deal to guess what was causing it. The kids had told him that Spike was coming for a visit tonight. In fact, that was practically all they'd told him. There had been quite a few private conversations between them today. But, they had seemed in a better frame of mind than they had for over a week, so that was all to the good.

He kissed the kids good-bye. After a while, he'd gotten used to it, and they seemed to expect it. On a sudden impulse, he gave Rose a quick hug, then melted away. He suspected that emotions would be running high when Spike arrived, and he didn't want to feel like an eavesdropper.

&&&&&

Rose greeted the children, and for the first time in days, really connected with them. She felt a guilty pang that she had been so wrapped up in herself that she'd all but ignored them. The thought had barely crossed her mind when the twins were plastered to her giving her all kinds of kisses. They were just happy to have mummy back. All the way back.

She had just started towards the kitchen to start dinner when the twins took off for the door. "Daddy!" they shouted in chorus.

Rose opened the door and let Spike in, while he stood there, hand upraised, ready to knock. He fished around in a pocket and held out his hand to Rose.

"What's that?" she asked, not sure that she really wanted to know.

"My keys to the place," Spike explained. He was really trying to be mature about the whole situation, but it was costing him. "Didn't figure that you'd want me to be able to just waltz in whenever."

"Keep them," Rose said shortly, and turned and headed for the kitchen. Spike might have seen it as an adult gesture, but she saw it as proof that he didn't want to have anything more to do with her, and it bit deep into her.

Dinner was awkward, but hardly silent. The two adults had little to say in each other's presence, but the children kept up a flow of chatter that came so fast and furious that it was hard to follow.

After dinner was over, Spike took the kids into the living area, to visit and play with them some more. Rose, as was her habit, had stayed in the kitchen to clean up. But she was taking a hell of a long time about it.

"She's not going to come out, daddy," Ariel informed him, snuggling up against him. The three of them were on the floor, taking a break from rough-housing.

"She thinks you don't want to see her," Alaric added. "But you do, don't you?"

Spike sighed. He was pretty sure what the kids were up to, and he couldn't blame them, wanting to see their parents back together, but how could he tell them that he and Rose had to take this in their own time? That it couldn't just happen overnight, no matter how much they wanted it to?

"She doesn't love Uncle Angel," Ariel told him. "She loves you. We love you. Come back where you belong."

"It's not quite that easy," Spike protested weakly. She still loved him? Then why had she been sucking face with the ponce?

"We think it was a spell," Alaric said. "We're not sure what spell, but it had to be a spell. Mummy wouldn't do that if she was herself."

"We've missed you so much, daddy," Ariel cooed, giving him the eye treatment. She could see that explanations weren't quite cutting it, so she decided to play on his emotions.

Alaric followed his sister's cue. "We did miss you," he declared. "Lots and lots. And so does mummy. She thinks you don't love her anymore."

"Couldn't stop loving her if I tried," Spike said, more to himself than the kids. He wanted to come back home, more than anything. But he just wasn't sure..,

"We are," Ariel picked up on his train of thought. "You and mummy both want to be together. So why can't you?"

Spike laughed sadly. "Don't know if I can explain that one, precious," he murmured. He kissed both children. "God, I missed you two." When they both looked at him expectantly, knowing what they were waiting for, he added, "I missed your mum too."

"Spike?" Rose's voice came from the kitchen, even though she didn't appear. "Did you want to give the children their baths?"

"Yeah, why not?" Spike made sure his voice was loud enough to carry to her. Damn, how could they even get used to being around each other again when she stayed away from him like he had the bloody plague?

"Lots of bubbles, daddy," Ariel demanded.

"Lots of bubbles it is," Spike agreed. He called out to the kitchen again. "Do you want me to put them to bed, too, Rose?"

"If you'd like." The answer came floating back.

"Put us to bed right after our bath, daddy," Alaric ordered. "Then you can talk to mummy."

&&&&&&&

Rose had given the kitchen a thorough cleaning only a couple of weeks ago, but she was going over already spotless surfaces, cleaning what was already clean. She was trying to be nice about this. Reasonable. Giving Spike some time alone with the children. If she had a driver's license, she would have left completely, just to give them their time. Hiding out in the kitchen was the best she could do, though.

&&&&&&

Spike was tucking the kids into bed and getting a few more kisses.

"Are you going to talk to her, daddy?" Ariel asked. She cuddled up with the pink teddy bear.

Spike glanced at his son and noted that he was watching with eagle eyes. Evidently he thought that his sister had the best chance of talking their father into something.

"I'll talk to her." He finally caved in under the relentless onslaught. "But I'm not making any promises. Your mum might not want to talk to me."

"She will," Ariel assured him sleepily. "Good night, daddy."

"G'night daddy," came the voice from the other bed.

"Good night, kids," Spike said softly. "Wish me luck," he added under his breath.

&&&&&&

Rose was developing a crick in her neck from looking up. She'd decided that the kitchen ceiling was looking grungy. But even standing on a chair and using a mop for the job, it was quite a stretch for her. She focused on the task, trying to ignore what was going on elsewhere in the suite. She figured that once Spike had the children tucked into bed, he'd probably just let himself out. He might say good night to her, just to let her know he was leaving, but she really didn't expect anything more.

"What in the bleeding hell are you doing, woman?" Spike demanded, and stepped nimbly aside as Rose dropped the mop in surprise. Then caught Rose as she overbalanced and started to follow her mop. "When are you going to stop climbing up on chairs, luv?" he asked softly.

Rose found herself looking into his eyes and saw, if not exactly forgiveness there, then, at least, understanding. It would have to do. "When you're not around to catch me when I fall," she answered a little breathlessly. This ought to feel awkward, she thought, but instead, it just felt so good to be in Spike's arms again, even if it was for just a moment.

But Spike wasn't in the mood to settle for just a moment. He sat down in the chair she'd just fallen off of, and settled her in his lap. "Why have you been hiding out in the kitchen all night?" he inquired. He had to start somewhere, he supposed. But having her here like this, he just wanted to start nuzzling at her neck, nibbling her ears, and all sorts of other things that would lead to them making love. Couldn't rush things though. At least, he didn't think so.

"I didn't think you'd want to see me," she confessed. Then, in a small voice she added, "I couldn't really blame you if you didn't, either."

"Rubbish," Spike scoffed. "Always have liked looking at you, babe." He finally gave in to an impulse and buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. "You smell so good, sweetheart," he mumbled.

"You're not right," Rose accused, but her voice lacked conviction. "How can you stand being near me after what I did?"

"Because I love you," Spike whispered in her ear. "And I have it on very good authority that you still love me." He had a brief surge of memory of how removed she had been the last few days before he'd left, and realized there was one way to find out for sure. "Kiss me, babe."

Rose looked at him, sure she couldn't have heard right. But Spike just sat there, with his arms wrapped loosely around her, waiting for something. Tentatively, even a little nervously, she lifted up her head to kiss him.

At first, Spike just sat there, let her do all the work, but when it burst on him in a glorious rush that it was Rose kissing him, freely, without reservations and without holding back, he returned her kisses, arms tightening around her. It felt good, it felt right.

Spike was back home.

&&&&&&&&

The children sighed contentedly and snuggled down into their pillows. 'See," Ariel thought at her brother. 'I knew it would work.'

'I knew too,' Alaric shot back, unwilling to let his sister have the last word.

'Let's go to sleep now,' Ariel suggested.

'And miss everything?' Alaric was taken aback at the suggestion.

'Just this once. There'll be other times, now.'