The Nearness Of You
I hoped you all like Angel's ass kicking... I have never seen anybody turn against poor Angel like that. I could not stop laughing.
Thank you, to my two wonderful Betas who get back to me so quickly!
Reviews are like Chicken Noodle Soup for the Authors Soul. I like review soup.
-----Never Let You Go-----
"Unless you want me to ravage you, I recommend you get out of bed and eat breakfast," the handsome peroxide blond stated playing with his lover's feet.
Spike tickled them slowly and lightly at first, but Buffy just moved her feet away. Smiling he grabbed one of her beautiful delicate looking ankles and tickled a little firmer. Buffy buried her face in pillows and kicked Spike away; she did not feel like getting up.
Spike decided to declare all out warfare, straddling the slayer's very sexy legs he began to mercilessly tickle the bottoms of her feet. Buffy exploded into laughter as she struggled to dislodge her assailant.
"Spike! Stop! I give, mercy!" the blonde beneath him cried in-between her laughter.
"Who's the master, baby?" Spike asked as lay down next to Buffy. She was remarkable to see, when she was unguarded. Her blonde hair was tousled from sleep and she was completely relaxed.
"Please," Buffy retorted her voice dripping with sarcasm, "I could so take you."
"Slayer... you are being counter productive to the cause. I'm trying to get you out of bed and ready for your meeting with the Scooby gang. I even made you pancakes," Spike said placing a brief kiss on Buffy's lips.
"You made me breakfast? You can cook?" Buffy asked looking perplexed.
"Yes slayer, I can cook. A hundred years of existence believe me when I say I had extra time on my hands. And now that you are my girl, you will experience fine cuisine. You've become too skinny and I'm gonna put 15 pounds back onto you," Spike answered absently rubbing the slayer's lower abdomen.
"You're going to make me fat," the adorable blonde pouted.
"No, I'm going to make you look human. Now I want you out of bed and eating breakfast," the sexual blonde vampire stated.
"Fine, but when I'm fat and you don't want me anymore, I'll remind you of this moment," Buffy said as she walked barefoot out of the bedroom. She was delighted to see that Spike made heart shaped pancakes.
"You know I would never leave you, don't you," Spike asked. The casual tone in his voice covered the hurt he was feeling. Did Buffy think he was that shallow?
"You say that now," Buffy said slowly.
"You are my mate. You and Emma are everything to me. Whether you like it or not I will never leave you," Spike said. His voice was kept completely conversational, but Buffy could feel the love, fear, and possibly even a threat being made.
"Spike, I love you. I love little things about you. Like how when you think I'm asleep you sing to me. Or how you don't mind dropping everything to tend to Emma's needs. You are not just her champion, you are mine too," Buffy said sweetly kissing him and balancing a mountain of pancakes at the same time.
Buffy enjoyed her breakfast and dreaded going to see Giles about Slayer business. But she went like a good little slayer, leaving Spike and Emma alone together.
--Magic Box--
Buffy walked into the Magic Box and a wave of euphoria crashed down upon her. Giles was sitting over some dusty old book, running his fingers through his hair absently. Willow was furiously typing away at a computer, Xander leaning over her shoulder with a cookie in hand. And Angel was up on the second floor skimming over book titles.
"Wow. Guess time doesn't change everything. I feel like we are back in the Library, which I heard you guys blew up," Buffy said as she shuffled in.
"Yes. Buffy, please take a seat. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" Giles asked taking a seat in front of her.
"Alright," Buffy asked shifting nervously in her seat.
"I understand you are a grown woman and feel free not to answer any questions that make you uncomfortable. I have to inquire about your relationship with Spike? Is your sudden relationship with him meant to shock, hurt, surprise us? Make the group no longer like you?" Giles asked in a concerned tone. Buffy took stock and noticed Giles looked disheveled: he was wearing the same suit from the night before, his tie long gone.
"It is not supposed to mean anything to you guys. Spike and I are together, because we love each other. And hey, you must trust him on some level--he helps you guys fight evil," Buffy replied defensively.
"Yes, Spike has proven helpful in defeating some of our foes. But that hardly qualifies him for courting," Giles tried to explain. He couldn't even begin to fathom what possessed Buffy to date another vampire.
"I love him, Giles," Buffy said with a soft smile. Spike was adorable trying to get Emma to eat her pancakes, the little girl resisted stubbornly. Finally Spike had to agree to eat half of Emma's pancakes if she agreed to eat the other half.
"You barely know him," Angel said bitterly. Despite Angel's darkly handsome good looks, bitterness did not compliment him.
"Angel, stick to brooding. I am getting to know Spike. Nobody starts out a relationship knowing everything. And he is so good to me," Buffy responded with a secretive smile, as she thought about how wonderful Spike was with Emma.
Cordelia walked into the Magic Box holding a screaming baby, that Buffy assumed must be Connor. Buffy felt grateful for the interruption.
"Angel, I think Connor is sick or something. He refuses to be quiet and nothing seems to make him happy this morning," the beautiful brunette said cradling the baby to herself.
"Can I hold him?" Buffy asked reaching out for the baby boy.
Connor was wrapped snuggly in a green dinosaur blanket. Cordelia handed him over, confidant that Buffy would have no clue how to hold a baby. Buffy cradled Connor in her arms supporting his head and humming to him. Connor looked up at the stranger with questioning eyes. The baby boy was so mystified he stopped crying.
"Buffy, where did you learn to hold a baby?" Angel asked as he watched Buffy in amazement. Her humming lulled Connor to sleep, but she continued to snuggle him.
"I guess it comes naturally," Buffy said rocking baby Connor. Cordelia huffed at how Connor took to Buffy. She could not help but feel threatened by Buffy's presence; even Connor was crazy about the blonde slayer. "Babies are great when their this age. So snuggly and little," Buffy's voice softened as she held the sleeping baby.
"This is a change; I remember when you didn't want to have an egg baby. And now you are all into the mommy thing," Willow said looking up from her computer.
"Speaking of which, Buffy, we will need your help. We have been looking into a prophecy, that may involve Connor," Giles said going back to his book.
"Prophecy on a baby? I thought I had it tough as a teen. So share," Buffy sighed. Connor had light brown hair that was soft and fluffy. The little boy in her arms made light snoring sounds, Buffy grinned at the sound.
"The prophecy says the chosen one and a vampire will come together one night and from that union an extraordinary child will be born. Basically the child will have a combination of his parents' powers and will become an undefeatable power himself," Giles said, cleaning his glasses. "Originally I thought 'the chosen one' referred to a slayer but, since Connor was born of two vampires it must have been referring to a specific female vessel."
Buffy sat silently absorbing what Giles had told her. Giles spoke of Connor as the prophecy child, but Buffy had a sinking feeling it would be Emma whose neck would be placed on the chopping block. Could Emma be a prophecy child? What would she tell Spike? Hi honey, your only daughter is destined to die fighting evil just like her mommy. How could she knowingly force Emma to battle evil and risk her own life? Maybe that is why Slayer's mothers are not told of their daughter's destiny. It is too much to handle in such a brief period of time.
"How do you know for sure its Connor? Does it say specifically?" Buffy asked. She tried to keep a cool tone, despite the fact that her heart was pounding in her chest.
"There will be a mark on the child. A triangle on the back of the boy," Giles said as he looked down to reference his books. Giles missed the sudden paleness of his slayer.
"Connor doesn't have any marks on him yet," Angel announced to the group.
"I just remembered I have to meet with my mom," The blonde said as she practically tossed Connor to Angel and bolted out the door. She left so quickly there was no time for any one to object.
--Spike's house--
"Spike!" Buffy exclaimed upon entering her home.
"Yeah luv? Back so soon?" Spike asked. Buffy took one look at him and laughed. He was dressed in a sexy pair of black jeans and nothing else. Bare chest, bare feet, he was quite the eyeful. The funny part being that he was soaked and had bubbles clinging to him.
"What happened to you?" Buffy giggled out, wiping away some of the foamy bubbles.
"I was fixin' Emma a bubble bath. She snuck up behind me and shoved me in. Not to fret, I won the epic bath time battle. And now she is happily bathing and playing with her rubber ducky," Spike said proudly puffing his chest. Buffy just laughed; there was no better father.
"Spike, what would you say if Emma hypothetically grew up to be a warrior for the side of the good?" Buffy asked softly. She studied Spike and watched the play of emotions cross his face.
"Hypothetically, I would say to hell with that," the blonde vampire stated. Then he turned and left the room.
"We need to talk about the possibility of Emma having super powers," Buffy insisted following him into their bedroom.
"I will not allow 'The Powers' to run my daughter into an early grave," Spike growled.
"Do you think I want that to happen either? No one else knows about Emma. They all think the prophecy child is Connor," Buffy said flopping down onto the bed.
"And how are you so sure Emma is this prophecy kid?" Spike demanded pacing about the room.
"There is a mark on her back, it's a triangle. That is the main identifying marker," the slayer sighed rolling onto her side to watch her beautiful lover.
"I don't think I'm ready for her to grow up," Spike said kneeling in front of Buffy.
"Parenting is supposed to be teamwork," Buffy said losing herself in Spike's mesmerizing blue eyes.
"So what do we do now? You knew we would have to introduce Emma at some point," Spike said gently caressing his pretty slayer's face.
"I think I want to tell my mom first. You know, have a family dinner. We can tell the rest of the gang later," the blonde girl suggested cautiously.
"That is probably the most considerate thing you have suggested. I understand your relationship with your mother is strained. But I feel she should be first to know," Spike agreed softly.
"Do you want to prepare the dinner and have her eat over here?" Buffy asked.
"Certainly, all you have to do is prepare yourself and Emma. I'll handle food," Spike said, already getting to his feet and moving to the kitchen.
"Emma honey, time to get out of the bath," the slayer said. The light haired girl was happily splashing water about and soaking the bathroom floor. "The bathroom is soaked. And you my dear daughter resemble a wrinkly prune," Buffy said as she picked up a giant fluffy towel and wrapped her squirmy daughter up in it.
"Mummy, are you alright? Do you need a hug?" the perceptive little girl asked.
"I always need hugs," Buffy said enveloping her little girl into her arms. "You are going to meet Grandma Joyce for dinner."
"Really? Then I must look my best," the little girl said. Buffy watched comically as Emma moved about the room picking out a blue dress and matching accessories.
-Phone conversation between Joyce and Buffy-
"Hi mom," Buffy greeted.
"Buffy, it is nice to hear from you," Joyce greeted back.
"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" Buffy asked.
"Tonight? I'm not sure," Joyce's voice hesitant.
"Nothing too formal, just a family dinner. Please?" Buffy begged.
"Alright, I'll be over at 7pm," Joyce responded.
