A/N : Wow, so many reviews on this chaoter. Thanx muchly to; Mita427, Moonjava, Kay, LiLi, demonica mills, XxsarahxX, Spuffy6, EMBER91, katie, Greenday4ever17, funkydevil206, sPIKEaNDmE, spuffygrl, bella-lover, Brunettepet, Moluvsnumber17, Apr18, and Baby Girl Gellar-Green. You all rock!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 12 - She's The One
"You alright, luv?" Spike asked Buffy as their drinks arrived on the bar in front of them, "You look a bit pale all of a sudden" he observed. The blonde forced a smile.
"I'm fine" she assured him, "I just, I think I'm getting a headache is all"
"Oh, you wanna sit down again?" he suggested, picking up their drinks and walking back to the table with her.
Willow and Oz were now back but Xander could be seen across the room, talking to a woman Buffy recognised as Cordelia Chase. The first time she and Xander had come to the Bronze, he'd managed to get the girls phone number and for some reason when he asked her out she agreed immediately. Not that Buffy didn't love her cousin, but this Cordy on looks alone seemed kind of out of Xander's league. Still, she was just happy that he was happy. Best to wait and see what problems occurred and only worry about them if and when they did.
"You two not gonna dance tonight?" Willow asked and Spike shook his head, telling her Buffy had a headache.
Everybody immediately felt bad for her, making the blonde feel worse for lying. Her head didn't ache, the contents of it was just spinning at ninety miles an hour as she recalculated dates and crunched numbers, trying to remember details she knew and those she thought she should. The more times she worked it out, the more likely it seemed that Dawn really could be her baby. The very idea of it thrilled her and scared her beyond words.
"Buffy?" Spike said again, trying to get her attention and finally she seemed to notice.
"Sorry, did I zone out?" she asked with a strange look in her eyes.
"You still all headachy, Buff?" Willow asked, "Cos y'know we won't be offended if you wanna go home"
"No, it's okay" the blonde shook her head, "I'd rather wait for Xander anyway, it's kinda dark out there"
"I can walk you home, luv" Spike told her, "Be no trouble"
Buffy thought about it a little too long before finally agreeing. She apologised to Willow and Oz for breaking up the party as it were, and asked them to let Xander know she'd gone back to the motel due to a headache. They told her to get better soon and Spike took her hand in his to walk her home. The spontaneous action made Buffy smile as they headed off down the street together.
It was kind of romantic walking hand in hand in the moonlight, at least it would've been if she wasn't with the adoptive father of a girl that was possibly her biological daughter. The very idea of it was insane and made Buffy wonder if she wasn't just jumping to conclusions, but she'd considered before this how much Dawn sometimes reminded her of herself and very occasionally even of Xander. If they were related it were possible and the daughter she gave up had to be in Sunnydale, Faith wouldn't lie about it. Buffy also knew her math well enough to know her little girl would be headed for fifteen on February 9th, but she couldn't recall Dawn ever telling her when her birthday was, she was sure she'd have remembered if she had.
"You sure you're alright, pet?" Spike checks as he glances over at Buffy. She was right there beside him and yet it felt as though she was miles away, in a whole other world.
"Yeah" she nodded, "I told you, just a headache" she didn't like lying to him, he'd been so good to her and she knew she might very well be falling for him, but Buffy was too confused right now to try to explain this to anyone else, least of all Spike.
They arrived outside the motel and they faced each other to say goodnight.
"I'm sorry I spoiled your night" Buffy sighed, "I didn't want to"
"'S alright, luv" he told her, smiling at her as his fingers ran through her hair, "Plenty of other nights we can go the Bronze"
He leaned in to gently put his lips to hers before moving to plant another kiss on her forehead.
"You sleep tight, pet" he told her softly, "Rest that pretty head of yours til it feels better"
"I will" she smiled, turning to go into the building, "Goodnight" she said as she went and he replied in kind as she went through the front doors.
Buffy went up to her room and collapsed onto her bed in tears, but it wasn't sadness that made her cry like so many other times, it was a strange kind of hapiness. Spike was the best thing that had happened to her in a very long time, and it seemed as though she may have found her baby too, all in the same place, same house even. It was a crazy coincidence but nevertheless seemed to be for real. The only way she was going to know for sure was if she talked to Spike, and indeed Dawn, about it, but how did you tell your boyfriend that his daughter was your daughter too? And worse how do you tell your boyfriends daughter that you're her real mother? There was nothing to say that Dawn even knew that Spike and Drusilla were not her real parents, although his honesty about things and the fact he'd told her led Buffy to believe she must do.
It was just a few minutes later that Xander tapped on her door and came inside.
"Hey Buff" he said quietly, assuming her head was hurting still, "Willow and Oz told me you weren't feeling so good..." he stopped talking when he noticed the tear-tracks on her face, knowing it was not merely a headache that had made her come home early.
"I'm okay" she told him as he sat down on the bed beside her. She stopped crying a while ago but didn't exactly look convincingly okay yet.
"Is it Spike?" Xander checked, "You feeling a little weird about getting close to him? Cos y'know I saw a little kissage between you two"
"It's not Spike" Buffy assured him, "Or it is but, it's not getting close to him...Xander, I think I found my baby" she told him with a tearful smile, "I think it's Dawn"
"Dawn?" her cousin echoed, "Dawn as in Spike's daughter Dawn?"
"'Cept she's not" Buffy shook her head, "He and Drusilla adopted her because they couldn't have kids of their own. Xander she's almost fifteen, she's adopted and she's here in Sunnydale. That cannot be a coincidence, it has to be her"
"Woah, woah, woah" Xander slowed her down as she began to ramble at ninety miles an hour, "Now hold on a sec, Buff, and think about this"
"I have been thinking about it" she told him, "For a couple of weeks now, everytime she looks at me a certain way, things she says...God Xand, I thought I was going crazy, she looks so like me and you and even...him" she couldn't say his name, she'd never really forgiven him.
"You sure it's not your imagination playing tricks?" the brunette asked, knowing he mustn't let her get too excited just now. If she was mistaken, it would be such a huge blow, he couldn't bear to see his little cousin suffer anymore.
"It can't be Xander, it has to be her" Buffy said firmly, "Which means I have to talk to Spike about this...not a conversation I'm looking forward to" she admitted.
"Buffy, don't go crazy" Xander urged her, "but, be really sure before you mention this to Spike, okay? I mean, I don't know the guy all that well and I know that you like him a lot but I'm thinking if you get into all this and Dawnie's not her, there's no promises things'll ever be the same between you two"
He hated to see his cousin cry at that and he pulled her into a hug until her tears subsided.
"I think I love him, Xand" she cried, "I promised myself I'd never let another guy into my life this way but it's happened and..." she sighed and continued, "This has to come first, finding out if Dawn is my daughter has to be priority. I've waited too long Xander, I have to know"
"I get it, sweetie, I do" her assured her, rubbing her back soothingly, "I hate to see you all torn up over this, I just don't want you to find out you made a mistake and end up losing Spike too. He seems like a decent guy, and you could use one of those"
"I already have one" she told him, managing a watery smile as she hugged him, "But you're right, I don't want to lose Spike. I just have to hope that whatever happens he likes me enough to stay with me"
On Sunday morning Xander took Buffy to see the apartment he'd found and she agreed to them renting it. The landlord said they could move in whenever they wanted and since they didn't have much they managed to shift it the same day. Though Buffy was as happy as her cousin to get out of the motel and into a proper home they could make their own, she was terribly distracted by thoughts of both Spike and Dawn.
Monday morning was going to be difficult, both she and Xander were all too aware of that. There would be little opportunity for Buffy to talk to Spike since he didn't need to drive her to work anymore and in the office they didn't see each other much. Buffy decided that was probably a good thing since work was really not the place to 'drop the bomb shell' as Xander put it when she discussed the situation with him. After much thought the blonde decided to ask Spike over to dinner so she could tell him everything. Xander agreed to disappear for a few hours, either to see Cordy or go out with some work friends, so his cousin would have time to talk to her boyfriend about the bizarre situation they'd found themselves in.
"Hey there, Bit" Spike smiled as he picked Dawn up outside her friends house, "You have fun with your mates?"
"Totally" his daughter assured him as she got in the car and pulled on her seat-belt, "And you? Did you have fun with Buffy?" she asked him, with a look that Spike felt did not belong on a fourteen year olds face.
"Yes, we had fun" he told her, ignoring that look, "until Buffy got a headache of course and I had to walk her home early" he sighed, hating the fact their evening had ended like that. They'd been having a good time up until they'd kissed and despite the fact she'd initiated that moment, Spike was still wondering if it wasn't his fault she'd wanted to get out suddenly.
"...but I don't think it's weird, I mean you're not that old and..."
Spike tuned back in to the middle of his daughters latest ramble, now having no idea what he was talking about.
"Sorry, luv, what?" he checked, "Not too old for what now?"
Dawn sighed heavily in apparent annoyance.
"I was just saying" she began again, "Amanda's Mom has this new boyfriend and he's like ten years younger than her, which is way weird because she is like older than you already! Anyway, so then Janice said it's freaky having your parents dating but I told her she can't have an opinion cos she doesn't know cos her parents are still married and everything, and I told her it's not so weird cos my Dad has a really cool girlfriend, and it's not like you or Buffy are majorly ancient or whatever"
"Well, thanks, pet, nice to know I'm not a dinosaur just yet" he rolled his eyes, making Dawn giggle, "but seriously, you like Buffy?"
"Sure" his daughter confirmed, "She's nice, she's kinda like my friends, only older, which is cool" she explained, making Spike smile.
"It's a little disturbing to think I'm dating somebody that's like your friends only older" he laughed, "Still, I'm glad you like her"
It mattered a lot to Spike that Buffy and Dawn get along. He might only have known the blonde for a month but he already knew he was well on the way to being in love with her. He wanted her to be a part of his future, and if that was ever going to happen it was good to know that wouldn't cause problems with Dawn. The two women that currently mattered most to him in his life got along okay, Spike thought as he drove towards home with a contended smile on his face.
To Be Continued...