Cherries
By: Javawolf
Author's Note. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it means a lot. I was given a real self-esteem boost by ShinodaBear. I'm so glad I've caught the interest of so many fellow writers!
Anyway, I wanted to say that I feel like making this a full length fic, meaning that Spike may be gone for longer than the episode "Harm's Way" would let on, in which case my setting is likely to be a bit off. I shall say it's a missing scene/alternate universe hybrid. My own design, mwa-ha-ha!
Spike watched with mixed feelings as the L.A. skyline dimmed into nothing more than countless flickering candles on the horizon. He spent several minutes on deck trying to guess which lights belonged to the building he'd come to know so well. In the end he decided not to dwell any longer on the fact he may never see Angel–or any of them again. And with that thought Spike had come full circle back to trying to find Wolfram & Hart's offices among the lights, which by this time had begun to merge with the sky, becoming lost among the stars.
"Excuse me..." Said a small voice. Spike turned away from his thoughts for a moment to give his attention to a young girl. She looked like something out of a story book, staring up at him all starry-eyed with her hands clasped in the front. A picture of innocence that Spike felt certain would prove to be otherwise.
"Well, hullo." He said with a smile. He had to fight the urge to laugh out loud at the girl's outfit. A red turtle-neck, followed by a pink and white striped sun dress, and under that she wore purple, wool stockings. She could not be any older than seven, but already showed the creativity most fashion designers of today would envy.
"Hi." She mumbled, shyly. Spike shuffled on his feet, feeling awkward. Where were this girl's parents? Were he on a strange boat with thirty to forty complete strangers, he would certainly not allow his child to run around unsupervised. Spike decided after some thought that he should help the girl find her family.
"Were are your parents, luv?" He asked gently, kneeling down to her eye level. He hadn't expected the child to lower her head with the sorrowed look she gave him, and immediately felt as though he had crossed over a very bad line. At a loss for what to do, he gave the girl a weak pat on the back, whispering soothing words to her as she tried to stop the tears that wouldn't spare her the embarrassment.
"I'm sorry..." Spike managed.
"No." Sniffed the girl. "It's my fault. Papa said we shouldn't cry. I sometimes do, but I'm really brave. That's what Papa says." She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her turtle-neck and smiled bashfully. "I'm going to Europe. Did you know that?"
Spike chuckled. "No, I didn't. Europe, eh?" He smiled. "Guess what?"
"What?" The girl asked with mild interest.
"I'm going to Europe too!" Spike watched the girl's face light up with these words, as though she were realizing a dream she'd always wished for.
"What's your name?" She asked him sweetly. Spike hesitated.
"My name is William." He concluded. "But you can call me Spike if you want."
The girl giggled.
"That's a funny name! Okay, Mr. Spike. You have to guess my name now. Guess what it is, guess my name!"
Spike blinked dumbly. "Uhmm...let's see. You look like a...Cindy? No. Okay, Sarah? Katherine? Emily? Virginia, it has to be Virginia! Ah, foiled again..."
As Spike randomly gave names fitting the child's first impression, the small girl positively bounced in her shoes, (Heels, actually. Probably her mother's.) absolutely fizzy with joy.
"...Anna, Marie, Lucy, Diane, Jane, Margaret, Cecile..."
"Nope-nope-nope-nope-nope-nope-nope!"
Spike sighed loudly and comically, which succeeded in throwing the child into a fit of laughter.
"Oh, I give up." He said. "What's your name, miss?"
The girl looked around playfully, supposedly checking the surrounding area for eavesdroppers, before saying in a low voice, "It's Ivy."
"IVY!" The vampire cried, bring his palm to his forehead. "Oh, I should've known. Of course it's Ivy, I see it now." He looked her up and down from her off-white heels, to her long brown curls. "Yes." He said. "Ivy. That's a very nice name."
Ivy beamed.
"Are you alone on the boat?" Spike tried again, not mentioning Ivy's parents this time.
"No." She said cheerfully. "I'm here with my Papa. My grandfather." She added at Spike's puzzled expression. "He has a house where we're going, and I'm going to live there with him. Are you from where he lives? Your voice sounds like his, a little."
Spike shifted uncomfortably. "Yes." He said after a moment. "Yes, I suppose."
"Are we going to the same place?" Ivy asked hopefully. "You could live at our house, I bet Papa won't mind."
Spike smiled. "He might mind a little, he doesn't know me. And anyway, crumpet, I have to see someone. I have to go to her house, I'm sorry."
Ivy looked forlorn, but only for a brief moment. "Is she your wife?" She asked with a interested grin. "Do you have kids then?"
Spike couldn't hold it, he burst out laughing. "No, I don't have any little chippers of my own." He said after he'd gotten a grip on himself. "Wish I did, though. Be a right lot more interesting than being all by me lonesome all the time."
"But do you have a wife?"
"Nope." Spike shook his head.
"Is the lady your going to see, is she your girlfriend or what? Are you going to get married? Cause when you get married you can have kids. That what Papa says. But only after you're married, or it doesn't work."
Spike chuckled. "All old people say that, luv."
"Are you old?" She asked curiously. Spike considered the question.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
"So you're not going to get married?"
"Old people can get married."
Ivy sighed, blowing a stray hair out of her face. "You're not making any sense!" She said, throwing her hands in the air, expressing her child like frustration.
"Well, it's a bit complicated." Spike grinned. "I don't have a wife." He paused. "I don't really have a girlfriend either. She's just–just a friend." The words Spike heard himself say sent shock waves coursing through him. If he didn't really love her, why was he on this bleeding boat, sailing farther and farther away from Angel?
"So you're old . . . " Ivy reviewed. "But old people can get married, but you're not going to, because you don't want to marry your friend, but you want kids, 'cept you're old?"
Spike laughed. "Yeah, something to that effect." Ivy nodded with a look that said. 'I get it, because I'm grown up enough.'
"You should run along to bed, I think, pet. It must be past your bedtime."
"Come and meet my Papa!" Ivy squealed excitedly. "I'll go to bed, but only after you say hi to Papa!" She tugged the vampire's arm until he gave in and allowed her to lead him down the wooden floor of the boat deck. As hey made their way toward their destination Spike thought on what he had said about Buffy, and why he felt like he needed to return to L.A.