A/N : You guys are so kind in your reviews and have waited so long for Spike's return. As promised he is in this chapter, so what are you waiting for? Read on!

Chapter 7

One month. Buffy could barely believe it'd been that long since she'd left California with her son and arrived on her real father's doorstep, and yet so much had happened. Giles was so great, he'd taken them in without question and promised to do anything he could for them both. Michael had adjusted without any problems, since he had very few friends to speak of in Sunnydale and his father treated him badly, if he even paid attention to him at all. In England, Michael found new friends as soon as he started at the local school, children of course were always intrigued by the new kid, especially since he had an accent and everything. Buffy loved to see him come running from the gates into her arms, smiling and chatting animatedly about what he'd done all day.

Buffy herself was glad to spend time with Giles, getting to know him better. He insisted she did not have to worry about getting a job just yet since he had much more money that he needed and was happy to look after her for a while. He was careful not to offend her, and insisted it was not an attempt to buy her affections, which she completely understood. She was so grateful for all he was doing, and so thrilled when they found out for definite that he was her Dad.

In order for Buffy and Michael to be allowed to stay in the country, real proof had to be given that she was Giles' daughter and so a DNA test was arranged. As certain as they were of their connection, it was a great relief to actually hear a genuine positive result from the doctor. With a richEnglish father willing to support her and her child, Buffy was accepted into Britain with no problems at all, and the paperwork was duly signed and stamped.

As much as she liked the idea of being a lady of leisure in some ways, Buffy found she needed to keep herself active. She would clean the house and cook meals for Giles whilst he was out at work even when he insisted she didn't have to. After a while she realised it might be good for her to get a job, just during the hours Michael was in school perhaps, but she really wasn't qualified for anything. It had been on her mind a few days, most especially today as she scrubbed inside the oven for something to do. Music blared from the stereo to make the task of cleaning a little more fun, but with the heavy beat and her head inside the oven, she didn't hear Giles come up behind her until the music suddenly disappeared.

"Oh, hey" she smiled when she turned and found him behind her, hand still at the stereo where he'd turned it off, "You don't like my taste in music, huh?

"No, that wasn't why I switched it off" Giles assured her, "I simply wanted to get your attention without startling you" he explained.

"Attention got with lack of startle-age" she nodded as she got to her feet, "What in particular did you need me for?"

"Buffy, really" he sighed, "As I have said on countless occasions you musn't feel you have to do all this cleaning and so forth"

"Giles, we talked about this" she reminded him.

As a rule she didn't call him Dad, it still felt a little strange and he quite understood. She therefore called him by his last name much as everyone else did, and only very occasionally had any affectionate father-type terms passed her lips. Michael had quite taken to calling him Grandpa Giles though and that pleased him greatly.

"Indeed we have discussed your obsession with the housework before" he agreed as Buffy pulled off the gloves she'd been wearing to clean the oven and tidied up some of the mess she'd made, "I know you'd like to have a job Buffy, and that my just giving you something to do would not be satisfying for you. You're a bright young woman, my dear, and as we both know quite capable of doing a great many things"

"Is this little pep talk gonna get pointy anytime soon?" she asked, with a slight frown. So far her father was not making a huge amount of sense.

"Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I did have a point" Giles nodded, handing her some leaflets from the top of the pile of books and paper under his arm.

"Classes?" Buffy realised, "For the mature student?"

"Yes, some are in the evenings, but others are during school hours for mothers like yourself" Giles explained, gesturing to a couple of the booklets in her hands, "I thought perhaps there would be something you'd like to study, get a qualification in. It may perhaps lead you to getting the sort of job you deserve" he suggested, a little worried that she'd hate the idea. It had seemed like such a capital plan at first, but Giles found the closer he got to the house, the more worried he became that Buffy would throw these leaflets back in his face and tell him he was being ridiculous in suggesting such a thing. The smile on her face was a great relief to him.

"Giles, that is such a great idea" Buffy told him, though her grin slipped a little as she thought about it, "This learning thing would require cash though and I don't know if I could..."

"Buffy, you know I'm quite happy to pay for you to do this, if it's something you really want" her father assured her, "and I don't wish to hear any talk of your not being worth it, or some such rubbish. You are my daughter, Buffy, and I will spoil you if I wish it" he told her firmly, but with a smile.

"Then thankyou" she smiled back, reaching up to hug him and kiss his cheek, "You are a great father" she told him sincerely and he felt ridiculously emotional at her words. Buffy, having realised what she'd said, was quick to leave the room, feeling a little teary herself, though she put some of that down to her pregnancy.

It was almost two months since the child was conceived and Buffy had been to the doctors just once to confirm it. Another month and she'd start to show, be forced to accept the fact she was going to be a mother to two children instead of just the one. She hadn't told Michael yet, after all nothing was certain with pregnancies, all kind of things could happen and until she was past the three month stage she didn't want to risk it. Michael would get so upset if, heaven forbid, she lost the baby. That was strange to Buffy, how the thought of losing this child filled her with dread. It was far from a perfect scenario, having the baby of some random guy you only met and slept with once, but the baby that grew inside her was a part of her, in more than one way. The thought had crossed her mind that Spike could be within a few miles of where she stood right now. She was in England after all, and so was he, though she knew the chances of them running into each other again were approximately zero, she couldn't help but wonder about it sometimes.

In daydreams, and sometimes those when she slept, she saw him, her one night stand that had meant so much more than he ought to have done. He'd show up on the doorstep, with a story of how he'd tracked her down, fought through hell and high water to be at her side. She'd fall into his arms and they'd kiss passionately, stagger back into the bedroom and... Well, it didn't always go that way, sometimes she bumped into him in the street, they'd go back to his apartment somewhere, he'd tell her he couldn't stop thinking about her, that somehow he'd fallen in love with her, and when he kissed her it was fireworks and molten lava as they stumbled towards the bedroom and... Okay, so there was a recurring theme of the bed variety, but what else did Buffy really know about this guy, other than his skills in that department? That and his looks were enough to make her wish she really could meet him again but she knew it was hardly practical.

Spike was exactly what he seemed to be, just a daydream. Yes, that daydream had come true one night, but now normal programming had been resumed and he lived only in her mind and fantasies. The baby she was having was hers alone, no-one elses, and her life would go on without a man in it, not counting her father and son of course because that was a different thing entirely.

Right now, she didn't need romance, Buffy realised as she sat on the cushioned seat in the bay window at the back of the house, looking out at the spectacular view of open fields and trees. The sky was a perfect shade of blue and Buffy mentally kicked herself for realising it was the same colour as Spike's eyes, almost exactly. It was strange but that was one thing she remembered most clearly about him, the intense look in his eyes as he'd taken her to the dizzy heights of passion that she knew she'd never reached with anyone else before or would again.

"Less day-dreaming, more reading" she told herself as she opened up the leaflets Giles had given her and read about various courses she could take at a number of locations in the area. The English programmes caught her eye in particular. In High School she'd enjoyed studying plays and poems and such, and though she didn't excel at it as much as she'd like to have done, she really got into it in a big way for a while. Angel soon distracted her from any kind of study and thoughts of possibly taking English as her major in college flew out of the window the day she found herself pregnant with his child. Though Buffy never regretted having Michael, not once, she did sometimes regret ever accepting Angel's first offer of a date.

He hadn't bothered to try and find her, or if he had he'd been wholly unsuccessful and not even tried the obvious options. Buffy knew that, since she'd called up Jenny as well as Willow and Xander a couple of weeks ago to tell them she was okay, and why she'd left. They swore to keep her location and condition a secret and that they'd let her know should Angel come around asking about her. Since they never let her know about it, Buffy assumed he never bothered, and whilst that was in one way a huge relief, it was a painful blow in another.

Checking her watch Buffy realised it was almost time for her to pick Michael up from school and leaving the booklets on the table she went to get cleaned up before she left. Tonight she'd take another look at possible courses after her son had gone to bed. So far it looked highly likely that she'd be taking some English classes very soon.

"Well, what did he say?" Giles asked as Buffy came off the phone.

It was two days since he'd brought home some information for her regarding various classes she might take to further her education and Buffy had quite decided she wanted to study English. The course that seemed most appealing however had started the week before, but Giles had suggested since she'd only missed the one class perhaps Buffy could have a word with the professor and see if she might not be able to catch up.

The call had just been made and Giles was eager to know what had been said.

"I didn't actually talk to the professor, he's not there right now" Buffy explained, "but the nice lady that took my call said if I go in later, after four, I could talk to him then"

"Splendid" Giles smiled, "I can be home by then and look after young Michael whilst you go. How does that sound?"

"Perfect" Buffy smiled, as she hugged him, "Thankyou so much for all you're doing, you have no idea how much it means to me"

"On the contrary, my dear" Giles told her softly, "You really have no idea what you mean to me"

Buffy felt ridiculously nervous as she arrived at the college. There were so many young people around, she felt very out of place, despite the fact she was hardly any older than several of them. Being a mother and a married woman made her feel older though, way older, and that was unsettling. Still, the classes she would be attending were for the 'mature student' as the leaflets stated. Other mothers, and maybe fathers, and general older type people who wanted to learn for one reason or another. She was sure she'd feel much less out of place in the actual class, that was of course if she was allowed to join. She needed to speak to the professor about catching up first.

A kind woman at the office directed her to Room 117 where she would apparently find the guy who taught the English course she wished to take. Buffy stood outside the door for several minutes before she dared to knock. She heard an English voice call 'come in' and she did so, though she could not immediately see where the man was.

"Er, hello?" she called into the apparently empty room, "I'm looking for Professor William Armstrong, I was told he was here" she said uncertainly when suddenly a figure appeared from behind a display board at the back of the room and came towards her.

"You've come to the right place, pet" he smiled as he approached her, but the smile slipped off his face when he saw who he was speaking too, "Bloody hell" he gasped as Buffy physically reeled back til she hit the wall.

"Oh my God" she blinked, "Spike?" she breathed, moments before the world went black.

To Be Continued...

A/N : See? I told you Spike would be in this chapter. Okay, so he only had one line but you can't have everything! Next chapter will have lots of Spike and Buffy content, and that's a promise. In the meantime reviews would be great...