New Year's passed and it was soon Buffy's 17th birthday. She always had bad luck with her birthdays in the past and she made her mother promise not to give her a party this year. She just wanted a quiet birthday and she didn't want anyone to make a big deal, but Spike wouldn't have that. He got Joyce and everyone else involved, making sure that Buffy knew nothing about it. A young girl only turned 17 once. He took her out to the movies, so everyone at the house could get things ready. The movie ended about two hours later and they walked out of the theater hand in hand, both with confused expressions on their faces. "Well, that was very artistic." Buffy said to break the silence and Spike agreed.
"Yeah," was all he managed to say.
"Wasn't what I expected. I've never actually seen...Well, from the title I thought it was about food." She stated as she gripped his hand tighter.
"Well, there was food." He replied and Buffy nodded.
"Right, the scene with the food. That was…That was very interesting. I definitely won't be looking at food the same way again." Spike laughed this time and brought her hand to his mouth, giving it a soft kiss.
"I promise to take you to something with less food next time." Buffy smiled as they continued to walk in silence. She spoke up again when she realized they were headed to her house.
"You know, it's still pretty early. I don't have to go home yet." Spike shook his head as he looked at her.
"You're the birthday girl; I shouldn't keep you out too late. You should spend at least some of this day with your family." He told her and Buffy was a little suspicious. She pulled on his arm to stop him.
"You've been acting weird today. There wouldn't happen to be a surprise party or anything, would there?" She asked with raised eyebrows.
"Now, why would I do that? I know how much you're against it." Buffy pulled her hand out of his and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm not buying that. If there's a party in there, you're not getting sex for at least a week." She said in a serious tone and Spike almost believed her.
"Well, that's just a risk I'll have to take." He said as he grabbed her hand again and they continued the walk to her house.
"Surprise!" Everyone yelled once Buffy and Spike walked into the house. Buffy put on a smile and acted surprised. She then turned a glare on Spike that she tried to hide with the smile.
"You are so dead." She told him and he just gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Love you, too." She smiled for real this time and then went to join her family and friends. She saw that Cordelia was there, along with Xander and Anya. Riley was there also. He was talking with Harmony and Buffy smiled again. Harmony decided to go out with Riley a few weeks ago and she actually liked him. They were still dating and Buffy was happy for them. Buffy hugged Tara and Faith, who decided to leave the farm to be there for her birthday. Buffy was surprised that everyone managed to show up. She realized that surprise parties weren't all that bad.
Buffy was about ready to open her presents and everyone was gathered around her. "Open mine first, Buffy." Connor said as he pointed to a white box and Buffy wondered why he was so eager.
"This won't explode, will it?" She asked him and he shook his head. Buffy took a deep breath and opened the box. She frowned when she saw what was inside. It was some skimpy lingerie that left nothing to the imagination. Spike was concerned when he saw the expression on her face and got a closer look at what was in the box. He then smacked Connor on the head and wiped the smile off of the boy's face.
"What's the matter with you?" He asked and Connor rubbed his head.
"Jeez, it was just a joke. You people really need to lighten up. I stole it from my sister. She has tons of slutty lingerie. The real present is underneath." Buffy rolled her eyes and handed him back the lingerie as she looked at what else was in the box. She found a pair of fuzzy socks and tried not to laugh.
"Thanks, you can never have too much socks." She told him and Connor was pleased that she liked it. She then put the box away and went to open another present. Dawn scowled at her boyfriend.
"Why do I put up with you?" She said and he shrugged as he looked at her.
"Because you love me." He replied and she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I need to have my head examined." Buffy was tuning them out as she continued with the presents. She received a nice blouse from Willow, some make up from Harmony and Cordelia. She wasn't sure if she should take that as an insult or not. Harmony did say she could always use some, but she was perfectly fine with just her lip gloss. She gasped when she got to Anya's present. It was a book of different sexual positions and what to do to please your lover. She blushed bright red and Spike couldn't help the smile that graced his lips at that.
"What is it, honey?" Joyce asked and Buffy hid the gift from her mother's gaze.
"Just a book on poetry." She said quickly and Joyce seemed to buy it. Buffy was also relieved that her mother wasn't in the room when she opened the lingerie. She really needed some new friends. Joyce went back into the kitchen to join Giles and Buffy let out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry about that, Buff. I tried to talk her out of it." Xander explained and she gave him a grateful smile.
"I appreciate the effort." She opened the rest of the presents and loved all of them. She thanked everyone for the gifts. Spike then gave her his gift and it was just an envelope. She was confused as she took it from him.
"This is also from Tara and Faith." He said and the two girls smiled as Buffy opened the envelope. She was even more confused when she saw that it was a picture of a horse. The horse was very beautiful, no doubt about that. She was white, with brown spots all over her.
"What's this about?" She asked him and Tara decided to be the one to tell her.
"This is, Drusilla. She's a new addition to the farm. She's also yours." Tara said and Buffy was surprised as she looked back at Spike. He still saw the confusion on her face and decided to explain better.
"I bought her for you, love. Tara and Faith will be taking care of her at the farm, but she's your horse. You can see her whenever you want." Buffy couldn't believe it as she looked at the picture and then back at her boyfriend.
"You bought me a horse?" Spike nodded and hoped that it was a good idea. She then smiled and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Spike. I've always wanted a horse." She said as she pulled out of the hug and looked back at the picture of her new pet. "She's so beautiful." She also thanked Tara and Faith and continued to stare at the picture. She looked back at Spike after a few seconds. "Can we see her tomorrow?" She asked and Spike smiled as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
"We can do whatever you want, sweetheart." He told her and she hugged him again. It looked like her curse of bad birthdays was finally broken. This was one that she definitely didn't want to forget.