A/N: I'm glad you liked that chapter. Hope you like this one more.
Spuffy2008: Ha, glad you like it.
Pulchra Nex: It's all going to fit into the song in the end, you'll see. Wouldn't bring caviar into a story if I didn't have to…
General Mac: And continue I shall
Celtic Cross: Perfect! Thank you!
celestialwitch: It was originally rated T, although, I got notice from a reader that it could be taken off the site if I passed that rating. Better to be safe than sorry…
funkydevil206: Will do :D
spikesbint16: Thank you for your praise!
pinkyblue-ice: Not quite sure what you mean there, but thank you very much for reviewing.
N. Beresford: Thank you very much!
AnimeAngel41: I'll try
Adainya: Thank you! So much! Texas sounds really cool
Thankyou very much to Celtic Cross for your suggestion. I love it.
Natalie heard a yell upstairs and looked over to Alex with her eyebrows raised.
"Don't worry. You'll understand in a few years…" he said reassuringly, smiling at her.
"I wanna understand now," she grumbled, handing him a plate to put away.
The phone began to ring and Natalie dove to answer it. A common fight in the Marson household was who answered the phone.
"Hello, Marson Residence, Natalie speaking," she said pleasantly. Her mum had told her that, seeing as there were so many people living in the house, it was polite to tell them who was speaking and where the caller had… called.
"Natalie! How's the family date going?" her best friend, Josie, asked.
Natalie laughed and threw the towel down on the bench, walking over to the couch and sitting. "They've gone upstairs now… But the girl… she's really nice."
"Name?" Josie asked.
"What's in a name?" she shot back.
"Oh, you can tell a lot from a name. Especially you."
"Buffy… She's so… beautiful. Inside and out. I mean – she said she'd teach me to play the piano!"
Natalie listened for her friend on the other end of the line.
"Listen, Nat, I really have to go. Mom's taking us all out for dinner tonight to celebrate something random. Promotion at work or something. I'll call you another time, yeah?" Josie asked.
"Sure," Natalie agreed, cradling the phone and returning to her drier duty.
"Nat?" Ally asked from the sink. Natalie turned to her, still drying a bowl.
"Yeah?"
"Well… Buffy… you like her?" Ally wondered, handing another bowl over.
Alex grinned. "Don't care what you two chits think, I like her. Bloody amazing, she is."
"She's… not his usual choice, that's for sure…" Natalie commented.
"No, Nat. You can't just say that. We all know you have that psychic thing going for you…" Ally said, pulling the plug in the sink and draining the water.
"Alright. You want to know what I see?" Ally and Alex nodded. "She's the one."
Alex raised an eyebrow.
"Not in the sappy 'once in a lifetime' way… but for the moment? I see… lilies… and white… and silver…"
"They're getting married then?" Ally suggested.
"No, you bloody git. We have lilies out the back. And… I'm pretty sure she was wearing white when she came over…"
"What else do you see?" Alex pressed.
"God. You guys are so annoying." She muttered, closing her eyes and reaching for the plate Buffy had eaten off. As soon as she touched it, she dropped it as though it had been boiling hot. The plate shattered on the floor. "Passion." She whispered, kneeling to pick up the pieces. "So much passion…" she dropped one piece of the plate into the bin. Ally and Alex watched in awe. "Caviar… and champagne… has some sort of… significance…" she dropped another piece into the bin. "Fun…"
"Fun?" Ally asked quietly, trying not to break her sister's train of thought.
"I don't know, Al… It's really muddled. Like murky water… She's used to the murky water though… her… I don't know…" Natalie sighed.
"Please?"
"Blah!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air and dumping the rest of the pieces of the plate in the bin. "Buffy… in about… an hour… her and Will are going out. To dance… But Will… he's going to sing. To her…" she frowned. "Anyway… um… oh!" she smiled brightly. "Yay!"
"What?" Alex asked.
"She's gonna baby-sit for us! Well… not you… or Alls… but Joey, me and Em."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
Laurie sat down on the couch and sighed. Long day. She didn't like long days. Suddenly, the phone rang again.
She heard Ally answer it and sighed her relief. She had such wonderful children.
"Mum! Phone!" Ally called, running in and handing her the receiver.
"Thank you, Ally," Laurie smiled, taking the phone and holding it to her ear.
"Ms. Marson. I am just ringing to confirm your reservation at the Hyperion, you are booked in at one o'clock tomorrow. Is this correct?" The woman on the other line asked.
"Uh… Yes…" Laurie sighed irritably, "That will be fine."
"Thank you." The woman ended the call, leaving Laurie in a small state of panic.
"Children! Can I talk to you, please?" Laurie called, waiting for them to gather in the room with her.
Ally, Natalie and Alex appeared first, followed by Joey.
"I put Emmy to bed," he told her proudly.
"Thankyou, Joey…" she said, ruffling his hair.
"William!" she called. Moments later, Spike appeared, holding Buffy's hand.
"Buffy, dear. You can be involved in this too, if you like…" Laurie said, smiling warmly. She liked Buffy. She was a polite girl, and her passion for William was obvious.
"Thank you," She replied hesitantly. Another thing that was obvious was her nerves. She had been nervous since Laurie had seen her pull her hand away from William when she had first walked in.
"Now," Laurie got straight to the point, "About… Two months ago, I booked an overnight stay at the Hyperion… in Los Angeles. William, you are to come with me. It is only for one night, although… I need you to escort me to and from. I can not drive very long distances, as you know." She looked to her other children. "You all have the choice of staying here. I don't mind whether or not you come, but I will need the notice within the next… five minutes so I can hire a babysitter —"
Buffy looked over to Laurie, "I could… baby-sit… if you'd like. I don't have that much experience or anything… but Mom's out of town… so I'm by myself…"
Laurie smiled. "If you could, that would be excellent."
Buffy nodded, smiling shyly.
"I'll stay," Natalie said, looking at Buffy.
"Oh! Oh! Me too!" Joey agreed, bouncing up and down slightly.
"Must I come?" William asked her, tightening his hold on Buffy's hand.
"I wouldn't be asking for a baby-sitter if you were not coming with me. Alex, I would appreciate you coming, although, it is not, by any means, necessary." Laurie looked at Alex with her eyebrows raised. In all honesty, she didn't really mind if he came or not. She just needed William for protection. Los Angeles was huge. And dangerous. William was the sort of person who could scare anyone else away.
"I'll stay…" he said, glancing at Natalie, whose eye's widened.
"Me too," Ally decided, also looking to Natalie.
"Okay… William. You and I must pack. Buffy, dear, you are welcome to stay tonight. We could set the spare bed up in William's room."
Buffy nodded, "I'll take care of them, I promise."
"I have no doubt." Laurie smiled, turning to go to her room and pack.
"I don't know how we got out."
Buffy laughed at Spike, tugging his hand as they walked to the Bronze.
"We have tonight, and then you're going away for two days. Billy called, you say?" she asked, referring to the guy who had called to ask Spike to sing tonight.
"Yeah. I have to sing. The guy who was supposed to be his nine o'clock pulled out. So I'm in. Impromptu, you know," he said, boasting slightly.
She smiled as they walked into the club. "Figured it out yet?" she asked softly.
"Yep."
"Spike!" Billy beckoned him to the stage.
Spike kissed her hand delicately before jogging up to the stage and telling the band what to play.
Before she could comprehend, he had began to sing.
"We met, we smiled
I put, my arm around you," He sang, looking to Buffy as he leaned into the microphone.
She smiled at him. Impromptu, huh?
"The camera flashed and it was over
My face, was flushed,
You turned and walked away."
She started to dance, swinging her hips.
This song was definitely for her.
"But in my pocket was your number
And I'm thinking…" he's eye's sparked and he bowed his head slightly at her.
"Who's that girl who smiles and hides at the same time
I really think she's got issues," he smirked as she gave him a shocked look.
"The way she looks at me I can tell what a kiss brings
And if I taste her pain… is that a crime?"
She shook her head softly and grinned, reaching her arms above her head and gyrating with the music.
"That night
We're upstairs in my room…"
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm trying to ply you
With champagne… and caviar," he smiled at her.
Impromptu.
She laughed and continued to dance.
"But you just wrinkle up your face
Won't get off second base
I'm trippin' on how strong you are…"
She twirled, finding Faith beside her in seconds. They danced together, both looking up at him, both knowing who the song was aimed at.
"Oh my toes start dancing when you kiss me
You pull me down and I like it…" he looked at Faith and bowed his head in greeting.
"Got you a hot one, B," She commented. "Been doin' the naughties, though. I can tell…" she smiled at Buffy's surprised expression.
"Then my head explodes and I know something's hit me…
You make me want…" the drummer beat furiously, "to be bad...yeah."
The music took over for a moment, and Spike tapped the heal of his boot on the stage to the beat of the music. He held the microphone in one hand and smirked at Buffy.
"No big…" Buffy smiled, glancing at Faith.
"He's yours," she stated, tilting her head.
"No. I'm his."
The music stopped for a second and she dropped to the floor in exhaustion.
"I am a monkey behind glass
turn on the lights have a laugh…" the music started up again, and he sang softly. She looked up at him from her spot on the floor.
"Get up you filthy thing and dance," he looked at her expectantly. Faith hauled her to her feet.
"He wants you to dance for him, B. Sex through music," Faith winked.
"And you would come across the sea…
Give me kisses that would speak,
Of your seven, lonely oceans…"
She took Faith's advice, shutting her eyes and putting her hands in her hair, tossing around.
"Yeah…" he licked his lips.
"Who are you to smile and hide at the same time?" he asked her. His eyes looked in to her own.
"I really like your issues…" he sang, raising his eyebrows. She stared back, pulsing with the music.
She pushed her chest out and looked over her shoulder at Faith, who grinned.
"The way you look at me I can tell what a kiss brings…"
She looked at him innocently and removed her hands from her hair, moving them up over her abdomen, over her chest, up her neck, through her hair and over her head where she flicked her wrists and continued to dance.
"You make me; want to be bad... yeah…" He licked his lips and grinned at her as the song ended. Another guy jumped up on the stage, ready to perform his song.
He jogged down the stairs and over to her.
"What did you think of the impromptu, luv?" he asked her, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I take it you want to be bad, huh?" she asked innocently.
He grinned. "Only because of you, sweet. We'd better get home. Mum'll have my head if she doesn't see you get a good rest before taking on the family…"
He waved slightly at Faith, who was over by the pool table, chatting up some guy.
She smiled and waved back.
"Shall we?" he held out an arm.
She laughed and threaded her arm through his, linking their hands.
"So… you can tell what a kiss brings by looking into my eyes? I guess that means you don't need anymore…" she teased.
"We'll see about that…"
He picked her up and pushed her against the wall, moulding his mouth against hers, tangling their tongues before pulling back slightly.
With a small pant, he smirked. "Nope. Can't always tell just by lookin'…"
A/N: The song was James Marsters – Bad. It was suggested by Pulchra Nex. Thank you very much!
Please review – tell me what you thought!