holiday3

Spike watched her come down. He stood in the center of the room wearing only white silk pajama bottoms. He held a glass of champagne in each hand. "Now, I know you've not much of a head for alcohol," he said with a grin," But I happen to enjoy it when you drink it. I like the way it makes you all kittenish and girly." She smiled at him and sipped at the champagne. He held out his hand and steered her towards the couch. "Sit down, love. There are presents for you."

"But it's not even Christmas yet, Spike,� said Buffy, surprised.

He looked at her intently. "This is our engagement party. So there must be presents." He grinned evilly. "You could have had your first present upstairs if you weren't so bossy." He looked at her saucily, wiggling his eyebrows. "I know it would have been a perfect fit for you, baby." She slapped at his arm and laughed.

"Okay!" He leaped up. "I wasn't quite ready for this to happen. So I had to wrap them myself while you were getting ready."

He brought forth four lumpish packages wrapped in Happy Birthday paper with balloons. They were sealed with duct tape that looked like it has been hacked by a knife. "Open this one first," he said, handing her a small lump. Buffy ripped it open. Inside was a small leather case that held a daguerreotype in a metal frame. A very pretty blond woman with a serious expression held a plump baby on her lap. Her hair was pulled back into a large bun, and she wore a high necked dress with a cameo at the throat.

Buffy was delighted. "Is this you as a baby? And is that your mother?"

Spike smiled at her. "Yes."

�What was her name?� she asked curiously.

�Leticia Walthrop,� he answered.

�What was your name?� she asked, staring into his eyes.

�William,� he said softly.

Her gaze fell to the picture in her hands. "You were such a beautiful baby, �said Buffy. She traced the outline of the baby�s face with a fingertip. Her eyes shadowed a bit and she bit her lip.

Spike looked very serious for a moment. He handed her the next present. "Be very careful when you open it. You don't want to spill a drop."

She peeled back the paper to reveal a glass decanter filled with an emerald green liquid. Green wax was dribbled over the corked top, sealing the bottle. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

Spike took the bottle out of her hand and placed it on the table. He kneeled down in front of her and took her hand. "Love, one of the problems I had with asking you to marry me was that I could never give you children." Buffy began to interrupt but he quickly covered her mouth with a kiss. "Hush for a minute.�

He picked up the daguerreotype and pointed at the image of his infant self. "If you want one of these," he said as he took the decanter, "I drink this." He put both items down and rubbed her arms, staring deeply into her eyes. "When, if, you want to have children, I drink this potion and become fertile again. This is powerful stuff. You will have to be very sure that it is what you want to do. And once the potion is uncorked, we have only a year to use it." "But I know how you feel about magic," she said, and he kissed her again to quiet her.

He handed her the next gift. Buffy pulled out a slim silver box. Nestled inside were two silver daggers on a bed of red velvet. The blades arched and swirled in outlandish curves and waves. Spike reached into the box and held one dagger in each hand. "I know you don't need me to take care of you, or to take care of Dawn. But I want to. You don't need to do every single thing. You don't need to vanquish every evil." He held the daggers up in the air. "Each dagger on its own is strong, adequate to do some serious damage."

He held the daggers together, hilt to hilt, and twisted them together in a flashing movement. The individual knives had locked into a single large, menacing looking blade. "But together, they are something finer, something formidable. So are we, Slayer. We are more than the sum of our parts. Together, we are a mighty weapon." His gaze seared into her. His sincerity and love shone from his face. "Let me carry some of the burden. Let me in, all the way in. Let me be part of you. Let me live in you. It will be better than anything we have ever known, I promise you."

She looked at him with wide tear filled eyes. "I thought you knew how much you mean to me," Buffy said. "I never want to be without you again. I need you, just as much as you need me. I need you all the time. I want to belong to you. And I want you to never doubt that you are mine. We are one, one and the same."

Spike placed the dagger on the floor and then kissed her sweetly and gently, holding her face in his hands. He handed her the last gift. Inside was the blue velvet box, and inside the box was her ring. She held it up before her, tilting it from side to side, catching the light. Blazes of color shine inside the depths of the stone. Spike watched her and patiently waited, enjoying the scene in front of him. Buffy kneeled down before him, holding the ring out on her palm. Leaning forward, she whispered in his ear, so softly that only a vampire could hear. 'Will you marry me?" He wrapped one arm around her neck, and pulled her to him in a hard, deep kiss. His other hand slipped the ring on her finger.

-TBC-