Rain
by Maeyan
Rain.
It wasn't really the rain that bothered Xander. Rain, while unusual, was not necessarily rare or evil. But he had a feeling about this storm. Like it was wiping the slate for a new beginning. And he worried about Spike being out in such a rain. New beginnings weren't always good, and lately Xander's "hunches" had been paying off.
The object of his worry chose that moment to open the door, and stagger into the living room, soaked to the skin and clutching a tiny bundle to his chest. Xander ran to help him, stopping in front of his lover as Spike held out the bundle to him. A baby? Xander was confused, and he looked from the sleeping child in his arms to the dripping vampire. Spike had that look in his eyes, that look that was only associated with one name.
"Then I was right?" Xander whispered, and Spike nodded.
"It's over, now." Spike walked to the fireplace and stared at the flames as if he could beg their warmth from the logs. Xander didn't know how to feel. On one hand, there was now one less part of Spike that didn't belong to him. But the fact was, now there was one less part of Spike. He reached for his soul-mate. Spike turned at his touch and they held each other close.
Xander kept silent. What could he say? Sorry? He wasn't, except that it obviously hurt. I love you? Spike knew that. I wish it had been different? There was nothing else to do? You tried your best? Nothing fit, but still, dozens of Hallmark words and phrases went through his head. Thankfully he retained enough control of his motor functions that none of them slipped out, and he simply leaned his warm body into the cold wet body of his lover.
After a few moments, the baby stirred in Xander's arms, mewling, and Spike pulled back. Xander watched as the tiny eyes opened and marveled at the fact that they were the same colour as Spike's. He reached for a hand and was startled to find a pulse. He looked up at Spike, the question in his eyes.
Spike shook his head in response, running his hands through his hair. "I don't know. She'd already killed everyone else by the time I got there. She was waiting for me, luv." His voice broke. "Sitting in a damned chair, surrounded by corpses, rocking the cradle, waiting for me. She... she knew."
"Any idea why? Or who the family is?"
"No. I'll do some checking, but I don't think I'll find anything. She planned it too well..."
It was Xander's turn to nod. It wasn't the first time he'd been able to see her side. "She was trying to apologize, Spike. The only way she knew how." A life saved. Given in exchange for her own life that she knew needed to be taken. She'd known she was almost gone. He handed the baby back to Spike. "She knew you'd come for her and she just wanted to try to make things okay."
~*~
"Pops?! Hello?" A hand appeared in front of him, and Xander snapped back to the present. Rayne had that I've-been-patiently-waiting-forever look on her face and he smiled. Sixteen and already the world was moving too slow for her. He shook his shaggy head, remembering his own life at sixteen with a sigh. Was he ever that young?
"Go ask your dad if he'll give you an advance on your allowance, then." Xander looked back at the notes he had spread out over the table. He had to get the bid ready for the Johnson-Schmit building, and remembering the past wasn't going to get it done.
"I did." She sighed, the weight of the world apparently on her shoulders. "He just growled at me. I think he's still upset about the headless `Dancing Babies' website thing..." she shifted her feet a bit, and Xander had to hide the smirk.
"Oh yeah, that. Well, I imagine so. It took three weeks to convince them to stay with Rosenberg and Harris. And aren't you still grounded from that, by the way?"
"Oh, puh-lease. Is it my fault that the Freedom of Choice lobby hasn't got a sense of humour? Come on Popsy... Just tonight? Lee's playing the Bronze and he's gonna dedicate a song to me! Pleeeeeeease, Popsy?" She fluttered her eyelids and Xander sighed, reaching for his back pocket. He pulled some bills from his wallet and tossed them on the table.
"There. And while you're out, you can pick up the dry cleaning. Oh, and your dad's blood is waiting at the butcher's." She groaned, saw that he wasn't going to change his mind, then rolled her eyes and nodded. He watched her skip out of the kitchen, kissing Spike as he passed her under the door. "Bye Dads! I'll be home by 12!"
"Remember to fill the petrol, this time!" Spike hollered back, smiling slightly as he reached for the phone at Xander's elbow. "How much did she get out of you this time, `Popsy'?"
Xander laughed. "I can't help it. She's got your eyes, you know. Still. I thought so when you first brought her home. Willow said they'd change, but they're still your eyes." He looked up "My one weakness." He fluttered his own eyes at Spike, who snorted as he punched AutoDial on the number pad.
"Hey Red, about the Rykerson ad..." Spike walked back out of the kitchen and Xander returned to the papers still cluttering the table.
the end
Back to Xander/Spike
Back to Fanfic