Something New
Chapter 20
Something New
Chapter 20
�Daddy!�
Spike grinned, picking up James. �Hey, who�s my favorite guy?�
�I dunno, who?�
Spike touched James� nose. �Wonder where he is. Have you seen him? Little brat �bout three foot two, big blue and green eyes, blonde hair, unbearably cute.�
�That�s me!�
�Geez, so it is!� Spike kissed James� forehead and looked at Buffy. �See? Evil.�
Buffy laughed and shook her head, kissing James, too, and then Spike.
�Hey,� James got jealous as the kiss went on, then they broke apart embarrassedly. �Ewww. Don�t do that.�
�Sorry, babe.� Buffy patted his head and went to find her mother.
James made a face at Spike, wrinkling his nose. �Why�d you let her kiss you so long? She�s a girl.�
�I like girls.� Spike replied. �And someday you will, too.�
�Eww. No way. Girls have cooties.�
�Buffy had her cootie shots.� Spike replied, letting James get down.
�Are you sure?�
�Positive.� Spike said. �She�s cured. No more cooties.�
�Make sure she gets her cootie shots everyday, then.� James said, and went to go find Dawn to complain about Spike and Buffy kissing.
Spike exhaled and touched his lips, barely able to believe that Buffy had allowed him to kiss her at all, much less stop every once in a while and make out.
He put aside this matter and went to get himself a nice cup of blood, needing to kick back.
�Mom?� Buffy asked tentatively.
�Oh, hi, honey.� Joyce smiled. �Help me put away laundry?�
�Sure.� Buffy agreed, picking up a pair of pants and putting them in the proper drawer, going back for a shirt. �So, um, mom, can I talk to you?�
�Oh, sure, sweetie.� Joyce stopped folding, looking at Buffy.
�Um� I just wanted to say that I love you?�
Joyce smiled and finished folding the shirt. �Buffy, that�s very sweet and thoughtful of you. What do you want?�
�And Spike loves you very much, too. He adores you. Thinks of you as his own mother.�
�Well William is very thoughtful, too. But no. Unless you�re going to do all of my chores for three months and cook me a giant cake that says �World�s Best Mother� written in pink frosting then you can forget about it. And you can�t sell your sister on the black market, no matter how much you could sell her for.�
�Oh, Dawn wouldn�t fetch a very high price.� Buffy said dismissively. �I couldn�t give her away. Anyway, this isn�t about Dawn. It�s, um, kind of about me.�
�Oh?� Joyce raised her eyebrows. �What�s the other part?�
�Kind of Spike.� Buffy said slowly.
�Is there another part?�
�Erm, a little bit of Jamie.� Buffy smiled sheepishly.
Joyce put her hands on her hips. �Is William in trouble again?�
�No!� Buffy said quickly. �Not, um, unless you think so. Spike and Jamie are little angels. But I did a very bad thing.�
�What did you do?�
�Um� I kissed him.� Buffy told her shoes, and looked sheepishly at her mother.
Joyce inhaled deeply. �I don�t suppose you mean Jamie.�
�No,� Buffy said. �And it was a non spell-induced kiss. We were just training at the Magick Box, and we were having fun, and I asked him if he liked me, and then he kissed me, so I kissed him back.�
Joyce grinned. �Oh, Buffy!
Buffy whined. �I couldn�t control myself. He was just so cute and incredibly gorgeous, and so I kissed him. And now Anya thinks we�re having sex. But we�re not! There was only that one time� you know. The one that made you a grammy. So don�t really expect me to want to jump Spike again after that.�
�No, I should hope not.�
�Good.� Buffy said. �But we mortified Giles and Willow is probably jealous that I didn�t tell her, but it just happened.�
�Those things do.� Joyce nodded. �What does William think?�
�Well, he was happy.� Buffy said. �He was only worried about Jamie.�
�Do you love him?�
�I� I think so.� Buffy said. �Spike is� great. He�s a great dad, and he�s wonderful, when he wants to be.�
Joyce smiled knowingly. �I told you William was good. Motherly instincts. Now help me put away these clothes.�
�What are your intentions with my daughter?�
�Huh?� Spike looked up, confronted by Joyce and a blushing Buffy. �Um� make �er happy?�
�Works for me.� Buffy said, sitting down.
�Are you going to marry?�
�Even if, mom.� Buffy said. �It wouldn�t be now.�
�I don�t have a ring anymore.� Spike said quietly. �I already gave it to her.�
�And I kept it.� Buffy blushed. �What? It was too pretty.�
�Hm. Well, you two are already two steps ahead of me.� Joyce said. �But if you break her heart, I�ll break yours with a stick.�
�Mom,� Buffy protested. �I�ve already made him buy me candy. And slay for me, and baby sit, and cook.� She smiled at Spike. �We�ll let this slip. And maybe I should be wearing my engagement ring.�
�You don�t have to.� Spike offered.
�But it�s shiny.� Buffy protested. �And we don�t have to be all betrothed if you don�t want to. I like making you tremble.� She grinned wickedly.
�Consider me shaking in my new boots.� Spike said.
Buffy laughed and then was taken off guard by a knock. �Huh. That�s probably Willow since it�s so late. She�ll be wanting details.� She slid out of her seat and kissed Spike again, somewhat of a tease more than just an expression of affection. �I�ll go take care of it.�
Joyce waited until Buffy had left, then looked at Spike sternly. �Do you really love Buffy?�
�Yeah.� Spike straightened up. �Love her to bits, like the little �un. She is the prettiest thing I�ve ever seen. And she�s nice. Sometimes. And smart, too. She must�ve gotten that from you, like she did her looks and all else marvelous about her. Least one of us is smart.�
�You don�t have to kiss up, William.� Joyce smiled. �Just keep your fangs to yourself. And uh, you�ll be in big trouble if you get Buffy pregnant again, because at one hundred and twenty you should be able to take responsibilities for your actions. And just as a word of advice, her birthday is coming up, on the tenth next month. You might want to try and get her something attractive.�
�Thanks for the warning.� Spike said, gnawing on his lips as he tried to think of what he could possibly get her, broke as he was and unknowing of her tastes.
�Hey, Buffy.�
Buffy took a step back in surprise. �Oh, um hi. I didn�t expect you here.�
�Well I waited at the Bronze for you to show and then I thought you stood me up.� Riley�s face fell. �Did you forget?�
�Yeah.� Buffy said sheepishly. �My, erm, study group kind of went overtime and I thought about going, but I figured you�d already left in a huff.� Buffy lied. �Maybe it�s best if we just don�t go out for a while.�
Riley stared at he in disbelief. He�d waited an extra two hours for this? �Are you breaking up with me?�
�I�m sorry, Riley.� Buffy said. �You�re sweet, but I�ve been having a series of crisis�s that just aren�t going away, and I hate to keep letting you down, but I don�t think I have time for any extra curricular activities involving boyfriends. I�m swamped right now.�
�I could help you.� Riley offered. �I�ve always supported you.�
�I barely know you.� Buffy objected. �I don�t know anything about your family, or your life after school. I�m sorry, Riley. You�re a nice guy, but I have family to support me, too. And I have to support them.�
Riley sighed, disappointed but tried to stay patient. �When this crisis thing is over, or if you need my help, let me know. Maybe we don�t exactly know each other�s family tree, but I thought that�s what we were supposed to be working on. You�re really special Buffy. So when you wanna let me in, I�ll still be in Walsh�s class, and you know my dorm.�
Buffy nodded. �Okay. Friends for now?�
�Yeah.� Riley decided. �We can be friends. I�m here for you, Buffy. You can trust me.�
�Thanks.� Buffy said, giving a small smile. �That means a lot to me.�
�Buffy,� Dawn said, coming down the stairs. �James used my lipstick and rubbed it down to the plastic.�
�Who�s James?� Riley looked at Buffy suspiciously, wondering why she�d broken up with him.
Dawn stopped short, four steps up, seeing Riley and then quickly turning on heel before James followed her, but it was too late, and James was already coming downstairs as fast as he could without tripping and hugged Buffy�s waist.
�James, don�t touch Dawn�s things.� Buffy said, trying to see what James had done to the lipstick, which was gratefully on his hands and not his lips. She guessed he�d been using it as a crayon. �Did he mark up any of your things?� She asked her sister.
�Just the bathroom mirror, and the sink.� Dawn replied grudgingly.
�Those can be cleaned.� Buffy said, finding the painted gold and black tube in James� hands and giving it to Dawn, the lipstick truly rubbed down to the plastic container, useless now. �Throw that away. I�ll buy you a new one.�
�Two.� Dawn argued. �And I�m not cleaning up after his mess.�
�I�ll do it.� Buffy sighed, idly wondering if she could make Spike clean up lipstick, and nixed that idea. �James, no more ruining Dawn�s things, do you understand me?�
James didn�t reply, he was too busy staring at Riley, somewhere between looking angry and scared.
�Isn�t that the little guy from the school campus?� Riley asked wonderingly. �What�s he doing here?�
�He lives here.� Dawn said defensively. �Spike, get your spawn.� She called. �He�s wandering out of the G and PG zone.�
The vampire came out of the kitchen, and scooped James up quickly, holding back a growl when he saw Riley. �Come on, bit, let�s see to the rest of the cookies.� He said to both James and Dawn, carrying his child back to the kitchen.
�Mommy,� James protested loudly, growling and squirming to be free of Spike�s arms, and the vampire increased his firm grip, quickly getting out of sight with his bundle.
�James,� Dawn said as Spike tried to force him to sit in a chair, and finally had to pick him up again to keep him from running back to Buffy, and the toddler was noisily complaining, kicking at Spike until the vampire felt that his ribs were bruised, and finally went into game face, snarling warningly, and James stopped kicking but still cried loudly, until the whining and fussing turned into tired but determined sobbing.
�Welcome to your first temper tantrum.� Dawn told Spike. �You�re officially a parent.�
�This is ridicules.� Spike said, pulling out of game face finally and looking at James squarely. �Knock it off, pet. You�re not impressing anyone, and you�re certainly not a pleasing sight, making a bloody fool of yourself like this.�
James sniffled, still angry. �I wanna see mommy.� He protested, squirming again against his father�s arm.
�You�ll see her in a bit.� Spike said. �She�s talking to someone. An adult, like Willow or her Watcher. And you just made a fool out of her. How do you think she feels?�
�I don�t want her talking to him.� James said savagely. �I hate him! He�s bad!�
Riley looked at Buffy when the guy with brown hair � Winston, was his name? No, Will. William. Some dumb name like that. He looked at her even more outraged when William had left.
�Is his mother here, too?�
Buffy turned a bright shade of scarlet, and Riley already knew she either would lie or try to make an excuse.
�Buffy, what is he still doing here?� Riley asked. �And that other guy, isn�t he his dad? He looks different now.� He wasn�t certain, but it had seemed like the man he�d met with James the first time was the missing Hostile, but this one seemed less likely, and still the bond was there with the child, who sounded like he was having a fit in the next room, wanting to see his mother. �Buffy, tell me now.� Riley said. �Tell me that he didn�t just call you his mother. Or is he talking about your mother? What is it I don�t know about this guy?�
�Sp- William didn�t, ew, with my mom.� Buffy grimaced. �I won�t lie to you, Riley. James is my son.�
Riley�s eyes bulged, then darkened angrily, then looked in disbelief. �That can�t be right. Why didn�t you tell me about this? And that guy � you had sex with him?�
�Yeah.� Buffy said, unashamed, feeling angry because Riley had no right to be angry. They hadn�t really been all that serious, and she never had sex with him, and she�s just broken up with him, and he�d been fine with it.
�Why?� Riley demanded.
�I don�t know why.� Buffy shrugged, uncaring and a little annoyed. �But I love James, he�s my son, and I�m accepting that. At least Will is nice, and a great dad. You should be happy.�
�Happy? Geesh, Buffy.� Riley ran a hand through his hair. �You�re only eighteen. I thought. And that little boy is, like, seven.�
�Six.� Buffy corrected. �About.�
�Six.� Riley repeated. �How could you date me all of that time and not even mention that you had a son?�
�William just moved in.� Buffy said honestly. �James was living with him. Hence the hectic times. And I�m sorry if that disturbs you, Riley, but in all honesty, William and I were starting to get back together.�
�Back together?� Riley repeated.
�It�s best for Jamie.� Buffy said. �Look, I�m not going to discuss my life with you. I�m sorry, Riley, but I just can�t see us as a couple. I want Jamie to have a complete family, and I�m going to give Will a chance. Or rather, he�s gonna give me one, too. Could you please leave now? And maybe come back if you�re willing to help support me or accept this?�
�Right.� Riley said gruffly, and turned in rejection, leaving.
Buffy sighed and shut the door, going to find Spike and Dawn in the kitchen, and James immediately fought out of Spike�s arms, not even vampire strength able to hold him back. He hugged her again, his eyes wet with tears, and Buffy pet his hair. �Hey babe.�
�James just had a nasty temper tantrum.� Dawn said. �It�s best you don�t encourage him.�
�Riley upset him.� Buffy said. �Because when he met him, Riley tackled Spike into the dirt.�
�What did he want?� Spike asked.
�Um, apparently I stood him up.� Buffy said. �I explained that James was my son and I broke up with him.�
�You did?� Spike asked, not quite believing her.
�Of course I did.� Buffy replied. �Riley is really needy, in a not so fun way.�
�And I�m not?�
�Well, at least you�re not always needy.� Buffy said. �You can handle yourself, too.�
Dawn looked between Spike and Buffy. �Why are you two�? Ew. Did Willow get all angsty again? I�m gonna call Giles.�
�Dawn,� Buffy rolled her eyes. �Don�t be so dramatic. I�m gonna go take a shower.� She gently pried Jamie off of her and went upstairs.
Dawn looked at Spike. �So you two are back to sucking face?�
�Don�t be so crude.� Spike said. �I�m gonna go put Mr. Cranky to bed.�
�Spike,� Dawn folded her arms. �Buffy can wash her back by herself.�
Spike reddened. �I know that.� He said innocently, picking James up with only a tired protest, knowing that any creeping ideas were already thwarted.
*****
�Willow!�
Willow stopped, books under one arm and spotted her science teacher.
�Great job on your test paper, Miss Rosenberg.� Mrs. Pinkham smiled, giving the paper back to Willow. �The best in the class, as always. I don�t think you�ll have a problem getting scholarships to pay off the rest of your college years. I�m surprised you haven�t been accepted to Yale, or Oxford.�
�Oh, I was.� Willow said. �But I wanted to stay with my friends.�
�Your friends must be very grateful. But are you getting a full education here that is the best you possibly can get?� The teacher questioned. I�m fairly certain that Oxford is a lot nicer than U.C. Sunnydale.�
�I do important work here.� Willow smiled secretly. �And I think I can always go for extra years if I wanted to, with my grades. Maybe to become a researcher, you know, part scientist, great at math, pretty, researching ancient civilizations and maybe discovering them, or new facts about them!�
�You mean like a historian or a scientist?� Mrs. Pinkham offered. �There are many great men and women in those trades. And if that�s your piece of cake, then I hope you enjoy it. Perhaps one day you�ll discover the location of Atlantis.�
Willow smiled. �Maybe. But, hey, don�t rush me. I still have a few years.�
Mrs. Pinkham smiled and nodded. �Come back and visit me when you�re big and famous for finding the Missing Link, okay Miss Rosenberg?�
�Yes ma�am.� Willow smiled, and left campus to go to her part-time job at the Magick Box.
*****
�Hi Giles.� Willow smiled, setting down her bag. �Check it out, I still have top of the class grades.�
�Willow, that�s wonderful.� Giles smiled proudly.
�So at least if we�re not always saving the world, someday I can get a kick-ass job.� Willow said. �Not that this isn�t a great job. I love it. I save people.�
�Yes, Willow.� Giles smiled. �I don�t anticipate your staying here forever. I should hope all of you get the best possible chances in life.�
Willow happily hugged Giles, then finally paid notice to the one thing wrong with this picture. �Is Spike in the dog house?�
�Er, I don�t think Buffy and Spike fought, if that�s what you�re on about.� Giles said. �She left him here, probably as some form of entertainment for me during the day. Apparently it was his idea.�
�Oh.� Willow frowned at the exhausted vampire who was apparently asleep, arms folded up on the table and head laid down, with the slightest movement of slow breathing.
�I�m wondering why he�s here myself.� Giles said. �But as far as Buffy informed me, he wants to work here, particularly when James goes into school.�
�Oh.� Willow repeated. �See? Spike is being all mature now. This is good.�
�He spent all day trying to chew my ear off and reorganized the shelves, proclaiming that they were all mixed up, until I spent half an hour to explain to him the value of separated the books by topic, then arranging them by author and title. So he had to redo the shelves. And I believe her managed to sell a few items, but he couldn�t figure out the cash register.�
�Well, it�s still a start.� Willow said promisingly. �Spike�s first day at work. Huh.�
�Please do ignore him.� Giles said. �Spike is notoriously known for not being a morning person, and he�s been up all morning, and out cold the for the last hour.�
�Aww,� Willow couldn�t help but gush, then controlled herself, looking at Giles. �Okay, boss. So what should I do?�
�The shelves need to be restocked with more crystals and �necklaces�. People seem to be attracted to those.�
�Oh yes. The shiny things sell out first. And I�ll take the liberty of avoiding the dark magick �necklaces� for those people who think amulets are so nifty. I�m on it, boss.� Willow left into the backroom, finding the supply box of ordered amulets. Some wouldn�t do anything, some were small crystals on strings or chains worn to enhance healing powers or to protect from evil. Ones that were particularly effective would be priced higher, while some of them weren�t actually magick at all, and only for those who craved the crystal look. Some were incredibly effective, or particular, and these wouldn�t be left just laying around on the shelves for any random fools to pick up.
Willow brought the amulets back to the front, laying them out on the table and, ignoring the dozing vampire, began to price according to effect, and whether they were on a string or an attractive silver or gold chain.
Giles sold a statue of Isis while Willow restocked the shelves, placing the amulets accordingly, making sure that the placement of them wouldn�t trigger some sort of unforeseen magickal effect.
�Good job, Willow.� Giles finally said. �Um, why don�t you wake up Spike now?�
�Sunset�s still a few hours off.� Willow pointed out. �We could wait until then.�
�I believe Buffy is supposed to come.� Giles said. �And at any matter, I don�t know if any potential costumers will find a sleeping vampire so cute.�
�He�s adorable.� Willow pouted, but Giles didn�t agree, and left to find a jar of beetle wings. Willow frowned and gently nudged Spike�s shoulder. �Um, wake up?�
She walked around him and tried to sound firmer. �Spike, time to get up. Buffy is expected to come soon. You know, you�re uh, girlfriend? Anyway, you�d better get up so Xander won�t make fun of you when he gets here.�
Spike shrugged his shoulders and Willow touched one, only to receive another shrug. �Leggo o� me, you great wankers.� Spike mumbled.
�Spike?� Willow questioned, and was met by a feral growl. She quickly backed away, deciding to let the vampire sleep a little longer.