Title: Acting
The Part
Author: Pattyanne
[email protected]
Disclaimer: None of the
BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up
to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television
show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year
old daughter, Melanie
AN: Hey, check out the pretty picture vamps
made
for the story:
www.offangsandfairytales.net/actingthepartmain.html
Part twenty-nine:
Overruled by Melanie's
desire to cover every inch of the
park, the subject of future offspring got
lost in the pace she
set.
Buffy's normally quiet and clingy
daughter had shaken off
her usual demeanor and was displaying behavior her
mother
had rarely, if ever, witnessed. Every time something new
caught
the child's eye, she dashed off to inspect it without
much more than an
excited gasp, prompting William to
hurry after her to keep her from
disappearing into the crowd.
Knowing that she should scold Melanie
for this, Buffy just
couldn't make herself do it. The little girl was having
too
good a time and her sunny disposition was too contagious.
It
wasn't until she nearly stepped into the path of a horse that
was slowly
meandering down Main Street, pulling a trolley car
loaded with tourists, that
William intervened. Without saying
a word, he simply scooped Melanie up and
deposited her on
his shoulders.
Thrilled with this new perspective
on things, she didn't
protest. She merely directed him around the park,
telling
him exactly where she wanted to go next.
William, who had
apparently signed up as her willing slave
for the day, did everything she
requested of
him.
******************************
"Can we go on
Small World again, Mommy?"
"Again? Melanie...that's what?...five
times now?"
The child nodded, her golden brown curls bobbing
beneath her hat as she bounced up and down. "Please?"
William,
holding her legs to keep her from bouncing
right off his shoulders, laughed.
"Settle down, Pixie.
We'll get there."
Buffy sighed and stared
longingly at a shade covered
park bench. "Besides, it's clear on the other
side of the
park."
"It's okay, Mommy," Melanie piped. "I'm not
tired."
Buffy folded her arms across her chest and raised her
brows, eyeing her daughter. "Well, I wonder why?" she
asked, softening
the question by reaching up and giving
the visor of the child's hat a tug,
then tickling her side.
Melanie giggled, pushing her hat back up.
"Small World,"
she reminded them.
William chuckled and reached for
Buffy's hand. "Come on,
love. We can take the train across the
park."
"The train!" Melanie echoed, bouncing again. "We can see
the dinosaurs again! I want to see the babies in their
eggs."
Giving in, Buffy squeezed William's hand as they walked.
"They
were cute, weren't they?"
"And the ones who was fighting,
too! They were all
bleeding!"
"Melanie!"
"What?"
*****************************
After
two more trips through Small World, Buffy
convinced Melanie that it was a
good time to take a
break. They located a table in the outdoor patio
of
an 1890s style ice cream shop, and Buffy cleaned
Melanie's hands with a
wet wipe while William
went inside the store and returned with a
massive
hot fudge sundae and three spoons.
Five minutes into the
dessert, Melanie climbed down
from her chair and headed for the other side of
the
patio to listen to music provided by a Dixieland Band
wearing candy
striped vests, jackets, and bow ties.
"How," William asked, scooping
up a spoonful of
ice cream and fudge and offering it to Buffy, "can
some-
thing so small have so much energy stored inside of it?"
She
swallowed the ice cream, smiling, enjoying this
little intimacy more than she
could say. "Have you ever
seen how small a battery is?"
He grinned
back at her. "Or a stick of dynamite?"
"Or a hamster on a
wheel?"
Laughter bubbled out of her. "That's a good one. She
loves
hamsters...she....no, you can't buy her one!"
"I didn't say
a word about buying her a hamster," he
protested, licking the spoon free of
hot fudge. "Not one
word."
Briefly distracted, Buffy watched his
tongue work on the
shiny silver. "That's...that's good."
"I'm
going to buy her a kitten," he added, looking up and
giving her a charming
smile.
"William!"
"What? You said she could have one,
remember?"
"Yes...when she's a little older," she reminded
him.
"Buffy...relax," he said with a shrug, digging the spoon
back into the dish. "I didn't say I was going to buy it for
her
tomorrow."
She gave him a skeptical look. "Yeah, but I'm
beginning
to recognize that gleam in your eye."
The nature of his
smile changed in a heartbeat. "Are
you now? What about....this one?" He
extended the
ice cream filled spoon to her. "Open up for
me."
Buffy bit her lower lip, letting her eyes cut over to
where
Melanie was sitting and listening to a jazzed up
version of 'When You Wish
Upon A Star'. She looked
back at William, leaned forward, and parted her
lips.
He fed her the ice cream, his grin widening as she
purposely allowed the spoon to glide slowly back out
of her mouth.
"Good?" His voice was a little husky.
"Mm-hmm," she nodded, "Very
good."
He reached over and used his index finger to clean up a
tiny smear of escaped hot fudge from the side of her mouth,
then licked
it off. "You're right. It's good."
Her cheeks warmed. "Told you
so."
"Mm...remind to keep some of this on
hand."
Emboldened by the heat in his gaze, Buffy lifted her
chin
and shook her hair back. "I....I think I have some in my
kitchen."
Delighted, he leaned over and slipped one hand
behind
her neck. "Is that a fact?" he murmured, drawing her for-
ward to
kiss her.
She was more than ready to be kissed, and she
opened
her mouth to accept his tongue, making a soft sound in
the back of
her throat.....
"Mommy...I need to go potty!"
.....then
jerked away, landing back hard on the seat of her
chair. Disoriented, she
turned her head to see Melanie
standing next to the table, bouncing slightly
up and down,
one hand heading for the crotch of her overalls to try and
squeeze back the "accident" that was obviously beginning
to
build.
Smoothing her hair down, Buffy got unsteadily to her feet.
"Be
right back," she said to William as she took Melanie's hand
and
headed for the nearest ladies
room.
******************************
"Mommy?"
Buffy
rummaged in her tote bag, searching for a hair
brush while Melanie shook her
hands beneath the air
dryer. "What, baby?"
"When will you be
married?"
Startled, Buffy stopped her search and stared at
her
daughter open-mouthed. She knew perfectly well why
the child was
asking such a question, but she had no
easily explainable answer so she
stalled. "Melanie...why
would you think I'm getting
married?"
"Because there was kissing," the little girl said
reasonably,
a child raised on bedtime stories of the 'true love's
kiss=
happily ever after' variety.
Buffy could hardly deny it.
"Well....well, yes. I guess there
was....but that doesn't mean that I'm
getting married."
"How come?" Melanie asked, her smooth brow
furrowing.
Taking a deep breath, Buffy turned her daughter
around
and began brushing her hair, grateful they were alone in the
ladies
room. "Honey, sometimes when two people...two grown
ups....well, when they
like each other...and they...they want
to....to show each other....how they
feel..." she stammered,
feeling like a moron at the moment, "....it's
not....I mean....."
"There's kissing?" Melanie ventured, meeting her
mother's
eyes in the mirror.
Helplessly, unable to come up with
anything else, Buffy
shrugged and nodded. "Uh-huh.
Yes...but..."
Melanie was silent, waiting for her mother to
continue.
"....but that doesn't mean that...that anyone is
getting
married around here."
"Oh. But maybe you
will."
Maybe......
******************************
By
the time they had dealt with Melanie's situation
and returned to the their
table, the remainder of the
ice cream had melted and William had deposited
the
garbage in the receptacle. He stood up when they
approached, fitting
Melanie's hat back on her head.
"What can we do now?" she asked
him.
"Well....I was thinking about showing you some place
that I
always liked when I was just about your age." He
held out one hand for her,
smiling down at her when she
nestled her small palm within his. "What do you
think?"
"I think it's okay," she replied agreeably. "What is
it?"
"It's a surprise." He looked at Buffy. "Walk or
ride?"
"I'm completely rested up and ready to walk," she
reported.
Melanie smiled sunnily up at them and took her
mother's
free hand, linking the three of them together. "Me,
too!"
******************************
"This is
wonderful!" Buffy followed Melanie along a dirt
path towards a climbing fort
constructed of smooth 'un-splintery'
wood. "I've never been on this little
island before, just seen it
from the other side."
William grinned,
watching Melanie clamber up a ladder to the
the upper tier of the fort in the
middle of Tom Sawyer's Island. "You
know what one of the best parts
is?"
"No, what?"
He turned her around and pushed her up
against the wall. "Lots
of little hiding places where I can kiss you
senseless."
She felt an instant jolt of pure want. "Melanie....." she
whispered,
glancing over her shoulder.
"I can see her," he said,
an instant before his mouth captured
hers in a long and intense kiss. When
they finally came up for
air, he leaned closer and spoke directly into her
ear. "Buffy....I
want you more than I've ever wanted you before...and you
KNOW
how much THAT is. I swear...if I can't have you soon then
I'll....."
"Shhh." She placed one finger against his lips.
"Tonight....after
Melanie goes to sleep..."
His eyes widened and
he grabbed her hand, placing a hard kiss
in the middle of her palm.
"Really?"
Buffy nodded.
"Really."
TBC.....