Title: Blue Eyed Devil
Author: Pattyanne
[email protected]
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks!
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. Spike Devlin is the
lead singer for the band 'Blue Eyed
Devil'. Buffy Summers is the local
preschool teacher he falls in love with
shortly before leaving for a nationwide
tour.

Part Forty-seven:

Kissing him goodbye at the airport wasn't getting
any easier, but that particular ache was dulled
somewhat by the overshadowing dread at the ordeal
facing her.

The time had come to tell her mother that she was
getting married....to a musician....a man she hadn't
known for very long and that her mother didn't even
know existed.

It wasn't going to be easy, and all during her long drive
to Pasadena Buffy had felt more and more like a teenage
girl again...regressing back to a time when arguments over
boys and how short the hems of her skirts should be had gone
on day after day after day.

Due to the disappointments she herself had suffered, Joyce
Summers had a jaundiced view of any male who entered
her daughter's orbit. She had treated Buffy's boyfriends
cordially enough, but never completely thawed towards
any of them.

Pulling her car into the driveway of her mother's neat
little red brick house, Buffy switched off the ignition and
paused to observe it.

Everything about it was immaculate. The lawn was a
deep, rich green...freshly mowed...and the garden was
nothing short of amazing. Her mom had a green thumb
that was unbelievable. Everything she planted...the morning
glories that grew over the lattice work arch by the front door,
the rose bushes that lined the driveway, the long beds of
marigolds and pansies that lay beneath the bay window
in the living room....was all growing in a lush and riotous
display of glorious color in the late afternoon sun.

The front yard sprinkler was gently swishing back and
forth, and the porch wind chime tinkled in the slight
breeze. All in all, the place closely resembled paradise.

Hopefully, it would still look that way to her when it was
time to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joyce Summers, a tall and well built woman with
ash blond hair framing her attractive features, set a cup
of tea and a slice of coffee cake in front of Buffy, then
took the seat opposite her at the kitchen table.

"This is a nice surprise." She smiled and picked up
her fork. "It's so good to see you, sweetie."

Buffy cut off a bite of cake, chewed it slowly and
swallowed, chasing it down with a sip of her tea. "You,
too, Mom. It's been a while."

'I know...so, tell me how you've been. And the children?
How are they doing?"

Grateful for the small distraction, Buffy went into
detail about her class, regaling her mother with amusing
stories about their progress and development, finishing
up with a tale about the class hamster escaping from her
hand and disappearing up the sleeve of her blouse.

After the laughter died and down and the table
was cleared, they went down the back porch steps
and sat at the patio table to watch the sunset.

Buffy cleared her throat and looked directly at her
mother. "I have some news for you," she said. Leaning
back in her chair, she slipped her hands into the pockets
of her jacket, squeezing her ring and rubbing her thumb
over the diamond. "I've met someone..."

Joyce's brow quirked, but her mouth curved in a
small smile. "By 'someone' I take it you mean a man?"

"Yes."

"So, you're dating?"

It was as good a place as any to start. "Um...yes." Buffy
took a deep breath. "We met a few weeks ago, and....."

"And?" Joyce prompted.

"We've been seeing each other ever since."

"I see." Folding her hands together, Joyce studied
her nails. "Well, I think that's wonderful, darling."

A lazy breeze ruffled the awning over their heads,
drawing Buffy's eyes to it for a brief moment. So far,
so good. A little of the nervous tension drained out
of her....

"May I ask where the two of you met?"

.....then came rushing right back! She had known
she'd have to field this question, but hadn't been
looking forward to it one bit. Briefly considering a
white lie, she shook off the urge to speak it. Sooner
or later the truth would come out anyway, there was
no point in trying to dodge it. It was something her
mother was just going to have to accept graciously.

"We met in a club...a nightclub. A place in Sunnydale
called 'Union Jack's'. Willow and I went there to hear
this band she likes...."

"And this man...what's his name, dear?"

Buffy opened her mouth to say 'Spike', then changed
her mind at the last second. "William Devlin."

"He was there, too? To hear the band?"

"N...not exactly. He...he was there to...to..."

Joyce sat back, folding her arms across her chest and
giving her daughter a look of exasperation. "He was there
to what? Buffy, why do you look so nervous? What's going
on?"

Meeting her mother's probing gaze, Buffy opened her
mouth and let the words pour out. "He wasn't there to
hear the band...he was performing there."

Joyce's mouth visibly tightened. "Performing in a
nightclub," she stated flatly. "You mean he's WITH the
band."

"Yes...actually, it's his band. He started it." Once the
words began to flow, Buffy couldn't stop. "And you
might as well know now, it's a rock band, and they've
just signed a contract with a recording company...their
first single went platinum just a few days after it was
released. They're on tour right now, but...."

"On tour?" Joyce interrupted. "You mean he's not in
Sunnydale?"

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "Not at the moment. But
he calls me every night, and he's already been back to see
me once."

Joyce obviously found that bit of information suspect. "Oh?
When was that, if he's gone again already?"

"He flew in on Friday night...and I took him back to the
airport this morning."

The question Joyce wanted to ask was plainly written on
her face, but she kept it inside. "I see....well, I hope you
know what you're doing, Buffy."

Her tone made it clear that she didn't think Buffy had the
slightest idea in the world what she was doing and would
live to regret it, a sentiment that irked her daughter to no
end.

"Musicians aren't exactly known for being dependable,
you know. They travel all over the place and there's
usually a girl in every city...sometimes more than one.
USUALLY, more than one," Joyce added grimly.

"This is different," Buffy began, spots of color appearing
on her cheeks.

"Oh, they always say THAT," her mother interjected. "They
tell you that you're the only one...that no one else means
anything to them...whatever they think you want to hear.
Whatever will get you to let them....."

"Mom!"

"All right! I'm sorry. I just....I hate to think you're being led
on by this man, Buffy. Off on tour, doing God knows what
with God knows who, filling your head with moonlight and
roses!"

"No!" Buffy said loudly. "You don't understand..."

"I understand men, Buffy...and musicians." Joyce nearly
spat the last word.

"Not this one, you don't," Buffy insisted. "Spike isn't like
that. He's....."

Joyce's chin jerked up. "Spike? Who's Spike?"

Staring with wide eyes at her mother's rigid face, Buffy
felt suddenly calm. Like it or lump it, Joyce was simply
going to have to accept this. "Spike is William. It's the name
he goes by....Spike Devlin. He...."

"From...from 'Blue Eyed Devil'?" Joyce asked suddenly.

The surprise Buffy had felt upon being informed that
Riley Finn knew all about Spike and the band was nothing
at all compared to the revelation she was NOW faced
with....that her mother also knew just who they were.

She couldn't be any more shocked had Joyce just
informed her that she was running away to join the
circus!

"You...you know about 'Blue Eyed Devil'? You've
heard of them?"

Joyce let out a little "huh" sound and nodded. "It's all
the younger girls at the gallery talk about these days...how
great the band is and how...handsome and...and sexy Spike
Devlin is." Rather than reassuring her, this new knowledge
only seemed to be making matters worse. "Oh, Buffy...this
man is...well, he must have girls crawling all over him! Honey,
I just don't think this is a good idea AT ALL!"

"Mother...."

"No, I'm serious, Buffy. I mean...a man like him...away so
much of the time. How in the world could you ever be sure
of him? The temptation that would be...THROWN at him con-
stantly. How could you trust him?"

Buffy refused to let those seeds of thought take any root in
her mind. "I can trust him because he loves me," she said
firmly.

Joyce's jaw dropped. She apparently considered THAT to
be the biggest line of them all. "Is THAT what he TOLD you?"
she scoffed. "Oh, Buffy....honey, don't you see? That's how
it works. He must say that to dozens of girls...then after he's
had what he wants..." Her voice trailed off.

"You're wrong." Buffy shook her head. "Wrong about musicians
and wrong about Spike."

"Buffy...."

"Mom.....Spike isn't Simon."

Joyce's face flushed as her eyes opened wide and her
fists clenched. "He could be just like Simon," she said, "and
you wouldn't have the first clue. You're not accustomed
to men like him, men who tell you one thing and mean
something entirely different...men who lie to you with a
straight face."

"Not Spike. He doesn't lie to me...about anything."

Joyce just shook her head. "Because he LOVES you?"
she asked, a little bitterly.

"Yes," Buffy replied simply. "He loves me."

"And you just believe him? You just take his words at
face value? This man you've only known for a short
time?"

"That's right."

Their voices were rising in volume.

"How can you be so sure?" Joyce demanded. "For all
you know he could be saying the same thing to a dozen
different girls. Telling them he loves them, that they're
the only ones, that he'll.....be back."

"He's not doing that! He loves ME and I am the
only one he's coming back to!"

"How do you KNOW?"

"Because he gave me this!" Buffy withdrew her hand
from her pocket and opened it, displaying her engage-
ment ring before Joyce's astonished eyes. "NOW do
you believe me?!"

There was a long and uncomfortable silence before
Joyce spoke. "Buffy...is that what it appears to be?"

"It's my engagement ring," Buffy confirmed, sliding
the gold band onto her left ring finger. "Spike asked me
to marry him...and I accepted."

Her mother took in and released a shaky sounding
breath. "You're going to marry a man you barely know?
A man you've never even introduced to me...or told me
about?"

Squirming just a little, Buffy nodded. "I'm going to marry
him, Mom." She was alarmed to see tears mist Joyce's
eyes. Taking her hand, she squeezed it. "Oh, Mom...every-
thing's going to be all right. You don't need to worry, I
promise. Spike won't hurt me. I...I know it happened
fast...maybe a little too fast....but it doesn't matter. It's
good, and it's right, and we're going to be just fine."

"Oh, Buffy..." Joyce blinked back her tears. "I wish...I
wish I could believe that. I really do."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All during her drive home, their final exchange echoed
in Buffy's mind.....

"I still think you're being foolish, Buffy."

"You're entitled to your opinion, Mom."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, how badly does she hate me? Should I hire
someone to taste my food for me?"

"Let's just say I wouldn't walk down any dark alleys
in Pasadena right now if I were you."

Spike laughed. "Seriously, though...still want to marry
me? Mum didn't manage to change your mind?"

Buffy smiled into the phone. "Not a chance."

TBC.....