~*~
Chapter 17
~*~

Buffy was in her room trying to figure out how to
explain the extreme lack of guestage for her mom’s
dinner. All day long she had put off telling her mom
that her new boyfriend William was not going to be joining them for the pot roast that was currently
wafting heavenly smells up the staircase to Buffy’s room.

Even harder was how Buffy was going to tell her heart
that she wasn’t likely going to be seeing William ever again. He had given her the ring that made him unstakable and let him enjoy afternoon picnics with
her, then fled the library without a backward glance.


He was a vampire; it was for the best. Buffy couldn’t
figure out what Spike had been up to with his courtship of her. He had seemed so sincere in his
affection. What she had been sure of was his growing love for her. According to Giles and Angel, there was no way for a soulless vampire to love, not really. Had
it all been some cruel game to him? A way to destroy
the Slayer emotionally before he came in for the final kill?

Angel had had quite a bit to tell her about Spike and Giles confirmed all of it. Spike
was a Slayer killer. His position as a Master Vampire hinged on his reputation for having killed not one but two Slayers in the past.

"I could die for his kisses," her traitorous heart insisted. "No, no going there," replied her Watcher-trained mind. "Spike is evil. He’s here to hurt you and you’re just lucky he was found out in time." A tear trailed down her cheek as she remembered how sweetly he had held her, how hot his kisses were, how safe and happy she had felt in his arms.

Angel had walked Buffy home the night before and filled her in on the history of William The Bloody a.k.a. Spike. She was smart enough to realize that Angel was
painting the blackest picture possible for his own
reasons and was also quite aware that Angel had a past to rival anything he attributed to Spike. Still, the picture was alarming.

Giles had said there was more to the story and that he
would tell her all he knew on Monday. He wanted a
chance to do a bit more research, something about wishes that made no sense to Buffy. She just
wished she could go back to the time before she’d had reality shoved in her face so forcefully.

Jenny Calendar had urged Buffy to trust her instincts
and give Spike a chance to explain. She reminded
Buffy that Spike had given her the Gem of Amara to make certain she would be safe and could do
her duty without the vampire handicap. "For him to
give up his protection like that without a thought to
his own safety has to say something to you, Buffy,"
she had said.

"Yes, well," Giles added, "I suppose it would be
safe for you to hear him out at least. You know what
he is now and can take precautions." Jenny had glared
at the Watcher over that last bit.

Buffy was so caught up in her own thoughts that she
didn’t hear the doorbell or her mother’s soft, "You
must be William. Come in."

Buffy was shocked back to reality when her mother
knocked on her door to rouse her. "Buffy, you really
have to decide on what you’re going to wear now and
come on downstairs. Your young man is here and
looking a bit nervous. Oh, and he has the loveliest
flowers for both of us."

Buffy rushed to the door and looked at her mom with
panic-stricken eyes. "Spike’s here? You let him in?"

"Yes, dear, that’s what I generally do for invited
guests." Joyce smiled in amusement. "Surely you don’t
plan to come to dinner in your overalls! Why, your
young man is all dressed up, and quite handsome too.
We may need to have a bit of a talk about the age
difference later, missy."

"You have no idea!" Buffy said softly. "Mom, maybe
you should stay up here and we can go down together as
soon as I change." Buffy wasn’t too keen to have her
mother alone with a vampire while she dithered over her wardrobe.

"And leave our guest to be bored to tears while he
waits?" Joyce exclaimed in shock. "I think I taught
you better manners than that, young lady. Are you
afraid of something William might let slip if we’re alone?"

‘Not the way you mean it,’ Buffy thought. "No, it’s
nothing like that, Mom. I guess I’m just nervous."
Buffy rushed to her closet and quickly grabbed the
first outfit she laid hands on. She had never changed
clothes so fast in her life, stripping the overalls
and t-shirt from her body as fast as her racing heartbeat.

Joyce nodded in approval at the change as Buffy moved
around the closet door. Joyce had always liked Buffy
in the soft frills of the floral print silk dress.
She had hardly seen her daughter wear it since she had
given it to her. It came to a respectable length, unlike
the extremely short and tight skirts Buffy normally chose. This outfit looked sweet but elegant
as it clung to her figure, giving allure without being so obvious. The boy downstairs must be quite special for Buffy to want to make this sort of impression on him.

Buffy started for the door, but her mother stopped her
with a chuckle. "I think you look lovely, Buffy, but don’t you think you should take out the braids?"

Buffy’s hand went to her hair and she grimaced to realize she was still wearing her hair in the twin
plaits that worked just fine with her farmhand costume. She rapidly tore off the bands and finger-combed her hair until it lay in
soft waves to her shoulders, the perfect style for her
feminine dress. "Let’s go. Don’t want to keep William waiting." Buffy practically flew down
the stairs with Joyce in tow.

~~~

Giles and Jenny were still debating the whole Spike
issue. At least now it was a debate instead of an
argument. Spike had done much to impress Giles with his
gesture of protection towards Buffy. It certainly
didn’t seem as if the vampire had any ill intent toward his Slayer. Giles was still not willing to
concede that Spike might have genuine emotions
towards Buffy, but he was listening at least.

Jenny finally told Giles all the details Spike had
told her, not just bits and pieces. "So when Willow
did the ‘Will Be Done’ spell, it awakened things in
Buffy
and Spike. Spike didn’t say so, but I wondered about
it when he first told me. I did a bit of research and
I also made sure of what Willow actually said in
her spell. Giles, she wished for them to be engaged
only!
Nothing was said about them loving each other! For
that to be their response, the feelings had to have
already been there. After the spell ended, the
feelings didn’t."

"So you are saying that Buffy, this future Buffy, is
in love with Spike?" Giles snorted. "If so, why would
Spike have wished himself back here?"

"I think Buffy was so badly damaged by Angelus that
she wouldn’t admit her feelings." Jenny shuddered
at the memory of what Spike had revealed about that
chain of events. "Look, you can come to your own
conclusion later. Right now it’s important that you
see the real danger to Buffy: Angel. He’s using this
misunderstanding to try to worm his way into her
heart. You saw her turn to him! He whisked her out
of here and walked her home, filling her head with who
knows what nonsense and none of us even tried to stop
him. No matter how you feel about Spike and his love
for Buffy, you must agree that he doesn’t pose a
quarter of the danger to Buffy that Angel does."

"That’s true," Giles agreed. "Angel is quite the
manipulative bastard. Much of what he told Buffy were
partial truths that omitted his own role completely.
I plan to fill her in on both vampires’
histories on Monday. The poor girl looked quite done
in after all the trauma of the day. But perhaps I
should
have taken her aside and had that talk before Angel
had his turn to spin the information."

"I really think I need to do that ritual to bind the
soul to Angel quickly." Jenny gathered her books
and purse and headed toward the door. "The very last
thing any of us
needs is a visit from Angelus. Angel can be harmful
enough complete with soul."

"Jenny," Giles began with an unusually gentle tone of
voice, "you could stay here and we could work on that
together." He had a tentative smile on his face
thathe hoped didn’t show too clearly how very much he
wanted her to stay.

"I suppose I could. You have had experience with spell-casting, after all," Jenny tried not to grin at the excuse they were both using to make up and spend
as much time as possible together.

"Indeed," Giles murmured, "I’m always willing to share
my…experience with the proper lady."

"And if the lady isn’t totally proper?" Jenny teased.

"All the better," Giles answered before drawing the
slightly improper lady into his arms for a soul-searing kiss.

~~~

Spike looked up the staircase, half expecting to see
Buffy eyes ablaze and stake held high rather than the
vision that greeted him. Buffy looked lovelier than
he’d ever seen her. Her color was high and he could tell that she hadn’t expected him show up for dinner. She looked at a loss on how to behave.

"Buffy," Spike began suavely, "You’re breathtaking."

Buffy smiled tightly. "Come now, William, we both know I’m not what took your breath away."

Joyce frowned in puzzlement. The young couple seemed
to have some sort of tension between them. Maybe William had a roving eye. Joyce narrowed her eyes and glared at the potential breaker of her daughter’s heart.

Spike attempted to smooth the waters. He’d seen Joyce’s
protective stance and had no desire to discover there was an axe in the house that she
might take a notion to wield on unarmed vamps. "Buffy’s a little upset with me tonight, Mrs. Summers. We had a little misunderstanding that a good talk
will take care of, I hope."

"A little late for talk, don’t you think, Spike?" Buffy
replied. She took in her mother’s anxious looks and decided to downplay the problem rather than raise too many questions from that quarter. "Spike, er, William’s
right, Mom. We had a couple of points come up about his lifestyle and career that we have to put to rest."

As awkward as the situation was, Spike nearly laughed at
Buffy’s veiled puns. His girl had spunk all right! At least she wasn’t trying to stake him in her own living room. "Buffy doesn’t like the night job I had
in the past, but I aim to prove that I’ve changed, takin’ my career a whole other direction."

"What sort of career did you have that Buffy so disapproves of?" Joyce asked cautiously.

"Spike’s a musician, Mom--you know…smoky bars, lots of drinking, that sort of thing." Buffy rushed to
answer before Spike could come up with a response himself.

"Do you drink too much, William?" Joyce asked worriedly. "Buffy is only sixteen, you know. I
don’t approve of alcoholism at any age, but especially not with a minor."

"Not drinkin’ a thing I shouldn’t for quite a long while, Mrs. Summers. Buffy just met someone who remembers me from the old days and knows nothing of me
now." Spike looked Joyce directly in the eye and hoped she could see the sincerity of his claim to have
reformed even if she didn’t really know from what.

Joyce looked from one blond to the other and decided
it was something they’d have to iron out between them.
Meanwhile, she decided to get to know this young man
who was so obviously important to her only child. "I’m glad you’ve decided to change, William.
Drinking leads to early death." At Buffy’s snort, Joyce turned her look on her. "Buffy, perhaps you
should remember that we always taught you to give people second chances."

"Mom!" Buffy looked wide-eyed at her clueless mother.


"Well, this is a matter you two will have to settle
between you. In the meantime, William, why don’t you
have a seat and make yourself at home while I find
vases for these lovely flowers you brought." Joyce
took both bouquets and headed for the kitchen.

"I can’t believe you had the nerve to show up here!"
Buffy huffed under her breath in irritation.

"Couldn’t just let things be the way we left it,
love." Spike sat on the sofa and motioned for Buffy
to join him. She pointedly walked to the side chair
and took a seat there instead. He sighed and closed
his eyes trying to decide where to begin. "I really
was coming to tell you the whole truth, Buffy. No
more lies or hiding."

She was looking at him at least and without the
sarcastic look he had half expected. "I don’t know
what Angel said after I left, but I can just imagine.
Pretty sure he only gave you the worst of it too. Not
denying what I am, what I’ve been, done. What’s important is what I am now, what I’ll never be again."

"So you just, what, decided to stop being a vampire?
Doesn’t work that way, Spike." Buffy clamped her
mouth in a tight line.

"Still a vampire, can’t change that," Spike closed his
eyes to keep from rolling them and making the situation worse. "Can change what I choose to do.
Not killin’ Buffy, not for a while now and never again,
least not anyone except demons and such. Eatin’ from
the bag; pig too, not a drop of human. Butcher in
town can back that up."

Buffy looked nervously towards the kitchen and hoped
her mother wasn’t getting an earful. "All right,
later. I don’t want my mom to have to learn about me,
about vampires and all, like this. You came for
dinner. Fine, we’ll eat. Maybe we’ll talk later."

Joyce came back into the room and picked up on the
detente that seemed to have been established. "Dinner’s ready. I hope you like your roast a little
on the rare side. For some reason, the oven was being a real demon today."

"Rare’s fine with me, Mrs. Summers." Spike repressed
a grin as he offered his arm to Buffy, much to her annoyance.

They arrived in the dining room and Spike was touched
that Buffy’s mother had gone all out to make their
dinner special. The smells alone proved Joyce could
whip up many more tasty offerings than just hot cocoa.


"So, you’re a musician?" Joyce began as she passed the
potatoes. "What do you play?"

Buffy gulped, afraid her lie was going to be exposed too quickly.

"Guitar mostly, but I had a piano lesson or two back
in the day," Spike answered easily. "Sing a bit too,
although people either seem to love my voice or hate it."

Buffy was squirming in her seat with the conversation. "We met at the Bronze," she blurted out.

"I see." Joyce did see, actually. Buffy wouldn’t be
the first young girl to swoon at a sexy rocker. Joyce
remembered getting dreamy-eyed at a Peter Frampton concert herself around Buffy’s age. Of course, she
never had a chance to invite Peter for supper.

"So if you’re giving up the band, what are your plans?" Joyce asked in genuine interest. Usually a
musician had it in his blood and changing careers, even for a girlfriend, was seldom a choice.

Spike was heartily grateful for his forged paperwork
right about now. "I’ve got a good education, Mrs.
Summers, if that’s what you are wondering. Got a proper diploma from UC to show for it. Got a nice
trust fund as well. Haven’t had to work in a long time, but I’m capable if I need to."

"So you’re already through college," Joyce frowned.
"I knew there was quite an age difference between you,
but I had hoped you might just be starting at the
University. I’m not trying to be too old-fashioned, but you’re a
bit experienced and Buffy is still just in high school."

Buffy blushed brightly as Joyce nattered on about age
differences without a clue of just how vast the difference was. "Mom…," she began.

"Your mum has a point, love. I am a lot older than
you are." Spike turned from Buffy’s angry glare back to
Joyce. "I swear to you that I only have good
intentions where Buffy’s concerned. Not gonna push
her for anything she’s not ready for. Didn’t plan to fall in love with Buffy. Came as a big shock to me too."

Spike looked into Buffy’s eyes and hoped she saw the
sincerity there. "Couldn’t help myself though. No
one like Buffy. Never has been, never will be. Girl
like her makes me want to be a better man, do right in
this world, do right by her. Can’t help but change forever."

Buffy gulped, feeling her heart rise in her throat. If she could only believe what she was hearing! Spike looked sincere, but he just couldn’t be. Could he?

"This is delicious, Mrs. Summers," complimented Spike as he ate with gusto. "You’re a fabulous cook."

"Thank you, William," Joyce beamed, "Please, call me Joyce."

"Joyce, lovely name." Spike smiled and felt his hopes
rise as he connected with Joyce again as he had in his
own time. ‘Always was a right nice lady,’ he thought.

The rest of the dinner was enjoyable for all
parties. Joyce discovered Spike’s knowledge of art
and poetry and they laughed and talked like old
friends while Buffy sat in amazement. There was more
to Spike than the stories Angel had told her--that was
for certain.

Buffy and Spike offered to do dishes after the
meal and Joyce readily took them up on the offer. "I
have a late call to make to an overseas buyer. If you
don’t mind,
I’ll leave the two of you with the pile of dishes and
head upstairs to make my call from there." Joyce
smiled at her daughter. "Be sure to lock up after
William leaves, Buffy. William, please don’t be a
stranger. You’re welcome to visit even if Buffy isn’t
home. Drop by the gallery if you get a chance and I
might have a job for you if you’re interested."

"I might just do that." Spike smiled in pleasure.
After Joyce left the kitchen, Spike turned to Buffy,
"Think you might listen to my side of the story now, pet?"

"Can’t stop you from talking and we do have a ton of
dishes to do," Buffy hedged. "I’ll listen. This
doesn’t mean everything’s okay between us though."

"Didn’t expect it to," Spike agreed. "Look, Buffy,
even if you decide I’m not worth the bother, I’m not
goin’ back to what I was. I plan to watch your back
‘til you either die of old age or I’m dust. You’ve
changed me, Buffy, make me want to keep changin’"

"Why me?" Buffy asked in a small, quivering voice.

"You really don’t have any idea how beautiful you are,
do you?" Spike caught her blush and heard her ‘pfft’
of dismissal. "No, I mean it! Beautiful inside and out."

"Well, I’m glad you think so," Buffy said, slightly embarrassed.

"It’s like someone got into my mind and took every
fragment, every dream, every desire I ever had and put
them all together in a package I’d never dared dream
up." Spike’s voice dropped to that honeyed tone that made Buffy overheat to hear. "I don’t have
you on a pedestal. You’re no plaster saint, got
flaws. Wouldn’t have you any other way. Even your flaws are perfect."

Buffy could feel herself weaken under his onslaught.
"Why should I believe anything you say, Spike?" Even
as she asked, she desperately wanted him to convince her.

"’Cause I’m tellin’ the truth. Willin’ to spend my
life provin’ myself to you." Spike leveled a gaze at her
that would have convinced the world’s biggest skeptic.

"How about we have another cup of cocoa on the back
porch and you try to dig yourself out of this hole
you’re in by telling me the whole truth this time,"
Buffy offered.

"Dug myself out of harder places, pet. Thanks for
lettin’ me try at least." Spike held the door as
Buffy took the two cups of hot chocolate out onto the
old wooden porch gleaming in the moonlight.

They sat side by side on the steps and Spike lit up a
cigarette before taking a deep breath to begin.
"Guess I should start at the beginning, yeah?"

~~~

Giles fell asleep in the armchair with the open
pages of the Pergamum Codex on his chest. He had gone
back to research the passages that likely referred to
Buffy after Jenny had fallen asleep. He had been too
wide awake to join her in slumber and was loath to
wake her with his restlessness.

There were sections of prophecy that disturbed the
Watcher greatly and he intended to get Jenny’s take on
them in the morning. If what he had translated was
correct, Buffy wouldn’t live long enough to worry
about either Angelus or Spike.

Perhaps he should speak with Spike about what had
happened in his timeline. Buffy had clearly avoided
death at the hands of the Master then. Perhaps Spike
could offer some way to get around the doom foretold
in the Codex.

"Hi." Jenny put her arms around Giles in a slow
caress. "Missed you next to me when I woke up just
now. Anything wrong?"

"Not wrong exactly. I wasn’t able to sleep and
thought I’d read a bit, only to fall asleep down
here." Giles turned and pulled the dark-haired beauty into
his lap. "Forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive," Jenny smiled up at her lover
tenderly. "Although, if you’re feeling really guilty,
I can think of a way you can make it up to me."

"Now I wonder what that might be," teased Giles in
return. He began to thoroughly kiss Jenny as the
passion began to build yet again between them. The
Codex fell from his lap as they struggled to get
closer in their embrace.

"Sorry." Jenny pulled away and reached for the fallen
book. "This was your bedtime reading? No wonder you
fell asleep!"

"Actually, what I was reading was anything but
soothing," Giles sighed. "If I have translated this
correctly, Buffy is to die at the hands of the Master
very shortly. I see no way around this prophecy either."

Jenny got up from Giles’ lap and looked at the notes
Giles had taken while working on his translation.
"This is very serious. The Master’s plans can’t be
allowed to happen. Giles, are you sure of this text?"

Giles rubbed his eyes in weariness. "I’m afraid so.
The text was lost for centuries, but its reputation is
well known. No other book of prophecies has
proven as accurate as this. There is nothing in it
that has not come to pass."

"Well, I don’t accept that!" Jenny looked indignant.
"Some long dead person wrote down some things. That
doesn’t mean we have to just throw up our hands and
give it over to fate." Jenny had a thoughtful look
and remained silent for a moment. "We need to talk to
Spike. Buffy was clearly alive in his timeline and
the Master was not. We need to find out what was done
then and do it now."

"I had thought of that myself," admitted Giles.
"Spike may well be our best hope of seeing to Buffy’s
survival. I’m rather glad I didn’t stake him, under
the circumstances."

"At the very least, Spike’s presence here and his
information about Buffy in the future should prove
that this," Jenny indicated the Codex, "isn’t a sure thing."

~~~

Spike felt as if a weight had lifted from his
shoulders as he headed home from his dinner at Buffy’s. They weren’t where they had been, but there was hope. Buffy had listened to his story, all of it.
He hadn’t sugarcoated a thing about his history.
The last thing he wanted was for Buffy to discover any
other lie or half-truth. Better face her wrath now
with a clean slate.

Buffy had been righteously angry when Spike admitted
his original plan to kill her and his many attempts to
do so in his own timeline. He pointed out that, in
hindsight, his heart hadn’t been in it, because he
always bollocked it up, just as she had never
succeeded in dusting him. She even laughed at some of his stories that hadn’t seemed that funny at the time.

She was intrigued by the chip and the entire
Initiative experience. "And then they tried to kill
me?" She was irate at the thought of the government targeting her and wondered why they seemed
to have found her a threat.

"Not real sure why, pet. That was around the time I made my wish and wound up here." Spike had her
laughing again at his description of Fuamnach and her
botched wish. "Seems I got a shot at what I really
wished for, instead of what she thought I was wantin’.

Got no complaints on how that all worked out, mind."

All in all, the talk had gone a long way toward
clearing the air. Buffy wasn’t ready to fall back
into his arms, but she wasn’t wanting to see him dust.
She hadn’t revoked her mother’s invitation to drop by either and that in itself gave him hope.

Spike’s hope-filled thoughts were interrupted by the
sound of a familiar growl. "Spike! Thought you’d
have the sense to leave town. There’s nothing for you
here except the pointed end of my stake." Angel broke
off a branch from a tree and lunged at the younger vamp.

"You know, I was in a pretty good mood," Spike said
as he dodged the makeshift stake. He swept his foot,
catching Angel on the shins and bringing the larger
vampire to his knees. "Getting the chance to bash you around’s only gonna make it better."