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Anarchy Reigns by angelic_amy
 
Second Thoughts.
 
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Thanks to Sue and Niamh for the beta!


Chapter 4: Second Thoughts.


“Hello, dad,” she greeted with half-hearted enthusiasm, something that the former patriarch of the Summers household seemed to miss. Spike however, didn’t.

“How’s my little Dawn-meister doing?”

Dawn rolled her eyes as she turned to retrieve her bags. “Dad, please.”

A hearty chuckled filled the air as Hank Summers stepped inside his daughters’ house. It looked much the same as it had the last time he had visited, when he used to pick up the girls every other weekend. As he stepped further into the foyer, the movement of another person in the room caught his attention. Startled slightly by the male’s presence, his deer-in-the-headlights look quickly covered with a suspicious glare.

“Dawn, you didn’t introduce me to your…” Hank searched for the right words, disliking each option that came to his tongue. The bleached male seemed much too old to have any association with his youngest and he didn’t even want to ponder what he was doing here.

“Oh!” Dawn squeaked, her expression quickly becoming apologetic but not in her father’s direction. “This is --”

“The name’s William,” Spike introduced as he thrust a hand forward.

William? Dawn mouthed with a bright grin on her face. She knew Spike’s history, not that Buffy or Giles knew she did. What she hadn’t caught when she’d overheard conversations, Giles’ own diaries had filled in the blanks. She knew it was wrong to snoop, especially when the snoopage was reading someone’s written thoughts, but the book had been left on the dining room table in plain sight. And she had returned it. Still, hearing him utter his human name caused laughter to gurgle in her throat.

Hank accepted the hand and shook it once, surprised by both the chill of the man’s flesh and the strength in his grip. “William, you say? Are you a friend of Dawn’s?” he asked with a blatantly accusatory stare.

“Matter-oh-fact I am,” Spike replied. “But I’m actually here to see Buffy.”

William, is…” Dawn uttered slowly, her grin bright across her face, “I’m sure Buffy would have told you about --”

“No, actually she hasn’t,” Hank interrupted, his gaze narrowing slightly. “So you’re Buffy’s friend then? And you’re British if I’m not mistaken. Long ways from the mother country aren’t you?”

Spike pursed his lips in annoyance, suddenly agreeing with Buffy’s opinion of her father.

“Can I ask why you are visiting with my youngest daughter, who is obviously alone?” Hank continued. Prat!

“Waitin’ for Buffy is all. Thought I’d keep the ‘bit company seein’ as how she had been sittin’ here by herself.”

“Well, I’m here now,” Hank asserted.

Spike bit back the retort that was on the tip of his tongue, nodding once in acquiescence. Not wanting to ruffle any more feathers he turned his attention to Dawn. “Be good, sweetling,” he bid farewell with quick peck on her forehead as he passed, a lazy smirk thrown in Hank’s direction as he made his way towards the kitchen.

Busying himself with heating up a mug of blood in the microwave he couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between father and daughter.

~~~

“Dawn, he’s much too old for you to be spending time with alone.”

“No, he’s not!” Dawn protested. “He’s my friend, and like he said he was just here to see Bu--”

“Buffy,” Hank interrupted. “Where is that girl? Leaving you home alone like this. I have a mind to wait until she returns and take her along with us, bills and college be damned.”

“No, you don’t need to do that!” Dawn blurted out urgently, closing her eyes and vowing she would make Buffy repay her for sticking her neck out like this. “Buffy’s still in class,” she supposed confidently. Well, it’s probably true… she thought. “Let’s just go. Holiday fun is awaiting right?” she said hopefully, wanting him to fall for the over-eager teen routine.

“Of course honey,” Hank agreed, his tone softening. “I just don’t want to leave that friend,” he spat out, “of Buffy’s alone in this house. Are you sure he can be trusted?”

“Yes, dad. He can be trusted. Now let’s go.”

~~~

A small smile lit up Spike’s face upon hearing Dawn say those last words. He knew that it was now a fact amongst the group, and even Giles considered him trustworthy. But it was still nice to hear voiced out loud.

A moment later the front door closed and Spike was alone.

~~~

Buffy and Willow finished their day of classes with a take-away mocha from the Espresso Pump on their way home. Nothing about the day had been incredibly interesting so it came as no surprise when Willow unsubtly shifted the conversation from shop talk to the Slayer’s love life.

“So. About those non-neglected, smoochie-filled patrol sessions, how’s that going?”

“Enough with the teasing, Will,” Buffy pleaded. “Do you remember me being all Inquisitive Girl when you were in the beginnings of your relationship?”

“No,” Willow answered. “But that may have something to do with the fact I kinda hid it from, well, everyone. Big life changing decision made here! It’s not everyday someone wakes up and realizes that they have a Jones for a girl, you know.”

“Having fluffy bunny feelings for another vampire wasn’t exactly on my list of things to do either, Will,” Buffy pointed out. “Been there, lived that train wreck. So a little less question-y-ness from you would be great.”

Suitable chastised Willow nodded. “I’m sorry, Buffy. You know I’m just happy for you. Spike’s a good guy and you deserve a little happiness.”

Buffy laughed. “Since when have I ever gotten what I deserved? I’m just waiting for this whole thing to blow up in my face. And hearing you say Spike’s a good guy and me agreeing with you? You think that would have happened in a million years if we were still in High School?” She sighed deeply, tossing her empty drink into a trashcan as they walked towards the Magic Box. “This is all so new and strange that I’m still a little freaked out.”

“Freaked out?” Willow repeated with a worried frown. “Freaked out in the is-he-going-to-turn-back-into-a-blood-sucking-fiend-out-to-kill-you-again way, or in a --”

“Is-he-going-to-rip-my-heart-out-and-mail-it-back-to-me way,” Buffy answered.

“Isn’t that kind of the same thing?”

“You know what I mean,” Buffy pointed out. “I think I might really be starting to fall for him and that’s --”

“Great!” Willow chirped.

“Bad,” Buffy answered at the same time. “Buffy and happiness always ends in badness.”

“Buffy,” Willow sighed. “You don’t know that. I think we both know that save for an unfortunate accident with a sharp piece of wood, Spike isn’t going anywhere.”

“That’s just it,” Buffy agreed. “What if there is an accident. What if --”

“Spike’s strong, Buffy. Lots of strength there. And then there’s the grrr factor that can scare even the things that go bump in the night away.”

“He’s strong, when he’s fighting demons, yes,” Buffy conceded. “But against humans? He wouldn’t be able to fight back and all it would take would be some of Maggie Walsh’s whacked-in-the-head drugged up followers to make a re-appearance in town and buh-bye Spike, hello pile of dust.”

“You don’t really think that will happen, do you?” Another thought occurred to her, the words spilling out of her mouth before she could stop herself. “You’re not having second thoughts are you?”

“No. And no,” Buffy shook her head. “Zero second thoughts. But there are things that could happen. My imagination and I have cooked up plenty of ways to end the fairytale and serve Buffy’s heart up on a platter.”

“Fairytale?” Willow repeated knowingly. “So, things are going that good then?”

Buffy rolled her eyes at her friend’s insistence on knowing the ins and outs of her budding relationship. “Yes, good. Almost too good.” She sighed again. “Whenever I’m around him…”

Willow watched intently as Buffy’s eyes began to glaze over, the beginnings of a happy smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “You go all space cadet-y like you are now?”

“I lose my control when I’m around him.” At Willow’s wide-eyed stare Buffy quickly continued, “Oh, not in that way! At least, not yet. And that’s probably too much information. I lose control in an all-I-can-think-about-is-him way.”

“That’s a good thing though.”

“Nope,” Buffy disagreed. “Because thoughts lead to feelings, and feelings lead to Buffy badness. We’ve covered this already.”

“Spike won’t hurt you Buffy. He’s not like them,” Willow said, referring to the ghosts of boyfriends past.

“I know he won’t, not intentionally.” Buffy stopped when they reached the Magic Box, handing her textbooks to the wiccan. “It’s me I’m worried about. I have all these walls and if I let them down completely… the last time I did that I got hurt. And I don’t want it to happen again.”

Willow knew Buffy was referring to her teen romance with Angel. She remembered what it did to her friend, over and over again. But she didn’t know how she could convince Buffy it wouldn’t be like that with Spike. This was one hurdle that Buffy was going to have to get over by herself.

“You have to do what’s best for you,” Willow advised. “And if making you happy includes Spike in your life then you’d be a fool to not let him in.”

“I know,” Buffy grumbled. “But it’s not that easy.”

“It can be, if you let it,” Willow offered kindly.

“Okay, you’re being way too insightful now,” Buffy teased. “I should go. Dad will probably be at the house to pick up Dawn now and I promised her I’d be there.”

“I’ll let Giles know.”

Willow watched as Buffy walked away from the shop and down the street, hoping she found the strength within herself to let go of her past before it did something to affect her future.

~~~

Buffy quickly made her way up the driveway and towards the house, hoping she wasn’t too late. Trying the door she was relieved to find it unlocked. “Dawn?” she called loudly as she stepped into the foyer. “Dawn, are you upstairs? I’m here.” A little later than I was supposed to be, but here…

“Buffy.”

“Jeez!” Buffy jumped, suddenly aware of how Willow must’ve felt earlier in the afternoon. “Spike, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Or what?” Spike taunted, tongue behind his teeth as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her flush against him. “I missed you,” he murmured softly as his lips found the ticklish spot behind her ear.

“Spike, don’t,” she protested even as she leaned into his touch. “My father is going to be here soon, and Dawn might…” Buffy stopped her excuses when the vibrations of what could be a growl rumbled against her chest. “What was that all about?” she asked with a quirked brow, pulling back slightly to look into his eyes.

“Dawn’s gone. Ponce came and picked her up a little while back.”

“Ponce?” she repeated, a moment later her eyes going wide when the rest of his words found her ears. “Gone? Already?” Buffy winced. “Was she mad?”

“That you weren’t here and left her to fend for herself? No. Why should she be?” he teased.

“Crap.” Buffy bit her bottom lip as she extricated herself from Spike’s hold and moved to sit on the stairs. “I told her I’d be here when he picked her up.”

Spike moved to Buffy’s side, joining her on the stairs as he lowered himself to sit. “Gathered as much.”

“You were here?” Buffy’s brow furrowed, suddenly realizing that while the sky was beginning to darken now, it had been quite bright out earlier on. “Why were you here?”

“Came to see you, love,” he confessed, a little hurt by her almost accusatory tone. “Bit was sittin’ by herself so I kept her company until the old man showed up is all.” His frown deepened as he recalled the earlier conversation.

“I’m sure Buffy would have told you about --”

“No, actually she hasn’t.”


“He was none too happy ‘bout me bein’ here with your sis,” Spike stated.

“That’s because he hadn’t met you before. He doesn’t really trust anyone around his girls,” she scoffed, “unless he knows about them. And even then he still mightn’t like a person.”

“Didn’t seem like he knew ‘bout me, that’s for sure,” Spike muttered under his breath, but obviously not quiet enough.

“Spike, I don’t speak to him… like at all,” Buffy pointed out. “I’ve told you about this before.”

Spike just nodded in response. He knew everyone important in Buffy’s life knew about him, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting that her father had no clue. From what he’d gathered in previous conversations he’d at least heard about her former boyfriends, even if the details were a little sketchy.

Not wanting to think about why he didn’t rate a mention, Spike changed the topic. “What’s the plan for tonight?”

“Everyone’s meeting at the Magic Box now, then patrol. The usual,” Buffy shrugged.

“Well, you’d best be off then, don’t want to keep Rupes waiting too long,” Spike suggested. “I’ll head over in a bit.”

“Sure,” Buffy agreed.

The pair stood slowly, Buffy making her way to the door and Spike following as close as he dared. Turning before her hand reached the doorknob, her eyes slowly lifted from the ground to meet his. “I’ll see you soon?”

“You can count on it,” Spike promised.

With a nod Buffy opened the door and stepped outside.

Spike listened as her footsteps faded into the night, a dejected sigh escaping his lips. Fingers curled around the small box inside his pocket. Removing his hand from within the leather, his digits uncurled to reveal the small box. It fit in the middle of his palm, cube in shape with a thin silver bow tied around it.

He was about to shove it back into his pocket, before he changed his mind. Couldn’t risk Buffy finding it when he went to the Magic Box. Walking quickly into the kitchen, he opened several cupboard doors before he found the one he was looking for; the one Buffy was least likely to go hunting around in.

Removing the first recipe book, he shoved the small box to the back of the cupboard, and then returned the tome to its place.

Figuring he had some time before sunset, Spike moved to the fridge to heat up some blood.



~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Hope you all like!
 
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