Chapter 2

“Oh, you’re joking. That’s funny, but I don’t get it.”

He shook his head, letting her know with his eyes that it was not a joke.

Buffy didn’t know what to think. “You do know how crazy that sounds, right?”

Spike shrugged. “Stranger things have happened, I’m sure. I admit, I wasn’t expecting for you to have a little one of your own, but that doesn’t change anything.”

Buffy took a step back, shaking her head adamantly. “Spike, you can’t do this to me, not now. I have too much going on; I don’t even have time to breathe. I have to find someone to watch Dawn tomorrow night because my mom is working late, and the guys are busy. Plus, it’s not fair of me to go to them with everything. The father wants nothing to do with me or the baby, so he’s no help. I’m falling apart here. If one more thing gets complicated in my life, I think I might just lose it.”

He held his hands up. “All right, one less complication. I’ll watch the nibblet for you.”

“Are you serious? Spike, I can’t ask you to do that. Why would you even want to? And no offense, but I don’t know if I trust you enough for that. The last time we met, you tried to kill me and my friends. In fact, that gem makes me trust you even less.”

Spike expected that, but he wasn’t about to give up. “Then let me prove to you that you can trust me. I’ve changed, Buffy. I promise, no harm will come to the little one. You have my word on that.”

Buffy didn’t know why, but she believed him. “Okay, I’m only agreeing to this because I’m desperate at the moment, but you better not make me regret it. I’ll be patrolling around seven, so you can come by the house then.”

“You’re still slaying?” he wondered.

“It’s not like I have much of a choice. Baby or not, I’m still the Slayer. Someone has to do it.”

Spike didn’t like that. He would rather be out there patrolling with her, but he already promised to watch the tyke.

Buffy gazed up at him. “I have to ask, why the gem? If not to kill me, then why did you bother with it?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, which was sometimes a nervous habit of his. “Well, we’re outside during the day, aren’t we? I haven’t been out in the sunlight for over a hundred years; I guess I never realized just how much I’ve missed it. Seeing you in the sun is just an added bonus, you’re not meant for the dark, I know that now. I guess this was my way of having a part of you, looking at the world the way you do.”

Buffy had to admit, she was touched by the gesture. “That’s really sweet of you, Spike. A little weird, but still sweet. I’m not looking for anything right now. The most I can offer you is friendship; I just have too much on my plate. I hope you can understand that.”

Spike nodded. “It’s more than I thought I would get.” Sure, she said that now, but Spike was very determined to change her mind. It was only a matter of time.

“Great, um, could you watch her for a second? I have to talk to a teacher really fast.”

He nodded again, watching as she took off in the other direction. Spike gazed down at the child, who was now awake and staring right at him. He bent down to pick her up, staring into her angelic features. “God, you’re beautiful, just like your mum. We’re gonna get along just fine, aren’t we, bit?” He tickled her a little, causing Dawn to let out a cute little giggle. It brought a bright smile to Spike’s face. This was definitely where he belonged.


* * * * *


“Okay, she has everything she needs in the nursery. Emergency numbers are on the fridge, along with my cell and Mom’s work number. If anything goes wrong, don’t hesitate to call any of us. Don’t let anyone in that doesn’t have a key, especially not if they’re of the very pale variety.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Vampire, love, I think I would know if I was in the presence of one. Don’t worry, the bit’s in good hands.”

She nodded. “For some reason, that doesn’t freak me out. I should be back in a couple of hours.” Buffy picked Dawn up, cradling the infant to her chest. “Mommy will be back soon, baby. You be good for Uncle Spike, okay?”

He cringed at that, uncle wasn’t exactly what he had in mind.

Buffy put the baby back down, looking up at him. “Sorry, she’s only four months old; I still get a bit crazy about leaving her.”

“That’s perfectly understandable, love. It just shows that you’re a great mum.”

That got a smile out of her. “All right, I’ll be back in a little while. Thanks again for doing this; I didn’t like the idea of taking another night off from patrolling.”

Spike smiled as well. “Sure, any time you need a sitter, I’ll be here.” He couldn’t believe how his life turned out. The once Big Bad being the bloody babysitter for the Slayer’s offspring, but looking at the gorgeous smile on her face, he wouldn’t have it any other way.


* * * * *


Buffy was exhausted when she entered the house later that night, placing her jacket by the door and heading into the living room, stopping at the adorable display in front of her. Spike was lying on the couch, with Dawn sound asleep and resting on his chest. She hurried to grab the camera, taking a few pictures while she could, which caused him to wake up.

“What are you doing?”

She took one more shot before putting the camera away. “This is great blackmail material; Xander will get a kick out of it.”

Spike groaned, being careful not to wake the baby. “And they say I’m evil,” he muttered.

“I’ll take her upstairs,” Buffy whispered, picking the baby up gently as she quietly made her way to the nursery, putting Dawn down in her crib and shutting the door behind her. She found Spike sitting up now, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He was just too cute, and that was something Buffy never thought she would think about Spike. “Did she give you any trouble?”

He shook his head, making room for her on the couch. “Perfect angel, I think she’s already warming up to me.”

“Wow, she normally doesn’t feel that comfortable with strangers. It took her two months to stop crying whenever she was around Xander.”

Spike chuckled. “What can I say? Nibblet has bloody good taste.”

She slapped his chest lightly. “You should probably get going now. Where are you staying, anyway?”

“I got a crypt in Restfield cemetery, it’s quite posh.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Whatever you say, I haven’t told the others about you being back yet. I was meeting them at the Magic Box tomorrow after classes, if you wanted to stop by. Make a grand entrance by strolling in during the day; I already can’t wait to see the look on their faces. They’re going to tell me I’m crazy for trusting you, but maybe you could convince them of that better than I can. That is, if you’re really determined to be on my side, that this isn’t just a phase you’ll soon get over. You can’t keep killing people; I don’t need that on top of everything else.”

Spike agreed. “I already gave that up, unlike some vampires that will remain nameless, I can control myself. I already went to the butcher’s, stocked up on a ton of pig’s blood, it’ll have to do.”

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

He took her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze. “You’re worth it.”

Buffy was in trouble. If he didn’t stop saying stuff like that, it would be way too easy to fall in love with him.