Chapter 3

“This is very irresponsible of you, Buffy.”

She rolled her eyes as Giles cleaned his glasses once again. “I was knocked up at eighteen; responsible isn’t exactly in the cards anymore. Besides, I know what I’m doing. Spike has been nothing but nice to me since he got back, which yeah, has been all of one day, but that is so not the point. If he wanted to kill me, he could have. I told you about the gem.”

Giles nodded. “And that only makes me worry even more, he’s invincible now. You can’t trust him.”

“That’s for me to decide. Look, I get your concern, I really do, but I’m dying here. He’s offering to help me out, I’m not about to turn that down. I love you guys, but I can’t keep asking you to give up your lives to watch my baby, it wouldn’t be fair. Spike doesn’t really have a life, so it’s perfect.”

“And where is he? Didn’t you say he would meet you here?” Giles wondered.

Buffy nodded as well. “Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be here any second. He’s probably just running late,” she responded, but having a feeling that something didn’t seem right. Where the hell was that vampire?


* * * * *


Spike grinned when he saw his victim; prowling across the college campus, he didn’t stop until he reached the boy.

“I want a word with you, mate.”

Parker raised his eyebrows. “Do I know you?”

Spike sent him a glare. “No, but I know of you. Used to have a little thing with Buffy Summers, didn’t you?”

Parker laughed. “Believe me, man, you don’t want anything to do with her. She’s too clingy, if you get my meaning. We had a one night stand, which wasn’t all that good, but at least she got the job done. Ever since then she’s been constantly following me around, it’s a little pathetic if you ask me.”

Spike clenched his fists at his side, knowing this would be worth it. “I promised I wouldn’t kill anymore, but for you, I think I’ll make an exception.”


* * * * *


Buffy headed out of her last class, ready to give Spike a piece of her mind the next time she saw him. A commotion had her turning her attention to the entrance of the school.

“You’re never going to believe this, he’s just hanging there.” Buffy heard someone say, heading outside to join everyone else. Her jaw dropped at what she saw, Parker Abrams hanging from the flagpole by his underwear, screaming bloody murder for someone to get him down.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” She had a feeling about who was behind that little stunt. “I’m going to kill him.”


* * * * *


She burst into his crypt later that night, not caring about knocking first.

“Are you out of your mind?!”

Spike put the book down that he was reading. “What are you on about?”

Buffy gave him a seething look. “Don’t act all innocent with me, you know what you did. Seriously, Spike, flinging him up the flagpole? That is so high school, even for you. What were you trying to prove? And don’t even think about denying it, I know it was you. What were you thinking?”

He shrugged. “The bloody moron was running his mouth off about you, it pissed me off. I figured you would at least be grateful that I didn’t kill him, you don’t know how tempted I was to do it.”

Buffy rubbed her now aching head. “I may not exactly be Parker’s number one fan, but he’s still the father of my child. Whether I like it or not, that’s just how it is. You can’t pull shit like that just because you don’t like what he has to say. I’m sure I’ve heard a lot worse from him. And because of your little stunt, you didn’t show up at the Magic Box, which had Giles all ‘I told you so’ about not being able to trust you. If you’re going to be in my life, I have to be able to trust you. I can’t allow you around my daughter if this continues, Spike.”

He nodded, looking slightly ashamed. “Right, sorry, won’t happen again. You can trust me; I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or the bit. I just, when I think about how that wanker treated you, and to not want anything to do with his own daughter, I see red. I’ll try to control myself in the future, though.”

“Thanks, that means a lot. It’s kind of nice, having you protect my honor. Even though I’m totally against what you did, seeing him stranded up there like that was pretty funny, but it’s still wrong.”

Spike agreed, lowering his head sheepishly. “Yes, very wrong, won’t do it again.”

Buffy smiled, he was just too cute sometimes. She still couldn’t believe that just a year ago they were enemies. “Will you come to the Magic Box tomorrow? I can’t convince them of your intentions on my own.”

“I’ll be there, with bells on,” he said with a smirk.

Buffy rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. “Okay, I have to get to work now. I’m already running late as it is.”

Spike raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Work? You mean patrolling?”

She shook her head. “No, I mean an actual paying job. I forced myself to get one after Dawn was born. I didn’t feel right having my mom always pay for everything.”

“So, let me get this straight. You go to school, patrol, take care of a baby, and go to work? You’re bloody amazing, is what you are.”

Buffy blushed at the look of admiration in his eyes. “It’s only a part time job. I work a few nights here and there, occasionally they’ll have me come in during the day when I don’t have classes. I really need the money, but I seriously can’t wait for when I can quit that place. I’m tired of always smelling like doublemeat burgers,” she finished with a grimace.

Spike smiled fondly as he watched her leave the crypt, letting out a sigh. How was he going to just be her friend when all he wanted to do was grab and kiss her senseless? This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.