Chapter 64
Their time together was passing way too quickly. Here it was, Monday evening already. She wished that there were some way to magically freeze this moment as she watched William steer his boat out of its slip. It was close to 5:00 pm. They had spent most of the day taking Drusilla shopping for clothes and sundries. Then they got her settled into her new home. Buffy reflected on how fragile Drusilla had looked when they left her there.
“Think we should call and check on Dru?” Buffy asked him.
“No. She’s fine. They have my cell phone. They’ll call if there’s a problem,” William assured her.
“She looked a little frightened when we left her,” said Buffy sounding pre-occupied.
“Wow!” said William.
“What?” Buffy asked.
“Just got a glimpse of what our conversation is going to be like when we leave the Bit home with a sitter for the first time,” he revealed.
Buffy touched her stomach and said, “I can’t wait to feel him.”
“Him?” asked William.
“Or, her, it could be a her,” clarified Buffy.
William smiled and asked, “Can I ask you a question?”
“What’s on your mind?” asked Buffy as she stood up and walked over to him, inserting herself between him and the ships wheel.
“Your last pregnancy, how far along were you when you lost the baby?” he asked.
Buffy smiled, reassuringly, and then said, “William, I’m not going to lose this baby.”
“You don’t know that,” he said over the sudden lump that had formed in his throat.
“No,” Buffy admitted resting her forehead against his.
“Talk to me?” asked William.
Buffy took a deep breath before saying, “I talked with Whistler a lot about this. I think, maybe you should come with me to my next appointment. Hear him out. Ask questions. He’s recommending a procedure. It’s simple, really. Then in March…poof…baby!”
“Okay, back up. I don’t think I followed you around that last bend, luv,” said William.
“Which bend?” asked Buffy.
“Procedure,” William repeated.
“I carried the last baby for six months. I have an incompetent cervix,” she said with a hint of shame.
“A what cervix?” asked William, confused.
“Incompetent. The cervix is supposed to open as a result of contractions at about nine months. Mine opened early. I started bleeding. My water broke-” Buffy trailed off as her eyes filled with tears.
William wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a comforting embrace. “But it’s…fixed?” he asked hesitantly.
“No,” said Buffy quietly.
William pulled back and looking at her with concern asked, “So it could happen again?”
“Yes,” she admitted, and then quickly added, “but it won’t.”
“Could you be in danger if we try to have this baby,” he asked as he searched her face for any sign that she wasn’t being totally honest with him.
“There’s always risk, even with a perfectly normal cervix things can go wrong,” she said vaguely.
“You weren’t even going to tell me! Were you?” he asked as he let go of the wheel and started frantically pacing back and forth in the few feet available on the deck. “Can’t believe it…Of all the bloody stupid-”
“William!” she shouted, alarmed.
“What?” he growled back.
“Boat! Sailing! Steer!” she responded frantically waving him back over to the ships wheel.
“I was going to tell you, just for the record. I just hadn’t figured out quite how. Or, or when. Or, or how.” she said now feeling guilty.
“I want to hear the rest of it,” he said. “I’m gonna drop anchor.”
“Shit!” said Buffy to herself as she sat back down on the seat that was located behind the ships wheel. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”
Five minutes later William was back. “Go,” he said, sitting down beside her. His arms crossed defensively in front of him.
“Whistler managed to get the records from my hospitalization. He reviewed them carefully. The doctor I had at the time didn’t explain it well. Although it’s possible that he did, and I just couldn’t process it at the time,” began Buffy.
“Anyways, my mother had five miscarriages before me. She took some medicine, called diethylstilbestrol (DES), to try to prevent another one. As a result I’m here,” she said opening her arms wide, “but with a defective cervix.”
William winced, “Stop calling it things like defective and incompetent.”
“Look, I know that you men like to believe that your penis’s are sentient beings. But, I can assure you my cervix has no feelings. It’s totally, 100% feeling free,” stated Buffy, emphatically.
“What would have happened if you were a boy?” asked William, curious.
“Well, as I understand it, I would have likely had an underdeveloped or abnormal penis. But, then we wouldn’t even be having this conversations because your not so much into guys and…I’m going to stop babbling now,” she concluded.
“Right, off topic. Now, tell me about the procedure,” he requested.
“Whistler recommends a cervical cerclage to prevent a miscarriage. When I’m about 14-16 weeks he’ll insert a stitch around the cervix to prevent it from opening too early,” she explained.
“Well, what about when the Bit wants to come out?” he asked with obvious concern.
“If they end up doing a c-section they’ll just leave it. Otherwise, they’ll remove it when I’m ready to deliver,” related Buffy.
“It sounds simple. But, there’s got to be a downside or you wouldn’t have been fretting over how to talk to me about it. Out with it,” he said.
“Well, which downside do you want to hear first? The stuff that happens, like, once in a million years or, the stuff that I know will happen?” inquired Buffy.
“There are only two categories?” inquired William.
Buffy responded with an eye roll and he said, “Alright. What could happen?”
“Rupture of the membranes, infection, injury to the cervix, or pre-mature labor,” rattled off Buffy. “Whistler is experienced. He’s good. That’s not going to happen.”
“The rest?” he coaxed.
“After the procedure I’ll need at least 24 hours of bed rest. He said that I’ll need to decrease physical activity and get plenty of rest and did I mention the…part?” Buffy concluded.
“Didn’t catch the end there, pet,” he said, leaning in closer to her.
“No sex,” she finished.
“None?” he asked, a painful look on his face.
“No vaginal sex,” she clarified.
“Well, that still leaves us a lot of room! Doesn’t it now?” he asked her cheerfully.
“But, William, your fantasy…with me being all…big, filled with your baby,” she said sadly.
“Is that what you’re worried about? Not being able to fulfill my silly fantasy?” he asked aghast.
“I don’t want to lose this baby,” she said. “But, I don’t want to lose you either.”
“We’re not going to lose our baby,” he assured her kissing her softly on the lips. “In about eight to ten weeks we’ll pay the doc a visit and have him sew up your cervix nice and secure like. Then, you’ll just lie around for the rest of the pregnancy on a big pile of silk cushions while I feed you bonbons. Oh! Hey! We can learn all about tantric massage!” suggested William.
“Really?” asked Buffy feeling suddenly tearful.
“Really.” William responded with a nod of his head.
“But, I really like having sex with you,” she said quietly pouting.
“Oh, pouty! Will you look at that lip? Gonna get it. Gonna get it-” he said. He moved in quickly and teasingly caught her bottom lip with his teeth. He let his teeth slightly graze over it before pulling it into his mouth and sucking on it gently.
“Oh, William,” Buffy sighed as he released her lip.
He kissed her softly on the mouth and admitted, “I really like having sex with you, too.” Then, as he searched her eyes he mused, “There is no way you could possibly comprehend how much you excite me. Just, the sound of your voice can get me. Or, the way the light of the moon makes your hair gleam. Even the way you taste… exactly like vanilla ice cream… right here,” said William as he leaned over and licked a spot just behind her left ear.
Buffy giggled at that and started to squirm away.
William took her face gently in his hands. Then, gazing earnestly into her eyes he promised her, “I’m not going anywhere, Buffy. I’m the long haul guy.”
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Chapter 65
Buffy’s eyes slowly opened, it was still late at night, or possibly early morning. It was pitch black in the cabin save for the narrow strip of moonlight coming in through the porthole on the starboard side of the cabin. William’s arm was draped over her, the palm of his hand splayed across her stomach. She nuzzled back, just a bit more, into his warm embrace and once again closed her eyes. She listened to the rhythmic sounds of the water splashing up against the sides of the boat. The sound was lulling and she started to drift back off to sleep. And then she smelled it. Gas. Gasoline.
She lifted her head off the pillow and sniffed the air. Then she heard a noise, a thud. Buffy gently lifted William’s arm up and slipped out of the bed. He didn’t stir. “Probably a seagull,” she reasoned. Then she heard another noise. It sounded as if something had hit up against the side of the boat.
“William!” she whispered. Nothing. Buffy crawled back up onto the bed and leaned closer to him. “William!” she said a more loudly. Still nothing. She reached over to shake his shoulder and felt something… wet. She groped in the darkness following the trail up his neck and to the back of his head. Her eyes widened in fear and she held her breath while she moved her now trembling hand up to the moonlight. Blood. Her hand was covered in blood. His blood.
“William!” she shrieked. “No! No, no, no, no, no-” her cries were cut off when she heard the sound of a motor starting. From the corner of her eye she caught the image of something being thrown into the cabin. In slow motion she watched the lit rag float down to land in the puddle of gasoline that had been poured onto the galley floor.
“Oh! God!” she cried. Smoke was rapidly filling the small, confined area. Buffy quickly closed the cabin door, already coughing, already struggling to breathe. Her eyes were stinging from the tears and the smoke. She placed her hands on the door and could feel the heat radiating from the other side.
“Not much time,” she thought as she fell to her knees and crawled over to William. She pulled his body from the bed and leaned over him, desperately trying to tell if he was breathing. “Please, William. Don’t leave me! Please! I love you!” Buffy cried. “Oh! God! Somebody help us!”
Buffy stood up and struggled to open the porthole hoping to get some fresh air in her lungs, then, maybe she could get the overhead hatch open. The smoke was coming in from under the door. She stopped, briefly to shove a blanket in the crack then crawled back to the window. As she pushed the latch open a gust of smoke rushed out. She blinked her eyes. Through the haze she could see the small motorboat as it pulled away. There, standing in the boat, plain as day…”
Buffy gasped as she woke with a start. Her stomach clenched and she jumped out of bed, running for the head. On her way she heard William’s cell phone ringing and she heard him answer.
“Crawford, hold please,” he said.
She realized that it was probably the phones ringing that woke her from her nightmare. “Only a dream,” she tried to assure herself as she retched.
“You okay, luv? Can I get you anything?” William asked from the doorway.
Buffy nodded and held out her hand, “Washcloth,” she said.
William set his cell phone down on the side of the sink and quickly wet and wrung out a washcloth. “Here you go, baby. How about some ginger ale?”
“Yeah. That would be good,” she said as she stood up. “Who was calling?”
William quickly reached for the phone and said, “Crawford, here”
“Spike? Is everything okay?” asked the voice on the other end of the phone.
“You’re calling me in the middle of the bleeding night. I’m supposed to be asking you that! What’s up,” asked William.
“Who is it?” mouthed Buffy.
“Oh! Right! Time difference. I had forgotten,” he said.
“Master,” whispered William, covering the mouthpiece. Then speaking into the phone he replied, “You never forget anything, old man, you have a mind like a steel trap.”
“Daddy! What are you doing? You shouldn’t be using that in here! Give me that cell phone,” William heard her shriek.
“Darla, it’s fine. Give that back! Angel, will you get her out of here? I need to finish this call,” Master said with a sigh.
“Sure, but switch to the landline. She’s right. It could interfere with the monitors. We’ll be back in ten. Can you reach the phone?” he heard Angel say.
“No! Bugger! Bring it here and give him the number to call,” growled Master, fully irritated now.
“Hello?” said Angel into the phone.
William rolled his eyes and rubbed his hand over his face. “Hello, Peaches. Mind telling me what the bleeding hell is going on!”
“Spike?” asked Angel.
“Spike! Daddy, why do you persist in staying in touch with that vile, loathsome creature? I just don’t understand it. He tied me to a bed, Daddy, and gagged me! And…and now he’s made us give back that trollop’s money. It was my money, Daddy. Oh! And he threatened us!” Darla concluded.
“Married life treating you well I hear,” said William, dryly.
“Yeah, you know, sheer bliss, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” sighed Angel. “Let me hang up and I’ll dial you back on the other phone.”
“Yeah, okay,” responded William before disconnecting.
“What’s going on?” asked Buffy.
“Not sure yet,” answered William as his phone rang yet again.
“Crawford, here,” he answered.
“Here he is,” he heard Angel say.
“Hello? Spike?” Master’s confirmed.
“Yeah, it’s me. Want to tell me what’s going on?” asked William as he opened the refrigerator and poured Buffy a glass of ginger ale.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” said Masters. “Is everything okay?”
“Is this what it’s like? Fatherly concern?” said William, wearily.
“Don’t mock me, Spike,” warned Master.
“Sorry,” replied William, and he was. “Here, luv” he said to Buffy as he handed her the ginger ale. “Go lie back down. Take small sips. I’ll be back to bed shortly.”
Buffy accepted the glass and crawled back into the bed. She propped some pillows behind her back and took a sip of the ginger ale. She had a clear view of William as he paced back and forth in the small galley.
“Are you finished with Wesley?” asked Master.
“I was going to call you about that, actually,” started William. “I wanted to ask-” he trailed off.
“Go on, what?” coaxed Master.
“Can I keep him?” asked William, then he scowled at how strange that sounded. “I mean I’d like him to work for me. He’s done a great job. I could use the help. Look, I know that you’ve gradually been getting out of the business…let him go.”
“You need him?” he asked.
“Yes,” William responded.
“Fine. You know I’d do more for you if you’d only let me. Stubborn is what you are,” he said.
William smiled, “Yes, well, came by that honestly, didn’t I.”
Master chuckled on the other end of the phone then said, “Darla will be back shortly. She’s watching me like a hawk. Can’t quite tell if it’s genuine concern or if she’s hoping I’ll kick the bucket so that she has free reign of her trust fund.”
“Probably a little of both,” chucked William, then he quickly sobered. “You’re in the hospital!”
“Yes. That’s the real reason I called. I’m coming to California. I want to see you,” revealed Master.
“What? Why are you in the hospital?” asked William as he opened the refrigerator and reached of a beer.
“Heart attack. There was a blockage in the coronary artery. As I understand it, it stopped blood flow and oxygen from going to some of the heart tissue, damaging the heart muscle. Rather, er, extensively they say,” Master explained.
William took a sip from his beer, “But you’re alright now?”
“Oh, yes, quite!” said Master, a little too quickly.
“So, there’s no further risk?” asked William more specifically.
“Well they inserted an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which can deliver therapy that, in essence, would restart my heart should it stop beating,” finished Master.
“Christ!” said William, his palms suddenly sweaty.
“Yes, well, anyways, as I was saying, I plan on coming to California this weekend. I had the defibrillator put in a couple days ago. It seems in good working order. I go home tomorrow. I see the doctor for a wound check Thursday afternoon. If all is well I’ll jet over on Friday. I have an appointment at Cedar’s Sinai Monday morning. I’d like to see you, Spike. Where will you be over the weekend?” he asked.
“Here, in Sunnydale. Buffy and I, we were planning on looking at houses over the weekend, so I was going to come back here,” William explained.
“Are you sure, Spike?” he asked.
“Completely,” he answered. “And there is nothing you could possibly say to dissuade me. I’m my own man, Quentin. I make my own decisions,” he said.
“Point taken. Wish I had, had that arrogance and confidence when I was your age. Things probably would have turned out differently,” Master lamented.
“So, Saturday, then?” asked William.
“Yes. I’ll fly into San Diego. I’ll be at the Hotel Del Coronado. Why don’t you stay the night?” he asked.
“Well, I suppose we could come up late afternoon, have dinner, and stay over. Maybe return Sunday afternoon-” said William thinking out loud.
“You need to check with the boss?” teased Master.
William smiled, “Yeah.”
“Buffy?” he called to her.
“Mmm?” she said.
“My father’s had a heart attack. He’s in the hospital. He’s alright, for now. He has some medical appointments in Los Angeles on Monday. He’ll be in California over the weekend and wants to see me, see us. What are your thoughts about joining him Saturday night in San Diego?” he hurriedly explained.
Buffy jumped out of bed and walked over to him. She ran her fingers through his hair in a comforting gesture and said, “We can postpone looking for a house. If you want to spend the weekend with him, you should.”
“Pet, I want to get us settled in before you have to have that procedure. I want you all nice and comfy. No worries. Even with a thirty-day escrow, that only gives us a few weeks to find something and get all moved in,” he related.
“I worry you’re taking on too much,” shared Buffy. “You have the Douglas job, which is huge, the Imperiale wedding, Drusilla, a baby on the way, finding a home for us, and now your father-” said Buffy shaking her head.
“He’s holding, pet,” William reminded her.
“Oh! Heaven’s! Of, course. Yes, Saturday. Saturday will be fine. Peachy even,” she said as she kissed him on the top of his head and padded off, back to bed.
“Hear that? We’re on. Saturday, late afternoon, at the Hotel Del,” said Spike.
“Yes. Did I also hear that Buffy’s preggers?” Masters said, shock evident in his voice.
“We’re due in March,” confirmed William.
“Should make for interesting holiday,” mused Master.
“Holiday?” William repeated.
“Can’t you imagine it? All of us gathered around the table while I carve the Christmas goose. You and Buffy, Angel and Darla, the tots playing with their new toys under the tree-” said Master dreamily.
“Angel and I pulling Darla off of Buffy-” finished William. “You know that’s not going to happen.”
“It could happen. We could sedate Darla. It used to work wonders for her mother,” replied Master.
“You used to sedate her?” asked William, incredulous.
“Well, if you had met the woman you would have understood. Unbearable. Really, **yawn** unbearable,” He said.
“Are you on some type of medication?” asked William suspiciously.
“Oh, yes, lots. I took that little pill to help me sleep just before calling you. I think it’s starting to take effect. I would imagine the nurses find me much more agreeable**yawn**when I’m sleeping. I’m sure they’ll celebrate my leaving tomorrow,” he concluded.
“Goodnight Quentin. I’ll see you on Saturday,” said William, softly.
“Goodnight, son,” he said as he clumsily hung up the phone and drifted off to sleep.
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Chapter 66
“Feeling better?” he asked as he climbed in bed and spooned behind her.
“Yeah. Bad dream,” she said.
“Want to tell me about it?” he offered as he wrapped his arm around her waist and cupped her left breast in the palm of his hand.
“We were here, asleep. A noise woke me up and I tried to wake you, but I couldn’t. You were hurt. Someone had hurt you and they were still somewhere on the boat. Then there was the smell of gasoline, and the cabin caught fire. We were trapped and you wouldn’t wake up. I was screaming and so scared. I was going to try to open the hatch and pull us out but I couldn’t breath. I opened the porthole, to get some air and I saw him, pulling away in a motorboat,” finished Buffy.
“Saw who, pet? Who was it?” asked William, curious.
“I don’t know,” said Buffy, sleepily. “Some strange little man, holding a platter of sliced cheese. Wonder what that’s supposed to mean?”
William snuggled in closer, “It means no more dairy for the pregnant woman right before bedtime.”
“That wasn’t dairy. That was ice cream, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. They’re in a food group all of there own, one that pregnant women should have more of. They’re right there on the food pyramid, right above…whatever it is that’s close to the bottom of the pyramid,” she finished.
“Go back to sleep, pet. I love you. We’re perfectly safe,” William assured her.
“Mmmm,” she agreed, nodding her head slightly, then drifted off.
Drusilla was fast asleep in her twin-sized bed in the main house on the ground floor. She woke with a start and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. The red illuminated numbers showed it to be 2:00 a.m. Then she heard it, gravel being thrown against her window. She slipped out of bed and pulled back the curtain.
She smiled down at him then quickly opened the window. Her room was on the first floor so he was only a few feet below the sash. She leaned out of the window, resting her arms on the sill. Her breasts peeked out, suggestively over the top of her nightdress. Her raven black hair appeared to glisten in the moonlight. Her eyes were wide, marveling as she said, “You found me. I knew you would my dark and dangerous knight. Have you come to rescue me from my ivory tower? I promise to be very, very bad if you do!”
He motioned to her to come down. Drusilla quickly slipped on the sundress and sandals that she had worn earlier. Then she sat on the edge of the windowsill, swung her legs over the side, and slid down into his waiting arms.
It had been but a short drive to the marina. They now sat, quietly on the docks, looking out at the boats. He hadn’t said anything since she climbed in his car.
“How did you find me?” she asked as she slipped her shoes off and dropped her legs over the side of the dock, dragging her feet in the water.”
“I’m smart,” he responded simply, with a shrug of one shoulder, as he sat down and joined her.
“Well,” she said, letting her head roll back. “That? I knew.”
“I heard Buffy telling Willow that they were moving you into there. Gave the first kid that I woke up a fifty to tell me which window was yours. And, to keep his mouth shut,” explained Parker.
“Very resourceful of you, doctor,” she said as she leaned back and slightly brushed her shoulder up against his. “Are you going to tell me why you’re so sad?”
Parker looked at her, and then looked out into the harbor. His eyes settled on one particular boat. “They’re out there,” he said.
Drusilla followed his eyes and extended her hand out into the darkness in front of her, “Ah, yes. Lovers wrapped up safely in each others arms.”
“She doesn’t see me,” he said softly looking away.
Drusilla reached out and cupped his cheek in her hand, turning his face towards her, “Oh, I see you. A man surrounded by fools who cannot see his strength, his vision, his glory. That and burning baby fish swimming all around your head.”
Parker reached up and carefully removed her hand from the side of his face. Drusilla pulled it out of his grasp and placed it over his heart, “Your wealth lies here,” she said. Then resting it atop his head continued, “and here. In the spirit and...imagination. You walk in worlds the others can't begin to imagine.”
“But you can?” asked Parker as Drusilla began to release the top buttons of his shirt.
“I see what you want,” she said as she slipped the thin straps of her sundress off her shoulders and slowly tugged the bodice of her dress down, exposing her white creamy breasts to the night, to him. The water reflected the light of the moon and it bounced off of Drusilla’s alabaster skin casting her in an ethereal glow. “Something glowing and glistening. Something... effulgent,” she said as she took his hand and slowly brought it up to her breast.
“Effulgent,” he repeated.
“Do you want it?” she teased.
“Oh, yes!” he said as wrapped his arm around her waist and roughly pulled her towards him. He swung her around so that she straddled his lap, one of her knees on either side of his hips.
Drusilla spread her arms wide open and began slowly bending backwards. Her face reaching up towards the moon, her body bowed back so that the ends of her long hair almost touched the water, her breasts taunting him.
“God, yes,” he gasped as he latched on forcefully.
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Chapter 67
It was early afternoon. William and Buffy had enjoyed a late morning breakfast, after sleeping in, at a restaurant on the coast. Upon returning home Buffy excused herself for a few minutes to go through her mail and check her messages.
“So,” said Buffy as she walked into the kitchen and sat down to join William at the table, “What would you like to do for dinner tonight?”
William looked up from his laptop and said, “How about we cook something up here? We can have a quiet night in?”
“Sounds great,” she said as she got up and walked over to sit on his lap. “But, if we’re going to cook here we’ll need to go to the grocery store. What are you working on?”
“I was just finishing an update on the project plan for the Douglas renovation,” he explained.
“Wow,” said Buffy “What’s that?”
“It’s a Ghant Chart,” he explained pointing to the computer screen. “I use it to organize the various tasks that need to be completed on a project and to track my progress.”
“That’s some elaborate ‘To Do’ list,” said Buffy as she scrunched up her eyebrows and leaned in to take a closer look at the screen. “Who’s WWP?”
“Wes, I’m going to offer him a job, as my assistant. I’m re-assigning some tasks to him,” William related as he kissed her on the cheek.
“Can you fetch the phone for me? I want to give Chrysalis a call and check on Dru.”
“Sure,” she said standing up and walking over to retrieve the phone from the cradle on the kitchen wall.
“You’re pretty sure Wes will accept?” asked Buffy.
“Definitely,” said William as he dialed the phone. Just then the doorbell rang and Buffy went to answer it.
“Hey, Andrew! How are you?” asked Buffy when she opened the door.
Andrew shuffled his feet a bit, shrugged, and with little eye contact responded, “Me, oh, well, you know, okay I guess.”
“What can I do for you?” asked Buffy.
“Well, I was just wondering if Drusilla was here? She e-mailed me after she watched the video I made. She seemed, I don’t know, nice. I thought maybe she could use someone to show her around town?” finished Andrew as he awkwardly stuck his hands into his pockets.
“That’s awfully kind of you,” said Buffy. “We moved her into Chrysalis yesterday. William is calling her now, to check and see how things are going. You want to say hello? Ask her for her number?”
“Yeah! Sure!” he said as he followed Buffy back to the kitchen.
“So, everything seems to be going alright then?” William asked, talking into the phone, as Andrew and Buffy walked into the room. Buffy held up a finger to indicate that she wanted to say something.
“Hold on a moment, pet,” William said, then he covered the mouthpiece of the phone.
“Honey,” began Buffy, “this is Andrew from next door. He made the video that Drusilla and I saw in London. He was thinking maybe he could show her around town a bit. I think she’d like that.”
“Nice to meet you, Andrew,” said William, extending his hand. “But, are your intentions honorable? I’d hate to have to hurt you,” said William.
“W-W-What?” said Andrew as he shook William’s hand, in obvious alarm.
“William, stop teasing!” Buffy admonished. Then, turning to Andrew she explained, “He’s teasing.”
“Oh! Good one,” said Andrew looking relieved while continuing to shake William’s hand.
William smiled at him and said, “Ah, Andrew? You can stop shaking my hand now.”
Andrew had finally looked William in the eye. When William smiled at him, Andrew lost all ability to think. “Okay,” he said softly and stopped.
“Would you mind letting go?” asked William, looking down quizzically at their still-joined hands.
Andrew laughed nervously, “Oh, of course, sorry,” he said as he quickly released William’s hand.
Buffy rolled her eyes. She took the phone from William and handing it to Andrew said, “He’s mine. Here’s Drusilla, talk.” Then with a nod of her head she motioned for William to follow her onto the back deck.
“How about some lemonade?” suggested Buffy, as William was about to sit down.
“Sounds good, pet,” he said, “want me to get it?”
“Do you mind? And, maybe bring out the paper,” she asked.
“Lemonade coming up. But, I have to say no to the paper. I’ve got an assignment for you,” he stated before disappearing into the house.
“What part of ‘Day Off’ don’t you get?” she called to him.
Andrew came out and said, “Thanks, Buffy. I’m gonna go now. Drusilla gave me her number. Sounds like they’re keeping her pretty busy through tomorrow. But I’m gonna pick her up in the afternoon on Thursday and were gonna have coffee. Thought I’d show her around town a bit. Did you know she’s never seen Star Wars?”
“No, I didn’t know that. You know, there’s a lot of pop culture that Dru’s missed out on. Thanks for making an effort to make her feel comfortable here,” Buffy said.
“It’s nothing,” said Andrew. “I know what it’s like, to feel left out and awkward. Tell…tell Spike that my intensions are perfectly honorable in a totally innocent ‘just be friends’ kind of way.”
“Will do!” Buffy assured him. “Do you want me to walk you out?”
“No. I know the way,” said Andrew, obviously preoccupied, as he watched William through the French doors. The sunlight streaming in through the kitchen window bounced off William’s white hair creating an almost halo effect. The blue silk shirt that he was wearing made his incredibly blue eyes impossibly bluer. He had it casually unbuttoned and had rolled up the sleeves. Both his well-defined pecs and perfectly sculptured abs were pleasurably exposed. As he performed the simple task of squeezing the juice out of the lemons the muscles in his forearms and chest flexed. Andrew watched as in slow motion as William reached for another lemon half. William cupped his hands firmly around the rind and applied just the right amount of pressure while he rolled it in the palms of his hand. The juice from a lemon half burst forth. Although most of it trickled down into the glass pitcher, a few droplets sprayed out horizontally landing on William’s stomach.
“Andrew?” said Buffy after a few moments, “You okay?”
“He’s totally, hot,” whispered Andrew reverently.
Buffy smiled and waved her hand in front of Andrew’s face, “Did you not get the ‘mine’ part earlier?”
“Are you sure?” asked Andrew. “I mean, he seems to have really good fashion sense and he knows his way around a kitchen.”
“I’m sure,” said Buffy.
“Sure about what, pet?” asked William as he walked onto the back deck carrying a tray with the lemonade.
“I was just starting to tell Andrew that we were going to be moving soon, getting a place together,” said Buffy, covering for Andrew.
“Yeah,” confirmed William. “We’re going to get serious about house hunting next weekend. We really don’t have much time, just about a month or so.”
“What’s the rush?” asked Andrew.
William looked at Buffy and she shrugged her shoulders. He then turned back to Andrew and said, “We’re expecting. In early March.”
Andrew just continued to look at William as if he were waiting for him to finish his sentence. “A baby, Andrew. I’m pregnant. Our baby is due in early March.”
Andrew’s mouth fell open and he let out a little gasp, “Oh, that’s so cool! Geeze, I bet she’s going to be beautiful.”
“So,” said Buffy, “betting on a girl, huh?”
“Well, responded Andrew with a shrug of his shoulders. “Got a 50/50 chance. Hey, congratulations. Really! I gotta run. I promised Dad I’d mow the lawn today,” he related before waving goodbye and walking back through the house to head home.
“You really shouldn’t tease him, you know. He’s just a boy. It’s not nice,” said Buffy as William sat down.
“Sorry, I just feel a little protective of Dru. She’s vulnerable,” explained William.
“I’m not talking about Dru. Andrew is not about to sully her virtue. And, you do realize that she’s not a virgin, don’t you?” asked Buffy.
“Look, she’s been through a lot. I know that-” he admitted.
“Besides, I wasn’t talking about your teasing him about Dru. I was talking about you,” she said as she stood up and walked over to sit in William’s lap. “Hypnotizing him with those gorgeous blue eyes, taunting him with those chiseled cheekbones and exquisite chest,” she teased as she traced a pattern of little circles around his nipple. “And, not to mention the way that you blatantly flaunted your prowess in…the kitchen,” she seductively whispered into his ear.
“Prowess in the kitchen?” he asked her as he started tickling her sides. “You implying I’m not manly enough for you?”
“No! No!” squealed Buffy. “You’re very manly, one hundred percent man, you’re the poster boy, er, man for manliness,” she shouted between giggles.
“Damn right. Now that we’ve got that settled, let me go and get my questionnaire,” said William pushing her up off of his lap.
“Questionnaire? Don’t tell me you really do read Cosmo!” she gasped.
He grabbed a file folder and pen off of the kitchen counter, and then returning to the deck said, “Ha, Ha. No. These are questions that I normally ask someone that wants to by a house; or, both someone’s if it happens to be a couple. I use it as a starting point to get to know their preferences. I thought we’d go through it together, I could write down our answers, then we’ll see what points we need to negotiate or compromise on.”
“Compromise?” asked Buffy, fluttering her eyelashes. “I’m not sure I’m familiar with that term.”
William put down the pen and leaned back in his chair, “Don’t think that for the rest of our lives your just going to flash those gorgeous green eyes at me and get your way. As much as I love you and want you to be happy, I’m not going to forget who I am, what I want, what’s important to me. You were right, Sunday, when you said we have a lot to figure out. Where we want to live and what kind of a house we want is just the bloody beginning.”
“You said for the rest of our lives,” said Buffy, quietly repeating his words.
“You have other plans? Because now would be a really good time to fill me in,” said William looking pointedly at her.
“No,” she replied seriously, “no other plans.”
“Good!” he said with a smile, “You okay starting with this?”
“Fire away!” she said
Several hours later they had both completed the questions and spent considerable time going over points on which they differed. William stood up and stretched.
“How are we going to actually buy, I mean as in pay for, the house?” she blurted out.
“We’ve got plenty of money, we could pay cash. But, we should probably carry a mortgage. I think we’ll appreciate the write-off come tax time,” he suggested.
“We don’t have any money. You have money and I have money. Come to think of it? You actually have all the money. I have about $5000 in a savings account, a 401K through the hospital and this,” she said gesturing to her home.
William opened the file folder, and flipped through papers until he found the ones he was looking for. When he did, he pulled them out and handed them to her.
“What’s this?” asked Buffy as she accepted the papers and began to look through them.
“This is the errand that I had to run yesterday before we went to the harbor,” said William. “It’s a copy of a document giving you my Power of Attorney. Anya has the original. The rest contain information about my accounts; the locations, account numbers, the works.” William reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He searched through it and extracted a funny looking key, which he handed to Buffy, “This, is a key for a safety deposit box at the Sunnydale Savings and Loan. There are copies of all of these documents there. And here,” he finished handing her a small card, “are my pass-codes. Memorize them, then burn this.”
Buffy’s head was spinning. “You’re giving me access to your money?” she asked, stunned.
“I want to make sure, should anything happen to me, that you and the Bit are taken care of,” he said. “Anya’s working on drawing up some other documents.”
“What kinds of documents?” she asked.
“Estate planning, custody,” he explained. “I want you to feel secure about this. I know that the rug was pulled out from under you when Angel left. I want you to feel confident about this, about us.”
“Custody?” she asked, her voice suddenly sounding hollow and far away to her own ears.
“Fifty-fifty,” he said, “and a commitment to never demand more. Not as long as you’re alive.”
Buffy swallowed. “You know? I’m feeling suddenly tired. I think I’ll go lie down for awhile,” she said as she stood up and walked back to her bedroom in a bit of a haze. Buffy closed her bedroom door, climbed into bed, hugged her pillow to her chest, and let the tears begin to flow. “Couples in love, planning to spend their lives together, do not talk about custody,” thought Buffy. “Couples divorcing, splitting up, or afraid that they aren’t going to make it talk about custody.”
William sat alone at the table out on the back deck feeling slightly agitated and more than a bit disappointed. He didn’t quite get the reaction from Buffy that he had anticipated. He thought that she would be thrilled with his gesture and the level of commitment he was trying to demonstrate. He was trying to not push her, but at the same time give her a sense of security. Maybe she just had gotten suddenly tired. Maybe after a nap…he tapped his pen anxiously. As the seconds ticked by he felt increasingly uneasy. “Bollocks!” he said as he stood up. William walked into the house, down the hall, and paused outside her bedroom door. He then took a steadying breath, quietly cracked open the door, and peeked in.
Her back was to him. She was curled up and her entire body was shaking as she sobbed quietly into her pillow, his heart felt like it had been wrenched in two, “Buffy?” he called to her quietly as he moved over and sat alongside her on the bed.
“Did-did I do something wrong?” he asked, hesitantly.
“No,” she said through her tears. “It’s not your fault. It’s just not how I ever imagined it, you know? Not that I’ve imagined it lately-” she trailed off. “Never mind, I’m being stupid.”
William walked over to the other side of the bed, pulled a tissue from the box on the nightstand, and handed it to her as he crawled onto the bed beside her.
“I doubt that you’re being stupid,” he said stretching out and rolling onto his side so that he could face her. “Help me understand.
“What am I to you?” she asked leaning up on one of her elbows.
“What?” asked William, feeling puzzled. “Haven’t I made my feelings for you plain enough? Lord knows I’ve been trying to. I love you, Buffy.”
Buffy rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. Then she asked, “Are we friends, William?”
“Yes,” said William. “Of course. You’re my friend, my lover…Buffy, you’re going to be the mother of my child.”
“Woman in my position. I should consider myself lucky. You being willing to share rent with me, be partners in raising the baby, and still be my lover. It’s a good offer. It’s a great offer,” she finished trying her best to drum up enthusiasm.
William wasn’t sure how to respond. He suddenly felt like everything was quickly spinning out of control.
“What if I wasn’t?” she then asked.
“What if you weren’t what?” he said feeling more confused by the second.
“What if I hadn’t gotten pregnant? Or, what if I were to lose the baby? Where would that leave us?” asked Buffy.
“Right here,” he said. “Look, I’ve really been trying to assure you, to show you that I’m committed to you, to the baby. It may not have been something that we planned, but it is something that I’m happy about,” he said.
“For now,” added Buffy, turning once again onto her side to face him.
“No, not just for now. It wasn’t just some random slip, what I said earlier, about the rest of our lives. That’s how I’d like it to be with you,” he said softly as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’m not sure your being totally honest with yourself. Maybe it’s just you so much don’t want to be your father, that you’re-” she started.
“Don’t give me that!” he said, starting to feel angry.
“Oh, right, nothing says ‘I plan on spending the rest of my life with you’ like CUSTODY PAPERS. You know De Beers better watch out!” she yelled as she hopped out of bed and began pacing in front of him. “This new custom could give them a run for their money. Certainly cheaper than a diamond and so practical too! This way, when things don’t work out everything is already arranged, nice and tidy.”
William jumped up and walked over to her yelling just a loud, “Bloody hell, woman! What do you expect of me?” he cut himself off. William began pacing almost frantically. He felt caged. His hands were so tightly clenched into fists that his knuckles were white and the veins of his forearms were prominent.
William shook his hands slightly in an attempt to relieve the tension. He then sat down on the edge of the bed and with one hand began to rub his forehead as if it ached, “I mean, I am trying here, you know? S’not like I have a soddin’ road map. I have no one to model after. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, how I’m supposed to be acting. And, I don’t feel like I have the time to figure it all out. Everything is moving so fast! So, I made a mistake. It was a wrong bloody call. I told Anya that I wanted to fix it so that you didn’t have to worry about me not being committed to raising this child together. She suggested…It’s just that I’ve been so afraid of scaring you off, pushing too hard…Damn! I just…Oh, I don’t know what I saying. Obviously, I’m an idiot, a complete fool. I’m so sorry.”
Buffy walked over to him and laid her hand, gently atop his head. He buried his face in her stomach. She ran her hands through his hair, then down his neck and across his back. William wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled, inhaling deeply of her scent. Then, his voice thick with emotion he quietly revealed, “in my entire life there is only one thing that I’ve been absolutely sure of, and that’s my love for you. I don’t know how, or why, but you have touched my soul and I, I need you like I’ve never needed anyone. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone. You told me in the very beginning that you would never love again. But then you started to. It seemed like such a bloody miracle. But it all felt so fragile…feels so fragile…” he trailed off.
“I don’t want it to feel fragile,” Buffy said as she knelt before him. I believe that you meant well. But, Custody Papers, Estate Planning, free checking? It’s not what I most need from you.”
William laughed, then said, “Was going to have to charge you for the soddin’ checks, pet.”
Buffy joined in his laughter and disengaged herself from his embrace momentarily in order to fetch another tissue. “I don’t really know what I’m doing here either, you know. I guess we’re not doing too bad, considering…”
William nodded, then loudly exhaled a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and fell backwards, collapsing, arms outstretched across the bed. “Now what?” he asked.
“Hmmm,” said Buffy as she sat on the edge of the bed and collapsed back alongside him, in a similar posture. “I think we should make that grocery store run, cook us up some dinner, and stop being afraid to just say what we want, what we feel. Stop being afraid to ask questions. Deal?” she asked extending her right hand over to him.
“Deal!” he said, as he took her hand firmly in his grasp and pulled her across his chest and into a passionate kiss.