Over The Summer

Chapter 78

‘Buffy’s Flat-England’

“Buffy?” Giles called out as he entered the front door of her flat.

“In the nursery.” Buffy called back.

Giles quickly made his way through the living room to the nursery and pushed the door all the way open and stepped just inside the room. Buffy was lying on the floor with baby William resting on her knees slowly bouncing up and down laughing.

“Start packing.” Giles said looking down.

Buffy stopped moving her knees and brought baby William down to rest on her stomach before moving her head to look up at Giles. “What!?”

“I said start packing.” Giles repeated.

“I heard that part.” Buffy said as she moved so that she was standing up with baby William in her arms. “What I meant to ask was ‘Why’?”

“I received the call this morning.”

“‘The’ call. As in the one that lets me finally go home? Or the one that makes me have to move to another country?” Buffy questioned.

“Both actually seeing as your home is in another country.” Giles said with a grin on his face.

“I get to go home?” Buffy asked in disbelief.

Giles nodded his head. “You get to go home.”

“What about Drusilla?”

“She’s been locked away for a long enough time that the doctors will keep her there even if you show up alive. She is a seriously disturbed woman.”

“Don’t I know it.” Buffy muttered.

“Everything has been taken care of to ensure both yours and your son’s welfare. We’ve even dealt with Mr. Abramhs.” Giles explained.

“Parker!?” Buffy asked in shock. “What about him?”

“That’s not important, just know that you never have to worry about him showing up at your door or anyone else’s door.”

“So everything is okay?”

“Everything dealing with your safety is.” Giles stated.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Buffy asked.

“You’ve been gone over a year Buffy. You’re friends and family have thought you were dead, they’ve moved on with theirs lives as best they could without you being there.”

“That’s not my fault.” Buffy yelled causing baby William to start fussing.

“I didn’t say it was.” Giles acknowledged. “I just don’t want you to go back and think everything will be like it was before, it’s going to take time for everyone evolved to adjust to you being back.”

“What aren’t you telling me?” Buffy asked slowing rocking baby William to help calm him down.

“Nothing.” Giles said removing his glasses and cleaning them with a handkerchief.

“Giles.” Buffy said with a stern look on her face.

“We’ll talk in the living room.” Giles said walking out the nursery door and back the way he had came earlier.

“I’ll be right out.” Buffy replied before walking over and placing baby William in his crib to take a nap. “Sweet Dreams William.” Buffy whispered placing a kiss on his forehead before grabbing the baby monitor and turning it on. She looked over the nursery one more time before walking out the door towards the living room.

*****

‘Living Room’

“Okay, now what’s the what?” Buffy asked taking a seat in a chair across from where Giles was seated on the couch.

Giles took a deep breath. “It’s two things really.”

“Alright.”

“First thing deals with your parents.”

“What about them? They’re both okay aren’t they? They’re not sick or anything are they?” Buffy asked question after question with worry in her voice.

Giles placed a hand on Buffy’s knee. “Buffy please calm down, both of your parents are perfectly healthy.”

“Oh.” Buffy said with a sigh of relief.

Once Buffy appeared calm again he removed his hand and began to tell her what he was trying to say before. “What I was trying to tell you, and I know this wont be easy for you to heard, is that they are no longer together.”

“What!?” Buffy cried out.

“Your parents filed for a legal separation about a month ago.” Giles explained.

“Why am I just now hearing about this?” Buffy asked in a stressed tone.

“What would you have done about it?” Giles asked. “It still wasn’t safe for you to return home yet, why worry you when nothing could have been done?”

“They’re my parents. I had a right to know even if I couldn’t have done anything at the time.”

“If I had told you about this before you would have spent this past month making yourself sick with worry about every little thing, when all you should be worry about is raising your son.”

“I still would’ve liked to of known.” Buffy whispered knowing that Giles was right.

“You know now, that’s what matters.”

“How? I mean . . . What? . . . Um . . . Where?” Buffy stuttered not knowing what questions she wanted answered first.

“Your mother and sister are still living in the mansion in Sunnydale. Your father has a condo in Los Angeles he’s living in for the time being.” Giles stated. “Every weekend he travels to Sunnydale to spend time with your sister and talk with your mother.”

Buffy waited a few minutes while she took everything in before looking back towards Giles. “Okay, that’s the first of the two. What’s next?”

“It’s about William.” Giles told her.

“What about him, he’s not to young to travel is he? I didn’t even think about that.” Buffy said standing up and beginning to pace the living room floor not letting Giles get a word in. “I’ll have to make a doctor’s appointment for him to make sure it’s safe for him to be on a plane for that long of a time.”

“Buffy!” Giles called out as he placed a hand on each shoulder to get her to stop moving.

“Huh?” She asked looking up at him.

Giles removed his hands from her and took a step back. “I wasn’t talking about little William, although everything you were just rambling about is a good idea, I was talking about his father.”

“Oh! What about Spike?” Buffy asked.

“First, I thought you should know that he is no longer legally married to Drusilla. He filed for divorce shortly after the explosion.”

“No Drusilla is always a good thing.”

“He’s also no longer a Professor at UC Sunnydale.”

“But he still lives in Sunnydale right?” Buffy asked a little worried that he had moved away after she left.

“Yes, but now he’s a teacher at the local high school.”

“That’s good, he likes to teach and age doesn’t matter to him when it comes to making an impression on how people learn.” Buffy said with a sigh of relief knowing that he’d be there when she finally got back.

“That’s not all.” Giles stated.

“What else is there?” Buffy questioned.

“McKenzie Owens.”

“Who?”

“She’s works at the high schools as a guidance consular for the students.”

“Okay, but what does she have to do with Spike?”

“She’s dating him.”

“Oh. . .” Buffy whispered as she lowered herself onto the edge of the couch. “Um. . .How long have they been. . .you know?”

“Two months.”

“Is he happy?” Buffy asked in a low voice.

“I don’t know that, all I know is the facts. My source in Sunnydale tells me that William seems to be finally moving towards a new life again.”

“Than I can’t go back.” Buffy said in a stronger voice standing up again.

“Excuse me?” Giles asked in shock.

“I can’t go back.” Buffy stated again.

“Why not?” Giles questioned.

“It’s not fair to him if I just show up in his life again. He’s finally moving on, I can’t be the reason he’s unhappy again.”

“Seeing you, knowing you’re alive wouldn’t make him unhappy.” Giles tried to reason with her.

“If he has feeling for this woman than me showing up again will only confuse him.”

“You can’t not go back, other deserve to know the truth. William deserves to know he has a son whether he chooses to be with you again or not.”

“But he will, even if he no longer wants to.” Buffy shouted. “Family means everything it Spike, it’s why all this happened in the first place with Drusilla.”

“Then why don’t you want to go back? He’ll want to be with you and your son.”

“For the wrong reasons. He’ll be with me because of little William, not necessarily because he still wants to be with me as well.”

“That’s not what you’re worried about.” Giles stated as if a light went of in his head.

“Of course it is.”

“No, you’re scared that’s he’s learned from what happened with Drusilla. You’re worried he really cares about McKenzie and won’t leave her for you like he did to you for Drusilla.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Buffy said looking away from Giles.

“Yes you do. William stayed with Drusilla because he thought she was with child even thought he was in love with you. You’re worried he won’t do that with you even thought you actually are the mother of his first born child.”

“What Spike and I shared is stronger than anything we’ve had with anyone else.” Buffy yelled.

“Keyword there is ‘shared’. There’s only one way for you to be sure if that bond is still there.”

“What if its not?” Buffy asked in a soft voice.

“Then you’ll figure it out from there, but you need to know either way.”

“You’ll come with me won’t you?”

Giles nodded his head. “Until you’ve worked everything out and get settled into your new home and life.”

“Thank you.” Buffy said giving him a small hug.

“Molly will be coming with us as well to help look after little William while you spend time with your family and friends.

“Good.” Buffy said turning to look at the clock above her mantle. “I need to check on my son and start packing.”

“Alright.” Giles said turning to leave. “One more thing.” He said stopping at the front door.

“What?” Buffy asked looking over towards him.

“Don’t tell William about his son right away.”

“But. . .” Buffy started.

“Not until you’ve spent some time with him, and have a better idea of his feelings.” Giles continued.

Buffy looked at Giles with unsure eyes. “If I do that and he doesn’t choose me it’ll seem like I’m trying to trap him with little William.”

“Just don’t tell him when you first see him.”

“Why not?” Buffy questioned.

“Because seeing you alive will be shock enough for your first meeting as it is.”

“Oh, I understand.”

“I see you in the morning.” Giles said opening the door.

“Okay, have a nice night.”

“Have fun packing.” Giles said before closing the door behind him.

“I will.” Buffy said with a wide smile as she heading towards the nursey.

*****

TBC. . .