Two days till Christmas

Part 4

The instant Buffy shut the door Joyce started to stand. Spike beat her to it and the whole room gaped in shock as Buffy let Spike lead her upstairs.

Dawn sat at the table sipping her hot chocolate with a huge grin plastered on her face. ~ He loves her. He really does. ~
~~~~~`

Spike sat her on the toilet and wet a washcloth. He brought it over and watched silently as Buffy wiped her face.

"What am I gonna tell them?" She whispered bringing on a fresh wave of tears.

"Slayer...you don't have to tell them anything." Spike murmured taking her hand.

"I have to tell them something...I have no other excuse for beating up my ex boyfriend." She rolled her eyes.

~ I knew that bastard was trouble. ~ Spike pulled her in for a quick hug. "I'll go down and make an excuse for you. You finish freshening up and then come down Ok Luv. No one will mention it. I promise."

"Thanks Spike. I just want to get through Christmas...I can't take their looks of pity..." Buffy shuddered involuntarily.

"No one would pity you Slayer. You are strong and fierce, you just got taken by surprise by someone you trusted." Spike murmured rubbing her back soothingly.
~~~~~`

"Oi li up. up. No one is to mention *anything* that happened when that git entered the house. Got it?" Spike glared at each of them. "Slayer's quite upset about the whole fiasco and I will not tolerate anyone upsetting her."

"What's going on Spike? Since when are you Buffy's champion and defender?" Xander asked angrily.

"Look whelp, Buffy...She needs some time is all...she'll tell you when she feels up to it. No questions till then." Spike growled.

"Ok Spike. No problem. I trust that you have her best interests at heart." Joyce said softly. No one else dared comment on the situation.
~~~~~`

Buffy took a deep breath before entering the room. She quietly walked back in and took her seat beside Spike. "See. It's Ok Luv." He whispered in her.

"Thanks. I don't know how I'd get through this without you." She whispered back.

Xander stared at the couple but kept his comments to himself.
~~~~~`

"Agent Finn, I can not believe you let the slayer do this to you. She has to be eliminated, we must capture and study her." Professor Walsh smiled softly at him as she finished with the stitches. "We can do all kinds of things to her."

"Oh She'll pay Mother. I promise you that." Riley smiled cruelly as he tried out his new arm.
~~~~~`

"Can we do presents yet?" Anya whined tugging on Xander's arm.

"Yeah...let's go into the living room." Joyce said smiling. "Rupert would you like some tea?"

"Sure. I'll help. Would anyone else like a beverage?" Giles questioned.

There were various orders placed and the group went to find seats in the livingroom.
~~~~~`

"Can I pass out the presents?" Dawn asked jumping up and down.

"Ok, Ok don't hyperventilate Dawnie, yes you can pass out the presents. Buffy smiled softly at her sister.
She turned and met Spike's eye. Buffy blushed slightly.

~ 'S nice to see Buffy smile. ~ Spike thought contentedly.

"Does that mean she's gonna touch all of *my* presents?" Anya questioned jealously. "I say we draw straws."

Everyone laughed aloud, and Dawn just rolled her eyes. "Ahn...honey. It's Dawn's house, she gets to hand out the presents." Xander explained as if to a small child.

"It's not fair! Next year the party is at our house." She cried.
~~~~~`

Riley stalked the vampire silently. He was predatory. He slipped up silently be the the offensive thing before him and smashed a stake through his unbeating heart. He smiled happily as his ashes floated to dust.
~~~~~`

"The first one is fro Anya." Dawn passed the small package to the Ex-demon, knowing if she got the *first* present she wouldn't be so upset at losing the coveted 'present girl' position.

"Who me? Awww Thanks Dawnie." Anya said greedily grabbing the package. "It's paper?" She said wonderingly looking at her present.

"No, It's a gift certificate." Buffy smiled. "It's like money. You pay with it."

"Oh Buffy! You gave me money. I love you! Xander said we couldn't give money. Thank you for not listening to him." She smiled sincerely.

Buffy smiled at Anya. "I thought we could go shopping together, just us. You know...get to know each other better?"

"Oh that's so sweet." Anya said happily glancing at Xander.

~ Wow. Buffy's really making an effort to be friends with her too. ~ Xander thought to himself. "That's really nice Buffy." He said looking into her eyes.

"No problem Xand. I figure if She's your girlfriend and makes you happy, I should be heiendiend too, get to know her better...you know.?"

"Tara...this one's for you...also from Buffy." Dawn passed her a small box wrapped in pale pink tissue.

Tara gently tugged on the paper, pulling it off of the box. She opened the lid and her eyes lit up with joy. She looked up at Buffy and smiled. "I love it Buffy. Thank you." It was an elegant W on a black leather necklace. She turned her back so Willow could clasp it for her. It fit against the hollow of her throat.

Willow looked form the present to her best friend with tears in her eyes. "That's so sweet Buffy." ~ She's really Ok with this. ~

"Here's one for Spike." Dawn said handing the shocked vampire a medium sized box wrapped in blood red. "What?" He said softly taking the present in his hands. He looked at Buffy beside him and glanced at the present cautiously.

To Spike. Love Joyce. Written in her cursive script. Spike looked up to see the anxious faces of the scoobies peering at him, waiting for him to open it. "I...uh...I want to wait until Joyce is in the room..." He mumbled.

Dawn nodded and handed Willow a present. "This one's from Buffy." She handed her the box. Willow ripped off the paper hurriedly and opened the box. ~ It matches. ~ She smiled happily at Buffy withdrawing the beautiful T on a leather chain. She turned so Tara could clasp it. "Thank you so much Buffy. It means so much to me." She said getting teary again as she felt the metal against the hollow of her throat.

"I love you Will." Buffy said coming over and giving her a hug. Willow hugged back tightly.

Buffy returned to her seat beside Spike. He was staring at the present in his hands. "You Ok?" She whispered.

"Yeah. Just savoring the feeling." He whispered back.

Buffy nodded in understanding and smiled softly.
~~~~~`

"I guess we should get back out there..." Joyce said softly pulling out of Giles arms.

"Yeah...could be quite a shock if she walked in on us...she wasn't' to keen on us before with the whole candy debacle." Giles groaned. They pulled themselves together and made their way to the livingroom to join the gang.
~~~~~`

"She's here...Spike you can open yours now." Dawn said happily.

"Yeah...OK. Spi Spike said tearing the paper quickly.

He opened the box and saw a beautiful Button up Blue shirt. The exact color of is eyes. "'S beautiful Joyce. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Spike...another one for you...This one's from me." Dawn smiled handing him a small box. Spike smiled shyly at her and opened the box.
~~~~~`

TBC? Would you like more? Please let me know. I hope you like this version.