Mrs. Giles

Thanks MarzBar, Lori, and pinkyblue_ice ;) And to the others who aren't reviewing, do you think you can help me reach at least twenty reviews this time? Huh, huh?

Well, Spike's plan of "ask questions later" was so not of the good. She was hostile and defensive all of the time. To him, anyway. And here he was thinking she was distant before. The way she was previous to her little disappearing act was in no way in comparison to the coldness he was getting now. But being Spike, he persisted on.

"God, Spike. Can't I get a moments rest? Just leave it alone. I had some issues, but now I'm fine, alright?" Buffy said in a huff.

"Alright, alright. No need to get shirty about." Buffy scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Shirty? That's not even a word."

"Whatever, Dru. You wanna treat me like crap for no good reason, then that's your business." He said nonchalantly.

"I'm not- I just want some space, okay." She said in exasperation.

"Yea. Sure. Whatever." Spike said, petulant.

"God, what is it that you want? Huh? Why are you so curious about what I've been up to? I told you already, nothing is going on."

"Really?"

"Yea, really. Except for the fact that you're suffocating me."

"What? I bloody well am not! I'm just... concerned is all. But if there was a problem, would you come to me?" He asked, serious.

"Sure. Why not?"

Of course, Buffy only said that to make him go away. And it worked, temporarily of course. Spike was like the King of stubborness. Buffy finally gave in to his stubborness and charm. By the end of the week, they went on their first date. For lunch, mind you. But to Buffy's pure dismay, she had fun. She liked talking to him. Once he brought down her defensive walls, all they did was laugh and joke; slinging friendly barbs at each other during their light banter. They both felt the butterflies of when you really like someone, secretly knowing that they like you just as much. After that, they more or less hung out all of the time. Giles didn't know rather to be extremely happy or extremely confused at the joy gracing his son's face now. He opted for an even mixture of both.

Though the Giles' weren't celebrities, they did have money, which made them candidates for the tabloids. Ever since Randy's death, the press covered everything. Faith's coming out party, the recently widowed "Drusilla," and "The Budding Romance Between the Widow Giles and Her Brother-in-law." Buffy was not pleased to see these headlines, but she tried her best to not let them get to her. And they didn't, that is until she received an anonymous letter in the mail.

"Who's that from, Dru? An old friend?" Giles asked with interest as he handed "Dru" the envelope. She looked confused as she opened it, then a mild look of fear crossed her face before she stuffed (what appeared to be an index card) back into the envelope. She gave Giles an uneasy smile.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some junk mail." She said before leaving the room. Giles didn't worry too much, though. If Drusilla said it was junk, then by god it was. Of course, it wasn't.

'Who are you? And who's baby is that?'

Buffy looked at the card's typed up words one more time before ripping it up and throwing it in the trash. She kept wondering who knew her secret, and was downright terrified at the idea of being exposed.

"Whatever. Like whoever that was can prove anything." She said, desperately trying to convince herself.

*****************

"So luv, what are you wearing to the party?" Spike asked as he held her hand as they leisurely walked around in the back yard. enjoying each other's company was enough for them- for the time being.

"Party? What party?"

"Our coming out party, of course. Come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed? We make pretty damn good headlines, ducks." He said as he stopped walking, watching her closely for a reaction.

"Oh, well, I dunno." She said without much enthusiasm. Ever since that letter she got last week, going out in public anytime soon wasn't exactly her idea of fun.

"Hey now. If you don't want to go, then we don't have to." He said, desperately wanting to acquiesce her. She looked up at him and smiled lightly.

"Nah, it 's okay. Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about." She said, resuming their walk.

*************

The night of the party was beautiful. Again, it was outdoors, but the sky was clear and the stars were out. So far, she and Spike had been dancing the night away. That is until a tall gentleman asked to cut in.

"Excuse me sir. But I couldn't help but ask if I may dance with this beautiful lady." Spike noticed Buffy's posture somewhat stiffen at the man's voice, though she couldn't see who he was. She slowly turned her head around to see who he was. Her fears were confirmed. It was him.

"That depends if the lady wants to." Spike said, keeping his hold on her. She looked back at Spike with reassurance in her eyes.

"It's okay. One dance couldn't hurt, right?" He gave her a worried look before nodding slightly, leaving her with the strange man. He knew he would keep an eye on them several feet away.

"So, Buffy. I see you've moved on. And here I thought you were dead. And to think I thought my child was dead, and you've had her here, all along. It's a very naughty thing you've been doing, Buff." Buffy gave him a deathly glare before replying.

"Don't call me that, Angel."

"Oh, that's right. It's Drusilla, now. Right? But it's just that I was so devastated to hear that my lover and first and only child had perished." He said in a mocking voice. The night he found out of Buffy and her unborn child's alleged death, he drunk a beer, had sex with one of his lovely ladies, and then went to sleep like a baby.

“Devestated?! You practically threw me out in the streets.” She said in a low, incensed voice.

“Yeah, and look where you ended up- impersonating some dead woman living the good life. How many years do you think you’ll get for being a fraud?”

“Don’t do this. Don’t you want what’s best for our daughter?” Buffy knew it was a long shot playing the “family” card, but she had nothing else.

“Hey, when did I ever relinquish my parental rights?”

“When you accused me of sleeping around and forced me to leave the apartment?” She said sarcastically.

“So I made a mistake. But it’s little in comparison to yours.”

“Why don’t you just tell me what you want.”

“What? You want me to leave so soon?”

“Immediately. The very sight of you makes me-"

"Hey, no need to insult me, lover. Look, just meet me here tomorrow at twelve. And bring the kid." He said, handing her a card with an address.

"Why? It's not like you really care. Leave her out of this." In that moment, he tightened his grip on her hand. She winced in pain.

"No. She's my daughter, and I demand to see her. If you have a problem with that, then I'm sure you, me, the Giles' and the police can sit down and have a nice chat about it." Buffy felt the tears sting at her eyes. She thought she may have a nervous breakdown right then and there.

"Okay. I'll be there." Angel gave her one of his sinister smirks.

"Gotta say, you've made the right choice. See ya around, Dru." He said as he released her, walking away and disappearing into the shadows. She jumped slightly when a warm hand gently touched her shoulders.

"Everything okay, luv?" Spike asked her as he watched the dark haired man leave. Buffy was silent for a moment before turning around, hugging him close and breathing in his scent." Everything's fine. Peachy, even." Spike of course knew she was lying. How could he not? He came to the conclusion that they were probably going to meet somewhere to talk, and Buffy obviously wasn't going to tell him a damn thing. So of course, he decided to be rational, and devised a plan.

"So, you want me to spy on her?" Asked a perplexed Andrew.

"Bloody hell. It's not exactly spying, is it? It's watching her and what she does without getting caught. It'll just be for tomorrow and the day after that. I want to find out who that wanker was. And if he intends to do harm to Bu- Dru, Drusilla, or Faith. Then I swear that if he does, I'll chop him into messes."

"Umm... okay. I guess. But you might wanna take the hostility down a notch or two. Not good for the soul."

"Yeah, right. Just don't screw this up. This is a highly covert operation, so that means not to be seen."

"I know what 'covert' means, Spike. I have a secret black spy suit and everything." He said in an exasperated voice.

"I'm just sayin'. None of your funny cameras, code names, or whatever it is. Just find the place and a name."

"Alright, Spike. I'll make ya proud. You can count on me."

TBC