The Deal

Author's Note: Please review, suggest, beta...whatever you feel like. This is my first fanfic ever!


Far Away

Spike sighed and ran a slender hand through the sleeping girl’s long, blonde hair. He loved her and it killed him to leave her, even for a short period of time.

He sighed raggedly and kissed her forehead, whispering,”I love you Princess Dawnie, forever and always”.

Standing, he looked down at her and smiled sadly, knowing it would be months until he saw her again. He slowly left her room, glancing back at her angelic face one more time before heading down the hall to his own room, the one he shared with her mother.

Like mother, like daughter he thought as he studied his wife, so peaceful in what had to be a very pleasant dream, judging by the smile on her face. Her golden hair was spread across her pillow, her long lashes casting shadows on her cheeks. It was a miracle such a beautiful, brilliant, amazing woman had ever agreed to link her life to his and he never ceased to appreciate the wonder that was his beloved. Feisty, humble and sexy all in one breath, he could never get enough of her, nor she of him. He kissed Buffy gently on the mouth and couldn’t help but laugh softly as, even in sleep, her lips let go of his reluctantly.

“I’m so sorry baby, I promise just this one last trip”, he mumbled softly against her hair, “I’ll be back for good this time, luv...I’lver ver leave you and the girls again.”

Spike grabbed his duffel bag and left a note on his pillow before slipping from the room. He stopped at the last door in the hallway before the stairs and knocked softly before opening.

Even though it was 3 AM, a quiet voice called, “Come in.”

He opened the door slowly to see his older daughter, Valerie, sitting up in bed with a book in her lap. Valerie was twelve going on thirty and shot him a look of annoyance when she saw the duffel bag in his grasp. He had married her mother, Drusilla, when he was eighteen and Valerie had been born just a few months later. Drusilla had enjoyed playing house for a couple of years with them before deciding she was destined for bigger and better things. The day she had moved out had been the most devastating of his life, left alone with a toddler at the age of twenty, his only employment that as a bartender at a rundown pub.

He had, as they liked to say, pulled himself up by his bootstraps. He had attended university during the day and bartended at night, raising Valerie with a great deal of help from his father Rupert and his step-mother Jenny. He and Valerie simply would not have fared very well without those two, both of whom had been extremely supportive when he had met and fallen in love with Buffy in his art history class, taken his senior year at Oxford. Valerie was only 5 when they met and had adored Buffy instantly, calling her Mum within weeks. When Buffy had agreed to marry him and they had decided to move to her hometown in California, Rupert and Jenny had decided that the warm, sunny state might be a nice change from dreary, old England. The elder Giles’ had obtained teaching positions at the University of Sunnydale and were a daily part of Valerie’s and later, Dawn’s, lives. Buffy’s mother also lived in Sunnydale and spent large amounts of time with the girls when she wasn’t on a buying trip for her art gallery.

Valerie was an extremely pretty girl with all of Drusilla’s good looks, and, thank God, absolutely none of her personality. Her silky dark hair and large coffee colored eyes would make her popular with the boys someday, but for now she was in an awkward stage. Spike felt immensely grateful that he would not have to beat the boys away with a stick in the very near future. He moved closer and sat on the edge of her bed, gathering her in his arms for a good-bye hug.

Drawing back, Valerie gave her father a hard look and whispered sharply, “Mum’s going to kill you, you know.”

Spike shrugged and smiled sadly, “I know luv, it’s just I can’t turn this down, it’s an amazing opportunity and it’ll be the last one...I promise.”

Valerie shrugged and tried to not look worried as she considered her step-mother’s reaction when she woke in the morning.

“Dad, please don’t go”, she begged, “what if mum gets so mad she divorces you or something? What if she’s so mad at you that she doesn’t want me either? You promised her last time was the last trip. She cried for days when you left. Do you want her to cry?”

Spike’s heart nearly broke as her plea ended with a sob and he wished for the millionth time that he didn’t have to do this, didn’t have to leave his girls in order to keep them safe, that he’d never made a deal with the devil herself. “Honey, your mum loves you and Dawnie more than anything, even if she’s furious at me, it won’t even make a dent in her love for you, she will always want you. I’m so sorry baby, but you know I have to go...take good care of mum and Dawnie and I’ll bring you something beautiful back from Africa”.
“Daddy, I think you’re making a big mistake”, Valerie stared seriously at her father.

“I know crumpet, but I have to do this”, he kissed her forehead and stood.

“Daddy I love you”, she whispered.

“I love you more, sweetheart”, his voice broke and he turned, stalking from the room and closing the door behind him.

Buffy woke from the most lovely dream and reached for Spike. His side of the bed was cold though and where his handsome head and tousled hair should have been was a piece of paper.

My dearest love,
Words cannot express how sorry I am that I will not be next to you when you open those beautiful green eyes and reach for me. And I’m even sorrier to say that this shall be quite a long trip, probably 2-3 months. I love you, Buffy, and am constantly grateful that you chose me, love me, and are raising my children. You have made such a difference in our lives and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to be next to you right now.

Love Always,
Spike

Tears streamed down Buffy’s face and she hurled his pillow across the room. His secretive trips had gone on for years, something to do with a deal he had made with Drusilla’s mother several years ago. Drusilla had shown up in front of their modest, 2 story home in Sunnydale one October day and demanded shared custody of Valerie. Spike had driven away with her and come back a half hour later alone and very edgy. For the briefest moment, Buffy had imagined he had killed Drusilla, something she would happily have done in retribution for the pain the dark-haired witch had caused her husband and step-daughter. Spike had later revealed his deal with Drusilla. He would use his skills with languages as an interpreter for Dru’s mob boss father on some of his shadier dealings in return for complete custody of Valerie.

The trips had been short at first, slowly increasing in length. She had urged him time and time again to consult a lawyer and find a more workable solution until the awful night when he confessed that the little girl they both loved so much, was not actually his flesh and blood. It seemed Dru had confessed to having several affairs during their relationship. Spike had given blood shortly before marrying Buffy and had found that, with his O blood type, it would be completely impossible to be the biological parent of an AB+ child which Valerie was. He loved her too much to let her go though and was prepared to go to any lengths to keep her safe and happy, both of which he knew she would always be with him and Buffy.

Buffy loved Valerie immensely but these trips were so unfair to all of them that something had to give. God knows she had tried to be patient but it was getting more difficult by the day. She loved Spike with an intensity she had never dreamed possible and adored Valerie as though she were her own. She wouldn’t dream of doing anything to endanger Valerie’s well-being but she couldn’t live like this anymore. Picking up the phone, she called her father.

“Mr. Summers...your daughter is on line 2", the secretary’s gruff voice came through the intercom.

Hank Summers was startled to say the least. His daughter Buffy rarely called due to the demands of raising two children and her work as an art therapist. He had made several attempts to be closer to her over the years but his case load as one of New York’s most prominent divorce attorneys was a big obstacle in spending time with anyone, much less a daughter who lived on the other side of the continent. He dreaded picking up the phone, sure that she had terrible news. There would be no other reason for her to call first thing Monday morning when she knew he was at his busiest. Tentatively he pressed the speaker button on the phone and said, “Buffy?”.

“Dad”, Buffy sighed in relief at having reached him, “Dad, listen...I need to meet with you in person...Mom has agreed to take the girls for a couple of days and I have a late flight out there this evening. Can you clear some time for me tomorrow?”

Hank’s worry increased exponentially. Buffy would never leave the girls for anything less than impending disaster and he knew he had to make whatever arrangements were necessary to accommodate her spur of the moment plans. “Of course, sweetheart, as much time as you need”, he replied in what he hoped was a comforting tone.

“Thanks Dad, I’ll see you later”, Buffy rushed, clicking off.

Buffy hung up the phone, tears streaming down her face. She picked up the girls’ overnight bags and her own carry-on suitcase and headed down to the garage. She cast a dirty look at Spike’s baby, a beautiful, glossy, black 1953 Desoto, as if it were responsible for its owner’s disappearance.