t'is the Season!

Season One:

Drusilla was asleep. Spread out on the four poster bed that had travelled around the world with them, dark hair spread out across the pillows. She was still wearing the ragged white dress that vaguely resembled an oldfashioned bridal gown. It was stained with blood in places, his girl could be a sloppy eater. Spike smiled and stood leaning against the doorpost, content to just watch her sleep for a bit. 

Prague had brought them nothing but trouble, and now his Princess was injured. He would go to hell and back to cure her, if he had to, but for now rest and good food would have to do. Spike made his way to the bed and let himself sink down next to her still form, sliding against her as he pressed a kiss on her nose.

She sighed and stretched slowly, catlike, and he continued to pepper her face with kisses.

“Merry Christmas, Dru…”

“A river of blood, Spike, and it all tastes like ash” she sighed, turning her head towards him.

“I know luv, it’ll get better. Sit up love, I brought you a prezzy!” Spike smiled indulgently as his dark princess obediently raised herself to a sitting position, and helped her prop herself up against the numerous pillows. He gave her one last little kiss on her nose before he lifted himself off the bed and disappeared though the doorway. 

Spike wasn’t gone for long, and he came back holding a cheerful blanket. It was red and decorated with holly leaves and happy reindeer pulling a sleigh. Drusilla could hear the tiny heartbeat coming from within the bundled up blanket, and she let out a happy sigh. Spike gave her the bundle and she carefully folded the blanket away from the baby’s little face.

Brown eyes stared up at her, wide with wonder, little pink mouth open and cheeks rosy from sleep. Drusilla carefully ran a finger over the baby’s dark curls, the same wonder visible on her own face. 

It hadn’t been hard to find a darkhaired, browneyed baby in Prague, most of its citizens had dark shades of hair, and taking one had been as easy as finding one. He had snatched its mum from the street as she passed the alleyway he was hiding in, and after he’d eaten her, taking the baby from the pram was easy. He’d taken the red ribbon from the mother’s hair as an afterthought.

“He has Daddy’s eyes… no snakes and snails and puppydogtails for Christmas!” she declared softly, and Spike joined her on the bed, snuggling up against her. The perfect little family, were it not that the baby was Dru’s dinner… Spike twirled one of Drusilla’s dark locks around his finger as he watched the two interact. She played the part of mummy very well, had perfected it over the years. She rocked the baby gently and made faces at it to make it smile. He grabbed the hairbrush from the nightstand and carefully brushed her hair, before taking the ribbon from his pocket and tying it in her dark tresses.

Drusilla cuddled the baby like that for a while, until it began to grow hungry and started to cry. She pouted and tried to thrust it back into Spike’s arms.

“It’s broken, Spike, the little springs don’t work anymore. Wind it up for me, tick tock tick tock?”

“Eat up, love.” He encouraged her, pushing the crying baby back at her. Putting the hairbrush back on the nightstand, he vamped out, to get her to feed, and it seemed to work. She showed him her true visage and slowly lifted the crying baby to her mouth. Velvety soft baby skin was no match for her fangs, and the crying soon stopped.