Adult-FanFiction.org : Buffy

Forward to Time Past	By : UnbridledBrunette Category: > Buffy/Spike(William) > Buffy/Spike(William) Views: 3754 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Chapter Six

Buffy was late to breakfast the next morning. She hadn�t slept well the night before and had snored right through her first wake-up call. Actually, she might have slept right through the second wake-up call, too, if Livvy the housemaid had not been so insistent about the breakfast schedule being disrupted by her tardiness. By the time she rolled out of bed she was already ten minutes late and it wasn�t like she could just throw on a pair of jeans and head downstairs. The Victorian dress combinations were about as complicated as an electrical schematic; she couldn�t very well be expected to remember exactly where to put each bit of underwear when she was still sleepy. Nor could she fully dress herself without the help of at least one other person because of the stupid corsets. (She�d tried leaving off the corset one day, but Anne had noticed it and lectured her for what seemed like hours on the importance of dressing like a lady). So by the time she�d finished dressing and combing her hair, Anne and William were already seated at the table�and if appearances were anything to go on they appeared to be having some kind of argument.

�William, please don�t be so stodgy,� Anne was wheedling him. �I haven�t had an evening out in so long��

�Well, and isn�t there a reason for that?� he asked. �You know the doctor said that the night air is most aggravating to your condition��

Embarrassed to have walked in on such a personal scene, Buffy purposely kicked the doorframe with the side of her shoe as she entered the room so that they would notice her. She didn�t want it to appear that she was trying to eavesdrop on them.

The argument ceased immediately as they saw her and William stood up. The first time he had done this, the night before, Buffy had been startled. The footman was there to pull out her chair and arrange her napkin; she didn�t understand why William would have to get up when she came in. But a quick glance at the etiquette guide Anne had given her explained that it was merely another meaningless gesture of politeness and respect 19th century men showed women, and this morning she ceased being bothered by it. Instead, she returned their wishes for a good morning and slid into her chair. William waited until the footman had positioned her chair and unfolded her napkin, and then he sat down, too.

�Good morning, dear,� Anne greeted her. �I trust you had a good night?�

�Yes, thank you.� Buffy took a sip from her water goblet then indicated the windows. �It stopped raining.�

�Not a moment too soon, either. I have a very specific reason for wanting fine weather this evening.� William shot her a disappointed look from across the table, but Anne ignored it completely, focusing instead on winning Buffy to her side. �There is a show tonight at St. James�s Theatre. A Midsummer Night�s Dream. Just the thing to warm us on a dreary winter evening. Doesn�t it sound lovely?�

Buffy had the uncomfortable feeling she had just been dragged into their argument. She glanced over at William, who was staring at her. �I�I guess it sounds all right.�

�And since the rain has stopped there should be no additional problems with my cough so long as I take my syrups and bundle up well?� Anne coaxed.

Buffy understood where she was coming from. It was bad enough to be ill, downright unbearable to be ill and a prisoner in your own house. And anyway, why would evening air be worse on her cough then air during the day? How was it different? It couldn�t be worse on her than the depressing, house-bound feeling she had now. Buffy raised her chin and met William�s gaze.

�I think it would be perfectly all right,� she said staunchly.

There was a pause as the footman began filling plates, but as soon as he was done Anne spoke again.

�Well, then that is decided. I�ll send someone out to purchase the tickets�Matthew, possibly. There should be some left for sale, yet. Usually there are. And the curtain call is not until seven, so the three of us will have plenty of time to ready ourselves.�

Buffy dropped her rasher of bacon. �The three of us?�

�Of course you shall go with us,� Anne said.

�Oh�of course.� Glumly, Buffy picked at her plate. She hated plays, she hated Shakespeare, and she wasn�t feeling too fond of William. What an evening it would be.

William, meanwhile, set his water goblet down with a most ungentlemanly thump. �I really don�t think this is a good idea, Mother.� He ignored Buffy completely and for some reason this annoyed her, goading her into the argument in spite of herself.

�It�s a better idea than forcing her to sit in the parlor like she already attending her own wake,� she snapped at him. �She�s ill, not dead.�

He blanched as though the idea of her being dead was more than he could bear. �Walking about in the winter evening could make her more ill. The doctor was quite clear on this; we need to keep her out of the night air. We need to be careful��

�But we are being careful,� Anne insisted. �William, we�re in London, are we not? We rearranged our lives�we left our home. How much more careful must we be?�

�As careful as is necessary to keep you safe,� he insisted.

Her expression softened, though it was obvious Anne�s resolve was intact. She answered, �I�m tired of being safe, William. I want to enjoy the time I have left.�

William nodded, eyes cast down.

�All right,� he said thickly. �Do as you like.� He pushed his chair back from the table, abruptly. �Excuse me, but I find I�m no longer hungry. Enjoy your breakfasts.�

The two women were silent as they watched his departure. Buffy could tell Anne was upset in spite of the cheerful tone of voice she used when she said, �It�s all right. He won�t be angry for long. He�s just�concerned.�

Buffy nodded in agreement but didn�t speak. She picked up her bacon again and nibbled at it, but she didn�t feel so hungry now.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

After breakfast, Buffy went looking for William.

She didn�t really want to talk to him; he still made her incredibly uncomfortable. Nor did she want to feel sorry for him, not when her mind still stubbornly linked him with the crazy vampire of the future. But she couldn�t help it, not after the scene at the breakfast table. Not when she understood his reasoning behind wanting to keep Anne safe at home. When Joyce was sick Buffy had felt pretty much the same way�follow the doctor�s orders; don�t take chances; stay inside; rest, rest, rest. And even if the doctor�s orders about night air were completely ludicrous they were still doctor�s orders. And this was 1879�people had very limited knowledge about medicine and illness. She couldn�t really blame him for being worried, not when she had gone through almost the same thing recently. And while Spike might be a bloodsucking fiend William had done nothing yet to suggest he was anything but what Anne claimed: a gentle-natured, caring, and most dutiful son. Whatever her own suspicions about him were, Buffy knew it wasn�t fair to judge him without evidence. Nor was it fair to attack him for having the same fears about his sick mother that she had about hers. She figured whether she wanted to or not she probably needed to apologize for her behavior.

She didn�t have to spend a great deal of time looking for him; William was in the first place Buffy thought to check�the library. She figured that the Giles-like librarian look couldn�t be an accident. Must be a trait of British men. He probably spent all his free time buried under books, too.

He wasn�t buried under books now, however. He was standing by the window, staring out onto the garden. It was only the presence of an under maid raking the fireplace that allowed him to assent to her request for entry. Otherwise they would have been alone and most improper. But of course Buffy wasn�t aware of any of this. He turned from the window to face her and she edged nervously into the room, taking care to keep a certain amount of distance between them.

�Yes, Miss Summers?� he asked when she didn�t speak right away. His tone was low and gentle, a little sad. Buffy was surprised. She�d figured he would be angry with her.

�I�I just wanted to apologize,� she stammered uneasily. �I was way out of line at breakfast�saying that to you. I�m sorry.�

�Oh�ah�pray don�t be. It�s all right.� He looked straight into her eyes�but for just a second. �You were�quite right. I do behave rather like a jailor to Mother; I�m overprotective. I simply��

�Don�t want anything bad to happen to her?� Buffy suggested.

�Yes. I�m sure you are already aware of this, but h�her chances of surviving her illness are not good. I just�I want to keep her with me for as long as I can, which means following the doctor�s instructions.�

�Well, yeah. In theory,� said Buffy.

He tilted his head at her, clearly confused. �Pardon me?�

�Well�you could keep her inside and feed her medicine and do everything the doctor tells you. But if she isn�t happy it won�t help a bit. See, when my mom was sick I read this article the doctor gave me�and it says that the more optimistic a patient�s attitude is the greater chance they have for recovery. Like if they do nothing but lay around, thinking they�re going to die then they probably will�and soon. But if they think �I�m going to fight this and I�m going to live� then their odds for living are much better. Maybe they�ll still die from the sickness�but not as soon. And their quality of life will be much better.�

Intrigued, William took a step closer to her. �I never heard of that,� he said softly.

�Well, it�s new. And an American thing, I think.�

�I see. And did your mother�?�

�She died, but not from her illness. She had can�an illness that required the doctors to operate on her brain. She died due to complications after surgery. Not much positive thinking could�ve done for her there, I guess.�

�I am sorry,� he told her. And he actually looked it.

�It�s all right�� Buffy caught herself and laughed bitterly. �Well, no it isn�t. But I�m surviving, so I guess that means I�m all right.�

Another step toward her.

�Mother wrote to me that you were very brave. I see now that it was an understatement.�

Buffy resisted the urge to back away from him. He wasn�t Spike. She knew he wasn�t Spike. But something in her just couldn�t bring herself to trust him. Even if the suspicions about his character weren�t fair, she still had them. And there was something so strange about him, about the way he was looking at her. Something familiar in the way his head tilted to the right and his eyes narrowed as though he was trying to see something inside her�something she wanted to keep hidden. He wasn�t Spike but the expression on his face was Spike all over�the same expression Spike had sported when he chained her up and commanded her to tell him there was a chance. Really, it was kind of creepy.

She brushed back an errant lock of hair and smiled nervously. �No, not really. I just do what I�ve got to do.�

He looked down, red faced and seemingly flustered. �Still, if there is anything you need�anything I can do to make you more comfortable while you�re with us��

�Tell her you�ll take her to the play, Spi�Mr. Hartley. Please. She wants to go so much, just let her and help her to have a good time. I�d give anything for my mother to be alive so that I could do things with her.�

He overlooked over her unintentional rudeness completely, choosing instead to see the sense in her words. �Of course I will,� he said. Almost as an afterthought he added, �And you will come too, I hope.�

After her lecture on doing what Anne wanted Buffy didn�t really feel she could say no�after all Anne wanted her to go with them. But her smile was a little stiff when she echoed, �Of course. Thank you.�

She nodded and left the room before he had a chance to say anything else.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Forward to Time Past