Days in the Sun





March 6th, 2006 – Wedding (1)

Spike opened the front door, careful to stay safely in the shadows, and smiled at Joyce. He gestured for her to come in, and, playing the perfect gentleman, took her coat and asked her how she was. She had been complaining about bad headaches for a couple of weeks.

“I’ll be staying at the hospital for a few days next week,” she answered as they settled in the kitchen, Joyce having accepted Spike’s offer of a hot chocolate.

“Anything I can do?” the vampire offered, more concerned than his voice conveyed.

“Yes, actually,” she replied a bit tiredly. “Make sure Buffy doesn’t get worried about me. Where is she, by the way?”

“She took the Bits to the mall.”

He placed two mugs on the table, as well as a bag of little marshmallows, which brought a grin of the woman’s lips.

“Good,” she said as she took a sip. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Dropping a generous handful of marshmallows in his chocolate, Spike raised a scared eyebrow at her and waited for the rest.

“When she was a kid, Buffy used to make me buy these bridal magazines. She’d spend hours looking at the pictures and trying to decide what dress she’d wear for her wedding day. She stopped when her father and I separated.”

A brief frown crossed Joyce’s face, and Spike tried to keep his own features smooth. He was beginning to see where this was going, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

“She’s still the same little girl inside,” Joyce said softly. “Even if she doesn’t say anything, I’m sure she still dreams of a romantic wedding, with a princess dress and everything.”

Spike drained the remaining of his chocolate, aware that Joyce was waiting for him to say something. He had proposed to Buffy when he had come back to Sunnyhell, about five years before, but even at the time he had told her he wasn’t ready to get married. Being engaged was good. As far as he was concerned, it was enough.

“I’m a vampire,” he finally told Joyce. “We don’t do big church ceremonies. And we have other ways to promise love and faithfulness.”

Joyce nodded slowly, yet insisted. “I understand it’s not something vampires do. But it doesn’t have to be in a church. And I’m sure it would mean a lot to Buffy.”

“Joyce, I don’t…”

“Just think about it,” she interrupted softly. “She’s not a vampire. And even if she won’t talk about it first, I know my daughter. Being married is…”

The front door opened and Joyce stopped talking, turning toward the two children who were running to her.

“Grandma!”

“Hey there my darlings!”

Smiling brightly, she pulled Lisa to sit on her right knee and William on her left, asking them about their day and listening patiently, looking up at Buffy as she entered the room. Still thinking about what Joyce had said, Spike made more chocolate for his fiancée and their children, wondering if calling her his wife would change anything or make her happier.