The twins (Danielle, "Dani" and
William, "Billy") were born on February 12th, 2004
Annie turned five on February 14th (she was born in 1999)
Spike and Buffy have been married five years in February. (seems longer,
doesn't it?)
Buffy turned 23 on January 19th.
All the Potentials were
endowed with full Slayer power in February 2003.
Buffy and Spike learned of the
other dimensions in May, 2003.
Summary:
Christmas Eve ... oh so
naughty.
Notes:
Thanks to my "ET" and wonderful Beta,
PaganBaby, for
her wonderful suggestions and the recipe for Spike's most favorite
Christmas cookie ... yes, the recipe is real and really good - try it!!
Maybe you'll get a visit from St. Spike ...
Also thanks and {{hugs}} to Spicy from
Marsters Mobsters for
use of the James Marsters Sexy Santa Manip!
**
Music Referenced:
“Let’s Be Naughty and Save Santa the Trip” by Elliott Yamin
Content is only suitable for mature adults.
Contains explicit language, sex, adult themes and other adult situations that
some people may find objectionable. If you are under the age of 17 or
find any of these themes objectionable – GO AWAY. Parents, it is up to
YOU to control what your children are reading.
Friday, December 24th, 2004 (Christmas Eve):
Mid-morning …
“Annie!! … C’mere a minute, Niblett,” Spike called as he jumped up from the
computer at the research table and intercepted his daughter coming down the
stairs.
“Mama’s callin’,” Annie objected, pointing towards the kitchen. “It’s time to
bake Santa’s cookies!”
“I know … that’s what I want to talk to ya about. Now, I know that you and your
mum love chocolate … but you don’t want to make Santa chocolate chip cookies
this year, pet.”
“We don’t?” Annie asked him, looking at him with confusion. They always left
Santa Nestles Toll House cookies…
“No …”
“Why not? He always ate them all up and left lots of presents…” Annie argued.
In fact, Buffy had always eaten them all up … but they weren’t Spike’s favorite…
“Yeah, well, here’s the thing – I have it on good authority that, after all
these years, Santa’s tired of Toll House … Now, you don’t want to make him
sumthin’ he’s tired of, do ya? Plus, not everyone knows this – only really
special people like me have been given this insider info – so, if you make him
his new very favorite cookie, you’ll stand out from the crowd and he’ll
really know how much you love him.” Spike explained, his voice conspiratorial as
he kept an eye on the kitchen door for Buffy. “You do love Santa, yeah?”
“Of course! What kind of cookie does Santa want?” Annie asked, a look of worry
on her face. She definitely didn’t want to make something Santa was tired of …
she wanted to make his new favorite.
“Here …” Spike said, handing her a piece of paper with a recipe written on it in
longhand.
Mix well shortening, sugar, egg, flavorings. Mix flour, salt and stir in.
Divide dough in half. Blend red food coloring into one half. Roll 1 tsp. each
color dough on lightly floured board into a strip about 4" long. Place strips
side by side, press lightly together and twist like a rope. Put on ungreased
baking sheet. Curve top down for hand of cane.
Bake 9 minutes, or until lightly browned. While still warm, sprinkle with
mixture of 1/2 cup crushed peppermint stick candy and 1/2 cup sugar.
Makes about 4 dozen. Success tip: Make complete cookies one at a time. If all
the dough of one color is shaped first, the little rolls become too dry. Best if
dough is refrigerated overnight.
“Candy Cane Cookies,” Annie read the heading slowly, then looked back up at
Spike. “This is his new favorite, for sure?”
“Definitely … now, you tell your mum that you want to make these fer Santa…not
Toll House, ok Niblett?” Spike asked her, still keeping an eye out for Buffy.
“Maybe we can make both, just in case…” Annie suggested.
“Brilliant! That’s m’ girl … ok, run along now,” Spike told her with a smirk,
waving his arm towards the kitchen where Buffy was waiting for her. He knew if
Annie insisted on making those cookies … which were his personal favorite, Buffy
would have no choice.
**~**
“Spiiike!!” he heard Buffy yell from the kitchen a few minutes later and he
sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.
“You bellowed?” Spike asked with a smirk as he sauntered into the kitchen.
“Santa’s ‘new favorite cookie’ requires ingredients that I don’t have … and I
won’t have time to make these and the Toll House, so I’ll just make a
double batch of Santa’s favorite,” Buffy informed him with a look that
said he’d be paying for that later. She handed him a small piece of paper with
“almond flavoring” and “red food coloring” written on it in her hand, then
“carrots” written under that in Annie’s writing.
“There are no carrots in those cookies, luv,” Spike pointed out.
“They’re for the reindeer …” Annie explained.
“The reindeer?” Spike asked, looking from Annie to Buffy.
“Your daughter is worried about how hungry and tired Santa’s reindeer will be by
the time they get here … and she doesn’t think Santa will share his cookies with
them…”
“Cookies aren’t good for reindeer…” Annie explained further. “They like
carrots.”
Spike nodded and stuffed the paper in his pocket. “Right. Be back in a flash…”
“Don’t forget the carrots!” Annie called after him.
“No worries…” he called back as he made his way to the garage … a shopping trip
was a small price to pay to get Candy Cane Cookies and he was sure he could
handle any additional ‘punishment’ Buffy may mete out later.
He hadn’t had any of those cookies in ages – not since he nearly ate a
confectioner in Milan that one Christmas…lucky for the confectioner, Spike saw
and ate the cookies first and spared him. They were exactly like the ones his
mum had made when he was a boy – he remembered the wonderful aroma of the
cookies as they baked – he’d waited patiently as his mum and their cook, Nellie,
mixed the ingredients and rolled out the dough and carefully shaped them into
the little candy canes – he got to help sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top
of them at the end. They tasted like heaven to him at the time … they still did
all those years later.
Spike liked the cookies so much, he went back to the same sweet shop several
Christmases in a row just for them (during one of Dru’s many absences from his
life). Once, he even ‘helped’ the baker make the cookies … well, Spike drank
brandy and talked and watched as the confectioner mixed and baked them – but
still, that counted. He’d been able to piece together an actual recipe for Buffy
from ones he found on the internet and by adding in the baker’s (and Nellie’s)
secret ingredient … the almond extract.
**~**
Later, Christmas Eve evening…
Spike and Buffy had finally finished wrapping all the presents ‘from Santa’ …
well, Buffy wrapped them and Spike ‘helped’ by handing them to her and taking
them away and hiding them in the pantry when she’d finished. Between Santa and
all her ‘Aunts’ and ‘Uncles’, Annie was making out like a bandit this Christmas,
as usual. Dani and Billy weren’t doing too badly either, and between them all,
it was a wonder they could even see the Christmas tree for all the gifts piled
under and around it.
Willow and Tara had taken Annie to the Christmas Eve production of the
Nutcracker Suite at the local amateur theatre/dance troupe. Buffy and Spike were
supposed to have gone with them, but they begged out, saying they had too much
yet to do before morning. Lorne was still at work at the Bronze; even though
it was a slow night, there were some lonely souls that showed up on this night
and he liked to make it as festive for them as he could. Faith and Wesley had
both gotten their own apartments not far from the mansion; they, along with
Giles, were having Christmas Eve dinner at Anya and Xander’s. Christmas day
would be spent at the mansion, with the entire gang gathering here by
midmorning.
But now all the presents were wrapped and the stockings were hung by the chimney
with care in hopes that St. Nickolas soon would be there… but, until he showed
up, Buffy and Spike were alone in the house except for the twins, who were
sleeping soundly in the nursery, oblivious to all the hubbub that Christmas
brought.
Buffy went up to check on the babies while Spike went to the kitchen and fetched
them some ‘spiced up’ eggnog (he might’ve tasted a few of Candy Cane Cookies, as
well, while he was there – just to make sure Santa wouldn’t be disappointed).
As Buffy came back down the stairs, she couldn’t see Spike, he was lying down on
the couch, which had been turned away from the TV and now faced the fireplace
and the Christmas tree which was next to it, waiting for her, just out of sight
of the stairs. All the lights had been turned off on the first floor, the whole
great room was now just lit by the crackling fire and the twinkling lights of
the Christmas tree.
As Buffy got to the end of the couch a devilish grin spread across her face.
Spike had changed clothes and was decked out in a Santa suit … and it wasn’t a
mall Santa … it was a Chippendales Santa…
{Manip by Tazi}
“St. Nick sends his regrets, luv,” Spike started as he handed her a glass of
eggnog. “St. Spike, at your service.”
“Oooo, do I get to sit on your lap and tell you what I want?” Buffy asked with a
sly smile before taking a sip of her drink.
“You most certainly do …” Spike replied as he sat his own drink down and
motioned for her to join him.
Buffy sat her glass next to his and climbed onto his lap … facing him, her hips
straddling his as he lay back against the arm rest.
“Have you been naughty or nice this year?” Spike asked her with a smirk as he
ran his hands over her jean covered thighs.
“Oh, naughty … very, very naughty,” Buffy breathed as she ran her hands over his
bare, hard stomach and up to his chest.
“Have you, then?” Spike’s eyes danced with amusement. “You’re in luck; St. Spike
is just for girls who’ve been naughty.”
“And what do naughty girls get from St. Spike?” Buffy asked him as her hands
continued to travel lightly over his muscled body.
“Their just deserts,” Spiked breathed as he pulled her body down against his and captured her lips
with a hungry kiss.
“There will be desserts involved? What kind? Chocolate ones?” Buffy asked with
wide eyes, breaking the kiss, sitting up, and looking around the area for
sweets.
Spike laughed. She was so damn cute, even when she wasn’t trying to be.
“What’s funny? Dessert isn’t something to kid about!” Buffy informed him,
looking back down at him with a frown, her hands going to her hips as she sat
atop him. “It could be very dangerous for you…sexy Santa suit or not.”
Spike laughed again. “‘Just deserts’, pet, means you get what you deserve … not
that you get dessert.”
“Oh. That’s disappointing,” Buffy lamented, rolling her eyes.
“What can I do to make it up to ya?” Spike asked her with a smirk.
“Hmmmm… For starters, I think you need to kiss me again,” Buffy suggested as she
leaned back down against him.
Spike wrapped his arms around her body and dropped soft kisses all over her
face, on her eyelids and the tip of her nose before kissing her mouth so softly
with his that it felt like a soft cloud was caressing her lips. Buffy let her
body melt against him … how he could, at times like this, be so gentle, so
tender and at other times be so fierce and powerful boggled her mind. She loved
that he could be everything she needed; that he could ignite a fire within her
with just a look, just a touch … just a soft kiss, a tender caress.
Buffy pulled back from the kiss and turned her head, revealing her neck to him.
“Maybe some kisses here would help me get over the disappointment…” Buffy
murmured and Spike kissed a line of fire up from her shoulder to the spot behind
her ear that made her whole body tingle.
“Mmmmm,” Buffy moaned as Spike twirled his tongue over her sensitive skin,
sending sparks out in all directions.
“What else can I do to make it up to ya?” he asked breathily as he slid his
hands up and down her back and twirled his tongue in slow circles up and down
the side of her neck.
Buffy moaned in pleasure and reluctantly pulled away from him and stood up
before offering him a hand up, as well. When he was standing, she ran her hands
along his shoulders, under the open Santa suit top and slid it off his body,
dropping it to the floor at their feet.
Her fingertips danced softly down Spike’s chest … God, she loved his body. The
spot where the Gem of Amarra had been embedded could barely be seen now – if you
didn’t know it was there, you’d never be able to tell. He’d gotten a good start
on a tan before the weather turned cooler and he sported small freckles on his
shoulders now. The only place his skin was still alabaster white was hidden
under the bottoms of his Santa suit. Buffy slid her hands down his sides and
under the elastic waist of the pants and kept going, dropping them down around
his feet and Spike stepped out of them.
She stood back up slowly as her hands traveled up his body; caressing his thighs
and flowing over his hip bones and back up to his slim waist. Spike’s cock
jumped as her hands came within inches of it, but she detoured to the side along
his hips instead. He longed for her touch, but he knew they had time … not all
night, but plenty of time for easy touches and gentle lovemaking by the fire
before anyone else got home.
“Now me…” Buffy breathed.
Spike lifted Buffy’s t-shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor before
running his fingertips lightly over her bare shoulders, down her arms, then back
up again. Buffy watched his face, his eyes, as he ran his fingers over her
skin. His blue eyes seemed to smolder with desire and passion and love as they
caressed her skin just as surely as his fingers did. She loved that look – it
was the one that made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. He
looked at her like he’d never seen her before, like every time was the very
first time – with awe and wonder and a reverence that sent her heart soaring and
fanned the flames of her desire.
She wondered if he saw the same thing in her eyes when she looked at him. She
hoped so; his body was perfect and she was always amazed at just how beautiful
he was. ‘Beautiful’ might be an odd word to describe Spike … but he truly was
beautiful in the strictest sense of the word: Pleasing to the senses; very
pleasing and impressive to look at, listen to, touch, smell, or taste.
Spike was all those things … pleasing and impressive to look at, to listen to,
to touch, to smell, to taste…
Spike’s body was like that of a Greek god sculpted in marble – smooth skin
covering the hard muscles beneath – perfectly chiseled, perfectly proportioned,
perfectly amazing – perfectly beautiful. Buffy well remembered the first time
she’d seen that body and how awed she’d been by it. Nothing had changed since
that first day, except that now she really knew the heart, the soul, the man
within the body … and that made it just that much sweeter.
Spike unfastened her bra and dropped it off her shoulders then continued the
feathery touches of his fingers over her full breasts, circling her hardening
nipples before laying his left palm, the hand that held not only his wedding
band, but the scar from pulling the amulet off her neck in the Hellmouth,
against the matching scar she had on her chest. Other wounds healed and the
scars faded with time … but not these – not on either one of the warriors.
Buffy laid her hand over his and met his eyes with hers. That scar seemed to
symbolize their life … their love. Spike’s words from the night he’d made her
face all her scars and perceived imperfections rang in her head, “That scar
is your heart – that is who you are at your core – The Slayer.” If that
symbolized who she was at her core, then surely Spike’s did too – he was the one
who wouldn’t let her walk alone, the one, the only one, that could save her from
herself, who could understand and temper the demon within her – the only one
that could touch her soul and make her want to be a better woman, a better wife,
a better mother, a better friend – not just a better Slayer.
Buffy lifted his palm to her mouth and pressed her lips lightly to the starburst
scar there. Spike moved his hand and cupped her face gently, bringing her eyes
back up to his. There was no mistaking the love that each held in their hearts
as they each held the other’s eyes locked with their own for many long moments.
“I love you,” Buffy said at last as she reached a hand out and touched his face,
trailing a finger across his scared brow and down to his cheek. She longed to
dive into his crystal blue eyes and drown in him … be engulfed in his love and
never set free.
Spike took her hand from his face and dropped a soft kiss on her palm. “I love
you, too,” he whispered against her skin. The light from the fire danced across
her golden skin, making her seem to glow like an angel from above. He’d never
be foolish enough again to think himself her equal … but he was thankful for the
chance to stand near her, to be bathed in her light, thankful for her love and
the family she’d bore him and the love he saw in her eyes. He was grateful for
the chance to be her willing slave. He knew he’d never be free from those chains
around his heart and soul that tied him to her; he felt fortunate to be bound so
securely to such an amazing woman – they were shackles that he treasured … he’d
never fight against them again.
Spike released her hand then skimmed his hands down her skin, starting on her
bare shoulders and running down along her sides to the waistband of her jeans.
He unhooked them with practiced ease, sliding the zipper down slowly before
running both hands down the sides of her hips and taking her jeans and thong
down with him. Spike knelt in front of her as his hands traveled down her
tanned, shapely legs until her jeans were on the floor. Buffy stepped out of
them and Spike slid them away to the side with the rest of their clothes.
Spike ran his tongue across his lips as he gazed at her body … raking his eyes
up from her feet all the way to her face where his eyes met hers again. She was
heaven … she was his heaven, perhaps the only heaven he’d ever know, and tonight
he wanted to savor every moment of his time with her and he wanted to make sure
she was in heaven, too.
Buffy went down to her knees in front of him and wrapped her arms around Spike’s
neck as she dropped a soft kiss on his lips. Spike wrapped his arms around her
body and pulled her against him as they knelt on the soft rug in front of the
fireplace. The warmth from the fire felt good on their skin, but was nothing
compared to the heat building within their bodies.
Spike pushed her back until she was lying on her back and he supported himself
on strong arms over her as he began exploring her body with his lips. Buffy
could feel his erection pressed against her abdomen as he began licking and
sucking and kissing her skin, beginning on her neck near her ear and traveling
slowly down her body, sending chill bumps racing across her skin and fanning the
fire burning within her.
When Spike twirled his tongue around and over one hard nipple, her back arched
into him and she moaned his name like only she could. Her hands ran up and down
his hard back and sides … she was always in awe of how soft his skin was; such a
contrast to the hard muscles it covered. Buffy could feel his cock jump and
stiffen against her body as he savored her nipples – moving his mouth from one
to the other, licking and sucking and nibbling at the hard nubbins, and she
longed to have him inside her.
“Tell St. Spike what you want, pet,” Spike murmured against her skin as she
writhed and moaned under him.
Buffy put her hands on both sides of his face and pulled his lips to hers as she
wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled his whole body down against her, his
cock still trapped between them. “Want what I always want,” Buffy murmured
against his mouth. “You.”
“Your wish is my command,” Spike smirked as he pushed himself up and back onto
his knees, her legs still wrapped around his slim hips. When he was no longer
supporting himself with his arms, Spike ran his hands down her body slowly – his
palms and fingers seemed to touch every inch of her skin on their way down,
igniting small wildfires all along their path.
When his hands reached her mound, he skirted it, going instead down her hips to
her thighs before circling back up from her knees and kindling more flames on
the sensitive skin of her inside thighs. His hands on her body felt like
paradise, but the hunger she saw in his eyes as he moved them down her body
along with his hands sent the fire within her burning nearly out of control.
Buffy’s breath quickened, her heart raced, and her body tingled in anticipation
as he teased her golden skin with velvet touches.
Spike tickled his fingers across her mound and Buffy moaned as her hips thrust
against his hand, demanding more. Spike loved how she responded to his touches,
how passionate and eager she was, how she could let her body just enjoy
everything that he gave her without hesitation – how she could let her mind go
and just let her body feel.
Maybe it was that bit of demon in the Slayer that he touched and drew out of
hiding in these moments, maybe it was just the woman – just Buffy … whatever it
was, he loved it and he loved giving her what she desired. Sometimes wild and
frantic, other times soft and loving, or playful and fun – it was all good, he
loved it all.
Spike slid one finger between her pussy lips, touching her clit ever so softly
before trailing down her wet slit, across her throbbing hole to her ass, then
back up.
“God, Spike … please …” Buffy begged as she grabbed onto his thighs and tried to
pull his cock against her, he was driving her crazy with desire.
Spike slid a finger in her throbbing hole, turning his hand one way then the
other as he pumped his finger slowly in and out of her. “That what you want,
naughty girl?” Spike asked her in a deep, rumbly voice.
“No…” Buffy moaned, she wanted more than that.
“No?” Spike asked, stopping the movement of his hand.
“Yes!!” Buffy corrected. “More… need your cock.”
“Mmmmm….you are a naughty girl,” Spike teased as he withdrew his finger and
lifted her hips up to his. Buffy tightened her hold on him with her legs to
hold her butt up off the rug in a bridge and pull his hips against her at the
same time.
Spike released her hips and pressed the tip of his cock against her clit, then
slid it down her slit and back up again, repeating the tantalizing torture
several times. Every time his cock got near her aching hole, Buffy jerked her
hips towards him and pulled against him with her legs.
“Ah, ah …. “ Spike warned. “The naughtier you’ve been, the longer you have to
wait … and you’ve been very naughty this year, haven’t you?”
“Fuck, Spike!” Buffy exclaimed, lifting her head up and looking at him. His
eyes seemed bluer than she’d ever seen before as hunger and desire and a little
glint of evil danced in them. He was enjoying this way too much … and so was
she. Just as she loved to tease him and bring him to the brink of insanity, he
loved to do the same to her … and he did it so well, too. She felt like she
would explode at any moment … be consumed by all the fires he’d started on her
skin, in her body … in her heart, if she didn’t have him soon.
“Say the magic word …” Spike continued to tease her.
“Now!” Buffy yelled at him as she sunk her nails into his thighs and tightened
her legs around him even further.
“That’s the magic word…” Spike agreed, as he stopped his cock at her dripping
hole and finally, thankfully, wonderfully pressed into her.
Spike used the thumb of his left hand to press down on her clit at the same time
he pressed his rod into her heat, and Buffy screamed out as all the pent-up
desire exploded through her body. Her back arched, her fingers dug even deeper
into his thighs and her pussy quivered and trembled around him as he filled her,
stretching her tight hole as he slid his thick rod deep into her – so deep he
may have actually touched her soul.
Spike loved watching her cum …her body writhing under him, completely taken over
by the orgasm, as she screamed out in utter bliss … he never tired of seeing and
hearing and feeling her cum. Sending her soaring into the heavens was something
that never got old – he loved bringing her up to the clouds time and time
again.
Buffy held so tightly to his thighs, and her legs were wrapped so hard around
his hips that he couldn’t move. Spike relished the feeling of her sugar walls
squeezing and pulling him into her as he continued to finger her clit and keep
her soaring as long as humanly … or demonly, possible. When he felt her body
start to relax as she came back from her tour of the galaxy, Spike tried to pry
her legs loose, but they wouldn’t give…then he tried her hands, but she was
still holding him in an iron grip, not letting up.
Spike leaned forward, going to his hands over her and her ass went back down
onto the floor. “If you want more, you’re gonna haveta let me loose, pet…” Spike
whispered to her.
“Oh, God!” Buffy exclaimed as she opened her eyes and realized how tightly she’d
been holding onto him – she wondered if she’d drawn blood on his thighs.
“Sorry…”
“No need for apologies, luv. So passionate you are … never known such an
animal as you,” he whispered to her as her grip loosened and Spike began moving
his hips, pulling slowly in and out of her heat, grinding his pubic bone down
against her clit with each downstroke.
Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and raised her head up so her mouth was
near his neck. “Grrrrrrr,” she growled low against his skin as she lifted her
hips up to meet his on each stroke before sinking her teeth into the flesh
between his shoulder and neck – not enough to draw blood, but enough to leave a
mark.
Spike growled back at her and increased his pace and force when she did that –
combining the pleasure with some pain was an intoxicating mixture.
“Yes! God, Spike … yesss. God, baby …more, more …. Yes! Fuck yes!” Buffy
screamed at him as his hips slammed against hers as his hard rod pistoned in and
out of her. She felt that familiar ignition in her core … the one that would
launch her into the atmosphere, out of the earth’s orbit, and up into the
heavens.
“Cum for me … God, Buffy! So fucking hot … cum for me, Buffy! Christ, woman!”
Spike screamed back at her as he felt his own release building.
“Cum with me! Spike … now, Spike, NOW!” Buffy screamed as she felt herself lift
off.
Her words were replaced by a scream that she couldn’t stop … words had no
meaning as she watched the world recede from view until all she could see was
the vastness of space – the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then Spike was with
her and he pulled her against him and twirled her around with utter joy as their
souls floated into the Milky Way and danced among a million twinkling stars
while their bodies did their very best to melt into each other – to become one.
Spike led her in a slow dance, gracefully tripping the light fantastic with the
Milky Way as their dance floor and the universe as their ballroom.
Spike kissed her as they started floating back down to earth … past the sun,
past the moon, then, ever so slowly … like a leaf falling in autumn, back down
to their bodies.
Spike was still kissing her gently when they regained control over their bodies
and Buffy pulled him down so his full weight was against her. Spike could feel
her heart pounding against his chest, her arms and legs, warm and supple,
encircled his body, his cock still buried in her pussy, all holding him tight –
he felt like he was still surrounded by heaven. He broke the kiss and rested his
forehead against hers to allow her to breathe as he savored being held so
strongly by this beautiful, fiery woman that he was lucky enough to find in this
vast world – his soulmate, his destiny.
When Buffy’s breathing returned to nearly normal, she lifted her mouth to his
and tickled a feathery kiss against his lips. “I love you, St. Spike … remind me
to be extra naughty next year,” Buffy teased, her eyes dancing with amusement.
“Be my pleasure to make sure you're naughty all year long, luv …” Spike
smirked back as he dropped a quick kiss on her lips before hugging his arms
around her and holding her just as tightly as she was holding him. As much as
he loved his children, there were times like now that he would be perfectly
happy with nothing more than this – her love, her smile, her body against his –
it truly was his heaven.
OH! Speaking of heaven …. “C’mon, pet … get up! Gotcha sumthin’!” Spike
exclaimed suddenly, jumping up and pulling her by her hands up to her feet to
join him.
“Spike! I was just getting all cozy there… can’t it wait?” Buffy whined as
he pulled her up.
“No … can’t wait, luv … you get to open one present early …” Spike explained,
pulling her by one hand towards the garden door.
“Spike! Where are we going? I don’t have any clothes on … and neither do you, by
the way!”
“Huh? Oh … right,” Spike stammered, looking down at his own body and then at
her. He left her standing alone halfway to the door and ran back to the couch
and grabbed a blanket off the back of it before rejoining her and tugging her
with him out the door.
“It’s cold out here!” Buffy complained, wrapping her arms around her body as
Spike pushed her further out into the garden.
Spike directed her to the south side of the garden and turned her back towards
the north before standing behind her and wrapping the blanket around both of
them, pulling her back against his front and crossing his forearms over her
collarbone.
“Look up,” Spike directed her, and Buffy looked up at the stars and nearly full
moon above them. “See the big dipper … up there,” Spike motioned with one hand
to the north sky, pointing at the big dipper.
“Yeah …” Buffy answered, unsure where this was going.
“See the two stars right between the two that form the side of the cup away from
the handle?” Spike asked her, pointing with one hand at the star while still
holding the blanket around them with the other.
“Yeah…” Buffy said slowly, still not understanding where he was going with this.
“That brightest of those stars is named Buffy … Buffy Summers-Weckerly,” Spike
informed her.
“Huh?” Buffy asked, turning her head to the side to look at him.
“You have a star named after you, pet … …” Spike told her softly.
“You’re serious…” Buffy realized, looking back up at the star he had pointed
out.
“As a heart attack. Got the paperwork for ya inside … that’s you, luv. You are
my heaven, Buffy … and now you’re part of the heavens above us – watching over
us for all eternity.”
“Spike … that’s so sweet,” Buffy said, her voice full of love as she turned in
his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist before dropping a soft kiss on
his lips.
“What’s the name of the star next to me? Spike? William?” Buffy asked him, her
eyes dancing with excitement.
Spike looked into her eyes – so full of love and happiness, and that made his
heart soar. “No … you’re the only one that belongs in the heavens, Buffy,” he
told her softly. “I’ve done a lot of bad in my life … I hold no illusions that
the Powers will ever let me into heaven when I dust, but every day I spend here
with you is like heaven to me. You really are my heaven.”
“Awwww, baby … I love you so much,” Buffy whispered as she laid her head on his
shoulder, her arms still wrapped around him. “I’ll beat the PTB within an inch
of their lives if they don’t let you into heaven with me … I’ll make them so
miserable, they’ll have no choice but to let you in. And that star up there next
to me will always be you …”
Spike laughed lightly and nodded, he could picture Buffy doing that. “You’d do
that for me?”
Buffy nodded against his shoulder. “And Mom would help me…”
“Ah, well, no worries then … with you two swinging your axes, the Powers would
‘ave no choice but to open the gates and let a git like me in …” Spike smiled as
he hugged her against him, still holding the blanket wrapped around them both.
“Of course, that’s assuming they’ll still let me in after being so naughty…”
Buffy added with a grin, pulling back and looking at Spike with mischief
gleaming
in her eyes.
“Ah, well … yeah, there’s that,” Spike agreed before capturing her lips in a
tender kiss. If neither of them were getting into heaven, they might as well
make their own right here on earth for as long as they could.
**~**
Spike and Buffy had gotten dressed and were sitting on the couch, she was tucked
under his arm, her body leaning against his, as they talked softly and watched
the fire and the lights on the tree twinkle and wink when Annie, Tara, and
Willow got home.
“Mama! Papa!” Annie exclaimed, running to them and wedging herself between them
on the couch. “You should’ve come with us! There was this girl and she got a
nutcracker that looked like a little soldier, but her stupid brother broke it
but she put it in bed and then later on it grew up life size! And then
the Mouse King attacked the gingerbread men and started eating them but the
Nutcracker soldier and the girl ... her name was Clara, helped them and then the
Nutcracker turned into a handsome prince!” Annie rambled excitedly … finally
stopping long enough to take a breath before starting again.
“Then Clara and the Prince went to the Land of Sweets! I want to live there! It
was ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy she was so happy that Clara helped save the
Prince and the gingerbread men from the Mouse King that she brought out all
these sweets and they all DANCED! I want to be Clara! Do you think I could be
Clara one day? She and the Prince were crowned King and Queen of the Land of
Sweets forever and they danced and lived happily ever after!
“You should’ve come! I loved it! Do you think I can be Clara one day? I want to
dance like that! Her prince was soooo handsome! Can I?” Annie asked them,
looking expectantly from Buffy to Spike.
“Of course you can, sweetie … you just need to keep practicing and going to your
classes – you can do anything you want,” Buffy assured her.
“Yay!” Annie squealed, clapping her hands excitedly.
Willow and Tara had joined them by now and they both smiled at Annie’s
excitement over the ballet as they listened and watched her tell her parents
about it.
“So, did you guys have a good time?” Buffy asked them and they both nodded.
“It was really good – especially for being an amateur production, they did
really, really well,” Willow told her.
Buffy started to ask Willow something else when Annie suddenly screamed like
she’d been shot and jumped up off the couch – pointing her finger at the
fireplace. Buffy and Spike jumped up behind her, not sure what had scared her
so.
“Papa! Papa!” Annie yelled, turning momentarily back towards Spike then back to
the fireplace with panic in her eyes. “Santa can’t get down the chimney with my
toys! Put out the fire! It’s too hot! Put it out!"
The adults in the room let out a relieved breath when they realized her panic
was unfounded … well, Annie didn’t know that, of course, and didn’t understand
why no one was putting the fire out.
Spike picked her up and settled her against his hip. “No worries, Niblett.
Santa is a superhero … flies over tall buildings, travels ‘round the world in
one night, eats millions of cookies, drinks gallons of milk and eggnog and can
come down even the hottest of chimneys – walks right through roarin’ fires, he
does,” Spike assured her.
“Really?” Annie asked, looking from her father’s eyes to the fire crackling in
the fireplace.
“Would I lie to you?” Spike asked her, before setting her down. “But, you better
get ready for bed now, Santa can’t come if you’re awake … throw his whole
schedule off if he lands and finds out you’re not snoozin’, it will. Wouldn’t
want to make him late for his Hawai’i run, would ya?”
Annie shook her head solemnly and turned towards the stairs. About half way up
them, she turned back. “Are you sure about the fire?” she asked again.
“As sure as Sugar Plum Fairies and the Land of Sweets,” Spike assured her with a
nod.
“Ok…” Annie sighed, as she turned and started back up the stairs before stopping
again. “OH! What about the cookies and milk and the carrots!?”
“I’ll take care of it, pet, no worries – you get ready for bed,” Spike offered.
“Really? Thanks, Papa!” Annie called back as she ran the rest of the way up the
stairs and to her bedroom.
**~**
Spike and Buffy sat on either side of Annie’s bed a little while later, tucking
her in for the night so they could go back down and bring all the hidden
presents Buffy had wrapped earlier out and put them under the tree.
Spike read from a Christmas book, his voice lilting and melodious as he read the
classic Christmas poem to Annie as her bedtime story this Christmas Eve.
“‘Twas the night before Christmas, when
all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
“The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.
“When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
“The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.
“With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
"‘Now Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! On Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!’
“As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
“And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
“He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
“His eyes - how they twinkled! His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
“The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
“He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
“He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
“He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!’"
Buffy listened intently to Spike as he read the age-old poem. Annie’s eyes had
closed nearly six stanzas ago, but Buffy was mesmerized by his voice and didn’t
stop him. Memories of her own father reading the very same poem to her as a
child filled her mind. She wondered briefly where he was now – as far as she
knew he didn’t even know about his grandchildren. She had tried to find him
when her mom died, left some messages at the numbers she had for him, but he
never called back.
Buffy looked from Annie’s face to Spike’s ... there was no mistaking whose
daughter she was, she looked so much like him and was so smart … it seemed the
only thing she got from Buffy was her love of chocolate and that pout. Buffy’s
heart filled anew with love for Spike as she watched and listened to him read to
their daughter. She knew that Annie would never experience the hurt of her
father leaving her – not as long as there was a single star left in the sky –
Spike would never abandon his family.
When Spike finished, he looked at his sleeping child, then up at Buffy, who was
looking at him with adoration and love in her eyes, which glistened with unshed
tears. He looked at her quizzically … that poem didn’t normally elicit tears…
Buffy gave him a soft smile as they both stood up and left Annie sleeping
soundly, no doubt dreaming of Sugar Plum Fairies and handsome Princes.
When they were in the hall, Annie’s door closed behind them, Spike turned to her
and asked, “What’s the matter, luv? You didn’t like the story t’nite?”
“I love the story,” Buffy assured him, wrapping her arms around his neck and
looking into his eyes. “I love the story and I love the storyteller. You’re
the best father, the best husband, the best friend I could ever want.”
“Even though I’ve lured you over to the dark side… into naughtiness?” he
questioned with a smirk.
“Especially because of that, St. Spike…” Buffy confirmed with a grin as
she dropped a quick kiss on his lips. “C’mon now … you’re filling in for St.
Nick, time to get to the real work …” she informed him taking his hand and
dragging him towards the stairs so they could get the ‘Santa’ presents out and
put under the tree and fill the stockings.
“OI!” Spike objected, pulling against her. “My work ‘ere is done … you forget, I
just do naughty!”
“Yeah, yeah … I know, St. Spike, Patron Saint of Naughty People ….
Tonight you do nice, too.”
“Why should I?”
“’Cause, when we finish the nice, then we’ll have the whole rest of the night to
be naughty again…” Buffy supplied. “Plus … there are Candy Cane Cookies in it
for ya.”
“Ah, well, since you put it that way…” Spike laughed as he let her drag him back
down the stairs. Being naughty was a hard job, but someone had to do it … he
didn’t tell her that he’d already eaten all the Candy Cane Cookies – he left her
the carrots.
**~**
{Thanks to Spicy from Marsters Mobsters for use of this JM manip
... {{ dreamy sigh }}
“Let’s Be Naughty and Save Santa the Trip” Elliott Yamin
♫Well
they say he knows who’s been naughty or nice
And if I have my way baby after tonight
We'll be one couple he can scratch off his list
Let's be naughty
And save Santa the trip
Such a long sleigh ride from the North Pole
And he's already got so many places to go
We've got each other don't need another gift
Let's be naughty
And save Santa the trip
Santa's face
Would turn red
If he could only see
What we'll be unwrapping
Underneath our Christmas tree
This year all I'm asking for
Is one little wish
Let's be naughty
And save Santa the trip
When St. Nick comes home early tonight
Mrs. Claus will surely be surprised
They'll get to snuggle
Cuddle up just like this
So let's be naughty
And save Santa the trip