Holiday repost

Christmas Gifts...

PG-13

Archived at the Buffy Rebecca verse, Cicelyverse page, www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html

Disclaimer: All BTVS characters remain the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and all other owner/creators of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series...

Summary: A Cicelyverse tale...The first Xmas after William's transformation in 1880, Spike catches up with friends and family...

***

A brown-haired, rather short but handsome young man in a slightly worn, but elegant suit and his dark-haired lady strolled down a snow-clogged street...Normally running with mud and unspeakable filth but thankfully frozen and white for the moment...

My God... Spike looked round the street...Shabby buildings in sad need of paint...A few half-starved figures ferreting through the side alleys...One or two glancing at him and his companion as they walked along...Not a tree or bush in sight...The white new snow on the ground the one saving grace...

Brusset never changes...he thought as he pressed along...

"This is your home...?" Dru beside him looked about...

And to think I took you for a toff that night...

"Clothes make the man, Dru..." he smiled... "And the fine lady..." he twirled her in her fine new dress and coat...The dress, black with gold buttons...The coat trimmed with fur...The finest she'd ever had, she noted yet again...An involuntary present from a dress shop in London, courtesy her mate...

They'd reached a somewhat less dreary section of the little industrial town...A few trees, somewhat better homes...

"My uncle's home is down the street here..." he pointed...Dru eagerly stepped forward...

He paused...Dru...? he called...

"You understand?...We're not to go in...Not to speak with them...I just wanted to see Phil and Amelia...Remember your promise..."

She frowned...Not very nice...Wasn't he proud of his Dru?...

She wanted to meet his brother and sister...Show the little ones her fine dress and coat...

Wasn't she a fine lady now...? Miss Edith thought so...

"You promised me, Dru..." he stared at her...

"My Christmas present, you said...You promised to behave..."

She fidgeted...Well...

But he was proud of her?...She was a fine lady now?...Good as...That one...?

"A very fine lady, Dru...Who keeps her word..."

She beamed and nodded...

A rather fine-looking carriage stood parked outside the house...

Nobs...? Dru looked at Spike...

"I thought you said your own here were poor but for..."

"I suppose...It's Henry..." Spike paused...

"My best friend...When I was William..."

"He must have been looking after them...Good ole Henry..."

Cicely's cousin...he explained...

Dru frowned at the Cicely...Her silly boy still hasnt given his fancy lady up yet...

After all Dru has given him...He still won't forget the one who sent him away so coldly...

Hmmn...Cousin, eh?...

Nothing like killing a close relation to drive a wedge between a couple...Especially one already so estranged...

"Handsome...?" Dru cocked her head at Spike as he stared at the carriage...Good ole Henry...Nice of him to have seen they were alright...

Yes, very...he noted...Then suddenly remembered who he was talking to...

"Dru..." he looked at her sternly... "No..."

"You are a mean one to say no on Christmas Eve to me..." Dru frowned...

"I said 'No...' And I mean No..." Spike replied coldly...

"And fine ladies keep their promises..."

"Maybe...It's her..." Dru stared at the house...

Your bad girl...

"I doubt Miss Addams would concern herself with my brother and sister..." Spike shook his head...

No doubt she was Miss Addams again...Her father surely had seen to that after his death...

Dru gave a sullen look, shaking the falling snow from her skirt...What a dull evening this was turning out to be...Christmas Eve and Spike wants to spend it just staring at the home of his little ones...Not even giving one, not even the cousin of the Bad One, to her as a present...

"Lets go in..." she insisted...

"The little sister and brother will let you in..."

"I won't break them...Just want to play..."

And...She shivered... "Miss Edith and I are cold...Wants us a big, roaring fire..."

"We'll go find one...Just a mo..." he stepped forward cautiously...

"Knock, knock..." Dru giggled... "Dead brother is home..."

See the little faces turn white...she chuckled...

He reached the carriage and looked inside...Yes, Henry's carriage alright...Hmmn...He pulled the door...Was that?...Yes, it was...He grabbed it from the seat and stuffed in his pocket without pausing...Feeling it against his skin...

He looked over at the house...She could be there, he reflected...Whatever sobering thoughts had caused her to reject and abandon him, she was the sort to enjoy dispensing charity...Probably easing her guilt right now giving a few worthless trinkets to Melia and a pat on the head to Phil...

If he went to the window, peeked in a mo...He might, possibly, see her one last time...And the rage of seeing her...Smirking at his family, absolving herself and securely content in her sanctimonious charity...Would give him the final push he'd needed...To settle with the fine lady once and for all...

No...Something held him back...If Melia saw him now...

But not Dru, who was hopefully moving to the door...He hurried to her and pulled her back...As she snapped and raged at him...

"Wants to go in, we do!!..." she hollered...

"Dru's the mommy now!...Bad boy!...Bad, bad boy to spoil Mummy's Christmas!..."

He watched the door, nervous...If someone came now...

They had to go...Now...He dragged her along...

"I've a nice present for you, Dru..." he whispered to her as she struggled in his grip...

"Just come along like a good girl and I'll give it to you..."

Now!...he hissed...Harshly enough to make her pay some heed...

She glared coldly but let herself be dragged...

"A present, Dru...A nice one..." he repeated, soothingly now...

A sound from behind...The door...

He covered Dru's mouth and dragged her to some bushes...Pulling her down...

"Hello...?" A girl's voice...Melia...he knew...

"Hello...?" she called out into the darkness...A candle in her hand flickering to reveal the careworn face of a young teen he'd meet again...In 120 years...

Courtesy of some fanatic monks, a deranged hell-goddess...

And his loving wife...

Another came to the door...Speaking to her...

Henry Foxcroft, just as he'd thought...Good ole Henry...

Best not to offer thanks in person, however, he noted...Especially as he hadn't fed in a day...

Dru squirmed angrily...Wants to see the little one and the handsome one, she did...

And say hello...

He held her firmly...Until they went back inside...

"We'll go now...And find you a nice house and fire and I'll give you your presents..." he told Dru as he let her stand, still holding her...

She was raging now, he saw...He wouldn't be able to hold back for long himself...And she was clearly ready to wait outside all night if need be...

Well, he knew how to take the edge off that anger...And thankfully Dru's rages were rather short-lived...

"But...Here's your first present, dear heart..." he handed what he'd taken from the carriage...A beautiful scarf...Silk and obviously expensive...His left hand involuntarily feeling the other thing in his pocket...A gold ring that for some reason he couldnt bring himself to throw away...

Rage left Dru's face...She oohed and wrapped it round her...Lovely, lovely...Look, Miss Edith...

"You look beautiful, girl..." he smiled at her...

"And there are more waiting for you..."

Oh...she gasped...Hugging him...

She was quite ready to leave now...Still showing off her lovely scarf to Miss Edith...Heading out ahead of him as he looked back one last time...

Was she there...?

***

A little while later Henry emerged from the house...He'd forgotten one last thing for poor Amelia...

He looked through the carriage...

Gone...

No...

The one thing poor Cicely would most have wanted her to have...Her finest Chinese scarf...The scarf shed wrapped round her stillborn baby Amelia the day she died, crying out in delirium for William to forgive her, promising to save him...A bitter month ago...