Title - A Birthday Present

Author - Evil Willow

Email - lcaspell@yahoo.com

Rating - PG-13 - nothing you wouldn't see on the show

Disclaimer - they're not mine. They're owned by Joss Whedon, the WB, and FOX

Distribution - If you want it, ask

Category - Vignette/Humor/Angst

Couple - Spike/Dru

Keywords - Pre-timeline

Summary - To fulfill a challenge that Dru gave me. She was mad about my killing 
Spike and Dru in my last story. Basically it's a fluff fic to answer the 
question "where did Miss Edith come from". The details of the challenge are at 
the end of the fic

Author's Notes - Written in Spikes' POV.

**********

I watch her, she's been sitting in that corner of our house for two weeks now. 
She stopped feeding two days ago. She just sits. Humming. Rocking back and 
forth. My beautiful, dark princess, reduced to this. 

Who would've thought? After all the torture he inflicted on her, on the both of 
us, she is mourning his disappearance now. He left us here in Prague three weeks 
ago, and I've given up on him. There's been talk circulating among the demons in 
town, and there are two different stories: One is that Angelus has been killed. 
The other is that he crossed a band of gypsies, and they exacted some awful form 
of revenge on him. Either way, the end result is he's gone. And part of me is 
sad too, but the remaining ninety percent of me says 'good riddance.'

I keep both stories from Dru. She knows, though. She babbles about pain, and 
tears and blood. She keeps chanting "Daddy's dead, Daddy's dead, Daddy's dead." 
I swear, it's enough to drive me insane. 

I look up as my fledgling Jonathan arrives finally. I'd sent him out two days 
ago for a present for Drusilla. She may not realize it now, but it's her 
birthday. Angelus turned her fifty years ago today. Jonathan hands me the 
present, it's wrapped nicely in a box about a foot long, and six inches wide.

"I found it just where you said it would be, Sire," he says.

"Good. Now get lost," I growl, and walk toward Drusilla with the box. 

She looks up at me, "The lemons are growing on the orange trees now." 

I've given up understanding her when she's in this state. It's another thing 
that would drive me insane. 

"Dru, Baby, Happy Birthday. I got you something, maybe it will cheer you up," I 
say, crouching next to her and handing her the box.

She takes the box, and looks at me fearfully. "Please don't leave me too," she 
whispers.

"Oh bloody hell," I mutter. All my fledglings are gone, thankfully, because she 
has succeeded in reducing William the Bloody to a pile of mush. I sit next to 
her, and pull her into my arms, stroking her hair. "Listen to me, Luv. I'm not 
going anywhere. You're my reason for existing, do you hear me?" 

She sniffles, and nods, and I hope that my words helped her a little. She puts 
her arms around my waist, and holds me tighter. The box is forgotten for the 
moment, sitting next to us. She lifts her head finally, and looks into my eyes. 
Some of the light in them has returned, and it makes me feel hope. Maybe I won't 
lose her completely after all. 

I bend my head to kiss her, gently, and wait until she responds. She does, 
parting her lips slightly to grant my tongue entrance. I explore her mouth, 
before withdrawing my tongue into my own mouth as she battles it with her own, 
fighting for dominance. 

She pulls her head away, to my momentary disappointment, and then starts kissing 
down to my neck. She sucks on the spot just above my jugular vein with her blunt 
teeth, and I groan, "Tease." Her hands have been busy as well, she's unbuttoned 
my silk shirt, and now her hands are roaming over my bare chest. I haven't been 
lazy myself, my hands are squeezing her breasts through her dress. She's very 
overdressed at the moment, but I can't think clearly enough to do something 
about it. She rakes her nails down my chest, drawing blood, and I growl, 
slipping into game face. 

She giggles, and raises her head, to meet my now golden eyes with her own. "I 
love you," she whispers. And before I can process that bit of information, her 
fangs are in my neck, she's drinking from me. 

I moan, and pull her body closer against mine. I want so badly to taste her 
blood too, but I resist the urge. She's my sire after all, as little as she acts 
like it, and childer do not drink from their sires without permission. As if 
reading my mind, her hands are behind my head, pulling my face to her neck. I 
don't think twice, but sink my fangs into her neck, drinking the blood which 
flows into my mouth. 

When she withdraws her fangs, I do as well. She licks her lips, and smiles at 
me. "Let's go upstairs," she suggests. I am never one to deny my princess what 
she wants, especially if it's something I want too. I lift her and carry her 
upstairs to our bedroom.

Two hours later, I go back downstairs to retrieve the present. As I walk back 
into our room, she's awake. "Hello, Luv. Did I wake you?" I ask, returning to 
bed. 

"I can't sleep without you next to me," she says without looking up. 

I hadn't bothered to dress when I got up, nobody dares to enter our house 
without knocking, and I slip back under the blankets next to her. She curls up 
next to me, and takes the present. 

"Go on, open it," I prod. "I think you'll like it." 

I watch her as she removes the ribbon, and the lid of the box. She gasps in what 
I hope is happy surprise, and takes out the doll. "It's Miss Edith," she says, 
looking up at me in amazement. 

"Say again?" I ask. 

"My housekeeper, before.... her name was Miss Edith," Dru explains slowly. "She 
was like a mother to me. She left when I was fifteen, but I still remember her." 

"So that's her name, then?" 

"Yes," she nods. She smiles at me, happier than I've seen her in a long time. 
"You spoil me, Spike. Your birthday is coming up next month. What do you want?" 

"Other than you?" I reply. She rolls her eyes and hits me playfully. "Okay, 
okay. Let me think. Well.... when I was growing up, I always wanted a pony," I 
say with a grin.

***********
The End


Challenge requirements:
a period piece... after Angelus gets his soul and is gone... answer the 
question: where did Miss Edith come from? was she a present from Spike? did she 
get her from a small little girl? where were they? 

things to include: 
-FLUFF AND FUNNIES! (in classic spike/drru style) 
-MISS EDITH (duh...) 
-reference to lemons 
-groping (not smut... but some kissage,  and perhaps some gropes/grabs/smoochies) 
-blood 
-a horse 


FEEDBACK ADORED! lcaspell@yahoo.com