(no subject)

[not_that_spike]

As the days go by, they take on a sameness: he wakes up alone, he moves through the day oblivious to other people, he eats alone, he sleeps alone. It's nothing he's not used to but it doesn't mean he likes it. It really... kind of sucks.

A lot.

But if it's what Beth needs to do, he can do it. Even if it's taking longer than he hoped.

She'll be back. She said she would. He just... well, yeah. Everyone knows how he feels. He misses them. It reminds him in some ways of when Julia first disappeared, and he held this burning flame of hope in his heart that any moment now, he'd open his eyes and she'd be there. Looking at him from around a corner, or sitting by the side of the bed when he woke up, or on the other end of the phone, or down the block walking toward him. It's just that she never did, and that was then and this is different.

Because there really isn't any other choice -- a lot like then -- he can wait.

In the meantime, his feet are up on the coffee table and he's got a glass of water and a pack of cigarettes and he's reading. He hasn't read this much since he was on the Bebop, and that's both good and bad. It draws his mind away from things for a while, but he's distracted. His eyes can't really focus on the words on the page, even though the book he's reading on the history of personal spacecraft in the 2050s is a little bit interesting. He's read it before, but not for a long time.

Fuck it: setting it aside, he disappears into the bedroom for a minute, reemerging from the portrait into the living room with a box in his hand. Inside are a bunch of interlocking blocks -- Legos, he thinks they're called -- that he got from Bar a few days ago when he asked her idly for something to take his mind off things. Clearing the coffee table, he sets his cigarette into the ashtray and starts building. When he's done, the blocks are going to be shaped into that house on Venus they've never had a chance to buy.

Comments

[stbethadettes]

It's late in Oldenbrook, after midnight, and this time she doesn't have the baby backpack on her, having opted to hold Junior in her arms instead. Little Beth's been sleeping pretty peacefully, even as they moved through the bar and passed through the bar portrait to the House of Arch.

A change of clothes for herself is stuffed in the diaper bag swung over her shoulder, and she's more than ready for a good six hours or so with Spike.

There's not any sound effect to accompany travel through the portraits, but she bets Spike's still so much more than sharp enough after about eight months of living solely here with no outside trips to easily feel another abrupt presence in the room with him.

He's playing with Legos, to her amusement, and she smiles, Junior's head nuzzled comfortably in the crook of her neck.

"Hey, bounty hunter."

[not_that_spike]

It's that first little bit of disturbance in the stillness that makes him set down the bright red block in his hand -- their Lego dream house is going to have a brick exterior -- and look up. A slow, slow grin makes its way over his face.

Before he got to this place, before he met Beth, he would have tried to hide the grin. He would have been all stoic and shit, pretended nothing mattered, that it was just the kind of thing that happened every day. But when he sees his Beths suddenly appear, he can't think of a single damn reason in the whole fucking universe not to let himself smile.

"Hey." The smile gets a little bigger, then bigger still. "Hey. Hey, what a sight you two are." Junior's still asleep: it's kind of beautiful. Actually, there's no kind of about it. This is easier than last time already, he can feel it. It's the same huge relief, but he doesn't feel quite so desperate, so close to uncomfortable tears as he did last time.

He's not getting used to them being gone by any means. It's just... there's a certain relaxation that comes with promises fulfilled, instead of waiting and wondering if it's ever going to happen. Those first days she was gone inched by like all the clocks in the universe had stopped. And then she walked in with the baby and it was like... everything was practically perfect. That's the way he feels again right now. He barely remembers getting up and moving to their sides, but he's there and looking down at the sleeping baby, then pressing a kiss to Beth's lips.

"Princess is sleeping." Like Beth needs to be told that, but he's a practical opportunist. "You want me to wake her up and say hi, or should we just let her sleep?" Waking her up would only be for his benefit, but maybe somewhere in her mind she'll know it and it'll remind her how much he loves her.

It's probably best to just let her sleep, though. And if that's the case he's definitely not going to waste any damn time talking about the weather.

[stbethadettes]

"No kidding?"

It's just good-natured teasing, and aiming an affectionate grin at him, she gently kisses the top of Junior's head.

His question is kind of a funny one, but it's sweet. It's so rare to want to wake the baby up once she's gotten to sleep for the night, but he really might as well be asking if it's okay to wake her up rather than if she wants him to.

He's the only father figure Junior has. Junior might not be thrilled to have them wake her, but at about six months, she certainly won't be holding any long grudges about it. The important thing is it'll make Spike happy. With how little he's gotten to spend time with the two of them lately, she's pretty damn far from being unfeeling enough to tell him it wouldn't be okay.

"Hey, Junior." Her voice is low and soothing, and she pays no mind to the damp spot growing on her shirt under the baby's mouth. "Wake up, sweetheart. Guess where we are. No corn here."

A couple of kisses to her sleeping face rewards them with fluttering eyelids, and that's a start.

[not_that_spike]

"Hey, little sleeping beauty." Even if he had all the willpower in the universe he couldn't keep from smiling at the sight of her trying so hard not to wake up, and he feels kind of bad for trying to pull her out of such a deep sleep. "Hey, princess." Reaching over, he takes her into his arms: she doesn't need to be awake; he just wants to hold her, to rock her.

As he does, her eyes open once briefly and she rewards him with a big smile before turning her head to the side and falling back into slumber. With one arm under her, nice and solid, he grins at Beth and shrugs. "Looks like she just wants to sleep. You want to sit over there in the construction zone with me?"

Lego pieces are all over the coffee table: yeah, he's been getting bored. Anxious and bored, but he's not going to tell Beth that because it's already hard enough and he doesn't want her to feel bad. In his arms, Junior smacks her lips sleepily and lets out a closed-eye yawn before resettling, her breathing baby-slow and baby-steady.

"Shit, ma'am." A little smile creeps onto his face; he winks at Beth. "Is it going to make you all sentimental or whatever if I tell you how damn good it is to see you both?"

Make the most of every last second, that's what he needs to do. The universe has never been kind to him and he doesn't expect it -- her, him, whatever -- to start tonight. But Beth and Junior are here now, and this gets to be the moment he remembers. Not the time he's spent alone but this, right here, right now.

He wonders if the baby would be more comfortable in her crib. "How long do we have this time, you think?" It's a question he hates to ask, but determining the framework is something he has to do. Then they'll know what comes next, or at least what has time to come next.

(I miss you. I love you and I miss you. I'd really rather not be here without you.)

[stbethadettes]

She doesn't choose to sit in the construction zone just yet, but she does set the diaper bag down on the couch and let one arm creep around Spike.

Tilting her face up, she rests her hand on his shoulder and her chin on her hand. "About six hours."

Heather and Heidi are fairly early risers and Natalya's more of a night owl, but six hours away won't be too hard to pull off. They're all polite enough not to go into the little room she's sharing with Hero without being invited in or otherwise having a good reason. While she's on this little overnight visit, nobody should really even notice she's missing.

Natalya and Ciba and the twins are all good people. And Hero's been fucking great. But none of them are Spike, and for a moment, this close to him and with her eyes fixed on that barely-there smile of his, it suddenly feels as if she's been away much longer than she has.

She half-smiles with teasing affection. "That is if you're not enjoying the bachelor life and your Lego construction so much that you mind us sticking around that long."

She knows better.

[not_that_spike]

"Legos. You know those things? I never heard of them before Bar gave them to me, but they're kind of fun."

Damn, her face is right there in front of him; it isn't like he has any option other than planting a kiss good enough to blossom and grow onto her lips, and so he does.

Mindful, of course, of Junior sleeping soundly in his arms. It's almost the best of both worlds but... it's been a long time and if the baby's already sleeping and doesn't really want to wake up...

"We should get this little princess settled. Looks like she's going to stick with sleep instead of us for a while." With a sudden pang, he wonders if she's sleeping all the way through the night yet. He can't say he misses waking up every four hours or so, but he can say he hasn't slept through the night once even with them gone. It's either habit or anxiousness or whatever, but he finds himself awake a few times a night: listening, watching, waiting. Waiting for a cry that never comes.

Well, shit. No point in being all sentimental about it: he'll probably get that cry tonight at the least opportune moment possible. Their little aijou has a hell of a sense of timing.

And he loves her. He loves both of them.

"Bachelor life can... take a flying fuck on a rolling donut." Half of him wants to say come on, Slim, let's don't waste any time at all, get into bed with me right now but the other half wants to soak her in, watch her, undress her with his eyes first, talk with her, cradle her in his arms, listen to her stories, savor every last second. He wants her back and he needs her back, but he wants and needs to respect what she's doing. It's a partnership and that always involves compromise.

"But for right now, you two are all mine." He doesn't mind being a little macho, a little possessive, and he'd put money on Beth not minding a hell of a lot right now either. If he was any less stoic he'd be all teary-eyed and maudlin, but he isn't. He's just the way he is, and not a lot gets to the surface. Ever.

"So let's get Junior to bed, and we can hang out in our room and do whatever, keep an ear open for her. I'm not in a real hurry to finish building our Lego dream house." It's just a project to fill the time. One day, if he has anything to say about it, he'll take her back to Venus for real and they can find a place built to human scale for the three of them.

But for now, they have about six hours and damn if he's not going to enjoy the hell out of every second of that time. Junior's like a lead weight in his arms as he scoops up Beth's bag and nods to the bedroom portrait.

Ladies first.

[stbethadettes]

"Yeah, they're pretty damn popular back in my time. Or they were pre-plague, but I bet there are girls out there who still play with them."

No reason for them not to. Toys are still toys, and there are still young girls in the world. There just aren't very many younger than about two.

Beth sometimes thinks she would give just about anything to give Junior something a bit closer to a normal childhood, something where she can still be special -- there's no way this baby girl, planned or not, ever wouldn't be special -- but have circumstances not seem quite so... bleak.

Most of the time, though, she has to accept that things are what they are, and hell, it's not as bad out there as it used to be. Maybe it's the rural, practically hidden-in-a-cornfield location, but roving bands of amazons are pretty much unheard of in Oldenbrook. After the most recent traveling she's done, Hero goes as far as to say she thinks the amazons are on their way out, and that's fucking fantastic.

It's about time those chicks started using their brains.

Maybe people still haven't gotten around to producing cigarettes again, but some things are making a comeback. There's that place on the east coast that they hear is shipping out brand new pads and tampons, for example. It's kind of laughable, she guesses, but how's that not a priority in a goddamn world full of women?

It's not as bleak as it used to be.

It's just... still not all that great.

But things are what they are, and life has to go on as it can.

She touches the portrait, and in a second, she's standing in the bedroom.

The bed barely looks more used than it did last time.

Once Spike and Junior come through the portrait, they head into the nursery to put the baby in her crib, and Spike's as gentle with Junior as he's always been.

It's not the first time she's felt an unbidden and unabashed surge of pride over his ability to adapt.

And he's always said he's the lucky one.

[not_that_spike]

He lingers a moment, his hand on Junior's chest, watching her sleep so peacefully. If there's one thing he knows, it's that she's a resilient, flexible little baby. With all the comings and goings, nothing seems to faze her. As long as she's got Beth, she's okay, and isn't that the way it is with babies? Hell, even that book said they get used to one or the other adult. Sure, he's glad she smiles and giggles when she sees him and he loves the hell out of her in this unexpected paternal sort of way, but if she has to get used to being with just one of them, he's glad it's Beth. He's glad about it only because he knows he can't always be there. He's not part of their world beyond this asteroid.

If there was a way that made sense, he'd find it... regardless of whether or not it's safe for him there. He's never really given a shit about his own safety wherever he's gone. Live life on the edge: isn't that what makes it interesting? He used to say that all the damn time.

Who says people can't change? Not him.

Once his little moment with Junior is over and he's sure she's still sleeping soundly, he turns to Beth and nods to the archway that leads to their room. They can talk in there without disturbing the baby

(yeah, right, talk)

and they can sit down and relax and enjoy the hell out of their time together. As they walk through, he takes her hand in his like some high school kid too shy to go further, only not really because they have about two and a half years of great sex under their belts... so to speak. Once they're around that corner, though, the time for shy is over: cupping her face in his hands, he dips down for one hell of a nice kiss.

Shit. He's missed them so damn much. When things are all said and done, all the scales balanced, he knows it's Beth and Beth Junior who complete him. Without them, he might as well go back to Mars and finish things.

[stbethadettes]

She can't help the quietly pleased laugh that shakes her shoulders, and there's not a part of her that doesn't want to tug him him toward her as if it's been another two years.

It hasn't been nearly that long, but she's still not letting him get away.

They were so chaste last time she was here, and sure, they didn't really have much time to work with -- maybe a third or so of what they have tonight -- but she's always been so unapologetically easy to give in to temptation that in retrospect, their last little restrained happy family visit seems almost surprising.

It's with another short laugh that she lets her forehead touch his, and her arms don't even attempt to unwrap from around him yet. "When did we get so patient?"

She knows the answer. It's when Junior was born, more or less. But right now she doesn't feel so very fucking patient at all.

[not_that_spike]

He could answer and say he's not patient, he's never been patient, and he only behaved himself last time because the baby was awake. Or he could answer and say that the very best things are worth waiting for, and they're so much better after all that damn anticipation. But he doesn't say anything, because her question doesn't demand words.

It demands action, and they're right here pressed together like a pair of pancakes on a griddle. The single best way he can think of to answer her, after all, is the first one that came to mind: he goes back for a second kiss and it's no chaste little hmm, I wonder if the baby's about to wake up? kind of kiss, either. It's immediate and demanding and comes with its own damn promises, all of which feel so overdue. At times like this he's really glad Beth thinks he's got good hands, because he's already putting them to use.

Later -- still without a single ill-timed interrupting cry for attention from Beth Junior -- he traces a droplet of sweat down Beth's chest with the tip of his finger. Pillows are propped behind his back, up against the wall, and he holds her, the skin of her back warming his chest. It's the most action this bed's seen since the night she and Junior left; that feels like it was so long ago. But he just can't sleep here without her. It would be so easy to close his eyes, feel their heartbeats synchronize, drift off... but he doesn't want to. They don't have much time. If Beth wants to sleep, he wants to sit up and watch her; there's plenty of time for sleep after their six hours are up.

For now, though, he tucks in a kiss to the side of her neck.

"I love you, Beth."

They're the only words that fit the moment.

[stbethadettes]

"I know."

She smiles to herself, then rolls slightly onto her back so she can look at him.

"You know what else I know?"

Aiming a smile at him this time, she folds one arm and slips it under her pillow.

"I know that I should be glad chicks around here aren't getting any smart ideas and hitting on you while I'm not around."

And she does doubt they are. Not because she doesn't think Spike is attractive to other people -- not in the least -- but because, for one, she doesn't think he's been leaving the House and its grounds a hell of a lot. And when he does go into the bar, she doesn't see him inviting much in the way of flirtation.

[not_that_spike]

That kind of amuses him: he's such a one-woman man it's almost not funny.

But it is true. He waited for Julia for three years. What he really wants, more than anything, is to be with Beth until the end of time. It's almost a shame life isn't like that but at least it's a good thing to hope for, because he can't see himself getting tired of her or interested in anybody else ever. It took him almost three years before he even flirted with another girl after Julia left.

"Yeah, I'm just boring and predictable." But the truth is he hasn't spent any time at all in the bar. Went in maybe once for a drink, and the only other times, it's been to get something. Like the Lego set, something he can't just devise for himself here. Living on a ship makes a guy kind of self-reliant, and if he wasn't before... once he's in deep space there aren't a lot of choices. Hell, he bets he could even get zip-heat noodles from Bar if he asked real nice; with those, he could pretend he was back on the Bebop.

Nah.

"Except with Ingress. She's on me like ticks on a dog."

He's kidding, of course. They have Jeet Kune Do lessons every week, but that's about it.

Of course, if any other women did get the smart idea to start hitting on him, he'd just have to set it straight. It wouldn't be hard, especially since his heart's right out on his sleeve for everyone to see. Still, he'd rather not. Other women just don't interest him. "Honestly, I think I talked with Elaine once since you and Beth Junior detoured to Kansas, and Door once because she stopped by. That's about it for my vast circle of flirtation." A quiet little grin on his face, he leans down and kisses that smug smile on her lips. His intention isn't to kiss it away: he's just being an opportunist.

It's too bad she can't come back every night. It would make the days go by a hell of a lot faster.

"How's Auntie Hero doing?"

[stbethadettes]

"Oh, really?" She arches an eyebrow. "I'll just have to have a talk with little Ingress. Tell her to keep her hands off my bounty hunter."

Unable to keep from breaking into a grin, she steals a second kiss from him.

"Auntie Hero's doing pretty well. She bluffs like a pro, but I beat her in poker last night. Not that I won anything worth writing home about."

It was a little competitive fun, though, and a good way to pass some time.

"Heidi and Heather say their progress on the vaccine's looking good. I think we all get a little more anxious about it the closer they get to finishing. I don't envy Ciba's position. I can't imagine how I'd feel about having Vlad vaccinated and then having to wait and see if it actually worked."

But Yorick's doctor friend determined that the pet monkey really was the reason Yorick didn't drop dead like every other guy, and it should work.

That doesn't mean it's not nerve-wracking, though.

"It kind of breaks your heart, seeing that sweet kid cooped up all the time."

[not_that_spike]

In a way, he knows how that sweet kid feels. But that's neither here nor there, and Beth's in his arms smiling over at him talking about vaccines and poker and underlying it all is a hint of a promise about it almost being over. And that means she and Junior can come home. That'll be... such a relief, such a pleasure, such a damn dream come true. His stomach gives a little involuntary jump and that makes him grin: the idea of her coming home for good definitely triggers some pleasure response in him and it should.

He loves her.

"I bet it's tough for the little guy, but then again, you said he's only ever known that place, right? To him, that's what home is. Kids are... pretty good at adapting to what they have." Most kids, anyhow; maybe he was kind of the exception to the rule, as stubborn then as he is now. Stubborn opinionated smartass troublemaker: it's what he's always been, or at least that's what people have told him.

Luckily for him, Beth sees through that like it's clear glass.

"So if the vaccine works, how are you and Hero going to explain moving out of there?" He only asks the question out of curiosity; he's not that great at planning things in advance or so he says, yet he's planned some amazing things given the right amount of time and interest. Leaving the Syndicate, for one thing: that's not something that happens every day. Sure, people leave... in body bags. It could be that he and Julia are -- were -- the only two to have left alive. And on short notice, he did take down Dragons headquarters.

Alone.

Maybe it's time to stop telling himself he's not the detail guy. Maybe it's time to own up to the fact that he really can do that shit when he sets his mind to it. If Beth needs help figuring out an exit strategy, well... exit strategies kind of have to be his specialty.

Jet would be damn proud of him if he knew the whole story.

Reaching over to the bedside table, he comes up with a pack of smokes and offers one to Beth. Bravely defying the smoking in bed is dangerous warning seems to be another specialty of his.

[stbethadettes]

"Yeah, I know."

In fact, she remembers thinking along those lines last time she and Junior got to come back for a visit with Spike. But it's true. It's hard for Vlad to mind at two years old when what he knows now is all he knows.

Taking the cigarette from Spike, she rolls onto her side to face him fully and props up on her elbow.

"We haven't talked about it much yet and we're going to have to," she acknowledges, "but it's possible that we could tell them we're going to find Yorick. It'd be a pretty bold move, but Hero's been traveling for years now. I don't think they'd have trouble believing she wanted to try to, and I bet at least Ciba could believe I have some maternal urge to make sure Junior and Yorick get to see each other."

And the truth is she would like for that to happen. They deserve to know about each other, regardless of the fact that Junior's so young, but she certainly isn't willing to sacrifice what she and Junior have here for it.

Not by a long shot.

"We fed some pretty big lies to the highest-ranking woman in the Catholic Church. I don't feel nearly as worried about what we're going to tell the women back at the hot suite when it's time for us to leave."

[not_that_spike]

"I always knew you were smart, Beth."

Like she'd need his help: she was self-sufficient before they met and she's self-sufficient now. Even he used to think for a long time that needing anyone else for anything else was a sign of weakness, but that... well, it's kind of old-fashioned thinking. A little bit self-indulgent, actually, and that's something he doesn't really want to be.

But he takes a smoke for himself and leans over and trades the pack in for the lighter, flicking it on for Beth first and then himself, then trading that in for the ashtray. He's smart too.

He would have liked to see her and Hero kick ass against the highest-ranking woman in the Catholic Church. He's already so damn proud of her for doing that, and he wasn't even there to witness it.

Finally, though, he's going to say what he's been thinking all along. "Whatever you do, I hope it gets to happen soon." For everyone's sake, not his own least of all. The part of his brain that likes to jump in fits and starts pipes up with its don't go, don't go, don't leave me alone thing, but he shuts it up pretty damn fast; now's not the time for self-pity. She's doing what she thinks is best for herself and for Junior, and it has to be done. Besides, she can't just stay here for good yet. People back there are expecting her.

Still, he kind of can't wait for the day when she comes waltzing through the door with Junior and all her stuff, sets it down, and says she's done out there.

[stbethadettes]

There's not a lot she can say to his last comment. She knows he hopes so.

She half-smiles at him, though.

"Guess you'll just have to keep amusing yourself with those Legos in the meantime. Get that dream house just right."

Even now, it's a little strange to look up while in bed with him and have that blank white ceiling spread out in front of her eyes. She's not entirely sure he was serious about making their dream house, but she suspects he was.

"Junior and I better get some say in it, too. I'm going to put in an order for two full bathrooms, you know."

[not_that_spike]

Now that's a nice little luxury, even though they don't make Lego toilets. Or if they do, they're not in the set he got from Bar. He draws pictures in the air with the tip of his cigarette. "Okay, ma'am. Here's the layout: front door right here in the middle." He stabs the air with his smoke. "When you walk in, off to the right, there's a big living room looking out on the front yard. On the back side of the house, over here, a kitchen big enough to eat in, with a pantry that does or doesn't open onto this bar, whichever you want." The glowing end of his cigarette draws blueprint trails in front of them. "But there's definitely a door that opens onto the hot tub in the back yard." Just the thought of it makes him smile a little bit wider.

"Over here, on the other side of the door and down this little hallway, your first bathroom. And a bedroom in case of guests or whatever. And a playroom for little Beth." The trail of red lingers for just a moment in the night air. "Now, we walk up these stairs and here, over the kitchen and living room, we have our bedroom. It takes up the whole right half of the house, but I think we'll make good use of it."

That definitely makes him smirk: they sure as hell will put any bedroom of theirs to good use. "Here's the second bathroom, next to the bedroom on the left. It opens up into our room. And just like downstairs, there's a little hallway and then another bedroom and another bathroom -- never say I didn't give you more than you asked for -- and that's Beth Junior's... uh... suite. And the dog and the soccer team can stay there too."

Tapping ashes off the end of his cigarette, he turns to her. They've joked about the house but never really talked about it and he knows it's just a dream; he can't go back there unless time does something fucked up for them again, and that's the last thing he wants to count on. But he goes on bravely despite reality biting him in the ass. "And around it, we have our yard. We can grow whatever flowers you want, if you want them. I kind of like those honeysuckle things. I don't know if they grow on Venus, but there's plenty of other shit that might. Hell, we could even have our own floating garden if you really wanted."

It's pretty damn foolish to be talking about this, but isn't that what dreams are for?

"I don't know, though: I never had a house before. What do you think? Did I overdo it?"

[stbethadettes]

She lets out a low appreciative laugh.

"It's called a dream house for a reason, bounty hunter. I don't really think it's possible to overdo it on planning those."

Carefully holding her cigarette over the ashtray, she leans into Spike and kisses his cheek and then his mouth, smiling all the while.

"I think it sounds like a great house. I'd live there with you. Bet little Beth in there," she adds, nodding toward the archway leading to the nursery, "wouldn't take much convincing, either."

Fuck, she loves him.

She can't even keep it off her face.

[not_that_spike]

(Click.)

That expression... damn. If he could only bottle it and take it out and breathe it in when he's missing the hell out of her. He can, kind of, thanks to his robotic eye. At least it guarantees that this moment will always be nice and sharp when he recalls it.

He loves the hell out of her and he's so fucking glad she's here, even though that gladness is tempered pretty damn severely by the realization that it hurts twice as much when she leaves. At least the separation's just temporary. That's what keeps him going every time he looks into the empty nursery, every night that he refuses to sleep alone in their bed. If he does that, he reasons, it becomes the normal thing and he can't and won't make a place for himself here without Beth.

There used to be a time -- not so damn long ago -- when any talking at all about the future, either real or imagined, would put Beth on the defensive. She didn't like it and he had to learn to not even joke or talk about that shit. Looks like they've both changed.

When she kisses him, he feels it right in the center of his chest and it settles there and warms him and grows, and it feels like that crystal that holds memories of their time at the bar only better because it's his. Just his, just theirs, and he loves her like he's never loved another woman his whole life. No matter how much shit this place has pulled on them, he's grateful as hell for it because it's brought him Beth.

He lets out a tiny contented sigh. "I'll have it all built and ready for you next time you come back, Beth." That's one promise he's pretty damn sure he can keep.

[stbethadettes]

One of the things she wants the least is for Spike to become some shadow of himself while she's not around. It's not as if he's lost her; things were far more dire last summer, and she thinks they were entitled to their own fair share of grieving at that point. But this is different. It's difficult, yeah, and not how either of them really want life to be, but it is temporary and she can hardly stand the thought of him hanging around here, idly building a dream house out of Legos without her and sleeping on the couch.

"Don't do it all. Save something for me to do, all right?"

She gives him a sweet and very persuasive smile, and making her current priorities pretty clear, she lifts herself up and moves to put the ashtray back where Spike got it.

She could probably reach over and do it without having to straddle him, but there's no fun in that.

[not_that_spike]

Right now, he can think of a lot of things he wants to save to do with her, and none of them really have to do with toy blocks.

There's... still no sound from the other room. Seeing as how he really is the opportunist he's always admitted to being, he looks up into her face and smiles one of their private smiles, one of the ones he reserves just for her and no one else. Yeah, he's a one-woman kind of guy and there's not a damn thing wrong with that. He loves her, and she's the one who happens to make his heart do all its singing, and fuck flirting with anyone else or letting them flirt with him: he doesn't need that.

He's got Beth.

"Come here."

[stbethadettes]

Well, if that isn't the headiest thing imaginable, she's not sure what is.

"Come and get me."

But she is there already, and she grins and dips down for a kiss that's probably hungrier than it should be at this point in the visit.

She hardly expects him to complain, though, and if they're lucky, there won't even be a cry from the next room for few more hours. And it'll probably be even longer than that: Junior could very well sleep until it's time to go back.

The only thing to do is take advantage of their free time.

When she came back after the month away, she'd felt compelled to memorize him all over again. It felt like it'd been so long and she'd been so sure she'd never see him again, and he'd even had new scars for her to get used to.

This isn't like that. Not really. But she's no less appreciative now than she was then.

Later, not interested in disentangling herself from him, she drops a kiss on the curve of his shoulder. "I should get a little sleep at some point."

She'll really be feeling it tomorrow if she doesn't.

She smiles against his shoulder. "But I just don't want to yet."

[not_that_spike]

Usually, he doesn't like to tell people he knows exactly how they feel because how can he? He's not them and he can't read their minds. But he can make an exception right now, because hell, he was thinking the same thing earlier about not wanting to sleep. Their reasons might be different, but the end result is the same: they both want to savor this time together like some exotic stolen treat.

For the moment they lie there, arms around each other, legs intertwined, just breathing, unwilling to move even enough to pull up the sheet for cover. There's nothing they have to cover up against: Junior's sleeping and no one's going to come busting through the nonexistent door. He could be lulled into sleep real easily, despite his earlier resolve not to sleep at all while she's here. He might not be able to help himself.

When they're together, he's relaxed. He used to play at that all the time, back on the Bebop, by sleeping a lot. But he never really ever felt this... settled. This whole. It's dangerous, relying on someone else this much but fuck it: the flip side is that it's fucking fantastic. He's never shied away from danger anyway.

"I don't want to sleep yet either." What he wants is to eat up every moment, listen to every beat of her heart, hold her and hold her. It's like if he closes his eyes he'll be seduced into the deepest sleep imaginable, and he has to resist that... at least until she does. Or maybe by then he'll just be so content to hold her and watch every crease of her forehead, ever flicker of her eyelids, until she shifts in his arms and opens her eyes and says it's time to go.

He won't know till it happens... but there is one thing he wants to make sure of. "Remind me, Beth, before you go: I have something for you to take with you. For you and Hero. It'll come in handy." No, he hasn't spent all his time staring at the four walls and moping. He's actually done some thinking and a little bit of planning -- given the limitations of the situation -- and he's pretty damn pleased with himself over what he's come up with.

[stbethadettes]

Catlike, she idly rubs her chin and jaw against his shoulder, almost as if scratching an itch.

It's pure luxury to linger in bed with him, and as reluctant as she is to sleep right now, she won't be able to avoid doing it while she's here. For the first time ever, she almost wishes they had an alarm clock. That way they could get in a little sleep together, which would be another damn luxury all by itself.

"You planning on telling me what it is, or do I have to wait to find out?"

Her eyelids half-close -- more from satisfaction than sleepiness for now -- and she tilts her head so she can watch him answer.

She has no idea what he's come up with for them.

[not_that_spike]

There's no reason to make her wait other than the fact he's going to have to move to actually get it. "I can tell you." One hand feathers over the expanse of her now-flat belly, and he remembers how it huge and taut it felt when she was nine months pregnant, Beth Junior kicking and turning inside. Every damn moment of that was new and precious and scary as hell, and it made Beth all the more sexy because of that edge of the unknown.

And everything since has been even better, all because of the baby he thought he never wanted, thought he could never love. Because of Junior and -- of course -- because of Beth. He really never knew he was capable of loving the way he loves them.

The hand on her hip tightens and he moves to press a kiss to the top of her head. "I got you a bunch of Earth brand cigarettes. I know they're good for trade out there, and I figured that would be an easy thing for you to carry back. Not heavy, not dangerous. And hell, if you don't want to use them for trade, the both of you can smoke them all you want." They're called Camels, which he thought was a little different and unique -- he's never seen a camel his whole life -- but this way they won't have to explain Marsboros.

Seems like a pretty good idea to him. It's a way he can help, and it's the very least he can do.

[stbethadettes]

Her expression, already soft to begin with, softens even more.

"You got us a bunch of cigarettes."

Her arm tightens around him, and she presses a kiss to the side of his face.

"Thanks. You're right. Those will come in handy."

Cigarettes pretty much always do, and he's probably got her pegged with that mention that she doesn't have to use them all for trade if she doesn't want to. She'll keep a pack for herself, though she hasn't been smoking much lately. Partly because of the shortage of cigarettes, and partly because -- nanobots or no nanobots -- she's still not quick to smoke around Junior.

And hopefully she won't get very far through her pack before she and Junior get to come back.

She's kind of inexplicably pleased with him for thinking to ask for Earth-specific cigarettes for them.

"That's pretty sweet of you."

[not_that_spike]

Well, shit, if he knew cigarettes were the key to getting that sweet little appreciative hug, he would have told her earlier.

Or maybe not. It's all worked out so damn nicely, because here she is in his arms, satisfied. He is too and now that the little cigarette surprise isn't a surprise any more, he can feel himself just fucking sinking into the comfort of the bed, of the pillow. It's a damn good bed. Not as soft as the one in New France -- nothing could be -- but it's pretty nice. Especially when they're both in it together; his arms tighten just a little around her and his smile's all in his eyes as his gaze shifts from her to the ceiling.

There should be stars up there, just like the ones she painted in his old room and here, in this moment, he knows exactly how he's going to spend the rest of the time that she's gone: he's going to paint stars on this ceiling for her. And on Junior's ceiling, he'll paint the whole damn solar system. Yeah: that'll do. It's a good plan, and it'll be an even better surprise than the smokes next time.

"Love you, Beth. Love you like no one's business."

[stbethadettes]

"Oh, really?" Her leg nestles comfortably between his. "Well, believe it or not, bounty hunter, I sort of love you, too."

Another kiss gets buried in the hair behind his ear, and she lets out this barely audible sigh.

"What do you think are the chances of us not sleeping upwards of four hours straight if we both doze off right here?"

She pauses, just for a second.

"And what do you think are my chances of seducing you into sleeping with me instead of just letting me get some sleep?"

On the other hand, after another fifteen or twenty minutes of this, she might just be too asleep to argue against it.

[not_that_spike]

"I think we have a little alarm clock in the other room, ma'am." Hell, it's already been a couple hours and she can't already be sleeping more than six hours at a time. "But just in case tonight's the night she decides to go for twelve hours straight, I can set the alarm on my comm. It's just over in the closet." It means getting up and leaving the comfort of her side, but it'll only take a moment.

And now it's his turn: as he extricates himself from their tangle of limbs, he straddles her for just a moment. Just a moment; this won't go the same way as when Beth did it earlier it but he'll save the promise of that for the future. For next time. He does kiss her on the way by, and he gets both his comm -- which he hasn't turned on in maybe a year -- and three cartons of Camel cigarettes from the closet.

The cartons go with Beth's pack on one of the chairs, but he powers up the comm and sets the alarm for four hours from whatever time it displays: who knows what the hell time it is wherever this house is and who the hell cares? That goes on the bedside table and he climbs back in with her and wraps his arms around her and pulls the sheet up this time.

"Yeah, I think you could seduce me into just about anything." Curled around her is the best damn thing in the universe; he kisses the back of her neck and strokes her arm softly.

[stbethadettes]

Junior makes a great alarm clock... when she's hungry or needs to be changed or has had enough sleep. If they want to be sure they wake up before a certain time, it's probably best not to rely on the baby.

She hadn't realized there was an alarm on his comm, but she's glad he thought of it. She'll have to get ready and go pretty much as soon as the alarm goes off, so she can't help thinking it's best not to take any chances. And if Junior wakes up before the alarm goes off, well, it that'll be okay, too.

Until then, she'll be perfectly content to sleep just like this.

Once she hit it off with Spike, it was kind of amazing how quickly she got used to sleeping with him.

It's somehow both unnervingly easy and terribly hard to get used to sleeping without him when she's at the hot suite.

She has no doubt it'll be the best she's slept -- even if it's not the most -- since she and Junior first went out to Oldenbrook.

[not_that_spike]

The whole I don't want to sleep, I just want to watch you right here in my arms thing gives way more quickly than he wants to admit to heavy eyelids closing reluctantly, and it's only a stroke of luck that wakes him up about ten minutes before the alarm on the comm.

He doesn't want to move. If he doesn't move, he can be in utter denial that Beth and Junior are going back. There's a huge difference between leaving and leaving with the promise of returning, though, and now he has a task in mind to carry him through to the next time, so it'll pass quickly. Or more quickly, anyway, or at least it should.

It's just after he wakes up that he hears a little cry from the other room. Just one of those little sleepy ones that usually means I'm wet, change me, so he kisses the back of Beth's neck and gets up and puts on his sweats and heads into the nursery where the vaguest hint of daylight-to-come peeks in through the window.

"Hey, little princess." Scooping her up out of the crib, he sets her on the changing table and fixes up that diaper quickly for her, getting her dressed up again in a spare outfit out of Beth's diaper bag. She can't just show up in new clothes all of a sudden. Cradling Junior against his chest, he wanders back into the bedroom and together, he and the baby wake up Beth. It's so much nicer than the beeping of an alarm.

Not too much later, after they've said their goodbyes by the bar's front door -- it's quiet at five in the morning -- he stops by bar and gets a couple paintbrushes: one nice big one for the big areas of paint, and a couple smaller ones for detail work. He's already got the paint in their room and really, there's no time like the present for starting the project.

They'll be two ceilings infused with love, and what could be better than that?