Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Rating: Up to NC-17

Summary: AU. William St James is an
actor on a hit television series. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter,
Melanie.




Part one....

"I can't believe you'd rather do this than go to Disneyland."

Buffy took a tighter grip on her six year old daughter's hand
as the crowd milled around them waiting for the doors to open.

It was a hot and smoggy Los Angeles day, and the last thing
she personally wanted to do was be where she was. But, it was
Melanie's choice and since it was her birthday celebration, Buffy
had given in as graciously as she could manage.

Her little girl was waiting patiently, far more patiently than she
was herself. The child's quiet and shy demeanor kept her from
romping around the grounds of the convention center as other
children were. She kept her hand tightly in her mother's, watching
the kids with downcast eyes.

Impulsively, Buffy scooped her up and carried her over into the
small amount of shade provided by the building's overhang. Her
baby's golden brown curls were damp with sweat at the hairline,
but she didn't complain about being too hot. Her round blue eyes
were fixed on the wall behind her mother, and Buffy turned around
to examine the poster herself.

Even though the entire cast of the program was featured on the
colorful poster, it wasn't hard to see who the star of this particular
show was. He stood up front, smack in the middle, his costars fanned
out on either side and slightly behind him.

William St. James sported a wicked grin in the picture, his head
tilted slightly to one side. His short hair was platinum blonde, and
his eyes sparkled a bright blue. He was dressed in what she assumed
was some sort of 'space cowboy' outfit, consisting of snug black
pants, a black t-shirt, a short leather jacket, and scuffed boots. There
was a futuristic looking weapon of some kind in a holster slung low
on his hip.

Buffy rolled her eyes. Handsome and charming, and he probably knew
it well.

Although she herself didn't watch the program, Melanie was
devoted to it...and to it's star. She had his picture pinned up in
several places on her bedroom walls, pictures she had carefully
clipped from one of the dozen fan magazines centered around the
show.

A school mate of hers had alerted her to the upcoming convention,
and the child had immediately begun a campaign to win over her
mother's approval for her attendance. Her sixth birthday gave her
the perfect opportunity. She had declined all of Buffy's offers for
a party, turned down a trip to Disneyland, and had even rejected
the idea of taking several friends along to have their hair and nails
done, then to attend a fancy tea party at the Ritz-Carlton.

The only thing she wanted, the child had sworn, was to attend
this convention and see her hero.

Buffy, who had initially nixed the idea for several reasons that
she refused to divulge, had finally given in four days ago...the
same evening she'd had a bitter argument on the phone with her
philandering ex-husband over him canceling yet another weekend
with their daughter.

Melanie had taken the news as calmly as she always did, well
used to this sort of treatment from her father. Angel had never
been much in her life, and she wasn't expecting him to be. She had
simply sat in the middle of her bedroom floor, arranging her dolls
in their beds and kissing them goodnight before silently padding
out into the living room for a glass of milk and a couple of graham
crackers.

Buffy had turned on the television, and when the theme music had
begun for 'Outpost: Space', she had sat down with her daughter to watch,
something she'd never done before. When the first commercial break
came along, she had suggested that maybe going to that convention
was a good idea after all.

Melanie's little face had lit up like a sunbeam, and she had
bubbled over in a most uncharacteristic manner, flinging her arms
around Buffy's neck and hugging her tightly.

After putting the child to bed, Buffy had switched on her computer
and gone looking for information about the upcoming event. It wasn't
difficult to find. She lost count of how many web sites were devoted
to both the show in general, and the star in particular. Printing out
the necessary facts and figures, she'd scanned a few of the 'fan-fiction'
archives and read some of the stories posted there by amateur writers.

She printed three of them suitable to read to a child, then came
across one with a warning on it, a warning stating that the contents
were absolutely not to be perused by anyone under the age of seventeen.

Wondering how in the world they could enforce such a rule, Buffy
began reading the story. It wasn't long before she realized that the
author hadn't been kidding around. This was definitely not for a child's
eyes.

The sexual content was intense. Some of it was a little unbelievable,
but she kept reading it anyway...all the way to the end. By the time
she was finished, she felt flushed and a little antsy. Definitely in need
of a cooling shower, she took one that lasted almost twenty minutes.

But after climbing into bed, she couldn't erase the images the
story had provoked out of her mind. And, since she had a face to
attach those images to...

Sleep hadn't come easily that night.

********************


Still carrying her daughter, Buffy stepped inside a cavernous room
that was blessedly cool. Someone, thank God, had cranked up the
AC full blast.

She looked around in amazement. There was table, after table,
after table, of merchandise pertaining to 'Outpost: Space'. There
were literally no empty places on any of the displays.

T-shirts by the dozen, posters, 8X10 glossies, books, magazines,
videos and dvds, original artwork, knock-offs of the costumes,
cheap copies of the jewelry and weapons worn by the actors,
bedsheets, blankets, stemware, commemorative plates, cell
phone covers, framed autographed pictures, toys, and other
assorted paraphernalia covered the tables...everything a fan of the
show could possibly want.

Buffy mentally calculated the balance in her checkbook. No
way would she be walking out of here without spending a small
fortune on her birthday girl.

She stopped cold when she found herself face to face with
a life-sized cardboard cut out of William St. James. Something
told her she'd definitely be going home with this is the back
seat of her car.

Melanie was enraptured. Although she was only six, she was
very advanced in her reading, far more than the other first
graders in her class, and she had no trouble figuring out the
gist of the message at the bottom of the cut out.

Mr. St. James, it said, was available for a personal photo
and an autograph...for a price. A fairly hefty one.

Buffy was ready to shrug it off....she knew Melanie would be
far too shy to participate in this ritual....when she caught
her little girl's eye.

"Mommy...can I do this?" the child piped.

Truly surprised, Buffy stammered, "This? You mean...have
your picture taken with him?"

Melanie nodded solemnly. "Yes, please, Mommy."

Buffy glanced down at the price list. Geez louise! This guy
sure had a high opinion of his monetary value. "Honey...I
don't know. This is a real person you know...not like Micky
Mouse."

"I know, Mommy. Pleeeese," the child begged.

Sighing, Buffy gave in, hoping she had her credit card in her
wallet.

********************

Sitting in the largest auditorium the convention center had, Buffy
glanced around at the people occupying the seats. They were
all very different...men, women, teenagers and the elderly, all
different nationalities and ethnicities. However, they all had one
thing very much in common...a deep and abiding love for 'Outpost:
Space' and for it's star.

It was standing room only, and she was grateful she'd had the
foresight to arrive early.

When the lights dimmed, the chattering crowd became mute.

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the second annual 'Outpost:
Space; fan convention!" a voice announced over the PA system.
"The cast and creators of the show are pleased that you could
make it."

The voice recited a list of rules regarding convention etiquette.
Apparently, taking an unauthorized photograph was an offense
punishable by hanging and if they even thought they saw a video
camera being used, heads would be rolling in the aisles.

The show's creator appeared on the stage, and the crowd applauded
mightily. He was followed shortly after by three of the writers, and
they went through a prepared presentation that nearly put Buffy to
sleep, followed by a question and answer session from people lined
up on either side of the stage.

When Melanie suddenly sat up and became interested, Buffy
shook her head to fight off the drowsiness trying to overtake her.

"Okay," the canned voice chirped, "we know who you're all waiting
to see, so we won't torture you anymore. Worldwide Entertainment
is very pleased to present to you...the star of 'Outpost: Space'...William
St. James!!"

The applause was thunderous this time, with most of the people
in the auditorium leaping eagerly to their feet.

Buffy remained seated as the man walked out on the stage, smiling
in a very friendly manner and waving at the adoring crowd.

The minute she saw him, the naughty story she'd read all came
rushing back and her cheeks turned bright red.

Melanie was in heaven, though. Her little hands clapped just as
enthusiastically as everyone else's, and she bounced up and down
in her chair.

Her mother, however, was having a difficult time concentrating on
anything being said on stage. Against her will, her brain was
channeling the words he'd been given to say in the story.

Things like...."You see those stars out there? I'm about to make
them explode behind your closed eyes." and "There's a bed in the
back of the shuttle craft...it's big enough for two. Why don't we
go climb in and I'll cover your body with kisses."

Seeing the face in person, somehow the words didn't seem as
corny as they had when she'd read them.

********************

When the question and answer session was announced, Melanie
shocked Buffy again by begging to participate.

Resigned by now to her daughter's unusual behavior, Buffy gamely
took her by the hand and walked her up to the line.

She stood back, letting Melanie "do it by herself", proud of her
little girl's courage.

But, when it was her turn at the microphone, she spun around
and stared at her mother. Her eyes were wide and her lips
were moving. Buffy recognized the signs of an impending
attack of bashfulness, and her heart broke for her baby.

She crouched next to her. "What's wrong, honey?"

"I...I don't know what to ask. You tell me something, Mommy.
Please?"

"Me?" Buffy said, trying to keep her voice to a whisper. "I
don't know anything about the show...or about him. I..I can't
tell you what to ask. I..."

Her voice trailed off when tears began to pool in Melanie's
blue eyes, and her lower lip began to tremble.

"Oh...don't cry, baby," Buffy pleaded, pushing her
daughter's soft brown curls out of her eyes. "Please, now..."

"Did you want to ask me something, luv?" a soft voice asked.

Buffy looked up and saw that William St. James had come
over to the edge of the stage and was bending over to speak
to Melanie. His voice was kind and encouraging, and his smile
was open and friendly.

Melanie tugged on Buffy's sleeve, redrawing her attention. "What
should I do, Mommy?" she whispered, hiding her face against her
mother's neck.

"Um...well.." Buffy racked her brain to come up with a suggestion,
then leaned over and whispered it in Melanie's ear.

The child's eyes brightened instantly, as she considered it to be
a wonderful question.

Turning to face her idol, she grinned up at him. His return smile
widened considerably as she asked her question:

"Do you have any pets?"


TBC....

Comments?

Part 2



William laughed at the bright innocence of the
little girl's question. "Well, as a matter of fact, I do,"
he replied. "I have two dogs named Belle and Sam.
One's a black lab and the other's a poodle."

He had never been so instantly enchanted by some-
one at any time in his life as he was now by this
tiny angel with the soft ringlets and pixie face.

She had approached the stage with such confident
aplomb that her obvious panic attack had surprised him.
Watching as she turned to look for her mother, his heart
had begun aching for her, and only the thought that it might
frighten her had kept him from jumping down off the
stage to speak with her privately.

Of course, when he'd gotten a good look at her mother,
he'd been doubly eager to jump. Small and slender,
the woman had a fantastic figure and a face that could
stop traffic, and he'd felt a jolt of envy for whoever had been
fortunate enough to marry her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one of the staff
members getting ready to shoo the little girl away from
the microphone. Holding up one hand to stop him, he
sat down on the very edge of the stage. "Did you want to
ask me anything else?"

The little girl turned again to her mother. "Do I, Mommy?"

To William's immense delight, the woman looked down
at her daughter with wide eyes and shrugged, apparently
out of ideas.

The child looked back up at him. "No, thank you," she said
politely.

Her mother stood up and was preparing to lead her back
to their seats. William wasn't ready to see them go just
yet. Before they got more than a few feet away, he spoke
up. "Do YOU have any pets?"

They both stopped and turned around. The child was
smiling, and her mother looked surprised.

"I had a fish," the little one said, "but he died."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"We had a funeral for him and buried him in the back
yard," she continued, as though there weren't 500 other
people in the room listening. "Mommy was going to flush
him down the potty but that was icky, so she didn't."

The crowd tittered with amusement.

"Really?" William prompted her, thoroughly enjoying
the conversation. "Was it a big funeral?"

"No. Just me and Mommy."

He noted the lack of 'Daddy' being mentioned. Of course,
that didn't really mean anything. Daddy might just have
been at work during the funeral services.

"Mommy says maybe I can have a kitty next year...when
I'm bigger. What?" she added, looking up at her mother,
who was tugging lightly at her hand to try and urge her to
surrender the floor to someone else.

Glancing over at the staff member he'd stifled a moment
ago, William could see that he was getting irritated with
the delay, something the child's mother must have noticed
as well.

Reluctantly, he got to his feet. "Well, I hope you get your
kitten...."

'Mommy' leaned over and said something in the girl's ear.

"Okay," she whispered, then looked back at him and
filled in the blank in his comment. "Melanie."

"Melanie," he repeated, smiling as she was pulled along
by her mother, still looking back over her shoulder at him.

He waved one hand at her, then turned to the other side of
the stage and smiled at the person waiting to use the
microphone.


******************************


Buffy sat next to her daughter, still amazed by what had
just occurred. She tried to follow what was happening on
stage, but she was reduced to simply staring up at the
man who had so easily untied Melanie's tongue.

The child had never in her life...not once...been so free
and openly chatty with anyone other than Buffy herself.

But she and this actor had somehow...the only word Buffy
could come up with for it was 'bonded'. He had been patient
and low key, avoiding the mistake that so many adults made
with shy children; trying to cajole them into joining the fun
by being overly loud and cheery, or by hinting broadly about
all the good things they were going to "miss out on" if they
didn't try a little harder.

Another round of ear ringing applause startled her out of
her silent reverie. William St. James was leaving the stage,
and was about to be replaced by another cast member of
the show.

Melanie turned and tugged on Buffy's sleeve. "Mommy. I need
to go potty," she whispered, squirming in her chair.

Wondering just how long THAT situation had been building up,
Buffy quickly grabbed her hand and led her out of the main hall
and towards the ladies room.

She was holding Melanie up to the sink to wash her hands
when she heard a suspicious growl. Meeting her daughter's
eyes in the mirror, she asked, "Was that your tummy?"

Melanie giggled and nodded. "I think it's hungry."

"I think you're right," Buffy replied, tearing off a piece of
paper toweling to dry two little hands before they could use
her skirt for the same purpose. "Why don't we see what we
can do about it."


******************************

The dealer's tables only had a few people milling around
them, and the buffet area was completely deserted.

Loud bursts of laughter emanated sporadically from the
large meeting room. Melanie had no interest in attending
the other cast member's portion of the show, so Buffy
steered her towards a table by the large picture windows,
in view of the snack bars and buffets.

Keeping one eye on her child, Buffy ordered a late lunch
for them both. She paid for the food and received her
change, then turned to go back to the table.

She nearly dropped the tray she was holding when she
saw who was standing next to the table talking with
Melanie.

******************************

Finding himself with not much to do after his appearance
on stage, William had quickly gotten bored. It would be a
while before his presence was required at the photo op or
the autograph signing, so he managed to slip away from
the people he jokingly referred to as his "handlers".

There was no one in the food service area to be concerned
with, and he stopped at a vending machine and fed change into
it. Collecting the candy bar he'd selected from the bottom
bin, he tore the wrapper off and took a bite, savoring the
chocolate.

He glanced around the room, then did a double take back
to one of the tables.

Sitting quietly, her little legs swinging freely back and
forth, was the cute charmer he'd met at the question and
answer session. Melanie.

He smiled, delighted for some reason to see her again. Un-
able to stop himself, he tossed the remainder of the candy
bar in the trash and headed towards the table where she
sat.

She was looking out the window, and he could see her
lips moving. When he got closer, he heard her counting
under her breath and realized that the window was over-
looking the freeway and she was counting cars.

Not wanting to startle her or attract any other kind of
attention to himself, he kept his voice low. "Hi, Melanie."

The little girl turned and smiled. "Hi."

Strangely, she didn't seem all that surprised to see him.

Part 3




Ordinarily, Buffy would have been instantly suspicious
and on high alert at the sight of a relative stranger
approaching her child and engaging her in conversation.

Both she and the public school system had spent a
great deal of time and energy hammering home the lesson
'Don't talk to people that you don't know and do NOT...under
ANY circumstances...go anywhere with them!'

Secretly, she had always harbored a deep fear that
Melanie's crippling shyness would derail whatever lessons
she had assimilated, preventing her from causing a scene
should anyone try anything. It was one of the many worries
that went hand-in-hand with raising a child in an increasingly
dangerous world, a world that seemed to prey on them in
a brutal fashion.

These troublesome thoughts, along with the other day
to day fears, were the monsters in her closet that sometimes
prevented her from sleeping.

She worried about everything; whether Melanie was
getting proper nutrition...or if she was getting enough
rest. Was she being teased in school? And what about
her teeth? Were they going to come in straight, or might
she need braces someday?

Was she too warm? Too cold? Sleeping too much? Not
sleeping enough? Whenever she caught a cold, Buffy
fretted that it might turn into something worse.

Childhood disease was very high on her anxiety scale,
even though she knew that the odds of Melanie developing
one were in her favor. Logically, she knew it...but in the
middle of the night, the time when all her worst fears began
to run through her agitated mind on an endless loop...she
still feared it.

She worried about leukemia, juvenile diabetes, multiple
sclerosis, encephalitis, meningitis, undetected heart disease,
immune system deficiencies, influenza, hepatitis, fatal allergic
reactions, tetanus, epilepsy, and every virus known to man.

Even the lesser evils...such as chicken pox...scared her.

Since she couldn't bear the thought of anything happening
to her baby, she was afraid that she sometimes overcompen-
sated for it with her extreme protectiveness, leaving her with
a guilt trip a mile wide over the notion that it had perhaps
contributed to Melanie's compulsive shyness.

Buffy also worried about fires and earthquakes, about
killer bees and tainted food, about car crashes and stray
dogs. She felt perfectly justified in that last one because
Melanie...who was sometimes shy to the point of tears with
people...had no qualms whatsoever about animals. She
would fearlessly approach any that she came across, confident
that every four legged creature in the world was as gentle as
she was.

And, ironically, she worried about whether she worried too
much.

Of course, she HAD to do all the worrying...since Angel
did none of it.

******************************


"Why are you all by yourself here?" William asked.

"I'm not. Mommy's getting lunch. See?" She pointed
over his shoulder.

He turned around to look, and sure enough, Melanie's
mother was standing at the cash register paying for
her purchases. No father around at all, it looked like.

Sticking his hands in his front pockets, he leaned
against the table. "So...did your Daddy come along with
you today?" he asked casually.

Melanie shook her head solemnly. "No."

She was frustratingly brief in her reply. If he wanted
more information, he'd have to dig for it.

He definitely did.

"He stayed home, then?"

"I guess so," the little girl shrugged. "I'm not sure.
Maybe."

Not helpful at all.

He was trying to come up with another way of finding
out her mother's marital status when Melanie solved the
problem for him by herself.

"My daddy lives somewheres else," she informed him.

"Oh. I get it." Although he was happy to hear that
Melanie's mommy might be available, he felt a pang of
guilt for being pleased that this beautiful child's home was
broken. But he comforted himself with the thought that
anyone stupid enough to leave this little girl and her mother
really didn't deserve them in the first place, and surely they
were better off without him.

He decided to change the subject. "Are you having fun
today?"

"Oh, yes," she said, giving him a smile that melted his
heart. "I liked talking to you."

William returned her smile. "Well, I like talking to you, too,"
he said sincerely. "Are you going to be staying for the
party tonight?"

She nibbled her lower lip for a moment. "What time is it at?"

"I think it starts at 9:30."

Melanie shook her head, making her curls bounce. "I have
to go to bed at 8:00," she informed him.

"Even on Saturday?" he asked.

"Uh-huh. I can only stay up late on Wednesday."

He felt another tug at his heart. "Mommy lets you stay up for
the show?"

"Yes."

"Does she like it, too?"

Melanie crossed her arms in front of her on the table, and
laid her cheek against them. "She's only ever watched it
once," she said, yawning. "She says mostly TV isn't very
good anyway."

William chuckled. "Well, she's right about that," he said.

"Sometimes she watches movies with me."

"Oh, yeah? What's your favorite movie?"

She thought about it for a moment. "The Little Mermaid."
she said. "What's yours?"

He imitated her thoughtful look. "Promise you won't laugh?"

Melanie nodded.

"The Wizard of Oz," he stage whispered.

"Oh, I like that, too!"


******************************

Buffy took a tighter grip on the tray in her hands, heading
for the table where her daughter sat.

As she got closer, she saw that Melanie seemed to be
completely at ease with William St. James. She wasn't
displaying any of the telltale signs of shyness. There was
no ducking of her head, or turning her face in the other
direction. She wasn't fidgeting or twisting her little fingers
together, and her voice was fairly audible, even from a
distance.

Wondering just what kind of magic tricks this guy was
capable of, she sailed up to the table and set the lunch
tray down.

"Hi." He straightened up and smiled right at her.

"Hello," she murmured, trying not to conjure up any memories
of those X-rated fairy tales she'd read the other night.

"I hope you don't mind...I saw Melanie sitting here and..."

"No," she said quickly. "I don't mind...if Melanie doesn't"

Melanie sat up. "I don't mind, either," she said, examining
the food on the tray.

There was a moment of silence, then William said, "Well,
what are you having for lunch?"

Melanie pulled the top slice of bread from the sandwich
and studied the ingredients. "Tuna fish," she said, wrinkling
her little nose up. "Yuck."

Buffy stared at her daughter. "What do you mean, yuck?" she
asked. "You love tuna fish."

The child regarded her with a steady look. "Fish are
friends," she intoned, "not food."

"Oh, for..." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Melanie...stop quoting
'Finding Nemo' and eat your lunch," she said firmly. Opening
a carton of chocolate milk, she poured it into a paper cup and
placed it in front of her daughter. "Come on, now. Take a big
bite."

Anything but resigned to her fate, Melanie sighed. "It's got
things in it, Mommy," she complained.

Buffy sat down wearily. "Things? What things?"

William was having a difficult time keeping his mirth under
control as he listened to the conversation, and was already
sure in his mind who would prevail.

"What's this?" Melanie held out her little palm, showing
her mother a piece of something covered in mayonnaise.

Buffy looked. "It's a little piece of celery."

"I don't like celery," the girl said promptly.

"Melanie..."

"But, I don't!"

Deciding it was time to wade in before
the little one talked herself into trouble, William finally spoke
up.

"It may be none of my business," he said to Buffy, "and feel
free to tell me to butt out...but I'd be happy to get her something
else to eat. If you wouldn't mind, that is."

By this point, Buffy was too tired to protest. "You're sure it's
no trouble?"

"Not for me, it isn't," he said, letting his eyes linger a bit
on her pretty face. He pulled a cell phone out of his jacket
pocket and punched a number.

Buffy was the first to drop her eyes.

"Jen..it's me," William said to whoever had answered his
call. "Can you have...wait a minute..." He looked at Melanie
and smiled. "What do you want, pixie? You name it and it's
yours."

Melanie didn't hesitate. "Peanut butter and jelly?"

He nodded. "Jen, I want a peanut butter and jelly sand-
wich...yeah...uh, grape?...okay...have them bring it to the
buffet area...no, I'm not kidding...good...thanks." He stuck
the phone back in his pocket. "Just a couple of minutes,"
he promised.

******************************

Buffy sat back, watching as he continued to engage Melanie
in conversation, asking her about school and answering her
questions about 'Outpost:Space'.

Ten minutes after a member of the kitchen staff arrived
with Melanie's sandwich, William glanced at his watch and
sighed.

"I hate to say it, but I have to go. Got to attend the photo
op and sign some autographs."

It was officially the last thing he felt like doing at the moment.
Normally, he didn't mind in the slightest, figuring it was the
least he could do for all the people who were nice enough
to support the show, but today he had other things on his
mind....a sweetheart of a little girl, and her beautiful mother.

"I'm going to do that!" Melanie said cheerily.

All of a sudden, things were looking up! "Great!" he
said, staring at Buffy. "I'll be looking for you...."

"Buffy" Melanie supplied.

Unable to stop himself, he smiled at Melanie and brushed
her curls back from her face. "See you later, pixie," he
said, forcing his feet to start moving.

"Okay."

******************************

"Mommy....can I have some more chocolate milk?"

Buffy dragged her eyes off of William's retreating back and
onto her daughter's face. "Sure, baby...here you go."

"Thank you." She took a swallow, leaving a chocolate
mustache on her upper lip. "He's really nice," she said,
wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

Her mother took over the job with a napkin. "Yes, he is." She
sat back and looked into Melanie's eyes. "You like him
very much...don't you?"

"Uh-huh. Don't you?"

Buffy smiled and nodded. "Uh-huh."


Feedback is welcome!

Part four....


An hour into the photo op, William's face was getting tired of
smiling. He had counted seventy-five people so far, and Lord
only knew how many more were on the other side of the curtain.

Still, he had an obligation to fulfill and it didn't really matter
how tired he was. These people were good to him, and he was
damn well going to return the favor to the best of his ability.

So he greeted and he smiled for the camera, and he listened
to their words of praise and thanked every last one of them.

He had been a working actor for almost eleven years, most of
it spent in obscurity. After watching a well known actress he'd
once worked with pull her prima donna bit once too often with her
fans, he had made himself a silent vow never to behave in that
way, should he become recognizable. So far, it was a promise
that he'd managed to keep.

The photographer called for a break to reload his camera, and
William took advantage of the opportunity to use the restroom and
the soda machine.

Five minutes later, as he stood talking with the photographer's
assistant, he felt a light tug on the sleeve of his jacket and
looked down.

"Hi," Melanie piped, smiling.

His tiredness suddenly vanished. "Hi to you, too," he replied,
kneeling to her eye level. "Here for a picture?"

"Mm-hmm. I got juice on my dress," she said, pointing to a
small stain, "but Mommy said no one will notice it. Can you
see it?"

William peered at the area in question. "I think Mommy's right.
It's barely there."

He stood up and turned to face the camera. "Look right there,
pixie," he said, then stopped. "Hold it." He looked down at the
tiny girl standing there so quietly. Leaning over, he whispered
to her, "Would you mind very much if I picked you up for the
picture?"

"Okay." Melanie held out her arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Standing off to one side, Buffy was amazed all over again
at Melanie's demeanor. Walking up so boldly and making
herself known by pulling on William's sleeve the way she
had...answering his questions without a trace of hesitation
or uncertainty...and then allowing herself to be lifted into his
arms for the photograph.

Would miracles never cease?

Despite her initial friendly reaction to him, Buffy had been
quite certain that when it came down to the critical moment,
Melanie would back out.

She didn't normally care much for having her picture taken
anyway, and certainly not by a stranger. Camera shy with
anyone except her mother, Melanie would usually announce a
sudden need to use the bathroom and would stay there until
whoever was attempting to take the picture just gave up and
moved on.

But her daughter had once again thrown her for a loop. Her
little fingers had pulled away from Buffy's and she'd approached
William before even being told to.

Fortunately, the child's actions seemed to be charming him
and the routine smile she had watched him use up until then
became a genuinely delighted one.

It seemed their admiration was mutual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William scooped the little girl up into his arms and settled
her on his hip. "Look straight ahead," he instructed her. "Do
you see the little red light?"

"Uh-huh," Melanie whispered.

"Look at that...and smile. Come on, pixie...show those pretty
little teeth of yours. That-a-girl." He glanced at the photographer.
"Got it? I want a copy of this one."

Reluctantly setting Melanie back on her feet, he spotted
Buffy standing to one side and grinned. Crooking his forefinger in
a "come on over here" gesture, he beckoned her closer.

Assuming that her job was merely to shepherd her child out
of the photo area, she moved closer...and was more than just a
little shocked when his hand darted out and caught hers.

"Your turn," he said softly.

Buffy tried to dig in her heels. "Oh...no. I...you've made a mistake.
This was just for Melanie. I didn't...you know...sign up for it."

But William didn't seem to care. "That's all right," he assured
her, not letting go of her hand.

Melanie stood next to them, her little arms wound around each
other like a peppermint stick, and her fingers interlaced. She
said nothing, but her smile shone more brightly than ever.

"Listen...I really can't," Buffy demurred, trying again to loosen
his grip.

"Why not?"

Embarrassing as it was to admit, she had no choice. "Because,"
she said flatly, "you charge an awful lot for a picture with you..and
I can't..." Her voice trailed off when she saw a slight flush on
his...amazingly beautiful...cheekbones.

"You know," he said quietly. "I don't set the prices for those
things. My agent takes care of all that. How much is it?"

When Buffy told him, he whistled low. "I see what you mean."

She highly doubted it. Money was surely the last thing this
man had to concern himself with. Although not an expert in
the area, she was pretty certain that he was collecting a heavy
paycheck once a week.

"Still," he shrugged. "Do it for me. I'll pay for it."

Buffy looked down and saw Melanie gazing up at her with
her "What are you waiting for?" face. Resigned, she nodded
and turned to face the camera...and nearly jumped out of her
shoes when she felt William St. James slide his arm around
her waist and close the small distance between them.

"Relax," he whispered in her ear. "I don't bite...hard."

Relax? How very funny. There wasn't chance in the world
that she was going to be able to relax. Between the hard
strength of the arm encircling her waist, and the warmth of his
breath stirring tendrils of her hair, Buffy was about as far from
relaxed as she could be possibly be.

Somehow, she managed to smile until the shutter clicked.

"Now...one of all three of us," he announced, picking Melanie
up once more and holding her between the two of them.

Buffy's eyes met and held his gaze...

And the photographer snapped the picture.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After making sure that he would be seeing them again at
the autograph signing, William placed Melanie on her feet,
leaning over to say goodbye.

As they left the photo area, he signaled for his assistant
to come over before the shoot continued.

"See that her money is refunded, and make sure I get
copies of all three pictures."

"What's her last name?"

William stared at her for a moment, then chuckled. "I'll
have to get back to you on that one."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Buffy was signing her own autograph on a credit
card receipt, glad that she hadn't maxed out her limit.

She received the thin paper bag that contained the 8X10
photos Melanie had chosen. Several of them were still
shots from the series, while others were publicity shots.

At $15.00 a shot, it was an expensive little sack she
handed to the little girl looking up at her with shining eyes.

Oh, well...what was money, anyway?


**********

"For goodness sake, Melanie. How many t-shirts do you
need?"

"How many are there?"

**********

"You don't need that, honey. You don't have any
keys."

"We can buy some for me."

**********

"Put that book down!"

"Why, Mommy?"

"Never mind why. Just put it back where you got it and
let's go."

**********

"What is it?"

"It's Captain Amara's space ship thingy."

"Well, I...wait a second...you have to put this together your-
self. It's a model."

"Don't you know how?"

"No. Do you?"

"No."

"Moving along, then."


**********


"Is it a glass for dollies?"

"No, sweetie. It's a glass for grown ups."

"How come it's so small?"

"I...I guess we're not a very thirsty bunch. Let's get
this nice mug instead, okay?"

"Okay."

**********

"No. No toy weapons."

"But, I didn't ask you for one."

"Well...I'm just heading you off."

**********

"What did she say, Mommy?"

"It'll be more valuable someday if you keep it in
the box and don't play with it."

"Oh. That's not a very good toy."

**********

Sitting in the auditorium again, Melanie lay stretched
out across two folding chairs, her head pillowed in her
mother's lap.

A pop from the P.A. system startled them both. "In a
moment, we'll begin calling for one row at a time to line up
against the far right wall. You'll need your green voucher
and whatever you want signed ready. Mr. St. James has
an early call for tomorrow morning, so we need to expedite
things in order for him to satisfy everyone. When your
turn comes, please step up to the table and hand him
what you would like him to sign. Please don't attempt to
engage him in conversation or ask for personal contact,
such as a hug. He will write nothing but his name. When
your item is signed, please leave the area immediately so
the person in line can approach. Thank you all for your
cooperation."

"Who was that, Mommy?"

"I don't know, baby. The person in charge, I suppose."

Buffy helped Melanie sit up. The little girl yawned and
rubbed her eyes with her fists.

Catching her mother's glance, she quickly said, "I'm not
tired."

"Yes, I can see that," Buffy replied, amused.

Five minutes later, the rules were repeated.

"She doesn't sound very nice," Melanie said softly,
displaying the first tell-tale sign of nervousness that
Buffy had seen in hours by staring down at her sandals
and folding her hands together, lacing her fingers in a
"Now I lay me down to sleep" way.

"She's just doing her job, baby," Buffy said, sliding one
arm across the girl's shoulder and pulling her closer. "Don't
fret about it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melanie peeked around the side of the curtain that
divided William St. James from the rest of the crowd,
and Buffy gave her daughter a gentle nudge to get her
feet moving.

William looked up and saw her. "Come here, pixie,"
he grinned, patting the table.

One teeny baby step at a time, Melanie walked
forward, clutching a 8X10 photograph in her little
hands.

He was a little perplexed at her manner. For some
reason it looked as though all her natural ease with him
had disappeared, leaving him back at square one.

"Melanie? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, laying her picture down on the
table.

"You sure, luv?" he persisted.

This time, she nodded, pushing the picture across the
table.

Not liking this one bit, he looked at Buffy. "Did something
happen?"

She could have told him what was wrong, if his "people"
hadn't been sitting there on either side of him.

"Melanie...why won't you talk to me?" he asked.

Her eyes darted briefly to the woman sitting on William's
right...an attractive lady with dark hair, large brown eyes,
and a forbidding expression...then back to William.

"She said I can't," she whispered.

"Who said you can't?"

"The rules lady."

"The rules...the WHAT lady?"

Melanie dropped her eyes and stared at the table. "The
rules lady. She said don't talk to you or hug you, or any-
thing."

Comprehension dawned. "Oh, THOSE rules," he nod-
ded. "Don't you worry about that, pixie." He leaned forward
and whispered, "The rules lady works for me."

"She does?," Melanie whispered back. "She talks really
loud."

"Really? I'll have to look into that."

"William," the dark haired woman interrupted. "It's getting
late. You need to wrap this up."

Melanie's eyes rounded with surprise, and she turned to
look at her mother. "That's the rules lady, Mommy. I
don't think she's sick."

"Sick?" William cut in. "Why would you think she's sick?"

"I asked Mommy why she sounds so cranky, and Mommy
said she probably has PMS."

He bit down on the inside of his cheek to control his
laughter, then looked at the woman sitting beside him."

"Well, Dru?" he asked. "Why DID you sound so cranky?"

A sour look was his only answer.


TBC.....
What do you think?

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part five....


Looking back at Melanie, William made an "Uh-oh" face
and winked at her, making the little girl giggle. He slipped
the photograph of himself out from under her fingertips and
uncapped a shiny gold marker. When he began to write,
Melanie watched the glittery letters appear and her eyes
rounded in amazement.

"Ooh...that's pretty," she said, smiling. "My markers don't
do that."

Signing his name with a flourish, he held out the pen to
her along with the picture. "You take this one. I have lots more."

With an irritable huff of air, the woman beside him opened
a zipped up portfolio full of 8X 10 color photographs and located
another gold marker. She placed it in front of William and gave
Melanie a look that clearly said "Your time is up!"

Melanie handed both the photo and and the pen to her mother
for safe keeping. Placing both her small hands on either side
of her mouth so no one else could see, she whispered, "Thank
you very much."

William copied her gesture. "You're very welcome."

"Melanie?" Buffy said quietly from the sidelines. "It's time to say
goodbye, now."

Slipping her hand into her mothers, Melanie gave William one
last smile. "Bye."

He sat watching them for a moment, then jumped to his feet.

"What are you doing?" Dru hissed, grabbing at his sleeve.

He ignored her and turned to the person waiting for his signature. "Can
you wait just one moment?" he asked, as politely as he could considering
his urgency to leave. "I forgot something...uh, it's...personal. Promise I'll
be right back."

Permission was granted by a starry eyed smile, and William shook
off Dru's hand and went after Buffy and Melanie.


*********************************************


She had gotten about fifteen feet away, pulling along her reluctant
little girl who was definitely dragging her heels, when she felt a light
touch on her shoulder.

Buffy was so surprised that she nearly gasped out loud. He had
people waiting for his attention. Why was he chasing after them?

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Maybe he needed his pen back.

"No. Well, yes." William said, then knelt beside Melanie. "Hey...you
know that business about no hugging?" When the child nodded, he
shrugged. "Well...I'd really like one anyway. D'ya think maybe I could
have one of yours?"

Melanie looked up at her mother, who imitated William's shrug and
released her hand.

Buffy watched carefully to see how Melanie was going to deal with
this. She wasn't a 'throw herself into someone's arms and hang on
tightly' type of child, except with her mother and her grandmother. She'd
tried that with her father when she'd been younger, and had been put
off too many times in consideration of a new suit or a freshly pressed
dress shirt, to continue the practice. Now, if an embrace was appropriate,
she would place her arms gently around the person's neck and wait
until THEY pulled HER close.

Melanie did it just that way, then surprised her mother all over again
by tightening her little arms and pressing her cheek against William's.

A few seconds later, he pulled back and dropped a kiss on that same
soft cheek. "I'm very glad you came today," he said.

"Me, too," Melanie replied in the same quiet tone.

Buffy chose that moment to glance back over at the autograph
table. The fan waiting there looked content enough, but the dark
haired woman William had referred to as 'Dru' seemed anything
but pleased. If looks were capable of doing harm, she and Melanie
would be in a pickle right about now.

Funny, how she didn't much care.

Forcing down a childish impulse to set a thoroughly bad example
for her daughter by sticking out her tongue, Buffy just smiled. This
seemed to piss the woman off even more, making Buffy wonder
just who she was...a possessive business manager keeping an
eye on her client, or a jealous girlfriend?

The woman's eyes narrowed as William stood up and took
hold of Buffy's arm. "Can I talk to you?" he asked, leading her
a few feet away from Melanie, who was surprisingly content to
let it happen.

"Uh...I...yeah, okay," she said uncertainly, stumbling along
behind him. "What?"

He stood silently for a moment, seemingly gathering his
thoughts. "I don't want to sound like I'm feeding you a line," he
began hesitantly, "but...I'd really like to see you again. Both of
you."

It was literally the last thing she'd expected to hear. A little
bemused by his words, she looked up at him with a slight smile
tugging at her lips. "You would?"

"Yeah." He stepped in front of her, cutting her off from Dru's
increasingly nasty glare. "I don't suppose you'd consider staying
for the party tonight?"

She automatically shook her head. "I didn't..."

"I know," he cut her off. "You didn't sign up for it. I don't care.
Won't you just stay as my...guest?"

It was a tempting offer. She hadn't attended an evening function
of any kind since she couldn't remember when. Nowadays, her
party life was pretty much confined to the sort of galas that were
thrown at Chuck E. Cheese. Even those were few and far between
due to Melanie's shyness and hesitance in making friends.

But taking a look at her daughter changed her mind. Melanie was
sitting in a chair next to the door, and her eyes were getting sleepier
and sleepier. She'd been up at the break of dawn, after a restless
night spent in anticipation of the days festivities. There was no way
she would make it through any kind of after hours party, a party that
probably wasn't really suitable for her anyway.

"We really can't" she demurred. "Melanie's exhausted and I'm kind
of wiped out, too. But thank you for the offer."

Expecting it, he didn't try to persuade her. "Can I call you?"

Wondering if she was doing the right thing, Buffy nodded. "Sure."
She groped around in her bag until she found a small card case.
Flipping it open, she handed him a business card. "That's my work
and home phone," she explained.

William examined the card. It was pale pink with scalloped edges,
and in dark pink lettering were the words, "Melanie's Garden"

He read the words out loud, then gave her a curious look. "What's
this?"

"I own a children's boutique in the mall. Melanie and I painted the
front windows with a little picket fence and flowers," Buffy explained,
then shrugged. "Melanie's Garden."

William smiled, delighted. "It's perfect," he said softly. "It suits both of
you. I can't wait to see it."

Dru cleared her throat noisily, making him frown. "I have to...." He
glanced back at the table.

"I know," Buffy said. "I have to..." She nodded at Melanie, who smiled
when she saw William and Buffy looking at her. Her small hands were
folded in her lap, and she was trying hard to keep her eyes open.

"So, I'll call you?" he murmured.

"Okay." She nearly leapt out of her skin when his hand ran
down her arm and found hers, then gave it a firm squeeze.

He hesitated one more time. "Buffy?"

"Hmm?"

Leaning close, he whispered in her ear, "I'm not gonna try it, but I
want you to know that I've never wanted to kiss a woman as badly
as I want to kiss you right now."

Then, with that statement clearly designed to upset her equilibrium,
he squeezed her hand once more and went to say goodbye to
Melanie.

Buffy slowly opened her hand and looked at the small piece of
paper he'd pressed into it. Written in a messy scrawl was his name
and....a telephone number.


**********************************************


Buffy's heels clacked on the concrete floor of the parking
garage. She was weighed down with all the bags and a small
bundle who couldn't walk another step.

When she set the child down next to the car to search for her
keys, Melanie stared down at the autographed picture she'd
refused to hand over. "Mommy," she asked. "What does it say?"

Buffy twisted the key in the lock, hoping it wouldn't stick and
refuse to turn. "His name, baby," she replied absently, turning
the key again with a harder motion.

"No....this part." Melanie held out the picture as Buffy finally
got the door to unlock. Buffy took it and examined it,
surprised to see that he'd indeed written more than just his name
on it: To Melanie....a bright, particular star. With love, William St.
James.


"What does it mean?" her daughter asked after hearing the
message read.

"It's from a play by William Shakespeare." Buffy scooped the child
up and deposited her in the booster restraint, then secured the buckles.
"And it means he likes you...and he thinks you're a very special little
girl."

Melanie was silent for a moment, then said, "He likes you, too."

Buffy smiled. "Oh, really? And just how do you know that?"

Her daughter shrugged and yawned. "Because you're nicer than
the rules lady."


************************************************


She was in the kitchen boiling spaghetti when the phone
rang.

Melanie was sitting at the kitchen table, coloring in the
correct responses on the homework her teacher had
assigned.

All day Sunday and Monday, Buffy's heart had thumped
wildly in her chest when the telephone rang. William St.
James hadn't called, and she wasn't sure whether she was
disappointed or relieved.

She grabbed the phone, holding it between her shoulder
and her ear as she stirred spaghetti sauce. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Conner? This is Jean Ashton...Melanie's teacher."

"Oh, hi," Buffy stepped around the partition that separated the
dining area from the kitchen. "It's Summers," she said softly. "I'm
divorced."

The teacher apologized, then explained the purpose of the
call. "I wanted to let you know that something unusual happened
in class today."

"What's that?"

"Melanie participated in share time. In fact, she volunteered."

Buffy was almost speechless. Neither Melanie's kindergarden
teacher or Miss Ashton had ever been able to get the child to
participate in 'Share Time', a modern equivalent of what Buffy had
known as 'Show and Tell'. In fact, when her kindergarden teacher
had all but insisted on it, the child had burst into tears and Buffy
had been called to come and get her.

A brief conversation with the equally upset teacher had resulted
in Melanie's never being made to have 'Share Time' again. The
message had been passed along to her first grade teacher as well,
and so far there'd been no problems.

"Are you sure you're calling the right house?" Buffy asked.

Although she'd been quite serious, Miss Ashton laughed. "I was
shocked, too," she said. "Melanie stood up in front of the class
and told them that she had been to some sort of fan convention for
'Outpost: Space' over the weekend?"

"That's right," Buffy affirmed, mentally blessing William St. James
all over again. Even if the man never called, she'd always be grateful
to him for his kind attention to her daughter, which was still obviously
affecting her.

"And she said she'd met the show's star? And had her picture
taken with him?"

Buffy confirmed all this happily.

Then the other shoe dropped.

"I didn't become concerned about what she was saying until the
end when she told us...."

Buffy's nerves tightened. "Told you what?"

"Well...to be truthful, Ms. Summers...Melanie told the entire class
that William St. James was going to be her new...daddy."




TBC......
Feedback would be grand!

Buffy nearly dropped the phone. "She didn't!"

"Oh, but she did." Miss Ashton sounded highly amused by
the whole incident, an emotion Buffy desperately wished she
could take part in. "Very casually, too."

Groping around the corner for the small dishtowel she kept
hung on the over door, Buffy wiped the sweat off her forehead.
"Well...I'll...I'll talk to her and...see if I can...uh...you know..."
Buffy stammered, feeling like a fool. "Just...I'll take care of it,
Miss Ashton. I...thanks for calling."

She took a deep breath and went back into the kitchen. Melanie
was still sitting at the table, but she had put down her crayon
and folded her arms in front of her. Her chin rested on the back
of her hand as she watched her mother dump spaghetti into a
colander and place the boiling pot back on the stove.

"That was Miss Ashton," she announced, then turned to face
her daughter. "Melanie...why in the world did you tell the class
that William St. James is going to be your daddy?"

No point in beating around the bush.

Melanie shrugged and stared at the paper in front of her. "Be-
cause."

Buffy waited, but there was nothing further forthcoming at the
moment. She was afraid that this was going to be one of those
times where she would have to pry the answers out of her
daughter with a crow bar. "But you know that's not true."

Melanie's eyes darted towards the kitchen. "Is dinner ready,
Mommy?"

"Don't change the subject, Melanie Anne," Buffy replied sternly.

"But I'm hungry."

"Melanie!"

"But I am, Mommy."

Frustrated, feeling like a rotten mother, Buffy grabbed two plates
out of the cupboard and placed a portion of pasta and sauce on
each one. She set them on the table, then poured two glasses of
milk.

"All right," she said briskly, handing Melanie a fork and a napkin.
"Let's eat...and we'll talk." She allowed the child a head start, then
said, "Melanie...tell me why you said it."

The six year old looked up at her mother with wide eyes. "Are you mad
at me, Mommy?" she asked, her lower lip trembling.

Buffy knew this wasn't a stall tactic on Melanie's part. Some kids
were masters at the "work up a few tears and you'll be off the hook"
game, but Melanie wasn't wired that way. She honestly didn't have
a deceitful bone in her body. That's what made this lie she had spoken
so truly difficult to understand.

Her daughter was as imaginative as the next child, but she knew
the difference between 'real' and 'pretend'.

"I'm not mad at you, baby," she assured the little girl, pushing her
curls back from her face. "Just tell me what would make you say
something like that."

Melanie twirled her fork around in her spaghetti, but didn't lift it
to her mouth. "I dreamed," she said quietly.


Buffy almost wanted to lay her head down and cry. This wouldn't be
happening if Melanie had any kind of a decent father in the first place,
one who loved her and put her first, ahead of everything else in his life.
Even if he was no longer HER husband...he was still a father.

But Angel had never really wanted to be a father in the first place, so
she'd had no right to be surprised when he'd turned out to be a poor one.


********************************************************************
Buffy had been thrilled and excited when she'd discovered that she
was pregnant. To her, it was the next logical progression in life. Love,
marriage, and children. Simple and basic.

Angel, however, had been appalled. He had just started working for
Wolfram and Hart, one of the more prestigious law firms in California.
His ambitions were heady. He wanted to be made junior partner within
the next couple of years, then slowly progress up the ladder as high
as it would take him.

He had political ambitions as well, which Buffy knew would amount to
nothing in the end. He was simply too easily led astray by a pretty
face, and would never be able to maintain the illusion of a strong, family
oriented man, a man voters could have confidence in.

After bringing the baby home from the hospital, it hadn't taken long
before Buffy knew that her marriage was not going to last. She'd adored
her newborn, and loved nothing more than caring for her. Which turned
out to be a blessing, because Angel couldn't be counted on for any-
thing.

He'd proved that the first time she'd asked him to bring their crying
baby from her bassinet to be nursed, figuring that Melanie should be
nurtured by both her parents. He had jerked away from her hand with
a grunt, telling her that he had to be up early for court the next day,
and it wasn't like there was anything HE could do for the baby anyway,
so what was the point of them both being up?

Buffy had stared at his back in disbelief before dragging her still
sore body out of bed and scooping up the baby herself. She took
her into the living room and nursed her in the antique rocking chair her
mother had given her, silent tears slipping down her cheeks and falling
onto the knitted pink blanket she'd wrapped Melanie in.

Of course he had apologized the next day, and she had forgiven him
and tried to get on with things...but she'd never really forgotten. His
indifference towards the baby wasn't malicious or mean...it was simply
that he had no time for anything but his own goals. He worked, or so he
had told her, long hours; sometimes well into the night. Days went by
when she and Melanie barely saw him. He rarely returned phone calls
or replied to messages she left.

Buffy was, for all intents and purposes, a single parent long before
it was made official by the courts. She'd led a protected life, sheltered
by her parents; she'd married young and then became a mother herself
before her marriage had time to solidify. But, sometime during the months
of loneliness she had been subjected to by Angel's unswerving ambitions,
she had learned to cope. She was the only stable influence in her child's
immediate world, and she had to grow up and step into that role fully.

Gradually, she had begun to pull away from Angel. The independence
she'd been forced to learn took root inside of her and began to grow, and
it wasn't a terribly long time before she knew that she no longer needed
him. She could do it on her own if she had to....and she did.

Still, she put off doing anything permanent, perhaps hoping that he would
somehow realize what he was missing and would straighten up and be
the husband and father that he was in fact as well as theory. She gave him
chance after chance, and he would make half hearted attempts, but nothing
lasted.

It wasn't until he missed his daughter's third birthday party that Buffy
finally decided to put an end to the farcical playacting they were doing.

He had called her mid-afternoon, promising to be home on time for the
small gathering that Buffy had put together. She had given him detailed
instructions to swing by the Toys-R-Us and pick up the tricycle that she
had already chosen and left there to be assembled. There were several
other gifts in the trunk of his car, gifts she had left there so Melanie could
see her Daddy coming in the door with them in his arms.

Five o'clock, the designated time for the little party, came and went. Five
thirty...five forty-five...five-fifty...passed by on the clock. At six, Buffy
called his office and was told he'd left for the day nearly four hours ago.

She tried his cell phone, but only got a connection to his voice mail. She
called two or three of his colleagues at the firm, and was told that they
hadn't seen him for most of the day. She had no trouble divining the lies
she was being fed.

Putting her mother in charge of the guests, she had jumped into her
car and sped downtown to the toy store. The trike was still there. Angel
had never showed up for it.

Buffy raced through the store, throwing items into a cart. She'd handed
the cashier her credit card, then called home and explained what had
happened to her mother.

The small party had been as successful as it could be, all things
considered. Buffy had spent the evening after everyone had left
plotting her next move. She had rehearsed everything she planned to
say to Angel when he showed up, but he hadn't come home at all that
night.

The next day, Buffy had retained a lawyer and began the painful
process of ending her marriage.
*******************************************************************


"You dreamed?" Buffy repeated. "You had a dream that William
St. James was your real daddy?"

Melanie shook her head, making her curls bounce. "No. My
NEW daddy," she clarified, still playing with her fork. "He came
to our house and said he was taking us home to be with him.
He said that he loved us most of all, and we were supposed to
be together."

It was so simple in her eyes, Buffy realized. She saw her
situation as a mistake, a cosmic glitch. Someone, somewhere,
had screwed up and had assigned her the wrong father. An easily
fixed problem. All she needed to do was find the right one.

And, according to her dream, she had done just that.

"Melanie," Buffy said reasonably, "you already have a daddy."

"That's okay," the little girl said promptly. "Alicia has two daddies.
So does Brooke, and Samantha, and Jacey, and...."

Buffy held up one hand to cut off the flow of names assigned to
Melanie's class mates from broken homes. "But, honey...you...I
mean we...we don't even really know him that well. Those other
little girls mommies married the new daddies because they fell in
love with them."

"You can fall in love with him...can't you?"

Looking down into the child's guileless eyes, Buffy wasn't sure
how to answer the question. She had a sneaking suspicion that
it would be amazingly easy to fall in love with William St. James...what
was not to love? He was handsome and sexy, good natured and
friendly, and he seemed to like children. He certainly had liked Melanie.

Actually, the man seemed....perfect. Which meant there had to be
something wrong with him.

"Look," she forged on, still trying for 'reasonable', "you can't go around
telling people that he's going to be your daddy, no matter what you
dream about. It's pretty unlikely that we're ever going to see him again,
except for Wednesday nights on channel....."

The phone rang suddenly, startling them both.

Buffy swallowed hard, wiping her damp palms on the seat
of her jeans as she stood up. Melanie was watching her,
still fiddling with her spaghetti.

It wasn't....it couldn't be....it was way too big a coincidence...

"It's probably Anya or Willow," she said firmly, picking the
names of her employees out of the air. "Maybe...maybe something's
wrong at the shop."

Melanie said nothing. Carefully laying down her fork, she took
a sip from her milk glass.

Buffy cleared her throat and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Buffy? It's William. William St. James. Remember me?"

She turned around and stared at her daughter, who couldn't
have looked more innocent. "Of course I remember you. How have
you been?"

"Busy. I'm sorry I couldn't call sooner. I wanted to, but I got
stuck doing re-shoots, and it was a big mess...so...yeah."

"I..I understand." She covered the phone with her hand and
mouthed "Eat your dinner" at Melanie.

"How've you and Melanie been?"

"Oh....fine. Just fine. Really...fine." Closing her eyes tight, she
wanted to scream at how stupid she sounded. "Would you like
to talk to her?"

"I'd love to."

Silently, Buffy held out the phone and waited.

And another miracle was performed by the miracle guy. Usually,
she had to chase Melanie through the house to get her to talk on
the phone to anyone but her grandmother. But all William St.
James had to do was call and she was jumping to her feet to
take the receiver.

"Hello...Oh, hi....Yes....Fine....Uh-huh....Me, too....I had a
spelling test today....I don't know....Sometimes....Did you like
it?....No....Because....Uh-huh....I'll ask...."

She looked at Buffy. "He wants to know if he can take us to where
they make the show sometime. Can we, Mommy?"

Buffy leaned against the wall. "We'll see."

"She said maybe....Okay....I did too....I drew a picture for you..Uh-
huh...I will....Bye." She handed the phone back to her mother and
went to finish her milk.

"Hi..."

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Yeah....I told you. We're just..."

"Fine, I know. You don't sound terribly fine, luv. You sure nothing's
wrong?"

Nothing she was ready to discuss with him!

"I'm just tired. Busy day today," she said, falling back on the
standard excuse.

He didn't sound convinced, but he let the matter drop. "Well, I
was wondering...I don't have to work tomorrow. Any chance I could
talk you and Melanie into going out with me? I know a place where
they serve great peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

Buffy was too caught off guard to offer up any kind of excuse. "Sure,"
she heard herself saying. "We'd love to."

"Great," he replied casually. "What's your address?" She could tell he
was writing it down by the way he repeated it after her. After promising
to be there at exactly 6:00, he instructed her to say goodnight again
to Melanie for him. Then, his voice dropped just a little into a deeper
tone. "Do you remember the last thing I said to you the other night?"

Like she could forget a comment like that. "Yes," she half-whispered.

"I haven't been able to get the thought of kissing you out of my mind,"
he said. "Do you think I have a chance?"

Listening to the husky quality of his voice as he spoke, and feeling
the slow tightening of her abdominal muscles in response to it, Buffy
would have called it more of a lead pipe cinch, than a mere chance.

But she couldn't very well say something like that. "I don't know.
Maybe. Probably," she finally admitted.

William laughed softly. "Tease," he whispered. "You're driving me
crazy."

Buffy could relate.

"I'll see you tomorrow, luv."

"Goodnight."

She hung the phone up, then turned to see her daughter looking
at her quite seriously. "Did you fall in love with him, Mommy?"

"Of course not," Buffy scoffed.

"How come your cheeks are all red?"

Buffy spun around and headed for the kitchen, muttering something
under her breath about boiling water and steam.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She never managed to return to the subject of Melanie's
indiscreet remark at school. By the time she got the dinner
dishes loaded into the dishwasher, supervised Melanie's bath
and dried her hair, then read her two chapter of 'Charlotte's Web',
she was too tired to discuss it anymore.

After a hot shower, she fired up her computer and entered
her days business transactions. She finished a letter to her
mother, and deleted a staggering amount of junk she'd neither
asked for nor wanted.

When she had her finger poised to click on sign off, she stopped
and decided to check the archive for a new story she could add to
the little booklet she was putting together for Melanie. She found
two and printed them, then her attention once again wandered to the
adult fiction.

An hour later, she signed off and climbed wearily into bed, ready to
sleep.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

"Captain Amara! Captain! We're receiving another distress call
from the Kaylenans," Buffy called. "How do you wish to respond?"

Rising from his command chair, the handsome blond starship captain
made for his private conference room. "Come in and we'll discuss it,
Ensign.

Buffy jumped to her feet, tugging down the back of her very short
skirt. She closed the door behind her, then turned to see her commander
sitting at the far end of his conference table. "Something wrong, Ensign?"
he asked, one brow arching in amusement.

"Well, sir...now that you mention it, I've been wondering...why am I
the only female personnel on the ship who has to wear a miniskirt?"

His startling blue eyes skimmed slowly over her body. "Because, you're
the only female personnel with the fantastic legs that it would be a
crime against nature to cover up."

"Oh. I see. Now, about that distress call? How did you..."

He waved one hand at her, then tilted his chair back and propped
his feet up on the table. "Not now. You've heard one distress call,
you've heard 'em all. They can wait."

"Huh?" Buffy was confused. "But, sir, they may be in serious
trouble. They said something about an enemy ship hovering just
out of the atmosphere."

The captain leaned over and pushed the intercom. "Bridge. Lock on
target the Praetorian vessel in range of Kayle Prime...then remove them
from my sky!"

"Aye, sir!" the second in commands voice responded.

The view screen flickered on just in time to watch the enemy ship
disintegrate.

"Thank you, Commander," the captain said, "Now...see that I'm not
disturbed for the rest of the evening." He signed off, then turned to
Buffy. "If I'm not mistaken," he said, leaning back and eying her
body up and down, "you have family of Kayle Prime...don't you, En-
sign?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded. "My parents live there."

"Well, then....I suppose you should be especially grateful to me
for dealing with the invasion problem so...expediently," he purred.

"Oh, I am grateful, sir. I wish I could tell you how much."

"Perhaps you could show me."

"How, sir?"

"Take off your uniform...very nice....I don't think such naughty under-
garments are regulation," he said, teasingly.

"Maybe, you'll have to report me," Buffy replied, shaking her hair
out of her eyes.

"Well," he said slowly, indicating that she should get closer. "Maybe
you'd just better take them off."

Buffy slipped the silk lingerie off slowly, enticingly...she hoped.

"Lovely, Ensign," the captain murmured. "Tell me....do you ever
touch yourself?"

"Sir?"

"Do, you Ensign?"

"I...well, I...doesn't everybody?" Her entire body felt flushed.

"Lying in your bunk at night...when you touch yourself....do you
think of me?" he whispered, reaching for her hand and pulling
her down to his lap.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Only me?"

"Yes."

"Good." He spread her legs apart until she was straddling his
lap, pressing her down against the sizable bulge beneath the tight
uniform pants he wore. "Know what that is?"

"Uh-huh."

"Tell me," he whispered, nuzzling her ear.

"It's....it's your....you know...oh, my..." Her voice was fading in and
out as he licked and nibbled at her earlobe.

"It's my cock," he groaned into her ear. "Hard...for you, Ensign. The
second I see you sashaying around in that little skirt...it gets hard so
fast it's almost painful."

"Really?" she asked breathlessly.

"Oh, yeah, luv....hard as steel. Can you help me with the problem?"

"All right!" She reached down and yanked his uniform shirt off over
his head, then unzipped the fly of his pants and reached in. Her fingers
wrapped tightly around his erect organ, stroking it up and down, hard
and fast.

"Come on, luv," he begged. "Sit down on it. Ride it. Ride it hard."

Happy to oblige, she lifted herself and placed him where he wanted
most to be, then lowered her hips. grinding down on him.

"Captain....Captain....oh, my....you're so....so big...."

"Biggest in three galaxies," he said, pumping his hips up and
down. "You like it?"

"Yes, Captain."

"You want it harder?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Hang on then!" Wrapping his arms around her waist, he rose to
his feet and laid her down on the conference table. He kept her at the
very edge, draping her legs over his shoulders as he continued to thrust
rapidly in and out of her.

Buffy turned her head and gazed out the window, transfixed by the
beauty of the velvet sky with it's spattering of diamond like stars. She
lay beneath her commanding officer, taking all he had to give, want-
ing more...and more...and more....

"Christ, Ensign," he grunted. "You're so fucking hot...so tight...and
juicy. I've never been in a tighter pussy before. Oh, fuck....it's like a
wet satin glove is just...uh!...just squeezing my cock...uh...oh, yeah...do
it baby...tighten it up for me...yeah, that's it...that's my good little girl."

It felt as though electricity was being poured into her body by
him, stimulating all her nerve endings and muscles to vibrant
life. Her legs wrapped themselves around his waist as he worked
over her.

"You're the best, baby," he muttered, leaning down to kiss her hard
on the mouth. "Better even than those Vendorian triplets...or the
Doge's number two wife back on Saturnian Five...or that receptionist
back at Command Headquarters...or the...."

"Enough!" Buffy said, digging her nails into his biceps.

"Oh, baby," he shouted, beginning to ram in and out even
harder. "Do it....fuck me good....come on....ahhhhhh....uh! oh,
yeah! Fuck.....yeah!"

His orgasm triggered hers, making her come on a wave of pure
pleasure. It was perfect and wonderful, and she wanted it to last
forever.

Unfortunately......

"Captain!" the intercom blared. "We need you on the bridge, sir!
Now, sir!"

"Sorry, babe," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "Love to bask in the
afterglow and all, but....duty calls."

"Yes, Captain. I know all about duty."


***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****


The alarm blared, nearly making Buffy hit the ceiling!

Instead of laying there for a few minutes and waking up slowly,
she jumped out of bed and headed for the shower....a very cold
shower.

This promised to be a long...long...day.

TBC....
Feedback is soooo nice

Chapter Notes: Okay, for the sake of simplicity, let's pretend that Sunnydale is a small city very close to Los Angeles. I want William and Buffy together a lot, and I don't want him to have to go a country mile to visit her.


Part seven...


"Did I hear you tell Anya that you have a date tonight?"

Buffy looked up from the front window where she was redoing
the displays for Easter. Willow Rosenberg was the first employee
she'd hired after Melanie's Garden began turning a profit.

Buffy had liked her immediately after talking with her on the
phone to set up a job interview. Meeting her had only cemented
the feeling. Willow was about her same age, with a short mop of
red hair that framed a sweet face. Her eyes were bright and
friendly, and she was a natural when it came to sales.

She was, however, a bit too focused on her employer's private
life. Willow felt it was her duty to make sure that everybody she
liked was as happy as she was with her own boyfriend. She had
already been successful at setting Anya up with a man who worked
for the company that had built and managed the Sunnydale Mall,
and was now training her sights on Buffy.

"It's not really a date" Buffy demurred, pulling out puffy wads of
pastel easter grass and scattering it around. "It's just...well, I guess
it IS sort of a date, but it's not just me...it's Melanie, too."

Willow blocked the window, preventing Buffy from escaping the
questions she still had. "So, tell. This is good, right? I mean...he
knows you have a daughter and he wants to get to know her. Most
guys take off like scared rabbits when they find out a woman has a
kid. At least that's what MY mom always said."

Buffy smiled, unconsciously shredding the easter grass she
still held. "He definitely wants to get to know her. In fact, he seems
crazy about her. You should see them together, Wils...it's like they
belong that way."

Willow's smile widened. "Really? And what about Melanie? Does she
like him, too? Does she open up to him?"

"Oh, yeah," Buffy nodded. "She's like a different child when he's
around. And he's so good with her. So patient and low key." She
shook her head in bemusement. "It's amazing."

"Well, who is he?" Willow asked eagerly. "What's his name?"

Buffy was saved from having to fess up when something in the
back storage room fell to the floor with a loud clatter of smashing
glass, punctuated by a vile curse word from Anya.

Jumping to her feet, she followed behind Willow to see what
the girl had broken now.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Buffy parked her car in the school lot and stepped out into the
warm afternoon sun. She was running a little late, so she broke
into a trot across the asphalt lot and headed for the block of
buildings where Melanie's class assembled every day.

Weaving through the crowd of parents and children, she walked
into the room and saw her daughter standing by her desk. She
had her pink 'Cinderella' backpack on, and Buffy could see the
traces of tears on her face all the way across the room.

She gathered the little girl up in her arms and kissed her
damp cheeks. "You're not upset because I'm late...are you,
baby? I'm sorry."

Melanie just shook her head. "I want to go home," she whis-
pered, burying her face against Buffy's shoulder.

Buffy stroked her daughter's soft curls as she turned to
give Miss Ashton a questioning look.

The teacher looked upset, too. She reached into a small
cooler next to her desk and extracted a box of apple juice.
Popping the straw in, she stood up and walked around her
desk. "Melanie...I need to talk to your mother," she said
quietly. "Can you please sit at your desk for a minute and
have some juice?"

The child sighed and nodded, sliding down Buffy's body
and seating herself.

Trying to mentally prepare for whatever was coming, Buffy
walked a few feet away with Miss Ashton. "What happened?"

"Remember what I told you about 'Share Time' yesterday?"
the woman asked, then sighed when Buffy nodded. "I guess
that someone passed the word about what Melanie said
regarding William St. James. Some of the older kids found
out about it and...well, you know how they can be. They
cornered her on the playground and they teased her about it.
Said she was...a liar. That she didn't even know him and was
just making up stories."

Although she was trying not to get angry, Buffy was finding it a
difficult task. Someone hurting her baby always brought out the "Mama
Bear" in her, even another child just doing what children do.

"Who was it?" she asked sharply. "I want to know what was done
about it?"

Teasing and bullying was strictly against school policy, and
was not tolerated. The board of education sent home reams of
flyers on the subject every time a new school year began.

Miss Ashton shrugged. "Nothing yet," she explained. "Melanie
won't name names. And no one else saw it. One of the kids
found her crying over by the back fence, and came to get me.
It took me a little while to get the story out of her, but she won't
tell me who was involved."

Buffy glanced over at her daughter. She was sitting quietly in her
seat, watching them talk.

"Believe me, Ms. Summers," the teacher said, "I'm no happier about
this than you are. Melanie is...very special. I hate the thought of
someone hurting her this way." She lowered her voice a bit more. "We'll
keep trying to find out who was involved, and I promise you they'll be
punished."

Buffy was silent for a moment. Folding her arms across her chest,
she finally said, "She's telling the truth, you know. Not about him being
her daddy, but she DOES know him. And he's...he's very fond of her."

Maybe she was overstepping by saying that, but she really didn't
think so. William had seemed quite clear about his feelings for the
child.

"I believe you," Miss Ashton said. "How could anyone not be fond of
her?"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


It was nearly five thirty when they left the school parking lot. Melanie
hadn't said a word about the playground incident, and Buffy had learned
not to push her to talk. She would get around to it when she wanted to.

As they sat and waited for a green light, Buffy looked into the rear
view mirror and saw her little one looking back at her. She made a
face that usually made the child giggle. "What's up, cookie?"

Melanie wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweater. "I guess I
shouldn't tell anyone about him."

Buffy shrugged. "That's up to you, honey. You can tell or not tell...if
someone doesn't believe you, then that's their problem. It doesn't
give them a right to be mean to you. And you know what? When you get
your picture in the mail, you can take it to school and show all
those little....kids who didn't believe you."

She turned the car onto Revello Drive. "How does that sound, baby?"

"Okay," Melanie said, staring out the window.

Peering straight ahead, Buffy saw an unfamiliar car parked in front
of her house. She smiled as she recognized the man leaning casually
against it.

"Melanie...look who's here," she said, swinging the car into the driveway.

William strolled across the lawn as she set the parking brake and
opened the door. "Hey, you two," he greeted them, reaching to
open the rear door for a little girl who had already wriggled out of her
booster seat. "I was starting to think I was going to be stood up by
the two prettiest girls in town."

Before Buffy could say a word, Melanie launched herself straight
at William, clinging to him like a barnacle to the hull of a boat.

He was surprised at such an abandoned greeting, but he scooped
her up and returned her embrace. "Everything okay, pixie?" he asked,
meeting Buffy's eyes over the riot of light brown curls.

She mouthed "problem at school" silently, closing the car doors
and rooting around for her house keys.

William followed her up the sidewalk and inside the small house.

"I'm glad to see you again," he said, patting Melanie's back and
looking at Buffy to include her in the sentiment. "I've missed you."

Melanie leaned back in his arms. "We missed you, too," she
announced frankly.

"Well, that's good to know," he said, placing her back on her
feet.

"Sorry we're late," Buffy murmured, trying to kick away a bit of
the clutter into a handy corner.

"Don't worry about it, luv," he said, smiling down at Melanie
as she held on to his hand. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

The little girl nodded silently in reply.

"Well, I've got an idea where to go for dinner. It's someplace
fun, and the food is pretty good. D'ya trust me?"

Melanie looked up at her mother, and Buffy smiled. "We trust
you," she said, smoothing her skirt. "Do I need to change?"

"No...you're gorgeous," he said softly. His eyes moved up and
down her small frame admiringly, then he remembered they
weren't alone. "Both of you," he added, fondling Melanie's curls
affectionately.

Melanie, who normally would withdraw instantly from such
contact, just smiled up at him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"I never saw a fish pond in a restaurant before," Melanie
said, staring at the pool of plump orange and white koi that
ran under the small bridge she was hanging over.

"Come on, honey," Buffy encouraged her to catch up and
follow the hostess. "You can see it again later."

Melanie hopped across the bridge, nearly stepping on the
trailing red silk of the kimono worn by the young lady
seating them. She climbed up onto one of the chairs
surrounding a large teppanyaki table, perching there on
her knees.

William made sure that they were at the end of the table,
keeping Melanie between her mother and himself.

The hostess handed everyone a warm, moist
hand towel, which Melanie used to scrub her face. She asked
William to read the hard words on the menu for her, and
agreed with his suggestion that she order chicken for her meal.

A small salad was served, followed by a bowl of broth that she
didn't touch. While they ate, he asked her how school had been
that day, and glanced at Buffy when a small frown clouded her
babyish features.

The subject was dropped when the chef arrived, pushing
a cart filled with all the ingredients for the meals ordered by the
occupants of the tables.

When the man began cooking right there on the table, Melanie's
eyes became hugely round. She watched everything he did in
utter fascination, bouncing up and down on her chair when his
knives flashed, and giggling when he literally tossed food around in
the air, including overloaded bowls of rice, without dropping a grain
of it.

The hostess brought her a special pair of chopsticks and showed
her how to use them. She tried gamely to pick up the pieces of
chicken on her plate, but they kept popping out of the chopsticks,
so she solved the problem by separating them and using one of the
sticks to stab the bite of food.

Since the chef was keeping her so well entertained, William leaned
back in his chair and looked over at Buffy. She met his gaze, and
he smiled in a way that made her short of breath.

Before she could stop it, her dream of him came flooding back and
her face turned scarlet. He noticed it, and his eyes questioned her.

"What are you thinking about?" he whispered, leaning closer. "Are you
blushing?"

Buffy shook her head. "It's the heat from the table," she claimed,
picking up a glass of ice water and draining it.

"Buffy?" he said softly. "Look at me, darling."

She did, and immediately wished she hadn't. It was like he could
see right through her, and knew what was really going on in her
head, because his smile became even more intimate.

William tilted his head a little, making her lean closer. "Do I
get my kiss?"

Sitting back in her chair, Buffy slowly returned his smile. "You just
might."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melanie protested vehemently when Buffy ordered her into
the ladies room to have the chocolate ice cream washed off her
face. She fidgeted and squirmed, firmly denying her mother's
suggestion that she use the facilities as long as she was there.

Throwing her hands up in defeat, Buffy allowed the little girl
to return to where William was waiting while she went to the
bathroom and freshened her makeup.

Rejoining them, she saw that they had followed the meandering
koi pond into the sushi bar.

Melanie watched the chefs preparing the food, and looked up at
William, obviously asking him something about it. He visibly hesitated,
and Buffy knew he was remembering the child's fondness for fish, and
her insistence that they were to be regarded as playmates and not
entrees.

Seeing his extreme reluctance to explain to Melanie just what was
going on in there, Buffy went in and rescued him by announcing that
it was very close to a certain girl's bedtime.

The child was agreeable, and she skipped across the parking lot
between them, clinging to both their hands.

When they reached William's car, a late model Lexus SUV, Buffy
and Melanie waited for him to unlock it. An elderly woman climbed
out of the car that had just parked next to them, and she smiled
at all three of them.

"What a nice little family," she said kindly. "Your little girl is
adorable.

Instead of correcting her, William returned her smile and said, "Thank
you. I think so, too."

Buffy's heart thumped loudly in her chest. She was surprised he
couldn't hear it!

He buckled Melanie into the booster seat he'd taken out of her
car, then closed the door and came around to the passenger side.

Gently pushing her up against the door, he pinned her there by
leaning against her. "I can't stand it another second," he whispered.
"Kiss me....please."

And there went her heart again!

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part eight....



Pushed up against the car door as she was, Buffy was intensely
aware of his lower body pressed to hers. Once again, her dream
from the night before began running flashbacks in her head, this
time coupled with various works of fiction that she'd read. One line
in particular from the dream just wouldn't keep still....

"Biggest in three galaxies..."

She wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out that the claim was true!

"There you go again," William said, his lips nearly touching her
ear. "Blushing, I mean. And you with no steam table to blame it on."

"I'm not blushing," she insisted, then threw every scrap of caution
she had to the four winds. "Now do you want that kiss or not?"

"Want," he murmured, his mouth trailing from her ear over her
cheek. "Want bad."

Buffy gathered up her courage and placed her hands on his cheeks,
guiding his mouth to hers. She heard him take in a deep breath right
before their lips met, and his own hands came up to plunge into her
hair, mussing the neat ponytail she'd tied it back in.

Her hands released their hold on his face and landed on his
shoulders, then moved down the front of his chest. Her fingers touched
solid muscle beneath the faded blue cotton shirt he wore, and she fiddled
with two of the small white buttons.

His tongue probed delicately between her lips, coaxing them apart
for him. He obviously knew what he was doing, because he didn't try
to shove his entire tongue into her mouth and down her throat. Instead,
he stroked lightly, taking teasing tastes of her inner cheeks and ex-
ploring the edges of her teeth.

Buffy's head was getting dizzier by the second. Fortunately for her, he
knew when to put the brakes on.

Breaking their connection, he rested his forehead against hers and
swallowed hard. "Wow," he panted. "I definitely want more of that."

"Oh...I...we have to stop," Buffy replied, her voice sounding weak and
breathless to her own ears. "Melanie will...get the wrong idea."

"Mmm...no, she won't," he protested, keeping her in place. "There is no
wrong idea here. It's all....very right." Pulling back, he looked into her
eyes to gauge her response. "Don't you feel it?"

She wasn't going to pretend that she didn't know what he was
talking about. "Yes, I feel it," she said quietly. "But there's more to
it than just that...just feeling it."

William nodded. "I know. But that's where it starts. Feeling it....and
wanting it. Then everything else falls into place."

Buffy placed her hands back on his chest and nudged him away. "Not
always."

He said nothing more, but unlocked and opened the door for her. As
he walked around the back of the car to the driver's side, Melanie turned
her head to watch, a fact that didn't escape Buffy's notice.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The drive back to her house was made in near silence. Melanie
was falling asleep as the large, comfortably riding vehicle ate up the
miles without jostling it's occupants.

William unfastened the child from her car seat and carried her
into the house. Handing her over to the her mother's care, he went
back to his car and transferred the booster seat back into Buffy's
car.

By the time he came back into the house, Melanie was waking up
and had no interest in being put to bed. Buffy excused them from
the room and took the little girl upstairs. She gave her a quick bath,
then put clean pajamas on her. After supervising the brushing of her
teeth, she allowed Melanie to go back down to the front room for a
while.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With his hands pushed into the front pockets of his jeans,
William wandered around the small living room. He stood in front
of the mantle, studying the collection of photographs displayed there,
smiling at the ones of Melanie at different stages of her development.

There were no pictures anywhere of her with her father. With Buffy, yes,
and with people he assumed were her grandparents, but nothing with a
man anywhere around Buffy's age. This had to indicate that she was
divorced, and that it hadn't been a peaceful break up.

He honestly couldn't begin to imagine why any man would turn
his back on the two ladies who lived in this cozy little house. Had to
be blind or just plain stupid was all he could deduce.

Just look at what was here. A beautiful little girl, sweet natured and
innocent and just aching to be loved...and her mother, also beautiful.
And sexy...and desirable...and....everything.

Well...if the elusive "ex" didn't want what was here, then HE most certainly
did.

It was the strangest thing. Life had been good to him, and he hadn't
felt like anything particular was missing from it...until he'd laid eyes on
Melanie and her mother...and then he knew. Somehow, he knew.

When the elderly woman at the restaurant had made the comment
about 'his' adorable little girl, he'd felt a warmth race over him. He
had almost corrected her, but the warm feeling was so pleasant that
he let it go, let her go on thinking that they were a family.

That he was.....a father.

A tiny sound from the doorway caught his attention, and he turned
to see Melanie standing there. She was dressed for bed in a pair of
yellow footy pajamas, and had her face freshly scrubbed and her hair
brushed into neatness. In her hand, she clutched a piece of paper.

She looked absolutely adorable, and he wondered yet again what
kind of man could turn and leave this child.

"What have you got there, pixie?" He slipped off his jacket and
sat down on the sofa, waiting for her to come to him.

"It's a picture," she said shyly, approaching him with her hand
held out in offering. "By me."

"A picture for me?" William took it from her hand, turning it
over to examine it.

It was a child's version of what he presumed was himself standing
next to the "Phoenix", his starship on 'Outpost: Space'. He had
to smile at the scale. The way she'd drawn in, it appeared that
he was larger than the ship.

Her name was written at the bottom, in the gold glitter ink of
from the pen he'd given her.

"This is very good," he said, smiling as she perched next to him
on the sofa. "If it's all right with you I'd love to hang it in my
dressing room."

Her curls bounced as she nodded.

"Melanie..."

They both looked over at the same time at Buffy, who was waiting
at the foot of the stairs.

"Time to be tucked into bed now, honey," she added.

"Okay." Melanie reached for William's hand and tugged on it. Her
intent was clear; she expected him to accompany her upstairs for
the bedtime ritual.

Without a word, he stood up and allowed her to lead him up
the stairs, with her mother bringing up the rear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Her bedroom was exactly the sort of place he would have ex-
pected. Supremely feminine, it's centerpiece was a twin sized
bed covered by a pink spread with matching canopy.

The furnishing was all white and gold French Provincial. She had
a chest of drawers, and a dresser with a mirror mounted on the
wall above it. The little room was well stocked with all the sorts
of things a little girl treasured. Stuffed animals of different varieties
perched here and there, and in one corner there was a small table
with an elaborate doll house on it. Lined up against one wall, he
saw three or four tiny beds, each one with a baby doll tucked snugly
inside it.

Her walls were pale pink and, much to his surprise, there were
several pictures of him taped up. Some of them were the sort of
pictures sold at the convention, while others had apparently been
clipped out of magazines. On the wall directly behind her bed, was
the picture he'd signed for her.

"This is my room," Melanie said, climbing into her bed.

"So I see," he replied, making a show of examining all her
things. "I like it."

"Me, too," she said, laying back on her pillows. Her eyes were
heavy lidded as she watched Buffy pull up her blankets and tuck
them around her. She then switched on a small 'Winnie-The-Pooh'
night light that sat on the dresser and flicked off the overhead light.

"Charlotte's Web, Mommy," the little girl murmured sleepily.

"Not tonight," her mother said, leaning over to kiss her. "It's already
past time for you to be sleeping, pumpkin."

Melanie must have been tired indeed, as she gave in without a
word of dissent. After Buffy straightened up and moved away from
the bed, she wordlessly held out her arms towards William.

He felt his heartstrings being tightly wound around baby fingers
as he hugged and kissed her goodnight.

"Thank you for dinner," she whispered in his ear.

"You're very welcome, pixie," he whispered back. "You have sweet
dreams."

"Okay." She turned on her side and reached for a stuffed
lamb, snuggling her arms tightly around it as she closed her
eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Would you like some coffee?" Buffy asked, back down in the
front room.

"Sure." He couldn't have been less interested in coffee, but he
wanted an excuse to linger a while longer. Following her into the
kitchen, he sat down at the table and watched as she measured
the grounds into a white paper filter and dumped water into the well
of the coffee maker. She pushed the 'on' switch, then found two
mugs in the cupboard over the sink.

"It'll just be a minute," she murmured, sitting opposite him at the
table.

William scooted his chair closer to hers and reached for her
hand, a gesture that made her jump a little. "What's wrong?" he
asked, stroking the palm of her hand with his thumb.

"Nothing," she said, a little too quickly. "Um...thank you again for
dinner. Melanie really enjoyed it."

"And how about Melanie's mother?" he asked, tilting his head and
studying her face.

Buffy smiled. "She also enjoyed it. Very much."

Deciding that there was no point in being subtle, he lifted the
small hand he was holding and placed a slow kiss in it's palm,
maintaining eye contact with her. "I enjoyed it, too," he said, his
tone making it quite clear that he was not necessarily referring to the
meal. "And I want more of it."

Buffy felt her heart start that rapid beating it had been doing
earlier, but before she could reply, the coffee maker clicked off.

"Coffee's ready," she said breathlessly. She tugged her hand out
of his grasp and moved quickly across the kitchen.

William was right behind her, stopping her hand as it reached
for the glass pot. He stepped up close and placed his hands on
the counter, one on either side of her, effectively caging her in.

"I don't want any coffee," he whispered, pressing his lower
body against hers. "I want you."

Against her will, Buffy's eyes drifted shut. His voice had dropped
into a deeper register, and one hand moved up and pulled the
elastic scrunchy from around her ponytail. He dropped it on the counter
and used both hands to spread her hair around her shoulders.

"Beautiful," he told her, stroking the honey brown tresses, feeling
them slip through his fingers. "So soft."

She shuddered slightly, all thoughts of what she'd come over
here to do fading away from her conscious mind.

"Buffy." He placed his hands on her waist and turned her
around to face him. "Kiss me again. You kiss so sweetly."

She could have returned the compliment, had she been in
the mood to speak. As it was, all she wanted to do was exactly
what he was asking of her.

Twining her arms around his neck, she went up on her toes
and gave him her lips.

William wrapped his arms firmly around her waist, pulling her
closer as his mouth devoured hers with passionate intent.

He'd meant to go slow, to coax and cajole her into melting
in his arms. But the taste of her lips and the soft warmth of her
breath on his skin was quickly destroying all of his control. He
felt himself leaning into her, pushing her against the counter so
that he could feel the slender length of her body rubbing against
him, making him painfully hard.

When he finally was able to tear his mouth away from hers, they
were both panting for air. "Oh, God, I want you," he groaned in
her ear, shocked at how desperately needy he sounded.

Buffy was the one who put the brakes on. Even through the
rushing in her ears, she was attuned to the actions of her
child. When she heard a little creaking sound come from the
ceiling, she knew that Melanie had gotten out of bed and was
probably heading for the bathroom.

Pushing William away, she shook her head at his whispered, "Don't
stop" and placed her fingers over his mouth to shush him.

A minute later, Buffy heard the toilet flush and then the soft
padding of little feet back down the hall and into the bedroom.

The brief interruption brought her back down to earth with a
bang. Gathering up all her resolve, she moved out of William's
arms and sat down at the kitchen table.

He waited for a moment, willing his body to settle down before
he joined her. She was staring at her clasped hands, and
when he leaned forward to kiss her, she pulled back.

"What's wrong?" he asked, keeping his voice low. Surely he hadn't
misread her signals. She had been participating in that rather heated
embrace just as whole heartedly as he had. "Buffy? Talk to me."

Taking a deep breath, she went directly to her point. "I wanted it,
too. What was happening...just now. Please don't think that I didn't."

He smiled, obviously pleased at her declaration. "That works out
nicely then."

"But it's more than just that," she went on, trying to put her thoughts
in some kind of coherent order. "It's more than just me that's affected
by it."

Sitting back, William nodded. It wasn't difficult to follow her train of
thought. "You mean Melanie?"

Buffy laced her fingers tightly together to keep herself from reaching
out to touch him, to smooth the slight frown from his brow. "Everything
I do affects her...and I have to be so careful because...she's so tender.
You can't imagine...she's just the gentlest little thing and she feels
everything so....intensely. When she met you..."

"Buffy," he stopped her flow of words by placing one finger on her
lips. "You don't need to worry. I'm crazy about her."

"I know you are," she said, pushing his hand away. "I can see that.
And she feels the same way. I've never seen her take to someone
the way she has to you. That's why I can't help feeling a little...scared."

"Scared of what, honey?" Refusing to be put off, he took her hand
and held on to it.

"If....if something happened between us...if it didn't...go well...she
would be so hurt. If you..."

Knowing exactly where she was going with this, he was determined
to put a stop to it. "Buffy," he said firmly, making her look at him. "Only
good things are gonna happen between us....and I'm not going anywhere."

He sounded so certain...so sincere...that it make her heart turn
over.

Hooking his foot around the leg of her chair, he dragged it closer
to his. "I'm right where I want to be. From the minute I saw you,
heard your voice. I've never been so instantly attracted to a woman
like that. God...you just knocked me out."

Reaching for her, he pulled her onto his lap. "Why would I want to be
anywhere else? You're beautiful and funny, and sexy as hell. You
tease and tempt me...and you don't even know you're doing it. And
you taste like original sin. You're devil's food cake, baby...and I'm
starving for you," he said hotly, his lips close to hers.

She was drowning in him again, she could feel it happening. What-
ever spell it was he used, it was a powerful one and she was no
match for it.

They shared a soft, wet kiss. When he pulled away, he glanced
upwards. "And the icing on this cake is sleeping upstairs in a pink
canopy bed."

Any shred of resistance she might still have been able to summon
up disappeared like morning mist. Something wonderful was finally
happening...and this time, she wasn't going to let it slip away.




TBC.....

Feedback is welcome.

Acting The Part

Part 9





William maneuvered her leg around until she was straddling
his lap. He placed one hand on the back of her neck and
urged her down until he could find her lips with his again.

The hot shock of contact with his tongue made Buffy gasp,
and she immediately brought her's into the fray. When she
felt his hands move up and down her back, she arched it
slightly, pressing her breasts against him.

It had been a very...very long time since she'd had any kind of
intimate contact with a man. One or two casual dates that had
never amounted to anything had kissed her, but nothing more
than that had occurred since the implosion of her marriage.

Sex with her former husband had been a pleasant enough
experience. He had been her first lover, and she'd had nothing
to compare him with, but he'd always been gentle and con-
siderate.. Their love life had taken on a sort of routine; three
nights a week, with an occasional Sunday morning tryst.

Until the baby had entered the picture.

After Melanie's arrival, the Sunday morning sex had disappeared
completely. She'd been a good baby, and much easier than most
from what Buffy had been able to piece together by listening to
other moms, but she'd been the "early to bed and early to rise"
type, and was always awake by 6:00 am at the latest.

As the months went on, Buffy's disillusion in Angel had caused
her to lose interest in maintaining much of a sexual relationship,
and since he hadn't been pushy about it, she hadn't had a difficult
time believing that he was finding his satisfaction somewhere else.

She had been doing all right without it...up until the other night
when she'd read the adult fan fiction centering around William St.
James. Meeting him and being instantly attracted had cemented
the yearnings, while the realization that he had similar thoughts about
her sent them skyrocketing.

Now...she was sitting on his lap in her kitchen chair, with her body
plastered up against his as though it had been glued there. His mouth
was moving from her lips and blazing a path of moist kisses over to her
ear, and then down the side of her neck. When he nuzzled the base of
her throat and touched his tongue to the shallow cup there, she felt a
surge of pure sexual need shoot through her entire body.

"Buffy," he murmured, burying his fingers in her hair to tilt her head
back. "You're so sweet....so pretty." His mouth moved down to the
opening of her blouse as he lifted his hips to seek harder friction. "God...I
can feel your heat."

She could feel his, too....and it was driving her wild, making her utter
all sorts of mewing little kitten sounds and desperate pleas that had no
foundation in words of any kind.

The top button of her blouse suddenly separated from it's holder. William
took immediate advantage by trailing his kisses down from her collarbone
and just under the starchy cotton fabric.

Feeling the sensation of his hot breath so close to her bare skin made
her want to tear her shirt open all the way, to offer him more than he could
reach. Rearing back, she met his intense blue gaze with hers and froze
for a moment at the expression on his face, one that she'd never seen
before...not even in the early days of Angel's courtship.

It was desire of the most ravenous kind. She could tell just by looking
at him what it was he wanted to do. She could sense his longing to pull
her down to the floor with him and.....

"Mommy?"

Buffy lurched back so fast that she slipped off William's lap and
landed on her butt. Melanie was at least halfway down the stairs and
she'd be heading for the kitchen.

Rolling onto her hands and knees, she scrambled to her feet and
went to head her daughter off at the foot of the stairs.

"What's wrong, baby?" she asked, pushing her messy hair back
off her face.

The problem was instantly apparent. Melanie's chest jerked in
little rhythmic hitches that made her gulp for air. "I need a drink," she
said between hiccups.

"Oh, you sure do." Buffy turned her around and patted her on the
behind. "Scoot back upstairs and I'll bring you one."

After watching her daughter go into her room, Buffy took a deep
breath and refastened the top button of her shirt. As she returned
to the kitchen, she tried to will away the color rising in her cheeks,
but it was a useless effort.

Without saying anything to William, who was standing next to the
rear door, she grabbed a plastic cup that Melanie had acquired at
some fast food restaurant and half filled it with tepid water. Slapping
on the lid, she pushed a straw into it and nearly ran up the stairs.

"Here you go, baby," she said, sitting on the bed beside her
little girl.

Melanie took in a breath so deep that it sounded like she
was draining the room of oxygen. Her little face scrunched up and
she made a conscious effort to hold the breath inside while she took
several swallows of water.

"Better?" Buffy set the cup down on the nightstand where the
child could reach it.

The two of them waited it out for several seconds before Melanie
released the breath she'd been working so hard to keep

"Yes," Melanie finally said, relaxing her features.

Buffy tucked her in beneath her blankets, then smoothed
her hair back and kissed her forehead. "I'll leave your cup here
in case you need more, but if you do then be sure and go to the
bathroom, okay?"

"Okay, but I just did."

Grateful that she didn't ask whether or not William was still in
the house, Buffy kissed her daughter one more time, then went
back downstairs to the kitchen.

"Sorry." She shrugged apologetically. "One of the drawbacks of
dating a mom," she said, wishing that she hadn't the moment the
words left her mouth. He'd never said anything about dating her, and
the comment hung in the air between them.

But he just imitated her shrug. "No problem." There was a long
pause, then he added, "I should really be going."

Unfortunately, that was true.

Not that she wanted him to leave, but Melanie's interruption had
been like a splash of cold water bringing a fainting person back to
consciousness. Everything had begun moving at the speed of
light, and she needed to slow it down.

As immensely attracted as she was to William St James, she'd
only just met him three days ago. What would he think of her if
she hopped into bed with him on such a short acquaintance?

Although her body was in tumultuous chaos, her brain was now
struggling to regain control, the two parts screaming mixed
signals at her and causing sensory overload.

She gave him a tiny nod. "Yeah, it's getting late...and I have
SUCH a day tomorrow."

William smiled. "Me, too."

There was another awkward pause. "Well..." they both said at
the same time, then laughed.

"Right." He moved away from the door and went into the
living room to retrieve his jacket.

"Don't forget your picture," she told him.

"Oh, I'd never do that," he replied. "Did you see this?"

Buffy nodded. "I was there when she drew it. Couldn't help
wondering how you manage to fit inside your spaceship."

"Starship," he corrected her.

A smile lifted the corner of her mouth. "What's the difference?"

"About thirty-five years. No one says 'spaceship' anymore."

"Oh, is that a fact?" Buffy countered. "Well, not according to
what I've read on the Inter....."

She stopped cold, horrified at nearly revealing to him her first
hand knowledge about the sexual exploits of his fictional
alter-ego.

"Thank you again for the lovely evening," she said, hoping he wouldn't
notice her abrupt change of subject and guess the reason for it. She
pulled open the front door and ushered him out onto the porch...where
she stayed.

Buffy had no intention of going anywhere near that big, comfortable
behemoth he drove, lest her desire to finish what they'd started in
the kitchen shoot her resolve not to right straight to hell.

"You're welcome," he replied. Producing his car keys from the
inner pocket of his jacket, he once again pinned his eyes on
hers. "Can I call you tomorrow?"

With her mind on autopilot, she made some sort of an agreeable
comment.

Then, with no warning whatsoever, his hand reached for hers,
dragging her up against his body. "Kiss me goodnight," he
demanded softly.

Her heart beat increased exponentially as she did what he
wanted. When he moved away, she ordered her hands to
relax the death grip they'd taken on the soft leather of his
jacket.

She watched as he drove away, already making plans for
an unpleasantly cold shower.


TBC...
Feedback is great!

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part ten.....


After dropping Melanie off at school the next morning, Buffy
decided to go in to work early, before the mall opened for
business. Both Willow and Anya wouldn't come in until afternoon,
which would give her some alone time to finish changing the
window displays and tag some new merchandise.

She swung into a space in the far end of the parking garage
and switched off the engine. It made an ominous rattling sound
as it died out, making her wonder just how much longer she'd
be able to extend the life of the elderly Plymouth Sundance. It
was already having electrical problems, the key was constantly
sticking in the door locks, and it was in desperate need of a
tune up.

But as badly as her little car needed some serious TLC, most of
her available income was tied up in other areas. Her store
was just starting to show a profit after it's monthly expenses, but
it wasn't exactly putting her and Melanie in fat city. By the time she
made the lease payment and paid her employee's salaries, she just
about had enough to cover personal expenses...like rent and food.

Although Angel was making a large salary, she had refused to
accept alimony when they'd split up. She hadn't wanted them to have
anything but Melanie in common, and he hadn't argued about it
with her. He was fairly good about child support, more because it
would hurt his 'image' with his firm and whatever political cronies he
was currying favor with if he were to be seen as a 'deadbeat father',
rather than any actual concern about his daughter's needs, she
suspected.

Making her way through the empty corridors where the back doors
of the mall shops were located, she dug through her purse to find her
key. When she pulled it out, there was a small piece of paper stuck to
it. She unlocked the door and dropped her bag inside, flicked on the
interior lights and then unraveled the scrap of paper....it was the phone
number that William had scribbled out for her the night of the convention.

Just thinking about that made a pleasant shiver creep all over
her, giving her goosebumps. She stuffed the little piece of notepaper
back into a side pocket of her bag and headed for the front of the
store.

She spent most of the morning trying to distract herself from concen-
trating solely on William St. James and his deliciously sexy face and
form. It had definitely been too long since she'd been kissed and
touched the way he had been doing last night. Now, it was all she could
seem to think about.

When her watch beeped the hour of 10:00 am, she flicked the switch
that raised the electric door at the front of the shop, then placed her
white signboard advertising a sale she was running on Easter clothing.

The mall was never very busy so early on a weekday morning, so
she decided to take advantage of the free time and began clearing
items out of the display case beneath the cash register. When she
had everything out, she located a bottle of glass cleaner and a roll of
paper towels and proceeded to give the inside of the case a proper
cleaning.

She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she failed to
hear someone enter the shop.

"Good morning!" William was bending over and looking in at her. Buffy
was so startled that she jumped backwards, banging her head against
the wooden frame of the display case and making the glass rattle.

"Are you all right?" he asked, concern on his face as she fell back
onto her rear. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Rubbing the back of her head, she grabbed hold of the counter and
climbed to her feet, her face bright red. What an inelegant performance
to put on before a man who had shown definite signs of interest in her.

"I'm fine," she assured him, trying to smile as though the whole
episode was just too funny for words. "Just...surprised."

"Well, I guess you were," he replied, a smile curving the corner of
his mouth. "You're not bleeding, are you?" Without waiting for a reply,
he headed around the side of the display case and joined her behind
the counter. "Let me see."

Placing one hand on the side of her head, he tilted it slightly and
examined the area in question. "Well, there's definitely a bump, but
no blood," he informed her, then bent his head and kissed the injured
spot gently. "Poor baby."

Buffy tipped her head back to look up at him. "It feels much better,"
she said softly.

He stared down into her eyes, hypnotized by the gold flecks in
their green depths. "I really am sorry."

She was equally fascinated by the deep blue gaze meeting hers. "I'm
not," she said, before she could stop herself. Her cheeks instantly
turned pink and she withdrew a little, breaking the spell his eyes had
begun to cast around her heart. "Um...what are you doing here?"

William took a deep breath and backed off a couple of feet. "Turns out
I wasn't needed on the set today," he said, glancing around at the
various displays of merchandise. "I wanted to see 'Melanie's Garden'."

"Oh....well, this is it," she replied, gesturing at the interior of the
store.

Buffy was proud of the small shop that she had put together all
by herself. It was the first completely independent project that
she'd ever undertaken, and she'd put in a lot of time and effort to
make it special.

The store was decorated in soothing pastels and delicate
fabrics. The various racks where clothing hung were made of
heavy wrought iron that she had painted white. There were several
tables covered with different types of clothing, from hats and shoes
to daintily made gloves and scarves.

The left side of the store carried boys wear, while the right side
catered to little girls. At the very end of the center aisle, there were
four fitting rooms around which she'd arranged three plush armchairs
and a white wicker table covered by children's books and fashion
magazines.

The main counter where purchases were made had an antique
wheelbarrow that she'd also painted white and filled with pots of
colorful flowers resting next to it. Behind the counter were three
wood shelving units holding a selection of picture frames and candles.
The top shelves were home to several china dolls in elegantly old
fashioned formal wear, interspersed with teddy bears and other
assorted stuffed playthings.

Inside the main counter, she had stocked a selection of children's
jewelry. There were lockets and tiny pearl necklaces, a velvet
ring case with several birthstone rings in varying sizes, thin gold
chains with fanciful pendants hanging from them, and a display of
pierced earrings designed for very small children.

She had adorned the walls with framed photographs of children. Some
black and white and some sepia toned, most of the kids in the
pictures were dressed in vintage style clothing that could be made to
order in the shop.

William wandered around the store, a delighted smile gracing his
handsome features. He picked up a few items and carefully replaced
them, examining everything with genuine interest and appreciation.

He was standing in front of a display of children's bath products,
uncapping and sniffing the different fragrances of bubble bath and
body wash, when his eye was caught by a large framed photograph
in the front window.

It was Buffy's favorite picture of Melanie. She'd had it enlarged to
15 X 20, and had placed it in a beautifully carved walnut frame, which
she'd then perched on a small easel.

Her daughter had been visiting at a friend's house that afternoon.
The two little girls had found a trunk full of old clothes and they'd
spent the day playing 'dress up'. When Buffy had come to pick
Melanie up, she'd been sitting in a patch of sunlight and wearing
a dressy satin and lace camisole that reached to her knees. The
thin straps had continually fallen down her arms, and her light
brown curls had been mussed and shining in the afternoon sun.

Buffy had quickly reached for her camera. When she saw that
Melanie had coaxed her friend's cat up onto her lap, she'd called
her daughter's name softly and snapped the photo when she'd
looked up and smiled.

The child looked angelic in the photograph, and it had been the
inspiration for 'Melanie's Garden'.

"She looks like an angel here," William said as he looked
at the picture. He grinned at Buffy. "I don't suppose this is for
sale?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No. Sorry. But..." She returned
to the main counter and opened a drawer in one of the shelving
units. Returning to the front of the store, she handed him a 5 X 7
copy of the picture. "For you."

His wide smile softened a little as he looked down at the
picture, then turned his eyes on Buffy. "You know that I've fallen
completely in love with this little girl, don't you?"

Buffy felt a swelling in the region of her heart. He was being
truthful about his feelings. She could see it in his eyes and hear
it in his voice. It was a lovely moment, made bittersweet by the
sad realization that Angel had never made such a sweeping
statement of love for his daughter...and probably never would.

This man....who had only known the child for a very few days...cared
more for Melanie than the man she'd called 'Daddy' all her short
life.

"Well, you're in luck," she replied. "Because I happen to know that
the little girl returns the sentiment."

He looked into her eyes, then placed the tip of his index finger
beneath her chin. "And what of her mother?" he asked softly,
tilting his head slightly. "Where do her affections lie?"

Buffy couldn't stop herself. She placed her hands on his
shoulders and lifted her face to meet his intent gaze. "She's...also
quite...fond."

"Is she?" he whispered, lowering his head until their lips
were very close.

With a tiny nod of her head, Buffy said, "She is."

William pressed his lips to one corner of her mouth, and then to
the other. When she didn't make a move to pull away, he slipped
his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, then captured her
lips on a softly indrawn breath.

Buffy's arms slipped up and around his neck as she lost herself
all over again in the heady euphoria his touch roused inside of her.
Making a soft sound in her throat, she pressed closer.

They broke apart for air, but stayed close, their lips not quite
touching.

"Buffy," he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers. "Do you
have to stay here all day?"

"Well," she breathed warmly against his skin, "I guess not. Why?"

"Because....because I want to go somewhere...with you. Somewhere
we can...talk...be alone. Please, honey?" he sighed deeply.

She tried to clear her head and think. Willow would be coming in
soon, then Anya would come later in the afternoon and stay until
closing. There was no reason she had to stick around. Anything she
had been planning to do could wait one more day.

"When Willow comes in," she said, returning the kiss he gave
her, "then I can leave."

"When?" he asked. "Soon?"

Buffy nodded. "Um-hmm. Very soon." They exchanged another long
and lingering kiss. "You could...you could wait in...there's a coffee
shop a few doors down," she panted as his mouth traveled down the
side of her throat. "I'll...I'll come and...and find you when...she gets
here."

"Yes," he groaned, his hands sliding down her back to her hips. "Okay,
I'll wait for you." He forced himself to let go and took one step back, then
lunged forward again and stole another kiss. "Hurry," he hissed against
her lips. "I don't know how long I can stand it."

She watched as he left the store and turned in the direction of the
coffee shop she'd directed him to, pressing her hands against her
warm cheeks, and still feeling the touch of his mouth on hers.

"Neither do I," she whispered.



TBC.....
Comments are appreciated.

Acting The Part
Chapter 11





Never had a clock's hands moved so slowly.

Buffy had discovered that there was a polar opposite to the old adage
about time flying when fun was being had; that it crawled when fun was
being anticipated.

Not that she was anticipating anything. Much.

Staring at her watch for the fifth time in the last five minutes, she
held it up to her ear, then gave it a good shake, then listened to it
tick some more. There was a wall clock mounted over the fitting
room area, and she was about to climb up on a chair and make sure
the battery wasn't kaput when Willow walked in the back door.

"What's wrong?"

Buffy blushed and pushed the chair back into it's original position. "I
thought maybe the clock had stopped."

"Why, am I late or something?" the other girl asked, stuffing her handbag
into a drawer behind the cash register.

Buffy grabbed her own purse out before Willow could close and lock
the drawer. "No...I just...I have to go. Something's come up and...I need
to...um...go. For the day...probably."

Willow nodded, looking concerned. "It's not Melanie, is it? Did the
school call?"

Although she was perfectly willing to stretch the truth as to what her
plans were, Buffy wasn't going to do it at the expense of Willow's
feelings. She was...as were most of the adults in Melanie's life, ex-
cluding her father...extraordinarily fond of the child and would worry
herself into a state of babbling nervousness if she thought something
had happened to her.

"It's not Melanie," Buffy assured her. "She's fine. I just need to go
and...do something." She started backing towards the entrance.
"I'll check in later, okay?"

Not giving her employee a chance to reply, she turned and walked
swiftly down the marbled floor of the mall's second story, mentally
jettisoning all thoughts of anything else but the man waiting for her.

He was standing outside the coffee shop, examining the collection
of tea pots and mugs in their window display. His hands were jammed
into the front pockets of his jeans and he was wearing a pair of wire
rimmed glasses that she'd not seen on him before.

They didn't detract from his good looks and sex appeal one iota. In
fact, they added to it by giving him a charmingly bemused expression
and further depth to his dark blue eyes.

He must have seen her coming in the window's reflection, because
he turned around and reached for her hand. Pulling her back into
his arms, he whispered, "Thank Christ! I was losing my bloody mind,"
and kissed her on the mouth, long and hard.

Without a moment of worry over who might be seeing what, Buffy
gave in to the delight his touch evoked in her. She slid her arms
up and around the back of his neck, returning his kiss in full measure.

When they came up for air, she smiled. "I like those," she said,
indicating the glasses he was wearing.

"Do you?" he asked, slipping his hands up and down her back in a
very pleasing caress. "Make me look smarter than I really am, don't
they?"

She laughed a little, tilting her head and getting a closer look. "I'm
serious, I like them on you. They make you look....."

"Devastatingly sexy?" he suggested.

"....cute."

"Ouch," he winced. "There's a staggering blow to my ego."

Buffy shook her head. "I'm sure your ego will survive."

"Only if you feed it a little, darling." He stepped back, retaining
his hold on her hand. "Let's get out of here."

******************************


He walked with her to the mall entrance opening onto the
back parking lot where his Lexus sat in the late morning sun-
shine.

Opening the passenger door, he seated her gracefully, then
went around the front of the vehicle and climbed in. "Where would
you like to go?" he asked, keying the ignition. "How about out for
lunch? I know it's a little early, but....."

"We could to my house," she said, before she could stop
herself. "I just mean...I could fix lunch...if you'd like. Because...be-
cause you did...you know...take us out for dinner last night,
and...and there was the peanut butter sandwich on the....."

She stopped speaking abruptly when he slid one hand behind
the back of her neck and pulled her forward, capturing her
mouth with his and ceasing her nervous chatter.

Buffy had no defense whatsoever against such tactics. It simply
felt too good to resist.

"You know," William said, a few minutes later, when the first
urgency began to quiet down, "I haven't done this since I was in
school. Made out in the front seat of a car, I mean. I'd forgotten how
much fun it is."

She smiled, running one finger over the high arch of his cheek
bone. "Make you feel sixteen again?"

"Oh, yeah," he chuckled ruefully. "Raging hormones and wild
curiosity, punctuated by an occasional smack when I got a little
too free with my hands."

"Someone slapped you?" she asked in patent disbelief. "You?"

He shrugged. "I wasn't always this handsome and self assured,
you know," he said teasingly. "But I pretended to be. Drama classes
helped me put it across. Then, when I was almost seventeen, I
had my first girlfriend. Alexandra. Gorgeous little Italian bombshell.
Alex showed me things I'd never even dreamed of. I was nuts about
her."

"What happened?"

"Oh, she met the right tackle on the football team and decided that
brawn was more appealing than brains...or acting ability. I was un-
ceremoniously dumped."

Buffy couldn't imagine such a thing ever happening to him. "Bet she's
sorry now."

"I doubt it. Her boyfriend was drafted by the NFL three days after
he graduated college. So far he's been in two Superbowls AND was
voted MVP two years in a row. They have a house in Fort Lauderdale
and three kids, last I heard."

He looked cheerful enough, so she had to assume that his heart
hadn't been too terribly shattered by his first love.

"Actually," he went on, "it's all worked out for the best."

"How so?"

"Well...now there's you," he said simply. "Worst thing in the world
is to be involved with someone else when the right person comes
along."

Buffy sat back in her seat and gave him a speculative look. "Are
you?" she finally managed to make herself ask.

"What...involved with someone else? No."

He said it quite matter-of-factly, with no evasive tone or guilty
expression, but Buffy had to have it all out on the table before
things moved too far along to stop painlessly.

"That woman the other night?" she ventured. "At the convention.
She seemed kind of...angry...when you were talking to me."

Unconsciously, she held her breath.

"Woman?" His brow furrowed for a moment. "You mean Dru? Dark
hair and eyes?"

Buffy nodded, then shook her head. "It's not my business, I know..."

"Dru is my agent," he informed her. "Period."

She looked doubtful. "She seemed awfully possessive for an agent."

William sighed. "Agents ARE awfully possessive," he said. "Their
clients are their livelihood, and they want them to stay focused on
their careers. Buffy," he added, taking her chin in his hand and turning
her to meet his steady gaze, "Drusilla Howard is NOT my girlfriend.
At the moment, I'm 'girlfriend free'. Or, I was...until a couple of days
ago."

He kissed her lips again; a sweeter, softer kiss, with the express
purpose of doing exactly what it accomplished....melting her heart.

"Now," he said, pulling back and smiling at her. "Did you say something
about lunch at your place?"


******************************


He drove her around to the parking structure to pick up her car,
then followed her back to her house.

She instructed him to sit at the kitchen table, trying to put the
memory of the last time he'd sat there out of her mind, without
much success.

"I haven't been to the store in a couple of days," she confessed,
searching the contents of her refrigerator. "How about an omelet?"

"Sounds good to me," he replied, shedding his jacket and rolling
up the sleeves of his shirt. "Keeping in mind the fact that I've never
prepared a meal in my life...anything I can do to help?"

Buffy looked at him. "Never? What in the world do you eat?"

"Out. A lot."

Her heart did a little flip-flop. Damn it! Was he TRYING to be so
charmingly adorable?

She cracked eggs into a mixing bowl, added milk and whisked them
into a yellow froth. After melting butter in a skillet, she poured the egg
mixture in and waited for it to set, then grated cheese on top, flipped it
and turned the heat down to a low blue flame. While she waited for it
to get puffy, she made toast and set the table.

"I'm impressed," William said after taking his first bite. "This is very
good."

She shrugged, pleased at the compliment. "I enjoy cooking. When I
have the time."

"I enjoy eating," he replied, grinning at her in a way that made goose-
bumps pop up on her skin. "So we were obviously meant to be."

After they finished, she sent him into the living room and threw the
dishes into the sink to soak before joining him.

He was standing in front of the fireplace, studying the framed pictures
she had displayed there. When Buffy came into the room, he turned
and took her hand, pulling her over to the couch.

She thought for a moment that he was going to say something,
but instead he leaned forward and kissed her, nudging her back
into the corner of the sofa.

Every bit of pent up emotion that had been churning inside of her
came to the fore, spilling over into a torrent of desire. She allowed
her mind to drift off and her body to take the wheel.


******************************


William's own mind was clouded with Buffy. Everything about her
seemed like the only thing he'd ever wanted.

He had never really been in a serious relationship before, and he
was surprised at how easily he was ready to embark on one with a
woman he'd only met days ago.

It wasn't for lack of opportunity. He met plenty of attractive and eligible
women. The business he was in was rife with them.

And it wasn't as though he didn't want to settle down. He was over
thirty, and so far his life had gone pretty much the way he'd planned
for it to go. He had spent years paying his dues before 'Outpost:
Space' had been offered to him. Now, he was able to sit back and
take advantage of the results.

Movie offers were coming in on a regular basis. Nothing he was
particularly interested in just yet, but it was nice to be asked. He
had plenty of money in the bank, and had just bought his first home.

Everything in his professional life was steaming along nicely. Then,
just four short days ago, his personal life had been turned upside
down...and given a good solid shake as well...when Buffy and Melanie
had entered it.

And he loved it! Absolutely and unequivocally loved it!

He was swerving into this new direction eagerly, with no second
thoughts or worries, and the only warning signal going off was telling
him not to waste any time establishing himself in the lives of these
beautiful ladies.

Nothing in him was telling him to slow down, to be careful, to
watch his step. Instead, his gut was informing him that there was
no point in waiting, no reason to hesitate. The right woman had
finally come along, and she was a highly desirable little package
with an added bonus holding on to her skirt.

He didn't want to scare her off by being too aggressive in his
pursuit, but he was also afraid that if he didn't move quickly
he was running the risk of another man possibly stepping
in ahead of him...such as an ex-husband realizing what a colossal
mistake he'd made and deciding that he wanted his family back.

The thought of such a thing happening made him feel
remarkably more possessive than he was actually entitled
to be at this point. His caress became a little rougher, his
kisses more demanding.

Ordering himself to slow down was an exercise in futility. She
was too lovely, and he was too attracted.

William honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd been
so hard...so ready...just from kissing a woman. Probably
sometime in his adolescence, before he'd developed the
skill of self control.

Buffy was making that very concept difficult to maintain,
and he doubted she was even aware of it.

Her lips were moist and warm, and they tasted of a
cherry lip gloss that he wanted to lick off. Did she know
what she was doing to him with her mouth, and that he never
wanted her to stop? That she was driving him insane?

Drunk on her taste, he pressed down harder, pushing
her deeper into the sofa cushions and pinning her there
with his body.

He groaned softly when she parted her lips, and their
tongues met and mated in a way their bodies were
aching for.

They finally separated, both gasping for air. William pursued
his advantage, kissing and nuzzling his way down the
slender column of her throat as she tilted her head
back, offering it to him.

His lips encountered the open V of her blouse. Only the
top two buttons were undone, denying him access to all
the treasure he'd find further down.

One of his hands went searching for the third button. It
slipped from it's buttonhole without a word of protest from
Buffy, and he started on the fourth one.

Before he could complete the task, they were interrupted
by the sound of a small brass clock on the mantle chiming
half past two o'clock.

He felt her hands on his chest, and he reluctantly allowed
her to push him slightly away.

"School's out in fifteen minutes," she told him. "I have to
go and get Melanie."


******************************


Buffy knew her body would never forgive her for what she was
about to do, but there was no hope for it. She stood up on
mildly shaking legs, smoothing her mussed hair and re-
fastening her shirt buttons.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, hating herself for the state she was
leaving him in.

William took a couple of deep breaths before he rose pain-
fully to his feet. "It's all right," he said, trying to sound like he
meant it.

Buffy waited for half a beat, then went looking for her purse.

******************************

Out on the front porch, Buffy locked the deadbolt, then turned
to look at William. He seemed a tiny bit less uncomfortable
than he had been.

Wondering what came next, she walked with him to where
his car was parked. "Can I call you later?" he asked, unlocking
it.

"Sure." She gave him the sunniest smile she could produce
at the moment and wished he would be more specific. "I'll be
home tonight," she said, inwardly cringing at the obvious hint.

He climbed into the car, and was about to close the door
when he remembered something she'd said yesterday.

"Can I ask you something?" When she nodded, he asked, "Did
you say something about Melanie having a problem at school?"

"Yesterday, she did. Her class has this thing they do called
'Share Time'. You might know it as 'Show and Tell'?"

"What about it?"

"Well...Melanie doesn't do 'Share Time'. She never has, not
even once...until this past Monday. She got up in front of the class
and told them that she'd gone to the convention and all about
you...you know, the picture and the autograph and all." She
sighed deeply. "Some of the older kids found out and they
didn't believe that she knew you, called her a liar, and...made
fun of her."

Buffy purposely left out the "My new Daddy" part of the
story, even though he'd probably get a kick out of hearing it.

"So...she got upset and started to cry, and her teacher had
to go and take her off the playground."

"Hmm. But she's all right now?"

"Yeah. She's all right."


******************************


She was late. Again.

She parked in the lot and almost sprinted for the classroom,
making her way through the usual afternoon throng of kids and
parents.

Melanie was standing next to Miss Ashton, holding a sheet
of paper in one hand, her backpack's strap slipping down her
small shoulders. The anxiousness on her face faded when
she saw Buffy.

"Hey, baby," Buffy said, taking the paper Melanie offered
and examining the drawing. "Very good. More art for the
refrigerator gallery," she added, although she was beginning
to think that if she taped up one more piece of her daughter's
work, the entire refrigerator would topple forward from
the weight.

She was still talking with Miss Ashton...hoping that there
had been some progress in ferreting out the bullies that had
cornered Melanie on the playground...when she noticed a
change in the nearby crowd of parents, teachers, and kids.

Turning around to see what they were all staring at, Buffy's
eyes widened when she saw William striding casually
across the playground in her direction.

A slow smile tugged at the corners of her mouth when
they made eye contact.

**Okay, it's now official. I'm definitely falling in love with
this man!**



TBC.....
Feedback is so appreciated.

Acting The Part
Part 12




Paying no attention to the crowd of gawkers assembling on
the playground, William grinned and swung Melanie up into
his arms. "There's my princess," he said, loudly enough for
everyone around to hear.

"You mean me?" Melanie asked.

"Course I mean you." He gave her a squeeze. "Didja have fun in
school today?"

The child nodded. "We did vowel sounds today. As, Es, Is, Os, and
Us."

As always, she focused all of her attention on him, not once
looking around to see who might be witnessing the encounter
and reporting it the next day.

Buffy, on the other hand, very much wanted this vindication for her
daughter and hoped that every single one of the kids who'd been
picking on her were watching.

Smiling at William, she said, "How did you know where..."

"I followed you," he interjected, reaching for the drawing she
still had in her hand and looking it over.

His admission surprised her. "You're good. I didn't
notice you at all."

William shrugged. "I did a season and a half on 'Precinct Twelve'
I guess something stuck. This is very nice," he said to Melanie
as he inspected her art work. "What are you going to do with
it?"

"Mommy hangs stuff on the frigerator," she explained.

"Well, Mommy's very lucky to have so many of your pictures
to hang up. The only thing on my refrigerator is a reminder
from the vet that my dogs need to be wormed," he hinted
broadly.

She tilted her head slightly and wrinkled up her small
nose. "Ewww!"

Much as it had at the convention Q & A, their conversation
was drawing the attention of the people around them, people
fascinated at the rapport between the two.

"I'd love to have some of your pictures to put up," said
William, setting her back on her feet while keeping her
hand firmly in his.

After that, nothing would do except that he see her
classroom, and she dragged him willingly inside with her.

Buffy stayed by the door, watching as Melanie showed off
the evidence of her scholastic triumphs. Spelling tests with
large red 'A' s on them were stapled up on the "Look How
I'm Doing" board. A chart with the five food groups that she
had colored was displayed with others at the back of the
room.

"Why is the cheese purple?" William asked, bending over
to examine her work.

"I like purple."

"Of course."

Grabbing his hand, she towed him up front to introduce him
to the class mascot, a plump black and white hamster named
Oreo.

"I know it's none of my business," Miss Ashton said quietly,
standing next to Buffy and preventing anyone else from entering
the classroom, "but I'm beginning to think Melanie knew exactly what
she was talking about the other day."

With her arms folded across her chest, Buffy looked at the
teacher. "What do you mean?"

Miss Ashton smiled and nodded at William, who was now being
shown the contents of Melanie's desk. "He looks like pretty good
'Daddy' material to me."

Her cheeks tinted a light pink, Buffy watched her daughter peel
a gold foil star from a math test and stick it on William's shirt. "He
does, doesn't he?" she murmured softly.


*************************

After introducing him to her teacher, Melanie tugged William
outside again and pointed out the various landmarks of her
school, giving him a comprehensive tour of the swings and slides,
the cafeteria, and every single drinking fountain on the premises.

Gradually, some of the other children became braver, and the next
time Buffy looked around she saw him sitting on one of the swings
with Melanie in his lap and a group of kids gathered around them,
hanging on every word he said.

She slowly drifted closer, listening as he talked with the children,
patiently answering all their questions.

His affection for Melanie was plain for anyone to see, but what
surprised Buffy was the fact that she was sitting there...virtually
surrounded on all sides by a growing crowd, a situation she usually
avoided like the plague...calmly. She wasn't participating in the
conversation, but at least she wasn't hiding in the bathroom.

When the little group began breaking up, William vacated the
swing and carried Melanie back to where Buffy stood waiting.

"Thought maybe we could stop and get some ice cream," he
said.

"Before dinner?" the child asked incredulously. This was an un-
precedented event.

He shrugged and looked at Buffy, leaving it up to her.

She was in far too good a mood to give a lecture on proper
nutrition. "I think that's a great idea," she said, taking the hand
he held out to her.

Their fingers laced firmly together, he gave her hand a
squeeze as they walked towards the parking lot.

Without thinking twice, Buffy squeezed back.


********************


"Can you have dinner with us?" Melanie piped up from the back
seat of William's SUV. "Can he?" she immediately asked her mother.

They had returned to the parking area of the school and Buffy had
buckled Melanie into her booster seat. After being grabbed and
thoroughly kissed, she had driven her car home, followed by William,
and they had taken his car to the local Baskin and Robins.

Surprised at the initiative her daughter had just taken, Buffy auto-
matically nodded and said, "Sure. If you'd like to," she added as
he pulled into a parking space.

Turning the key and shutting off the engine, he turned to look
at her with a slow smile appearing on his face. "I would love to," he
said, his eyes telling her things he couldn't say in front of a six year
old.

Unable to keep a silly smile off of her own face, Buffy pushed open
the car door and climbed out. Melanie was already out of her seat
and was yanking at the inside door latch. "It's stuck shut," she
announced, looking out through the rear window.

William opened the door from the outside and held her hand
as she jumped down to the pavement. "It's not stuck," he said. "There's
a special lock that keeps little girls from opening it on the inside."

"How come?" Melanie asked, keeping tight hold of his hand.

William closed the door and smiled down at her. "So that it can't be
opened when the car is moving," he told her. "It's to keep you safe,
pixie. It's the first time I've ever used it," he said to Buffy.

As they crossed the parking lot, Melanie slipped her free hand
into her mother's. "We don't got one of those on our car, do we?"
she asked Buffy.

"No, baby. Maybe next time."

Melanie looked up at William. "Our door sticks shut a lot," she
said. "Sometimes Mommy has to kick it."

Holding the door open for them, he gave Buffy an inquiring look. "You're
having car problems?"

A little embarrassed, Buffy tried to shrug it off. "Nothing serious. It's
just an old car. You know how they are...there's all kinds of little things
that act up."

He said nothing for a moment, watching as Melanie examined the
various choices of ice cream available. "You know," he finally said,
"I have an excellent mechanic. Maybe he could take a look at it."

As much as she appreciated the offer, there was no way she could
afford to have the work needed to fully repair her car. She had been
letting the minor problems slide by, all the while hoping that nothing
major would crop up.

William noticed her hesitation and knew what was causing it. "It
won't cost anything," he added quietly. "He's a friend, he'll do it as
a favor."

He was an actor, and he knew how to deliver a line, but her ex-husband's
half baked stories had provided Buffy with on the job experience at recognizing
a snow job when she heard one, and she would be willing to wager that she
was hearing one right now. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that the
proposed repairs wouldn't cost HER one thin dime.

She didn't want to shoot him down by accusing him of duplicity,
especially when it was so obviously well meant. But, at the same
time, she wasn't about to have him owe money on her account, knowing
full well that he probably wouldn't allow her to pay him back.

Fortunately, Melanie saved her from having to turn him down by
announcing that she'd chosen one of the '31 Flavors' being offered
to her.


******************************


They sat at a small table in the far back of the shop.

Melanie worked diligently to keep the ice cream from dripping
down the sides of her cone.

William had opted for a dish, hoping that Buffy would do the
same. He knew that sitting there, watching her licking an
ice cream cone would result in an uncomfortable situation
for him.

Blithely unaware, she'd done the exact opposite of what he'd
wanted.

He kept his raging libido as calm as he could manage, until
his eyes zeroed in on a tiny smear of chocolate on the corner of
her mouth. The napkin holder at their table was empty, and he
sent Melanie back up to the counter to fetch some.

As soon as the little girl was out of ear shot, he leaned over
the table and pinned his gaze on Buffy's. "I want to lick that
chocolate off you with my tongue," he whispered. "It's killing
me."

His comment both aroused and unnerved her. Turning her head
for a moment to check on her daughter's progress, she decided
to go with the arousal.

"Go ahead," she whispered back.

William's eyes widened for a bare instant, and he wallowed in
the lust her words had caused in him. Cupping her chin, he
drew her closer until he could feel her warm breath on his
skin, then extended his tongue and lapped up the drop of ice
cream.

He lingered on her lips for a moment, nearly choking when
her tongue darted out and touched his.

Wondering who the uninhibited stranger occupying her body
was, Buffy pulled back seconds before Melanie walked up
with enough napkins to wipe every face within a three mile radius.

Shoving her chair back and jumping to her feet, she said, "Time
to go!" in a tone that sounded sickeningly chirpy to her ears.


******************************


Dinner that night was later than she normally served it.

Needing some time alone to re-group, Buffy turned down William's
offer to help. She located some leftover lasagna in the freezer
and reheated it, then tossed a simple salad of greens and tomato
wedges.

After putting the meal on the table, she went upstairs to
announce that it was ready.

Hearing quiet voices, she paused in the doorway to her
daughter's room, and her heart melted at what she saw.

William was sitting in the large rocking chair with Melanie in
his lap and a book open in his hands.

"Charlotte and Wilbur were alone," he read. "The families had
gone to look for Fern. Templeton was asleep. Wilbur lay
resting after the excitement and strain of the ceremony. His
medal still hung from his neck, by looking out of the corner of
his eye he could see it. 'Charlotte,' said Wilbur after a while,
'why are you so quiet?' 'I like to sit still,' she said. 'I've always
been rather quiet.' 'Yes, but you seem especially so today.
Do you feel all right?' 'A little tired perhaps.' "

Once again she compared William and Angel...and once again,
Angel came up short. He had never...not one time...sat in that
rocker with his daughter on his lap, reading to her.

It was another thing to add to the list she kept in her head of
things that Angel had never done; he had never changed
Melanie's diaper...or prepared a meal for her...or played a game
with her...or gave her a bath...or tucked her into bed at night. Small
wonder that the child had gone searching for a 'Daddy'.

She'd never really had one.

"Nothing can harm you now. These autumn days will shorten
and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and
fall. Christmas will come, and the snows of winter. You will live
to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal
to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winters will pass,
the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond."

Buffy sat down on the side of Melanie's bed, just as engrossed
as she was.

"All these sights and smells and sounds will be yours to enjoy,
Wilbur. This lovely world, these precious days...."

The words he spoke were evocative. These WERE precious
days.

The first six years of Melanie's life seemed to have flown
by at the speed of light. Buffy could only imagine how fast the
next six would go.

Precious days...

For the first time, she found herself almost pitying Angel
for everything he had thrown away...all the precious days that
would never, ever come again.

TBC...

Feedback is appreciated.

Excerpt from 'Charlotte's Web' by
E.B. White.

Drink your milk, Melanie."

"I did."

"All of it, please."

Fighting back a smile, William picked up the glass of
milk that Melanie had poured for him. Her slightly off aim
pouring method had left a white ring beneath the glass which
he quickly wiped away with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Drink it all down, pixie," he said. "Want to grow big and
strong, don't you?"

The child instantly picked up her glass and emptied it,
making it obvious to anyone who cared to look that she
did so because HE had requested it.

Buffy just shrugged it off. She was now accustomed to the
way William's opinions and actions governed her daughter's be-
havior, and she wasn't about to interfere. As long as someone
got the milk down the little girl's throat, she didn't really care
who it was.

Melanie pushed her plate away, a signal that she had no
intention of eating one more bite. She climbed down out of
her chair and ran around to the other side of the table where
William was sitting.

He immediately pushed his own chair away from the
table and lifted her into his lap. "You don't have to eat all of
it," she informed him, a phrase picked up from her mother,
he was sure. "Just do your best."

"Thank you," he replied, "but I still have plenty of room left
for the rest of this very nice dinner."

Buffy watched their interaction with great interest. It seemed
so natural to them both, and they looked so 'right' together
that she had to wonder if Melanie's dream hadn't been as
completely far fetched as she'd thought, more of a premonition
than a dream.

She pushed that thought away, labeling it unlikely. There was
no way that Melanie could have known that her mother and
her prospective 'Daddy' would be so attracted to each other. Not
at the time she'd had that dream, anyway.

Still, she couldn't help imagining how things might have played
out had William been Melanie's biological father in place of
Angel.

For one thing, she'd probably still be married, because if Angel
had been one half the father she suspected William would be,
she would never have left him.

As she mused over that possibility, she suddenly remembered
something that William had said earlier; "Worst thing in the world
is to be involved with someone else when the right person comes
along."

Was Angel the right person? Had he ever been, or had she just
wanted him to be so badly that she'd been willing to compromise,
especially after their child's birth?

In other words, had it all been a huge mistake on her part,
one that Melanie had to pay for by being saddled with a
father who didn't possess the emotional wherewithal
needed for the job?

Angel had failed as a husband. He'd failed as a father. But
maybe...in the long run...it was better that way.

Because now...there was William.

On the day her divorce had been final, Buffy had put Melanie
to bed, then sat beside her and watched her sleep, making a
silent promise that somehow...somewhere...she would find
a man who would love her child as much as she did herself,
a man willing to take on an immediate family.

Of course, she'd quickly learned that it wasn't as simple as all
that. The few men she'd casually dated had pretty much been cut
from the same cloth; uninterested in her child, but willing to put up
with her in the belief that as a divorced woman, Buffy was desperate
for sex.

She hadn't been, although she was beginning to feel more and
more that way over the last few days because now...there was
William.

Buffy didn't realize that she'd drifted into a bit of a daze until
William snapped his fingers in front of her.

"What?" She shook her head. "Did I miss something?"

Melanie giggled as William whispered something in her ear. "We
asked...for chocolate cake..." She stopped and looked at him. "I
don't think we have any," she whispered back.

Before he could reply, Buffy jumped up and went into the
pantry, returning with two small packages in her hand. "I've
got something almost as good," she announced, showing them
what she'd brought. "Hostess Cup Cakes."

She handed one package to William. Opening the other one,
she slid one of the little cakes out, then gave the package to
Melanie.

William chuckled. "God, I haven't had one of these since I
was your age," he told Melanie, watching as she licked
chocolate bits from the cardboard. "I think this calls for more
milk."

"Okay." She put down her cupcake and jumped off his lap. "I'll
go and get some."

To Buffy's everlasting amazement, not only did she pour
more milk for William, but for herself as well!


******************************


After the table was cleared and the kitchen put to rights, Buffy
marched Melanie upstairs for her bath. Although normally the
child was quite playful in the tub, it was Wednesday night, and
she was all business. She was bathed, dried off, dressed in
clean pajamas and back downstairs in less than fifteen minutes.

As the theme music began for 'Outpost:Space', she plopped
down on the floor in front of the television, her arms wrapped
around her stuffed lamb.

Buffy was crossing in front of the couch to sit in the
armchair when William's hand darted out and grabbed hers,
pulling her down beside him.

"This feels strange," he murmured in her ear. "I never watch
myself on television."

She was surprised. "Never?"

"Nope." He shook his head shrugged. "It seems...I don't know,
conceited or something? You know...'Hey, look at me, I'm on tele-
vision! Aren't I wonderful!' "

"Oh, that's just silly," she said. "You're definitely not conceited."

"Thank you." He peered at the screen closely. "Do I look fat to you?"

"Fat? Are you..." Turning to look at him, she saw that he was
teasing her and gave him a small shove. "Very funny."


******************************


"Watch this," Buffy whispered, gesturing at Melanie.

At the show's halfway mark, she had climbed up on the couch
and settled herself between her mother and William. Her attention
had never drifted, right up until the credits began to roll. Then, as
though someone had flipped a switch, she fell instantly asleep.

William watched this, grinning hugely.

"She does this every week," Buffy explained as she stood up
without jostling the child. "She's wide awake until exactly that
same point and then out she goes."

Starting to bend over and pick the sleeping girl up, she was
stopped by William. "I've got her," he murmured, rising to his
feet with Melanie in his arms.

Buffy went ahead of him up the stairs, flicking on the night light
in Melanie's room, and turning the covers down.

William held the little girl for just a moment more, then lowered
her into bed. Buffy purposely held back, letting him pull the
blankets back up. Watching him lean down and kiss Melanie's
cheek as he whispered, "Sweet dreams, pixie," made her
heart turn over in her chest.

When she joined him in the hallway, he was leaning against
the wall. "I liked that," he said simply. "Putting her to bed."

"Me, too," she nodded. "It's a special time of day. Very
peaceful."

He reached for her hand and took her back downstairs.


******************************


She made coffee and brought it into the living room. Instead of
finding William on the sofa, she saw him sitting on the chair in front
of her desk. His head was slightly tilted, and Buffy knew exactly
what he was looking at.

The stack of papers next to her computer, the 'Outpost: Space'
stories she'd been printing for Melanie.

Her entire body became one heated blush. It swept from her
hairline to her toes, making her hand jerk and spill a few drops
of coffee.

William glanced up at her, then did a double take when he
noticed her agitation. "What?"

Forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand, she set
both mugs down on the coffee table. "Nothing," she replied,
trying to sound convincing.

He didn't look at all convinced, but he didn't pursue it. "Got
these off the Internet, right?" Picking up the stack of papers,
he flipped through them.

She wiped her suddenly clammy hands on her skirt. "Well, yes,
but they're...I mean they're not...for me...I just...I thought, you
know...for Melanie. That's...that's who they're for," she finally
choked out, seemingly unable to stop babbling nervously. "Not
me."

"Oh," he said casually, then, "Did you read them?"

Moving towards in baby steps, she attempted to make a
response that was the truth, but not the whole truth.

"I've...I've skimmed over them." She swallowed hard, then
lobbed the ball back into his court. "Have YOU ever read them?"

"No." He shook his head. "I keep meaning to. I know there's
a lot of it out there, but I wouldn't even know where to begin."
Looking as though a light bulb had just popped on over his head,
he said, "Maybe you could..."

**Don't ask me what I KNOW you're about to ask me!**
she yelped frantically in her head.

"...help me out by..."

**Don't say it! Do NOT say it!**

"...showing me where I can find..."

**I don't WANT to!**

"...some of them."


Trapped, she could hardly refuse. "I can do that."

He smiled at her, the smile that always made her blood
course rapidly through her body. They traded places, and he
leaned against the desk...watching as she found the
fan fiction archive she'd been visiting recently.

Scanning the opening page, he looked impressed and
leaned over, one hand on the back of her chair and the
other one on the desk.

Buffy clicked on 'fan fiction' and waited.

"Whoa," he murmured, looking over the long list of
titles. "There must be five hundred stories here."

She scrolled quickly down the page, barely letting him
see what the titles were and searching for the 'G' rated
ones.

William leaned even closer. "Wait a second," he said,
stopping her. "Go back a little."

Resigning herself to the inevitability of it, she scrolled
back up to the 'adult' section. "Where?"

"Right there." He pointed at the screen.

The titles by themselves were enough to make her blush!

She hesitated. "I...I don't think this is a very good idea."

"I do." He smiled his wicked smile again, but she had her
head turned and didn't see it.


******************************

William didn't have to see her face to know what was going
through her mind. The heat she was giving off was enough
to melt the polar ice caps.

Although he felt sorry for her obvious embarrassment, it
was too good an opportunity to miss. Placing his hand over
hers on the mouse, he chose a title at random and clicked
on it: 'Above And Beyond The Call'
Written by: Starlover, who doesn't own a
speck of 'Outpost: Space', though she'd be
willing to settle for owning Captain Amara.

Rating: Adults only! Keep an eye on your kids.

Summary: PWP (Do you really need to know
more?)


As he read the story, Buffy sat rigidly still, not allowing
herself to squirm in discomfort, and feeling rather foolish for
wanting to.

**You're being ridiculous," she scolded herself. **You're a
grown woman, with a child., and you've been around the
block before...so, stop it!**


Her common sense told her off, but she still wasn't about to
sit there and read along with him. Turning her face up, she
observed his reaction and was charmed to see him just
barely moving his lips as he read.

"Hmm." He straightened up and folded his arms across his
chest.

Buffy had to ask. "How does it make you feel to read that? To
have people write about you..." She couldn't make the words
'having sex' come out of her mouth. "...that way?"

He shrugged. "Honestly? Suddenly inadequate."

"What?" She was truthfully perplexed by his con-
fession. "Why inadequate? In what way?"

Unlike Buffy, William had no problem making certain words
come out of HIS mouth. "Well, it's damn flattering, but I
should probably warn you before we get involved that I can't
possibly ejaculate five times in fifteen minutes."

It was such an amusing, unexpected comment that
she forgot to be embarrassed and just laughed. "Not even
for me?"

"As beautiful and sexy as you are...no can do, honey. I'm
good, but I'm not THAT good." Nudging her over a bit, he
sat next to her on the chair.

"What a disappointment," she sighed.

"You're telling ME!" He pulled her onto his lap, wrapping
both arms around her waist. "And," he added, "when I
DO ejaculate, I don't produce puddles."

Another spurt of laughter burst out of her. Delighted by her
reaction, he continued provoking it by comparing himself to
the author's version. He informed her that he didn't walk
around with a 24 hour a day erection; that he wasn't
possessed of an 'endowment' that had its own zip code; and
that he had most definitely never...and he stressed 'never'..even
ATTENDED an orgy, much less STARTED one.

When her giggling was finally under control, Buffy tilted her
head back to look at him. He returned her silent gaze for a
moment, then glanced back at the computer screen.

"Do you know how much I want you," he read out loud
from the text. "That I've always wanted you?"

He paused, gesturing for her to take up her part.

Buffy looked at the screen. "Those words trip easily off
your tongue, Amara. You must have spoken them many
times."

"Don't think to distract me, princess. I want you...and I
WILL have you." He whispered the words in her ear, his
breath warm on her skin.

Flustered by his actions, she lost her place for a moment.

"Where's...oh, here. Um...why are you so set upon me, when
there are women at every station who would give you anything
you asked of them?"

"But everyone knows that the daughter of Selkira is the most
beautiful and exiting woman in the farthest reaches of occupied
space."

"You have a quick and...and facile tongue, Earth-man."

"Let me show you what I can do with it." More words delivered
right into her receptive ear, making her feel soft and pliable in
his arms.

William turned her on his lap and captured her mouth beneath
his. Their lips parted and their tongues caressed, playing and
probing.

His arms tightened around her as the kiss deepened. There
was passion and hunger, barely restrained, and neither had
the will...or the desire...to stop.

Buffy was the first to break away. She stared into his dark eyes,
a little dazed. "Would you...like to come upstairs?" she asked,
shocking herself right out of her shoes. "To my...bedroom?"

He nodded slowly. "Very much."


TBC....
Feedback? I love it!

Acting The Part
Chapter 14



She slipped off his lap, standing on shaky knees. Taking both
his hands in her own, she pulled him to his feet and across the
room to the stairs.

As she placed her foot on the first riser, he made her stop
and turned her to face. Then, he picked her up, but not in the
usual 'carrying over the threshold' way. Instead, he plastered
his body against hers. Urging her to wrap her legs around his
waist, he carried her upstairs.

He paused for a moment so she could close Melanie's
bedroom door. She saw an uneasy expression cross his
face, and she quickly reassured him. "She won't wake up.
When she was a baby, I could vacuum right beneath her
crib and she wouldn't move a muscle. It kind of worried me at
first," she added as William proceeded down the hall to the
bedroom she was pointing at. "But when I told her pedia-
trician about it, he looked at me like I was crazy."

"Why's that?" William asked, pushing her bedroom door
open with one foot, then closing it behind him.

"Because most parents complain when their babies don't
sleep ENOUGH." she explained. "And there I was complain-
ing that mine was sleeping too much."

He smiled, setting her on her feet. "I see what you mean."

They stood for a moment in silence, both of them displaying
a little of the awkwardness caused by the enormity of what
they were about to do.

But, when Buffy finally kicked herself into drive and reached
to unbutton his shirt, he stopped her. "I need you to know
something," he said seriously.

She could sense a warning coming, but wasn't sure of
exactly which side of the fence it would land on. Torn
between breathing hard and hardly breathing, she nodded.

"It's just...this isn't a one night stand. I've had my share of
those and I know the difference. I want...I want more from
this...from you."

A bolt of excitement raced up and down her spine at his
words. "What do you want?"

"I want...everything," he said firmly. "Everything you're
willing to give me."

When he spoke that way, there was nothing that she
wouldn't give him.

"You'd better be sure of that," she said, lifting one hand
to caress the side of his face. "Cause I've got an awful lot to
give."

William turned his head. Closing his eyes, he placed a lingering
kiss in the palm of her hand. "Give it to me, Buffy."


******************************


His lips were on hers before she could say a word, and then
everything else in her mind slipped away. All she could think
about was how good it felt to have this man's arms around her,
strong and secure. She'd been sailing her emotional ship through
storm tossed seas for too long; now she'd finally found a safe
harbor...and she never planned to leave it again.

As his tongue parted her lips, he held her face in his hands to
keep her still. Dipping into her mouth, he teased and explored.

Buffy's hands were clutching his upper arms, her fingers
caressing the hard muscle of his biceps. When his hands
moved around, sliding down to her waist and pulling her lower
body more firmly against his, she moaned softly into his
mouth.

Pulling away to allow them both to breathe, he turned her
in his arms and sat down on the end of the bed. He parted his
legs and pulled her closer until she was standing between them.

Buffy took a deep breath and stared down into blue eyes that
were dark with desire. William stared right back, reaching for
the buttons of her blouse.

There were only five buttons for him to deal with, and once
he had the last one undone, he parted the sides of her shirt,
gazing with undisguised lust at her bare skin and lacy, pink
bra.

The zipper on the back of her skirt slid down before she even
knew his hands were there. The cotton garment pooled around
her feet, leaving her clad in just her underwear.

She felt a brief moment of embarrassment. It had been a
very long time since anyone had seen her undressed. Her
body was in pretty good shape...taking care of a six year
old, a home, and a business kept her on her toes, plus she
had a relatively fast metabolism that kept her from gaining
weight...but having a child caused permanent changes that
she couldn't control.

Her tummy, for instance. It was flat once again, but not as
hard and toned as it had been before. There was a definite
softness in her lower belly where the muscles and skin had
stretched to accommodate a growing baby.

William's hands moved around her back and unfastened her
bra with amazing finesse. He dropped the pink lace on the
floor and licked his lips. "God, you're beautiful."

Buffy blushed. "Well, I'm not the fresh, young thing I once
was," she said, hoping to amuse him. She knew perfectly
well that her breasts were no longer the perky handfuls they'd
been before she'd given birth. Motherhood had made them
fuller and heavier, and had darkened the light pink of her
nipples to a deeper shade of rose.

But William didn't seem put off in the slightest. Actually, he
seemed just the opposite as he leaned forward and nuzzled
the warm flesh of her stomach. "You're perfect," he said
softly, looking back up at her. "Buffy...you've nurtured life
inside of you here." He placed his hand over her abdomen,
his thumb brushing caressingly back and forth. "And you've
nursed a child," he added, laying an airy kiss on the soft skin
between her breasts. "I think you're lovely. Every inch of you."

He was completely sincere. To him, she was the embodiment
of 'woman', far more so than the dangerously thin females that
moved through his normal social circle; the ones who rarely
ate nourishing meals, and who had memberships at every gym,
spa, and health resort on the West Coast.

Buffy was slender, but softly rounded in all the right places. She
had no harsh angles or sharp curves. You couldn't see her ribs
defined beneath her skin, or her hip bones jutting out. She was all
smooth skin and warm, tender mounds of flesh.

Slipping his fingers into the elastic band of her panties, he tugged
them down until they fell down to the floor and she stepped
out of them. Then he sat back and let his eyes travel up and
down her petite frame.

The crotch of his jeans was uncomfortably tight, a situation that
had to dealt with before damage was done.

He turned her as he pulled her down on the bed, then kicked his
shoes off and unbuttoned his shirt.

Buffy watched, so engrossed in what she was seeing that she
forgot to be conscious of her own nudity.

Talk about beautiful bodies. She'd had no idea he was hiding such
nicely defined muscles beneath his clothes. An inch or so over
average height, he was on the lean side. There was no extra flesh
hanging around his waist. His upper biceps were well cut and
strong looking, and his abdomen was a work of art.

He was beautifully muscled, without looking overblown and
heavy.

His chest was smooth, his skin unblemished, and only a
light scattering of gold hair grew on his lower belly, descending
below his belt.

Her silent admiration was interrupted by the sound of his pants
being unzipped, and when she looked up, she found him kneeling
on the bed. Grinning like a teenage boy about to lose his
virginity, he dropped onto his hands and crawled up and over
her, his belt and the fly of his jeans hanging open.

"Hi there," he said, dipping his head down to kiss the side of
her neck. He gave her no opportunity to answer, but immediately
captured her lips beneath his and kissed her deeply, no longer
coy with his tongue.

She could have gone on kissing him for hours, he was so adept
at it, but when he left her mouth to trail his lips down her throat
and find the curve of her breast, she didn't try to hold him back.

His wet mouth closed over one nipple, and she felt an electric
current zap her brain waves as he sucked at her.

"Oh...I like that," she murmured, just in case he was thinking
of stopping.

"Mm-hmm?" he hummed, sucking harder. The vibration his
voice made was an interesting sensation, and she groaned.

As he moved his attention to her other breast, he lowered
himself down until his hips were wedged between her thighs,
nudging them apart. "Buffy," he whispered against her skin. "Touch
me."

She didn't hesitate to comply. Placing her hands on his
shoulders, she trailed them down his back until she came to
the waistband of his trousers. Her fingers played there, inching
just slightly beneath the heavy denim.

Rolling his head between her breasts, he gasped. "Such soft
little hands. I love your touch." His tongue darted out and
swirled around the peaks, licking them with rough strokes.

Buffy arched her back, clutching the sides of his jeans where
they rested low on his hips.

"Push them down," he directed her, sucking languidly on
one erect nipple.

She shoved them down as far as she could with her hands,
then used her feet to push them all the way off. There was no
underwear to bother with.

With her eyes closed, she heard him exhale, "Better." He
then propped his weight up on one arm, freeing his right
hand. It slipped down between the mounds of her breasts,
over her abdomen, then into the 'V' of her thighs.

Before she consciously knew what he was doing, he was
moving down on the bed. Laying between her wide spread
legs, he dipped his head and licked her.

"Well, look what I've found," he said, looking up at her
and smirking, then going back down.

He didn't waste any time, but went straight for the
good parts with another long, slow lick up her labia.
His hands slipped beneath her bottom, lifting her to his
mouth and sliding his tongue all the way inside her.

He took a firmer grip on the cheeks of her ass and
jerked her against his mouth with short back and
forth movements.

Buffy stared up at the ceiling with glazed eyes,
wallowing in the erotic intimacy they were engaging in.
Her fingers groped blindly, sinking into the silk of his hair
and holding him harder as she strained towards orgasm.

Forcing his tongue in even deeper, he held still, allowing
her to grind herself against his face.

Buffy's neck arched into a rigid arc as her natural juices
flowed into his open mouth. When he tasted that, he knew
she was very close and he withdrew his tongue and latched
on to her clitoris, sucking voraciously.

Her lower body jerked hard with her pleasure, and she bit her
lower lip almost to the point of bleeding to hold back a scream
of satisfaction.

Much to her surprise, he didn't stop; he just kept on licking
her gently, bringing her down from off the ceiling.


******************************


William moved back and looked up at her.

Buffy caught the look and blushed, wondering how long he'd
been watching her.

"You still with me, honey?"

Although his tone was light, his need was not. Sitting up
for a moment, he gave Buffy her first long look at his erection.

The only other penis she'd seen close up belonged to her
ex-husband. Comparatively speaking, Angel once again came
up short; weighed, measured, and found wanting.

William's shaft was long and hard as tempered steel. It
extended straight out from his body, brazenly flaunting his
absolute masculinity.

She wanted to touch it.

When he felt her fingers on him, he moaned, his eyes
slowly drifting closed. She squeezed and fondled him
until semen began to leak from the slit, lubricating her
caress. Her hand pumped up and down, making wet
sucking sounds.

He suddenly pulled away with a loud grunt. With his jaw
clenched tight, he reached for his pants and pulled a small
packet out of the front pocket.

A condom.

She'd never had sex with a rubber barrier involved. Angel had
been her one and only lover, and they'd never bothered with
them.

She watched as he rolled the condom on. He tossed the
wrapper aside, and she picked it up to look at it.

"Hey!" she said brightly. "Ribbed for my pleasure."

He laughed. "Only for you, baby."

With the shield in place, he returned to his previous
place between her legs. Kneeling, he sat back on his
heels and pulled her forward until her legs were straddling
his thighs. He positioned himself for penetration, then
told her to look down...to watch...as he slowly buried
himself.

There was some initial discomfort, but it faded quickly
in the face of the gentle thrusting he was doing.

Buffy felt wonderfully filled by him, lifting her hips to
meet his thrusts.

"Oh, yeah," William whispered hoarsely. "That's it. Keep
doing that."

His words increased her arousal, making her even hotter
and wetter.

Her head thrashed on the pillow, and then he lunged
forward suddenly. Stretching out on top of her, he began
thrusting harder and faster, spurred on by her soft cries.

He was almost delirious with the slick and hot friction,
the tightening of her internal muscles around his penis
sending a jolt of pleasure up and down its length.

"Buffy...yes...fuck, yes..uh..." He grunted with each
thrust. "So good...tight...mine....you...mine...ah..."

She heard a roaring in her ears, a flood, a tidal wave,
getting closer, heading for her. Bringing up one hand,
she curved it around the back of William's neck, pressing
his hot face more firmly against her damp skin. The
other hand moved down and took a hold of his rear,
digging her nails in lightly.

Any control he'd managed to hang on to was now
slipping away from him. All he could do was abandon
it and hope for the best.

His hips began churning more powerfully, slamming into
her with a force that would probably leave a bruise. But she
wasn't complaining, wasn't trying to get away, wasn't
telling him to stop or even to slow down.

Her words, panted into his ear, were whispered pleas for
him to go faster...harder...deeper. Never to stop.

"Buffy," he groaned. "I'm gonna come...oh, god...baby...do
it...do it with me...please, baby...please..."

Planting her feet flat on the bed, Buffy rose to meet his
downward thrust. They both stopped, grinding and
pushing their loins together, caught in the grip of an
explosive mutual orgasm.

When it was over, they collapsed, his body falling
heavily onto hers as they both tried to catch their
breath.

"So," Buffy said, stroking his shoulders and his back. "One
down and four to go?"

He chuckled. "Give me a minute," he panted, "and
I'll take a shot at it."

TBC.....
Still with me?

Part Fifteen...


"Do you feel like talking?"

Buffy turned on her side and smiled into William's
eyes. "Sure. What about?"

He shrugged, looking almost boyishly shy for a moment. "How
about what just happened?"

She considered the question, fairly sure he wasn't requesting
a rating between 1 and 10 on his performance. It was
definitely a solid 10, there was no doubt about it, but William
didn't seem like the kind of man to need that sort of reassurance,
which had to mean that he was ready to discuss the emotional
implications of the act.

Problem was, she didn't know quite what they were just yet.

Oh, she knew enough to satisfy herself that what had occurred
between them was in no way a mistake. Perhaps it had happened
a little sooner than it should have, but they'd both been willing
participants and were both well over the age of consent.

And she knew that he cared for her in some way. He'd made
that more than clear when he'd told her that she wasn't a one
night stand for him. He hadn't needed to say that. She'd been
ready, willing and able to go to bed with him before he'd made
that statement, and had he NOT made it, she wouldn't
have done any differently

Unsure of how to say everything she felt, she worked at
collecting her thoughts.

"How do you feel about me?" he asked, moving close enough
to drape his arm across her waist.

"I think you're wonderful." The words tumbled out of her mouth
before she could stop them, making her cheeks flush.

William didn't seem to notice. "Why?" he asked, with perfect
sincerity.

She could see by the look on his face that he really wanted an
answer, and could sense an inner desperation, as though he'd
been lied to in the past, or not cared about for the right reasons;
not wanted for WHO he was, but for WHAT he was.

"Because," she said, touching his cheek and smiling when he
instantly turned his head to kiss her palm, "you're gentle, and
you're funny, and you make me feel things that I haven't felt in
so long I'd forgotten how. You genuinely care about total strangers.
I mean...I watched you at the convention, and you were...were
really THERE. You were giving all your attention to the people who
came there to see you. When they asked you questions, you
looked right at them, and you listened to what they had to say.
People you'll likely never see again...you made them feel like
friends. Signing all those autographs...you didn't seem to mind
how long it took. God, I get grouchy if I have to sign too many
Christmas cards. But you were so patient, so friendly with every-
one."

It seemed to be what he needed to hear. Moving a little closer in
the bed, he kissed her with amazing tenderness.

"So....you like me, then?" he asked, kissing the tip of her
nose.

"Yes. Very much."

"That's good to know. Because I sort of...well, I....."

Once again, he seemed surprisingly shy about articulating
his thoughts, a trait she found endearing considering
the profession he was in.

He shook his head, laughing a little at his own clumsiness. "You
know what you said about feeling things you haven't felt in
years? It's the same for me."

Rolling onto his back, he stared at the ceiling with one hand
behind his head.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Buffy. I've had a lot of women interested
in me for one reason or another. Some of it was real and some of it
wasn't. Believe me, I'm not trying to sound like a conceited jerk
here, but a lot of it was because of the show. There were some
women who couldn't have cared less about me...as long as the show
was in the top 10 every week. Some of them were more interested
in what I could do for them career wise."

Buffy suspected this was all very true, and she was a little
surprised that he wasn't a more cynical person because of it.

Somehow, he'd retained an inner sweetness that couldn't have been
easy for him to hold on to in the world he lived in.

"Well," she said, propping her head on her hand, "that's their
loss, isn't it?"

William turned his head and smiled at her. "You know, I think
you're wonderful, too."

"You do, huh?" She struggled to sound as though her heartbeat
hadn't just quadrupled.

"Yeah," he nodded, pushing a lock of her hair off her cheek. "When
I first saw you at the convention, I was so attracted to you. I felt
this...this pull towards you...and, now..."

Breathless, she waited out the pause.

"I think about you all the time," he said softly. "I miss you when
we're apart. That's never happened to me before with anyone
else."

"William..."

"Please don't tell me it's too soon." He hushed her with one
finger touching her upper lip. "Because there's nothing I can do
about it."

Gently, she pushed his hand away, but held on to it. "That's not
what I was going to say," she informed him, guiding his hand
to her breast.

He drew an unsteady breath. "What, then?"

Now, it was Buffy's turn to be shy. "I was going to ask you to
make love to me again," she forced out. "But now..."

His warm fingers closed around her breast, squeezing it
tenderly. "Now...?"

"I think...I want to make love to you instead."

Actually, she'd never been more certain of anything. Not
just because she found him desirable or had feelings
for him, but also because she needed to give him a physical
demonstration of those feelings and show him that they
were very real, that all she wanted from him was him-
self.

Her words had quite an effect on him. He breathed in
deeply as his eyes darkened to sapphire gems, kindling
with heat.

The sight both aroused and worried her. Now that she'd
made the overture, she wasn't quite sure where to start,
never having been the aggressor in sexual matters.

In the beginning, with Angel, her youth and her rather
sheltered upbringing had made her too reserved to
initiate intimacy. By the time she was over it, he had
already started sleeping around and the love she'd once
felt had turned to suspicion and then to revulsion, poison-
ing everything between them, seeping into her like icy
lake water and making her cold to him...frigid, as he'd
never hesitated to point out.

In fact, in the midst of their divorce, he'd tried to make
it seem like his unfaithfulness was more HER fault than
HIS, claiming that after Melanie's birth, Buffy had been so
wrapped up in her baby that she'd neglected her husband,
forcing him to find comfort in other women's beds.

Knowing that it took two people to either make a marriage
work or tear it apart, she'd been willing to take a share of
the blame. But, even as far back as their college days
courtship, Angel had been a philanderer at heart, and she'd
been stupid to think that marriage and fatherhood would
change him.

Now, of course, she knew that she was far from frigid. Light
years away, in fact. Her encounter with William had been
the proof of it.

Whatever ice may have been formed inside
of her during her failing marriage was melting in the
heat he caused so effortlessly, a warmth that started
in her center and radiated throughout her body.

Buffy was certain that there wasn't a woman alive who
could be frigid with him around.


*********************************


"What do you feel when I touch you?" she whispered.

He smiled expectantly. "Touch me," he whispered
back, "and I'll describe it for you."

Starting at the top, her hand caressed his face, stroking
the fine bone structure with her thumb. It glided down his
throat and explored his pectorals before continuing its
journey south.

She smiled when he moved invitingly closer, bending her
head to kiss the hard layer of muscle below his rib cage.

"Tell me."

"Well," he said hoarsely, "the first word that comes to mind
is.." One hand began to stroke her hair as she teased
him with more soft kisses, moving down lower. "Torture."

"Really?" She was delighted. "Want me to stop?" she
asked, dipping her tongue into the cup of his navel.

"Christ, no!" he said, coming down hard on the 'no'.

Her hand reached down and took a firm hold on his
fully erect organ, giving it a gentle squeeze that made
him groan out loud.

"Harder," he begged. "Slide your hand up and down
like....yeah, like that...just like that." His hips lifted a
little, thrusting him into her closed fist. "Jesus, Buffy.
I don't think my cock's ever been so hard."

His comment increased her own building arousal.

This was something very new for her...erotic talking
as foreplay. Angel's pillow talk had mostly consisted of
directions; 'Move up a little...raise your legs...hold
still...'

Buffy liked William's approach better. She wanted to
play, too.

"Tell me what you want," she said, rubbing her cheek
against his upper thigh.

"I want you to...to keep doing that...keep touching me
like that."

She shook her head. That wasn't what she wanted to
hear. "No, say it the right way."

His eyes had been closed. Now, he opened them,
looking down and meeting her intent gaze.

It wasn't difficult to see what she meant. Still...

"Are you sure, babe?"

Her silence and one arched eyebrow convinced him.

"All right then," he said, his voice deepening. "I want
you to play with my cock. Squeeze it and rub it."

Now, THESE were directions she could get used to!

Her hand continued pumping slowly, alternating her
strokes with squeezes. "Is that what you want?"

"Yeah," he nodded, swallowing hard at the deliciously
wanton sight of her crouching between his spread legs.

"Anything else?"

His erection was almost touching her lips. Hoping he
wasn't being overly graphic for her, he said, "I'd love
to feel your mouth on it."

She brought the head of his shaft to her lips, placing an
airy kiss on it. "And?"

Sensing that she wanted it more plainly said, he dis-
carded gentility. "Take my cock in your mouth. Suck on
it," he demanded, pushing himself more firmly against
her lips.

At this point, she was too aroused to resist or tease.
Holding his hips, she allowed his length to slide smoothly
into her mouth. She tasted moisture and salt on her
tongue, an intoxicating flavor.

His moans of pleasure told her that she must be doing
something right. Gaining confidence, she bathed him in
tenderly sucking caresses, swirl and fluttering her tongue
around the head of his penis.

He threw his head back, arching his hips higher to get
deeper inside. Buffy felt a thrill of feminine power at the
sight and sound of him lying before her, needing her so
desperately. Cupping his testicles in her hand, she held
them gently as her mouth moved up and down.

When he let out a harsh grunt and pushed her away, she
was dazed and surprised. Still holding him in her hand, she
could feel the pulsing throb of the orgasm he'd been getting
close to having.

Looking up at him, she shook her hair out of her eyes. "What's
wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, striving for control. "I don't want to come
yet." Looking into her eyes, he tangled his fingers in her
hair and urged her back up to him. "I want to fuck you first,"
he whispered hotly in her ear.

The power and dominance she'd felt before changed hands
instantly. Now, she was the one made helpless by his words
and deeds, letting them sweep her along on hot waves of
sexual energy.

With his hands on her shoulders, William turned her over
until she was lying on her stomach. He straddled her hips,
one knee pressing down into the mattress on either side
of her. Moving down a little, he lowered his head and kissed
the small of her back, then tongued the length of her
spine.

"Like this," he murmured against her damp skin. "I want to
take you from behind."

Although he didn't ask, she could tell he was waiting for her
to accept or deny the whole idea. Pressing her scarlet cheek
against the pillow, she nodded.

He said something she couldn't understand through the
drum of her heart beat pounding in her ears, and took a
firm hold on her hips, pulling her back until she was on her
knees.

"Grab on to the headboard," he said, his voice a fierce
whisper.

Buffy wrapped her fingers around the cold brass, waiting.

Pressing himself against her thighs, his fingers slid around
her hips into the wet heat of her sex, seeking her clit and
coaxing pleasure out of her with gentle persistence.

Her mouth felt dry from all the panting she was doing. Lick-
ing her lips, she concentrated on his touch.

"God....you're so responsive," he marveled. "So wet for
me."

Tiny orgasmic shivers rippled through her every time he
pinched her clitoris, whetting her appetite for the one that would
rock the foundations of the house.

William sucked in a deep breath. Taking himself in hand, he
rolled on another condom and then eased into her a little at a time,
drawing out the pleasure of penetration. When he was completely
buried in her heat, he grabbed her hips again and ground against her,
gasping when he felt her tightening around his cock.

He looked down at the place where their bodies were joined,
nearly undone by the sight of his shaft sliding in and out of
her, wet and shiny when it emerged from the slick, tight
recess of her body.

The bedsprings rocked as they moved together. She was so
wet and soft that he could finally abandon control and fuck
her deep and hard without fear of hurting her.

With her eyes closed and her head tilted back, she seemed
to him like the perfect picture of sensual woman, all soft
rounded curves and smooth, scented skin. Her back dipped
so fetchingly that he had to take one hand and slide it down
the surface of her flesh to see how it felt.

"Buffy," he groaned out. "Push back against me...harder...ah,
that's it...that's good...you like this?"

All she could do was nod and make some incomprehensible
sound to signal him that she was highly pleased.

Suddenly, he needed her closer. Sliding one arm around her
waist, he pulled her back on her knees until their bodies
were pressed firmly together. With nothing to hold on to, she
slipped one arm behind his neck when he leaned down to nuzzle
her throat.

Locking his arms tightly around her, he began thrusting harder
and faster, breathing in the floral fragrance of her hair, mixed
with the more earthy scent of raw sex.

"Come on, sweetheart," he urged. "Come for me...I want to
feel you come...all over me...so wet and hot...I need it...I
need YOU ...baby...yes...feels so good...so sweet."

He drove into her over and over again. Buffy gasped for
breath, nearly screaming when she felt him use one finger
to play with her clitoris.

That was all she needed to send her over the top. Her
internal muscles clamped down hard, trapping him inside
her as she orgasmed.

The feel of her spasming around him brought on his own
climax. Biting his lip to hold back a shout of pleasure, he
pushed her down on the mattress and delivered three more
thrusts before he erupted.

When he began ejaculating, he pulled out and stripped off
the condom, then burrowed his cock between the tight
sheath of her inner thighs, grinding his pelvis as the hot
fluid spewed out of him.

After it was over, they lay tangled together on the mussed
bedsheets, waiting for their breathing to regulate and their
bodies to calm down.

"See?" he murmured in her ear, stroking and fondling and
petting her all over. "Wonderful."

Being held so close that their hearts pounded in unison,
Buffy nodded. "Yes. You are."

"WE are," he insisted. "You..and me...together."

"Together."


****************************************


A short time later, William rolled over in bed and checked
the clock.

"I hate to say this, but I guess I should go. If I fall asleep
here, you'll never wake me up."

Buffy sat up in bed and wrapped the sheet around her
upper body, watching him get dressed. She knew he was
doing the right thing, and she knew he was doing it because
he didn't want confuse or upset Melanie should she awaken
and come looking for her mother.

A tiny smile formed on her lips. If he only knew.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked, sitting down next
to her.

She shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Oh, come on. That's mean. You can't do that to me."

Looking up at him, she made a snap decision, hoping it
was the right one and wouldn't send him running for the
hills.

"It's about Melanie. Something she said."

"Well, I want to know," he insisted. "Tell me."

Buffy sighed. If he was going to run, she'd just as soon
find out now. "Okay. Remember I told you about 'share
time' in school? When she talked about you?"

"Yeah. And the kids didn't believe her."

"Right."

"But I fixed that...didn't I?"

"Yes," she assured him. "But she said something else about
you...something bigger."

"Tell me," he prompted again.

Well...he was asking for it. "She said that you were going
to be her...her new...daddy."

Sitting back against the headboard, she watched as a
slow smile appeared on his face.

"Really? She said that?"

So far, he wasn't running. He actually looked almost...proud.

"Yeah, she did."

"You think she wants me to be?"

Buffy just shrugged and nodded.

There was a short silence, then William reached for her
hand. "Tell me about her father."



TBC.....

Feedback? It cheers me.

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part Sixteen....


The knowledge that, sooner or later, she would have
to get around to discussing Angel had never been far
from Buffy's mind.

Ever since William had made it clear that he had more
than a passing interest in her and Melanie, she'd figured
it was only a matter of finding the right time and place.

She just wasn't sure that this was it.

After sharing such a life altering experience, one that
had left her more than a little dazed, the last person
on earth she wanted to even think about was her
cheating ex-husband. It felt like a weird sacrilege
to follow the best lovemaking she'd ever been treated to
with such an unpleasant subject.

But William seemed determined to get it out in the
open, so she took a moment to try and collect her
thoughts.

He must have sensed her reluctance to talk about it,
since she was being careful not to let her facial ex-
pression give her away.

"I'm sorry. Am I being too pushy?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, it's not that. I knew we'd
be talking about it...."

"Eventually?"

"I guess."

He was silent for a long moment, then gave her a rather
lopsided smile. "I'd kind of like to get him out of the way
now."

Obviously, he wasn't going to drop the subject.

"Well...Angel and I met in college," she said, reaching for
her robe where it was draped carelessly over an armchair.
"He was..."

"Angel? Your ex's name is Angel?"

Working her arms into the robe, Buffy smiled at the note of
derision he couldn't disguise. "His mother had this sort of
mixture of flower power and born again christian thing going
on. He has a younger sister named Heaven."

"Angel and Heaven? They must have had fun in school."

"Anyway...he was studying law and I was a history major. My
best friend took me to a party at his fraternity, and that's
where I met him. We started dating, and we got way too
serious, way too fast. I mean, we'd only been going out for
a few weeks before we were talking about getting married."

William watched as she climbed out of bed and crossed the
room. "You must have really loved him, then."

Buffy picked up her brush from the dresser and began to
pull it through her hair, just to give herself something to do
with her hands. "I didn't really know him," she replied, turning
to look at William. "Unfortunately, I didn't realize that until it
was too late. I was so starry eyed over him that I totally
missed all the little clues that should have warned me about
him."

"And what would those clues have told you?"

Still tugging the brush rhythmically through her hair, she
sat on the end of the bed next to him.

"That he was controlling, and not completely grown up," she
admitted. "That he had a problem committing himself to anything
but his job...and that he probably wouldn't be faithful."

It still hurt to confess that, even to herself.

"He cheated on you?" William frowned. "He had YOU
to come home to....and that wasn't good enough for him?"

"Oh, not at first he didn't." She didn't want him to think
that she'd be stupid enough to go through with marrying
a man who was already fooling around before they made it
to the church. "That came later."

The brush caught on a nasty snarl. She yanked at it
harshly, but before she could tear through it, he took
it out of her hand and worked the tangle gently out of her
hair.

The feel of him brushing her hair, the intimacy of the act,
made her sigh blissfully. This was a man that knew what
he was doing. He never took a wrong step with her.

"Things were good at first. We had a lot in common,
liked doing the same things. Most of our friends were
couples, too, so we went out a lot. Restaurants and
clubs...stuff like that. His parents have a condo in Palm
Desert that they let us use whenever we wanted, so we'd
all go down in a big group for weekends."

Listening intently, William put the brush down and
gathered her hair into three equal portions, then started
braiding them.

"Right after he passed the bar, he was hired by Wolfram
and Hart, this mega-power law firm. That's when it all began
to change. He really wanted to go somewhere with them, as
far as he could, so we had to start socializing with a different
crowd. People at the firm, the senior partners and their
wives. You know...people who could "DO" things for him,
who could open doors. Our old friends just kind of...drifted
away, but he didn't care. Actually, he was kind of happy
about it. He said we really didn't have time for them, any-
way, and they'd just be holding us back."

Almost absentmindedly, he unraveled the braid he'd
formed.

"Just about everyone in our new crowd was older than
us, higher on the social scale...and he wanted to be up
there with them. We started attending art gallery openings
and saw plays that I didn't understand, not because he
really enjoyed it, but because it was a good place for us
to "be seen" by all the right people."

"And you hated it?"

"I went along with it," she sighed. "I wanted to see movies
and go to football games. Just have fun with people our own
age. But he didn't want that. I felt so cut off. He didn't want
me to work because people might think that he couldn't
support us. So, there I was...with nothing much going on for
me outside of making a home. It wasn't too long after that I found
out I was pregnant, and it was a BIG surprise!"

"But a good surprise, yes?"

Buffy nodded. "For me? Yeah. For Angel? Not so much. I
was on the pill, but it was making me nauseous, so my
doctor had to adjust the dosage. Somehow, during that
time, Melanie was conceived."

Not if she lived to see the dawning of a new ice age
would Buffy ever forget the look on Angel's face when she'd
announced her pregnancy. His shock and anger had taken
all the magic out of what should have been a beautiful
moment. During the argument that followed, he had even
alluded to the idea that she'd 'allowed' it to happen.

"Let me guess," William said. "He didn't want the baby."

It wasn't a question.

"We had this huge fight. He just kept telling me that it
wasn't the right time for that sort of thing. Not even close. He
wanted to be more established in his career, more successful
at it, and making a lot more money. One thing led to another,
and he finally stormed out with this sort of...backhanded
warning that he wasn't going to let ME be the one to hold
him back just because I'd gone and gotten myself pregnant."

"Got YOURSELF pregnant?" he echoed. "Well, THAT'S quite
an accomplishment."

Buffy picked at a loose thread of her robe. "He never came
out and asked me to do it...but I could tell he wanted me
to..."

"Okay, stop right there!" he said angrily. "I don't even want
to HEAR the rest of that sentence!"

And she didn't want to say it. It was probably the single most
painful truth of her life; the man her foolish young heart had
chosen as a soul mate hadn't wanted the baby they had created
together, and would have been willing to see it destroyed.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pressed on, wanting
this to be over with soon. "After she was born, it just got
worse and worse. I'll admit I was pulling away from him. I just
loved her so much...she was my whole world. Angel couldn't
deal with that. He'd always been the center of my universe,
same as he had been with his parents. He had no interest in
Melanie at all. Sometimes, I think he forgot she was even
there. It got so bad that I was afraid to go to the store unless
I took her with me. I didn't want her to need something and
have him ignore her while she cried."

"Christ," William muttered under his breath. He pulled her
closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "That's
enough. I get the picture. I don't want to hear another word
about him."

Buffy pressed herself against his warm, hard body. "Well, now
you know why she said that at school," she said, turning her
head to look at him. "She really loves you, you know?"

He tightened his embrace. "I love her, too."

The tension in her body began to drain away, leaving her
soft and pliable in his arms. "She turned down a trip to Disney-
land in favor of that convention," she told him, lightening the
mood a little. "If that's not love, I don't know what is."

"She did? Wow...I feel so honored," he replied. "I won out over
Mickey Mouse."

Buffy laughed. "It was a birthday she'll never forget, because of
you."

He pulled back in surprise. "It was her birthday?"

"Mm-hmm. Her sixth. I offered to take her to Disneyland or
give her a party, but she chose the convention instead."

"I missed her birthday? Damn it!"

"Well...technically you didn't. You were there."

"Yeah, but I didn't know."

He was really disappointed, and Buffy couldn't help
thinking that, had he been Melanie's father, every one of
her birthdays would have been celebrated in high style. He
certainly wouldn't have skipped her party for a romp in bed
with his latest extra curricular activity.

"Hey, I've got an idea," he said, pulling her out of her
musings. "Let's take her to Disneyland. We'll have an extra
birthday for her, since I missed it. We can spend the weekend
at the hotel and really do it up."

He sounded almost as excited as a child would at the
idea, and his enthusiasm was catching her up in it.

"Oh, she would love that! Are you sure, though? I mean,
it'll be awfully expensive?"

William just laughed. "Don't worry. I can afford it."

"I KNOW you can afford it. I just meant...."

He cut her off by pushing her flat on the bed and kissing
her until her toes curled. When he pulled back to smile down
at her, she placed one hand on his cheek. "I wish...." The
words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, making
her blush at her own boldness.

"What?" he asked. "What do you wish? Tell me, and I'll
make it happen."

"No, it's not that. I was just thinking..."

"Tell me," he insisted.

She took a deep breath and jumped. "I was thinking that...that
YOU should have been her father."

He was silent for a moment, thinking, then he came back with
a comment that nearly made her heart burst out of her chest.

"Buffy....I want to be her father."



TBC.....

(Am I making Angel out to be "too" horrible? I don't
want to overdo it.)

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part Seventeen...


When the phone rang on Saturday morning, Buffy was
standing at the kitchen sink with a cereal bowl in her
hand, trying to chip off hardening bits of oatmeal from
Melanie's breakfast.

As it always did these days, her heart rate kicked up
a notch. Drying her hands on a dishtowel, she picked
up on the second ring.

"Hello."

"Hi. Did I wake you up?" William asked.

She smiled. "No. We've just had breakfast."

"Damn. I wanted to catch you still in bed."

"Why?"

"So I could picture you there, all soft and warm,
with your hair spread out over the pillow, your
eyes sleepy and a little smile on your pretty face,
because you were dreaming about me."

He was painting a very appealing picture with his
words and the husky tone of his voice, and she felt
a pleasant shiver chase up and down her spine.

"Sorry," she replied. "But you'd have to call a lot
earlier to do that. Melanie's up with the birds."

"Are you busy today?"

Surprisingly, she wasn't. Both Willow and Anya would
be opening the store, and she had no pressing errands
to run.

"Because I was thinking," he went on, "I have to take the
dogs in for their rabies shots around noon, but after that
I'm free. How about if I come and get you two and take
you out to lunch?"

Buffy was agreeable, so they made their plans and
said goodbye. After finishing the breakfast dishes,
she went upstairs to tell Melanie that William was
coming over.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was almost one o'clock when she came down and
found Melanie kneeling on the couch. She was facing
backwards, staring out the window and watching for
William's car to pull into the driveway.

Just for something to do, Buffy picked up Melanie's
pink backpack and began to empty out the previous
weeks worth of corrected homework papers, a wadded
up sweatshirt with a grape juice stain she'd never seen
before, a Cinderella lunch box, and notices from the
school about upcoming events that required either her
participation or a hefty donation to the cause.

Smoothing out a piece of slightly crumpled blue paper,
she sighed when she read the heading, remembering
when this same notice had come home last year to
inform her of the upcoming breakfast banquet the
school was having for the children and their fathers.

Melanie had been very excited about it a year ago. The
pizza lunch for the kids and their mothers had been a
great success, and she hadn't quite lost all her faith in
her father's promises at that point. Angel had agreed to
attend, had even marked the day down on his calendar
while Melanie had him on the phone.

Then, the night before the event, his firm had sent him to
Spain to handle an emergency for one of their wealthier
clients. He'd called on his way to the airport, after Melanie
had gone to bed, leaving Buffy to break the news in the
morning. Not wanting Melanie to be the only child in her
class whose father wasn't there, she kept the little girl
home from school that day and took her to the park
instead.

"Hey...I see they're having another breakfast party," she
said brightly.

"Uh-huh," Melanie replied, leaning forward to see if the
car turning the corner belonged to William.

Trying to keep an encouraging smile on her face, Buffy
asked, "Do you want to call your dad and invite him?"

The little girl just shrugged. "Maybe later."

Buffy set the flyer down on the coffee table. Without
her meaning it to, her mind drifted back to the
other night when she and William had made love, after
which he'd made that startling declaration about
wanting to be Melanie's father.

Although she didn't remember planning it that way, her
facial expression must have been somewhere between
disbelieving and totally flabbergasted. He'd apparently felt
as though he'd said too much, too soon, and had offered up
a stumbling explanation of what he'd meant; that he would
be happy to assume any kind of 'fatherly' type role Melanie
might need him to play. He'd been so pleased that he'd been
able to rescue her from the unkind taunts of her school mates
that he wanted to be there for her if she should need him
for anything else.

Buffy had almost laughed at his nervous backpedaling,
assuring him that she knew exactly what he'd meant by
his words. When she'd thought it over later, she'd
come to the conclusion that it had been an impulsive
remark on his part, no doubt prompted by his obvious
dislike...sight unseen...of Melanie's biological father.

But he was far too sensitive and intuitive to consciously
try to shove Angel out of his daughter's life at this point
in what was still a very new relationship.

Still, he HAD offered, she mused, eying the paper
she'd placed on the table. Certainly, Melanie would be
thrilled.

On the other hand, maybe it WAS pushing things along
too quickly. If William volunteered to attend this function
with Melanie, it was liable to give rise to all sorts of wrong
impressions, especially to Melanie herself.

Her rambling thought patterns were terminated when
Melanie suddenly jumped off the couch. "He's here!" the
little girl announced, flinging open the front door.

Deciding to think about it later, Buffy followed Melanie out
onto the porch just in time to see her streak past William,
who was halfway up the sidewalk, and head straight for
his car instead.

Since he'd parked by the curb and not in the driveway,
the child was able to see in the windows of the SUV.
After trying hard to peer through the dark tinted glass, she
finally turned and looked at William. "No doggies?" she
asked, clearly disappointed to find that he hadn't brought
his canine pals along with him.

William glanced at Buffy helplessly, then walked
back to his car and ruffled Melanie's curls. "I'm sorry,
Pixie," he said sincerely. "I took them home before I
came."

"Oh. Did they go to their doctor?" she asked, taking
the hand he held out for her and walking back up the
sidewalk with him.

"Yes. For their booster shots."

"I did that for school." She looked up at him. "Won't
they be lonely?"

He smiled. "No, they'll be fine. They have each other."

Buffy leaned against the door jamb, her arms folded
across her chest, watching them.

It quickly became clear that William wasn't going to
be able to stand letting Melanie down. "I think you're
right," he finally said, contradicting his previous statement.
"They might get lonely. Maybe we should go back to my
house and keep them company. You know, I've told
them all about you, and they can't wait to meet you."

"Can we go do that, Mommy?" she asked her
mother happily.

Buffy smiled at her. "I don't see why not."

Melanie wasn't the sort of child who jumped up and
down clapping her hands in excitement when a treat
was promised, but she more than made up for it with
the sweetness of her smile.

William had no resistance whatsoever. "Great,"
he said, then asked, "Do you have a bathing suit?"

Melanie nodded.

"You run up and get it, then," he instructed her.

Without even pausing to ask why, she obeyed.

After she was up the stairs, he joined Buffy on the
front porch. Sliding one arm around her waist, he pulled
her against him and kissed her.

"What about YOU?" he murmured, biting gently on her
earlobe. "Have you got a bathing suit? Something
sexy?"

"I have one." Her smile was teasing. "I'm not sure it's
all that sexy."

"How about I be the judge of that?"

Disentangling herself before her legs stopped working,
she went upstairs after Melanie, only stopping to grab
the school flyer from the coffee table and slip it into the
back pocket of her jeans.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


His house was in the Hollywood Hills area of Los
Angeles. Alone, it sat nestled at the very end of a
long private driveway that was lined on both sides by
dense foliage and huge shade trees.

William pulled in to a three car garage, parking the
SUV alongside a silver Carrera, and cut the engine.

He escorted them through the double front doors,
and into a large foyer. Buffy's jaw dropped when she
looked straight ahead across the living room through
a large picture window, amazed at the panoramic view
of the surrounding hills and canyons.

"Oh, my gosh," she whispered, taking it all in. "What
a view!"

He nodded. "Part of the reason I bought it. Wait'll you
see it at night."

A sliding glass door next to the window opened out onto
the patio. There was a redwood deck with a built in jacuzzi
off to one side and, beyond that, a swimming pool's
turquoise blue water shimmered in the warm afternoon sun.

Melanie clung to Buffy's hand as William gave them a
quick tour of the house. There were four bedrooms, each
with their own private bath; the large living room with a
stone fireplace on the far wall; a family room; a formal
dining room; and the biggest kitchen Buffy had ever been
in, with a breakfast nook in one sunny little alcove.

"So, what do you think?" He seemed anxious to know
her opinion.

"I think it's beautiful," she said honestly.

"How about you, Pixie?" He knelt beside Melanie. "You
like it here?"

"Yes,"she nodded, looking around. "Where do the
doggies live?"

William chuckled. "Pretty much anywhere they want to."
he told her. "But right now, they're in the side yard.
Come on and meet them."


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


As Buffy had imagined, it was love at first sight
between Melanie and the dogs.

Belle, the labrador, was calm and good natured. She
sniffed the newcomers up one side and down the other,
then stood still and accepted the over abundant affection
Melanie lavished on her without complaint.

Sam, the poodle, was the antithesis of Belle. He was all
wriggling silliness and ran around them in circles, yapping
his tiny lungs out for attention.

It didn't take Melanie long to discover a couple of slobbery
tennis balls hidden in the grass. She threw them as far as
her small arms could propel them, and the dogs patiently
brought them back, time after time, dropping them at her
feet.

Buffy sat on a small retaining wall that surrounded a clump
of bushes that hadn't been pruned in what looked like years,
watching her daughter play with the dogs. William stood next
to her, one foot up on the wall, his thumbs stuck casually
through the belt loops of his jeans.

After fifteen minutes, Melanie announced that the dogs
were thirsty. She spotted two large silver water bowls on
the patio and dumped out the old water, refilling them with
a garden hose. Belle and Sam drank loudly, snuffling their
noses in the water as Melanie knelt beside them, patting
them gently on their backs.

When the animals had drunk their fill, they collapsed in
the shade of a tree close to the back wall. Melanie wiped
her hands on the grass and trotted back to her mother.

"Having fun?" Buffy asked her, smoothing down her hair.

"I like your dogs" she told William, squinting up at him
through the sun. "Is it time for their lunch?"

He sat on the wall next to Buffy, pulling Melanie onto
his knee. "I guess it could be," he said. "And I think it's
time for our lunch, too."

"Are you hungry?" she asked him, slinging one arm
around his neck as he stood up.

"I could eat. How about you?"

"I could eat, too."

They both looked down at Buffy. "Oh, I get it," she said,
standing up and brushing off the seat of her pants. "Some-
thing tells me that the 'out for lunch' plan is scuttled, right?
Is it time for old mom to see what's in the kitchen?"

"Well," William replied, "we could still go out...but it's so
hot.." He gave Melanie a little squeeze. "and I think
Melanie wants to try out the pool."

"Mommy is a really good cook," Melanie added.

Buffy smiled archly at her daughter. "Flattery will get
you everywhere, cookie," she said. "Let's go see what's
in the kitchen."

"Yay!" Melanie cheered.

"Yay!" William echoed. He tossed the child up
and caught her easily, then did it again when she
squealed with laughter.

Buffy stood there, watching them play, feeling that
notice from the school practically burning a hole in
her back pocket.



TBC.....
(Still with me on this one?)

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part Eighteen....


After a quick examination of the contents of William's
refrigerator, Buffy began preparing a luncheon platter.
She sliced up apples and peeled oranges, separating
them into segments and pulling off the "white strings"
that Melanie disliked. She found a small container of
strawberries and washed them, then pulled off the husks
and added them to the plate, along with a bunch of
green grapes.

In the pantry, she spotted a can of pineapple chunks...a
particular favorite of Melanie's...and a box of wheat grain
crackers. On a whim, she went back to the refrigerator
and began checking the little doors on the side, smiling
when she found a brick of jack cheese. She took down
another plate and arranged the crackers on it, then sliced
slivers of the cheese on top of them.

In the very back of the freezer, she dug up a can of frozen
lemonade, then searched for something to mix it up in.
William had obviously never acquired a collection
of Tupperware, so she had to make do with an expensive
looking crystal pitcher she found in a cabinet over the sink.
After the juice was prepared, she added ice cubes and
lemon slices to it.

Melanie bounced into the kitchen wearing her yellow and
white checked bathing suit, dragging a towel behind her
that was twice as long as she was.

The little girl climbed up onto a stool next to the high
counter and hung over, watching her mother. "Can I have
some lemonade, Mommy?"

Wiping her hands on a paper towel, Buffy started
searching the cupboards. It soon became obvious that
this was a house unused to the presence of small children
with buttered fingers, because she was unable to find
anything but highly breakable glassware.

She selected the smallest juice glass she could find, filling
it a little more than halfway and passing it across the
counter. "Be careful."

Melanie nodded agreeably, then promptly began fishing
around inside of the glass with her fingers, trying to grab
hold of the lemon slice.

On the brink of admonishing her, Buffy completely lost
her train of thought when William walked into the kitchen
wearing nothing but a pair of faded cutoff jeans and a towel
slung around his neck. "Ready to swim, pixie?"

Melanie gathered her towel up and squeezed it into a
terry cloth ball. "Do you got steps?" she asked.

A smile formed in the corner of his mouth. "Steps? You
mean a staircase like the one in your house?"

"No, the ones that go into the water."

Buffy explained. "We haven't really had a chance to take
swimming lessons, so we usually stay in the shallow end
where the steps are."

Actually, she hadn't even tried to talk Melanie into the
idea yet, knowing that the child would be unhappy being
placed in a pool with a lot of strange children and having
to submit to a hands-on teaching method from still another
stranger.

"Yes, I have steps."


**************************************************

They sat at a glass topped patio table on the deck,
shielded from the hot California sunshine by a large
canvas umbrella.

Melanie ate a small amount of the fruit and three of the
crackers, after brushing the cheese off. Impatient to
get to the 'fun with water' portion of the afternoon, she
resisted all Buffy's attempts to coax her into eating
more, asking, "Is that enough?" after every bite she
took.

The child was a consummate deal maker when it came
to mealtime. When told to eat five more bites of chicken
and six green beans, she was more than likely to make
a counter offer of four bites and three beans, haggling with
the savvy of a rug merchant in a Persian marketplace.

Over the years, Buffy had learned to start the bidding
high in order to get the amount of food SHE wanted into
Melanie's stomach, while giving the impression that she
was being taken gross advantage of.

When it became clear that nothing would induce her
daughter into taking one more bite of anything, Buffy
threw in the metaphorical towel and went inside to
change into her bathing suit, a simple black one piece
with diamond shaped cut outs on both sides.

She found two more towels in a linen closet that was
bigger than her bathroom. Heading back outside, she
paused at the window and smiled.

William and Melanie were in the shallow end of the
pool. She was lying on her back in the water with
his hands beneath her, helping her float. As Buffy
watched, he slowly took his hands away and left her
to do it on her own.

Dropping the towels on a chaise lounge, she sat
on the side of the pool and dangled her legs in the
cool water. "Hey, look at you!" she said, feeling a
shiver scamper up and down her spine when she
felt William's eyes on her. She met his intent gaze
with her own, blushing a little when he mouthed the
words, "Very sexy" in reference to her bathing suit.

"I'm swimming!" Melanie announced. Unfortunately,
her concentration broke and she started to sink.

William caught her and turned her upright.

"Did you see?" she asked, unfazed at her dunking.

"I saw," Buffy nodded. "Very good."

As she sat on the warm tile and watched, William
spent the next twenty minutes giving Melanie her
first official swimming lesson, doing such a good
job of it that she briefly wondered if he gave bike
riding lessons as well.


**************************************************


There was a large metal shed on the side of the
house, a shed containing the various necessities
for maintaining a swimming pool.

William disappeared inside, coming back out with a
few pool toys that looked suspiciously brand new to
Buffy; a large and colorful beach ball, a couple of long
foam rubber noodles, and a blown up 'Shamu' raft that
was almost as big as the whale itself.

Handing over the toys to Melanie, he sat on the
lounge next to Buffy's and stretched out on it.

Melanie giggled riotously as she tried to climb on the
back of 'Shamu' and kept sliding off into the water.

William laughed and looked over to meet Buffy's
inquiring gaze. "What?"

"Did you buy those things for Melanie?"

"What? No!" he blustered, visibly searching his mind
for an excuse. "I keep those around...in case friends
come over. Friends with children," he added when he
saw her skeptical look.

"Really?" she asked him, her tone laced with dis-
belief. "Because those things look like they just came
out of the package five minutes ago."

He tried to hide behind his sunglasses, but she was
too determined. "Not five minutes ago," he finally
admitted. "Last night."

"But you didn't know we'd be here last night."

"Well....I figured I'd lure you two up here some-
time...and I wanted her to have something to play
with."

Melanie tossed the beach ball in their general
direction. After leaning over and whacking it back to
her, he turned and faced Buffy. "You aren't mad
because I bought her some toys....are you?" he
asked, giving her his most appealing smile.

In the face of such sweetly charming words, not to
mention a smile that made her knees quiver, how could
she be?

"Of course I'm not mad."

Actually, she was touched beyond words. The way he
always thought of Melanie, even when he wasn't with
her, was wonderful. She just wasn't completely certain
that allowing her daughter to get used to such treatment
was a good idea. What if he woke up one morning and
decided that he was tired of.....

**Stop that. It's not going to happen. He adores her and
he is NOT like Angel. He is NOTHING like Angel**

"I'm glad to hear that....because I was thinking about
having a slide put in."

"William!"

"What?"


**************************************************


As soon as the sun began to do down, the air outside
turned chilly. Against Melanie's wishes, Buffy took
her back into the house and changed her into her
clothes.

William gathered up all the plates and glasses and
took them inside while Buffy parked her daughter in
front of the television and switched on 'Animal Planet's
Funniest Videos', one of the little girl's favorite shows.

She went back into one of the guest bedrooms to change
out of her bathing suit, and had barely gotten the door
closed before she heard a soft knock. Melanie never
knocked...ever...so there could only be one person
on the other side of the door.

"Who is it?" she asked needlessly.

To her surprise, instead of answering her, he opened
the door and stepped inside. Closing the door behind
him, he looked at her with a playful leer.

"Oh, no," she said, pointing at the door. "Out you go.
We're not doing this here."

"Buffy," he murmured cajolingly, moving just a little
closer. "Come here and kiss me. You haven't kissed me
all day....and I'm lonely."

The pouting expression on his face was so fiendishly cute
that she almost laughed. "Melanie's...."

"Melanie," he interrupted, "is sitting on the couch watching
television with the dogs. I even got her to drink a glass of
milk. Now don't I deserve a kiss for that?"

She folded her arms across her chest and looked at
him. "Oh, you did? And...?"

"And what?"

"And....what did you have to give her?"

He made a face. "A few Oreos...but she's drinking the
milk! Now, come here," he said, advancing a few feet.

She backed away. "No."

"All I want is a kiss," he begged. Clasping his hands
together, he held them up in supplication and dropped to
his knees, inching closer. "One kiss."

Buffy had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from
giggling like a silly teenager. "Stop it."

"I've had a totally G rated day," he whined. "And it
hasn't been easy with you prancing around in that dead
sexy bathing suit."

"William...." Still avoiding him, the back of her knees hit
the edge of the bed. She fell on her back, and William
took instant advantage of the opportunity. Before she
realized he'd done it, he was off the floor and on the bed.

"Now," he said softly, leaning over her, "I've got you where
I want you."

**************************************************


Her blush and wide eyed gaze, the tempting rise and
fall of her breasts, and the soft rose petal shade of
her lips were drawing his full attention. The playful inter-
lude was changing...deepening...becoming something
entirely new.

He hovered over her, leaning on his left arm, which
left his right hand free. Placing it on her waist, his fingers
slipped just slightly behind it and pulled her forward.

"Buffy," he whispered, now serious in his tone and
intent. "Will you kiss me?"

Without waiting to hear an answer, his mouth descended
on hers with heart aching sweetness, his eyes holding
her gaze until her sable dark lashes slowly fluttered
closed, shielding her emotions from him. He closed his
eyes, too, his breath mingling with hers as his tongue
slipped between her lips with a gentle force.

He wanted to pull her closer, to mold himself against
her warmly feminine form, but he couldn't. The desire
to make love to her was too strong. He was already
having a difficult time controlling it.

When they finally separated, he stared down into green
eyes that looked soft and a little dazed, an expression
he was sure his own gaze was reflecting back at her.

His hand cupped her cheek, thumb stroking the
moist curve of her lips.There was so much he wanted
to say to her, but his thoughts refused to form coherently.

Fully aware that there was a six year old girl in the
other room who was liable to come looking for her
mother, he reluctantly moved away from temptation.

"Thank you for the kiss," he said softly, rising to his
feet on unsteady legs. "I'll let you get dressed."

He had his hand on the doorknob when she stopped
him.

"William, wait...."


**************************************************


She spoke without thinking first, an impulsive
request to keep him in the room, but when he
turned around, her inspiration failed her.

"Yes?" he finally prompted.

"Um...there's this thing." Climbing off the bed,
she picked up her jeans and extracted the crumpled
blue flyer that she'd stuffed into her pocket at home,
the one that had been drifting on the edge of her
subconscious mind all day. "I'll understand if you
don't want to," she said, handing him the flyer.

She watched him unfold the paper and read its
message. Her nervous system was taking a
pounding until he looked at her and smiled.

"If I don't want to?" he echoed. "Are you asking me
to take Melanie to this breakfast?"

"Sort of." She sat down on the end of the bed,
smoothing imaginary wrinkles. "In a way. But, don't
feel like you HAVE to say yes," she added quickly.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't you
think she wants her father to take her?"

Buffy shrugged. "The thing is...well, they did this
last year when she was in kindergarten. She asked
him, and Angel agreed to do it, but...."

"He DIDN'T do it." William guessed. "Why am I not
surprised?"

"It's a lot to ask, I know..."

"Buffy," he said, cutting her off. "I told you. I'm here for
Melanie, and I'm here for you. And I'm not going any-
where."

She believed him. She really, really did. Believed him
and believed IN him.

It was an odd and unfamiliar feeling, one that she could
get used to quite easily.

But there was more to say, and she had to force
it out.

"I don't want you to feel like...to think that..." She
sighed deeply. "What I mean is...she might want to
ask him...and he'll probably say yes. But if he does,
and then...." Her voice trailed off. She felt awful for
making it seem like he was second choice, only to be
called upon should Angel flake out again at the last
minute.

He seemed to know what was going on in her head,
because he held up one hand.

"I know what you're saying, Buffy, and it's fine. I don't
mind playing the supporting role," he said, then smiled
as he pinned a direct gaze on her. "For now."

It wasn't until he'd left the room that she realized
she'd been holding her breath.


TBC.....

As always, feedback is so appreciated!

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part nineteen....


Buffy returned to the den/study, which was the only
thing she could think of to describe the room, to find
William standing in the open doorway. He was looking
at the sight before him, one hand over his mouth, obviously
trying not to laugh out loud.

When she touched his shoulder, he turned and placed
one finger against her lips to shush her and then moved
aside.

Peeking around the wall, she saw Melanie...still on the
sofa with the dogs...sound asleep. She had slumped over
to one side and was snuggled up to Belle's back. Sam had
his little head propped on her leg.

When William stepped into the room, both dogs looked at
him with their tongues out and an expression that asked,
"So, NOW what do we do?"

Instead of waking the child up, William grabbed Buffy's
hand and pulled her down the hallway. Stopping outside
of a closed door, he whispered, "Something that cute
should be illegal." He opened the door and headed
across the room towards a large walk in closet, it's doors
hanging open, and it's contents rumpled.

Buffy remained in the doorway. One quick glance around
the room told her that this was his bedroom, and she didn't
trust herself to step inside. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for....ah, here it is." He reappeared with a
camera, the kind of thing she'd only seen advertised on
television.

His intent was clear, and she almost stopped him to
let him know that Melanie didn't much like having her
picture taken. Then she remembered that, as long as it
was William doing it, Melanie probably wouldn't mind if
he brought an entire camera crew into the house to film
her sleeping.

She trailed after him back to the den and watched him
take several shots of her daughter. The camera's motor
was quiet, and the child didn't even twitch.

Back in the hallway, he whispered, "I'll have one of those
enlarged for her."

Before he could return to his bedroom to stash the
camera away again, Buffy caught his arm. When he
stopped and gave her a quizzical look, she couldn't
keep herself from pulling him closer and kissing him.

"Wow...what was THAT for?" he asked, when she
stepped back a few inches.

She smiled. "I don't know," she confessed. "Just an
impulse I couldn't control."

His own smile lit up his eyes. "Don't ever bother trying
to control that impulse," he murmured, dropping another
light kiss on her lips. "It's always a good one."


**************************************************


They managed to get Melanie out to his car and into her
booster seat without waking her up, but halfway home, she
finally stirred and opened her eyes.

Buffy turned and watched the little girl stare out the
window at the darkened streets. "Hi, sweetie."

"Where are we going?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Home, baby."

The child nodded and continued looking out the window
for another few seconds before she spoke up again.

"Mommy....I think I'm hungry."

It made sense. All she'd eaten for lunch had been
fruit and a few crackers. The milk and cookies had
only been partially consumed before she'd fallen asleep.

"We'll get you something when we get home," Buffy
promised.

"Actually...." William began.

She looked at him and he shrugged, saying, "I'm hungry,
too."

Well, now that everybody was mentioning it, Buffy's own
stomach announced it's emptiness. Before she could
volunteer to fix something for all of them, his eyes zeroed
in on....

"Hey! There's a McDonald's! Sound good to you, pixie?"

"Sounds good to me!" Melanie piped up brightly.

William looked at her quizzically before he swung the
car into the parking lot and pulled into a space. "This
okay with you?"

Oh, boy....was it okay with her!


**************************************************


The restaurant had an indoor play area with a gigantic
and colorful climbing structure built inside. The thing had
twists and turns, little alcoves with window bubbles looking
out on the eating area, and long slides both inside and
leading back out. There was a ball cage below it, filled
with thousands of red, blue, yellow, and green plastic
spheres, and a hoop at the opposite end to toss them
through.

Melanie had never set foot in one before. Usually, when they
ate a McDonald's or a Burger King, there were too many
children buzzing around inside the playhouses for her to
feel comfortable venturing in.

But now, it was late enough that they had the whole place
to themselves.

Standing at the counter waiting to order, William picked
her up to give her a good look at the menu.

"What do you think, love? You order anything you want."

Melanie always ordered the same thing, no matter what
fast food restaurant she found herself in.

"Chicken nuggets," she requested.

"French fries?"

"Okay."

"How about a milkshake?"

"Mm-hmm."

When it became clear that she wasn't really paying
attention, he turned to look at her and saw that she
was staring across the dining area at the playroom.

Delighted by her rapt gaze, he winked at Buffy.

"Hey, THAT looks like fun!" he said, turning to face
the play area. "We'd best go and check that out after
we eat, huh?"

Melanie said nothing in return, but she tightened
her arms around William's neck and squeezed him.


**************************************************


The meal was consumed in record time, Buffy
noticed, by Melanie and...she was fairly sure...by
William, too.

Buffy stayed at the table as they ventured up inside the
play structure. She wanted to watch and see just how
far he was willing to go.

It didn't much surprise her to find that he was
willing to go all the way for Melanie. He followed her
all over the climber, crawling up and down tunnels on
his hands and knees, sliding down slides behind her,
and holding her on his shoulders so she could throw
the balls right through the center of the plastic hoop.

She was having a wonderful time, laughing and
chattering a mile a minute with him, then darting away
and making him chase her around the tables.

When he caught her and swung her up in his arms,
he dangled her across his shoulder and down his back
as he returned to their table.

Smiling, Buffy asked, "Where's Melanie?"

"I'm over here," the child giggled from behind William's
back. Grinning, he turned and showed Buffy where he was
hiding her daughter. She caught the girl under her arms and
William released her, letting her tumble into her mother's lap.

"Are you having fun, cookie?" she asked, smoothing Melanie's
tousled curls.

"I'm having lot's of fun," the little girl replied, nodding and
reaching for her milkshake. "Can I go back in?"

William started to stand up, but Buffy stopped him with a
glance. "Sure," she said. "You go and we'll watch you."

Without pausing, Melanie once again disappeared into the
climber.

"Thank you," William said quietly, taking a swallow of iced
tea. "Those things....were NOT designed for people over the
age of thirty," he chuckled. "My knees are gonna hate me in
the morning."

Buffy laughed. "You looked like you needed rescuing."

They sat for a moment, watching Melanie scamper through
the twists and curves, waving back to her when she stopped
at one of the windows.

"Listen," he finally said. "Did you tell her about going to
Disneyland?"

She shook her head. "No. I wanted you to...you know...be
there. I mean, it was your idea and everything." Picking up
a french fry, she dunked it in a puddle of ketchup and ate it.

His gaze, lingering on the smear of ketchup she quickly
licked off her lips, was leaving her with no doubt about what
he was thinking, but all he said was 'thank you' and that
they could tell her about it on the way home.

Ten minutes later, Buffy gathered up the trash while William
fetched Melanie. As she watched him catch her daughter
at the bottom of the slide, all she could think was that THIS
was how things were meant to be.


**************************************************


Melanie was absolutely thrilled with the promised out-
ing to Disneyland. She bounced in her seat and peppered
them with questions about when and where and what
would they do when they got there.

In fact, she was so excited and animated about it that
Buffy knew her daughter had complete faith that the
promises being made would be kept.

Funnily enough, so did she.

By the time William's car pulled into the driveway of
the little house on Revello Drive, Melanie was starting
to drift off again. Buffy took her upstairs and changed her
into her nightgown, then helped her floss and brush her
teeth.

As she tucked her into bed, William appeared at the
door and was invited in for the requisite kiss and hug
goodnight.

"I'll see you again soon, pixie," he promised the sleepy
little girl, stroking her curls back.

He leaned over to hug her one more time, and Melanie's
small arms wound tightly around his neck.

She murmured something that Buffy couldn't under-
stand, until she heard William's quietly whispered
reply..."I love you, too."

It was a sentiment Buffy was almost ready to echo
herself.

Downstairs in the living room, they made firmer plans
for the Disney excursion. Buffy purposely waited about
twenty minutes, then excused herself and asked him to
please wait.

She went upstairs and stripped her jeans and t-shirt off,
then searched her closet for something a little more
feminine. In the very back, she located a dress she
hadn't worn in ages. It was a casual lounging dress, deep
emerald in color, and it clung attractively to her curves.
The hem of the dress brushed the tops of her feet, con-
trasting nicely with the light peach shade she'd painted
her toenails.

After brushing her hair and re-doing her make up, she
placed a drop of perfume behind each ear. Then, bare-
foot, she went back down to the living room.

William was sitting on the couch, glancing through
a newspaper he'd opened up on the coffee table.

When he heard her at the foot of the stairs, he looked up
and his eyes widened. "Look at you," he murmured
appreciatively, his gaze moving up and down her body.

She smiled at him, pleased by his reaction. "You remember
that G-rated day you were having?"

"Oh, yeah," he replied. "You...half naked...bouncing around
my house all afternoon...and a six year old chaperon. I
remember it vividly."

"Well," she said softly, gathering up all of her nerve, "that
rating is about to be...upgraded."


**************************************************


Upstairs once again, they stood in the middle of
Buffy's bedroom, kissing deeply, their tongues meeting
in hot, writhing caresses.

William placed his hands on her shoulders, then
pulled her closer and slipped his fingers under the
heavy fall of her hair, searching for the long zipper
that reached almost to the waist of her dress.

She felt him pulling it down, felt the soft fabric
separate, brushing back over her sensitized skin.
When he had it completely unzipped, he lifted his
hands back to her shoulders, ready to skim under the
straps of the dress and send it to the floor.

She looked into his eyes, and he smiled at her. "Miss
Smith," he murmured, "hold all my calls."

The green silk formed a pool around her feet, leaving
her naked.

"You're so beautiful." He tried to pull her closer, but
she stopped him with her hands on his chest.

"No...you, too." With fingers that barely shook at all,
she started unbuttoning his shirt. When he figured out
what was causing the delay, he began to help her but,
once again, she stopped him. "Let me."

Sighing, he let his hands drop to his sides and sat
back to enjoy her undressing him.

With the final button of his shirt undone, she tugged
the shirttails out of his jeans and pulled the garment
open, exposing his nicely muscled chest and abdomen.

She unbuttoned the cuffs of the shirt and turned him
around, tugging it down his arms and off. Then, still
standing behind him, she reached around in front and
began to unbuckle his belt. Feeling his abdomen become
concave as he sucked in a breath, she smiled and pressed
her lips against the smooth skin of his back.

Once she had his belt undone, she pulled it slowly
through the belt loops of his jeans and dropped it on
the floor next to his shirt. Her fingers brushed lightly over
his flat stomach, moving slowly down to pop open the
top snap of his pants.

The second the fastening was released, his zipper
began to descend without any help from either of them,
forced apart by the pressure of his erection.

This was the point where Buffy's nerve finally
deserted her. Her fingers started to fall away from his
body, until he reached down and stopped them by
taking her hand.

Turning his head, he looked down and met her eyes
as he pushed her hand into the opening of his trousers.

Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt the rigid
evidence of his desire, and she placed her cheek
against his back, letting her fingers slide up and down
his shaft.

Melting inside, like candy with a gooey center, her
heart was throbbing madly. The sound of his softly
uttered groan raised her temperature even more,
making her want to do anything she could to coax
more of those sounds out of him.

Her hand tightened around his hard length, squeezing
him, alternating between gentle and firm touches. At the
same time, her thumb brushed over the silky head,
spreading the moisture she found there back into his
own skin.

He was beginning to have a difficult time remaining still
beneath her tender touch. Removing her hand from his
pants, he raised it to his lips and kissed it, his tongue
caressing her palm. He turned to face her, then, slipping
his arms around her waist and pulling her up against
him to share his body heat.

"Buffy," he whispered, his lips traveling down her
throat. "I want you so much."

Her head dropped back and she closed her eyes.

"William," she murmured, when his lips touched
lightly against hers. "You have me."

He did. Her heart...her soul...her body...and any other
part of her he might want.


**************************************************


Forcing himself to step back from her, he sat
down on the end of the bed and tugged his boots
off, then stood back up and shoved his jeans down
and off, kicking them halfway across the room.

Before she even had a chance to admire the picture he
was presenting her with, he'd leaned over and picked
her up, depositing her in the middle of the bed.

"Here goes our rating again," he said teasingly. "From
an R to an X."

With a predatory leer, he hovered over her and lowered
his head until his mouth was touching the soft skin
between her breasts. Keeping her eyes locked with his,
he licked her all the way down her abdomen, filling the
hollow of her navel with his tongue.

She couldn't help it. It tickled, so she laughed.

The sound seemed to please him, and he did what was
necessary to produce it again.

As her body twisted and writhed under his, he suddenly
came back up to her and captured her mouth again,
thrusting his tongue boldly inside and gathering up the
flavor of her saliva. It was a wet and messy kiss, and they
drew it out intentionally, both enjoying the intimacy of it.

He pulled away and, with his mouth still very wet, bent
his head and latched on to her breast, taking the nipple
in deep and nursing at it. Soft, husky moans of pleasure
emanated from his throat as he moved to her other breast
and gave it the same care.

Buffy's back arched, almost without her knowing it. She
buried her hands in his silky curls, clutching at them and
twining them around her fingers.

When his mouth moved further down, she let her legs
fall apart. He kissed and nuzzled the under curve of her
breasts, using his thumbs to stimulate the wet tips.

Down and down he went, over her stomach and through
the soft curls of her sex. Her legs moved farther apart as
he descended, waiting for his touch, wanting it, needing
it...

And when it came, stars burst behind her tightly closed
eyes.

His soft tongue was voracious, lapping at her with an
intense hunger, then gentling in its attentions, becoming
a teasing, sliding presence inside her. He held her hips
in his hands, anchoring her to the bed, allowing her no
respite at all from his avid mouth.

She was nearly mindless with pleasure, loving the way
he stoked the fires so slowly, so sweetly, making sure
that she felt everything he wanted her to feel.

Then, when she was sure she couldn't go any higher,
he found the most sensitive place on her body and took
it into his mouth, sucking it firmly, rhythmically, taking her
over that edge she'd been hovering on.

Buffy felt a sweetness invading her body, as though she
was slipping off into her own rushing heartbeat, the world
around her falling farther and farther away.

Her eyes opened wide, and she looked down where he was
resting his cheek on her stomach and smiling at her.

"Hi," she managed to whisper.

"Hi," he said back, planting a hard kiss on her belly. "You
ready to crank up that rating to a double X?"




TBC.....
(So, I'm whacked out on pain meds. Did any of this
make sense?)

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part twenty...



"A double X?" she said, trying to look appalled at the
very idea. "Mr. St. James...I think you're trying to corrupt
me."

He grinned, showing no repentance at all. "Corrupting
you is going to be my new favorite thing to do."

Deciding to turn up the corruption a few notches, Buffy
rolled onto her stomach and stretched invitingly. The
swiftly drawn in breath she heard him take told her she
was having the right effect.

His hand curved around the swell of her bottom, fondling
and caressing it softly. "Beautiful," he murmured.

She turned to look at him, her hair falling in her eyes
as she reached for his hand.

Unsure of what she had in mind, he allowed her to
pull and nudge him until he was on top of her, his chest
pressed against her back.

A quietly explicit curse word fell from his lips when
she lifted her bottom a little and rubbed it against his
groin.

Before she could say anything, William leaned forward
to whisper in her ear. "You want it like this, baby? From
behind?"

Being asked such a question would once have embarrassed
her, making her blush and duck her head. But when William
asked it, it took on an erotic flavor that she was beginning
to enjoy far too much.

She did want it like this, from behind. This was no time
to be shy about it.

Peeking over her shoulder at him, she smiled in what she
hoped was an enticing manner. "What do YOU think?"

If the look on his face was any indication, he thought it was
a splendid idea.

He sat up and nudged her legs farther apart, then moved
up her body and began massaging her shoulders. It felt
so good that she couldn't hold back a moan of pleasure.

William chuckled. "You sound like a kitten purring." His
hands...his wonderful, skillful hands...continued down her
body, stroking and rubbing until she was as limp and pliable
as melting wax.

He purposely avoided an intimate touch as he slid his
hands further down, caressing her rear and the tops of her
thighs.

When she was certain that she couldn't wait one more
moment, he lowered himself on top of her, pushing her
down into the mattress. His erection nestled between her
thighs, slick and hot.

"Lift up a little, babe," he directed her.

She elevated her lower body a couple of inches, just
enough for him to slip one hand in and play with her.

Her eyes drifted shut, and she dug her fingers into the
pillow she was lying on.

"Do you like that? Does it feel good when I touch you
like this?" He used one finger to stroke her clit, stim-
ulating it to the point of madness.

'Feel good' didn't begin to describe it. She actually
couldn't come up with a phrase that would be more
on the money. Her head was too dizzy and her body
was in a tumultuous free fall. All she could do was nod
and whimper some sort of agreement.

He seemed to understand what she was trying to get
across. Sliding down just a little, he moved into position
and slowly began penetrating her as he continued
massaging her clit.

Instinctively, she raised her bottom, letting him slide
all the way in with one stroke.

"Oh, god," he groaned in her ear, nipping at it. "I can't
get over how tight you are...how wet."

With her cheek pressed against the soft cotton pillow
case, Buffy could only sigh.

He bore her down under his weight, pinning her to the
bed. "This is the way it was meant to be," he said. "For
us. Knew it....the minute....I saw you...oh, Buffy...you feel
so damn good."

They performed a lazy and erotic dance together, pushing
and pulling, gasping and moaning. His lips trailed softly
over the back of her neck, nipping at tender skin.

When he sensed her need, he pulled out and rose to his
knees, tugging her hips back and up to meet his next
thrust.

She keened softly in her throat while his hands moved
up and down her back, stroking her like a cat.

His thrusts became a little harder, and she knew that
the finish line was in sight. Determinedly, she pushed
back into him, meeting his pumping hips.

Their bodies surged and writhed together in a wave of
sexual heat. He was driving her wild, caressing her with
strong hands as he uttered husky encouragement,
begging her to push back harder, make it tighter, let
him all the way in.

Then, when she almost there, he reached around with
one hand and rubbed her clit firmly, sending her over the
edge into a mindless whirlwind of release.

He followed right behind, forcing himself not to shout
her name into the silent house.

When it was over, the sagged together in the middle of
the bed, panting, trying to catch their breath.

William was the first one to lift his head. "You okay?"

"Mm-hmm. I'm very much okay."

"I was afraid I was being..."

"Being what?"

Gingerly, he pulled out of her and moved to one side. "Too
rough...you know...towards the end."

Buffy took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "No. You
weren't."

He took her hand and kissed it. "I just...I don't ever want
to hurt you. You're so small."

"I may be small," she told him, "but I'm pretty tough." Her
brow furrowed. "Was that why you moved? Because you
thought you were hurting me?"

"Well..." he shrugged. "A little, maybe."

Buffy smiled. She appreciated his consideration and care,
but it was hardly necessary. Years of lying beneath a man
who was taller and much stockier than this one had con-
ditioned her for just about anything. William's slimmer
build and slighter weight never made her feel as though
she was trapped under a fallen redwood.

"I promise you weren't hurting me," she assured him. "I'd
tell you if you were."

Returning her smile, he let the subject drop and pulled
her close again. "This time YOU set the pace."

Buffy's eyes widened. "You mean there's more?"

"Oh, there's a LOT more. I'll do anything you want
me to, for as long as you want."

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Hmm...you should be careful offering that. What if
it's something really perverse?"

His smile turned playfully lecherous. "I'd count my
blessings."


**************************************************


Sunday morning started way too early for Buffy
when a six year old crawled into bed next to her and
announced that she was hungry.

After pushing, pulling, and nudging her mother into a
sitting position, Melanie stood next to the bed and grabbed
her hand, tugging and giggling as Buffy feigned sleep.

When her hand slipped out of Melanie's grasp, she fell
backwards on the bed again, wrapping her arms around
a pillow and burying her face in it.

"Mommy! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Melanie chanted,
clambering on top of Buffy and sitting on her upper thighs,
bouncing up and down.

"Why?" Buffy asked plaintively, injecting as much 'whine'
as she could into her voice. "Don't wanna wake up. Wanna
sleep."

"You can't sleep anymore. You gotta fix breakfast."

"Why?"

"Because you're the mommy. I can't do it."

The little girl yanked on the pillow, then scooted up
and pried one of Buffy's eyes open.

"Have some cereal," Buffy said. "You can do cereal."

"But it's Sunday."

"So what?"

"Pancakes, Mommy. Pancakes, pancakes,
pancakes," the child sing-songed.

Before she could start bouncing up and down on
her again, Buffy shifted her daughter to one side,
tumbling her down on the mattress, then went in for
the kill with all fingers wiggling.

Melanie shrieked with laughter as her mother found
all her ticklish places and gave them a good work
out before breakfast.


**************************************************


"Mommy?"

"What, baby?" Buffy turned the page in her newspaper,
studying an advertisement for a sale on children's under-
wear at Sears.

"Are we still going to Disneyland?" Melanie asked, her
voice slightly garbled from the bite of pancake she was
still working on.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth, Melanie," Buffy said
automatically.

She'd tried the old "don't talk with your mouth full" routine
on Melanie once, a request the child had immediately disputed
by showing her mother that her mouth was only half full. Un-
fortunately, Buffy found it difficult to scold the little girl when
she was having trouble controlling her laughter.

Melanie made a show of swallowing, then repeated her
question.

'Yes, honey. We're still going. He promised, didn't he?"

"Uh-huh." Melanie stabbed another bite of pancake and
dunked it in the pool of syrup on her plate. "I believe him."

"So do I." Reaching for the scissors, Buffy began clipping
coupons from one of the booklets they stuffed in Sunday's
papers. She was carefully cutting along the dotted line of a
75 cents off coupon for laundry detergent when the phone
rang.

Melanie jumped out of her chair and reached for the
receiver with sticky hands.

"Hello?....Oh, hi, Gemma." She looked over at Buffy. "It's
Gemma."

Buffy forced herself not to roll her eyes. Angel's mother so
completely disliked being called by any variation of the name
'Grandmother' , that she'd insisted on Melanie using her first
name instead.

After a brief conversation with her grandmother, Melanie
handed the phone to Buffy.

"Hi, Gemma, how are you?....Really?....Congratulations...I
guess that's good, right? I don't know much about golf...Uh-
huh....Wow....Um, no." She turned around to face the all
and lowered her voice. "Not for over a week...He had to cancel
his weekend with Melanie....Not much of one....Just the
usual....Well, have you tried his fax line?....What about that
girl he's seeing?....Already?....Yes....I'll let you know....Me?
Well, yes....actually, I am.....Not long....No, no, he doesn't."

She'd had just about enough of this phone call. The last
thing she wanted to be doing at the moment was answering
Gemma's nosy questions about her private life.

"Gemma, I have to go....Yes, I'll tell him....You, too....Okay.
Bye."

Buffy replaced the receiver, then went into the kitchen to
wet a paper towel and clean off the sticky fingerprints Melanie
had left on it.

She stood at the sink, watching the neighbor's cat walk along
the fence that divided the property.

The fact that Angel hadn't called his mother lately bothered
her just a little. For all of his faults as a husband and father,
he'd been pretty good about staying close to his mother, es-
pecially after his own father had died so suddenly of a massive
stroke.

Gemma was the helpless, clinging type of wife who had
depended on her husband for everything. Liam Conner had
married her young, and had continued to treat her like a child,
no matter how old she got. He'd doted on and spoiled her to
insane lengths, providing her with a brand new car every year,
enough designer clothes for ten women, jewelry, furs, a check-
book with an unending supply of cash, and a credit card for
every upscale store on the west coast.

When he'd died, Gemma had transfered her dependency from
her husband to her son. Her daughter was practically ignored,
and they'd drifted apart years ago.

But now, Gemma hadn't heard from Angel in over a week.

Where the heck had he disappeared to?

"Mommy?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Buffy looked down and saw
Melanie standing next to her, holding her breakfast plate.

"You want another pancake, baby?" she asked, reaching
for the bowl of batter.

"No, I'm full."

Buffy exchanged the plate for the damp rag she had in her
hand, asking Melanie to please go and wipe the syrup off the
phone.



**************************************************


After the breakfast dishes were done, she threw on a
pair of jeans and a sweater, then went down the hall to
Melanie's room.

She found the child sitting in the middle of the floor,
dressing her dolls in their 'party clothes', and singing
quietly to herself.


"A peanut sat on a railroad track
His heart was all a flutter
Round the bend came number 10
And toot-toot, peanut butter.."


"Want to go to the store with me, baby?"

Melanie looked up and smiled. "Okay."

Buffy opened the closet door and pulled out a blue
sun dress, as Melanie wriggled out of her pajamas.

After running a brush through her daughter's hair,
she waited patiently while Melanie tackled her
shoe laces. It took three times as long to get her
ready to go, but she was so pleased with herself that
Buffy was willing to wait.

They stopped at the mall for a few minutes, just enough
time for Buffy to check in with Willow and go over the
work schedule for the following week.

In the market, Melanie trailed behind Buffy, pushing a
child size shopping cart. She filled the basket with small
items Buffy handed her, and pulled a huge handful of
coupons from the automatic dispensers for things Buffy
had no earthly use for.

After loading all her groceries on the conveyor belt, she
grabbed a copy of TV guide and flipped through it while she
waited to be checked out.

Her fingers turned the pages quickly to the Wednesday
night listing and she found herself face to face with an
advertisement for that weeks episode of 'Outpost: Space';
an advertisement that had a very attractive picture of the
show's lead.

She couldn't help the little shiver of possessiveness that
chased up and down her spine, caused by the knowledge
that this man, one that thousands of women ached for in
very private places, was her lover. The memory of what he'd
done last night in her bed was enough to make her cheeks
turn scarlet.

Melanie tugged on the hem of her sweater. "Can I see,
Mommy?"

Buffy handed over the TV guide, then began digging around
in her purse for her checkbook.


**************************************************


She had just put Melanie to bed, when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, beautiful. How are my two favorite girls?"

Smiling, she stretched out on the sofa. "We're fine. We had
a not-very-productive day. How are you?"

She heard him release a heavy sigh. "Tired. I spent the
day with the writers and producers, after not getting much
sleep last night."

"Oh, what a shame."

He chuckled. "I was kept up most of the night by a very
beautiful and sexy lady."

"You were?"

"Oh, yeah. And demanding, too."

"Demanding? Really?"

"Mm-hmm. Insatiable. She couldn't keep her hands off
me."

"William!"

"What?"

"I seem to remember your hands not staying where they
belonged."

"Not true. My hands belonged all over you...and that's
where they were."

Deciding to change the subject, Buffy said, "We found a
picture of you in this weeks TV guide. It's now residing in
Melanie's wall gallery."

They talked for a few more minutes, then he told her that
he'd made arrangements for their Disneyland trip, but wanted
to check her schedule first before he finalized them.

"I would think your schedule would be harder to work around
than mine."

"Not really. We're filming the season finale this week, after
that I'm free for about...oh, a month and a half or so."

"That's nice."

"Yes...and I'm planning to spend a lot of that free time with
you, baby. And a certain little girl. If you'll have me, that is."

If she would have him? If?

"I'll definitely have you...I mean WE will. Both of us. Stop
laughing at me....you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean. Listen, I'll try and call tomorrow,
okay?"

"Okay."

"Goodnight, darlin' Sweet dreams."

Tonight that was going to be a sure thing.



TBC....

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie.



Part twenty-one...



Buffy tried to call Angel the following morning, after
dropping Melanie off at school. She got through to his
secretary, who told her in a rather snide tone that she'd
heard from him and all was well. Buffy acidly informed the
woman that his daughter and mother had NOT heard from
him, and both had rather urgent business to discuss.

"I'll give him the message, Ms. Summers. As soon as he
returns from court this afternoon."

"Thank you, Miss Kendall," Buffy snapped right back, then
slammed the phone down hard enough to make it 'ping'.

"What did that phone do to you?" Willow asked, dumping
her purse in the lock drawer.

"Hmm? Oh....nothing." Buffy shoved the phone away and
reached down for a box from one of her suppliers. "I think
we should mark down the spring pastels...maybe twenty-
five percent. We've moved almost all of it and we're going to
need the room. If it doesn't move fast, take another ten
percent off."


********************************


The phone rang that night as Buffy was putting
Melanie to bed.

Closing her bedroom door, she stretched out on the bed
and reached for the receiver. "Hello?" she said softly.

"Well, hello. Something tells me you weren't expecting
my call at the moment."

She sat bolt upright on the bed. "Angel? Where the hell
have you been?"

He chuckled. "Never mind that. Who are you answering the
phone for like that? All soft and sexy?"

"None of your business," she said curtly. "Have you called
your mother? Because she called here yesterday, looking
for you."

"Slow down, Buff. I called her. I know I kind of flaked out
on everyone....but I had a good reason."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear it. Melanie's fine, by the way."

"I was about to ask. Jesus, Buffy, give me a chance."

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. "Sorry. I had
a long day."

"How's business?"

"Pretty good, actually. I've moved just about all my Spring
stock."

"Glad to hear it. Did you get my check?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Listen, I've got a few things for Melanie's birthday. How's
about I come and get her tomorrow, take her out for dinner?
You're welcome to come along, if you want. I can share my
news with you."

Dinner with Angel was the last thing she was interested
in. "I'm sure she'd like it, but I'll have to pass. You can tell
me when you pick her up."

"Okay. Be there around six or so."

"Good. Oh, and Angel...they're having another Father/
Daughter breakfast in a couple of weeks." Best to find out
now whether she should encourage Melanie to ask her
father to take her.

""Mmmm...that's gonna be tight, Buff. You know I'd love
to go, but..."

"I understand," she said quickly. "Just do me a favor and tell
her straight out that you can't, okay? Don't make her think it's
all set and then cancel out on her at the last minute again."

"Never gonna let me forget that, are you?"

"Angel...."

"I'll be on my fucking death bed, and you'll lean over and
remind me of all the times I...." He stopped suddenly. "You
know what...let's not do this."

Thank God.

"Look, Buff, I'll see what I can do. Maybe I can switch a
couple of things around."

"Angel, don't." She rubbed her forehead, trying to put off the
headache that was coming. "I've got it covered."

He was silent for a moment, then said, "You've got it covered?
What's that supposed to mean?"

No, no, no....she was SO not in the mood for this discussion.

"I mean...I've got a friend who can take her."

"A friend? What sort of a friend?"

"A friend sort of friend."

"A guy?"

"Yes."

"Buffy....are you dating?" He sounded amused.

"Goodnight, Angel."

"Hey, wait a second! Come on....you can tell me."

"I'm going to tell Melanie you'll be coming tomorrow. Don't.."

"...disappoint her," he finished. "I know the drill, Buff."

Her fingers tightened on the receiver. "I'll see you
tomorrow, then."

"Sure, baby. See you then."

She hung up the phone, then rolled off the bed and
headed for the bathroom to run a tub full of hot water and
bubbles in an attempt to calm her jangled nerves.

At the last minute, she took the phone along with her.


********************************************


She bathed quickly, then leaned back against the bath
cushion and closed her eyes. Two minutes later, the phone
rang again.

"Hello?"

"Hi, sexy. How's my girl?"

The knot her stomach had twisted into smoothed out.

"Fine. How are you?"

"Is something wrong, love?"

Realizing she must still sound tense after her conversation
with Angel, she made herself breathe deeply and redirect
her energy. "No. Just a long day. I'm glad you called."

He hesitated, and for a moment she was afraid he was
going to challenge her denial and demand to know what
was bothering her.

"I'm glad I called, too. How's the little one?"

They talked for a few minutes about generalities. She
told him how work and Melanie had fared that day, while he
told her about reshooting the opening credit sequence for
the next season.

"So," he said after a short silence. "What are you doing right
now?"

"Taking a ....nothing much," she quickly amended.

He laughed. "You were about to say something else, weren't
you?"

"Yes," she admitted, blushing, even though there was no one
to see it.

"Tell me, baby," he coaxed sweetly. "I want to know."

Sighing, rolling her eyes at her own silliness, she said, "Taking
a bath."

She heard him catch his breath.

"Are you talking to me....in the bath?" He sounded delighted at
the idea. "Baby....that is so sexy. Tell me more."

Buffy smiled. "Like what?"

"Bubbles or bath oil?" he asked.

"Bubbles."

"Scented?"

"Of course."

"Tell me..."

"Wildflowers."

"Is your hair up?"

"Yes."

"Tied with a ribbon?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Do you know what I'd do, if I was there?"

"What?"

"I'd pull the ribbon out....slowly."

She felt her skin begin to tingle. "Would you?"

"Yes. I'd let your hair fall down around your shoulders. Then
I would...."

"William," she cut him off impulsively, then took a deep breath
for courage. "Why don't you...come over?"

He said nothing for a moment, and she was horribly afraid
she'd been too pushy.

"Do you really want me to, love?"

"If....if you feel like it. You don't have to. I know you've had
a difficult...."

"I can be there in twenty minutes."

"You...you can?"

"Mm-hmm. Will you wait for me in the bath?"

She smiled, every nerve ending in her body doing an
anticipatory dance.



TBC...

Title: Acting The Part
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Rating: Up to NC-17
Summary: AU. William St. James is
an actor in a hit television show. While
appearing at a fan convention, he meets
Buffy and her six year old daughter, Melanie



Part twenty-two...



Although waiting for him in the bath sounded unbelievably
sexy, Buffy knew it was hardly a feasible plan. Not wanting
to be waterlogged and shivering when he arrived, she climbed
out of the tub and drained it, then wrapped herself in her robe
and ran into her room.

She pulled the ribbon out of her hair and brushed it, tying it
back up in a attractively disheveled way. Reapplying a dash of
make up took up another minute. With one eye on the clock,
she ran downstairs and grabbed two fat, creamy white candles
from the bottom drawer of her china cabinet.

At nine minutes still to go, she positioned the candles in
strategic places to give out a nice, romantic glow.

The doorbell rang as she was refilling the tub with fragrant
bubbles.

She dashed down the stairs, clutching her robe closed, and
pulled open the door. "Hi!"

"Hey!" he complained, stepping over the threshold and
bending over to pick her up. "What happened to waiting for
me IN the bath?"

Buffy laughed, pushing the door shut behind him. "Oh, come
on. Did you want me all soggy and wrinkly?"

Sighing with pretended aggravation, he took the stairs two
at a time. "I have no problem with that."

"In cold water?"

"It's refreshing." He nudged her bedroom door shut and carried
her into the bathroom, making her squeak with surprise when he
stepped into the tub...shoes, pants, shirt, and all....and sat down
in the steamy water, holding her on his lap.

"You know you're crazy, don't you?"

"What? Didn't you invite me over to join you in the tub?" he asked,
smiling his most wickedly charming smile. "You naked under that
robe?"

"Yes."

"Give us a look, then."

Teasingly, she parted the sides of her robe, then closed them
again.

"You call that a look?" he demanded.

"It WAS a look!"

"Oh, please....I blinked and I missed it. Come on love, show
me your wares."

"My wares?" She pulled back and gave him a look of disbelief.

"Your goods?"

"That's even worse."

He gave the matter some thought. "Your goodies?"

Buffy couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. "That'll do."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she drew him down into
a long, lingering kiss.

"I just now thought of something," he said when they broke
contact.

"What's that?"

"These jeans I'm wearing are pretty tight. I'm gonna have a devil
of a time peeling them off."

"Well, I'll help you with that problem."

"Thanks. Hate to impose."

"I really don't mind."


*********************************************


"Isn't this nice, now? You and me...tub full of hot water
and bubbles that are failing to hide your considerable
charms...candlelight. I'll tell you, love...I'm a happy man."

His jeans and shirt were hanging off the hook on the back
of the door, dripping steadily onto a bunched up towel next
to his shoes and socks.

Buffy leaned back into his embrace, her body completely
relaxed and docile under his touch.

"This is pretty," he murmured, tugging on her hair ribbon.
"Black velvet looks lovely in your hair."

"Thank you."

"Her eyes, they shone just like diamonds," he sang
softly.

"You'd think she was queen of the land
And her hair hung over her shoulders
Tied up with a black velvet band..."


She tilted her head back and looked at him. "That was
nice. Where'd you learn that?"

"It's something my granddad used to sing. Some Irish folk
song," he explained, picking up a sponge and holding it out
for her to squirt body wash into. "He was always bursting
into song when he got drunk as a bloody lord." He chuckled.
"Drove my gran stark starin' mad."

"Getting drunk or bursting into song?"

"Both."

Smiling, she asked, "Is there more to it?"

"Oh, yeah, quite a bit." His arms encircled her waist, giving
it a squeeze. "Why? Do you want to hear it?"

"Yeah."

"Let me think a minute. And please remember I never
claimed to be a good singer."



"In a neat little town they call Belfast
Apprenticed to trade I was bound
And many's the hour of sweet happiness
I spent in that neat little town
Till blasted misfortune befell me
And caused me to stray from the land
Far away from my friends and relations
To follow her black velvet band.."



"Why do I get the feeling this is going to end badly?"
Buffy interjected.

He shrugged. "Could be the 'blasted misfortune' part."

"Could be. So, THEN what happened?"

"Be quiet and I'll tell you."

"Sorry."



"I was out strolling one evening
Not meaning to go very far
When I met with a pretty young damsel
She was selling her trade in the bar..."



"WHAT?! She was a PROSTITUTE!?"

"That's the part my gran hated the most."

"What a song!"

"Wait, it gets better."



"Then a watch she took from a customer
And slipped it right into my hand
Then the law came and put me in prison
Bad luck to her black velvet band"



"A prostitute AND a pick-pocket? What kind of song
IS this, anyway?"



"Next morning before judge and jury
For trial I had to appear
And the judge he said, Me young fellow,
The case against you is quite clear
And seven long years is your sentence
You're goin' to Van Diemen's land
Far away from your friends and relations
To follow the black velvet band.."


"Now this last part is the moral of the story."

"I can't wait."


"So come all you jolly young fellas
I'll have you take warning by me
And if ever you're out on the liquor, me lads
Beware of the pretty colleens
For they'll fill you with whiskey and porter
Till you are not able to stand
And the very next thing that you know, me lads
You've landed in Van Diemen's land.."


"What's Van Diemen's land?"

"Penal colony in Tasmania. Now, big finish."



"Her eyes they shone just like diamonds
You'd think she was queen of the land
And her hair hung over her shoulders
Tied up with a black velvet band.."



"So...she gets off scot free?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And your grandfather taught you that song?"

"Among others. Some of which I can't sing in the
presence of a lady."

"I think I would like him."

William smiled, lifting her right arm and running the soapy
sponge up and down. "He'll definitely like you. He's seventy-
nine years old, and he still has an eye for a pretty girl."

"And how does your grandmother feel about that?"

"She says that as long as the pretty girls don't develop
an eye for him, she'll hold her peace."

He washed up and down her left arm, then leaned back in
the tub again, sliding his hands over her slick skin.

Several minutes passed in blissful quiet, then...

"Buffy?"

"Hmm?"

"Did I mention I had a long and difficult day?"

"I think you did."

"How are you at scrubbing backs?"

"I'm an expert."

They traded places in the tub. Buffy re-soaped her
sponge, plying it up and down William's nicely
muscled back. Rinsing all the soap off, she gave in
to a sudden impulse and leaned over, kissing the
scattering of light freckles on his left shoulder blade.

"You're right," he said softly, leaning back into her
touch. "You're an expert."

"I aim to please."

"You succeed beautifully."

He turned around and took the sponge away, tossing it
into the cooling bath water with a 'plop'. "Now...come
here."

"I...uh...Will...William?"

"Hmm?"

"In the bathtub?"

"Just the preliminaries," he promised. "We'll save the main
event for the bed, but I just have to feel your naked wet skin
all over me...so hold still."

Buffy tried, but it wasn't easy.

He lowered his body against hers, surrounding her with his
heat and strength. The 'naked wet skin' situation was
producing some marvelous sensations, and she purposely
wriggled closer, locking her arms around his neck.

His hard, possessive kiss took her by surprise. Vibrant
and strong, he pressed her back into the slick porcelain
surface of the bathtub, then rose to his knees, taking her
with him.

The next kiss was slow and sweet, as his hands moved
up and down her back, then held her around her waist.

The bubbles had dissolved completely away, and the
water was becoming unpleasantly cold. Somewhere in her
lust addled mind, Buffy decided it was time to move on to
the next level.

Pulling back, she gasped for air. "Do you...do you want to
go to bed?"

"More than life itself," he panted, nodding.


****************************************


Once again, he took her by surprise by picking her
up off her feet. Playfully, he tossed her into the middle
of the bed.

Rising up on her elbows, Buffy watched him advance on
her slowly. When he knelt on the mattress, she scooted
backwards towards the headboard.

William caught her ankle before it was out of reach, then
yanked her back down until she was lying prone beneath
him.

Looking down between them, it was hard not to stare. His
penis jutted out from his body, long and thick, and heavy.

"See something you want?" he murmured, leaning down
to nuzzle her throat.

She tried to swallow, but her throat felt dry. "Yes."

He thrust his hips forward a little. "Help yourself."

They stared into each other's eyes in the dimly shadowed
room. William reached for her hand, then drew it down
towards his groin.

Her fingers wrapped firmly around his shaft. Keeping
his hand over hers, he moved it up and down his hard
flesh, slowly at first, then a bit faster, a little rougher.

"Touch me," he pleaded, his voice soft and intense. "Squeeze
me with your...soft little fingers. Please."

Buffy was hypnotized by the whole experience, by every-
thing she saw and felt. His eyes, darkened with passion
and need; the thick length of his penis with it's velvety
skin and throbbing veins; his hot, damp body, thrust so
willingly into her grasp....it was all so electrifying.

Her heart beat at a wild pace as his fingers tightened
a bit more, roughly moving her fist in a circular motion,
spreading the fluid he was emitting until his penis was
slick with it, then pumping her hand slowly up and down.

"Buffy..." His voice was a husky whisper. "Do you want
me? Like I want you?"

The force of his obvious desire was making her shiver,
a giddy chase down her spine. "I want you," she told
him, pressing her lips against his chest. "I need you."

Lowering his head, he slipped his tongue between
her kiss swollen lips. "Baby....I'm yours."

He released her hand. Sliding his left arm beneath her
neck, he leaned his weight on it and sent his right hand
down to play between her legs.

His body was almost vibrating with a pleasure of its
own as he slid his forefinger over her mound, between
the moist folds of her labia.

She inhaled sharply, and he smiled at the sound,
moving his fingers tenderly around her clit, spreading
her wetness. "That's my girl."

Bending his head, he thrust his tongue into her
mouth with the same seductive swirling rhythm
as his hand. Buffy was becoming even more aroused
by the wet sounds his fingers made as they played
with her.

It wasn't long before she needed more. Spreading her
legs farther apart, she reached down and took hold of
his penis, placing it at the entrance to her body. The tip
slipped in, then he pulled back with a gasp.

"Sweetheart....I left in such a hurry....I didn't bring
anything..."

She knew what he meant. "It's all right. My period's due
in the next day or so. We're safe."

William looked into her eyes. "Buffy....you DO know that
if anything...."

She cut off the rest of his sentence by raising her hips,
taking him in further.

A ragged sigh shuddered out of him. He flexed the muscles
of his buttocks, rocking against her small thrusts, burying
himself to the hilt inside her.

"God....you're so tight," he said against her throat. "Feel so
amazing."

Buffy's entire body was tingling as her hips bucked up to
meet every thrust. Her hands slipped down his back, finding
the hard curve of his rump and clutching it, feeling those
muscles working.

William angled himself so that every gliding motion of
his body stimulated her clit, making her even wetter and
more willing than she already was.

The bedsprings squeaked in the darkened room, the only
other sound besides the slap of their flesh and their harsh
panting.

As the tension built, he began to bear down harder and
thrust deeper, moaning soft, incomprehensible words of
pure lust.

He knew he wasn't winning any awards for finesse at
the moment, but he was so turned on that he couldn't
help it. And she seemed to be enjoying what he was
doing; the wild, unrestrained pounding he was delivering.

Raising his head, he leaned down and pressed his
hungry mouth against her heaving breast, nuzzling
and leaving a wet trail over their smooth surface, then
latching on to one nipple and sucking hungrily.

Buffy's nails dug into his shoulders as she hissed
in air through clenched teeth. Her back arched in-
voluntarily, pushing her breast more deeply into his
mouth.

His sucking matched the rhythm of his strokes, and
he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. Wanting
her pleasure to come first, he searched blindly between
her thighs and fondled her clit, flicking the wet knot of
flesh with his finger, then squeezing and rubbing it gently.

Orgasm blindsided her, taking her down in a wave of
bright lights and tumultuous shudders. It was so
overwhelming that it was almost a struggle to breathe.

William thrust into her three more times, then let
it all go, releasing himself into her deepest reaches,
then collapsing heavily in her arms.

It was such a wonderful feeling, having him so completely
on her and inside of her, that breathing properly was the
last thing on her mind.


***************************************

She threw his clothes into the dryer, then ran back
upstairs and rejoined him in bed for post coital
snuggling that quickly turned to more energetic
activities.

An hour later, they stood at the front door, exchanging
final kisses goodnight.

"Listen," William said, squeezing her hand, "how about
I come and get you two tomorrow night? We could go and
get some dinner."

"I'd love to....but Angel is coming to pick Melanie up for
dinner."

She watched his face carefully, but he was a consummate
actor and wiped the slightly disgruntled look off before it
really registered.

"Well, just you and I then? We'll go someplace nice."

"All right."

"Great. You get all dressed up fancy. I want to impress
you. Pick you up at 7:00?"

Perfect. Angel would gone by then.

She nodded. "Seven is fine."





TBC.....

AN: The song William sang is indeed called
'Black Velvet Band', but I have no idea who wrote
it. I searched the Internet for credits, but all it
told me at every site was that it was either an
Irish or Australian folk song. I learned it from
hearing my father sing it, although he was perfectly
sober at the time.

Now, some people may say, "Boy. That was really
corny having him sing her that old song."

To that, I reply, "Yeah. So?" ;-)



As always, I love your opinions.