Chapter 6

It had been a few weeks since the night spent at the Bronze and things had been going fine. Swan offered for Spike to stay at her apartment since it would be easier for the Scoobies, Spike had helped Giles when he was turned into a demon, and Swan's eighteenth birthday was in a few days. Spike walked back into the apartment, holding something behind his back. "Swan!" he called out into the apartment. "Over here, blondie!" Swan called from the couch. Spike walked over to the couch and sat down beside her, making sure she couldn't see what he was holding. "Whatcha got there?" Swan asked, noticing the way he kept his left hand behind his back, not letting her see what he had hidden. "Not telling" Spike replied, a smug look on his face. Of course, he was gonna tell her, but he loved to mess with her as well. "Ok then" Swan shrugged and lunged forward at him. One thing she had found out about Spike was, he was ticklish. Yes, you heard that right, William the Bloody, the scourge of Europe was ticklish. Spike tried to contain his laughter, but couldn't contain it after a while, and howled into laughter, which only made Swan continue. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you!" Spike pleaded. Swan pulled away with an evil smirk on her lips and settled back into the couch. Spike pulled out the envelope he was hiding behind his back and handed it to Swan. Swan tore open the envelope excitedly and looked at the two pieces of paper that fell out of it. It was two plane tickets to Ireland. Spike watched as she stared at the two tickets, a huge smile starting to form across her lips. After a moment, Swan looked up at Spike in adoration. "You did this?" she asked. "Well, I figured since it is your birthday...you'd like to go home for a while" Spike replied. Within seconds she flung herself at him and hugged him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Swan said as she wrapped her arms around Spike. "You're welcome snow" Spike replied, relishing in the way he made her so happy.

They boarded the plane at 7 o'clock that evening. Spike told Swan she didn't need to bring him, and she should take someone else, but of course, Swan wanted to take him. It was a 12-hour flight, so they were conscious of the time. Luckily, there weren't many people on the plan so they were able to block out the sun on a few windows. Swan slept for most of the flight, only staying awake to drink the tea that she ordered and to talk to Spike. The plane landed at Dublin airport at 8'oclock the next morning. The sky was dark, and the sun couldn't be seen anywhere. They called a taxi that drove them from Dublin airport to Galway. At ten o'clock they arrived at Swan's mother's apartment. Spike was now covered by a blanket since the sun had started to shine through the dark clouds. Swan knocked on the door and waited for her mom to open the door. A moment later, the door creaked open and Swan's mother, Rose, popped her head out. "Swan!" she exclaimed, embracing her daughter into a hug. "Hi, mom" Swan beamed, returning the hug. After a moment, Rose let go of Swan and glanced at Spike who no longer had a blanket over his head, since the balcony from the second floor was protecting him from the sun. "I see you have some extra luggage" Rose mused, raising an eyebrow at her daughter. "Oh, right, this is Spike," Swan said. "Spike?" Rose repeated. "Oh, it's just a nickname" Swan answered quickly. "Well, why don't you come in Spike," Rose said, walking into the apartment followed by Swan and Spike.

"So, will you two be staying here while you're in Galway?" Rose asked while pouring a cup of tea or them. "Actually mom, we're staying in Galway bay hotel" Swan replied. "That's not a cheap place to stay" Rose mused, wondering where her daughter had gotten this money from. "Well, I've been... saving up" Swan replied. "Well, I won't keep you long, I just have something to give you and then we can have cake," Rose said. Swan beamed as her mom pulled out a small box. Swan opened it. Inside was a silver necklace with a small, silver swan charm. "I love it," Swan said, thanking her mom. She took the necklace out of the box and casually handed it to Spike who moved some of her hair away and tied it around her neck. Rose watched as they did this, acting like it was the most casual thing to do in the world. She started to think if something was going on between the two but was pulled away from her thoughts when Spike pulled his hands away from the back of Swan's neck and Swan spoke up. "So, what did I hear about the cake?"

That evening, Swan and Spike left Rose and checked into the 'Galway Bay Hotel'. They walked into the room and glanced around. There were two double beds and a walk-in closet. There were a table and two chairs in the corner of the room and a wide window over the table. "So, where does the birthday girl want to go tonight?" Spike asked, after putting down one of the bags and walking over to Swan. "Well..." Swan replied, turning to face Spike. "Well?" Spike asked. "There is this beach..." Swan thought aloud. "And?" Spike prompted her to continue. "It looks great at night" Swan replied. "And you want to go there tonight?" Spike asked. "Yes," Swan answered. "Well, your wish is my command" Spike grinned.

That night Spike and Swan 'borrowed' a motorcycle from a vampire they found in an ally who was trying to drink from a teenage boy. So, they killed it and took its motorcycle. Anyway, they drove to the beach at midnight. There were barely any people there at this time, so, they had the place more-less to themselves. They found a nice, quiet place and sat down. "I forgot how much I loved this place," Swan said as she gazed out into the ocean. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself" Spike replied, moving his eyes away from the ocean to gaze at Swan. After a while, Spike started to fumble around in his pocket. Swan noticed this and stared at him. "Whatcha doing?" Swan asked. "I uh, got something for you," Spike said, getting more nervous. "Spike, you bought me a ticket to come back for my birthday, you didn't need to get me anything" Swan argued. "It's nothing, really" Spike mumbled, taking the small, black, square box out of his pocket, and giving it to Swan. Swan opened it and stared at what she found. It was a silver Claddagh ring. Swan had lived in Galway for her whole life and had seen many Claddagh rings being given to girls from their boyfriends or girlfriends, or girls just going out and buying themselves one, but no one had ever given her one, and she had never thought to buy herself one. Now Spike had given her one. She hadn't taken the ring out of the box and this worried Spike, but when he saw a smile creep up on Swan's face, all his worries went away. She took the silver ring out of the small, black box and put it on her right-hand ring finger. A few seconds later, she looked up and looked Spike in the eye. "I love it" she whispered, leaning in, and placing a kiss on Spike's lips. Spike responded by wrapping his hands around her, pulling her in closer, and kissing her.

It turned out to be a great birthday.