A Multitude of Sins

by Samantha McCullah

One minute, Spike was sleeping peacefully pressed against Buffy's body,

and the next, he was lying on the floor of a courtroom. <Courtroom?>

Spike questioned to himself. <What in the fiery pits of Hell is going

on here?> He pushed himself off the floor and stared down at the imprint

his body had left in the dust on the floor.

"Weird," he muttered. Just then a scream resounded from the ceiling as a

form fell to the ground; the body landed amongst the deteriorating pews in

the back of the courtroom. Spike's eyes narrowed as he waited to see just

whom had come to join him.

"Ow," a voice commented. Spike's eyes widened in surprise and worry, and

he hurried over to where the body lay. Buffy sat up slowly, rubbing her

forehead. "Oh, that's gonna bruise," she commented then she noticed Spike.

"Umm, don't get me wrong, I like dreaming about you, but what are you doing

here?"

"Thought it was my dream, pet," he grinned. "As to why I'm here, I don't

know; I'm not even sure where exactly here is." Suddenly, a low sound

filled the courtroom; they turned to see a hooded figure sitting behind

a previously unoccupied judge's bench.

"Here is the nether-realm," its booming voice resounded through the

chamber.

"Figures," Buffy muttered.

"You are here for your trial, William Stephen Addington," the figure

explained.

"And why exactly am *I* here?" Buffy asked.

"SILENCE!" the voice commanded.

"Fine," she huffed.

"SIT!" the figure commanded again, gesturing to one of the tables

situated in front of the bench. The pair took a seat in two of the

three chairs behind the table. In the third chair, another hooded

figure appeared. At the other table and in the jurors' box more

hooded figures appeared. Buffy looked around at the figures in

black, hooded cloaks and felt decidedly left out.

"Spike, have I mentioned you have weird dreams?" she whispered; the

only reply she got was a grim smile. "What's wrong?" she asked,

concerned.

He sighed softly, "Angel, after he turned back into Angelus the first

time, he told me that when he first got a soul he went through something

like this. They are going to bring up my past crimes. It's not going

to be pretty, Slayer."

"But Angel made it through okay, so we'll be fine." She turned questioning

eyes on him. "Right?"

"Angel had a soul, love." He stared into her eyes, hoping she would

understand. "I don't."

"Oh," she whispered then stared down at her hands.

"The first witnesses will be called," the judge boomed, and the figure

behind the other table stood and walked slowly to the bench. From within

the folds of his cloak, the figure pulled out a yellowed piece of paper

and handed it to the judge. The judge read the paper then looked up.

"Benjamin Addington, come to the stand."

A man appeared in the witness stand dressed in the clothing of the late

eighteenth century. Buffy saw Spike stiffen out of the corner of her eye.

"Da?" he whispered.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Spike gulped in air. "That's my father."

The prosecution stood and stalked toward the witness. In a voice that was

just like the judge's, he ordered, "Tell what William Stephen Addington did."

"He killed me and my sons without warning, He ran away from home at twelve,

and we were so worried about him. We loved him very much. Little Willy, we

missed you," Spike's father's eyes misted over with tears and silently began

to cry. "When he finally came back, we were so happy, and then," his voice

broke, "he became a demon and killed us all. We loved him so much," he

whispered

finally.

"LIAR!" Spike shot to his feet and screamed at his father. "Tell them why I

left; tell them about the beatings. Tell them how you killed my mother!"

"QUIET!" the judge ordered. "Silence yourself, or we rip out your tongue."

Benjamin Addington smiled evilly before he faded from the witness stand.

"What, we don't get to question him?" Buffy asked after she managed to calm

Spike down enough that he returned to his chair. The figure behind their

table shook its head. "That's way not fair."

"Harold Young, come to the stand," the judge ordered. An old, crippled man

appeared on the stand. Once again the prosecution ordered the man to tell

what he knew.

The man giggled insanely before beginning. "He begged for it, he did. I found

'im on the street, and he begged for it." The man laughed and Spike looked

away from the stand. "See, he still wants it. I only did what he wanted, gave

'im what he needed. And how does he repay me? He kills me, he does. But

first he tortures me. With railroad spikes no less." The man giggled again.

"I knew though, even as I died, that it was my spike he yearned for."

Buffy glanced at Spike whose head hung down in shame; she rubbed his back

to both give him comfort and get his attention. "Are you all right?"

she asked, and he nodded before looking up in time to see Harold

Young disappear from the stand.

"God, I don't want to know who's next," he whispered.

"Lily Jones and Sarah Thompson, come to the stand," the voice boomed.

"Who are they?" Buffy asked Spike.

"The two Slayers I killed," he murmured.

Ordered by the prosecution to begin, the stated in unison, "He killed us.

We were only doing our job, and he killed us."

"THAT IS IT!" Buffy shouted standing up with enough force for her chair

to slam back against the railing behind her. She stalked out from behind

the table and toward the judge and witnesses. "You have no idea how much

he's changed." She turned to the Slayers, "He's a vampire, you're the

Slayer. Either you kill him or he kills you," Buffy hissed.

"Nice words from a hypocrite," one of the girls, the one in more

modern dress, commented. "Tell me, Buffy Anne Summers, has he told

you he loves you yet?" Buffy's eyes narrowed, and the girl laughed.

"He told me the same thing."

"And me," the other added.

"It's all a trick; the same old trick he's used for centuries," the

first one explained. Buffy looked away from them and to Spike. His

eyes found hers, and he didn't move. He just stared at her as if to

say, 'Trust me, not them.'

Finally Buffy turned away and stared at the two ex-Slayers. "I don't

believe you," she stated, and the two girls looked at each other then

disappeared from the stand.

"Are you finished, Vampire Slayer?" the judge asked as their figure

stood and floated towards the bench. From the folds of its cloak it

pulled out another piece of yellowed paper. The judge took it and read

it silently. "Only one?" he asked.

"It is the view of the defense," the figure began in a definite female

voice, "That Miss Summers passionate plea will count for us." The judge

nodded.

"Elizabeth Addington, please come to the stand." A woman in clothing

of similar style to that worn by Spike's father appeared in the box.

She sat there calmly awaiting her orders.

"Mum," Spike breathed.

"Tell us about your son," the defense figure ordered.

"He was a smart child; I knew he would grow up to be a great man.

I often told him that he would see the world," she smiled at Spike.

"He never did anything wrong, except for the time he tried to ride

our big plow horse. But because he wasn't Benjamin Addington's son,

he was beaten and abused by my husband. I was accused and convicted

of adultery, and then beaten to death by the same man that had sworn

to love me forever. Then my son was forced onto the streets and into

the life he now leads. It was not his fault." She continued to stare

at Spike as the judge rose to his feet.

"The jury will now retire to make their decisions," the judge explained.

"We already have a decisions," the foreman of the hooded jury stated.

"And?"

"Guilty of every sin," he stated, and Spike collapsed back against his

chair, dreading the punishment to come. "But it is the view of this

court that he is already atoning for those sins he has committed."

"The court has spoken," the judge replied then disappeared followed

shortly by the jury. The only ones remaining in the courtroom were

Spike, Buffy, Spike's mother, and their hooded lawyer.

Buffy walked slowly over to the hooded figure. "Is it over?" The figure

nodded. "No punishment?"

"He is already paying for his sins by loving you," it commented.

"Thank you, I think," Buffy replied honestly.

"No problem, Buffy. I owed you," the figure responded in very human and

familiar voice.

"Ms. Calendar?" Buffy whispered. The figure seemed to smile, but Buffy

still couldn't see its face.

"Tell Rupert I miss him," she whispered before she disappeared. Buffy shook

her head with a small smile and turned around to find Spike locked in an

embrace with his mother.

"I missed you, Mum," she heard him whisper.

"I missed you to, William," Elizabeth Addington replied.

_________________

Buffy jerked awake to find herself alone in Spike's bed; she glanced around

until she noticed him standing by the window. She pushed herself out of

bed and walked over to him. She let one of her arms snake around his waist

and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I had the weirdest dream," she commented.

"So did I," he replied softly. Buffy looked up at him, then cocked

her head to the side. He glanced at her.

"What?" he asked.

"You have your mother's eyes," she replied, and Spike looked at her in shock.

"Slayer, it was only a dream. Right?"

"We had the same dream, didn't we?" she replied, a very weird feeling

coming over her.

"Yeah, but it was a fluke."

"Right. A fluke. A Hellmouth fluke," she replied as she led him back over

to the bed.

As they settled into bed, Spike muttered, "Just a fluke." But for the rest

of the night they held each other a little tighter.

*Fin*

Comments? Send too Samantha McCullah

Get me back to Angel of the Night!

Get me back to Spike's Corner!

Get me outta here period!