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‘And just when I thought this day couldn’t get any worse,’ Buffy grumbled to herself as she entered the library, cringing at the sight of Xander standing in the middle of the room serenading Cordelia with that stupid Grease song "Let’s Do It For Our Country." ‘Can’t wait to see how Cordelia’s going to smack Xander down now’.
Xander swung around in mid-chorus. "Hey Buffster, you can’t hide from the singing, swinging Xan-man!"
"Oh God, what did I do to deserve to be surrounded by this... this uncoolness!" Cordelia huffed as she saw Buffy walk in with Willow and Oz.
"Well Cordy, it could be worse. At least you know your boyfriend will be the same after you do..." Buffy's sentence trailed off when Giles delivered a deliberate cough, his hand reaching for his glasses in order to wipe the already spotless lenses.
"Perhaps we could get started?" Giles took a moment to look around the room. "Miss Calender and I have done some research on restoring Angel’s soul, and it looks like things will be more complicated than we thought. However, there is something more disturbing that I wished to discuss with you. It appears that Angelus is destined to bring forth the next apocalypse; we just don’t know when or how yet."
‘Day just got even worse,’ Buffy thought. "So Giles, just tell me what needs to be killed and I'll be on my way," she declared with false bravado.
Giles looked her right in the eyes and told her, "You must kill Angelus."
Buffy seemed to crumple in front of their very eyes, the confident demeanor of the Slayer giving way to the heartbroken teenager she tried to hide. "I'm sorry, Giles. I'm just not ready to kill him yet," she announced in a haunted voice. She sent a bittersweet smile in Willow's direction. "Even if he is evil and killed all of Willow’s fishes."
"Hey, I loved my fishes!" Willow cried.
"Sorry Wills," said Buffy. Gathering herself together, she looked at her Watcher. " Giles, I know if we can’t restore his soul... then we have to talk about the alternative. I KNOW this, but until then, I’d rather not think about it. Please."
Seeing the look of displeasure on his face, Buffy sighed. ‘When did things get so complicated?’ she thought., ‘Almost makes me jealous of Spike and Drusilla, they don’t have this 'moral' issue…ew stop that thought!’
"I agree with Giles. If we need to stake Dead Boy, I say we just do it now," Xander shouted out, hoping to gain some respect from the watcher.
"Buffy’s right, Xander," Jenny interjected quietly. " We need to look at all the alternatives. If we look hard enough, there may be away of restoring Angel’s soul before too much damage is done. I’ll do some research tonight on the gypsy curse and see what I can come up with and we will discuss it tomorrow."
Buffy was growing restless, feeling the urge to go kill something. She was reassured the dis-invite spell that Giles taught Willow would keep her mom and friends safe while they were at home. Research and Buffy were unmixy things, so she needed to just go out and kick some butt right now.
"Buff, how about we all get out of here and go have some fun at the Bronze?" Buffy didn’t take long to ponder Xander’s offer, and figured well what the heck, fun first and slayage after.
~~~~~~~~
‘Now what are those two bloody fools doing up there’ Spike thought as he wheeled his way into the grand foyer of the mansion. Disgusted, he snorted to announce his presence to his poof of a sire and his dark princess.
"Roller boy, so glad you could come watch the show," Angelus taunted Spike not only with words, but also with actions as he grabbed Drusilla and slammed her up against the giant statue. "Dru loves it when her daddy treats her right, don’t you Dru?"
Dru purred and laughed in glee as her sire roughly grabbed her flesh with his hands while nicking her neck with his teeth.
"Sod off with the bloody show, you ponce and tell me what purpose other than a sex toy you intend to use that horrid statue for!"
"Shh…. my sweet William. , Daddy’s got us a new present! Miss Edith said if you behave you can come to our tea party!" Dru laughed and began to twirl around the statue. "Daddy, tell us about Acathla!"
‘Stupid bint, Acathla is nothing but trouble,’ Spike thought while ignoring his grandsire's sermon and Drusilla's swirling. ‘Oh bugger. Angelus is going to bring about the end of this world. Bloody hell, I like this world.’
"Oh Angelus, shall we get a fresh little boy to join our tea party?"
"Dru, you are so wicked. But really, you will need your strength before I chain you to our bed." Angelus began to gloat. "Spike, are you coming?" He gave Spike a patronizing frown. "Oh wait. No, you can’t go far in your chair, can you.? Looks like leftovers for you and Dru... all for me!" With a cruel laugh, Angelus held his hand out to Drusilla who eagerly grabbed her sire to go out for the night’s hunt.
After they left, Spike stood up from his chair, helpless fury fueling his need for revenge. In a low voice, he vowed, " My ripe wicked plum, Miss Edith best not tell you how things are about to get interesting."
~~~~~~~~
Buffy arrived at the Bronze with Oz, Willow, Cordelia, and Xander just as the crowd began to build up. It was 80s New Wave Night, the only thing that had gone right that day. Buffy was grateful for the lack of vampire tinglies, hoping she could catch a break from her Chosen duty for just a little while.
"Oh my god, Buffy I love this song! Come on!" Willow didn’t give Buffy the chance to resist as she pulled her out on the dance floor. It doesn't hurt me. Do you want to feel how it feels? Do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me? Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making? You, it's you and me.
The lyrics seemed like they were speaking to Buffy as she swayed on the dance floor, almost as if it was the first time she had heard them. The words slowly seduced her, and she assumed they fit her and Angel; but her heart wanted to tell otherwise. No, these words were definitely not for Angel.
But then who are they for? And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God, And I'd get him to swap our places, Be running up that road, Be running up that hill, Be running up that building. If I only could, oh...
You don't want to hurt me, But see how deep the bullet lies. Unaware I'm tearing you asunder. Ooh, there is thunder in our hearts. Is there so much hate for the ones we love? Tell me, we both matter, don't we? You, it's you and me. It's you and me won't be unhappy.
From the upper levels of the Bronze, Spike shut his eyes and felt the words speaking to him, burning deep into his undead heart. They fit so perfectly, almost as if they had been written for him. Once upon a time, he thought these words were written for his dark princess, but now all he could hear was the words of Miss Edith so many years ago echoing through his head.
" Kate sings about you and your love, but she does not sing for your dark princess." You, It's you and me, It's you and me won't be unhappy. "C'mon, baby, c'mon darling, Let me steal this moment from you now. C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling, Let's exchange the experience, oh..."
He noticed the slayer dancing with her friends. She should have noticed he was there, however he was glad of her in-attentiveness because there was no time to fight tonight. He did not want to do anything to alert the bloody poof of the newly regained use of his legs, knowing instinctively that the knowledge was a secret best kept to himself.
Spike settled back in his dark corner and opted to watch the Slayer dance through one more song, his eyes ever leaving her even as he sunk his teeth into the poor girl he had tied up there with him.
*Song is Running Up That Hill By Kate Bush
Chapter 2 – One By One We All Fall Down
Bored out of her mind, Buffy tapped her pencil against her desk waiting for history class to be over with. The last five minutes were dragging and she couldn't keep her eyes off the clock. Buffy was startled out of her thoughts as Giles rushed through the door.
"Excuse me Mr. Fletcher, I need Miss Summers to come with me immediately."
Buffy noted the serious tone of her watcher’s voice, and nervously exited the classroom with him. He appeared distraught, but she had no idea what had happened to cause it. They walked in silence down the hall and into the library. Cordelia, Oz, Willow, and Xander were already there waiting, looking equally as confused as she did.
She sat down next to Willow and whispered, "What gives?"
Willow leaned to whisper in her best friend’s ear, "I don’t know. Something isn’t right though. Miss Calendar didn’t show up for class this morning." They returned to their uneasy silence as Giles picked up an envelope off the table and pulled out its contents. Buffy’s uneasiness increased when she saw the drawing in his hands.
Angelus. The envelope and heavy art paper were familiar and a feeling of dread engulfed her.
Giles held the drawing clutched to his chest not wanting to reveal the picture yet, as he began to speak.
"I apologize for pulling you all out of class, but there was no alternative. No one is safe anymore. This morning I went to speak with Miss Calendar about her research on the curse. Instead of finding Miss Calendar, I found this on her chair." Giles held up the drawing of Miss Calendar asleep in a bed, surrounded by candles. Buffy looked closely at the picture and gasped as she saw the bite marks on the side of her neck.
Giles clear his throat to get the Slayer’s attention, his mouth set in a grim line. "Buffy, it’s time to get serious about Angelus. I regret…" Giles began to tear up, "…that we have lost Miss Calendar."
Buffy looked at her watcher with tears in her eyes, guilt for her vehement refusal to kill Angelus striking hard. "Giles, this is my fault. I’m so sorry. I was denial girl...but now I know."
Willow stood up and silently slipped out of the room, which did not go unnoticed by Buffy. Sensing that her Watcher wasn't in the mindset to take charge, Buffy slipped into the role.
"Giles, check on Willow, then check Miss Calendar’s things to see if she left us some notes on the prophecy. The rest of us will head over to the Bronze and work on a plan before patrol." When he acknowledged her words, Buffy reluctantly pulled away from Giles grief stricken face and made her way over to the remaining Scoobies.
~~~~~~~~
Jenny Calendar awoke with a strange feeling. Frightened, she kept her eyes glued shut and willed her body to remain still in the soft bed as she tried to get her bearings. She inhaled the scent of candles, and then felt the throbbing in her neck. Then she remembered Angelus and Drusilla attacking her at the school. It didn't take her long to realize that while she had been left alive at this point, it was for a reason. Angelus had most likely brought her home as his new torture toy.
"Spike, don’t you like Daddy’s new trinket? Miss Edith thinks she is so cute, how she pretends to sleep." Drusilla sauntered over to the bed, eyeing Jenny with a penetrating gaze as she spoke to her William.
"Dru, luv, Angelus won’t appreciate you playing with his bloody toy!" Spike began to roll out of the room; not really wanting to watch what Dru was about to do. If his dark princess was still his, he wouldn’t have minded knowing he would have been rewarded with pleasure.
"Daddy won’t mind. Miss Edith says he wants join in the fun!" Drusilla leaned down and began to lick Jenny’s throat as she straddled her. Jenny flinched at Drusilla’s touch, but this only prompted the vampiress to use her nails to cut the sides of Jenny’s face.
"Tsk, tsk little gypsy girl…Daddy will be mad if you don’t make him happy. I may have to punish you like the naughty daughter you are." Drusilla stroked Jenny’s hair, leaned down and licked the wounds closed prior to moving on to biting the gypsy girl’s neck with her blunt teeth.
Spike watched his dark princess with pride and lust. The way her dark hair fell down her snow-white gown, her movements so soft and graceful, and so truly evil. He was prepared to join her in the bed when he heard Angelus outside the door; His arousal quickly faded to anger because he knew Dru’s show was not for him but for her precious 'daddy'.
Drusilla quickly switched into game face ready to inflict some punishment when Angelus picked the vampiress up and threw her off the bed. Spike took this as his cue to retreat to the shadows.
"Daddy will be mad at you for not leaving the bitch alone!" Angelus growled at his childe for touching the gypsy girl first, but became quickly aroused at the thought of punishing her later. Drusilla took her punishment violently, and could handle the rough penetration Angelus would inflict on her later.
Drusilla sensed her sire’s arousal; sat up at the edge of the bed, purring. Letting out a devious laugh, Angelus turned his attention to the gypsy girl, grabbing the chains that bound her wrists to the bed and pulled them up violently.
"Daddy, she can’t have tea with us. She was bad…tried to send you back to sunshine! The stars, the stars…" sang Drusilla as she began to crawl up the bed "… the stars say you won’t…" suddenly Drusilla began to convulse and shriek "… oh but my William, my sweet William. I see sunshine."
Spike cringed, as he smelled the desire in the air while trying to put Dru's lingering words out of his mind. He kept to the shadows to avoid detection as he quietly wheeled himself from the room.
Jenny opened her eyes, prepared to meet her fate while Angelus was pushing Drusilla back down. Aware that these were her final moments, she prayed to the powers that be that Willow would find her translation of the prophecy on the desktop. She felt Angelus grab her throat and she gasped for breath as he spoke, "Useless human filth don’t fret now, Dru says your death is in the stars."
Angelus punched her face before he continued, "Your curse is no more, and my reward is the pleasure of draining your blood. You're not worth taking the time to torture." Angelus morphed into game face and sunk his teeth into Miss Calendar’s neck. Jenny could feel her life draining away and the world turned black as she fell into a permanent, peaceful slumber.
"Bloody stupid git." Spike mumbled from outside the room. Spike though Angelus was a fool to piss off the Slayer’s watcher. His thoughts were interrupted by the moans of pleasure coming from Drusilla. He rolled off to the other end of the mansion to rid himself of having to hear his grandsire give his dark princess pleasure. "Bloody ponce will see sunshine if I have my way."
~~~~~~~~
Willow ran out of the library only to end up in Miss Calendar’s classroom. She dried her tears, walked over to the teachers’ desk. She noticed the computer was still on and began to read.
Her eyes widened as she read. As shocked as she was, she knew Buffy wasn’t going to take this well, figuring it would be better to tell Giles first. She stood to track him down only to find him coming towards her.
"Giles, I’m so sorry, I know there was more between you and Miss Calendar. She was so smart, so bright…always treated me like a grownup." Willow paused for a moment to pay respect to her fallen friend. Then she continued on. "I started looking at this file on her desktop, which was probably is the reason Angelus would have taken her… looks like she discovered how to stop Angelus from destroying the world."
Coming to full alert from his grief-induced session of cleaning his glasses, he softly spoke to Willow. "How?"
"Her translation isn’t complete, but it involves Buffy." Willow nervously looked up from the computer screen. "B-B-Buff-Buffy’s child is the key."
Shocked, Giles jumped over and began to read the translation. Recognizing the accuracy of Miss Calendar’s translation, he expressed his concern to Willow. "This isn’t good, Willow. Buffy will not respond well to this. No speaking of this to the others just yet. If we work together, we can finish tonight."
In order to work as quickly as they could, they copied all the pertinent files onto a floppy disc and deleted it from the desktop. "Best we bring this to my home so we can work on this uninterrupted and in safety of my flat."
~~~~~~~~
Silence surrounded Xander, Buffy, Oz, and Cordelia as they sat in the Bronze. It was early, so there wasn’t much of a crowd. Typical for open mic night anyway. Suddenly, Buffy snapped her head up and looked around the room. " Get your weapons ready, there’s a vamp here."
Oz and Xander grabbed their stakes, while Cordelia grabbed Xander. ‘"Why does something bad always happen when Buffy’s around?" Cordelia was certainly getting irritated with her fun being spoiled by Buffy’s bad luck.
Buffy was surprised when her vamp alert suddenly dropped.
The announcer came on to introduce the first act of the night. As the curtains parted, the crowd gasped as the announcer spoke, "First up we have a lovely young lady performing her rendition of Silent All These Years…" he stopped when he heard screams of horror from the audience as the small crowd vanished.
Angelus stood outside briefly to enjoy the screams. "Hope slayer enjoys gypsy girl’s act."
Inside, Miss Calendar’s dead and bloody body was hanging from a noose with a rose in her hand in the middle of the stage. Pinned to her dress was another envelope like the one Giles had held earlier in the day.
Buffy knew Angelus like his torture, but this was the last straw. She may love Angel, but her hatred for Angelus was now absolute.
Cordelia buried her head into Xander’s frozen body. Buffy stood up and quickly removed Jenny’s body from the noose. She opened up the envelope and removed the drawing, staring at the well-drawn face of her watcher.
"Giles' place, now!" Buffy screamed. They piled into Oz’s van and rushed to Giles' house.
~~~~~~~~
Willow and Giles were exhausted from slow progress of translating the prophecy.
A pregnant slayer.
The master vampire who reeks with humanity shall father the child.
And the world will be saved
Giles cleaned his glasses furiously as his anxiety level rose. He was concerned for Buffy, moreover concerned how this child would come to be.
Giles and Willow were interrupted by Angelus’ evil laugh. Giles pushed Willow out of the apartment. Willow ran as fast as she could towards the Bronze in hopes that Buffy would still be there.
Angelus grabbed the watcher by the throat until Giles passed out. He grabbed the watcher’s body and walked out past the landlady that invited him into the watcher's apartment complex. As he approached Drusilla, he proclaimed "Slayer will never stop us now Dru."
Drusilla moved her body close to her sire. Angelus grabbed the vampiress by the hair and violently kissed her. With Giles slung over his back, the vampires made their way back to the Crawford Street mansion.
Only the powers knew how wrong he was. If he had heard Giles speak about the master vampire and slayer's child, Angelus smug look would not have been on his face.
~~~~~~~~
"Oz, Stop.Van.Now!" Buffy yelled as she grabbed Willow into the van. Willow was exhausted and in tears, but she managed to muster "Giles, Angelus" before she collapsed.
"If Willow doesn’t wake up, I’ll stake Dead boy myself!" Xander yelled. Cordelia couldn’t help but notice the emotion in his voice and wondered if there was more to Xander and Willow’s friendship. Queen C certainly was not letting some nerd girl is going to come between me and my boyfriend, even if he is a loser.
Before Buffy realized it, Oz had pulled up to 1630 Revello Drive. She knew someday she’d have to tell her mother about her slayer duties, but she was scared. The first time she told her parents back in LA, they thought she was crazy. She spent a month in a mental hospital until her watcher Merrick was able to use the Council’s connections to get her out.
Buffy’s mom opened the door in shock to see her daughter, her friends, but most of all Willow passed out in Oz’s arms. "What happened here? What’s wrong with Willow?"
"Not now mom, Willow’s fine but exhausted." Buffy shut her mother down quickly, knowing that Joyce’s motherly instincts would kick in and make Willow the priority. "She can stay in your room."
Oz bought Willow upstairs into Buffy’s room. He smoothed out her red hair and laid a kiss on her forehead. He came back downstairs to hear Joyce lecturing her daughter.
"You were supposed to be home from school hours ago. Friends here or not, we are going to talk." Joyce threw her hands up in the air, then proceeded upstairs to check on Willow.
Meanwhile, the remaining Scoobies made themselves comfortable in the living room so they could plot their next step. "We need to just go right to the mansion during the day, with all of our weapons, and get Giles." Xander said.
"Good idea Xander, except for the WE part. This is a ME job. First thing in the morning." Xander was about to protest Buffy, but Oz spoke up first.
"Buffy’s right. It’s too risky, and someone needs to keep an eye on Willow. I think that Cordelia and Xander should do that, in case she wakes up. Hopefully, she can tell us a little more. I can go to Giles, in the morning, and see what I can find."
"Since Angelus can’t hurt us here," Buffy began " everyone should crash here. Cordelia and I will stay in the room with Willow, with the guys sleep down here."
"Buffy, I agree." Joyce said to the group as she walked down the stairs. Shit. Buffy was concerned about how much of the conversation her mother had overheard. Although a sleepover may just preoccupy Joyce enough to let Buffy concentrate of getting Giles back.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to duck her mother, Buffy yawned and mumbled "Sounds good, sleepy time for me. Night everyone." Cordelia, not wanting to deal with Joyce either, joined Buffy as they ran up the stairs to the safe haven of sleep.
Before Joyce walked into the kitchen, she addressed the two young men in her living room "There are some quilts and pillows in the hall closet. Make yourself cozy and I’ll bring in some hot chocolate before I go to bed."
Xander plastered a smile on his face and turned to Oz. "Now that’s a woman who knows the way to a man’s heart."
Chapter 3 – Common Ground
The mansion was cold and quiet. The vampires had gone out to hunt for the remainder of the evening, except Spike. This was his reprieve from having to hear his sire and grandsire in the throws of passion. Useless invalid. He’d show them.
Giles woke up chained to the very same bed he saw in Angelus’ drawing of Jenny. That sick bastard Angelus. Figures he’d be chained to the same bed that Jenny died in. His only solace was he was alone in the room, and then realized he was mistaken. The sound of squeaky wheels came from the shadows.
“Watcher.”
“Spike.”
Giles cautiously acknowledged William the Bloody. He was aware of Spike’s reputation as the Slayer of Slayers. Spike listened to the quickening of Giles’ heartbeat, and decided it would be best to try and smooth the Watcher’s apprehension.
“No worries mate, not here to torture you like bloody Angelus. Here for some answers actually. Silly bint Dru was rambling on that you knew how to stop Acathla.” Spike looked warily at the watcher. “It seems mate; you and I have a common goal.”
It was against his nature to side with the white hats. At this point, it looked like it would be the only way Spike was going to stop Angelus. Now it wasn’t even about bringing Dru back, but preserving the world he survived in.
Giles would have rubbed his glasses if his arms were not chained to the headboard. “Not sure the prophecy is our only solution, but then again they always bloody come true. Then again, how can I trust you to not tell Angelus?”
“No watcher, not working for the ponce.” Spike stood up from his wheelchair. Giles gasped in shock. “No worries, you know something Angelus does not…about my legs. Now I trust thee with my secret, so let’s get on with it. My dark princess and the bloody wanker are due to return from their hunt, so we don’t have much time.” Giles knew it would be complicated to explain this to Buffy. Spike was going to be a whole different challenge, since the vamp could be so unpredictable. He gave it his best shot. Spike stared back at him, with a face that didn’t clearly indicate the vampire’s reaction.
“So Slayer’s got a bun in the oven.”
“No. Unless we are able to re-ensoul Angelus, our options for the father are limited” It was quiet for the few moments that Spike took to digest the Watcher’s words. Unlikely it would be to get Angelus to bed her now. His amusement at that thought changed quickly when he realized the alternative.
“I will not soddin’ sleep with the Slayer! ‘Sides, vampires bloody shoot blanks.” Spike didn’t like where this was going, he wanted his dark princess. However his focus was to get rid of Angelus, which meant he would have to assist the white hats. If that meant playing a part in fulfilling the prophecy, he was fine with that. It was more fun to pretend to be uncooperative for a while before he agreed. Besides, Spike has not experience the thrill of giving pleasure to a human female, and his inner William so desperately wanted that experience.
Spike grinned evilly as he thought of how Buffy would react when Giles explained the prophecy to her. Definitely wanted a front row seat for that show.
Spike heard the minions acting up, a sign that Angelus was on his way back. Spike knew there was no going back once he freed Giles from the chains. “C’mon mate, Slayer is probably worried about you. Bloody need to leave before Angelus discovers us.”
Giles opted to be compliant to the master vampire, knowing his odds were much better in Spike’s hands. He followed the vamp into the sewers below the mansion. “Spike, where are we heading?”
“Mate, need the Slayer to stop Angelus. Slayer’s probably home, right?” Giles nodded. “Right, then the Slayer’s house it is.” It was silent in the sewers, but the stench was almost overwhelming to Giles. It was important that they move as quickly as possible, as Angelus would not be pleased to find both Brits missing.
The Englishmen made it to the Summer’s home just before sunrise. As they were about to knock on the door, it opened to reveal a very pissed off Slayer expecting a master vampire. Buffy was thrown off her game to see an unharmed Giles and … “Spike?”
“Slayer, bloody invite me in before I burn to a crisp!” Spike shouted, subsequently waking up the whole house including Joyce.
Buffy was unsure weather to trust the blond vamp or not. He had been holding Giles back just to increase his chance of getting an invite in. Instinctively, she knew she had to trust him. After all he brought Giles back from Angelus. She was about to speak, until her mother interrupted. “Buffy, what is going on?” Joyce grabbed her bathrobe and ran down the stairs. “Not the PCP gang again, honey I thought we talked about this…Mr. Giles? Oh no, he’s not your Librarian honey, he’s your drug dealer along with that derelict…” Joyce began to hyperventilate, when Giles coughed indicating that the voice of reason was about to speak.
“Joyce, that isn’t so at all. In fact, I think it’s time to be straight up with you about your daughter. Buffy is a Vampire Slayer. Spike here is a Vampire.”
Joyce remembered her daughter’s episode at Hemery High. She couldn’t handle going through this with Buffy again. She had tried so hard to be a supportive mother, and steer Buffy clear of trouble. The news indicated that perhaps her daughter didn’t have a psychosis after all, and perhaps that made her a bad mother.
Overwhelmed by the situation, Joyce passed out into her daughter’s arms.
~~~~ ~~~~
Back at the mansion, Angelus and Dru prepared to begin their torture of the Watcher. Angelus pulled out his favorite carving knife, the one he used to heat up and then stick into his victims. As he collected his tools, he thought of the red haired witch that got away. The novice was not a worry though, without the Gypsy and Watcher she was rendered useless. Angelus began to walk out of his bedroom when Drusilla stopped and pulled him aside.
“Daddy, Miss Edith is calling.”
“Dru we have the Watcher to torture. Miss Edith can wait.”
“No Daddy, Miss Edith says we are too late for our tea party.”
“Dru don’t fuck with me. Miss Edith better not be fucking with me either or I’ll burn her to shreds!”
Drusilla shrieked at Angelus threat. How dare he threaten her Miss Edith! Dru pushed past Angelus to grab her precious doll. She shook as Miss Edith began to tell the dead seer more disturbing news.
“Daddy, William has been a bad, bad boy. We need to punish him. He’s with the sunshine. Brought her home one of her presents.”
Angelus ran out of the bedroom only to confirm that Drusilla was right about the Watcher. The mansion shook with the sound of Angelus’ angry roar. The sun was rising, postponing any course of action until the next evening.
Drusilla remained in the bedroom. She cradled Miss Edith in her arms and sang. “Hush little baby don’t you cry…”
~~~~ ~~~~
“Fuck Slayer, if you don’t invite me in now I’m gonna be dust on your porch!”
Buffy shot him a grin, and showed Spike the broom. She felt a twinge of guilt when she saw the fear on his face, so she quickly invited him in. She then moved her mother’s limp body onto the couch.
“Keep Dead Boy Junior away from me!” Xander exclaimed, with a stake in his hand.
Spike did his best to scare the whelp by quickly flashing his game face at him. He realized that his time with the white hats would be more fun than he originally thought. Then his mind began to think of the evil pleasure he could have with the Slayer, upstairs in her room. His lust betrayed his allegiance to Dru. Spike snapped back to reality quickly. His mission was to get Dru away from Angelus, then leave Sunnyhell.
Giles knew this was going to be difficult, but he knew he had to speak to Buffy alone. Spike followed, and then helped himself the box of cookies. Quickly, Buffy snatched them away.
“Blood breath, those are mine!”
“Cranky bitch you are in the morning, luv.”
Spike quickly snatched the cookies back. His arm brushed his Slayer’s soft skin and their eyes locked together. His Slayer, Spike thought. He realized his lust was again betraying Dru! The moment ended as they pulled away from each other, both denying the shockwave of pleasure they felt.
“Pet, fancy something you see?”
“Yeah, my cookies!”
Buffy was quick to snatch her favorite cookies back. Giles offered Spike some Wheatabix, in order to lull the quarrel.
“So Giles, how does the bleach wonder play into destroying Acathla?”
An evil grin crossed Spike’s face; he knew he had to imprint her reaction in his memory. It would be a good time to start egging her on.
“Don’t worry Slayer; it won’t happen in a cold day in hell. You don’t strike me as the matronly type.”
“Spike. Shut. Up.”
Buffy’s aggravation was starting to flare up again, thankfully Giles interrupted. “Spike that will be enough.”
Ten minutes later, the mortal enemies were still sitting stunned into silence. Giles thought this should happen more often, since it was the first time it had been quiet in the house all morning. He figured he might as well make it last longer.
“Buffy, I’ll leave you to digest this information. If you both want to beat Angelus, you’re going to need each other.”
Giles quickly left the room to make some explanations to a bewildered Joyce, who had just returned to the conscious world.
Buffy and Spike just stared at each other, each thinking of the feelings they had earlier when they touched.
“So, luv, you think you can handle the Big Bad?” Spike move over and gently pushed a strand of hair behind Buffy’s ear. She shivered at his touch. As good as they both felt in the moment, they both crashed back to reality.
“Over. My. Dead. Body.” Buffy cringed at the thought this maybe her only alternative.
“Easy ‘nuff for me to do pet. Drain you until you’re just unconscious then have my way with you.”
“As if. You Pig!”
The mortal enemies glared at each other for a minute before Buffy broke the silence. “Regardless, I don’t want a baby. This requires more research.” Buffy moved away from Spike quickly.
“Right.” Although Spike was thinking more of wanting to take Angelus’ golden princess. How sweet it would be if the wanker became all soulful again, but lost his girl to the Big Bad. A twinge of pain went through him though when he thought about Dru being alone.
“Well then pet, research it is.”
With a new goal in common, the mortal enemies joined forces and walked out to the living room to join everyone else.
“Spike, you’re a vampire? You want to kill my daughter?” Joyce exclaimed. She had just remembered he was the kid on PCP that she had hit with the ax on Parent Teacher night. Spike shifted into game face real quick. Joyce stepped back in shock. Spike realized he had frightened her, but knew it was the only way that Joyce would lay off Buffy. If they were to stop Angelus, Buffy did not need to be dealing with her mother questioning her daughter’s sanity. He let his features soften up and return to human form as he leaned in to her ear.
“Yep, killed two other slayers in my time” he boasted, but quickly whispered in Joyce’s ear “but I really don’t want to kill your daughter. Our little secret.” Spike settled on the couch next to Buffy, secretly hoping to get another touch of her skin, but kept his false front of hating Buffy on the surface. Buffy inched away from him, which only invited a snarky comment.
“Awe, love come on you heard your Watcher. Gotta to get to know you better, right pet?”
“Screw you Spike.”
“Ok pet, your room now.”
“Eww, a world of no!”
Spike continued to tease Buffy making kissy faces at her and moving closer to her. Buffy punched his face, then jumped on him ready to pummel him some more, she was interrupted by her mother.
“Buffy Anne Summers! We do not treat our house guests badly!” “Vampire Mom. Evil vampire.”
“My house, my rules. Spike would you like some hot cocoa?” Spike smirked at Buffy, and then smiled at Joyce. “Do you have the kind with little marshmallows?”
“Yes” “Joyce, I appreciate your kindness. A cup of hot cocoa would be great.” Spike liked Joyce, she reminded him of his own mum. Torturing slayers is fun, killing them is exhilarating, but seducing the Slayer was a worthy challenge to take on. He decided to start by getting on her mom’s good side.
Buffy looked at her friends with disgust. This was going to be a long day of research. “Buffy, come in here and help me with Spike’s cocoa.”
Chapter 4 - Solace
The daylight brought Buffy solace in two ways. First, freedom from two vampires, one being a certain bleached menace chained in her basement and second, the serenity of feeling the sun’s rays as she sunbathed in her backyard. The only good thing about Spike being stuck at her house meant that Buffy had to stay and protect her mother, which gave her a much enjoyed get out of research free card!
Spike was not thrilled with being chained up in the basement, but he couldn’t blame the slayer either. After all, it was better than being dusted by her. He couldn’t help but enjoy their close contact with each other.
“Slayer, ‘m not gonna hurt your mom. No need for the soddin’ chains.”
Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike. Somehow she knew he wouldn’t, but she didn’t want to give him any indication she might be cooperative with him.
“As if. Evil Vampire. Big Bad.”
Spike smiled with pride as Buffy described him.
“You can wipe that smirk off your face Spike. With or without chains, I can still kick your ass!”
“So why haven’t you Slayer?” Spike knew this would be an opportunity to draw out of her a crumb; just a small crumb that she may be willing to see him as a partner in the fight against Angelus. “Is it because Vampires make you hot?”
“A vampire made me hot.”
Buffy finished securing the locks and left the basement in a huff. ‘Infuriating vampire’ she thought. Of course, it was more infuriating that he called her on the truth. ‘Ugh, I just thought to myself Spike makes me hot!’ With that denial girl grabbed her suntan lotion and towel, and went outside.
She thanked the powers even more when her mother had to rush off to the gallery – after Giles and Scoobies had departed. Buffy had very quickly tired of playing hostess to Spike, and was close to blowing her lid. Big Bads were easy to fight off and defend herself against, but her mother always proved to be more of a challenge.
Not one to turn down free time to herself, Buffy took a sip of her lemonade, stretched out in her lawn chair, slipped on her headphones and let slumber take her over.
Spike noticed the blond opted to use the longest set of chains in the basement, and went out of her way to make sure he had enough room to move around comfortably. ‘She is a rather odd bint’, he thought, ‘her mouth goes completely against what her body and actions say”. He could smell his effect on her when they were in close proximity. It was the crumb he needed, albeit he was going to have to do a lot of legwork if he was going to gain her trust.
“Don’t want to just drain her, want to make her mine.” He was shocked at the words that came out of his mouth. How could he think something that would permanently keep him away from his ripe wicked plum? ‘Because Dru will always be her Daddy’s first, always. Buffy, mate, she’s your equal, your chance.’
~~~~~~~~
The school yard was fairly quiet for a Saturday morning, except for a few members of the track team; the Scoobies had the school to themselves. The daylight and school would provide all the necessary protection needed from Angelus. Cordelia lay back in a chair, half asleep. Xander had a comic book hiding on top of his research book. Oz, Willow, and Giles were the only Scoobies giving due diligence towards research.
“Why am I with you losers again, and on a Saturday? Ugh, I could be sleeping or shopping!”
“Or you could be chained up as Angelus’ with Drusilla?” Giles looked up impatiently at the cheerleader.
“I’d like to...Ow!” Xander shouted as Cordelia smacked him across the head.
“Children enough!” Giles often wondered why he put up with these two. It seemed like Willow and Oz were the only two who were helpful. “Angelus is ruthless. We know that he will hurt everyone around Buffy before he finally faces her. I fear if you don’t start taking this seriously, one of you will be his next victim!”
“Ok and Buffy is better off right now with Captain Peroxide.” Xander quipped.
“Xander, come on! Giles is serious.” Willow asserted. “If there is no other alternative to this prophecy, she’s gonna have to be, well, uh…” the red head stuttered nervously, “you know she’s going have to get very comfortable with him.”
“I don’t want to think about it! Buffy giving both the evil undead happ…”
“Enough!” Giles yelled. “Xander, go through these books and see what you can find about Acathla.” Now, Giles just had to occupy the cheerleader. So far there was nothing produced from their research to suggest there was an alternative to fulfilling the prophecy. He didn’t doubt Spike as a willing participant, but the slayer was a different story. Put her in the room with William the Bloody, and it was worse than listening to Xander and Cordelia. Surely, it will be close to impossible to convince her to do this for the good of humanity.
“Cordelia. You would consider yourself an expert in fashion, beauty, and boys, right?”
Cordelia perked right up with the praise from Giles. “Yep.”
“Well, if Buffy has to fulfill this prophecy, don’t you think she should look her best?” Giles had a hard time keeping a straight face, but he knew not only would Buffy need some girly encouragement and it would get Cordelia out of here.
“But...” Xander tried to put his two cents in until Willow quickly put her hand over his mouth.
“Cordelia that would be so much fun, you can give Buffy a makeover!” Willow exclaimed.
“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Queen C grabbed her things and ran out of the library faster than Giles could blink.
“Oh thank heavens, now shall the rest of us get some work done.” Giles sat back in relief and sank himself into the research.
~~~~~~~~
The sun was shining. Buffy could feel the warmth over her skin but she didn’t want to wake up. It was so rare that she got a chance of peace and quiet; she didn’t want to ruin it. She stretched out, and cuddled up to the cool skin next to her. “Mmm, cool skin, uh oh wait a minute!’
“Luv, wake up and have some lunch.”
Buffy opened her eyes and she was looking deep into cerulean blue eyes. It was odd, she wasn’t scared, didn’t feel like being bitchy. She just wanted to snuggle up into his arms.
“Spike, ‘splainy?”
“What, pet?”
“Where are we, why are you here, and why don’t I want to throttle you?”
“Not sure, luv. Your dream, you tell me.”
“Are you dreaming too?”
“Maybe luv, I’m just enjoying the sun while I can.”
Buffy stayed quiet for a few moments. She admired the way the sunlight bounced off his chiseled cheekbones. She inhaled the soft sent of his skin, and leaned into him.
“It must be a dream. We are here; actually enjoying being with each other, might as well take advantage of the peace and quite. So what have we got in that picnic basket?”
“Italian Cold Cut sandwiches, brownies, some water…here, pet let me set this up for us under the tree.” Spike couldn’t restrain the inner Victorian gentleman coming out in him. Moreover, he couldn’t believe the slayer was responding to him positively. He got everything set up under the big old maple tree. They sat side by side, enjoying the food and fresh air.
“Buffy, it’s been so long since I’ve just been able to sit back and enjoy just being. ‘m not sure if this is part of the prophecy or not, but whatever it is, thank you for letting me enjoy this moment with you.”
Buffy just looked at Spike in awe. She couldn’t believe he could be so nice…and she was letting him. It was never like this with Pike, Angel or her friends. She was always on the edge no matter what. Buffy began to realize that she and Spike had more in common than just death.
“Spike, dream world or not, thanks for trying to not kill me here. I can’t tell you the last time I felt so much peace. Who knows what will happen when we wake up, but I kinda don’t want to now.”
They looked at each other for a few moments, and then leaning back against the old tree, he drew her into his arms.
“Luv then lets just rest here while we can. The road ahead is going to be rough.”
With that Buffy closed her eyes.
“Buffy!”
“Buffy!”
Buffy felt herself being shaken, ripped away from her peace by Cordelia’s voice.
“Buffy, c’mon, let’s get you up and out of here for some shopping. Giles said I have to work with you in the ways of beauty and boys.”
Clearly agitated, and concerned that her watcher may have finally lost his marbles, Buffy just looked up at the brunette standing above her. “Why?”
“Do you think this prophecy is going to just fulfill itself? God, how stupid can you be Buffy? You have to make your self presentable and…”
Clearly, Giles had an ulterior motive to sending Cordelia over. Then again, ‘what if Cordy was right? What if Spike wouldn’t find her pretty enough or attractive to join in fulfilling the prophecy? No, no, no…they would find away so the prophecy wouldn’t have to be fulfilled.’
Buffy let her insecurities get the better of her. She popped up, grabbed her things. “Ok Cordy, give me five minutes.”
**Exta Thanks to Meli for all of her help betaing!**
**Ok happy readers, you know what makes my fingers move faster! Review, Review! Review!
