SPOILER: Becoming 2. Takes place right after Spike sweeps Dru out of the mansion.
RATING: PG 14
CONTENT: Adult situations, sex behind the scenes.
SUMMARY: From Spike's POV, this is a happy Spike/Dru reunion story, now that Angelus is out of their lives.
DISCLAIMER:I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of the characters on the show. Joss Whedon and the WB Network own them. No copyright infringement intended, so please don't sue.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:My theory of the Dru/Angelus relationship (both past and present) is not nice and there are some references to it. I also have an NC17 version of this story. Email me privately if you'd like it.

The Shadow

by: Laure Alexander


On the edge of Sunnyhell, it finally hit me that the world hadn't gone to Hell. As I winced into the speckles of sunshine creeping through the blacked out car window-- enough to hurt, but not to kill--I cursed the sun...and silently celebrated the certain knowledge that the Slayer had won.

There was only one possible option. My sire was roasting in Hell, Acathla's plaything for eternity. The thought gave me a rather large amount of joy. Demons tended to have huge tempers and endless ways to torture anyone who screwed up. And boy had Angelus screwed up. If you promise a demon that Earth will be sucked into Hell, you better make sure it happens.

But, the Earth was still revolving its way around the cursed sun...so the Slayer had sent her former lover to Hell. She had guts, I had to give her that. As I glanced at Dru, lying unconscious against me, I knew I couldn't do the same, no matter what the consequences.

Dru...I hated hitting her, but in those last moments, she had been insane, totally caught in Angelus' vision of the end of the world. She wouldn't listen to me, hadn't listened to me since that stupid statue had shown up and Angelus had outlined his plan.

In the past couple of weeks, she had started turning to him for advice, for comfort--what little he would give her. We still made love, but she had begun initiating sex with him, not even realizing how it was destroying me. I had thought I would have more time, that she would obey him, let him take her, let him beat her.

But that she would begin to crave his brutal attention so soon had never crossed my mind. Her acting all lovey over him made me nauseous. The fact that she didn't realize how I felt...

Well, was the Slayer right? Was Dru a 'big ho'?

Or was she a frightened little girl, clinging to the beast who trained her through constant abuse to accept and need the pain and indifference he offered...even need it over the love I could give her?

I had seen it happen before, one hundred and fifty years ago. I had watched Angelus destroy her down to the point that all she wanted was to be taken and beaten and nearly shredded inside and out by him. It shouldn't have surprised me that she had fallen completely back into the old patterns so quickly.

Of course, I had retained the hope that a hundred years of my worship mattered for something...Snorting, I looked down at her again. She should have recovered by now, although I was grateful she was still out. I had a feeling she was keeping herself unconscious rather than have to face the world.

Shaking myself from my reverie, I began to look for someplace to hole up. I couldn't drive all day. Eventually the sun would become too painful and I would become too tired.

After another thirty minutes of driving, we entered the outskirts of Los Angeles and I quickly found a western facing hotel with a convenient overhang. My wallet was stuffed with money in large denominations and there was more in the bag on the back seat. No one was going to protest our strange appearance when I started passing around c-notes.

Pulling under the overhang, I jammed a baseball cap on my head and hurried from the car, wincing at the dim sunlight. Circling the car, I tossed the keys to a valet, then opened the passenger door and pulled Dru out, lifting her into my arms. I was faced by a young, pimple faced man who stared at Dru, his mouth hanging open. She began to whimper.

"There's a bag on the back seat. If it makes it safely to our room, there's one hundred dollars in it for you."

"Yes sir." The youth snapped to attention and I hurried past him into the dark lobby. Thankfully the desk was out of any sunlight. The receptionist stared at me as well--a pretty blonde--and I put on my most charming smile.

"Do you have any rooms, facing west preferably?"

"Um, oh yes sir. Excuse me, but...is she all right?"

"Just exhausted, poor dear. I couldn't bear to wake her." Resting Dru's hip on the counter, I dug my wallet out of my back pocket and handed the receptionist a credit card--a fake name of course, but I was a good, paying customer.

"And for how long would you like the room, Mr. Williams?" she asked, glancing at the card.

"Two days," I replied off the top of my head. I hoped I could convince Dru that everything was going to be all right in that amount of time, then we could catch a ship out of this country.

Finally, I was able to sign the credit slip and the eager porter, carrying my bag, took the key and led us to the elevator. Dru was totally out again, but it felt so good to be able to carry her, I didn't mind.

At the door to our room, I gestured the porter inside. "Please pull the curtains tightly shut. Don't want to wake my precious."

With another 'yes sir' he snapped to it and in a few minutes, the room was dark. I gave him one of those silly big-headed hundred dollar bills and he left, pulling the door shut behind him, placing the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the hallway side of the knob.

Gently I laid my lover down on the bed and shrugged out of my coat and tossed the hat aside. She twitched slightly and whimpered again. Turning to the closet I found another blanket and carefully draped it over the windows, further blocking the deadly sun, then I turned on the light.

Vampires could see in the dark, but why bother if you didn't have to? I always scoffed at those traditional vamps who lived underground, their only light candles made from human tallow. Get with the program, people and enter the modern world.

Suddenly Dru's eyes flew open and my heart fell into my shoes. All I could think was that if she hated me...what was I going to do?

She whimpered my name and I was at her side instantly, sitting on the bed facing her. Her hand reached for mine and I held it lovingly.

"I'm here, luv."

Dru's eyes traveled quickly, puzzled over the room, then she looked up at me. Sitting up, she pulled her hand out of mine. "You hit me," she whispered, her eyes wide and full of pain.

"I'm sorry, luv. Please forgive me." For everything.

"You can walk. You can walk and you didn't tell me." She shook her head, distracted, and rose gracefully to her feet. I watched her wander slowly around the room, touching things. Finally she stopped in front of the window, staring at the blanket. "He's gone." Her hand touched the blanket and I had a vision of her yanking it off and flinging herself onto the balcony, into the deadly sun.

I was around the bed as soon as the vision crossed my mind, grabbing her and pulling her back from the window. She struggled for a moment, then slumped against me, her hands clutching the open front of my shirt.

"I can't feel him," Dru whimpered against my chest. "Spike, he's really gone." As I tenderly caressed her back, I glanced down, expecting to see tears in her eyes. The joy in them took me by surprise.

"Dru?" I whispered.

The cheshire cat grin that crossed her face sent thrills through me and as her hands jerked open my shirt, I couldn't contain my small sound of joy.

"The evil Angel is gone, gone, gone," she sang. Her hands slid up over my shoulders and around my neck. Willing, eager, I let her pull my head down and met her hungry mouth in a deep, passionate kiss.

As we kissed, her hands divested me of my shirt, then ripped the t-shirt from my back. I groaned as her nails clawed at my naked skin and desire swamped me. I slipped her coat from her, letting the velvet fall carelessly to the floor, then swung her into my arms and carried her to the bed.

As I laid her on the bed and we continued to kiss, I realized that his shadow no longer hung over us. We were free.

*****

A while later, Dru lay curled up against me under the cool sheets, her arm across my chest, idly caressing my arm. I pulled her head onto my shoulder and stared at the ceiling as she turned on her side and slid one leg over mine.

"It was so much better, Spike."

"What, luv?"

Dru placed a kiss on my shoulder. "Without him. Without him always being there, somewhere...trying to spoil it. He didn't like us to love."

I held her tighter, silently hoping our sire was being tortured in Hell at this exact moment. Yeah, I hoped he suffered forever.

"Spike?"

"Yes, luv?"

"I'm sorry." My eyes fell shut at her whispered apology. She didn't need to apologize ever. I understood. I hated what she had done, but I knew why.

"You don't need to be sorry, luv. It's all over now."

"Angel's in Hell," she replied in a voice full of satisfaction. "I hope he rots for all the nasty things he said to you and did to you and made you do to him."

"Me, too."

Dru was quiet for a few minutes and just as I wondered if she had fallen asleep, she spoke again in her soft, childlike voice. "I didn't want to do those things with him...but, I got lost, Spike. I got lost and forgot that I didn't like him. He MADE me forget...He made me want to forget you."

She began to cry and her quiet sobs tore at me. Rolling over to face her, I gently caressed her face, brushing away her tears. "Drusilla, it's over," I said firmly, making her look at me. She sniffed a few times, her lower lip trembling. "It hurt me, these last few weeks, when you turned to him. When you wanted him."

Dru began to pull away from me and I held her tightly, not letting her escape, before I continued. "But, I understand why you did it. I understand better than you do, my love....And it's all HIS fault."

Slowly you nodded and whispered hopefully. "You really forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," I replied in all honesty. Yes, she had hurt me, but the things that had been done to her in recent months and one hundred and fifty years ago had destroyed her. She couldn't help the way she had acted anymore than I could help loving her. We were both programmed.

Her programming had been pain and abuse and torture. Mine had been love.

It had taken me nearly ten years the first time to break her away from the memory of forty years of Angelus. I really hoped that four months of him didn't require the same ten years of deprogramming.

But, if they did, well, we had eternity.

Just as long as she loved me, in the end, everything would be all right.

"Spike?"

I smiled slightly, so grateful that she was in my arms. "Yes, luv?"

"Did you like hitting him?"

The wicked tone of her voice made me grin and I kissed her passionately. "I loved it, princess...and I did it all for you."

"Then you shall be rewarded, my white knight," she replied and raised her head to kiss me hungrily. As she moved to straddle me, I laughed in joy.

"I love you, Dru."

My princess looked at me as if I really WAS a white knight and gave me a sweet smile. "For all eternity?"

"For all eternity," I swore.

"Me too," she answered before covering my mouth with hers again.

End

Send feedback

Go away.