| Sympathy for the Devil by ComedyofErrors |
| Chapter #17 - Chapter 16 |
| Chapter 16 Giles stared at his watch. The half hour he’d promised Tara was nearly up and he couldn’t have been more glad. He knew it was a foolish thought, but he couldn’t help the notion that every moment Buffy spent in Spike’s head drained a little of her own connection with reality. Could Spike shape her thoughts during her excursion into his mind? Suspecting as he did where Spike’s thoughts on Buffy tended toward of late, the concept frightened him beyond words. “Relax, Giles,” Willow said suddenly. He jerked his head up, surprised by her comment. “Pardon?” She smiled at him. “If you keep staring at your watch like that, you’re going to melt it. It’s just five more minutes. Nothing’s going to go wrong.” Giles shook his head. “Optimism has never been my forte. Not with my slayer inside a vampire’s head, said vampire’s sire outside mumbling at the stars, and a glarghk guhl kashma'nik tethered to a tombstone a few yards away.” Willow frowned. “Okay, yes, all good reasons to be worried. But I just don’t want you to give yourself a heart attack or something. Deep breaths don’t hurt anyone.” He sighed. “I give you my word, Willow, I’ll relax when I feel that Buffy is safe. When ever that may be,” he finished with a glance at Spike. Confused by his tone, Willow prepared to ask Giles what he meant. She was interrupted by a soft call from Tara, who was pointing at the seated slayer and vampire. To her surprise, Willow saw that Buffy’s eyes were open. Giles followed Willow’s line of sight. Immediately, both witch and watcher headed for the slayer. ________________________________________________________________________ It was hard to say what did it. Perhaps the sudden approach of Willow and Giles seemed aggressive to Spike. Or maybe everything is frightening to a coma victim waking from an interminable and difficult sleep. Whatever the reason, the expression of confusion and disorientation that Spike wore when he first woke transmuted an instant later into terror. Too surprised to act, Buffy remained seated while Spike, in his rush to escape the humans only feet away from him, toppled over his arm chair and sprawled on the floor. He scrambled back, pressing himself against the stone wall of the crypt as he edged toward a trap door in the ground. It would have been funny, Buffy thought, if Spike hadn’t been trembling in fear. Buffy stood quickly, motioning for Giles and Willow to stay where they were, just behind her chair. A brief look around showed that Tara was in the back of the crypt, but Buffy trusted her to stay still without a reminder. Spike looked wildly between the four occupants of the crypt, finally settling his eyes on Buffy, who was nearest. She couldn’t tell whether or not he recognized her; his wide eyes expressed only panic. Quietly, she called to him. “Spike?” He flinched, but didn’t flee. His head tilted to the side and his brow furrowed, as though he were trying to make sense of his situation. Buffy tried to help him. “It’s Buffy, Spike. Do you remember us talking? Hmm? We talked about needing to wake up. We talked about how what you were seeing wasn’t real.” His eyes flicked to her neck, as though searching for the phantom bite he’d placed there. He gave her a nervous nod when his eyes returned to her face. Buffy gave him an encouraging smile just as the crypt door opened, the groan of its hinges unmistakable. All heads turned toward the figure that entered. Drusilla? How Dru came to be here, now, Buffy hadn’t a clue. Immediately Buffy’s stance became defensive as she kept a wary eye on the advancing female vampire. Spike seemed just as surprised to see Drusilla as Buffy, so she supposed that he hadn’t known his sire was in town. Dru’s eyes roved over the interior of the crypt as she entered, assessing the people inside. She lingered for a moment on Buffy, an expression of disdain crossing her pale face before her attention turned wholly to Spike. The smile she directed toward him was accompanied by the words, “Hello William. Mummy’s come to fetch her boy. Say how glad you are to see Mummy.” Buffy waited for Spike to do something – to acknowledge Dru, to fight her, to run. But he stood shaking and bewildered until his sire was within ten feet of him. Then his fear of Dru, perhaps prompted by the horrific memories he’d been reliving, forced Spike into game face. He growled low and lifted his hands from the wall, clenching them sporadically into fists. That was the only prompt Buffy needed from Spike to go for Dru. Her hand moved to the small of her back, withdrawing her ever-present stake. She brought her arm forward, twirling the weapon to the proper position. She maneuvered cautiously, trying to slip past Spike’s overturned chair when a hand grasped her wrist. She whirled to see who had halted her. It was Giles, his face intense as he looked from Buffy to Drusilla and Spike, shaking his head. Buffy realized that he wasn’t shocked to see Dru. He’d known she was here. Not just in Sunnydale, but at Spike’s crypt, right this moment. Buffy couldn’t fathom what had happened to make Dru’s presence tolerable, but clearly the drama she had witnessed in Spike’s head was not the only one that had unfolded tonight. She flashed Giles a puzzled expression as Drusilla began moving toward her childe once more, but Giles shook his head again, mouthing the word ‘later’ as he released her arm. Buffy turned her attention back to the two vampires. Dru was cooing softly. “Now, now, my Spike, time to come with mummy. We’ve been napping long enough, darling. Time to wake up and go home.” Buffy’s grip tightened on her stake. Dru was less than five feet from Spike, who’d reached the nearest corner and still gazed fearfully at his sire through yellow eyes. Buffy wanted to go to him, to put herself between him and the female vampire, both because of his horror at facing Dru and the irritation she felt at Dru’s words. His sire had no claim on Spike now. He didn’t belong to Dru. Buffy prepared to disobey Giles, tensing to strike, but she was saved the trouble by Spike himself. As Dru reached out her hand toward his face, Spike roared and struck clumsily at her extended arm, forcing it back. He crouched slightly, ready to spring, while he continued to snarl at a stunned Drusilla. Dru backed slowly away from Spike, keeping her eyes on him alone. She shook her head and murmured to herself. “Poor Spike…so lost. Even I can’t help you now.” Buffy watched Dru exit the door of the crypt, but she couldn’t be bothered to give chase. She needed to help Spike. Buffy laid her stake on the chair beside her, and ignoring a sound of protest from Giles, gradually neared the vampire. He was panting heavily, equal parts frightened and angry. She stopped well back from Spike, giving him a moment to calm and to notice her. A wrong move might drive him to attack, triggering his chip, and she didn’t want him to suffer anymore tonight. It took a few seconds for him to turn his head from the direction in which Dru had disappeared to look at Buffy. He straightened from his fighting stance an inch at a time, still tense. “Spike…” she said softly. He cocked his head, listening. “I know this is confusing. But you’re awake now. It’s going to be okay.” His game face receded, watery blue eyes replacing gold. “Buffy?” he murmured urgently. “Is this real?” She nodded. “Yes, Spike. It’s real.” He started as Giles, no doubt worried by Buffy’s nearness to the unnerved vampire, began moving toward them again. Buffy motioned forcefully for him to be still. The movement stopped, but Giles didn’t look pleased. Spike swallowed, then lowered his eyes, and in a whisper confessed, “I’m scared.” Buffy took a few cautious steps nearer. The fear Spike was showing was so at odds with his vampire image that she couldn’t help thinking that at this instant he was another person entirely. “I know, William. I know. We’ll fix this.” She glanced at the trap door by his feet. “You want to wait for me downstairs? I’ll be down in a few minutes. I need to talk to Giles.” Spike bit his lip and nodded. Buffy nodded with him, wanting to reassure him as she kneeled and carefully lifted the panel in the floor. As soon as there was enough space for him to drop through, he ducked down the passage. Leaving the trap ajar, Buffy turned to face to her watcher and the agitated expression he directed at her. Buffy supposed he could have been annoyed by her recklessness in approaching Spike unarmed, but somehow she doubted it. Giles was perceptive. Maybe he’d already figured out from the way she’d been treating the vampire that she was drawn to Spike. Now wasn’t the time to address Giles’s worries about her love life, though. Slayer and watcher both knew that business came first, lectures came second. Spike was the priority right now. “Giles, Spike got stung by a demon right before he went into the coma. I think it-” “Poisoned him, yes. We discovered that and acted accordingly.” Giles turned her attention to a small cauldron set-up in the crypt’s living room area. “Willow and Tara have an antidote prepared. We were about to bring you out of Spike’s mind so that we could administer it when you emerged on your own. With Spike. Or William,” he said with a raised brow. Buffy ignored the insinuation with which Giles spoke that name. “Give me the stuff. I’ll take it to him.” Off to the side, Tara began ladling a bluish liquid into a cracked mug. Buffy sighed. “What time is it?” “A bit after nine. You’ve been in there about four hours,” Giles replied. Buffy shook her head. “It felt longer.” Willow brought the antidote forward and handed it to Buffy. “Here we go, yummy antivenin.” Buffy sniffed the contents and wrinkled her nose at the smell. “I’m supposed to get Spike to drink this?” Willow gave her a sympathetic nod. “Yep. Just be glad he doesn’t know what the ingredient list was.” Buffy smiled tiredly at Willow and Giles. Willow smiled back. Giles didn’t. “Listen, guys, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for everything you’ve done, but it’s getting late. It’d probably be best if you got out of the cemetery and away to somewhere safe. Especially with Dru out there.” “She’s probably gone, since her mission’s failed,” Giles murmured. “But that’s likely a wise precaution, in any event.” “You might be able to calm S-spike down better if w-we’re gone, too,” Tara said quietly as she came to stand beside Willow. The redhead put an arm around her girlfriend. “We’ll just get our stuff together and head out. Xander’s outside guarding the demon-” Buffy’s eyes widened. “Demon?” Willow nodded. “We needed the demon that stung Spike to complete the antidote, so Giles and Drusilla went out and caught it.” Buffy glanced at Giles. He gave a tired shrug of acknowledgment. “Well, that’s…um, you know, I honestly don’t know what to say to that.” “So anyway,” Willow continued, “Xander can give us a ride home after we get rid of the glar guhl…big scary demon thing.” “I’d better go do that ‘slaying thing’ on whatever it is,” Buffy commented. Tara shook her head. “I think S-spike’s condition is m-more urgent. Xander and Giles can d-deal with the d-demon.” “Yeah, Buffy,” Willow agreed, “None of us will be able to get Spike to drink that stuff. Oh, there’s more potion, if you need it, but one dose should be plenty. Good luck.” “Good night, Buffy,” Tara added. “Night guys. Thanks for everything.” The witches moved off to gather their things. Giles remained a bit longer. “How long do you plan to stay here, Buffy?” His tone suggested more than casual concern. Buffy sighed. “As long as it takes to make sure Spike’s alright. Then I need to go home and check in with Mom and Dawnie. They were pretty worried about Spike.” Giles nodded once, then spoke again. “After you’ve done that, I’d like you to stop by my flat. I think we should talk.” She could see it in his eyes. He did know that things had changed between Buffy and Spike, even if he wasn’t sure of the exact nature of the new relationship. Hell, Buffy didn’t know herself. She sighed. “Okay. I’ll tell you about Buffy’s Adventures in Spike-land and you can tell me why Drusilla decided to vacation in Sunnyhell.” He still didn’t smile at her attempted humor. He didn’t even shake his head and mumble about her punning ability. Buffy wasn’t looking forward to the conversation they’d be having later tonight. “I’ll see you if a few hours, then,” he returned. “Yeah.” He turned to leave. “Giles?” “Yes, Buffy?” “Thank you. For keeping things together out here.” She gave him another, tentative smile. Giles’s reply was simple, “You’re welcome, Buffy. I can hardly expect you to be in two places at one.” It was a joke. A very British joke, but still a joke, so that was good. And yet his face remained closed, as though the humor was a reflex, not a sincere wish to be witty. “Har, har,” Buffy snorted to herself as Giles exited the crypt. Buffy took a few deep breaths and listened to the sudden quiet in the tomb. She felt wiped out from the hectic fifteen minutes since she and Spike had returned to the real world, but her night was far from over. She made her way to the trap door and carefully descended to the basement level, mindful of the glass of blue stinky stuff that was going to cure Spike. It was dark when she reached the lower platform, only the light from the room above breaking through the gloom. “Spike?” she called quietly. He didn’t answer, and for a brief moment Buffy feared that he had slipped back into the sleep she’d just rescued him from. Then, as her eyes became more accustomed to the low light, she saw a pale face and bright hair a few yards away. He was sitting on a coffin, staring at the ground. A mattress covered in threadbare blankets and pinkish sheets sat on the ground behind his make-shift chair. On another coffin to one side of the mattress, Buffy could see the remains of several burned out candles and torn paper back books. It was a humble place for William the Bloody to sleep. Buffy thought briefly of taking him away somewhere more comfortable after she’d given him the antidote, but he seemed at ease here. It was home, for him. She sat down beside him on the coffin, but still he didn’t look at her. She put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he didn’t pull away. “I need you to drink this, Sp- Will.” He raised his eyes to look at the glass she held out to him. He sniffed once and turned his nose up at the concoction that must have smelled worse to vampire senses than to human ones. “Yeah, I know. But you need this to keep the memories away.” His head jerked up and a ghost of the fear he’d worn earlier flickered through his eyes. Buffy rubbed her hand on his back, trying to give the comfort he’d been unable to receive while they were in his mind. “Please Will,” she pleaded. “Trust me here.” Her heart clenched as one shaky hand reached out to wrap around the cup. Afraid he’d drop the mug, Buffy helped him bring it to his lips and poured it gently into his mouth. He swallowed it, though his face contorted at the bitter taste. Buffy set the now empty glass aside and stood. She moved before Spike, holding her hands out to draw him to a standing position. He followed her directions without question as she led him to his bed and motioned for him to lay down on it. He curled up on his side, drawing his knees up like a child. Buffy pulled a worn comforter over him and ran a hand over the side of his face. He gave her a questioning look, wide eyes wondering and fearful. Buffy let herself lean forward and press a kiss to the cheek she’d been stroking. His breath caught as she pulled back, his expression now awestruck. She rubbed his shoulder again, tenderly. “I’m going to see if I can find some new candles, Spike. Just rest here.” He nodded in understanding. Buffy rose from her crouch and moved to a small alcove beneath the ladder. She’d seen some boxes of some kind over that way. When she reached the spot she saw not just boxes, but a sheet thrown over a table that might have supplies under it. She grasped the sheet firmly and pulled it down. She gasped at what she saw laid out before her. ***** Please let me know what you think! Thanks to my beta Linda. |