Buffy The Vampire
by Ashlee
Chapter 1 -
Chance Meeting
A/N For the purposes of this story, vampire slayers can be both male and
female. Also, the events of “Angel” didn’t occur as they did in the series.
All will be explained soon.
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William ‘Spike’ Bradley sat surveying the crowd in the Bronze on the busy
Friday night. He was currently listening to his friend Charles Gunn telling
his girlfriend Winifred Burkle about a band that would be playing there on
the following night. Fred, for her part, was trying to look interested.
“Whoa, man.” Spike turned to look at his friend. “Check out the hottie at
the bar.”
Spike smirked as his friend’s comment got him a smack on the shoulder and
turned his attention, raising an eyebrow at the young woman he saw sitting
by herself. His gaze traveled up the length of her toned legs, admiring the
way her skirt slipped higher as she shifted on one of the barstools. Her
long-sleeved shirt had a deep V-neck in the front that exposed her cleavage
generously. Spike watched, almost mesmerized, as the girl tossed her long,
golden hair over one shoulder, revealing an attractive face with a seemingly
bored expression.
“You should go ask her to dance, Spike.”
Spike glowered at his friend. “Need I remind you, mate, that you’re not the
only one with a girlfriend.”
“How could we forget,” Gunn muttered to Fred, who tried to restrain a giggle,
earning them both another glare from their friend.
“Aw, come on, Spike,” Fred jumped in. “Cecily’s not even here tonight, and
one little dance won’t hurt. It’s not like you have to get out and start
slaying anytime soon.”
“Maybe later,” Spike replied, seemingly disinterested. In actuality, he
found himself drawn to the girl but fought against it.
At 21, Spike had been the Slayer for four years. He and his Watcher had
been shocked when he was called at 17. His Watcher had made no secret of
the fact that he was assigned to Spike because he was an older potential,
thus no chance of him ever becoming the actual Slayer. A year after he was
called, he decided leave his home in London to attend college in America,
with the Watcher’s Council pushing for him to go to UCSunnydale since it was
conveniently located on the Hellmouth. His first week at school, he met Gunn
and Fred. At the same time, he inadvertently staked a vampire in front
of them, earning him the nickname of Spike from Gunn, who had been fighting
vamps for several years.
“Hey, Spike,” Fred spoke up. “Your mystery girl is leaving.”
Spike’s head flew back around to the bar as he saw the girl pay off her tab
and stand up. Before he knew what he was doing, Spike was out of his seat
and standing behind her as she turned around.
“Leaving so soon, luv? I was kind of hoping you’d do me the honor of a
dance,” he said, offering his hand as her expressive hazel eyes sized him
up.
“That sounds nice,” she said with a smile and let him lead her out to the
dance floor.
As they embraced each other for the slow music, Spike had different
sensations coursing through his body- the adrenaline he usually got when he
was patrolling as well as a sense of comfort and understanding of the woman
in his arms. As he pulled her closer, his shoulders nearly slumped.
‘Damn,’ he thought. ‘Why do all the hot ones always have to be undead?’
After a few minutes, the song ended, and Spike looked down at her. “Care to
take a walk, pet?”
“Fine with me. I’d like the chance to talk to you.”
With his hand splayed across her back, Spike led her towards the door of the
Bronze, passing his table and grabbing his duster in one fluid motion as he
gave his friends a look. Gunn nodded, and he and Fred began gathering their
things. Spike led her out the door and let it close behind him. With a
quick scan of the alley, he saw that they were alone. As she turned to face
him, Spike landed a punch to her jaw. He saw the look of shock briefly
cross her face before counter-attacking. The two fluidly traded blows as
the door swung open again with Gunn charging out to aid his friend before
skidding to a stop, with Fred running into his back. The couple by the door
watched the two fight with such perfection- it looked choreographed. As the
girl managed to get some distance from Spike, she flipped her hair behind
her eyes.
“Will you just hold on a minute!”
“Let me think- hmm, you’re a vampire, I’m a Slayer, I think I’ve got it down
to a science by now. Don’t need a break, thanks,” Spike said as he advanced
on her.
“Yeah, you’re the Slayer, but you know what? You’re an idiot.”
This caused Spike to pause as he studied her while slipping a hand in the
pocket of his duster. “Who are you?”
“Oh, now you wanna know about me? After you worked out your aggression?”
“You know what, my mistake. I forgot- I’m not supposed to listen to the
drivel that you vamps spout off.” With lightening quick speed, Spike pulled
the hand out of his pocket, holding an open vial of holy water, and flung it
at the woman. He watched as she hissed in pain and backed away, holding her
burning cheek. Spike wasn’t sure she was backing away from him or trying to
get away from the pain.
“You know, I was wrong about you,” she said, her voice laced with pain.
Spike raised an eyebrow. “And, pray tell, what you were wrong about?”
“I thought you’d understand.”
Spike was thoroughly confused now. “Understand what the hell you are?”
“Something like that.”
“Let’s have a lesson then.”
“Do you do research?”
“What kind of soddin’ question is that?”
“A simple one. Do you do research?”
Spike simply gave her a look of absurdity.
“Okay, maybe I should just stop with the questions since they seem to be a
little too complicated for you. Why don’t you run along and ask your
Watcher something?”
“And what would that be, pet?”
“Summers…comma…Buffy. Look it up.”
Before Spike could blink, she was out of sight as Gunn and Fred walked up
behind him.
“Man, what the hell was that about?”
“Bloody hell, I don’t know, but I’m damn well going to find out.”
Chapter 2
- Discovery
Spike stood on his Watcher’s doorstep less than half an hour later,
incessantly ringing his doorbell. When the door opened to reveal a very
disgruntled man in a bathrobe, Spike had to suppress a grin. Instead, he
pushed his way into the house and headed for the living room.
“William, I hope there is a valid reason for you to be visiting me at this
ungodly hour.”
“It’s not even midnight. Aren’t all you Watchers supposed to be night owls
like your Slayers?”
“That’s a common misconception.”
"Oh well. To answer your question, yes, there is a valid reason for me to be
here. I need to know everything you know about Buffy Summers.”
His Watcher froze, looking as if he was a deer caught in headlights.
“Buffy Summers?”
“Yeah, Wes. Come on, I know you have to know about her.”
Wesley Wyndham-Pryce surveyed his Slayer for a moment. “Indeed. Why do you want
to know?”
“I met this girl. She hinted that she knew her or maybe she was her. Not
quite sure.”
“William,” Wesley said as he sat down. “What did this woman look like?”
“I don’t know…younger than me, long blonde hair, tiny little scrap of a
thing who nearly kicked my ass, by the way. Oh, and she was a vampire.”
“Impossible.”
“That’s why I’m here, Wes. I’ve heard of her, but I don’t remember the
details. She died before I was even a teenager. It’s not like I paid much
attention to the cycle of Slayers before I became one. Who was she?”
“She was…arguably the greatest Slayer to ever live, saving the world from
at least six apocalypses and numerous other feats. She died at the hands of
the Master, only to be revived by a friend, but not before the activation of
another Slayer. She then killed the Master, fought in hand to hand combat
with Angelus numerous times, sending him to Hell in the process.”
“But Angelus is living in L.A. Who would think it was the ninth circle
of Hell,” Spike said with a smirk.
“He was brought back. Presumably by the Powers That Be,” Wesley continued.
“Do you remember about his soul?”
“The whole 'perfect happiness' mumbo jumbo? Yeah, I got the gist of it.
Someone was able to re-ensoul him.”
“Yes…that someone was a friend of Buffy’s who has since turned into a very
powerful witch. Year’s passed, and Buffy thwarted each of her enemies, one by
one. The mayor’s Ascension, a human-demon hybrid, creatures called the
Gentlemen. She was successful with each encounter, until the Hell God
Glorificus came along.”
“Searching for the Key,” Spike said, nodding in remembrance.
“Yes, Buffy’s sister. Buffy could have let her sister die that night, but
instead, she sacrificed herself to save the world yet again, throwing
herself off a tower to close a Hell dimension. That was about nine
years ago.”
Spike nodded. “And her death activated Faith?”
“No, her presence as the Slayer had already activated another. When the
other slayer died, Faith was called-“
“And when Faith died, I was called. So who the hell is this girl I met?”
“I honestly don’t know, but I feel you better find out.”
“Yep,” Spike said, rising from the couch. “I’m on it.”
Heading out the door, Spike missed the unusual look on his Watcher’s face as
he headed out into the night.
Chapter 3
- Answers
Spike wandered through Sunnydale for an hour, not even catching a glimpse of
the woman. As he walked past Restfield Cemetery, Spike heard the distinct
sound of fighting in the distance. Breaking out into a run, he rounded the
corner of a mausoleum to see the woman in the distance, fighting another
vampire. Spike stopped and admired her form as she fought with a grace he
had never witnessed. He knew that his own fighting style was more
street-fighting with a little kickboxing thrown in. This girl was amazing
in her precision. She had changed into a pair of red leather pants and a
black sweater with her long hair flying behind her with every spinning kick.
He stared as she easily staked the vamp and turned her attention to him.
“So, I guess you asked your Watcher.”
“Who are you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t know?”
“I know who Buffy Summers was. I asked who you are.”
“Well, then, that’s convenient since Buffy and I are one and the same.”
“Buffy died almost a decade ago, and it wasn’t a vamp attack. So who are
you?”
“Let me guess,” she said as she wandered around him in a circle. “You heard
about the Master, the first death, and Angelus. I’m guessing you even
caught a little bit about the mayor and Adam. And then there was Glory and
the Key. You heard all about the big sacrifice, but,” she paused as she
came to a stop in front of him. “You didn’t hear about her third death.”
“I’ve heard enough.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head with a smile on her face. “You’ve heard
the Cliff’s Notes version. You don’t know the details. You don’t know how
I felt powerless against the Master until after he killed me. And I’m
willing to bet that you weren’t told that Angel and I were lovers and that
was the trigger that turned him into Angelus. Did you hear about the Slayer
that you replaced?”
“Faith.”
“Yeah…what do you know about her?”
“She was good. Not the best, but she held her own. Couldn’t resist the
pull to the darker side of slaying, and the line blurred between what was
right and wrong. Turned herself in and served her time to be let out six
years ago. Two years after that, she was killed in an ambush.”
Spike watched as the woman’s eyes misted over with tears. “She shouldn’t
have gone alone.”
“What?”
Her eyes snapped up to his. “You don’t even believe I’m me. Why will you
believe anything I tell you?”
“Why don’t you tell me yourself and let me draw my own conclusions?”
“Okay…Faith and I…we were two halves of the spectrum. Darkness and light.
So similar, and yet, completely different at the same time. She felt
overshadowed by me, and that’s what led to her joining forces with the mayor.
That led to a lot of bad things, not the least of which was when she
poisoned Angel. Only the blood of a Slayer could cure him, and I was
determined to give him a cure. I went to Faith’s apartment…we fought…and I
ended up putting her in a coma. I ended up curing Angel myself, and Faith
stayed in the coma for nine months. When she woke up, she was angry. With
a lot of help, I managed to defeat the mayor, and that meant I had killed her
surrogate father. To make a long story short, we battled it out, she did
some things that I thought unforgivable at the time, and she left for L.A.
“Angel was there at the time, and he wanted to help her. I disagreed, but
eventually, it didn’t matter what we decided because Faith turned herself in.
She was let out on probation after five years, and I went to L.A. to see if
we could reconcile some of our differences. Turns out, the years had
matured us both, and we grew to be the sisters that our lineage called for.
Two years after she was released, we were supposed to meet at a factory that
had a nest of vamps. Faith got there early and went in alone…I was too
late. I got there in time to hold her hand as she died…then I hunted down
each and every vamp, and they were met with a very dusty ending.”
Spike noticed the tears building up in her eyes by the end of the story.
“If you’re Buffy, how are you here? You jumped from that tower nine years
ago.”
“Yeah, here’s the part that isn’t in your history book…or more accurately,
Watcher’s Diaries. My Watcher never revealed that I came back. He didn’t
want the Council getting any ideas in their twisted little heads. I have a
friend who’s a witch-“
“The one who re-ensouled Angelus?”
Buffy eyes snapped up to his at the question. “Yeah. She thought my essence
was caught in a Hell dimension, so she decided I should be brought back. My
friends…they…they worked a spell on me, and, presto, Buffy’s back. What they
didn’t know was that I wasn’t in a Hell dimension…I was happy. I think,
though I’m not sure, that they pulled me out of heaven.”
Buffy paused, looking at the ground as she gathered her thoughts. “I was
only back for a few days when I got a call from Angel. He wanted to see me.
We met at a little rundown place halfway between Sunnydale and Los
Angeles. What I didn’t know is that when he heard that I was back, he was
happy. Perfectly happy in fact…I wasn’t met with the man I loved…I was met
with the thing that hates me.”
Spike suddenly felt the urge to take her into his arms as the tears streamed
down her face, but refrained as she continued. “I was missing for a week, and
everyone was getting worried. Angelus had turned me before I even knew what
was happening. He has an uncanny way of portraying his opposite
personality…no matter which one it is. I was chained and tortured for
almost a week before my friends figured out what was going on. Willow
managed to work the spell again, and Angel has one more thing to add to the
list of what Angelus did that he feels sorry for.”
“You don’t blame him?”
“It wasn’t him…I know that now. I’m a 29 year old woman stuck in the body
of a 20 year old. I’m not the same naïve little girl that I used to be.”
“But, if you were turned, why would he torture you? Wouldn’t he want you to
be alive for that part?”
Buffy cringed at the reference to her undead status. “That’s why he did it.
Angelus never got to kill or turn a Slayer…he never knew we make completely
different vampires. One of the major factors was the fact that I kept my
soul. Angelus thinks souls are filthy since he’s been saddled with one for
over a hundred years. Mine was disgusting to him, considering I’m now
considered his childe. It’s an embarrassment to the demon in him. He felt
I needed to be punished for having it.”
“You said one of the factors…what are the others?”
“Nothing much, really. I’m a little bit stronger than I used to be. My
face doesn’t change like other vamps.”
Spike looked confused. “Why not?”
“I guess the Powers wanted me to stay pretty while I slayed,” she said with
a grin.
Spike smirked at her response as he looked her up and down. “So you’re stuck
in that body for all eternity?”
“Yep, till the end of the world, or I meet a dusty ending because someone
doesn’t want to hear what I have to say,” she said, giving Spike a pointed
look.
“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that, luv. I have to call ‘em as I see ‘em. If I’d have
known, I never would have thrown the first punch…or the holy water, come to
think of it,” he said with a sheepish look.
“I know. I remember how it was. I didn’t believe Angel at first either, so
I guess I can let you off the hook,” she replied, hopping up to sit on a
tombstone. “Besides, already healed.” She gestured to her formerly burnt
cheek.
“So why were you looking for me?”
“I thought you could use some help. I’ve been gone for a few years, and I
decided to come back to the Hellmouth and keep on fighting the good fight.”
“You have family here?”
“No,” she said, looking down at her hands. “My mom died a few years ago, and
my sister is living in New York. I’ve been out there with her for a while,
but I felt like I was cramping her style. It’s kinda hard for her to be 24
and expect people to believe that I’m the older sibling.”
“Your dad?”
“I don’t even know if he’s alive. Haven’t heard from him in over ten years.”
“What about Angel?” Something about Spike saying that name made him feel
sick. He didn’t want to think about what it meant.
“Angel’s still in L.A. I drop in for a visit from time to time, but he has
his own life, too. His soul was anchored by the Powers a few years ago-
kind of a reward for all the good he’s done.”
“So why aren’t you with him? I mean, if you’re the one who gives him
perfect happiness, wouldn’t he be wanting to spend all of eternity with
you?”
“Maybe,” she said with a nod. “But he’s in love with someone else. He
also feels guilty about all the things he did to me after I was turned, so
he usually avoids me like the plague.”
Spike suddenly felt very sorry for this woman. It seemed everyone she ever
cared about left her.
“Your Watcher?”
“He moved back to England after I died…the second time,” she clarified with
a smile. “I see him a few times a year. He has his own life, too.”
“Seems like everyone has their own life except you, pet,” Spike said, coming
to lean next to where she was sitting.
“This is my life,” she said solemnly, looking down at her hands. “The
Slayer’s destined to be alone…it took me a while, but I’ve figured that much
out.”
“Buffy,” Spike said softly as he moved to stand in front of her. With a
finger under her chin, he tilted her head up to look him in the eyes.
“You’re not alone. You’re not the only Slayer.”
Buffy felt tears spring to her eyes at his soft admission, unconsciously
leaning closer to his full lips, Spike dropped his hand to each side of her
waist as he, too, leaned forward. A second before their lips met, Spike’s
cell phone began incessantly ringing, causing them to guiltily jump apart.
“Hello,” he said with more malice than he intended.
“Spike! Where the hell are you!? Do you realize it’s almost two in the
morning, and you were supposed to call me!”
“Cecily, calm down. I’m still out patrolling…lots of vamps out tonight.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Spike saw Buffy hop down from her seat and
begin to walk away. Catching her by the arm, he shook his head, silently
asking her not to go anywhere.
Buffy listened as Spike tried to calm his nagging girlfriend. It could only
be a girlfriend the way that whiny voice sounded to Buffy’s ears. Taking a
few steps away, Buffy cursed her vampire hearing for the first time, wanting
to soothe her wounded eardrums.
Spike turned to face her as he hung up the phone. “Sorry ‘bout that.”
“No problem,” she said with false cheeriness. “So, my suggestion is, if
you’re comfortable, we start patrolling together.”
Spike frowned at the sudden change in her voice. He didn’t want her to
think he was ignoring the almost-kiss they had, but if she wanted to talk
shop, he could do that. “Sounds good, luv. I’ll probably need you to work a
few things out with my Watcher, but it’ll be okay. He owns a little occult
bookstore on Main Street. You want to meet there tomorrow at sunset?”
“I’ll see you then.”
Spike watched appreciatively as she walked away. This was going to be a
very interesting development.
Chapter 4
- Acquaintances
Spike was going to go to Wesley’s store earlier than usual the following
night. He wanted to let his Watcher know that the woman he met was Buffy
and she would begin patrolling with him.
As it was, though, Spike was running late and met Buffy at the front door,
waiting for him.
“Hello, pet.”
“Hey,” she said with a shy smile.
“Didn’t go in yet?”
“No, I thought I’d wait on you. I don’t really feel like an attempted
staking right now, and I figured that was less likely to happen if you were
with me.”
Spike had to smile at that. “I think you could hold your own, luv.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t want to hurt your Watcher in the process.” She gave
Spike a bright smile as he held the door open for her.
Buffy stared around the store in amazement. Though it wasn’t the same
location, it was almost identical to the Magic Box. There were more shelves
lined up throughout the store and fewer magic products, but the
similarities were striking.
“Something wrong?”
Buffy shook her head as she turned to face Spike. “No…just déjà vu, I
guess.”
Spike nodded and turned to look as the door to the back room opened. “Ah,
there’s Watcher boy.”
Wesley suddenly froze, looking at the couple standing next to the counter.
When he spoke, his voice was strangled. “It is you.”
Spike looked perplexed as he stared at his Watcher and then turned to face
an equally stunned Buffy.
“Wes?” she whispered. “Is that you?”
“Buffy?”
Before either Spike or Wesley knew what happened, a blonde blur flew into
Wesley’s arms. “I can’t believe it’s you,” her voice muffled by his shirt
as she hugged the older man.
Spike felt an absurd surge of jealousy seeing his Watcher hug the woman.
“Someone wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Buffy pulled away from Wes sheepishly as she turned to Spike. “Wes was my
Watcher…well…kind of.”
Spike looked angry as he turned to face Wesley. “And you didn’t see it fit
to tell me this last night?”
“William, it wasn’t important. I told you what I knew about her- I just
didn’t tell you I knew her.”
“Looks to me like you knew her pretty well,” Spike countered with a raised
eyebrow.
“Not like that, Spike,” Buffy said with annoyance clear in her voice before
turning to face Wesley. “Actually, I was a spoiled brat to him. You could
say it was hate at first sight.”
“Yes, thank you for that, Buffy,” Wesley said.
“Sorry,” she said, looking embarrassed.
“Well, you seem to have gotten over your hate quite nicely,” Spike
continued.
“Well, we didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.” Turning to face Wes,
she asked, “I thought I probably got you fired?”
“Um, no, probation. The Watcher’s Council felt that since I couldn’t
control you or Faith, I could get one of the older potentials to train after
a five-year waiting period. Imagine their surprise when he was called.”
“So let me get this straight,” Spike said. “You hated each other, Buffy got
you fired, and you meet years later like long lost family?”
“Yeah…sorry about the display of emotion,” Buffy said. “It was just
wonderful to see a familiar face after so long of not seeing anyone but
Dawnie.”
“Yes, well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to why and how you’re
here.”
“Oh, that.” Buffy waved her hand in dismissal. “You have all your facts
right if you read Giles’ journals. But if you want the shorter version of a
long boring story, Willow decided to bring me back. Pretty soon after, I got
vamped by Angelus, Willow restored his soul, and as for me-“
“Slayer’s are supposed to have anchored souls,” Wes cut off in
understanding. “Extraordinary.”
“Yep, that’s pretty much it. Spike can fill you in on all the details.”
“So you’re still the Slayer, I presume.”
“Well, I still do the job, if that’s what you’re asking, but if you want to
get technical, Spike is the Slayer.”
Spike offered her a grateful smile for the acknowledgement. “I think it’s
safe to say you’re the original, luv. But we should probably be heading
out of here. Just stopped by to tell you we’d be patrolling together,” he
said to Wes.
“Yes, well, strength in numbers and all. You both be careful, and Buffy, I
would like to speak to you in more detail about what you’ve been up to for
the past few years.”
“Sure thing, Wes. You’re looking good, by the way,” she said, taking in his
scruffier appearance.
“Ah…yes, well…” he trailed off in embarrassment.
“Same old Wes,” she said with a smile before grabbing Spike’s sleeve. “Come
on, blondie, we’ve got some vamps calling our names.”
Chapter 5
- Patrolling
Spike and Buffy patrolled in silence for several minutes before Spike
finally spoke. “So, you almost got my Watcher fired?”
“Yeah…I, uh, I quit the Council. After Faith poisoned Angel, the council
refused to help, and it really pissed me off, so I quit.”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “And you two didn’t get along back then?”
Buffy sighed. “My Watcher was fired after Quentin Travers felt he saw me as
a daughter. Wesley was brought in in his place to train both me and Faith,
and we both resented each other. He tried to order me around, being a new
guy to the job, but I’d been the Slayer for over three years- I wasn’t going
to take orders. I kept going to Giles with problems, and Wes wasn’t too
happy about it.”
“When was this?”
“My senior year of high school. Right before the Mayor’s ascension.”
“So he was there? Wes was there for that?”
“I think so…I was a little busy with blowing up the school.”
Spike gave her a smirk. “You blew up the school?”
“Well, it wasn’t my fault,” Buffy said indignantly. “I mean, am I to blame
if there was a giant demon snake trying to eat the entire senior class? I
saw a way to stop it, and I did it.” Spike saw the smile pulling at her
lips. “Besides, the symbolism of the act was too much to pass up.”
Spike laughed along with her as they headed through the cemetery. Buffy put
a hand on his chest as she stopped walking.
“Vamps,” she whispered. “A lot of them, up there behind the mausoleum.”
“I don’t hear anything, luv,” he said, quietly.
Buffy pointed to her ear. “Vamp hearing. I can pick up on just about
anything. You take the left, and I’ll go right.”
Each pulled their stake from their respective hiding places and advanced on
the group. Glancing around the corner, Buffy saw a group of seven vamps
surrounding a terrified couple. Seeing Spike out of the corner of her eye,
Buffy gave a tight nod as they both moved forward. Each Slayer staked a
vampire before the rest of the group noticed them. Angrily turning on
them, Buffy recognized three of them from a fight she’d had a few nights
ago. She had been fighting alone and barely managed to get away from them.
Buffy stood her ground as the leader of the group stepped closer to her.
“Well, looky what we have here. If it isn’t the brave little Slayer,” he
said before turning to look at Spike. “And it looks like she brought us a
treat.”
Spike merely smirked, keeping a close eye on Buffy, while simultaneously
readying himself for the fight.
“And I get this pretty one as my own treat,” the leader continued in what
he must have thought was a seductive voice.
Buffy felt the need to gag. “Can’t you vamps ever think of anything else? I
mean, I get that you probably haven’t gotten any in a while, what with all the
skin problems and everything, but really, you need to work on your pick up
lines.”
Buffy didn’t give him a chance to think as she landed a high kick to his
face before spinning and knocking one of his minions down. Out of the
corner of her eye, she could see Spike holding his own against the vamp that
came after him. Buffy felt a flash of panic as the four that remained
formed a circle around her. Whipping a stake from the back of her shirt,
Buffy threw it to land squarely in the chest of one attacker. Kicking
another away from her, she saw that he quickly lost interest in her and ran
over to aid his comrade that was battling Spike.
Buffy threw a series of kicks and punches at another vampire and quickly
staked him, only to feel herself be thrown backward, landing against a
tombstone with a thud, as she dropped her stake. Her face contorted as she
felt the pain in her lower back, and she opened her eyes as the leader
grabbed her arms and smashed her between his overly large body and the
headstone.
Buffy shoved at his chest with what little strength hadn’t been lost in her
fall. “No! NO!”
At her frantic cries, Spike looked up from the vamp he had staked and saw
Buffy struggling with the overbearing leader. Jumping up and quickly
staking the last of the group, Spike swiftly made his way over to Buffy.
“Looks like I may get some after all,” the vampire said.
Spike flinched at the image that popped into his head as he thrust the stake
into the vamp’s heart. “Doesn’t look like it, mate,” smiling as the dust
settled, letting his eyes fall to a terrified Slayer. He watched as Buffy
pushed herself up and wiped the dust from her clothes. “You alright, luv?”
“Fine,” she said, sounding anything but fine. “Thanks for that,” she
continued, gesturing to the ashes on the ground.
“No problem, pet,” he said, looking worriedly at her. “You sure you’re
okay?”
“Spike, I’m fine,” she cried, whirling around to face him. “I just don’t
like feeling like a victim is all. It’s not my nature…or yours either, so
it’s a little unsettling.”
“I get that. What do you say we blow off some steam?”
“What did you have in mind?” she asked, relaxing a little more.
“I was thinking we’d head to the Bronze.”
“What are we waiting for?” she said with a smile. “Let’s get outta here.”
Chapter 6
- The Bronze
As Buffy and Spike entered the Bronze, Buffy let the familiarity wash over
her. Memories of a simpler time when she and Willow and Xander would hang
out and dance. Buffy longed for those times. She longed for the days when
all she had to worry about was studying and slaying. She died in a manner,
she thought, befitting a Slayer, only to be dragged back into this earth to
fight forever.
Spike caught the wistful look on her face and gently put his hand on the
small of her back, leading her through the club. Buffy smiled at the quiver
that ran through her at Spike’s touch. It had been a long time since she
had let herself get within close proximity of a man. Not since Angelus,
posing as Angel, had wrapped her in a hug, only to turn it into a deathly
embrace. Buffy’s smile faded as the depressing memories overshadowed the
better ones. Before she became too immersed in her thoughts, a nasal voice
had the attention of everyone in the club.
“Spike!”
Both Spike and Buffy turned at the sound of the voice.
“Bloody hell,” Spike muttered under his breath. Buffy smiled as she heard
the phrase before turning her attention to a brunette stalking toward them.
The woman had curls falling past her shoulders and a conceited demeanor
that Buffy could tell before the woman had even spoken to her.
“What the hell are you doing here? And with her?” she asked, gesturing
angrily at Buffy.
“Cecily, we were just patrolling together.”
“Oh, you were,” she commented. “Well, why is she good enough to take, but
I’m not?”
“Ease up, princess,” Buffy spoke up. “I’ve been doing this for a lot of
years.”
“Oh, you have,” she said, turning her attention to Buffy. “I’m so sure you
have, little girl.”
“Listen, lady, I’m far from a little girl, and I can hold my own in any
fight.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can, little one,” Cecily said in a snobbish tone.
“You really don’t want to know what I’m capable of,” Buffy said. She had
never wished for a game-face before, but she would have loved to have seen
the look on her snooty face if she had been able to flash one. “Why don’t
you take your nose out of the air, pull that silver spoon out of your mouth,
turn around, and head back to your table?” Turning to an awestruck Spike,
Buffy gestured with her hand. “I’ll be at the bar.”
Stalking past a gaping Cecily, Buffy made her way to the bar and took a
seat. She could already hear the screeching of the indignant woman as she
ordered a drink.
“Nice show.”
Buffy turned to face the owner of the voice. Recognizing the attractive
black man from the night before, Buffy smiled. “Glad you liked it.”
“It’s about time someone put the Countess in her place. Lord knows he won’t
do it,” he said, gesturing to Spike with his beer bottle.
“The Countess, that’s a good one,” Buffy said with a laugh as she turned to
face him. “You saw the fight last night. I’ve gotta ask, why aren’t you
trying to stake me right now?”
“You came in with Spike,” he said with a shrug. “I figured if you were a
problem, he would have taken care of it already. Why? Should I be
nervous?” he asked, smiling.
“No,” Buffy said, shaking her head. “That doesn’t tell me why you’re
voluntarily talking to me. I mean, just because I won’t kill you doesn’t
mean I won’t hurt you.”
“I can hold my own.”
“Good to know.”
“I’m Gunn, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand.
“So, what’s your story? I mean, I pretty much figured out you’re a vamp,
what with your aversion to holy water and all.”
Buffy nodded as she looked at the bar surface. “Ever heard of the vampire
with a soul complex?”
“Yeah. Vamp out in L.A. Fightin’ the good fight and all that, but that
one’s a man.”
“Let’s just say I’m a relative.”
“Okay. So why are you here?”
“I thought Spike could use some help. It’s always good to have back-up.”
“And that’s what you are?”
“Something like that.”
“Well,” Gunn said. “Always good to have another member of the gang.”
“Scooby gang,” Buffy whispered, a smile playing on her lips.
“Did you just say something?”
“Oh…no,” Buffy said, shaking her head.
“How’d you know where to find the Slayer?”
“Hellmouth,” Buffy said with a slight smile. “It seems to draw a lot of
people and creatures. I used to live here, figured the new Slayer was here,
too.”
“New? Spike’s been the Slayer for over four years.”
“Yeah…I know. I just didn’t want to find him yet.”
“You knew Faith?”
Buffy’s head snapped up at the statement. “How do you know about her?”
“Spike mentioned her in passing. Just that she was the one he replaced. My
girlfriend Fred, she helps his Watcher out with a lot of things and told me
about a lot of the Slayers. So, did you really know Buffy Summers?”
Buffy smiled, staring into her drink. “Yep. We were real close.”
“So you were there the night she died?”
“More or less,” Buffy replied, never meeting his eyes.
“That must have been rough.”
“Oh yeah.”
Buffy looked up to check on Spike and didn’t see him anywhere.
“If you’re looking for Spike, he’s probably outside with what’s her name,
trying to calm her down.”
“You don’t like her?” Buffy asked, looking over at him with a smile.
“Hell no. That woman was born with a stick up her ass.”
Buffy laughed. “Yeah, I noticed.”
“You should be proud. No one’s ever put her in her place the way you did.”
“Yeah, well, there are more things to be afraid of than a spoiled heiress.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“You’ve been fighting a long time?”
“Since I was in high school. Figured someone had to do something.”
“Nice to know some people still know what’s right,” Buffy said. “Speaking
of which, I better get back out there. It was nice meeting you, Gunn.”
Buffy left some money on the bar as she walked away.
“Yeah, you, too…hey, I never caught your name.”
Buffy glanced at him over her shoulder. “It’s Buffy.”
Walking out of the club, Buffy left a very perplexed Gunn behind her.
Chapter 7
- Denial
Buffy wandered around Sunnydale for over an hour. As she came to the end of
the docks, Buffy stared out at the black water. Memories rushed back to her
as she hugged her arms around her torso. There were still times when she
felt like a scared, lost little girl. There were times when she wished for
her mother to be here with her, much like she did that fateful night. The
night that was supposed to be her last on this earth. She had come to terms
with having to live forever. What she would never get used to was the idea
of seeing every person she cared about get old and die. Well, everyone
except Angel, who couldn’t stand the sight of her because of all the
memories of what he had done.
Buffy had already started to distance herself from her friends. It wasn’t
like it was a hard thing to do. Xander and Anya were now married with a
baby, living in Colorado, where Xander owned a construction company. Willow
and Tara were living in Chicago but seemed to change locations every two
years. Giles was back in England, and Dawnie was in New York. In the past
five years, Dawn and Giles were the only two she had seen. Buffy knew she
was being a bad friend, but she also knew everyone had their own lives now.
They weren’t as concerned with things that go bump in the night. They
still cared about it, but it wasn’t their lives anymore. It was for the
current Slayer to worry about, as unfair as that seemed. They had put in
their time, and for most of those involved, the time was a lot longer than
the average Slayer.
Buffy’s train of thought quickly went to Spike. She was attracted to him-
who wouldn’t be? She had seem him at the Bronze last night and was
discreetly sizing him up for the best way to approach him. Buffy had been
thrilled when he’d asked her to dance, but she knew nothing could come of
it. He was the Slayer. Buffy would be lying if she ignored the fact that
the almost-kiss made her tremble with excitement. He had a girlfriend, and
Buffy had to keep her distance. Not because she cared about the uptight
snob that Spike was dating, but because he would be one more person she
would have to say good-bye to.
Buffy was so lost in thought that she never heard the footsteps coming down the
dock.
“Thinking about anything interesting?”
Buffy immediately spun around, extending her leg for a powerful kick, and was
shocked when it was stopped. Looking up into Spike’s bright blue eyes,
Buffy glanced down at her leg, which was currently cradled by Spike’s arms.
“Impressive kick, pet, but I saw you lead into it,” Spike said with an
annoyingly cute smirk.
Buffy jerked her leg out of his grasp. “Nice reflexes.”
“Not too bad yourself, Slayer.”
“Slayer?” she asked, looking at him skeptically. “Won’t that get a little
confusing since there’s two of us?”
“Don’t think so. Besides, you’re cute when you get all flustered by
whatever pet name I call you,” he said, taking a step toward her.
“Actually,” he continued as he rested his hands on her hips. “You’re cute
all the time.”
Buffy felt her mouth go dry at the close proximity, unconsciously wetting
her lips as his descended toward her. Just as his lips gently caressed hers
in the softest kiss, Spike’s cell phone began ringing.
“Bloody hell!” he yelled as he jerked away from Buffy and pulled the phone
out of his pocket. “I am going to throw this soddin’ thing in the ocean.
What?!” he yelled into the mobile.
Buffy would have laughed if she hadn’t been busy kicking herself. She had
just told herself not to get involved, and here she was, nearly kissing him
in the moonlight. She turned to face the water as Spike turned off the
phone.
“Sorry about that, pet.”
“We can’t keep doing this, Spike.”
“Buffy, I know I have a girlfriend, but…”
“It’s not that,” she said, shaking her head as she turned around. “You just
met me. You’re the Slayer, and I know how difficult that can be, but I also
know what it’s like to get involved with someone you can never be with.”
“And I can never be with you? Why don’t you enlighten me on this new piece
of information?”
“Spike, I’m a vampire. Granted, not the most conventional of vampires, but
I still have an aversion to sunlight and drink blood for meals. You need a
sense of normalcy in your life, and I’m not it.”
“I’ll never have a normal life, luv.”
Buffy had to shake her head as the memories of a time so long ago came
rushing back to her. The memory of Angel breaking up with her, of him
telling her they could never be together, of him walking away after the
battle on graduation day. “Spike, trust me when I say it’s better if it
doesn’t even begin. There would be nothing but pain and heartache, and I
don’t want that for you.”
“You’re thinking about your ex-boy toy, aren’t you?” he asked
incredulously. “You think history would be repeating itself if you and I so
much as kissed each other?”
“What do you mean? H-how do you know about me and Angel? The only thing I
told you was the trigger for him losing his soul.”
“Yeah. I did a little reading when we parted ways last night. Seems your
Watcher kept quite a few records of you and Angelus.”
“It’s Angel,” she said through gritted teeth. “And you know, I am still
alive- I could have answered your questions. You didn’t have to go behind
my back and read up on me like I’m some type of research project.”
“But that’s the thing, isn’t it, Slayer?” Spike said, advancing on her
angrily. “You’re not alive.”
Buffy felt the weight of the words as he said them. She knew she wasn’t
alive, but she still felt like it. Everyday, she longed to get up and go out
into the sun. She wanted to be able to go shopping with her friends at the
mall or go to the beach and watch the sunset, but she couldn’t. She would
never be able to again.
The instant he said it, Spike felt remorseful. She had hurt him when she
said they could never be together, and he wanted to hurt her back. Now,
looking at the crestfallen look on her face, Spike reached a hand out to
her. “Buffy, luv, I’m-“
“Don’t,” Buffy said, holding up a hand. She shook her head as she began to
walk away, leaving Spike standing on the end of the dock. “Just don’t.”
Chapter 8
- Office Romance
Buffy didn’t leave her apartment for several nights. She and Dawn had sold
their house on Revello and put the money in a savings account. Dawn had
insisted Buffy keep the money, knowing she would need something to fall back
on. When Buffy had moved back to Sunnydale, she found a comfortable home in
Giles’ old complex.
Buffy knew she was being a coward by not going out and facing Spike, but
she couldn’t. She knew that no one knew she was back in town, and therefore,
didn’t know her address to get in touch with her. The only people that had
her phone number were Dawn and the old gang.
Buffy didn’t hold it against Spike for trying to hurt her. She knew she’d
hurt his feelings when she blew him off before anything started. She was
avoiding him because she didn’t want to get close. She was still angry that
he had read the Watcher Diaries, even though she would have told him
whatever he wanted to know. She also knew that she would have done the same
thing if she’d been in his position. Hell, she had done it when she wanted
to see the type of girls Angel used to like. Her mind was a mass of
contradictory statements, and Buffy felt as if she was being pulled in a
million directions. She thought about leaving town, sparing herself the
heartache before it had a chance to manifest.
For every situation Buffy thought of, she always came back to the fact that
she had told Spike, Wesley, and Gunn that she would be helping out with slaying.
Standing up from her spot on the couch, Buffy pulled on a thick
white turtleneck and her favorite pair of jeans. Substituting moisturizer
and lip gloss for her make-up, Buffy grabbed two stakes. Stashing one in
the side of her boot and another in the waistband of her jeans, she headed
out.
Just because she told Spike she would help him patrol didn’t mean she had
to be with him when she made the rounds. Buffy decided to make a quick pass
through the cemeteries and head home. At least she could feel useful, since
she hadn’t done anything productive in three days. Passing through the
first cemetery, Buffy came across a demon and made quick work of it, never
even breaking a sweat.
As Buffy passed through another cemetery, she could hear voices up ahead.
Slowing her pace, she waited silently as the two figures came into view.
Relaxing her stance when she saw Gunn and his girlfriend, Buffy started to
move in the opposite direction.
“Buffy! Hey, wait up!”
With a sigh, Buffy turned around to face the couple jogging toward her.
“Damn, girl. Where’ve you been? Spike’s been worried about you,” Gunn
said. “Oh, by the way, this is Fred. Fred, this is Buffy.”
“Hi! It’s nice to meet you,” the girl said with a bright smile.
“You, too,” Buffy responded with false cheerfulness.
“So, where’ve you been?” Gunn asked again.
“Oh…around,” Buffy said vaguely.
“Well, Spike’s here somewhere. Told us to go on ahead while he finished
off a new vamp.”
Buffy swallowed and nodded but stayed silent.
Gunn frowned a little, noticing the difference in her compared to the other
night. He had gotten the full story from Spike. Actually, he got it
without asking about her. This girl was all Spike could talk about the last
few days, which Gunn found refreshing compared to Cecily.
“You okay, Buff?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Just not really feeling like myself lately, that’s all.”
“Well, you should definitely wait for Spike,” Fred spoke up. “He thought
something had happened to you.”
“Yeah,” Buffy said quietly. “I’ve gotta finish my sweep, so…um…just tell
him I’ll see him later, okay?”
“Sure,” Gunn said skeptically as Buffy quickly walked away. He knew that
Spike had some kind of argument with the other Slayer, but he didn’t know
the details. He and Fred stayed where they were as they waited for Spike to
catch up to them. A few minutes later, they saw him rounding the corner of
a crypt.
“Hey, Spike! You just missed your girl,” Gunn called out to him.
“My girl?”
“Yeah,” Fred said. “Buffy just came by, said to tell you she’d see you
later.”
“Buffy was here?” Spike’s voice took on a slightly frantic edge. “Which way
did she go?”
Gunn and Fred didn’t say a word. They simply pointed in the right direction
and smiled as Spike took off in a full run.
* * * * *
Buffy was easily dispatching a group of three vampires when she felt Spike
approach. Connecting a high kick to one of the vamp’s, Buffy spun and
thrust her stake into the one advancing on her from behind. Never slowing
down, she turned as the dust settled and slammed the stake into another dead
heart. Hearing the fighting over her shoulder, she turned to see Spike
finishing off the third vampire and turning to face her as she tucked her
stake back in her waistband.
“Long time no see, luv,” he said nonchalantly.
“Just a few days.”
“Hiding from me?”
Buffy glared as she stared into his infuriatingly striking eyes. Spinning
on her heel, Buffy made her way out of the cemetery as she felt Spike
following.
“Oh, come on, Slayer, you can’t still be mad at me.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Not mad at you. Just ignoring you.”
“Buffy, don’t act like this. I thought we were getting along, before I
shoved my foot in my mouth.”
“That’s just it, Spike,” Buffy said, whirling around to face him. “We were
getting along a little too well. I’ve had two office romances. TWO, Spike,
and let me tell you, they never work out!”
“Buffy, you’re not even giving it a shot…and what do you mean two?”
“Didn’t do as much research as you thought. And why should I give it a shot?”
she asked, throwing her arms in the air. “You have a girlfriend, so why don’t
you run along and spend time with your
little princess?”
“You know what? Maybe I will, Slayer,” Spike said angrily. “Maybe I should
spend time with someone who has a beating heart!”
Buffy began shaking her head as a smile played on her lips. “Oh, I never
said she had a heart, Spike. But who am I to tell you who to date?”
Spike gritted his teeth and looked up into the cool night sky as Buffy
turned and walked away. “Bloody hell,” he muttered as he chased after her.
“Buffy, wait! Don’t do this, pet. I’m sorry, okay? I said it. I am
sorry. Come on, Slayer, I like patrolling with you. Don’t get all mad
because we both have quick tempers.”
Buffy turned to look at the man in front of her. Contemplating him for a
moment, she nodded. “Okay, we patrol…but, that’s it, buddy,” she said,
poking a finger into his chest.
Spike bit his lip and raised his eyebrows. “Don’t tell me. You’re the one
who can’t keep her hands off me,” he said with a smile, looking down at her
hand.
Buffy nearly growled as she threw her hands up in the air. “You are
infuriating, you know that?”
“That’s part of my charm, luv,” he replied, hopping up onto a headstone.
“If that’s your charm, I actually feel sorry for your girlfriend,” she said
with a smile.
“Hey!” Spike cried indignantly. “I resent that!”
“I didn’t ask,” Buffy said, raising an eyebrow at him.
“And she says I’m the infuriating one,” Spike muttered under his breath.
Buffy laughed as she heard it.
“Just for the record, Spike, I have excellent hearing,” she said as she
sauntered off.
Spike watched appreciatively as her hips swayed back and forth before
hopping down and setting off after her.
After a few minutes of walking in a comfortable silence, Buffy finally
spoke. “Seriously, Spike, what do you see in that woman?”
“Cecily? Well…we’ve been together for years. Ever since I moved here
actually.”
“Do you love her?” Buffy asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
“I love her…I don’t know if I’m in love with her.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well…if you have to question your love for somebody, doesn’t that mean
there’s something lacking? If you fantasize about spending time with
another woman, no matter what form that time is spent, rather than
fantasizing about your girlfriend, I think that creates a problem.”
Buffy ducked her head to hide the flush in her cheeks. Spike smiled as he
noticed the gesture. “She’s stuck with me. She knows I’m the Slayer, and she
accepts it, for the most part. Not a lot of people can handle this line of
work.”
“Yeah,” Buffy agreed quietly. “I know.”
“So what about you, pet?”
“What about me…what?”
“I got some of the story of what went on between you and the poofter-“
“Angel,” Buffy said with a smile.
“Right. Anyway, what happened there?”
Buffy stayed quiet for a minute, thinking about her response. “I loved him.
We…advanced our relationship, he turned evil, I killed him, he came back.”
“I got more details than that from reading up on it, pet,” Spike said with
a raised eyebrow. “What about after?”
”Not much to tell. We realized we couldn’t be together, and he left town.”
“Do you still love him?”
“Always…but I’m not in love with him anymore. He’s like a member of the
family. I care about him like I care about my sister.”
“You’d die for him.”
It was more of a statement than a question. Buffy knew he was thinking of
when she protected Dawn and sacrificed herself to save her.
“I nearly did,” she said softly as the events of her healing Angel flashed
through her mind. “I’d do it again, but then again, there isn’t a lot I
wouldn’t do these days.”
Spike looked at Buffy perplexed. “What’s that supposed to mean, Slayer?”
Buffy took a deep, unneeded breath, “It means that I would protect someone
I care about…no matter what the price.”
“You’re looking for a way out.”
“What?”
“You have a death wish.”
“I wouldn’t call it that,” Buffy said, beginning to get irritated.
“Then what would you bloody call it?” Spike’s voice began raising in volume.
“Why are you getting so mad at me? You don’t even know me!”
“I know enough, Buffy. I know you don’t want to be in this world-“
“No! That’s where you’re wrong, Spike. I don’t mind being in this world…I
just don’t want to be alone in this world. Because that’s what it comes
down to, Spike. I’ll always be alone. No matter what, no matter how many
people I save, inevitably someday, they’ll be gone. But not me,” she said,
shaking her head. “I’ll still be here.”
Spike felt a strange mix of anger and sadness flood through him. “So why
not end it?” he asked, the anger winning out.
Buffy’s eyes snapped up to his. “Because I may be a lot of things, but I’m
not a coward.”
Spike nodded, suddenly getting a new sense of respect for the woman in front
of him. “You’re anything but that, luv.”
Chapter 9
- Flirting
The next few days passed uneventfully. Buffy paid another visit to Wesley
and filled him in on the details he was wondering about. Buffy and Spike
patrolled at night, competing against each other to see who could stake the
most vamps. Buffy got to know Fred and Gunn a little bit better and was
delighted in how much Spike’s friends resembled the Scoobies. Gunn was
nothing like Xander, but he was fun to be around. Fred had a more quiet
demeanor and was remarkably like Willow when it came to studying.
Tonight, Buffy and Spike were patrolling, except it was more like they were
walking through the streets of Sunnydale and talking. Their friendly
staking competition was abandoned for the night as Buffy told him all about
her friends and Giles. Spike almost had tears running down his face at
Buffy’s description of the Wesley she had known.
“You mean to tell me that my Watcher was a ponce?” Spike asked between
laughs.
Buffy smiled. “If ponce means frightened, nervous, anxious guy, then yeah,
that was him.”
Spike tried to imagine the resilient man who had trained him as someone who
timidly hesitated to get into a fight. The Wesley he knew did not match up
to the clean shaven, perfectly-attired young man that Buffy had known.
“He wasn’t all bad,” Buffy continued. “I realized that much when he came
back and wanted to fight the Mayor with the rest of us. He could have gone
running back to England with his tail between his legs, but he stayed. He
knew what was right. I never told him, but that got my respect. I always
did feel kind of bad for thinking I got him fired. Of course, that wasn’t
enough to make me return to the Council.”
“Yeah, they definitely don’t like an opinionated Slayer.”
“You know Travers?”
“Met him a couple of times. He retired last year, and now it’s some new guy
named Nigel Grant.”
“Nigel? That name sounds familiar. Oh well, it’s about time Travers
retired. He’s pushing seventy. He was way too focused on the way the Council
used to work and didn’t pay enough attention to what was going on around
him.”
“Yeah, I gathered that much from the few conversations we had. It was
pretty much, ‘Be a good boy and do as you’re told’.”
“That sounds about right.”
The pair walked in silence for a few more minutes, coming to a stop in front
of the swing set in the park. Buffy turned around and sat down on one of
the swings as she looked up at Spike. “So what about you? Had any
apocalypses I should know about?”
“Just one. I don’t know if it’s up to apocalypse standards like you’re used
to. Just a bunch of vamps and demons using some magic to open up the
Hellmouth.”
“That’s never any fun,” Buffy said with a grimace on her face.
“They were easy enough to stop. Definitely no stories like the ones you
have. You’re pretty much a legend as far as Slayers go.”
Buffy laughed as she pushed off the ground to send her swing flying into the
air. Pumping her legs to get her higher, Buffy shook her head. “A legend,
huh? So that explains why you never heard of me.”
“I’d heard of you, pet,” Spike said, coming around to push her from behind.
“I just didn’t pay attention to details.”
“Sounds familiar,” Buffy said, thinking of all the lectures Giles gave her.
The two relaxed as Spike pushed Buffy at a relaxed pace. Coming to a stop a
few minutes later, Spike looked at his watch.
“I hate to cut out early, luv. I made a promise to see someone tonight.”
“Translation-your girlfriend is mad at you for spending so much time with
another woman and wants you to come over for some quality time.”
“That about sums it up, Slayer.”
“No big. I’ll make another pass, and then I’m on my way home.”
“Buffy, I don’t like you patrolling alone,” Spike said with an
overprotective edge to his voice.
“Spike, I’ve been doing this for longer than I can remember. I can take
care of myself.”
“Oh, so that’s how you died three times.”
“Hey!” Buffy cried indignantly. “To be fair, I did call the shots one of
those times.”
Spike grinned. “That’s true, pet.”
“Still standing, aren’t I?” Buffy grumbled, huffily crossing her arms over
her chest and pouting.
Spike swallowed hard, fighting against the pull his body felt toward the
woman in front of him. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms.
Fidgeting nervously, Spike shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather
duster. “I, uh, I better go.”
“Yeah,” Buffy said quietly. “You probably should. You don’t want to be met
with World War three when you get there.”
“No, definitely not. I’ll see you tomorrow, Summers.”
“Yeah…see you then.”
As Spike turned and walked away, he felt the tumultuous feelings building
inside of him. Every time he left Buffy, he felt like he was cheating on
her by being with another woman. Never mind that the other woman was his
girlfriend who he could hardly stand to be around anymore. With a soft
groan, Spike hung his head as he made his way through the streets of
Sunnydale. His life was a mess.
Chapter 10
- Conflicting Interests
As the weeks went by, Buffy and Spike settled into a comfortable slaying
relationship. The desire was still alive and well, but they had managed to
maintain it. Buffy knew Spike had feelings for her, and she did her best to
ignore the growing affection she had for him, but she knew it would only get
harder. She thought about going back to New York, telling him her sister
needed her and leave, but she knew he wouldn’t take what she said at face
value.
All kinds of scenarios fluttered through Buffy’s head as she stared up at
the ceiling of her apartment one night. Spike had informed Wesley and Buffy
that he needed a night off. Buffy had readily agreed but felt a little
saddened by the fact that this was the first night in over a month that she
hadn’t seen him. Buffy thought about patrolling anyway but decided that
she deserved a night out. She hadn’t gone out with the intention of having
a good time since Dawnie had dragged her clubbing in New York, and even then,
she’d just sat back and watched her sister have a good time.
“It can’t hurt to see if you’ve still got it, Buff,” she mumbled to herself
as she searched through her closet. Pulling out a black leather mini-skirt
and a red halter, Buffy smiled. So what if it was from her high school
days? She still looked pretty damn good. Quickly dressing and pulling on
her shoes, Buffy ran a brush through her hair and headed out the door, not
bothering to grab a coat since she couldn’t feel the cold anyway.
As Buffy walked into the Bronze a few minutes later, she smiled to herself
as several pair of eyes focused on her. Buffy surveyed the club for a few
minutes before heading out to the dance floor. She was immediately
enveloped in a group of frat boys as she danced. Smiling seductively, Buffy
swung her hips as she danced, enjoying the rush of feminine power she felt
as their eyes stayed riveted to her. As the song continued, one of the guys
got braver and stepped up to Buffy from behind, wrapping his arms around her
waist as he pulled her closer.
* * * * *
Spike entered the Bronze in an angry mood. After planning on spending the
evening with Cecily, he had left early when she kept going on and on about
how she should be the one patrolling with him and spending time with him and
not ‘that other girl.’ When her relentless nagging didn’t end after more
than an hour, Spike left her house with his temper flaring yelling at her that
it was over.
Of course, she hadn’t agreed with him, but
he really wasn’t concerned about what she thought.
Now, as he looked through the crowded club, he spotted a flash of blonde hair
on the dance floor, Spike looked closer and recognized Buffy. Looking
harder, Spike saw her wrapped tightly in the meaty paws of an overgrown
jock.
Stalking over to the dance floor, Spike made his way through the pack of men
until he came to stand in front of Buffy. Without saying a word, he grabbed
her wrist and proceeded to drag her out of the club. Buffy barely had a
chance to gain her footing as Spike dragged her. She knew she could get out
of his grip if she wanted to, but she also knew that it would probably end
in a physical fight if she tried, considering the rigid hold Spike had on
her.
As Buffy was dragged out of the club, Spike turned to face her. “What the
hell were you doing?!”
Buffy stared at him incredulously before getting angry herself. “What the
hell did it look like?! I was dancing!”
“Being molested is more like it!”
“And just who the hell do you think you are? My father? If I want to
dance, I’m allowed to. I don’t need your permission, Spike!” She
practically spit out his name as she walked past him, only to be grabbed by
the shoulders and shoved against the brick wall with a fuming Slayer in
front of her.
Buffy tightened her lips as she stared into Spike’s eyes. “So, what are you
gonna do, Spike? Hit me? Just because I danced with a guy, you feel the
need to go all caveman on the helpless little girl?” Buffy looked into his
burning eyes to gauge his reaction. “Well, I’ve got news for you, Spike. If
I didn’t want him touching me, he wouldn’t have been. So if you’re going
to start a fight with me, you may as well do it because I could have some
plans for the rest of the night.”
Spike tried to rein in his temper as she said it, but he couldn’t.
Imagining another man touching her in any way nearly drove him over the
edge. He lost all restraint whenever he thought about her and Angel being
intimate with each other, and that was over a decade ago. Not thinking
before he acted, Spike smashed his lips against hers in a brutal kiss.
Buffy almost felt like she was being attacked as his tongue explored her
mouth. His lips savagely attacked hers as each struggled for power over the
kiss. Spike’s arms went around her waist and pulled her closer to him as he
pushed closer to her.
Buffy felt a thrill rush through her as he ground the evidence of his
arousal against her. Her arms went up to wrap around his neck as the
vicious elements of the kiss began to be replaced with more tender caresses
of their lips. Pulling away after a few minutes, Buffy seemed to snap back
to her senses. Looking up into Spike’s eyes, she could still see the anger
in them and pushed against his chest. With one last look, she walked down
the alley, hearing the crack of something behind her. Buffy didn’t turn
around, knowing it was probably Spike hitting the wall.
Spike watched as Buffy walked away. Slamming his fist into the nearby wall
as she turned the corner, Spike clenched his jaw together. He stood there
for a few minutes thinking of what he wanted to do. His rage was telling
him to go find the guy who’d been groping the woman he wanted. His mind
told him to go patrolling and take out his aggression on the vampire
population. It was his desire that eventually won out.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered as he broke out into a jog to find Buffy. No
matter what happened with her, it was bound to be an interesting night.
Chapter 11-
Passion
Spike jogged through Sunnydale, trying to see which way Buffy had gone.
Cutting through a graveyard, he heard fighting on the other side of a crypt.
Coming around the corner, Spike watched appreciatively as the Slayer
battled another vampire. He felt his temper flare again as Buffy was pinned
underneath the larger vamp. Spike waited for a few seconds to see if she
would get the upper hand before whipping out his stake and plunging it into
her attackers back.
Buffy ignored the hand that she was offered and stood on her own. Wiping
the dust from her clothes and not saying a word to him, she turned and began
walking away.
“So that it, then? No thank you for saving your life?”
Buffy whirled around to face him. “You didn’t save my life. I’m dead,
remember? All you did was save me from getting another bite mark to add to
my collection,” she said, pointing to her neck. Spike noticed the pale scar
that resided there and felt even more anger grow in him. “Angelus,” he said
with venom in his voice.
“Not just him,” Buffy said, seemingly nonchalantly. “The Master, Angel,
Dracula, then Angelus. Yep, Angel’s demon decided to claim me after he bit
me. Oh, not because he wanted me. No, it was because the claiming bite is
more painful, and that’s what he’s all about.”
“So you belong to him?” Spike had almost reached boiling point during
Buffy’s tirade, nearly exploding when she stepped forward to look him
squarely in the eyes.
“I belong to no one.”
Turning away from him, Buffy began to walk away from him, only to let out a
soft cry when she felt her arm jerk back and her body slam into the side of
the mausoleum.
“You belong to me,” Spike ground out as he trailed kisses along the column
of her neck.
“What are you? A vamp now? Sorry, baby, but you can’t claim me,” Buffy
retorted in a slightly breathless voice.
Before she knew what was going on, Spike grabbed her butt and lifted her
higher against the wall. Buffy heard a zipper and felt the material of her
thong being ripped from her body.
“I’ll claim you,” Spike growled a second before thrusting into her wet
opening. Buffy gasped, her eyes widening at the invasion, stretching her
body in ways she hadn’t felt in years, before closing them and giving in to
the feel of his assault on her. Spike held her hips in place and slammed
into her again and again, excited by the fact that Buffy was taking all of
his strength and practically begging for more.
“God, you’re so wet, baby,” Spike moaned as he pumped in and out of her.
He held on with a bruising grip as he relentlessly pounded into her
welcoming body, wrapping his muscular arms around her waist as he pulled her
closer to him. Buffy twined her fingers through his hair as she threw her
head back, losing herself in the ecstasy of the moment.
Buffy tried to break his hold on her hips as she arched against him,
desperately needing to shove her body back against his, needing to feel the
friction of their movements together, but she was surprised at the amount of
strength he possessed. Craving more contact, she pushed against him as hard
as she could as he plunged back into her body. Pushing her feet against the
wall he had her pinned against, Buffy began rocking her hips as they landed
on the ground, Spike barely contemplating the change in positions as his
hands trailed over her body, slipping his fingertips underneath her shirt to
squeeze her soft breasts. Buffy moaned as he ran the pad of his thumb over
an aching nipple. Increasing her speed, Buffy longed for release as she sat
up straight, changing the angle of her body and gasping as she felt his hand
slip down to her most sensitive spot, putting the barest pressure against
it. She panted as she felt the first pulses of pleasure that coursed
through her.
“Oh, Spike! Don’t stop…please, don’t stop!”
Spike smiled as Buffy’s body hummed with her first orgasm. “No intention of
stopping, luv,” he said in a husky whisper.
He watched as the climax took her over. Knowing that he wouldn’t be far
behind, he took the opportunity to flip them over and pound into her again.
As his body sped up, thrusting in and out of her at a rapid pace, Buffy felt
another climax closing in on her and gasped at the sensations it caused.
Bucking wildly against him, she grabbed onto Spike’s back, trying to force
him deeper, feeling herself lose complete control.
Spike pulled her arms away and loosely held her wrists above her head. “Uh
uh, pet. I’m the one in charge,” he whispered, lavishing kisses along her
jaw.
Buffy felt pleasure begin to course through her from going against her
nature and being in a more submissive role. Spike relentlessly thrust into
her, slipping a hand to the swell of her butt and pulling her even closer to
him. Buffy felt her body peak in climax as she let out a throaty scream of
pleasure. Spike ground himself into her a few more times before he felt
the explosion of his own orgasm.
Collapsing on top of her, he listened as Buffy panted for some unneeded air
as he felt his strength slowly return to him. Pushing himself up to rest
on his elbows, he leaned down and gave Buffy a gentle kiss. This seemed to
surprise her, considering the amount of damage they were trying to do to
each other no more than a minute ago, before he broke away and rolled to her
side, zipping up his pants along the way.
Buffy lay there a moment longer before slowly getting up and straightening
her clothes.
“Where are you going, luv?”
“Home,” she said softly, not making eye contact with him.
Spike was on his feet in an instant. “Did this not mean a soddin’ thing to
you?”
“It did,” she whispered before turning watery eyes up to the man she was
rapidly falling for. “And that’s why it can’t happen again.”
“And why is that?” he asked, the anger returning to his voice.
“Because I can’t let myself fall in love with you.”
Spike watched as Buffy turned and walked away from him, a look of despair on
his face. His look immediately changed when she was out of sight. Turning
and heading home, Spike smiled to himself. “Too late.”
Chapter 12
- New Arrival
Spike had stayed away from Buffy for almost a week, knowing she’d want some time
to herself and also letting her feel a false sense of security that he
had given up on her. Now, as he knocked on her front door, he relished the
shocked look on her face.
“H-how did you find me?”
“A lot of research,” Spike replied with a smirk.
“Leave,” she said in a hardened voice.
“No,” he said, the smirk never leaving his face.
“Fine,” she said as she moved to shut the door. Spike quickly blocked her
move and entered the apartment.
“Nice place, luv,” he said, surveying the interior.
“I didn’t ask,” Buffy said. Spike looked at her, still standing next to the
open door with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Now, now, pet. Don’t be like that. You know you’re just a little thrilled
that I’m here,” he said, walking over and loosely taking hold of her hips.
“Spike, don’t,” she whispered, her resolve already crumbling.
“Can’t help it,” he murmured as he gently left kisses along her neck.
“Just being around you, I have to touch you.”
Buffy closed her eyes, relishing the feel of his lips on her skin, before
gently pushing him away. “Spike, we can’t do this.”
“And why’s that?”
Buffy strained to find a reason, visibly pleased with herself when she
thought of one. “You have a girlfriend.”
Spike lightly ran his tongue over his lips as he stared at her hungrily.
“Says who?”
“Wh-what?”
“You really think,” he began, wrapping his arms around her again. “That
after I’ve been with you, I would willingly go back to her? I told her a week
ago that it was over.”
Buffy looked down, noticing their bodies intimately pressed together. She
could have sworn she felt her heart flop for a moment.
“Spike,” she said softly. “I’m not saying it was a mistake. Because it
wasn’t,” she said urgently, looking up into his eyes. “But, I think we need
to slow it down.”
“What do you mean slow down? Buffy, we’ve already shagged- there’s no
reason to get shy on me now,” he said, getting angry.
Buffy carefully masked her feelings as she looked into his eyes. “So you
only want to be with me if I’ll keep screwing you, is that it?” she asked
calmly.
Spike clenched his teeth together, looking at the ceiling. “Bloody hell,
Slayer. I didn’t say that. Stop putting words in my mouth.”
Buffy disentangled herself from his grasp and moved toward the door. “Thanks
for stopping by.”
“Buffy, don’t be like this. Come on, luv, I just came over to see if you
wanted to go patrolling.”
Buffy contemplated him for a minute before nodding. “Okay. Let me get
changed.”
Spike nodded and waited by the door as Buffy disappeared into her bedroom.
When she reemerged, Spike felt his mouth go dry as she headed toward him.
She had changed into a pair of black leather pants and a snug-fitting
white shirt with a low V-neck. Spike had to look away before he was
affected in more ways than one.
“Ready?”
“Let’s go, luv.”
* * * * *
After more than an hour of patrolling, Buffy was ready to call it quits.
They had staked one vampire and hadn’t even spotted any others.
“Where are they tonight?” she grumbled.
Spike smiled at the childish note in her voice. “Honestly don’t know, pet.
I didn’t get the memo.”
Buffy glared at his smart-ass attitude and then turned when she heard a
noise. Spike noticed the change in her look and stopped to wait with her.
“This way,” Buffy mumbled.
“What’s wrong, luv?”
“Sounds like someone’s fighting, but you and I are both right here.”
Spike broke into a jog. “It could be Gunn. Sometimes he cuts through on his
way home from Fred’s.”
Buffy jogged with him until the people fighting came into view. Both
skidded to a stop at what they encountered. A woman in black dress pants
and a blood red top was currently kicking the crap out of a vampire. Buffy
and Spike stood with gaping mouths as she landed a high-spinning kick to the
vamp’s head before turning with a fluid motion and shoving a stake in his
heart.
Buffy gripped her stake as the woman turned to face them. Slipping out of
her game-face, she began to talk toward Buffy and Spike, both clutching their
weapons. Buffy gasped as she drew closer and was able to get a good
look at her. Her dark chestnut hair fell half-way down her back, and the
closer she got, Buffy could see the resemblance between herself and this
stranger. It appeared that the woman was just as shocked to see a woman who
could have been her twin standing in front of her. While Buffy’s eyes were
hazel, the woman’s were brown. Her lips weren’t quite as full, and she was
an inch or two taller, but the resemblance was remarkable.
“You must be Spike,” she said with a soft voice. “I’m Cassidy.”
Spike stared at her for a moment, obviously trying to get over the
resemblance. “And how do you know me, luv?”
“Everyone knows the Slayer, but I’m afraid I don’t know you,” she said,
turning to Buffy, who was looking at her skeptically.
“Apparently you need a history lesson then. I’m Buffy Summers.”
The shock was evident on the woman’s face as she stared at the other Slayer.
“But you’re dead.”
“Yep…and still kickin’.”
“But you’re not a vampire. I would have heard.”
Buffy let her fangs lengthen as her eyes turned a remarkable shade of
lavender. Spike stared at her in surprise, realizing he’d never seen her
version of a game-face. As she turned to look at him, he stared at her
eyes, shocked that they weren’t the typical amber color.
Buffy shrugged. “I don’t know why,” she said, answering his unasked
question before turning her attention back to the woman. “So…Cassidy, what
do you want?”
“I want to help.”
Buffy looked at her doubtfully. “You want to help? With what, making sure
the human population doesn’t get too high?”
“I want to fight,” she said, directing her attention at Spike. “I want to
help you.”
“Why’s that, luv?”
Buffy noticed the way Spike was staring at the woman and felt a twinge of
jealousy.
“I have a soul.”
Buffy’s head snapped around to stare at Cassidy. “You have a soul?” she
scoffed. “You do realize they don’t just stand in line and hand those out.”
“Give her a chance, luv,” Spike said, putting a restraining hand on her arm.
“A chance to what, Spike? Get you to feel all safe and comfortable and then
go in for the kill? Why bother giving her a chance? You didn’t give me
one.”
“I did, Slayer, it just took a little longer.” Turning his attention to
Cassidy, he continued, “How’d you get a soul?”
“I was cursed…I’m not sure by who.”
“Excuse us,” Buffy said with false sincerity as she grabbed Spike’s arm and
led him away. When they were safely out of hearing distance, Buffy let go
and spun around to face him. “Are you crazy? You must really have a death
wish!”
“Calm down, Buffy. Shouldn’t we give her the benefit of the doubt?”
“No! No benefit, only doubt! I don’t like this, Spike. Any vampire can
come up to you and tell you that they have a soul. It doesn’t mean they do,
and there’s no way to check for it.”
“Buffy, I can take care of myself, and if this chit wants to stake a few
vamps, then that’s fine by me.”
“Spike-“
“No, Buffy, I know what I’m doing.” Buffy watched as he turned and headed
back to the woman. The female part of her wanted to leave in a huff of not
being listened to, but the Slayer part nagged at her to follow this
untrustworthy vampire. Buffy didn’t like her, no matter what Spike’s
feeling was. Slowly trailing after him, she heard them laughing over
something Cassidy had said, and it almost made her feel sick.
Coming up to stand next to Spike, Buffy stood silently for a few seconds
before Spike turned to her. “We’re going to the Bronze, luv. You wanna tag
along?”
Buffy looked at him incredulously as he asked, and the female part of her
finally won. “No, I really don’t.”
Turning and walking through the cemetery, Spike noticed that she was walking
away from the direction of her apartment, but he shrugged it off. Putting a
hand on Cassidy’s back, he began to lead her to the Bronze.
Chapter 13
- Jealousy
Buffy wandered through town aimlessly for over an hour. She had held off on
shedding any tears, not wanting to start and not be able to stop. It hurt
that Spike didn’t trust her judgment, but it hurt even worse that he had
chosen that imposter over her.
Walking down Main Street a few minutes later, Buffy hugged her arms tightly
to her chest. She felt more alone now than she had when she first arrived
in Sunnydale.
“Hey!”
Buffy turned at the sound of the male voice and watched as a man jogged up
to her. She refrained from getting into fighting stance as he approached.
He didn’t look like a threat, and if he was, Buffy was sure she could take
care of him in less than a minute.
“I know you.”
Buffy looked at him, puzzled. “I don’t think so.”
“No, you’re sisters with a girl I knew. Dawn…Summers, I think.”
“You know Dawn?”
“Yeah, I graduated with her, and you’re her sister…Bunny?”
“Buffy,” she replied with a laugh. “And you are?”
“Oh, sorry, I’m RJ Brooks.”
“Star Sunnydale High quarterback,” Buffy said, nodding. “I remember you.”
“Yeah, you graduated a couple of years before me. I didn’t know if you’d
remember, but damn, you’re looking good!”
Buffy laughed at the compliment. “Thank you.”
“Well, listen, I was wondering if you’d want to go get a drink with me?”
“I-I don’t know. It’s getting pretty late, and-“
“Aw, come on. Just one little drink, and it’s right around the corner.”
Buffy sighed. “What the hell? I need to loosen up a little, I guess. Let’s
go.”
“Great!” RJ said as he led her to the Bronze.
Buffy paused for a moment before going in. What if Spike was still there?
Taking an unneeded breath, Buffy headed into the club. Who cares if he sees
her? He did bring another woman with him. He couldn’t dictate her life,
especially when he was drooling over her look-alike.
Buffy followed RJ through the club. The Bronze was crowded since it was the
weekend, which explained why the vampires weren’t out yet. They were all
waiting for people to go home. Buffy scanned the interior, not seeing Spike,
and let RJ lead her to a table. As he took off to get their drinks, Buffy
watched him go. He really wasn’t that bad to look at. He had that
wholesome, boy next door quality. Unfortunately, Buffy was finding herself
attracted to the bad boy look as of late. ‘What the hell,’ she thought.
‘It’s not like this would be a long-term relationship. You may as well have
some fun, Buffy.’
* * * * *
Spike stood with Cassidy on the balcony of the Bronze. He didn’t understand
why he felt so drawn to her, aside from her obvious resemblance to Buffy,
but he didn’t stop to analyze it either.
She had been shamelessly flirting with him all night, but Spike’s mind kept
getting drawn back to the hurt expression on Buffy’s face as she had walked
away from him tonight. He didn’t mean to hurt her feelings- he just wanted
her to relax a little bit, which was why he had suggested the Bronze.
Thinking that if they heard Cassidy’s side of the story, she’d be more
forthcoming with the benefit of the doubt. Instead, she had turned around
and gone the other way. Spike had seen the emotions dancing in her eyes
but chose to ignore it at the time. Now he was feeling guilty. Especially
as Cassidy plastered herself to his side.
There was no doubt he was attracted to her, but his thoughts always went
back to Buffy. Now as he stared over the railing of the balcony, listening
to Cassidy talk his ear off, he caught sight of Buffy.
Jealousy filled him as he watched a man hand her a drink and sit down next
to her.
‘She said she wasn’t coming,’ he thought angrily. ‘Then she shows up with
some ponce I’ve never even seen before and sits there, having a drink with
him?’
Spike watched for several more minutes as Buffy and the stranger flirted
before grabbing Cassidy’s hand and leading her down the stairs and to the
dance floor. Wrapping her securely in his arms as the slow music continued,
he felt her body drape around him in a seductive manner. Looking up, he
caught Buffy’s eye, and his gut twisted at the sorrow on her face. He
watched as she turned to the man and said something to him before getting
up and walking out of the Bronze with him practically tripping over himself.
“Cassidy, I think we better call it a night, luv.”
“But we just got here,” she purred.
“It’s been a while, and there’s some place I need to be.”
The girl in front of him pouted, and Spike was disturbed to realize that it
had nearly the same effect on him that Buffy’s did. Pulling away from her,
he gave her a nod. “I’ll see you soon, pet. I really need to go.”
Not giving her a second glance, Spike made his way to the exit. Quickly
walking to Main Street, Spike didn’t see her anywhere. He walked up and
down the street once, checking the alleys before he felt his stomach drop at
the thought of her taking the man back to her place. Breaking into a run,
Spike made his way to Buffy’s apartment.
* * * * *
Buffy unlocked her door before turning back to RJ. “Thanks for walking me
home, RJ, but it really wasn’t necessary.”
“Well, I always make sure that my dates arrive home okay.”
“Date?”
“Poor choice of words, sorry.”
“That’s okay,” Buffy said with a smile. “I’m sorry I had to cut the night
short. I’m just not feeling too well.”
“That’s okay. I’m glad I ran into you. Maybe I can run into you again
sometime?”
“Maybe,” she said with a coy smile. “I had fun, RJ.” Buffy leaned up and
kissed the taller man on his cheek before pulling away.
“I’ll see you, Buffy,” he said with an answering smile. Turning around, RJ
faced a very irritated man coming up behind him. Buffy noticed him at the
same time and gritted her teeth.
Spike looked right at Buffy, ignoring the other man. “We need to talk.”
“Buffy, will you be okay if I leave?”
Buffy plastered a smile on her face and looked at RJ. “I’ll be fine.
Nothing to worry about here. You go ahead.”
RJ nodded, not entirely convinced, but he flashed her a smile anyway before
heading down the steps to the patio as Buffy turned cold eyes on Spike. “We
have nothing to talk about.”
“Like hell,” Spike said, pushing past her and entering the apartment. Buffy
sighed and followed him in, slamming the door behind her.
“Why are you even here, Spike? I thought you’d be off with your new girl.”
“Bloody hell, Slayer, I invited you to come along!” Spike yelled.
“I’m really not looking to experience a ménage a trios, but thanks for
thinking of me,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and raising
an eyebrow at him.
Spike was across the room in less than a second, pinning her to the door as
he smashed his lips to hers. Buffy, infuriated, pushed him away. “What the
hell are you doing?”
Spike didn’t answer, just swung her up over his shoulder, carrying her to
the bedroom and throwing her down on the bed.
Buffy scrambled up the bed as Spike began shedding his clothes. “I asked you
a question.”
“Well, luv,” he began, unbuttoning his shirt. “Right now, I’m too pissed at
you to get a soddin’ thought in my head. So the way I see it, you have two
options. One-we beat the living hell out of each other, or two-I shag you
and get some of this aggression out. Either way, luv, you’re gonna get it.”
Buffy propped herself up on her knees. “How dare you! You think just
because I ‘shagged’ you once I’ll do it again? You really have a lot of-“
Her words were silenced as Spike grabbed each side of her face and planted a
gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling away, she glared daggers at him. “Don’t
think that’ll get you off the hook.”
“No…but this will,” he said with a smirk as he dropped his pants to the
floor.
Buffy raised an eyebrow. “Got a high opinion of yourself, don’t you?”
“Haven’t heard any complaining, luv,” he said, pulling her off the bed as he
slipped her leather pants and thong to the floor. Raising up, Spike grabbed
the hem of her shirt and dragged it over her head, pulling her bra off with
it. “Got any more quick retorts, pet?”
Buffy looked at him with loathing as he stepped forward. “Don’t think that
you’re forgiven.”
“Wouldn’t dream of thinkin’ it, pet.”
“What am I, your second choice tonight?”
“Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, you were practically being smothered by your new little admirer,
and now you’re here with me. Why?”
Spike shoved her down on the bed and climbed on top of her. “It means that
I want you. It means that I’m falling for you, and I have never wanted to
kill a human more than when I saw you and that pillock tonight.” Kissing
down the length of her throat, Spike continued. “I thought I was going to go
crazy when I imagined you coming home with him…doing what you’re doing to
me.”
“Mmmm,” Buffy moaned. “I’m not doing anything to you.”
“You have no idea what you do to men, baby. Not just me.”
Buffy arched her neck for more contact. “I wasn’t going to-“
“I know, luv. I just don’t like thinking of it.”
Buffy wrapped her legs around Spike’s waist as the tip of his shaft probed
at her entrance. Pushing into her in one smooth motion, Spike stayed still
for a minute as she adjusted, kissing her softly as her hands came up to
wrap around his shoulders.
“You’re mine, Buffy. You belong to me,” Spike ground out as he began
pumping in and out of her.
“I don’t belong to anyone,” Buffy countered, thrusting herself back up to
meet him.
Spike growled at her defiance, grabbing her hips to try and get some relief
from the anger and tension she was causing him.
“You’re beyond frustrating, do you know that?” he said as he reached in
between them to softly brush a finger over her most sensitive area, stopping
after a few seconds.
“Spike,” she gasped, feeling the loss of sensations and desperately craving
it.
“You’re mine, Buffy,” he repeated.
“No!” she said, looking at him in defiance before quickly flipping them.
Once she was on top, she rapidly rode him as his fingers held onto her hips,
bruising the skin that had only just healed from their last escapade in the
cemetery.
Buffy felt her climax nearing as Spike physically moved her up and down on
his hard erection. Grinding down onto him and moving her hips in a small
circle, Buffy screamed out her release as she saw stars dancing in front of
her eyes. Spike pumped into her a few more times before pulsing deep
inside her welcoming body.
As Buffy fell forward, Spike softly began stroking her back, enjoying the
fact that she wasn’t jumping up to kick him out of her home. Deciding if he
wanted to stay the night, he better adjust his attitude. Spike buried his
face in her hair as he wrapped his arms securely around her waist. “I’m
sorry, Buffy.”
Buffy raised up to look at him with watery eyes. “Me, too.”
Spike smiled and pulled her forward to kiss her gently before moving her to
lay next to him on the bed. Buffy snuggled up against his chest, enjoying
the warmth he provided, and closed her eyes. Feeling content for the first
time in years, both drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 14
- Betrayal
A few weeks went by unremarkably. Buffy had been in Sunnydale for almost
three months, and she and Spike had settled into a semi-comfortable
relationship, with Spike spending most of his nights over at Buffy’s place.
Cassidy had begun to patrol with them, and Buffy hated her even more than she
had before. Whenever Spike wasn’t looking, she always threw glares at Buffy
and tried to get physically closer to Spike.
When Buffy confided in Spike about her worries, he told her she was
overreacting and not to worry about the woman. Buffy had agreed but
secretly still kept an eye on the untrustworthy woman. She had gone to
Wesley and told him of the problems she was having with the woman, and Wes
had been kind enough to do a little research for her. He had come up with
very little, only finding out that she was over sixty years old and had
always flown under the radar.
As the group was patrolling one night, Buffy kept a careful eye on the
woman to her left. Buffy knew if it came down to it, she could take Cassidy
in a fight. All she was waiting for was the first punch to be thrown.
Suddenly, all three heads turned as they heard a scream coming from
their right. As they began running toward it, five vampires and a woman were
seen in the distance. As another scream sounded from a remote location of
the cemetery, Buffy glanced in that direction.
“You go,” Cassidy said. “Spike and I can handle this group.”
Buffy glared at the woman, but now was not the time to start a fight
over a petty situation. Buffy took off to where the other scream came from.
Running at full-speed, she saw a group of five vampires surrounding a
man who already had blood running down his neck. The man made eye contact as
Buffy got closer and silently pleaded with her to help in some way.
Buffy slowed her pace as she got closer. “Hey,” she said, twirling her
stake from hand to hand as the group turned their attention to her. “Didn’t
anyone ever tell you not to play with your food?”
Her question was answered by numerous growls as they all turned their
attention to her. “No?” she asked. “Oh well." Quickly pulling a stake
from under her black turtleneck, Buffy let it fly into the chest of the
nearest vampire as the rest charged her. Throwing numerous kicks and punches,
she managed to stake another, letting the number dwindle to three. After
several minutes of fending them off, Buffy felt herself begin to tire.
Seeing a lucky break, she plunged another stake into a vamp that wasn’t
paying close enough attention. As the two vamps remaining charged her,
Buffy felt a mild sense of panic as each one took an arm and threw her
into a tree, never letting go of her. Buffy felt a pop in her back but
ignored it, focusing on her predicament.
“Don’t take it personally.” Buffy shuddered as vamp number one
whispered in her ear. “I mean, I’d love to take out a Slayer anyway, but we’re
just doing what we have to do.”
Buffy struggled against their hold as both sets of fangs came toward her
neck. She knew she couldn’t be killed by being drained, but she really
didn’t feel like being incapacitated long enough for them to stake her.
Her Slayer alarms sounded in her head as they got too close before she was
suddenly released on one side. Taking advantage, Buffy threw a high
kick into the face of the attacker that held her and staked him before
turning to the other. She noticed then that he let her go because the man they
were about to kill must have hit him. Buffy grabbed the vamp as he was
preparing to sink his teeth into the man’s neck and threw him several paces
away.
“What do you mean, you’re doing what you have to do?” Buffy asked as
they circled each other.
“We were paid to take out the Slayer. That’s what we were doing.”
“The Slayer is a man.”
“No, you were the previous Slayer. The most powerful- you were the one
chosen.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard the terminology. Who sent you?”
“You think I’d tell you?”
Buffy threw her stake into his heart. “Didn’t hurt to ask.”
As the dust settled, Buffy turned to the man. “Thanks for the help.”
“It was the least I could do. I mean, you saved me from five of those
things.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a first for me, having the person preyed upon help.”
“How’d you do that?”
“It’s my job,” she said with a shrug.
“There were more,” he said, suddenly panicking. “My girlfriend and I
got separated, and some went after her.”
“She should be okay.”
At that moment, a young woman came running at the man and threw herself
into his arms.
“You should get home,” Buffy told them.
“Yeah…thank you,” he said as he led his girlfriend away.
Buffy let out a slow groan as she felt the pain in her lower back. Twisting it,
she managed to pop it and release some of the pressure, but the pain still
wrenched her back every time she moved.
Turning around, she saw Spike and Cassidy approaching, the woman
practically hanging off of Spike as they smiled at something. Feeling hatred
fill
her, Buffy moved forward, a slight limp in her step. As she approached
Cassidy, Buffy let her fist fly to land solidly on the other girl’s jaw.
“Buffy, what the bloody hell are you doing?” Spike asked as he helped
the injured vamp off the ground.
Buffy gave him a look before turning to face the woman. “You bitch,”
she spat out. “You set me up.”
“What are you talking about?” Cassidy asked with an innocent face.
“You set all this up! You had your little gang of vamps split up the
couple so you could send me to take on five at once!”
“Slayer, what are you going on about?”
Buffy glared at him as she looked pointedly to where he still held Cassidy’s
elbow. “What I’m going on about is your little friend here decided to set
up an ambush for me. I would be dead right now if that guy hadn’t
stepped in and helped me.”
“That’s kind of a stretch that Cassidy had anything to do with it, luv.”
“You don’t believe me?” she asked disbelievingly. “You think she’s
just Little Miss Innocent with a soul? She’s not,” she said, getting
angrier. “I am standing here today because for half my life, I have trusted my
instincts. And right now, they’re telling me not to trust her. Please, believe
me, Spike.” Her eyes looked into his, almost pleading with him.
“Buffy, I’d like to, but there’s no reason to suspect anything.”
“I think those vamps telling me someone paid them to take me out is a
pretty damn good reason to suspect something!”
“Buffy,” Cassidy spoke up. “I would never do anything to get you hurt.”
“Shut it, princess.”
“Buffy, you help Spike, and I would never put him in any danger.”
Buffy glared at the girl before turning her attention to Spike. “Do
you believe me or not?”
“Luv, I want to, but I can’t without-“
“That’s all I need to hear,” Buffy said, beginning to painfully walk
away.
“Buffy, wait, baby!”
“No,” she said, spinning around to face him. “You don’t believe me.
You obviously don’t trust my judgment, so why do you need me? You have my
doppelganger right there, whispering sweet nothings in your ear all the
time! I can’t be with someone who doesn’t have faith in me.” Buffy turned
and began walking away again.
“Buffy!”
“Oh, and for the record,” she said, turning to face him once more,
sarcasm lacing through her voice. “I’m the one with the potentially broken
back, and you have your arms around her! Don’t worry about me- thanks for the
concern, but I’ll be fine!” Buffy quickly walked away, trying her best to
ignore the agonizing pain in her back as she slipped a hand behind her
to offer herself some support.
Spike nearly chased after her as he felt pressure on his arm. Looking
down at Cassidy, she spoke, “You should let her cool off. Will you help me
home?” Softly batting her eyelashes, Spike looked at her and then to
the path Buffy had disappeared to.
“Yeah, pet. I can do that.”
* * * * *
Buffy made it home faster than she anticipated. She couldn’t believe
Spike didn’t trust her. Buffy called a cab, not wanting to walk anymore than
she had to. Quickly pulling a suitcase and a large shoulder bag from her
closet, Buffy filled them with as many belongings as she could.
Emptying most of her closet and dresser, she went into the bathroom and began
pulling toiletries out and throwing them into a small carrying case. Buffy
threw the case into her suitcase and packed a few more possessions, pausing
to look at the picture of herself with Willow and Xander, taken when they
were in high school. She finally let the tears flow as so many memories and
feelings came crashing down on top of her.
Packing the picture, she looked at another one that Fred had taken a
few weeks ago at the Bronze. Buffy was sitting in Spike’s lap, and they
were both looking into each other's eyes and laughing at something that Buffy
couldn’t even remember. Leaving the picture on the table by her bed,
Buffy hoisted the suitcase and bag off the mattress and headed for the door
as she heard the cab honk.
She knew it was the cowards way out, but she had to leave. She
couldn’t stick around and watch as Cassidy and Spike grew closer together.
Grabbing a black ski cap from the table at the door, Buffy tucked her long
blonde hair underneath it and headed outside, gently shutting the door behind
her.
* * * * *
Spike helped Cassidy to the small house she was renting on the other
side of town. Once she was through the door, Spike turned to find Buffy.
“Wait!” she cried from inside. “Don’t you want to stay for a while?”
Spike watched skeptically as Cassidy made her way back to his side,
putting her arms around his neck.
“I thought we could have some fun, Spike.” Her lips came closer to his,
pulling him down to meet her. Spike snapped out of it at the last
second, disentangling herself from her arms.
“I’m sorry, luv. I can’t do this. I can’t hurt Buffy this way.”
“She’s already mad, Spike. What difference does it make if she knows
or not?”
“The difference is that I would know, and I’m not going to do that to her,”
Spike said,
walking down the front steps.
“Spike, she doesn’t want you. Don’t you see that? She left you and I
together for a reason.”
“No, she didn’t. She’s hurt, and I’ve gotta go.”
Spike jogged through town, stopping at a grocery store that sold flower
arrangements to buy a half-dozen red roses in an apology.
Walking up to Buffy’s apartment, Spike knocked on the door and waited.
When there was no answer, he tried the knob and was surprised when it opened
without resistance. Slowly walking through the doorway, Spike laid the
flowers on the kitchen bar. Looking through the apartment, something
felt off.
“Buffy?”
He slowly made his way to her bedroom.
“Buffy? Answer me, baby.”
As soon as Spike opened the bedroom door, he felt sick. The room was
practically stripped. The closet door hung open, showing its few
remaining contents. Dresser drawers were left open haphazardly, and Spike saw
that the picture of Buffy and her friends was gone. Feeling slightly
lightheaded, Spike walked over to the nightstand and saw the picture of the two
of them, sitting crookedly on the surface. Suddenly gasping for air, Spike sat
on the bed. Buffy was gone.
Chapter 15
- Old Friends
Buffy left the bus station in Los Angeles and hailed a cab. Sunrise
was approaching, and she really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of
it. Giving the cab driver directions, Buffy stared out the window as the
buildings whizzed by. Paying the driver as he arrived at her destination,
Buffy gathered her luggage and made her way to the door of the hotel.
As Buffy passed through it, she noticed that the lobby was empty.
“Hello?”
Turning in a circle, Buffy set her luggage down on a nearby couch and
pulled the cap off her head, letting her hair spill out around her shoulders.
“Anyone here?”
Seeing a movement out of the corner of her eye, Buffy turned and
offered a sheepish smile to the confused man in front of her. “Angel.”
“Buffy…what’re you doing here?”
“I, uh, I kind of need a place to crash…for a while. Was hoping maybe
you could help me with that.”
“Of course. I’m sorry, I just haven’t seen you in so long and…is
something wrong?”
“It’s a long-“
“Buffy!”
Buffy turned to one of the staircases and saw Cordelia Chase rushing
down. “It’s been forever! How are you? What’s wrong?” she asked as she got
close enough to see her swollen eyes and give her a hug.
Buffy was taken aback by Cordy’s friendly demeanor. This was
definitely not the same girl she’d last seen prancing around, pretending to be
Angel’s secretary all those years ago. The years had aged her into a beautiful
woman, and she seemed to have more compassion than she had ever shown
Buffy in high school.
“It’s a long story.”
“Buffy needs a place to stay,” Angel spoke up.
“Well, of course you’re staying here. Angel, take her things up to a room.”
Buffy had to smile at the bossy demeanor- some things never change.
“Is something wrong with Angel?” she asked Cordy once Angel was out of
hearing distance.
“Oh, you know Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody. He always has to find
something that’s bothering him. You’re usually number one on the list of things
to brood about, so seeing you in the flesh after so long…” Cordelia trailed off.
“Me? Why me?”
“He killed you. Well, technically, anyway. And then he sired you, and
he’s scared that you hold it against him.”
“I don’t,” Buffy replied, shaking her head. “It wasn’t him…it was
Angelus. I’ve figured out the difference between the two.”
“Could you please tell him that? Because he’s been moaning about it for the
last decade.”
“As soon as I get a good opportunity. So, how are things between you two?”
“Great,” Cordy said as she broke out in a bright smile. “Having the
soul anchored is a major plus, and he tells me he loves me every chance he
gets. A girl never gets tired of hearing that.”
“Yeah,” Buffy said, looking down at the floor. “I know.”
“Oh, Buffy! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to practically rub it in your face
about me and Angel. It’s just been so long since you two were together,
and I just forget sometimes.”
“Cordy, it’s okay. I-I wasn’t thinking about Angel. There’s someone
else.”
“Well, that’s great, but…wait. If there’s someone else, why are you
here?”
“That’s what I was wondering,” Angel said, reemerging from upstairs.
“What’s going on, Buffy?”
Buffy took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before beginning.
“I went back to Sunnydale a few months ago. I-I thought it would be a
good idea to…help out the new Slayer. I met him, and we started patrolling
together. Wesley is his Watcher, by the way,” she said with a small
smile.
“Wesley!” Cordelia cried. “Oh my God, I haven’t thought about him in
years! How is he?”
“He’s good. Much more laid back than he used to be. He’s definitely a
much better Watcher now.”
“Anyway…” Angel prodded, trying to steer the girls away from the boy-talk.
Buffy and Cordy shared a small, knowing smile as she continued. “We
got really close after a while...really close,” she said, emphasizing it
the second time. “And another girl came along. Claims she’s a vampire
with a soul,” she said, sharing a knowing look with Angel.
“But that’s impossible,” Angel said in disbelief.
“That’s what I said. I asked Wes to do some research on her and came
up with a big zero, except for her age. She’s not a Slayer, and she claims
she was cursed…though we don’t know by who, and apparently, neither did
she.”
“Sounds a little out of the ordinary,” Angel said.
“My thoughts exactly. Earlier tonight, the three of us split up when
there were two vamp attacks in different areas. I got a group of five and
was barely holding on. That’s when the vamps said the strangest thing.
They said they were doing what they were paid to do, and that was to take out
the Slayer…me…not Spike.”
“Spike?” Cordelia asked.
“He’s the new Slayer.”
“Hottie?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh yeah.”
“Can we get back on topic please?” Angel interrupted.
“Sorry. So anyway, I stake the vamps and go and punch this Cassidy
chick, who, by the way, really deserved it since she can’t keep her hands off
Spike, but he gets all defensive and doesn’t believe me when I tell him
what I found out. So there I am, standing there in obvious physical pain,
and he just…he just…” she trailed off as her emotions caught up to her.
“Buffy,” Angel said softly. “I’m sure that he just didn’t know what
to believe. You’ve only known him a few months, and-“
“Angel,” Cordy cut him off as she wrapped an arm around the tearful Slayer.
“She loves him,” she said quietly.
“Oh,” he said with raised eyebrows.
“I just couldn’t stay,” she said in a strained whisper. “He was being
all protective with her, just because I hit her. And I was standing there
with broken bones, and he barely even looked at me.”
“You’re hurt?” they both asked simultaneously.
“I don’t know. My back still hurts, but that’s normal considering how recently
it happened.”
Both Cordelia and Angel turned her around. She felt Angel gently probing
her back. As Buffy hissed in pain when he got closer to her hips, Cordy
went to get a first aid kit.
“I think it’s fractured. Looks like you’ll be fine in a day or two with the
accelerated healing,
but it’ll probably swell later today.”
Cordelia reappeared with the kit and pulled out some cotton and
alcohol. “You’ve got a cut on your head.”
Buffy reached up to her forehead and felt the gash that resided there.
“Great,” she mumbled. “Just add to my night.”
“Let Cordy clean that up, and then I’ll show you to your room.”
“Thanks, Angel,” Buffy said with a soft smile. Wincing in pain as the
alcohol burned her skin, she exhaled as the butterfly strips were put
in place.
“All set,” Cordy said, cleaning up.
“Thanks, guys. And I promise not to be here very long. I just need to
figure out what to do next.”
“Buffy, you’re welcome here as long as you want,” Cordy said.
“Thanks,” she replied with a grateful smile as she followed Angel up
the stairs. Following him to a suite at the end of the hall, Buffy gasped
when he opened the door. “Angel, it’s beautiful,” she said, taking in the
room.
“Pretty much the only one that’s fit for staying in.”
“It’s perfect, thank you!” she said, turning and giving him a hug. She
felt Angel tense at their close proximity and pulled away to look up into
his eyes. “Angel…I want you to know…I don’t blame you for what happened.”
“For what happened?” he repeated.
“The whole happiness clause. It’s not like you let Angelus come out
and play,” she continued as she went to sit on the bed.
Angel followed her, sitting down beside her. “Buffy, I never meant-“
“I know,” she said, cutting him off. “I know it wasn’t you. You had no
control, and I’m really not mad. Besides…it’s not all bad being a
vampire. I mean, the whole drinking blood thing still kind of wigs me out, but
that’s life…or unlife, as the case may be.”
“Buffy, I tortured you-“
“Again, with the not being you that did it.”
“I…he raped you,” he said quietly, looking down at his hands.
“He did…but I’m strong. I healed, and I know that there’s no chance of
him doing it again. I forgive you, Angel. I figure I’m going to know you
for the rest of my unlife. I need you as my friend…not as a stranger.”
“I still love you, Buffy,” he said softly. Buffy stayed quiet as he
continued, “Not in the same way it used to be, but it’s there. I’m in
love with Cordy, but I do still love you.”
“I know…believe me, I know.”
“Do you think you did the right thing? Leaving town, I mean?”
Buffy looked into his eyes. “Did you do the right thing when you left me?”
“Different situation, Buffy.”
“Yeah. I don’t have an answer for you. I couldn’t stick around. He
was the only person keeping me there, and the thought of losing him to her…I
just thought it was better to be the first to let go.”
“You can stay here as long as you need to, Buffy. Whenever you feel up
to it, maybe you could help Cordy and me with some cases,” Angel said,
standing to leave the room. “And Buffy, if you love this guy, maybe he is worth
it.”
“Thank you,” she said with a grateful smile. “Good night, Angel.”
“Good night, Buffy.”
* * * * *
Spike stood outside Wesley’s house, banging on the door. When the
door opened to reveal a very irritated man, Spike didn’t even pay attention
to him. “Buffy’s gone, Wes.”
“What are you talking about, William?”
“Gone…packed up her stuff and left!”
“Left town?”
“Bloody hell! I don’t know!”
“Calm down and tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know, Wes,” Spike said, dropping down to sit on the couch.
“She got really paranoid about Cassidy planning an ambush on her and then
got mad at me for defending her and took off. But, you wanna know the real
kicker? I don’t know why I defended her. Every part of me wanted to chase
after Buffy, and I couldn’t. I physically couldn’t, Wes, and I didn’t even
realize something was wrong until about an hour ago. I need to know what’s
going on.”
“Oh dear, I was afraid of this.”
“What do you mean you were afraid of this?” Spike yelled, rising
angrily from his position.
“Will, Buffy’s been worried about how close you’ve been getting to Cassidy.
She doesn’t trust her, and she asked me to do some research on her.
”And?”
“Nothing came up. And believe me when I say nothing. She’s about
sixty years old, give or take a few years, and other than that, it’s as if she
doesn’t exist. I don’t think Cassidy is even her real name. I think she may be
using some type dark magic to get you to trust her...to build some type of
relationship with her.”
“Are you saying I’ve been under some kind of spell this whole time?”
“No. Not necessarily the whole time, just whenever you’re in close proximity with Cassidy. You still want to be with Buffy, don’t you?”
“You know I do,” Spike growled. “She’s gone, Wesley, and it’s all my fault, because I’m not strong enough to tell this chit to bugger off.”
“William, you wouldn’t have control over your actions. You need to be very careful. This kind of magic is what got the slayer, Kendra, killed. Although, the vampire that used it on her appears to be much more advanced than Cassidy, since you were obviously alone with her last night and you’re still alive.”
“She tried to get me to stay,” he mumbled softly, before turning his eyes to his watcher’s. “Last night, she tried to get me to stay longer, but I knew I had to get to Buffy.”
“She’s a novice. If it is a thrall, she can only hold on to it for short periods of time. It was probably fading at the time she asked you to stay.”
Spike collapsed on the couch again, his head falling into his hands as
he tried to keep control over his emotions. “I have to find Buffy, Wesley. She
thinks I willingly picked Cassidy over her. Bloody hell, I need some kind of
resistance to this magic, Wes,”
his muffled voice said. “Whatever mojo she’s worked on me, I defended the bint
for crying out loud,” his voice getting louder as he looked up with bloodshot
eyes.
“I think you already have a resistance.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re in love with Buffy. No matter what you might be saying out loud, you know that you’re in love with her and that helps protect you.”
“I can’t lose her.”
“William…she may already be lost,” Wesley said gently.
“She bloody well is not! Find her, Wesley!”
“Will, if she doesn’t want to be found-”
“I don’t soddin’ care what she wants. She has to know what really happened. I
need her Wesley…find her.”
Storming out of the house, Spike slammed the door behind him. He felt
lost without Buffy, and he had only been without her for a few hours.
Chapter 16
- Conversations
Buffy had been at the Hyperion for a week. Her back had healed nicely,
and now she was going out at night to help Angel and Cordelia. She knew
they appreciated the extra assistance that she gave, but she couldn’t help
feeling like a third wheel. She was currently debating the idea of staying
in L.A. and finding an apartment. She would still be able to help Angel and
Cordy when they needed her, but she could also give them a little more
privacy at the same time. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard
Angel’s footsteps walking down the hall.
“Buffy?” he asked, lightly knocking on the door.
“Yeah, Angel?”
“You have a phone call.”
Buffy froze for a minute. The only person who knew where she was was
Dawnie, and she was sworn to secrecy. “Who is it?”
“You should take this, Buffy,” Angel said as he walked away.
Buffy looked at the phone sitting on her nightstand and stared at the
flashing light for a minute before picking up. “Hello?”
“Buffy? Thank God!”
“Giles?”
“Yes, Buffy, it’s me. I just got a phone call from Wesley, who was very worried
about you. He said you’d disappeared about a week ago, and he was
trying to locate you.”
“Giles, you can’t tell him where I am.”
“Buffy, he’s very worried about you.”
”Tell him I’m safe, but Giles, you can’t tell him I’m here.”
“Is there something I should know?”
“It’s a long story, ends badly. Just please trust me on this.”
“Buffy, Wesley’s a smart man, much as I hate to admit it. He’ll figure
it out eventually.”
“Please?”
“Are you in trouble?”
“No. Not the kind you’re thinking of. I just need a little time to myself.”
“Alright, but please let me know where you are from now on.”
“I will…I’m sorry for scaring you, Giles.”
“It’s alright, just don’t let it happen again. I’ll talk to you soon, Buffy.”
“Bye, Giles.”
Buffy hung up the phone and bit her lip, not sure what to do now. She
couldn’t keep running away from her problems, but she wasn’t ready to
face them yet either. Deciding to wait it out a few days before she came
to any major decision, Buffy got up to begin her daily training session with
Angel.
Staring at the phone before she left the room, Buffy let out a deep
sigh. “What the hell,” she muttered. Picking up the phone, she dialed a
number she recalled from memory and listened to the ringing tone. When she
heard the voice on the other end, Buffy took a deep breath. “Wesley?”
“Buffy, is that you? We’ve been worried sick!”
“I’m sorry, Wes. I just wanted you to know I’m okay.” Buffy stopped
and listened as Wesley spoke softly to someone in the background before
she heard the receiver begin moving.
“Buffy?”
“Spike.”
“Luv, where are you?”
“That’s not important. Tell Wesley I’m okay.”
“Buffy, please don’t hang up! I miss you, baby.”
Buffy felt her throat close up as she talked to him. “Why don’t you
visit your new girl? She’s obviously more important than I am.”
“Buffy, don’t say that. She’s-“
Spike stopped as he heard the click of the phone. “Damn it!” Spike
yelled as he threw the phone against the wall.
“I expect you to pay for that,” Wesley said calmly, never looking up
from his inventory papers. “I take it she wouldn’t talk to you?”
“What gave it away?” Spike asked sarcastically.
“Perhaps it would be better if you were to have a face to face confrontation.”
“Well…that’s just splendid, Wesley. And how am I supposed to do that
when she won’t even tell me where the hell she is?” his voice going from
frighteningly calm to yelling.
“It might be plausible for you to check the caller ID.”
Spike froze for a moment before lunging for the small box sitting on
the desk.
“Los Angeles? What the bloody hell is she…Angelus,” he said, his voice
dripping with hatred. “Wesley, I need an address.”
“The Hyperion Hotel, leased by Cordelia Chase for the management of
Angel Investigations.”
Throughout the entire heated conversation, Wesley never once looked at
Spike, which he was beginning to find very annoying.
“And you know this how?”
“It’s my job to know. Angel fights on the good side. One of the few
that still does. It’s handy to know who your allies are and where they’re
located.” Finally looking up, Wesley made eye contact with Spike. “Are
you going or not?”
Wesley smiled as the young man practically flew out the door.
* * * * *
Buffy and Angel trained for over three hours, Angel letting her take
out a lot of her aggression from the conversation she’d had with Spike. It
had taken him nearly an hour to get that piece of information from her.
Now as she was taking out her frustration on a punching bag, Angel left the
training room and headed for the lobby to regroup and hopefully begin
to heal some painful bruises she had accidentally inflicted on him.
Angel turned when he heard the door open and encountered a man he’d
never seen before. A man that exuded power. “May I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m looking for someone, and I’m hoping she’s here.”
“Spike,” Angel practically growled. This man was the reason he was
going to be sore for the next twenty-four hours. He was also the reason a woman
he cared about was in pain.
Spike took in the man in front of him. Tall and broad-shouldered, he
felt his jaw tense as he took in the shirtless form and loose-fitting black
sweat pants. “Angelus.”
Before Angel could respond, both men turned at the sound of a door
shutting. Spike stared as Buffy walked out, dressed in a pair of tight black
cotton pants and a tiny white tank top.
“Angel, I’m sorry if was too hard on you in-“
Buffy froze as her eyes came to rest on Spike before turning and rushing out of
the lobby. Spike took off after her, catching her as she came to the end of a
long hallway.
“Luv, please wait.”
“Why?” she cried, whirling around to face him. “Why should I listen to
anything you have to say? You don’t want me, remember?”
“I never said that, Slayer,” Spike said, his temper rising. “I never thought it,
not for a moment.”
“Oh no…you didn’t have to. You don’t want to be with me, Spike. You
don’t trust me, and you don’t believe me, so why should I listen to anything
you have to say?
“I love you.” The admission was so quiet, Buffy thought she heard
wrong. “I’m sorry, luv. I do trust you. I believe you and I’ve missed you so
much this week, and I want you
back. Please, baby,” he whispered as he took a step closer to her.
“Spike, you don’t have confidence in me-“
“I never said that,” he replied fervently.
“You didn’t have to. You were too busy chasing after a new girl. Is this some
kind of pattern I should
know about? Get someone to be your girlfriend and then blow them off when the better specimen
comes along?”
“Buffy, I was under some kind of spell!” At Buffy’s skeptical look he
continued, “If you don’t believe me, call Wesley. He’s the one that realized
it. Cassidy’s got this mind-control that she’s been using on me. Whatever
she’s worked on me, I was incapable of doing what I wanted, which was going
after you. Buffy, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. Let’s find out who
this Cassidy really is and get rid of her.”
”She’s like Drusilla,” Buffy mumbled, before shaking her head to get back on
track. “It still doesn’t change us, Spike. You were ready to abandon me for
your precious Cassidy!”
“Buffy,” Spike said in a pleading voice. “That wasn’t me, pet. I was under a spell. This is me…I am the same person you first met…I’m the same man who fell in love with you and I promise, she will never do that to me again.”
“How do you know that?” she asked as his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Because I have you,” he whispered into her ear.
Buffy relished the feel of his arms, but
shook her head anyway. “It doesn’t matter. It still won’t work between us,
Spike.”
“How do you know that?” he asked, becoming exasperated, throwing his arms into
the air. “Because I’m
the Slayer? Because you’re a vampire? I love you, Buffy and I know you care
for me, so why don’t you tell be what it is, luv?”
“It’s both…we’re too different, and-“
“And we’re exactly the same,” he said, cutting her off. “The only
difference is our life expectancy, pet.”
“That’s not the only difference-“
“So kill me.”
Buffy gaped at him as he said it. “Wh-what are you talking about?” she
asked anxiously.
“Kill me.” He said it as if they were talking about the weather. “Turn
me…make me into a vampire.”
“You have NO idea what you’re saying. You’ve known me for a few months,
and you want to spend eternity with me?”
“That’s the idea.”
“You don’t even realize what you’re asking me to do.” Buffy spun around
and angrily began to walk away, only to be pulled back and pinned to the
wall by him.
“We could be together, Buffy. Forever. That’s what you want, isn’t it?
That’s what I want.”
“Spike, you can’t ask me this. It’s not fair.”
“Why? It’s better all around, luv. I die…another Slayer is called, and
we get to be together. It’s the best way.”
“You’re asking me to kill you! Can you even comprehend what that would
do to me? To watch your life slip away because of me?”
“Buffy, I wouldn’t be gone. My soul would be anchored. You’re proof
of that.”
“I refuse,” she said, shaking her head violently. “I couldn’t do it, even
if I wanted to, which I DON’T! I wouldn’t even know how. It’s not
like I’ve ever done that before, and call me crazy, but I wouldn’t want the
man I love to be the guinea pig for my first experiment.”
“You love me?”
“You know I do,” she whispered, looking up into his eyes.
Spike leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling
back to look at her. “This conversation isn’t over, luv.”
“It is for me. I can’t do it, Spike. Please don’t ask me again.”
Chapter 17
- Forever
Buffy sat in the lobby of the hotel in the pre-dawn hours, watching
through the windows as the sky began to lighten. Spike had let the subject
drop when they went up to her room, quickly falling asleep with his arms
wrapped tightly around her. Buffy had stayed awake, listening to the comforting
sounds of his breathing and heartbeat. She didn’t want to be the one to
take that away from him. He deserved to live a normal life, or at
least as normal as a Slayer could have.
After an hour, Buffy had gotten up to go sit in the lobby. Moving away
from the window, she went to sit on a couch, curling her legs up to her
chest and resting her chin on her knees. She felt lost. She also felt more
alone now. Knowing that Spike was willing to give up everything to be with
her, but she couldn’t take it, made the lifetimes she would have to live
after he was gone even more lonely and full of despair.
“Buffy?”
Buffy looked up with sad eyes and saw Angel standing in front of her.
“What’s wrong?”
Buffy shook her head and her chin went back to her knees.
“Is it Spike?”
“He wants me to turn him, Angel,” she said quietly, almost to herself.
Angel stood in shock for a few moments before sitting down next to Buffy.
“He told you, straight out?”
“Yeah,” her voice barely above a whisper.
“What did you say?”
“I told him I wouldn’t. I can’t kill him.”
Angel nodded. “Did he agree?”
“He dropped the subject, but I don’t think the conversation’s over.”
“That’s a big sacrifice, Buffy.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“I never said that. How do you feel about it? I mean, really feel?”
“I wanted to,” she whispered softly, looking tearfully at Angel. “I
want him. I don’t want to be alone forever…but that’s just me being
selfish.”
“That’s not selfish, Buffy. You love him, and I know how you feel. I
feel the same about Cordy, but your decision is more difficult because he
would keep his soul.” Angel paused to wrap a comforting arm around the small
girl. “And you won’t be alone. I’ll be here for you.”
Buffy managed a weak smile before hearing a noise and turning to look
up into the infuriated blue eyes of Spike. She stood and made her way
over to him, wrapping her arms around his lean waist and resting her head
against the strong muscles of his chest.
“What’re you doing up, baby?” she asked quietly.
Spike never took his eyes off of Angel as he spoke. “I was going to ask you the
same thing, luv. You weren’t in
bed. I got worried about you.”
“I’m fine. Let’s go back to bed.”
“You go on. I’ll be there in a minute.” Buffy looked worriedly into his
eyes. Spike silenced her fears by kissing her tenderly on the forehead. “Go on,
luv. I just need some water.”
Buffy nodded and made her way up the stairs. When she was out of
sight, Spike turned on Angel. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing,
Peaches.”
Angel’s gaze turned livid as he stared at the Slayer. “And what would
that be, boy?”
Spike took a few steps closer to him. “You have your fun now with the
new girl. In a few years when she’s gone, you'll turn back to your first
love because she’ll always be here.”
Angel clenched his jaw tightly as he looked at the young man. “Watch
your mouth, bleach boy. I love Cordelia, and I would never use her that way
just to go back to Buffy.”
“I have no doubt you love her, mate. But an eternity is a long time to
be alone. Might as well strengthen those bridges while they're around
instead of burning them, eh?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Angel said, pushing past
Spike.
“No?” Spike asked, turning to face him again. “So you’re not still in
love with Buffy?”
Angel turned and stared at him for a few moments. “I love her…but not
in the way you think.” Without another word, Angel walked out of the
lobby, leaving Spike to stand and reflect over what he’d said.
“Spike?”
Spike turned at the sound of the soft voice from the stairs. Seeing
Buffy standing there, he felt himself relax at the sight of her. “Yeah,
pet?”
“Is something wrong?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head and walking toward her. “Nothing’s
wrong. Let’s go to bed, luv.”
Buffy smiled as he guided her back to their room and shut the door.
Leaning back against it, Spike admired the woman in front of him as she
prepared for bed. Turning toward him, she smiled. “What?”
“You.”
“Me?”
Spike nodded, pushing away from the door. “Just watching you, pet.”
Wrapping his arms around her waist, Spike pulled her closer and buried
his face in her hair. "I missed you, baby.”
“I know…I missed you, too.”
“You didn’t have to leave,” he said, pulling back to look at her.
“I came back. I probably would have caught you if I hadn’t stopped to buy
those soddin’ flowers.”
Buffy’s face brightened. “You bought me flowers?”
“Like the bloody ponce that I am. I knew I had to do something to make
it up to you.”
“What kind?”
“What…oh, roses…I think.”
“You think?” she asked with a smile.
“I’ve been a little preoccupied with trying to find you, baby. I don’t
really remember what I bought for you a week ago.” Buffy pouted,
causing Spike to smile. “Now, pet, you know I can’t resist that lip.”
Buffy didn’t respond, just jutted her lip out even further, causing
Spike to lean down and press a gentle kiss to her lips. Buffy moaned as the
kiss slowly became more passionate, allowing Spike to lead her over to the
bed and slowly begin undressing her. Once her clothing was a pile on the
floor, Spike lovingly picked her up and placed her on the bed before shedding
his sweatpants and crawling on top of her.
Buffy was more than a little surprised by the tenderness of his actions.
Their lovemaking had always been raw and passionate- Spike had never
treated her to this mellow, slower pace that he was currently using as he
kissed his way down her body. Buffy suddenly became nervous as he began
lavishing kisses against her thigh, slowly trailing upward.
“Wh-what…what are you doing?”
Spike looked up into her eyes with a raised eyebrow. “Surely you know
what I’m doing, luv.”
Buffy nodded nervously. “It’s just…I’ve never…” Spike smiled in
understanding.
‘So,’ he thought. ‘The great poofter never did this, huh?’
“Relax, baby,” he whispered huskily. “You’ll love it.”
Before Buffy had a chance to react, she felt his tongue slide along her
opening and arched off the bed when the jolt of pleasure hit her body.
Spike smiled, enjoying the reaction he was rewarded before continuing
his ministrations.
Buffy felt his tongue softly trailing almost lazily over her sensitive
areas. Moaning as he nipped lightly at her most responsive flesh,
Buffy felt her fingers winding through his soft hair, urging him to continue
as a tingling sensation began in her stomach. She felt his tongue bathe
over her vulnerable bundle of nerves before latching on and sucking hard.
Buffy’s hands abandoned his hair as she grabbed the covers to each side
of her and arched into his face with a shuddering scream of climax. Spike
continued to hold her hips and draw out her maximum pleasure as Buffy
began squirming as the feeling became too much for her. Spike let her go to
crawl up her body and look down at her.
Buffy smiled up at him with lust-filled eyes as he kissed her deeply.
She moaned and felt her arousal grow even more when she tasted herself on
his tongue. Buffy gasped as she felt his hardened length probing at her
opening before slipping inside of her. Buffy arched into him again as
her fingernails dug into his shoulders. Spike met her lips in another
searing kiss as he began rocking slowly against her. He smiled as he felt
Buffy try and speed up the thrusts only to groan in frustration as he kept the
same pace.
“Just relax, baby. This is all for you,” he whispered as he looked
deep into her eyes. Spike continued to move his hips as their hands
entwined, relishing the feel of the woman beneath him as they fell into the
rhythm of their bodies moving as one.
Spike watched as Buffy’s body began to shake with another impending
climax he was causing. Speeding up, he plunged harder into her body,
watching as she involuntarily squeezed her eyes shut. Her body began
to quake as it shook with a powerful orgasm, gasping a second before her
inner muscles began clenching around Spike as he continued his thrusts.
“SPIKE!”
Spike felt his body trembling as her nails dragged along the length of
his back before spilling himself deep within her. Collapsing next to her
on the bed, Spike pulled her to him and kissed her lightly on the top of
her head.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered hoarsely.
“I love you, too.”
Spike watched as Buffy fell asleep a few minutes later before
whispering, “Forever.”
Chapter 18
- Surprises
The next night, Buffy dressed in a pair of white dress pants and a black
long sleeve V-neck shirt. Buffy and Spike would be leaving for Sunnydale
the next day, and Spike wanted to take her out for a night in L.A. before
they left. Buffy stared at the where her reflection was supposed to be and
let out a sigh. Brushing her hair and putting on some lip gloss, Buffy
headed out the door. When she saw Spike standing in the lobby, she had to
smile. He looked as nervous as a schoolboy, wiping the palms of his hands
against his black pants. Buffy looked at him hungrily, dressed in a black
dress shirt and his duster. He let the natural curl come out in his hair
and was currently pacing the length of the lobby. When he heard Buffy
approaching, Spike spun in a circle to look at her.
“You look beautiful, luv,” he said, walking toward her.
“Thanks, you don’t look half-bad yourself,” she replied, straightening
the collar of his shirt and smoothing her hands over the strong planes of
his chest. Spike wrapped his arms around her and felt the nervous jitters
leave him. This would technically be their first date since their dates in
Sunnydale usually consisted of them patrolling.
“Hey, guys! You ready?” Cordy asked as she and Angel walked into the
room.
Spike and Angel glowered at each other, still not thrilled with their
respective women for planning this night without consulting them.
Buffy playfully smacked Spike on the chest, getting him to focus his
attention away from Angel.
“Yeah, Cordy,” she said. “We’re ready.”
“Let’s go then,” Cordelia said. “You boys play nice now,” she said,
linking arms with Buffy and giggling like they were the best of friends, leaving
the men to walk behind them. Actually, they were hoping that the two could work
out some of their differences but didn’t want to tell either about it.
Both Angel and Spike trailed after the girls, shoving their hands in
their pockets as they followed. Walking to the restaurant, Angel shot a
glance in Spike’s direction. “I heard what you asked Buffy to do.”
Spike’s eyes snapped up to look at the larger man. “What of it?”
Angel shrugged. “It’s a big deal…shows that you really love her.
You’re willing to die for her, even if it wouldn’t technically be dying.”
“I’d die for her,” Spike said softly, staring at the woman in front of
him. “In a heartbeat.”
“You know she can’t do it.”
Spike sighed. “And what would that be, mate?”
“Turn you. She’s never even sunk her teeth into somebody, much less
turned anyone. She’s not capable of finding that fine line where the turning
is possible. She doesn’t have a demon in her to give her that instinct.”
Spike stayed quiet as they walked for a few more minutes. “And you?”
Angel turned to face the Slayer. “I have too much to pay for as it is.
One of which is walking about forty feet away,” he said, watching as the
girls turned a corner. “I don’t need to add to the body count.”
“But that’s just it, isn’t it? You already have a death toll, so what’s one
more? Especially since it’s for the greater good.”
“What do you mean?”
“I die and a new Slayer is activated. I come back, and that’s one more
person to fight the good fight. Better every way you look at it.”
“Maybe, but it’s not for me to decide.”
“Oh, come on, Angelus. I know you could do it, you could just…”
Both men stopped as they turned the corner, and Buffy and Cordelia were
nowhere to be seen.
“Something’s not right,” Spike muttered as they slowly advanced on a
darkened alley. Neither man heard any fighting, but both were cautious
anyway. Slowly turning a corner, Angel shifted into game-face to see
better. Both men ran to the back of the alley as they saw Buffy and
Cordy surrounded by a pack of vampires, managing to fight their way through
to get to each other. Everyone went into fighting stance as over a dozen
vampires dropped from the top of the building to surround all of them.
Angel and Spike both gripped their stakes harder as Buffy and Cordy
reached for theirs.
They watched as the mob parted, and Buffy clenched her teeth as the
woman walked toward them, ten more vampires behind her.
“Cassidy,” Buffy growled low in her throat.
“You know, Spike,” Cassidy said. “It wasn’t very nice to leave town and
not tell your slaying partner.”
Spike narrowed his eyes. “My slaying partner is the reason I left
town.”
Cassidy leveled her gaze on Buffy. “Ah yes, Miss Summers. You were a
surprise. You know, it is hard to get this guy alone, and then when I’m
finally able to, all he talks about is you. The original plan would have been
much easier if you had died when you were supposed to. Well, at
least one of the times you were supposed to.”
“So this is the plan, Cass?” Buffy asked. “Same thing as the
cemetery, only you add more vamps to your ambush?”
“Cliché as it is, yes. You know, all I wanted to do was get to the
Slayer. You just had to get in the way, and then when you finally do leave
town, he runs off after you like a lost little puppy.” Spike glared as Cassidy
continued, “I’ve been waiting to get you alone, and since you obviously
can’t go anywhere without these two,” she gestured to Angel and Cordy.
“I have to do this with them present. Which isn’t so bad really. Take
out the Slayer and the two vampires with souls…not a bad deal if you think
about it.”
“Who put you up to it?”
“Nobody put me up to it. This is my revenge on that horrible Watcher's
Council for holding me prisoner for the last few decades. Oh, I heard
plenty about the legendary Angel, how he was cursed with a soul and now helps
the hopeless. Sounded like a good story, so when that dreadful Quentin
Travers retired and was replaced with that bumbling idiot Nigel, I was able to
put my escape plan into action. I figured, what better way to take out my
revenge than to kill the Slayer?”
“Why now?” Spike spoke up, subtly closing in on his companions, feeling
Buffy’s tensed shoulder on his arm and Cordy’s back against his. Angel had the
opposite position with his back to Buffy, each rigid and ready to
spring at the same time.
“Why now? Well, I’m not stupid enough to believe I could bring down a
Slayer on my own. I would have rather done it in more intimate
circumstances, but you weren’t as responsive to that as I’d hoped, so
Plan B went into action,” Cassidy said, waving a hand in indication of her
gang.
“You know,” Buffy said. “I’m getting really sick of you.” As the
words barely left her lips, Buffy attacked. Three vampires blocked her way
to Cassidy, but Buffy began fighting them off. She could hear the others
behind her and quickly staked two of the vampires in her way.
‘Where’s a sword when I need one?’ she thought as she pulled another
stake from her shoe and let it fly into one of the vamps that was trying to
sneak up on Cordelia. Buffy knew they were gaining a slight advantage, but
as she staked another one, she could feel her strength slowly fading. She and
Angel were taking the impact of the full attack, both trying to protect
the more vulnerable humans behind them.
Buffy lost track of Cassidy and turned to look for her, realizing her
mistake a second too late as she felt her head crack into the brick
wall of the building next to her. Seeing stars, she tried to shake off her
disorientation and felt her arms seized in strong hands on each side
and groaned in frustration as she struggled to get free. Pausing when she
realized the vampires holding her captive weren’t trying to hurt her,
she got confused. Still struggling, she looked and saw Angel being cornered.
Cordy was holding her own against the two that were attacking her, and Spike
was fending off four at the same time.
Buffy did a quick count and saw eleven vampires but no Cassidy. A
scream ripped from her throat as she saw Spike collapse on the ground after a
rough kick to his head. Buffy watched as he shakily made it back to his feet,
only to be grabbed in a similar hold as Buffy.
“That’s more like it,” Cassidy said, coming out of the shadows. “Watch
closely, Slayer,” she said to Buffy, seconds before sinking her fangs
into Spike’s jugular.
Buffy screamed as she saw Spike’s jaw tighten in pain before appearing
to relax. Buffy renewed her struggle as he was dropped to the ground,
blood pooling out of the gaping wound in his neck. Suddenly, the vamp next
to her exploded in ashes. Buffy’s head snapped around to see Cordelia before
spinning and flipping the other vampire still holding her. As she ran
to Spike’s side, she saw Cordelia dusting the vamp as Angel worked on the
four that had been holding Spike.
Buffy fell to his side with tears in her eyes as she cradled his head
in her lap. “I’m here, baby. You’re going to be okay,” she whispered as she
traced the sharp contours of his cheekbones. Buffy leaned over and let
the tears fall as his eyes slowly closed. Buffy’s body shook with sobs at
the pain in her heart. She could hear the soft thumping of his heart as it
strained to keep beating, getting slower every second.
“Buffy, now!”
Buffy raised her watery eyes to look at Angel in confusion as he
battled the few remaining vampires.
“NOW, Buffy!”
Comprehension dawned on her features as she realized what he was
saying. Quickly lengthening her fangs, Buffy sliced open the delicate skin of
her wrist, watching for a second as the blood poured from the gash before
pressing it to Spike’s lips. Waiting for a few seconds, Buffy felt the
tears fall again as nothing happened before she felt a light suction
against her wrist. Holding it closer to his mouth, Buffy watched as he
drank from the wound before his jaw relaxed.
Buffy looked up into the anxious eyes of Cordelia and Angel as they
watched tensely. Meeting Angel’s gaze, Buffy felt her chin quiver as she
opened her mouth. “D-did…did it w-work?”
Angel nodded. “He should be fine, Buffy. This time tomorrow, he’ll be fine.”
“You’re sure?”
Angel nodded again. “You did everything right.”
Buffy sniffled as she looked at Spike’s peaceful face. “But did I do
the right thing?” she asked quietly, almost to herself. Angel heard the
soft question and understood the turmoil she was in, but stayed quiet.
Cordelia bent down to sympathetically rub Buffy’s back. “We should get
him back to the hotel, Buffy.”
Buffy nodded and released her hold on Spike as Angel walked over and
picked him up. Cordelia slipped an arm under Buffy’s shoulders and helped her
to her feet.
“Cassidy?” Buffy asked.
Cordy shook her head, “She got away, Buffy. I’m sorry.”
Buffy nodded. “Don’t be. I’ll find her.”
Chapter 19
- Nervous
Buffy was on pins and needles for the next twenty-four hours. She had
refrained from calling Wesley or Spike’s friends because she was terrified.
She was scared that he wouldn’t wake up, but she was also scared that he
would. Angel told her it was ridiculous to be worried, that he wouldn’t be
mad at her for doing what she felt should be done, but Buffy was still
anxious. She had been pacing the room for hours. The time that Spike
should have woken up had come and gone, and Buffy chewed on her thumbnail as she
stared out the window, into the night.
“Buffy?”
Buffy spun around to face the bed at the sound of the weak voice. “Spike?”
Rushing over to the bed, she practically threw herself at him. “Oh God, I
was so worried,” she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Spike pulled her away to look into her eyes. Noticing how puffy and red
they were, he became worried. Tilting his head to the side, one hand
stretched up and tenderly traced the dark shadows that tinted the delicate
skin under her eyes. “What happened, luv?”
Buffy sniffled as she looked at him. Spike stared at her, realizing she
looked about fifteen years old with the fresh tears flowing. “You’re
okay,” she whispered, gently touching him to make sure he wasn’t a figment
of her imagination.
“I’m okay, pet. What happened?”
He watched as Buffy got a panicked look on her face and jumped off the bed
to begin pacing the room again. Spike groggily sat up and swung his legs
over the edge, trying to stand. He soon found that he was too weak.
“I thought I lost you,” she whispered as she stared out the window. “You
were gone and…and it was all my fault. I should have been quicker, I should
have warned you to get out of there…but I didn’t.”
“Buffy, pet, what are you going on about?”
Buffy turned to face him, distress evident all over her features. “I did
what I had to do…what I thought I had to do, anyway.” Buffy paused,
contemplating her next words. “I turned you, Spike.”
Spike stared at her in shock for a full minute while Buffy nervously
fidgeted under his gaze. Misinterpreting Spike’s look, she began pacing
again. “I’m sorry,” she cried as the tears started all over again before
the babbling began. “I shouldn’t have done it! I-I just didn’t have time
to think, and now you probably hate me, and I think maybe you should. I
didn’t know what else to do, and the only thing I thought of was the fact
that I couldn’t lose you, not yet, not like that. But I know you won’t
want to be near me any-“
Buffy was cut off by the weakened Slayer, summoning all his energy to smash
his lips against hers. Pulling away, Spike looked deep into Buffy’s eyes.
“Luv, do us a favor and shut up, okay?” Buffy saw the smile playing on his
lips and began to relax a little.
“I didn’t know what else to do, Spike.”
“I know,” he said as he sat down in a nearby chair. “I’m happy you did it,
Buffy. I just need a few minutes before I get used to it.”
“Blood!” she practically yelled.
“What, luv?”
“Blood. You need blood to get your energy back. I’ll be right back.”
Spike smiled as Buffy nearly flew from the room as he leaned back in the
chair, shutting his eyes.
‘Well,’ he thought. ‘You got your wish, mate. Now you have to pull it
together before she gets back or she’ll think she did something wrong.’
Taking a few deep, unneeded breaths to calm down his jumbled emotions, he
looked up to see Buffy entering the room with a mug in her hands.
“It might seem a little strange at first, but you get used to it.”
Spike watched Buffy pace the room again as he drained the contents of the
mug. It really wasn’t that bad. Sitting it on a nearby table, he already
felt a little stronger. At least he wasn’t dizzy and disoriented anymore.
Standing up, he made his way over to Buffy while her back was to him.
Slowly wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his head on her shoulder
as they stared out the window in silence.
“Do you hate me?” she asked quietly.
Spike wasn’t surprised by the question, but he still wasn’t happy that she
could think he would hate her.
“No, baby,” he said soothingly. “I get to be with you forever. I could
never hate you.”
Buffy felt relief wash over her at his softly spoken words.
“Was it Cassidy?” he asked.
“You don’t remember?”
“I remember feeling like a two by four crashed into my skull. After that,
everything’s a little bit hazy.”
“Yeah…it was her. I tried to get to you, but I was too weak to get away.
Cordy managed to help me while Angel held off the rest, and Cassidy was
already gone by the time I got to you.”
“So we find her,” Spike said as he burrowed more into her shoulder.
“That’s the plan. Angel and Cordy are planning to come to Sunnydale with us
for a few days. I doubt Cassidy’s the type to just walk away. Knowing that
she left at least three of us standing has to be bugging her.”
Spike nodded. “Strength in numbers then. Did you call Wes?”
Buffy stayed quiet for a minute before swallowing hard. “No, um, I
couldn’t…I didn’t know what to tell him…I wasn’t sure it had worked.”
“You thought I died,” Spike commented casually as Buffy snapped around to
look at him.
“Don’t sound so disappointed that you’re standing here, Spike!”
“Buffy, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just saying what I knew you were
trying to say.”
Buffy visibly calmed at the admission but still felt guilty. Spike gently
tilted her chin up to look into his eyes. “Do you love me?”
Buffy looked at him incredulously. “How can you ask me that? Of course I
love you. I’ve never loved anyone more, Spike.”
“Just wanted to hear you say it, pet,” he said with a smile as his lips
descended to hers, brushing against them softly. “I love you, too,” he
whispered before deepening the kiss. Buffy wrapped her arms around Spike’s
neck, relaxing for the first time in hours. She felt the tension leave her
body as he proceeded to reassure her with his gently probing kisses that she
had done the right thing.
* * * * *
A few hours later, Buffy and Spike left the room and made
their way down to
the lobby of the hotel. Angel and Cordy sat behind the reception area, going
through files as they came into view.
“So, he’s up,” Cordy said with a smile. “How are you feeling, Spike?”
“Like my blood was drained and I was hit by a truck.”
“That about sums it up,” Angel said, never looking up.
“What are you two working on?” Buffy asked, walking over and hopping up on
the counter as they worked.
“I called Giles and told him what happened,” Angel said. “He was able to
get some older files about Cassidy from some contacts at the Watcher's
Council.”
“Anything useful?” Spike asked, leaning next to Buffy.
“Not really. She was captured about forty years ago and kept in a
controlled area for experimental purposes.”
“Like what?” Buffy asked.
“Testing her strengths,” Cordy said. “Her reflexes. Up until about twenty
years ago, she was used to train all the potential Slayers. They would have
crossbows trained on her as she was fighting the potentials.”
“Explains why she has such a hatred for Slayers,” Spike replied.
“More like the Council,” Buffy mumbled, picking up a file.
“You don’t think she’d go back to England, do you?” Angel asked her.
“Not yet. I think that she considers us to be unfinished business. She’s
probably somewhere regrouping before she comes after us again.”
“Yeah, she didn’t seem to be much for the fighting,” Cordy commented.
“Nope, she likes to sit by and watch everyone else do the work. It’s more fun
if she can work her mind control and get what she wants,” Buffy said.
“So we catch up to her before she can find some more lackeys to do the
work for her.”
“And how do you propose we do that, luv?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Bait,” Buffy said, looking him right in the eye.
“I know you’re not talking about yourself!” Spike exclaimed.
“Who else? She hates me, she knows I’m still standing, and she wants me to
suffer. I don’t see many other options, do you?”
“Buffy, I’m not risking you getting staked because some psycho Council
experiment has it in her head to come after you!”
“You really don’t have a choice, Spike.”
“I bloody well do!”
“Buffy’s right,” Angel spoke up, watching the pair argue. “Cassidy will
want to come after her, and chances are she’s got some reserve vampires
waiting in the wings to take her out. All we have to do is build our own
reserves.”
“Like who, Angel?” Cordy asked.
“We could find the new Slayer.”
“That could take weeks,” Spike said.
“No…I’ve got it!” Buffy said excitedly. “Spike, call Wesley, explain
everything that’s going on…but don’t be dramatic about it. We don’t want
to give him a heart attack. Tell him to call Gunn and Fred and give them a
vague description of what’s going on. We’ll get back to them later,” she
said as she jogged up the stairs. “You three work out some of the details-
I’ll be back down in an hour.”
The three remaining looked at each other before each giving a shrug and
returning to their work. With a heavy sigh, Spike picked up the phone and
dialed his Watcher’s number.
Chapter 20
- Plan B
The next day, the four met in the lobby again. Spike’s conversation with
Wesley had gone better than expected. He was obviously shocked that his
Slayer was now a vampire, but surprisingly, he was happy with Buffy’s
decision to turn him. Spike had been shocked at the relief in his voice,
but he shook it off.
“So when are we leaving for Sunnydale?” Angel asked as he gathered some
weapons together.
“Whenever we find out if Cassidy is there.”
“Hate to break it to you, pet, but if she is there, she’s not going to walk
up to Gunn and Fred and announce her presence,” Spike replied. “How exactly
are you planning on finding her?”
“I’d have to say whenever I pinpoint her location.”
All four turned at the voice in the doorway before Buffy let out a squeal
and went running for the woman standing there. “Willow!”
The women hugged for several minutes while the others watched. Buffy was
the first to pull away. “You made it! I wasn’t sure when I left that
message yesterday if you got it, but here you are, and you look great, by the
way.”
Willow smiled at the friend she hadn’t seen in years. “Of course I made it,
Buff. Nobody messes with my best friend and gets away with it.”
The two women walked toward the group where Willow and Cordy shared a
friendly hug. “How’ve you been, Cordy?”
“Oh, you know, run a business, slay some demons…the usual. You?”
Willow laughed. “Not nearly as busy, but I’m good.”
“Where’s Tara?” Buffy asked.
“She couldn’t make it, but she sends her love,” Willow said before turning
to Angel. “Angel, it’s been forever.”
“Yeah…over ten years. I’m glad you’ve been doing okay.”
“You, too,” she said with a friendly smile before turning and facing the last
man in the group. “And you must be the newest Slayer/vampire to our group.
I’m Willow.”
“Nice to meet you, Red. Buffy’s told me a lot about you.”
“Really? I was beginning to think she had forgotten about me,” Willow said,
shooting a look at her friend. Buffy looked down sheepishly as Willow
stared at her.
“So, you’re going to help locate our troublesome vamp?” Angel asked.
“Yep. Normally I need something of hers for the locator spell, but we’ll
just have to make do. It may take a little longer, but we’ll find her,”
she said as she began pulling objects out of her bag to begin the spell.
After several minutes of chanting, Willow stared at the map in front of her
as a bright light began shining on it. “Yep, she’s in Sunnydale…and it
looks like she’s not alone.”
“How can you tell?” Spike asked, looking over her shoulder at the light.
“It’s a lot brighter than it’s supposed to be. It’s also a little bit
bigger, indicating she’s planning something or assembling something.”
“Great,” Spike muttered. “So it’s back to Sunnyhell then. Bloody
priceless.”
“I thought you wanted to go back?” Buffy asked.
“Not if Miss High and Mighty is assembling the troops, waiting for a
massacre.”
“Yeah, but you’re forgetting something,” Buffy said. “We have a secret
weapon.”
“And what’s that, luv?”
“You,” she said casually.
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Me?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Angel agreed. “Cassidy took off before she saw that
you were turned. She’ll never be expecting you.”
“Yep,” Buffy said proudly before turning to Willow. “What about you, Will?
You heading home now?”
“What? And miss my friend kick some serious butt? Not likely, missy.”
Buffy smiled. “Great! Let’s head out, then.”
After the bags and weapons were loaded into Angel’s convertible, Buffy
snuggled into Spike’s side. They were sharing the backseat with Willow and some
crossbows. Spike eagerly put his arm around Buffy and pulled her
closer, kissing her temple. “I don’t know if I like this, luv,” Spike
whispered as Angel started the car.
“Don’t like what?”
“I don’t want to risk losing you.”
“You’re not going to lose me, Spike. I can handle whatever she throws my
way. Besides, I have you and the gang watching my back. Plus,” she added,
looking at Willow. “A mega-strong witch. So you see, nothing to worry
about.”
Spike clenched his jaw but didn’t say anything else as they left the city.
Chapter 21
- Sunnydale
Two hours later, Angel pulled the car into the driveway of the mansion on
Crawford street. He hadn’t sold it after all these years, so it was decided
that the group would stay there. They quickly unloaded the car and made
their way into the front room of the mansion.
Buffy helped Willow set up her supplies as she prepared to do a location
spell to pinpoint Cassidy’s location. As Willow worked, Buffy watched Spike
pace the length of the room. When he started to become distracting to
everyone else, Buffy got up and led him out the front door. “Okay, spill it.”
Spike resumed his pacing in front of her. “Something feels off, Buffy. I
don’t like this.”
“Spike, we went over this no more than two hours ago. Everything will be
fine-“
“Everything won’t be soddin’ fine!” he yelled. “Buffy, last time we went
up against this chit and her minions, I died!”
Buffy stayed quiet for a minute as she stared at the ground. “And you’re
still here.”
“Yeah, and that’s turning out bloody wonderful,” Spike said sarcastically.
Buffy looked up at him with wide, watery eyes as he realized what he said.
“Buffy, luv, I didn’t mean it that way. I just-“
“Forget it,” she said with a wave of her hand.
“Buffy, I-“
“No, i-it’s okay. I understand.”
“Then why won’t you look at me?”
Buffy swallowed hard before looking up with a fake smile. “See, it’s fine.”
“Buffy, I just meant I haven’t felt useful the past couple of days.”
“I know,” Buffy said as she nodded. “I, uh, I’m going patrolling.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, it’s not safe.”
“And it’s so safe for you, luv?”
“Spike, if Cassidy or one of her followers sees you, it will blow your cover.
On the other hand, if they see me alone, it will get back to her that I’m
back in town.”
Spike clenched his jaw as he looked at her. “One hour.”
“Okay,” Buffy said with a genuine smile at his concern. Walking over to
him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tender kiss
good-bye. “I’ll be back in an hour.”
Spike nodded and watched her walk out of sight before turning and heading
back in the house.
* * * * *
Buffy had been patrolling for forty-five minutes and had only staked one
vampire, so she decided to call it a night. At least Spike would be happy
that she would be early. Buffy turned and cut through the cemetery when she
heard a noise behind her.
“Well, if it isn’t the infamous Slayer.”
Buffy turned around to face the large vampire behind her. “Do I know you?”
“Oh, no. Not yet. You see, we have a friend in common.”
“If you’re talking about Cassidy, we really don’t.”
“That’s not the way she tells it. I hear the two of you did quite a bit of
patrolling over the past few weeks.”
“Yeah, the most thrilling nights of my life,” Buffy said mockingly.
“Well, here’s the thing,” the vamp said as he advanced on her. “She has
requested the honor of your presence. So if you wouldn’t mind coming with
me-”
“Well, thanks for asking so nicely,” Buffy replied, her voice dripping with
false delight at the request. “You see, the thing is, I don’t really feel
like walking into a lair and facing the end of my immortality, so if you don’t
mind, send her my regards.”
Buffy had to smile at the look of confusion that crossed over the man’s face
before he shrugged. “Well, I preferred to do it this way anyway.”
Buffy watched as he withdrew a gun from his pocket and aimed at her. Before
she could react, two tranquilizer darts were shot into her stomach. Buffy
swayed slightly, trying her hardest to remain upright and coherent, but
found that she was fighting a losing battle. Before long, everything was
black.
* * * * *
Buffy woke up, groggily trying to shake her head and clear it of the fog
that resided. Focusing her eyes, she surveyed the tiny room she was in. A
thick, metal door was directly in front of her, and the walls appeared to be
all cement blocks. She could feel the shackles of heavy chains connecting
her to a wall behind her. Coming to her sense a little more, Buffy noticed
the two vampires standing to her left and immediately jumped to her feet.
Buffy scowled when she saw Cassidy standing next to the male vamp that had
pulled the dart gun on her. “You know, if there’s anything I hate worse
than a cheater, it’s someone who has to use toys to beat their opponent.
Couldn’t take me in a fair fight, huh?”
Buffy smiled as the man advanced on her, only to be interceded by Cassidy.
“Well, Buffy,” she said. “I wanted to be nice and ask you to come here, but
you decided to play hardball.”
“And you do realize that I have mobility in these shackles, right?” Buffy
asked with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not coming anywhere near me with a
stake.”
Cassidy smiled. “Don’t need to. You see, we have that problem covered. I
wanted to see you die, maybe not necessarily cause it, but I do want to see
it. So, on the other side of that rather thick metal door is a sheet of
mystical glass. I get to watch your horrible, gruesome death with no
worries of you getting loose.”
“And just what is my horrible, gruesome death going to consist of?” Buffy
asked, still maintaining her confident disposition.
“Oh, did I forget to mention? I’m sorry, you see, it involves that.”
Buffy looked up and felt a trickle of fear as she noticed the panes of glass
about fifty feet above her that lined the ceiling of the room.
“You see,” Cassidy continued. “In about two hours, I thought that meeting
the sunrise would be a fitting end to the vampire with a soul. Maybe the
same fate will meet Angel.”
Buffy suddenly remembered her friends. They had to be looking for her.
Willow must have done a locator spell on her, and they had to be on their
way. Buffy watched as Cassidy shut the sliding door with a reverberating
slam. She stared at the other vampire in the room, debating her options.
She could feel her gag reflex when she decided on her best one.
“You know,” Buffy said in a sickeningly sweet tone. “These cuffs are
awfully tight. I guess there’s no way you could loosen them a little bit?”
She saw the vamp swallow as she gave him a bright smile. “Um, no, there’s,
uh, there’s really only the two positions.”
Buffy nodded. “That’s too bad. Listen, I didn’t mean what I said about the
tranquilizers earlier. I was just trying to get under her skin, you know?”
Buffy leaned forward slightly and bit her bottom lip.
“Yeah,” he said, getting closer to her to get a look down her shirt.
‘God, you’d think after so many years of living, vamps would learn a thing
or two about the opposite sex,’ Buffy thought. Outwardly, she gave him a
shy smile as he advanced on her. “I was wondering if you could do me a
favor?”
“Sure,” he said, sounding like an eager schoolboy.
‘I really am going to throw up when I say this.’
“Well, it’s just, I don’t let myself get close to a lot of people,” Buffy
said, looking up at him through her lashes. “Physically, I mean. And I was
thinking, since, well, I only have a few hours left, maybe you and I could…”
‘Yep, here it comes- up-chuck reflex.’
“…get a little more intimate.” Buffy breathed out a sigh as she was able to
say it as provocatively as possible while still not choking.
“Well,” he said. “I’d love to, it’s just Cass-“
“And here I am, all chained to a wall and restricted.”
‘Okay, Buff,’ she said to herself. ‘Keep laying it on this thick, and I’ll
stake you myself.’ As it was though, Buffy smiled as he got within
touching distance of her. Buffy slowly reached out and ran her hands up
the larger man's chest.
“Well, since it’s your last request,” he said. Buffy had to bite her lip to
keep from laughing. As she felt his roaming hands harshly squeeze her butt,
she felt rage fill her. In less than a second, she had a chain wrapped
around his neck and jerked it towards her until she heard a satisfying snap.
“On second thought,” Buffy said as she dropped the incapacitated vamp to the
ground. “I don’t think my boyfriend would like it very much,” she said with
false sweetness. Quickly rifling around in his pockets, Buffy made sure he was
unconscious as she came across
the key to the shackles and unlocked them. Rubbing her sore wrists, Buffy
ran to the heavy door and pulled on it.
“Damn it,” she said softly when it wouldn’t budge.
“Buffy!”
Buffy spun around in a full circle as she heard her name.
“Buffy!”
“Willow?”
“Yeah, Buff, it’s me. Are you okay?”
“Where the hell are you?”
“At the mansion.”
“Okay,” Buffy replied. “Thoroughly confused now.”
“Telepathic link. Now where are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, a little hazy from the drugs they gave me, but okay. I just got
out of the restraints they had me in, but I think I’m trapped in a
warehouse. Can’t you do a spell or something?”
“Something’s blocking it. I almost couldn’t get through on the link.
Spike’s freaking out, by the way.”
Buffy smiled at the casual tone of her friend. “Tell him I’m fine. Wills,
I’m stuck in a room with a glass ceiling. Cassidy wants the joy of watching
me go up in flames at sunrise. I need to get outta here!”
“Okay, we have a little longer than sunrise, before the sun reaches the top of
the ceiling, unless there’s windows in the room.”
“Willow, if there was a window I could reach, don’t you think I’d be through
it by now?”
“Good point. Okay. Angel and Cordy are out looking for you right now.
I’ll get in touch with them, and we’ll head to the warehouse district.
Anything else you can tell me?”
“Um, heavy walls. Sliding metal door that leads into the main part of the
building. Ceiling’s about five stories up.”
“Okay, we’ll be there soon. Hopefully I can do a spell when we get there
and get a better location on you.”
“Okay, and be careful, Wills. I don’t know how many vamps Cassidy has this
time. I’ve only seen one, and he’s currently paralyzed on the floor. Oh!
Don’t let them see Spike. She’s still after me and Angel.”
“Will do! We’ll be there soon, Buff. Don’t worry.”
Buffy let out a sigh as she slid down the wall. Nothing to do now but sit
and wait.
Chapter 22
- Rescue
Forty-five minutes later, Buffy was nervously hugging her knees and rocking
back and forth on the hard floor. She was becoming increasingly edgy as the
minutes ticked by. Hearing a noise, Buffy looked up and breathed a sigh of
relief when she saw Spike looking down at her. Holding up a hand to signal
he’d be right back, Spike disappeared as Buffy stood up and anxiously rubbed
her hands over her arms.
A minute later, the sound of glass shattering filled the room as Spike
jumped through to land on the floor, close to Buffy. He held the end of a
rope as he looked at Buffy with anger and love shining through in his eyes.
“Tell me, luv. Is there a reason I shouldn’t say ‘I told you so’?” Before
waiting for a response, Spike lunged at Buffy, pulling her close to leave a
searing kiss on her lips.
Buffy felt the fatigue set in as Spike pulled away from her and went to
check the rope. Feeling tears fill her eyes, Buffy wrapped her arms
around Spike’s waist, telling herself not to cry. Spike hesitated for a
second before wrapping his arms around the woman he loved in a strong grip,
burying his face in her hair. He breathed in her scent as he felt strong
emotions come over him. “I almost lost you, baby,” he said in a choked
whisper. “I can’t lose you!” Pulling away, Spike cupped her face in his
hands. “I won’t lose you!”
Buffy reached up to put her hands over his. “I’m still here.”
“Another few hours and you wouldn’t have been. What if Willow hadn’t been
here? What would we have done?”
“Spike,” she said softly. “You can’t say ‘what if’ to everything. You’re
here, and I’m okay. I’m okay,” she repeated with a nod.
“We need to get out of here, luv.”
“Yeah, where is everyone?”
“Angel and Cordy are standing watch about two buildings over. Willow’s on
the roof with Wesley. Gunn and Fred are across the street, making sure we
don’t get any company. We figured it was best if they got the closest
position since they’re not as recognizable.”
“Okay. Do you have a stake on you?”
Spike pulled one out of his back pocket. “I’m guessing our unconscious
friend on the floor did something you didn’t like.”
“Grabbed my ass, that’s about it,” Buffy said with a shrug.
Spike growled as he stalked over to the vamp and plunged the stake into his
heart. Tossing the stake to Buffy as the dust settled, he walked back to
the rope. “Right then. Ready to go?”
Buffy laughed as she grabbed the rope. “Now, Spike, that wasn’t very nice.
I was responsible for leading him on.” Before waiting for a response, she
began scaling the rope, laughing as she heard Spike growl again.
“And just what the bloody hell does that mean?” Spike asked as she got to
the top of the rope.
Buffy swung her legs onto the roof and turned to look back at Spike, who was
right behind her. “It means I had to use some feminine wiles to get what I
wanted.”
“And what, pray tell, would that be?” he asked as he pulled the rope up with
him.
Buffy bit her lip as she walked over to Spike and seductively ran her hands
over his abs and chest. “What do you think?” she asked suggestively. She
laughed at the raised eyebrow he gave her in response. “It means I wanted
the key to unlock those shackles. You don’t trust me?”
“No,” Spike said with a smile as he walked past her. “No more than I have to.”
“Hey!” Buffy cried indignantly, smacking him on the shoulder as he passed.
Spike laughed as she followed him to meet Willow and Wesley on the other
side of the roof.
Buffy gave her friend a hug as she got close to her. “Thank you, Wills. I
don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Don’t mention it. But I think it’s time we got outta here. There’s a lot
of undead activity, and I don’t really feel like facing them with just us.
Strength in numbers, and all that.”
“Yeah, I’m hoping we have weapons,” Buffy replied.
“What do you take us for?” Wesley asked with a smile.
Buffy smiled and followed the others over to the ladder, built in to the
side of the building. Spike headed down first, making the ten-foot jump
from the end of the ladder to the ground below as he skillfully caught
Willow and Buffy, taking the impact of their landings. “Sorry, Wes, you’re
on your own.”
“Why, thank you,” Wesley said as he jumped the remaining distance.
The three slowly made their way down the long row of buildings, seeing Angel
and Cordelia up ahead as Gunn and Fred met up with them.
“You okay?” Angel asked Buffy as they got within hearing distance.
“Right as rain,” Buffy said with a small smile. “So, what kind of weaponry
are we talking about?”
Angel reached into a rolled-up blanket and extracted a sword, which he
tossed to Buffy. Catching it in a firm hold, Buffy tested the weight and
gave it a few practice swings. “Nice,” she said with a nod of her head.
“Wouldn’t have said no to the rocket launcher, though.”
“You have a rocket launcher, pet?” Spike asked as he saw the smiles on the
girls' faces.
“Actually, it’s been misplaced,” Buffy said, looking sheepish.
“I think Giles has it,” Willow spoke up.
Spike turned to Angel. “You wanna tell me, or should I guess?”
“Long story. Involves the time I turned evil and tried to rid the world of
humanity. Buffy was there to stop the demon I assembled.”
“Assembled? No, never mind. I don’t want to know.”
The group laughed as Spike began unloading a duffel bag. Tossing various
weapons to his companions, Spike tucked away another stake for himself and
straightened to his full height. “Well, kiddies, time to make an entrance.”
Chapter 23
- Confrontation
Willow led the group to a side door of the factory. The rest stood watch as
Willow did a spell to unlock the door while Spike stood further away, the
shadows of the night concealing him from prying eyes. Buffy could hear his
grumbling about not being the first to go in and had to smile.
As Willow got the door unlocked, she carefully opened it and let the others
go in first. Giving Spike a nod, Willow followed them and quickly scaled a
ladder to the balcony with Fred, wanting to have an advantage over Cassidy.
Willow
was busy performing a spell to counteract the thrall with Fred’s help. Though
Spike was
immune to it now that he was dead, it could still cause trouble for the rest
of the living members of the group. Spike slipped through the door and
stayed close to the wall of the tiny hallway.
“Okay, anyone see Cassidy?” Buffy asked as they looked at more than fifty
vampires milling around the main floor. Most were napping or playing cards
while a few walked the perimeter of the building.
“I don’t think she’s in this part of the factory, luv,” Spike whispered.
“Makes sense. I don’t think she’d want to lower herself to talking to her
workers. As long as they take orders, she's probably holed up in a more
luxurious setting,” Buffy commented.
“I don’t think anything in this neighborhood would be considered luxurious,”
Cordy said, wrinkling her nose.
“Second,” Gunn agreed with a nod.
The group froze as a vampire walked by the small entrance. Before he could
turn and check the hallway, the blade of Buffy’s sword flew through the air,
turning him to dust before he knew what happened. Buffy looked up at Willow,
who was ten feet above them, and received a thumbs up that they hadn’t been
noticed.
“Okay, guys. I think we’re just gonna have to jump in and do this,” Buffy
said, looking at the group.
At her nod, Angel and Cordy followed her out of the hall, and each
immediately were thrown into a fight. Gunn, Fred, and Wesley took the
opposite end of the building as Spike watched, frustrated that he couldn’t
come out of the shadows. He kept a careful eye on his friends, but his
attention was focused on Buffy as she fought.
‘If she gets in trouble, sod the plan,’ he thought as he gritted his teeth
and watched Buffy elegantly swing the sword at two vampires. As the group
began to thin to two dozen vampires, Spike saw a door swing open to his
left. He watched as Cassidy emerged and felt like his jaw was going to
break as he held himself back from attacking her himself.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Cassidy said as she watched the group attack her
minions. The remaining dozen quickly made their way over to their leader
as Cassidy stared at Buffy. “I’ll give you credit- I never thought you
would escape, but now that you have, you shouldn’t have come back.”
“Go shove it, honey. I don’t run away from a fight,” Buffy replied with a
falsely sweet smile.
“Oh,” Cassidy replied. “So that’s why you ran away to L.A.”
Buffy smile broadened at Cassidy’s weak attempts to get under her skin.
“Everyone needs a vacation.”
“You don’t seem too upset that your lover died.”
Buffy shot a quick glance at Spike’s hiding place, giving a small smile as
she saw him smirk and wink at her. “What can I say,” Buffy said with a
shrug. “You win a few, you lose a few.”
The six quickly rushed the group of vamps as Cassidy stood stunned at the words
that
came out of Buffy’s mouth. Buffy watched as Spike came up from behind and
staked two vamps before they knew he was there. As the group dwindled, Spike
staked another as Buffy fought off four, and the others quickly worked on
disbanding another three.
Tapping Cassidy on the shoulder, she turned and was met with a fist to the
jaw. Cassidy quickly got to her feet and stood in shock as she stared at
Spike. “You’re dead.”
“You’re a clever one, pet,” Spike said as he hit her again. “I could have
staked you already, but I wanted to make sure you knew it was me that was
turning you to dust. Kind of poetic, don’t you think?”
Cassidy began to fight back as Spike landed a kick to her side. Feeling
someone come up behind him, he turned and began fending off another vampire.
Quickly staking him, Spike turned to face Cassidy again and looked around
the room, confused that she wasn’t there. Catching a glimpse of movement,
Spike turned and saw Cassidy holding Buffy with a knife to her throat.
Running over to the pair, Spike heard the anger in Buffy’s voice. “That
won’t kill me.”
“No,” Cassidy said. “Maybe not, but it will incapacitate you long enough
for me to stake you. Or I could simply keep cutting until you’re dust.
Which do you prefer?”
Spike rushed them as Cassidy pulled a stake out of her pocket and held it to
Buffy’s heart. “Uh uh, Spike. You don’t want me to do something impulsive
now, would you?”
Spike stared at Buffy, who looked up to the next level and gave a brief nod.
“Separate!”
Spike heard Willow’s voice and smiled as Buffy and Cassidy were propelled
twenty feet apart. Spike rushed to Cassidy, not wanting her to get away
again, and landed a level kick to her head as he brought his stake out and
plunged it into her heart. “How’s that for dramatic irony,” he said to her
shocked face just before she exploded into dust. Rising from his kneeling
position, he brushed off his hands and turned to face the group. Frowning
when he saw Buffy still laying on the floor, Spike ran over to her.
“Buffy, are you-“ Spike cut himself off as the blood pooled on the floor
around her. “Buffy!” At Spike’s shout, the others ran over to the couple.
Spike gently raised her head and saw the gash that covered more than half her
neck.
“Buffy! Answer me, baby!”
“Spike, we need to get her out of here,” Cordy said gently from behind him.
He heard Willow gasp as she came up behind them. “Oh goddess! The knife
must have gotten her anyway. I’m so sorry,” she cried as tears streamed
down her face.
“Okay!” Angel shouted. “Everything is going to be okay- she just needs
blood.” Turning to Willow, he continued, “Willow, I need you to go get some
blood. It’ll help her heal faster. We need to-“ Angel cut himself off as
he noticed everyone staring behind him. He turned to see a semi-conscious Buffy
propped up by Spike and sinking her teeth into his neck. Everyone watched
entranced at the intimate display as
Buffy sucked hungrily on his neck, taking in several swallows of blood before
slowly pulling away and reverting back to her human features.
Spike breathed unneeded gulps of air as he pressed his forehead to hers.
“You’re going to be okay, baby,” he said in a weakened voice.
“Spike, you shouldn’t have done that-“
“Shhh,” he whispered, looking into her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
Buffy watched groggily as Spike took off his duster and ripped the long
sleeve off the shirt he was wearing. Folding it over, Spike pressed it against
Buffy’s
neck and held it in place.
“Come on, guys. Let’s go,” Cordy said, helping Spike to his feet and
bracing him between Wesley and herself as Gunn helped Angel pick up Buffy.
Once they were all safely in the car, Buffy snuggled closer to Spike, even
though she was sitting in his lap. “I love you,” she mumbled as her eyes
closed.
Spike wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, too. Get some rest, luv.” Spike smiled as she burrowed closer
to him and yawned. A minute later, as Buffy drifted off to sleep, Spike
pulled the cloth away from her neck to inspect the damage and breathed a
sigh of relief that it was already starting to heal. Putting the fabric
back in place, he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re going to be just
fine, luv.”
Chapter 24
- Together
Buffy slept through much of the day and into the night. Spike woke her up
in separate intervals to make sure she was okay and give her some blood.
She was exhausted after being kidnapped, fighting, and getting injured, but
she was strong. Spike stayed in the room with her while Willow and Cordy
brought them blood. Now, as Spike lay next to Buffy, he watched her begin
to stir from her sleep before sleepily opening her eyes. “Hey there,
sleepy head,” he said softly.
“Hey,” Buffy replied in a hoarse voice.
“How are you feeling, luv?”
“Like I had my throat slit.”
Spike smiled at her mild attempt at humor. “You’re going to be fine, luv.
The wound’s already closed.”
“Compliments of the Slayer/vampire healing package. Super-speedy recovery
time.”
“Yeah,” Spike mumbled as he gently brushed her hair off her face. “It’s
over. Nothing to worry about anymore.”
Buffy sighed. “There’s always something to worry about…but at least
Cassidy’s out of the way.”
“And we’re together.”
“And we’re together,” Buffy repeated with a smile.
“So what now, baby? Move back into your place?”
“You want to live with me?”
“Well…I’ve thought about it…and considering I’m stuck with you for eternity,
I figured we might as well learn to live in the same place-“ Spike broke
off as Buffy’s lips assaulted his. Wrapping his arms around her small
waist, Spike pulled her closer as they devoured each other. Breaking away,
Spike tenderly tucked a long strand of hair behind Buffy’s ear. “I’m here,
baby. For the long haul. I’m not leaving, and I’m not letting you leave
again.”
“So what’s the final verdict? Did you kill her?”
“You know it, luv,” Spike said with a smile.
“Everyone’s okay?” she asked. “Everyone got out alright?”
“Yep, all safe and accounted for. Willow’s hanging around for a couple of
days. Cordy and the poof-“
“Angel,” Buffy corrected with a smile.
“Right…him…they’re heading back to Los Angeles in a few days. They wanted
to make sure you’re okay. Oh, and you wanna know the weird thing? Gunn and
Fred are going with them.”
“What?”
“Yeah, apparently the…Angel…was impressed with Gunn’s fighting the other
night and offered him a job in the agency.”
“How does Fred fit in?”
“She’s the brains. Works out prophecies, does some research, things that
are right up her alley.”
“But what about her helping out Wesley?”
“Wesley’s not a Watcher anymore, luv,” Spike replied. “A new Slayer is
being tracked down, and Wes is technically retired. He’s still got the
store.”
“But they’re your friends, Spike. Won’t you miss them?”
Spike shrugged. “Sure I’ll miss them, but I’ll have you.” Buffy giggled as
he pulled her into his lap. “Besides, they’ll only be two hours and a
freeway away.”
“That’s true,” Buffy said with a smile as he kissed her neck.
At the knock on the door, both turned to see the entire group standing in
the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt,” Angel said.
Buffy smiled at her friends. “Hey, guys. Sorry I’ve been so out of it.”
“Well, I think we can forgive you, what with having your throat cut and
all,” Fred replied with a smile.
“We have some more news on Cassidy,” Wesley said.
Buffy and Spike both froze. “But she’s dead. I staked her myself,” Spike
said as he stared at the older man.
“Yes, but I’m talking about her,” Wesley replied as he handed a file to the
couple. Buffy and Spike flipped through it as Wesley continued, “Her name’s
not even Cassidy. It was changed when she was turned, much like Angel’s
was. Her real name was Rose, and she was the typical vampire until she was
captured by the Council. Unfortunately, they were not the only ones to do
the studying- Cassidy studied them as well. She learned a lot of tricks of
the trade while she was imprisoned, including the magic she would need to
perform to put someone under a mild thrall. Since she only tested this when
she escaped, Spike was her next target.”
“But since she was an amateur, she was never able to build the advanced
skills to completely entrance him,” Buffy said with a nod of understanding.
Spike glared at her. “I already told you that’s what happened, luv.”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “But it’s nice to hear if from a
different source, that’s all.”
“Anyway,” Wesley continued. “Before she got to Sunnydale, she used another
trick she picked up, which was to perform a glamour and appear as Spike’s
true love.”
“The doppelganger effect,” Buffy said with a smile to Spike. “That means, it’s
me! I’m your true love.”
“You just now figuring this out, luv?” Spike asked with an
amused look. Buffy silenced him with a quick kiss.
“And because glamour’s are easy to perform, she was able to keep the spell
going with a simple charm,” Willow broke in. “When the charm breaks, she
would have returned to her natural looks. Which explains why she never
appeared as herself, because the charms are hard to come by.”
“But after she knew we were looking for her, why would she still be walking
around looking like me?” Buffy asked.
“Guess she wanted you to find her, pet,” Spike said.
“Well, that’s not too bright,” Buffy mumbled.
“No one ever said she was bright, luv.”
“So that’s it?” Buffy asked. “A few magic tricks, a few lies, and her
vampire minions, and that was her big plan?”
“Apparently,” Wesley said. “She was probably planning on returning to
England and killing off members of the Council, but she never got that far.”
“How did you find this, Wes?” Buffy asked, referring to the file of
information in her hand. “Did the Council actually get off their butts and
help you for once?”
“No, Mr. Giles was kind enough to do a little digging for us. He heard you
might be in danger and was more than happy to lend his services.”
Buffy smiled. “That’s Giles alright. Always comes through.”
“Well, we’ll let you get some more rest,” Wesley said as he ushered everyone
out the door. “We’ll see you when you’re feeling better.”
“Thanks for the help, Wes. Couldn’t have done it without you. Without any
of you,” Buffy added as she smiled at her friends.
“Anytime,” Wesley said as he shut the door.
Buffy turned to face Spike and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’m
thinking it’s time for a vacation,” she said as she pulled away to stare
into his deep blue eyes.
“Where to, baby?”
“I don’t know. Nowhere too sunny,” she said with a smile. “I was thinking
maybe a trip to England.”
Spike smiled. “That can be arranged.” Spike flipped Buffy to land underneath
him, smiling at the giggle that erupted from her. Leaning down to leave a
searing kiss on her lips, Spike pulled back to look in her eyes, “You’re mine,
Buffy.”
“Yours,” Buffy finally agreed with a smile.
The End?
A/N Well, that’s it. I’m sorry to see this story end, it was a lot of
fun to write, but hopefully I got them where they needed to go. I don’t have
any immediate plans for a sequel, but you never know, maybe in the distant
future. I have a few ideas I could use, that would need to be fleshed out to
make a productive story, but only time will tell. Big thanks to Allison and
everyone who read and reviewed (especially those who reviewed)! I hope you
liked it!
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