Banner by Selene
Banner
by Selene
Chapter 13: Reflections
Buffy made her way upstairs after her call with Giles. She hadn’t bothered
to tell him about the confrontation the night before. ‘No need to add to
his stress,’ she thought. And, she sure didn’t tell him about the slayer
dream from last night either. He would have been on the first plane to see her
to make sure that she was ok, and she didn’t want to have to explain her
latest battle scar. She needed him to concentrate on that prophecy he got from
Wolfram & Hart. A slight shudder went through her at the thought.
‘Can’t believe Angel thinks he’s accomplishing something in that evil
place. I hope he knows what he’s doing.’
Giles had finished translating the text, and came up with a near exact
translation that Wesley had, but wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He was
going to do some further research to see if he could get a better understanding
of what it all meant. As of now; though, he didn’t think it had anything to do
with Buffy, so she could relax a bit.
Buffy went into her bedroom, keeping quiet so as not to disturb the sleeping
vampire sprawled out on her bed. She crossed over to the bathroom and closed the
door. Gingerly, she shrugged out of her robe letting it fall to the floor. Buffy
ignored the pain once more as she slowly slipped out of the shirt. Standing
behind the bathroom door she looked at herself in the full-length mirror, naked
except for the bandages covering her midsection. ‘Man, I look a mess.’
She turned away from the mirror to get the scissors out of the bathroom drawer.
Placing the scissors at the top of the bandage, she slowly cut a straight line
through the dressing. Afterwards, she put the scissors on the counter then
slowly pealed the bandage away from her wound. Turning back to the mirror, she
got a good look at the cut on her midsection. Thirty stitches (yep, she counted
them) protruded from where her skin had mended itself. ‘At least the
wound’s closed. I was wondering there for a minute.’ She would have
Spike remove the stitches once he woke up. She took stock of the various bruises
on her body, most of those showing the final color stages of a bruise. The only
one that looked bad was the bruise that surrounded her cut. This she eyed
warily. It was more blue than purple, its shape almost symmetrical to the cut. ‘Weird.’
With a sigh, she turned away from the mirror and cut on the shower. ‘Nothing
like a nice, hot shower to help heal all the aches and pains.’ Buffy
stayed under the pounding spray until all the hot water was gone, then
reluctantly shut off the taps, and climbed out. She toweled herself off then
squatted down to reach for the robe she had discarded on the floor. She slipped
the robe over her naked body, loosely belting it, then walked back out into her
bedroom. Spike was still asleep, so she grabbed her journal out of her chest and
curled up into the chair to write.
I had a slayer dream last night, and it scares me. Although, it wasn’t
really a dream, so much as a vision I had long ago. I dare not tell anyone about
it. Everyone would worry, and I can’t take that right now.
I’m not being honest. And I said I would always be honest here. I’m not
scared, I’m angry. Haven’t I done enough? I’m not alone in my fight
anymore. There are girls like me all over the world now. I’m not ready to die!
I want to see Dawn graduate from high school, then go on to college. I want to
be there when she gets married. I want to hold my little nieces and nephews.
Dammit, I just got Spike back. I want time with him. Time to make up for that
horrible year when I was brought back. Time to tell him, show him, how much I
love him. It’s just not fair!
Tears slipped unchecked down her face as she continued to write, pouring her
heart and soul into her journal. When her grief, anger, and frustration were
spent, she stopped writing and closed her journal and put it back in her chest.
She quickly washed her face in the bathroom then threw some clothes on so she
could get some movies for tonight.
Buffy scrawled a quick note for Spike, letting him know where she was going,
then made her way downstairs. She grabbed some money from the desk in the front
hall before making her way outside to complete her errands.
~*~*~*~*~
Spike awoke about a half hour after Buffy had left, to a quiet room. ‘No
heartbeat. Slayer must be downstairs,’ he thought. He glanced over to the
nightstand and noticed a folded slip of paper with his name on it. He opened it
and read:
Spike,
I told Dawn we would have a movie night since I’m not allowed to patrol
tonight. I’ve gone out to get a few movies and to put in an order for some
pizzas for tonight at the local pizzeria. I shouldn’t be gone more than a
couple of hours. Can you do me a favor and work with the girls today?
Buffy
Spike grinned as he read the first line. He could just picture her pouting as
she wrote that. He groaned when he read the second line. ‘Movie night?
Bloody hell! More like sappy, chick flick night.’ He perked up a bit when
he realized he could cuddle with the slayer while she watched the flick. He
scrambled out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Leaving the
room, he climbed the stairs to the third floor, listening to the noise coming
from the training room. As he got close, the noise stopped. All he heard was the
accelerated heartbeats of the slayers.
He opened the door and noticed everyone was facing him, weapon at the ready. A
devilish smile transformed his features.
“Felt me coming, didja?” A few nods. “Good!”
“Now, get ready for some real fun. Lose the weapons. We’re gonna work on a
little hand-to-hand today.” The girls replaced their weapons and formed a
circle around him. Spike took up a fighting stance. The girls followed his lead.
“Now, attack!” Without any further prompting, ten girls rushed the master
vampire.
~*~*~*~*~
Buffy walked into the house with a small stack of movies under one arm and a
delivery receipt for pizza in the other hand. She placed the receipt and keys on
the desk and walked into the living room to deposit the movies for viewing
later. It was early yet, so she made her way to the third floor to check on
Spike and the girls. Various grunts, groans, and crashes filtered out of the
room. When she got to the top of the stairs, she could make out some of
Spike’s snarky comments directed at some of the less agile girls. A smile
crossed her lips. ‘Just like old times,’ she thought, as she made her
way down the hallway.
Suddenly, a thud, louder than the others, resounded through the room. A yelled,
“Bloody Hell!” and a “Dammit, Slayer!” quickly followed. Buffy stood at
the door leaning against the doorjamb, taking in the scene. Buffy’s hand
covered her mouth, stifling her giggles. Spike lay in an upside down heap
against the far wall. Her girls formed a semi-circle around him, positioned in a
defensive pose, waiting for him to get up. He kicked his feet over so he could
sit on his butt. His eyes locked with Buffy’s. She dropped the hand that was
covering her face and sucked her lips into her mouth to hide her smile. Her eyes
still twinkled with mirth, however.
“Do you give up, Spike?” Buffy asked, laughingly.
“Bloody hell, woman. It’s your damn fault ‘m slumped ass over end here.”
“Me? All I did was walk up the stairs. Not my fault, me showing up here
distracted you. You’re the master vampire, right?”
“’An don’t you forget it!” he blustered, mock-sternly.
Buffy spoke to the girls saying, “Good job, guys. Why don’t you hit the
showers then get ready for your lessons. I know it’s a bit early, but since
you knocked Spike to his butt, you deserve a little break. Oh, by the way,
tonight’s movie night, no patrolling. Attire is pj’s and bring a pillow and
some blankets.” A few girls cheered at this pronouncement. Slowly, the girls
filed out of the room to the floor below so they could get showered and changed.
Spike stood up and walked towards Buffy.
“Feelin’ better, luv?”
“Yeah. I need you to pull my stitches out for me. The wound has closed over.
Got one hell of a bruise, though.” Grumbling. “Oh, and did I mention that it
itches?”
Chuckling, he walked by her side down to her room.