Banner by Selene
Banner
by Selene
Chapter 21: A Spell to Help
Giles began getting the room ready for the spell.
Quickly, he set up the sacred circle and began lighting candles for protection.
Dawn helped by lighting incense and setting out the healing crystals that would
be placed on Buffy’s body once she was inside the circle. When everything was
set up as it should be, Giles turned to Spike and spoke.
“Spike, I need you to place Buffy inside the circle.” Spike gently scooped
Buffy up out of the bed and into his arms. He crossed to the circle and knelt
before it.
“Careful, Spike. You can’t disrupt the circle,” Giles said. Spike fixed
the watcher with a glare but once more bent to his task of getting Buffy inside
the circle. The circle was large enough that it enabled Buffy to lie inside it
without disrupting the protective barrier. When he had her settled comfortably
on her back, Spike slowly stood up and backed away. Dawn stepped forward with
the crystals and began placing them on Buffy. One for her head, one for her
heart, one for each palm, and one for each foot. When she was finished, she rose
and went to stand by Giles. He nodded at Dawn to let her know she did a good
job, then picked up the book that contained the spell. With a clear, deep voice
he read out the incantation seeking healing and restoration for his slayer. The
crystals began to glow a bright green then faded to amber as he read. When he
finished, the crystals once more returned to their natural, non-illuminated
color. It was done.
With a sigh, Giles closed the book and set it aside. Meanwhile, Spike crossed
back towards Buffy so he could pick her back up and put her back in bed.
Concerned blue eyes met hazel. “It doesn’t hurt as bad,” she murmured,
awed. That’s all Spike needed to hear. With a grin on his face, he once more
scooped the slayer up into his arms, and took her back to the bed. She was
starting to get a little color back in her face, he noticed. When she was
comfortably settled against the headboards (she didn’t want to lie down), Dawn
came over and sat down beside her on the bed. She too was smiling. It widened
even more when she heard Buffy’s stomach start to growl.
“Dawnie, you think you could make me a bowl of soup? I guess I must be a
little hungry,” she said, behind a rueful blush.
“Sure! I’ll be right back.” Dawn practically bounced her way out of the
bedroom. Buffy smiled as she watched Dawn leave. Turning her head, she glanced
at Giles. He made his way over to stand beside the bed.
“Thanks, Giles. I can’t tell you…” she started. Giles interrupted her
before she could finish. “Yes, well,” he stammered. “No thanks are
necessary, Buffy. I just wish I could do more. I don’t know how much this will
help. Or, how long it’s going to last. I still need to do research on this
attacker…” This time Buffy interrupted him. Taking his hand, she said,
“Giles. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll figure it all out. And, I do feel
better, honest.” As if to confirm her words, her stomach growled again. A
blush slowly worked its way up her cheeks. “See. I’m hungry. A sure sign
I’m getting better.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to eat then. I’ve got some more books I’d like to
look at before I turn in,” he said. He patted her hand affectionately, then
let go, heading towards the door. “Eat and rest, Buffy.” He gave a pointed
look to Spike and exited the room.
Spike turned to Buffy and spoke, “I’m gonna see what’s keeping the ‘Bit.
I’ll be right back, ok?” Buffy smiled and nodded her assent. Spike smiled
back and followed after the watcher.
~*~*~*~*~
Spike noticed the watcher’s bedroom door open when he stepped out into the
hallway. He poked his head in the doorway and made eye contact.
“How long do you think it will last?” Spike asked.
“I’m really not sure, Spike. I’m going to grab a few books and head down
to the office. Hopefully, Wesley will have sent some information by now.”
“I’ll see what’s keeping the Niblet then join you.” Spike heard his
agreement and backed out of the room. His paused, then stuck his head back
inside. “It’s good that she’s hungry, right Rupert?”
Giles looked up from gathering his books. He saw the concern on the vampires
face and sighed. He didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, he didn’t want
to encourage Spike too much. But, on the other, he didn’t want Spike to give
up hope. In the end, he couldn’t dash Spike’s hope, for to do so, would kill
his own. “Yes, Spike. This is a good sign.” Spike nodded and left the room
to search out Dawn.
~*~*~*~*~
Spike found Dawn in the kitchen. Well, at least he thought it was the
kitchen. Every available surface space was covered by vegetables, spices, pots,
and other paraphernalia. Dawn was running hither and yon in an attempt to make,
what? He didn’t know. Who did she think she was, that Emeril bloke?
“Dawn, what the hell?” Dawn stopped in her tracks and looked at Spike.
“I just…she wanted some soup,” she started gesturing to the stuff on the
counters, “I was trying to…”
Spike crossed over to her and gave her a hug. “It’s ok, Niblet,” he spoke
soothingly. “I think some Campbell’s will be fine. Maybe we can save this
for tomorrow?” She nodded against his chest. He smiled into her hair. “Why
don’t you get a can out of the pantry while I start cleaning this mess up.”
More nodding. Pushing her to arms length, he gestured with his head towards the
pantry. She just stared at him. Spike turned her around to point her in the
right direction. Then, he gave her a swat on the butt to get her moving. She
yelped, and glanced back at him to give him a good glare, rubbing her offended
posterior. Chuckling, he turned away to start putting away everything she had
just pulled out. Dawn came out of the pantry with a can of soup and quickly
heated it up on the stove. By the time the soup had warmed up, Spike had
everything put away and a tray set out for Buffy. Dawn scooped some soup into
the bowl, cut a few slices of bread, and filled a mug with herbal tea. When she
was finished, she picked up the tray and started up towards Buffy’s room.
Spike followed behind her shutting out the lights in the kitchen on the way.
~*~*~*~*~
Back in Buffy’s room, Dawn set the tray carefully on Buffy’s lap. The smell
of food had Buffy’s stomach growling once more. She picked up the spoon and
started to eat while Dawn looked on. Spike leaned against the door jab and
watched for a moment.
“I’m going to take the girls out for a quick patrol,” Spike said from the
doorway. “Dawn can stay here and keep an eye on you while I’m gone, ok?”
Buffy stopped eating to look at him, concern evident on her face. Spike met her
gaze and spoke again, “They can’t sit around here and do nothing. I’ll
keep an eye on them. Promise.” She gave a short nod.
“I’ll be back in a couple ‘f hours. Giles is downstairs in the office if
you need him.” He pushed away from the doorjamb and went to round up the girls
for patrol.
~*~*~*~*~
Patrol was uneventful. There was no sign of Buffy’s attacker, although he had
looked. They encountered a few newly risen fledglings that the girls were easily
able to make quick work of. Frustrated, he trudged his way back home, the girls
following behind.
~*~*~*~*~
Entering the darkened house, the girls departed to their rooms to sleep. Spike
walked to the office to tell Giles that he was going to check on Buffy and come
back downstairs to help with the research. Giles muttered something that sounded
like an “ok” and continued reading from the book on the desk before him.
Spike walked into Buffy’s room to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully:
slow, steady heartbeat; deep, even breaths. There was no sign of Dawn. He left
the room and walked down the hall to Dawn’s room. He turned the knob and
peeked inside. She, too, was sleeping. He pulled the door shut and went
downstairs to help Giles.
~*~*~*~*~
With a frustrated sigh, Spike plopped down in one of the chairs that were in
front of the desk. “Anything?” he asked.
Giles looked up from the text and leaned back in his chair. He pulled the
glasses from his face, whipped out his handkerchief, and started wiping the
lenses as he spoke. “Not really. I was hoping that I would have received word
from Wesley by now, so I could start cross-referencing some things. But, nothing
as yet, had come across the fax machine.” Spike frowned.
“How’s Buffy doing?” Giles asked.
“She’s sleeping. The ‘Bit, too. I tried to see if I could find any trace
of Buffy’s attacker while we were out patrolling, but nothing. It’s like he
just disappeared without…” He stopped abruptly, and stood up. Giles took one
look at the serious concentration on Spike’s face and stood up as well.
Walking to the cabinet behind him, he reached in and grabbed an evil-looking
axe, prepared to do battle. He hefted a sword at Spike. Spike grabbed it and
left the office, headed for the front door.
A soft knock sounded just before he reached to throw the front door wide open.
The building was protected by a spell, so he wasn’t too worried about who was
outside. But, someone knocking on the door at eleven o’clock at night could
not be a good sign. With a quick glance at Giles to make sure he was ready, he
threw the door open, sword extended menacingly at the figures standing just
beyond the door.
Fred’s wide eyes started back at him. “Spike?” Relaxing his battle stance,
he pulled the tip of his sword away from her neck and pointed it towards the
ground.
“Sorry, pet.” His eyes landed on the faces of the other two people with her.
“Hi, Wes… Angel.” Wesley mumbled a hello. Angel didn’t say anything.
“Wesley?” Giles asked, moving closer to the open door.
“Hello, Rupert.” Spike moved aside and allowed them to enter, then rushed up
to the second level. He bypassed Buffy’s room and went to Dawn’s. He opened
the door and crossed to the bed. Gently, he shook her awake. “Dawn. Dawn, I
need you to wake up for a minute…” Moaning in her sleep, she attempted to
roll over and snuggle deeper into her pillows. Spike picked her up and carried
her downstairs.
“Spiiike? What are you doing? Put me down.”
“Sorry, Niblet. We have a guest,” he said as he put her down by the front
door. “Mind inviting him in?” She threw an exasperated look at Spike, then
turned to look at the man standing in her doorway. “Come in.” she grumbled.
A half-smile came to Angel’s lips and he stepped over the threshold as Dawn
moved out of the way.
“Can I go back to bed now?”
“Sure, Niblet. Thanks,” Spike said. Grumbling, half-asleep, she made her way
back upstairs to bed.