Help

Huge thanks to Cissy for letting me pull dialog from her report! Sorry this is so late, guys...

Buffy is down in the school basement, looking for Spike. She seems to find him by her Slayer senses, because there's no noise for her to hear. He's sitting on a box, his eyes open but unfocused, not moving. She comes up to him, but he doesn't move. A little concerned, she waves a hand in front of his face. He doesn't even blink. She snaps her fingers, starting to get a little peeved.

"Spike what are you doing?" she says. There's impatience, but it's restrained.

"Nothing," Spike replies. Not moving, not blinking, barely moving his lips. "If I don't move... if I don't think... if I don't listen to the voices, then I won't hurt." He pauses, then, needing to be honest, "Much."

"I need to ask you something." She's all about the business.

"=Don't.=" He's struggling to hold on to stillness, but Buffy keeps at him.

"There's a girl. She's in danger. and she needs your help. NOW."

He flicks a glance up at her for the first time, but doesn't say anything. He's coming back to the world, and he doesn't want to.

Buffy is struggling to contain her impatience, as though she realizes that shouting at him--or punching him--will only make things worse. "Time is running out," she says tersely. "It's Friday. The day Cassie said she's going to die."

"I =can't=," he says, and he's starting to sound desperate. "I -can't- hear you." Why won't she leave him alone?

She keeps on. "Is there something evil in the school?" she says, keeping her voice calm. "Down here maybe? Spike, please. Do you know anything?"

He struggles to stay still, but he can't ignore her any longer. He sighs, bows his head, defeated. He should have known; he can't refuse her anything.

"Yes," he says, his voice low. "There's evil. Down here." He turns away staring off into the dark. "Right here. I'm a bad man. William is a =bad= man. I hurt the girl." His voice is broken, choked. He looks down, and then his jaw clenches. Without warning, his fist flashes up and he punches his own jaw, again and again.

Buffy catches his hand, stops him. "Spike stop it," she says, holding his fist effortlessly in place. "What did you do?" Her voice is strained; has he done something awful in his madness?

But he looks up at her, his face full of pain and determination, his voice trembling. "I hurt you, Buffy. And I will pay. I'm paying because =I hurt the girl=." It's what he deserves, and he's going to take it because it's what he deserves.

Buffy's face relaxes into compassion. She folds her other hand over Spike's fist, gently, and brings his hand down. "Spike, no," she says, very softly. "It's not me. It's a different girl. Okay?" He looks confused, maybe disbelieving. Buffy goes on, still being gentle with him.

"Her name is Cassie Newton. Please. Do you know anything specific?"

He looks at her, and it finally gets through that she's talking about someone who's not her. He starts to speak, but can't, and shakes his head. His eyes are starting to fill with tears. Buffy, frustrated, sighs and turns. As she starts to walk away from him, Spike calls after her, his voice low and pleading.

"Don't! Don't leave me. Stay here and help me be quiet." He looks up at her, eyes wide, silently begging.

She stares at him for a long moment, her expression blank.

"I think it's worse when I'm here," she says, and turns and walks away.

As she goes, Spike goes back to his still place. "Don't let him hurt the girl," he says, but does she even hear him?

In the library, Buffy is fighting with the demon that the red- robed chanty boys have summoned. It's thrown her down on the floor, and lifts a huge foot to stomp on her chest. She catches the demon's foot and is about to fling it off when it growls and flinches away from something.

It's Spike, holding the torch that Smarmy Guy lit. He's in total Help Buffy mode, including having his hair slicked back.

"Spike?" Buffy's a little surprised at the change since the last time she saw him..

"I'm here to help," Spike says grimly. "No hurting the girl."

Buffy gives a slight nod. This Spike, she knows how to deal with. She takes the torch from him, jerks her chin at Cassie. "Untie her. I'll take care of this." She turns around and swings the torch at the demon.

Smarmy guy has the cleaver drawn back to strike at Cassie's throat. Spike launches himself at SG and knocks him away from Cassie. He cocks his fist back and punches SG, then cries out, puts his hand to his head as the chip fires. Ignoring the pain, he hauls back and punches SG again, and again.

"Who are you?" The SG is cowering on the floor, bleeding.

Spike glares, his jaw set. "I'm a bad man," he says, and punches the guy again. After the flare of chip pain, he reaches over the SG and picks up the cleaver.

The SG comes around a little, sees grim-faced Spike holding the bloody weapon. "No, no... please...," he says. Begging for his life. For a moment Spike stares at him. Then he stands up and goes to Cassie, uses the cleaver to cut the ropes around her wrists. He takes the gaffers' tape off her mouth, and she winces. At first he frightens her a little, but then she looks into his eyes, and her face softens.

"She'll tell you," she says to him, and he draws back a fraction, puzzled. "Someday she'll tell you." She seems to be responding to something she sees in his face. He does the head tilt, his brows drown down, still not quite getting what she means.

Buffy, having set the demon on fire, comes over to check on Cassie. She asks if Cassie is okay, and Spike looks from one girl to the other, as though he's not quite sure what's going on or why he's there. He gets up and leaves without a word.

--

Dori

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