B/S Fan Fiction

Surprise

Title: Fluffy Surprise (Ep 5 of the Fluffy Files)

Author: Hilary

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Everything I have borrowed from Joss.

Author's Notes: This is part of a series I have lovingly titled The Fluffy Files. I'm taking every Ep that Spike has appeared in and twisting it to give it a nice fluffy B/S ending. The eps are not meant to be read in sequence (unless you want to). They are all stand-alone fics which I have just grouped together, sort of a 'how they might get together' thing. In other words ignore any other Fluffy File fics and just pretend this is the first. For each EP just assume that the show has gone more or less as normal up until the point where I start.

Author's notes: A HUGE thank you to Python_Chick for giving me the idea that got me started on this one. You really are my muse :)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The lights of the Bronze were soft and dim as Buffy weaved her way through the masses of people. Tonight was special, and as the crowd on the dance floor parted, she knew why.

He stood there, on the other side of room, gazing at her as if they were mere inches apart. He was perfect, the light highlighting his profiled features and reflecting off his white-blonde hair. Smiling, she walked over to him.

"I've been searching for you." she whispered softly.

He merely smiled and pulled her onto the dance floor and into his arms. As they moved in time to the music, she felt so at peace with the world, as though this was the way everything was meant to be. After a few minutes she raised her head from his chest, a small frown playing across her features.

"I'm not sure I'm supposed to be here." she said.

He placed a gentle finger to her lips before leaning down and kissing her. As their lips met, she knew that this was just where she was meant to be, and she never wanted to leave. As clichéd as it sounded; it really did feel like time was standing still, letting them relish in this moment of perfect happiness.

An eternity later they parted, pure love reflecting on both their faces.

Suddenly the smile fell from his face and he let out a small gasp. She immediately knew that something was wrong. She reached out to catch him but it was too late, he was already crumbling to dust. Tears of utter despair flooded down her face and as his ashes settled on the ground she looked up to see a familiar face standing where he had been, stake in hand.

"Happy birthday, Buffy." Angel sneered.

Dropping to her knees she screamed the name of her lost love.

"SPIKE!"

And she bolted upright in bed, a cold sweat covering her body. With a deep shudder she glanced at her clock. Time to go to school.

* * *

"How's Angel?" Willow asked as she and Buffy made their way through the school quad during lunch break. Buffy had seemed distracted all morning and Willow assumed she was still worrying about him.

Buffy flinched at the mention of Angel's name. She'd been thinking about her dream all morning. It had to mean something.

"He's fine." she replied hurriedly.

"Buffy, are you ok?" Willow asked with concern.

Buffy felt her cheeks flush red.

"What are you talking about?" she asked nervously. "Of course I'm ok, why wouldn't I be ok?"

Her shoulders slumped.

"Oh, Will. I have to tell someone about this. I feel like I'm going crazy."

They both sat down on a nearby bench and Willow put a comforting hand on her friends shoulder.

"I had this dream last night." Buffy began.

"A vivid one?"

Buffy nodded. "Full on colour with surround sound…and about another guy."

Willow's eyes went wide. "Another guy…you mean someone who isn't Angel?"

Buffy nodded sadly. "It was so intense. We danced together and he kissed me."

Willow smiled, despite the shock. "Then what happened?"

"Angel killed him."

The smile fell from Willow's face. "Oh."

"And the thing is," Buffy continued. "I don't know what it means. It felt so right being with this guy, and I have the whole prophetic dream gig that comes with being the Slayer. I'm wondering if I'm being told that I'm not supposed to be with Angel at all. It's so confusing."

"Who is he?" Willow asked.

"Who?"

"The guy? The other guy."

Despite Willow being her best friend, Buffy knew that this was the one thing she couldn't confide in her about. She didn't understand it herself and there was no way she could expect anyone else to get it. Spike was their enemy, had tried to kill both her and Angel on several occasions. Falling in love with him went beyond insane.

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Maybe it doesn't mean anything, not all my dreams come true. The other night I dreamed that that Giles and I opened an office supply warehouse in Vegas."

Willow didn't look convinced but she managed to nod.

"We'd better get back to class."

* * *

Spike didn't even attempt to feign interest as two of his minions carried in the latest part of Dru's birthday present. Ever since he'd woken up after the fire and found he couldn't walk, he'd had little interest in anything. But Dru had her heart set on mayhem and destruction in Sunnydale, and he always gave Dru what she wanted. Come to think of it, that was what had got him into this mess in the first place.

He wheeled himself into the main room where Dru was flitting around the main table like an excited child. Even though her strength had been returned, she was still as insane as ever.

She gazed longingly at the selection of boxes that was laid out for her. Spike looked at them wearily.

"Are you sure this is what you want, pet?"

Dru looked up and seemed to notice him for the first time. She walked over and placed a kiss on his burned cheek, relishing the fact that he flinched in pain.

"Don't worry, my Spike," she whispered. "There'll be good games for all."

He sighed. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather go somewhere else? The Slayer will only show up and ruin things. I can't fight her while I'm like this."

She kissed him again. "We'll see her die soon enough. Come now, it's time for bed."

Taking the handles of the wheelchair she pushed him towards the bedroom.

* * *

Spike stared at the ceiling. He hated this, feeling helpless. Dru had put him to bed and tucked him in like a child, before wandering back out to look at her presents some more. Once he got his strength back, he was going to make the Slayer suffer for doing this to him.

He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

He opened his eyes to find her standing beside his bed, smiling down at him. He found himself smiling back at her.

"Knew you'd come, it was only a matter of time."

Buffy nodded and sat down on the bed beside him. She reached out and stroked his hair. "I will always come for you, Spike, nothing can keep us apart."

"Destiny?" he queried, even though his heart already knew the answer.

"Balance." she replied. "Light is not light unless there is also darkness. There is no heat without cold; no love without hate."

Feeling more love than he ever had when he was alive or dead, he reached up to caress her cheek.

"Equals" he murmured.

"In every way." she replied before leaning over and kissing him.

If he hadn't been already dead, his heart would have stopped beating. The feel of her lips upon his expressed everything she had described. It was like a sickness, and its cure. Cold and heat, love and hate all happening simultaneously. Nothing, no one, had made him feel like this before, and in that one moment he knew that no one else would either.

They finally parted and he knew that now was the time to say it.

"Buffy, I-"

Before he could complete his sentence, he felt her being ripped from his arms. He looked up to see Dru holding her tight, while a large blue demon, The Judge, approached. He reached out for Buffy.

"Spike?" she pleaded, tears of fear rolling down her cheeks.

He struggled to move, to help her, but it was useless. He was helpless and could only watch as The Judge laid his hand on Buffy's chest.

Her agonized scream resounded through the factory, and Spike, too, howled in pain as he watched her get incinerated.

With a jolt, he awoke in the darkened room. A dream, it had all been a dream. But the feeling in his undead heart was still there, telling him what needed to be done.

* * *

As soon as the sun set that evening, Dru went out to feed, leaving Spike alone with their minions. If he was going to act it, would have to be now. The final part of Dru's present was due in that night and she would insist on waking The Judge as soon as he was complete.

He wheeled into the main room and put his most commanding voice in place.

"Listen to me very carefully," he snapped. "When you go out to get the box, I want you to 'lose' it somehow. I don't care what you do with it; just make sure it doesn't come back here."

The minions glanced nervously at each other, not sure whose wrath they'd rather endure; Dru's or Spike's.

"I'll make sure Dru leaves you alone." Spike assured. "Just make sure you do it."

Finally they agreed and Spike sighed with relief once they had gone. At least this would keep Buffy safe for the time being.

* * *

Willow was just putting the final touches to the decorations for Buffy's surprise party when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and nearly jumped twenty feet in the air.

"Angel, hi, how are you?" she asked quickly.

"I'm ok," he replied softly. "Could I have a word with you?"

"Um…now? Buffy will be here in a few minutes." This wasn't good. She hated it when people told her secrets; she found it so hard not to let it slip that she knew something. And what Buffy had told her was pretty big.

"It'll only take a minute." Angel replied.

Willow swallowed hard and nodded. "Ok."

They moved over to one side of the room.

"Is everything ok with Buffy?"

Willow laughed nervously. "Buffy? Ok? Sure, why wouldn't she be ok?"

Angel frowned. Willow was definitely hiding something. "Well, it's just I'm getting the feeling that she's avoiding me or something. I haven't seen her today at all, it's not like her."

"I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she's just been busy."

Angel felt the demon starting to sneer inside him. Too busy to see her own boyfriend?

His face darkened and he grabbed Willow's arm, hard. "I know you're not telling me something. You never were very good at lying; I don't know why Buffy tells you her secrets. Now, tell me what's going on."

"Angel," she gasped in pain at the firm grip on her arm. "Let go, you're hurting me."

He glanced down at the hand on her arm and after thinking about it for a second, let go.

At that point however, the doors burst open and Buffy walked in with Ms. Calendar, carrying a large box between them.

"I will find out." Angel hissed, before walking back over to join the rest of the group. Willow took a shaky breath. She was beginning to see why Buffy had been having dreams about someone else.

The whole 'surprise party' had been explained and now all the attention was being focused on the box in front of them.

"You know, technically you're supposed to receive gifts on your birthday, not give them." Xander quipped.

Buffy wasn't really listening. "It was so weird. I caught this group of vamps looking like they weren't sure what to do with this thing. As soon as they saw me they just dropped it and ran. Didn't try to take it with them or anything."

Giles frowned. "Maybe it's a trap, perhaps they wanted you to find it."

Buffy placed her hand on the lid. "Only one way to find out."

"Wait!" Angel called. "Let me; I don't want you getting hurt."

Buffy froze. She hadn't even noticed Angel was there. She'd made a careful point of not seeing him that night, she had to work out what her dream meant and seeing him wasn't going to help. Especially since he was dressed just like he had been in the dream. With a small shudder she took a step back from the box and allowed Angel to open it.

He flipped the catches on the lid and they all stared for a moment at the contents. It was an arm, a blue arm.

Buffy shook her head; it was creepy, she could have sworn she saw it move. Suddenly the arm jumped out of the box and grabbed Angel in a chokehold. Giles and Xander tried to pull it off of him, but the grip was vice-like. Buffy finally moved in to help and they managed to get the arm off and back into the box.

"Are you ok?" Cordy asked with concern as Angel rubbed his neck. He nodded.

"It's a good thing I don't need to breathe."

Satisfied that he was alright, they turned their attention back to the box.

"Ok, is anyone else wigged out by the whole disembodied arm thing?" Buffy asked.

Xander, Willow and Cordy raised their hands.

"What concerns me more, is where the rest of this creature is, and what it would be capable of if fully restored."

Angel stepped forward. "I think I can answer that."

All eyes fell on him, aside from Buffy and Willow who kept their eyes fixed on the box, while Angel spoke.

"It-it's a legend way before my time…of a demon brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity…separate the righteous from the wicked…and to burn the righteous down. They called him the Judge. It is said that no weapon forged can kill him. It took an army to dismember him, they buried the parts all over the world to stop him being reassembled."

"I guess someone decided it would be fun to have a demon jigsaw." Buffy murmured.

"We need to find out who would be insane enough to want to raise this creature." said Giles.

"I think I know." Angel replied softly. "Dru…or Spike. They're both familiar with this legend, and Dru is certainly crazy enough to do it."

Buffy was nearly floored by this latest revelation. "But…it can't be them; they're dead…right?"

Angel shook his head. "There's a small chance they could have survived the fire."

She swung round to glare at him. "And you think to tell me this now? The fire was weeks ago; Dru could have been planning anything."

Angel flinched as she yelled at him. "I didn't want to worry you unless I was sure."

Buffy was already heading for the door. "I'm going to find them."

Angel ran after her. "I'm coming with you."

She shook her head. "I can handle it. Besides, you've done enough tonight."

She began to walk again and he caught hold of her arm. "You need back up. And do you even know where to look for them?"

Buffy faltered for a second.

"I'm coming." Angel repeated firmly.

Buffy nodded in defeat. They began to walk.

* * *

The rest of the gang stared after the arguing couple. They were all totally stunned, with the exception of Willow. They had never seen Buffy and Angel fight like that, they were always so in love.

"That was weird." said Cordelia after a moment, never being one to leave her thoughts unspoken.

"I'm sure they have their reasons." Willow replied, unconsciously rubbing her still tender arm.

The others nodded, knowing that they'd soon sort themselves out and be back to normal by the end of the night.

"What are we going to do with this thing?" Jenny asked.

"We'll take it."

The gang looked up to see a large group of vampires standing in the doorway. Two of them ran forward and grabbed the box before anyone could react.

As the vampires retreated they knew it was useless to follow. There were too many of them and without Buffy or Angel to fight, they'd just end up getting themselves killed. All they could do now was pray that Buffy would be able to stop Spike and Dru in time.

* * *

"You lost my present." Dru snarled at the group of minions gathered before her. "Miss Edith says you must be punished."

Spike smiled to himself; it had worked. Buffy was safe. He rolled forward so that he was in front of Dru.

"Maybe it's for the best, pet. I know you had your heart set on this but we can go somewhere else for your birthday; somewhere without a Slayer? And don't kill the minions, we'll be stuck if we have no one to work for us."

Dru pouted but was distracted when the doors to the factory burst open and another group of vampires came in, carrying a wooden box. The leader knelt at Drusilla's feet.

"Mistress, we recovered this from the Slayer."

Dru's eyes filled with delight. "You found my present."

She stroked his head for a moment before taking the box and walking over to the other boxes, which were laid out in preparation. Spike's whole body tensed; there was no stopping her now.

Dru put the final box in place and stepped back, clapping her hands in glee. "Time to wake up."

The now completed box glowed for a second before opening, revealing the Judge, his eyes closed. A second later and they snapped open and he took in his new surroundings.

He took a faltering step and sniffed the air, his eyes coming to rest on Spike.

"You," he growled in disgust. "You stink of unconditional love. I despise it."

Dru glanced at Spike for a moment before a huge smile spread across her face. She knelt beside him and kissed him.

"You're my little Spike." she whispered.

Spike said nothing, merely looked at the floor.

* * *

Angel and Buffy walked in an uncomfortable silence. Buffy was more than aware that they were about to face the man Buffy had dreamed was her lover just last night. Chances were he was trying to end the world, and she was going to have to kill him. It was weird to think that 24 hours ago she wouldn't have had a problem with that. I can do this, she told herself.

Angel, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to ask Buffy what was wrong. Something was clearly bothering her, and what hurt him most of all was the fact that she felt unable to tell him what it was. He'd have to leave it to time; she'd come around eventually.

They arrived outside an abandoned factory.

"This should be the place."

Buffy took a deep breath and nodded. She pushed open the doors and they quietly walked inside.

From the upper level of the factory, they could see Drusilla, Spike in a wheelchair, and the Judge; fully assembled.

Buffy felt a pain in her heart; both at the sight of seeing what she had done to him, and at the fact that he had been involved in raising the demon. Dream or not, Spike was clearly still evil and she was going to have to kill him.

"There's nothing we can do now," Angel whispered. "We'll have to figure out a way to kill the Judge and then come back."

Barely listening to him, Buffy nodded. They turned to leave and found themselves facing a large group of vampires. Taken totally by surprise, they didn't even have time to think about fighting before they were both grabbed and pulled down the stairs.

Dru sneered at the sight of the vampire and the Slayer. She grinned at Spike. "Look who's come to visit."

Spike was staring at Buffy, his eyes wide with shock and horror. This couldn't be happening, it was just like his dream.

The Judge looked as though he was about to vomit. He walked over to Buffy who was still struggling to break free.

"You also stink of love. Love for one who is forbidden to you. Your soul burns for one who has none."

Silence filled the factory for a few seconds while everyone digested what had just been said. Finally, it was shattered by Dru screaming and wailing. She had just realized what the Judge's earlier words to Spike had really meant; it wasn't her he loved unconditionally, it was the Slayer.

She marched over to Spike's chair and grasped the handles firmly to prevent him from escaping. "Let him be the first to die."

"NO!" The desperate cry was out of Buffy's lips before she even realized she had made it.

The Judge turned back to Spike. "Yes, a heart filled with true love will make me strong."

He reached out and placed a hand on Spike's chest, causing him to scream in agony.

Buffy felt as though her own heart was being crushed, and searched frantically around for a way to save him. Finally she spotted a large cluster of chains, which were holding up a group of monitors above the Judge's head. Putting all her strength into the effort, she managed to free herself from her captors and made a beeline for the chains, loosening them and allowing the monitors to crash onto the demon, creating a hole in the floor in the process.

Dru jumped back as she saw the screens fall, but Spike was stuck. A large piece of metal had hit the side of his chair, knocking him onto the floor where he was unable to move.

Buffy ran over to the hole she had created and saw that it lead into the sewers below the factory. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw that Angel had also managed to free himself in the confusion.

"Angel," she called. "Get Spike, he's coming with us."

"Buffy, I-"

"NOW!"

With a sigh Angel ran over to the fallen vampire, hoisted him over his shoulder, and ran back to the hole. He lowered Spike down to Buffy and jumped in after them.

As Angel put Spike back over his shoulder, the blonde vampire cursed under his breath. This had been a weird day, and he had a feeling things were going to get worse.

* * *

Buffy opened the door to Angel's apartment and allowed him to carry Spike in. He dumped the younger vampire on the bed and turned to face Buffy. He felt his rage boiling when he saw she was gazing lovingly at Spike.

"Alright," he snapped. "Will one of you tell me what the hell is going on?"

No one said anything for a few seconds. Spike and Buffy didn't even know what was going on themselves. The dreams may have shown them to their destinies; but they were still traveling that path.

Buffy spoke up first. "Angel," she began calmly. He shot her an accusing glance that made her nerves tense and her words disappear. She glanced at Spike, looking for support, and found it in his eyes. "I really wish I could explain this, I had a dream last night. Normally I don't pay any attention to dreams, but you know that as the Slayer I get messages in my dreams. Well, I dreamed I was in love with Spike. It was so intense and so real, I really think I'm being told I'm meant to be with him."

Both men looked shocked. Spike knew there had to be some connection from his dream, but he never thought she'd had a dream about him. Did she love him as much as he loved her?

Angel was crushed. His only love had just told him that she preferred a soulless demon to him. He balled his hands into tight fists as tears burned his eyes. No, she wouldn't be with Spike. He'd see to that.

"Buffy, I love you," he said. Buffy sighed sadly but he continued. "And that's why I can't let you throw your life away over a piece of scum like Spike."

"Hey!" they both protested in unison.

"You're right, Angel," said Buffy. "It is my life, and I have to do this. Even if it doesn't work, I have to know."

"Buffy, he's a killer!" Angel argued.

"So were you!" she looked at Spike, her eyes pleading with him to tell the truth. "Did you have anything to do with the Judge being raised?"

"I did…at first. But then I had a dream, that we were destined to be together. I tried to stop Dru, got some of my minions to lose the last bit. They managed it too, but Dru got it back."

Buffy was stunned by Spike's honesty, and the fact that he'd had a dream about her too. This just gave more weight to her feelings that they were meant to be together.

Angel took a step toward Buffy. "No, Buffy, we were happy, what happened to that?"

"Will you take a step out of Denialville, mate?" Spike interrupted. "She's made it clear she doesn't want you; leave her alone."

Angel ignored him and continued in his jealous protest. "We can leave, we can get out of Sunnydale for a while; just you and me." He took hold of her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Please, Buffy. Give me another chance."

She looked away from him and he knew he'd already lost her. His face showed his anger clearly now. His eyes glowed yellow yet his demon face was not in place. Squeezing her shoulders tighter he growled at her.

"Get away from me!" Buffy hissed, and pushed him away forcefully. She punched him as he tried to grab her again, snarling as he did so. This wasn't like Angel at all. He just didn't seem like the jealous boyfriend type.

"I don't know you," she stated. "The Angel I loved would at least have pretended to understand."

"I don't understand; Buffy this is crazy."

She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry Angel, but it's over."

"FINE!" he roared. "Just don't expect me to be around to pick up the pieces when he breaks your heart or just plain kills you."

And with that he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Bloody wanker." Spike muttered as Buffy sat down on the bed beside him.

"Am I crazy?" she asked him softly. He smiled.

"If you are, then I'm a raving loon as well."

It was all she could do to stop herself from giggling. Suddenly she felt just how right this was, Angel never made her laugh; Spike had managed it in five minutes.

"I'm sorry about your legs." she said, almost as an afterthought. Spike shrugged.

"They'll heal. I'm sorry for trying to kill you." Buffy shrugged.

"I'm still alive."

She leaned over and pulled him into an embrace, moving to kiss him. Spike hissed in pain and she immediately let go; not sure what was wrong, but knowing that she had hurt him. Spike put his hand to his chest, and with horror, Buffy remembered that he'd been burned.

"Can I…let me see." she insisted. Spike nodded and carefully unbuttoned his shirt. She gasped at the sight that met her eyes. The skin on his chest was red and inflamed, charred black around the edges with large white blisters standing out. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"I need to do something with this, Spike." she said before running into the bathroom and pulling out Angel's first aid kit. She sat back down beside Spike and pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and some gauze.

"This is going to hurt." she said apologetically as she soaked the gauze. Spike nodded and braced himself. Buffy began to dab at the wound and it was all he could to stop himself screaming; it hurt worse than the actual burning had. As his vision began to blur, he realized that there was a strong possibility he was going to pass out from the pain. Buffy seemed to realize this too, because the next thing he knew, she was helping him to lie down.

"Tell me about your dream." he asked in a pain-filled voice.

Buffy nodded and told him what had happened as she cleaned and bandaged his wound. He listened with understanding as she described the love she had felt between them, and the pain she had felt at his death. He knew how she felt because he had felt it himself.

When she had finished, Spike took a deep breath and managed with a little help to sit back up. He told her every last detail of what had happened in his dream, what she had said to him and what had happened at the end. Buffy shuddered at the description of her own death and prayed that it wasn't foreshadowing the future.

"The Judge is still out there. Angel said that no weapon forged could kill him."

Spike gently pressed a finger to her lips, just as he had in her dream. "Shh. Don't worry about it. Whatever is out there, we'll face it together."

Buffy smiled and kissed him, careful not to touch his wound this time. Somehow she knew they were going to get through this. Together.

The End