The Deluge
©2002 Evenstar

Chapter 1

Spike stood back and looked over his handiwork, most impressed with himself. The task had taken a little more than the time he'd allotted, but it was done on time and Buffy wasn't due back from patrol for at least an hour. He'd arranged precisely 1764 white long stem roses in bouquets around her bedroom. He doubted she'd actually realize the significance of the 147 dozens, but he knew and that was enough for him. She'd been gone 147 days and he'd returned to Sunnydale on the 148th. He'd returned from Africa a little over 4 weeks previously a new man, a dramatically changed man, one he hoped Buffy would be able to allow herself to consider. Every time he ran the diatribe over in his mind he gave a shudder, he was....it pained him to think....he was a noble vampire, a vampire with a soul.....cast such a poor lot in life then rose above it....yadda, yadda, yadda. Channeling his inner Randy on a daily basis was a serious pain in the ass. However, one thing he wasn't, mercifully, was Randy. The leather duster would only part from his ashes and for no other reason. Each instance his conscience smacked him he'd counter it with a swig from his flask and then spouted off every profanity he could conjure. He couldn't forget who he was after all. The rebel, the rebel with a cause.

The cause was the same as ever, live and die (metaphorically speaking) for his Slayer, for Buffy. When he'd arrived back in California after all he'd been through his first instinct was run to her front door and announce the fact that he'd earned himself his soul. But as he stepped over the threshold into Sunnydale he felt the pangs deep inside that told him that maybe she wouldn't welcome him or even appreciate his journey. So for a while he just watched her, the most thrilling and beautiful woman in history. He loved her from afar and all the more now that the soul told him it was a generous and selfless kind of love. He was watching her back again on patrol and for a few fleeting moments he knew she sensed he was about, but the belief he was gone for good told her it wasn't possible. He was surprised and even heart sick to find that on many occasions she'd make her way to his old crypt. She'd duck inside and often not emerge for as long as half an hour.

Later that first time he'd gone back to look inside and found himself confronted with something that could only be described as sign of hope. The crypt had been washed of any sign he'd ever been there, for in truth at the time of his departure he had no intention whatsoever of returning. However it seemed Buffy had taken it upon herself to establish the place as a refuge. The lower level remained a blackened cave, but the upper level was strewn with candles of a variety of styles, colors and scents, as well as a few old pillows and a blanket that used to be his. He guessed he must have left it at her house and not remembered. There was a pile of paperback books with the makeshift living area, mostly fluff fiction, but also a copy of an anthology of romantic poetry.

He supposed his actions after that could be construed as stalking, but he didn't see it that way. He thought he was being romantic and mysterious. Apparently so did Buffy. It began very simply, he watched her leave for a patrol and eased up to the house to adorn the front mat with a bouquet of pink roses. There was nothing suspicious or assuming about the gathering, they simply intrigued and delighted her when she came upon them. He repeated the action with different flowers for several days until he caught Dawn standing guard on Buffy obvious request. It was then that he augmented his wooing ways, it began by hanging a tiny silver chain with a slight raindrop pendant on the post of her back porch. It took her two days to find it, but she'd been wearing it ever since.

Chapter 2

One night Spike watched from a hiding spot behind the neighbor's row of cedars. Buffy and Dawn exited the house arm in arm, smiling sweetly as they talked. He started to follow and listened intently. He learned they were going to a movie; that Dawn had a part time job at a clothing store in the mall and much to his pleasure Giles had managed to finagle the Council of Watchers into paying the Slayer an annual salary. The lives of the two girls he loved best were quiet and content and the knowledge gave him solace. He turned around and made his way back to the house, his hand reaching inside the pocket of the ever present black leather duster to touch the gift he'd purchased for he bellowed.

Breaking into the house was no trouble whatsoever, simply picking the lock on the back door and slipping inside. Not much, if anything at all had changed about the place, least of which was Buffy's bedroom. It still had the semblance of a young girl's place. The colors were still pastel and soft, the furniture quaint as always. Nonetheless the entire room was permeated with her essence. He could not help the strong pull on his heart to feel closer to her again and lay himself down on her bed. He buried his face in the down of her pillow and inhaled deeply.

The sensations of arousal and animal knowledge caused his entire body to shudder. However he did not linger; he worried she'd take this as an invasion and he had not come to satisfy his own selfish needs. He straightened the covers and lay a small book on her pillow. I was a collection of selected poems of his perennial favorite, Lord Byron. Folded into the 200 year old edition was a verse from 'She Walks in Beauty' written in his own hand. He went back out the way he'd come in, locking the door behind him.

It seemed to Spike that the Slayer was quite taken with the concept of having a secret admirer, after all she hadn't called the cops on him. This sort of behavior continued for him for another week and a half, until he'd been caught in the act. It had come down to a matter of a pair of pink African diamond earrings. The demon Sarlaak, to whom Spike owed the soul restoration, snacked on the things like they were kernels of popcorn. The cave in which the Sarlaak dwelled was littered with the gems and Spike had helped himself to a generous handful, or three - the coat had many pockets after all.

Spike had thought he was alone in the house, Buffy on patrol and Dawn gone out with her friends. He'd been too wrapped up in finding the perfect place to display the earrings to notice someone had come home. Just as he affixed the studs to poor Mr. Gordo's ears, Dawn burst through the door brandishing an armed crossbow.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed, nearly jumping out of his skin.

"SPIKE!!!" yelled Dawn, tossing the weapon aside and lunging for the vampire. He found himself with two impossibly strong teenage girl arms crushing his ribcage. He was dumbstruck for a time and unable to will himself to move. When it seemed he wasn't about to be released from her hold anytime soon, he let himself remember how he'd missed the girl. Spike relaxed and returned Dawn's embrace with equal ardor. He sagged over her shoulder and hugged her close.

"Hey.....how's my lil' bit?" he asked in a soothing tone. Dawn looked up at him with eyes full of tears, it was evident he'd been missed.

"I knew it! I knew you weren't gone for good!"

"'Course not."

"Xander said...."

"Oh yeah! Take the whelp's word over ol' Spike's! You know me, platelet, I'll be here for as long as you n' big sis are....just needed to go on a lil' safari, that's all."

"Xander....he said....he said you....."

"What did Xander say?"

"He said you tried to rape Buffy....you would never do that, I know you never would!" Spike sighed and closed his eyes, the most painful memory of his entire unlife washing over him as a black tar. He didn't know how to reconcile what had occurred within himself, let alone to the girl he still held in his arms.

"Dawn.....I......come and sit with me." He led her over to the bed and sat next to her, keeping on her hand in his,"You know I love you right? And that I've never lied to you? You're 16 now, you're not a child and I'm not gonna treat you like one. Okay?" She nodded her head and he continued on,"I love Buffy too, love Buffy above everything else in the whole bloody world. I made a mistake - I thought we were playing the same old games she n' I always had. When I realized it wasn't a game, I stopped and I left. I would never hurt her, not like that, never like that - I'd stake m'self first. Did Buffy say anything?"

"She told me that 'no', you didn't." Relief visibly overcame him and Dawn smiled at seeing it, squeezing his hand tighter,"Spike?"

"Yes, bit?"

"Why are you in Buffy's bedroom?"

"Oh...um....I....." Dawn suddenly caught the glint of light reflecting off of the stuffed pig and grabbed it starring in awe at the earrings.

"It's you!! You're her secret admirer!! Ha! I knew it had to be you!"

"Did you now?"

"Well no...but I hoped. Buffy even thought it was this geek Leonard she used to work with at the Doublemeat."

"She isn't soft on the bloke is she?"

"Um, duh, Spike...she's an idiot. After some embarrassing moments she figured out it wasn't Leonard, then her brain went numb. Now she's thinking it's this Fyarl she fought last month."

"Oh now that's bloody rich! Has it even occurred to her that it might just be the man who's hopelessly in love with her?"

"No, but I think it's because she doesn't want to get her hopes up. She'll never admit it, but I think she misses you. Alot."

"Nice to know, nibblet. Look...I don't have a bloody clue why I'm doing this Don Juan junk....but I'm just trying to make her a lil' happy, give 'er a lil' romance, you know? Maybe earn a chance with her."

"And I'm gonna help you!"

Chapter 3

So as it was, Dawn had kept her word and even helped him inside with all the flowers. It took innumerable trips from the DeSoto, retrieved from the care of the ever loyal friend Clem, to move all the roses up to Buffy's bedroom. Dawn left him to his own for a time and when she came back, tears sprang from her eyes at the beautiful transformation. Spike was just laying a singular red rose on Buffy's pillow when his coconspirator returned.

"I should be going," he reasoned,"Not ready to be unmasked just yet....or staked come to think of it."

"She won't stake you. She might yell, scream, rant and rave...but she won't kill you."

"Don't be too sure 'bout that one, nibblet...I tend to push her buttons. Right then, she'll be home soon, I'll be off now."

"What next after this? It'll be hard to top."

"Well, I was toying with the notion of wrapping m'self up like a birthday prezzy....big red bow n' everything." Dawn rolled her eyes at him.

"How's about you just come to the front door one night?" Spike drew one long stemmed white rose and present it to Dawn with a peck on her cheek.

"'Night, sweet bit." And with that he left.

Buffy returned home after a particularly difficult night of slaying. Most nights she patrolled alone, occasionally Xander would tag along, or Giles now that he'd settled back in Sunnydale. But neither of them could really match up as well as Spike had. With him she had someone with similar feral instincts, someone who anticipated her thoughts and movements in a fight, someone she could get in synch with. That had been Spike and those qualities weren't in either Xander or Giles. Therefore Buffy patrolled alone. The house was quiet, Dawn was likely already asleep and another night was finally to a close for the Slayer. She sighed and put away her stakes and knives in the weapons chest and slowly climbed the stairs.

The unexpected fragrance of flowers touched her senses as she ascended, she passed it off as the summer wind blowing through a probably open window. The light was peaking out from under sister's door and Buffy stopped to say goodnight."Dawn?" Buffy inquired as she rapped lightly on the door and pushed it open.

"Hey Buffy how does the slayage?" her sister answered, looking up from her book.

"It goes...took out a nest of vamps, no big."

"Then why are you covered in dirt?"

"Okay, so they were kinda big...but now they're part of the landscape."

"You look beat, why don't you go lie down in your room and I'll bring you some chamomile tea?"

"Oh, that sounds nice, that's nice of you." Dawn nodded and bounded out of the room and down the hall. Meanwhile, Buffy sleepily crossed the hall to her bedroom, starting to peel off her sweaty, dusty clothes. When she opened the door, the faint smell of roses from before suddenly swelled around her. The pastoral sight of her entire bedroom covered in white roses almost made her swoon. As it was she felt shaky and giddy. The butterflies in her stomach lurched and danced as she tried to regain some composure. The diamonds studs in her ears suddenly felt quite cold on her lobes. This was above and beyond anything she could have ever imagine, the kind of gesture that only ever occurred in romance novels.

Buffy had been standing rooted to the same spot for the entire time Dawn had been gone. The younger Summers' heart leapt with feelings of hope and happiness, Spike was one in a million and hopefully Buffy could start seeing it."Buffy? What is it?" Dawn asked with a hint of a tease. Knowing full well what had stunned her sister into silence, Dawn crept up beside her and shoved the cup of tea into Buffy's hands."Wow...."

"Uh-huh."

"He must really really really really really love you."

"Uh-huh."

"Still no idea who it is?"

"Huh..."

"Was that in the negative or the positive? Would you just look at this...this is true romance, true love. I mean, really, to go to the probably incredible chore of lugging all these dozens or roses up the stairs, take the time to arrange them so nicely. The red rose is a nice touch don't you think?"

"Uh-huh."

"Two syllables....try for three next time."

"Dawn..."

"That's one..."

"Dawn....you were home all night?"

"Yup." The other shoe finally dropped.

"You know who it is!!??!"

"I do."

"Tell me!"

"Nope." Buffy turned to her sister with mouth wide and eyes wider.

"You have to tell me!!"

"Says you? Plbbbbp.....nuts to that. Grab a clue and take a guess, and close your mouth, you'll catch flies."

"Dawn, I've been wracking my brain since the first bouquet of pink roses....please tell me! Give me a hint at least."

"A clue? Hmmm.....well, he's sweet, I like him a whole lot, he's cute....um...he looks out for me...."

"But the only one who remotely fits that description is Xa...."

"Kitten poker, he also enjoys playing poker for kittens."

"Kittens? Oh it's not Clem is it? Poor Clement...he's, he's nice, but he's not my type.....I don't want to crush him...." Inside her head Dawn was screaming to Buffy that she's was an idiot.

"Yes, Buffy, it's Clement.....oh yeah, it's so Clement.....geez....I'm going to bed. Such an idiot......" With a roll of her eyes Dawn left Buffy to her delusions, What does it take? A sledgehammer? Railway spike through the brain? What an idiot......

"Clement? Clement? Oh dear....."

Chapter 4

Buffy woke up to the sound of pouring rain. At first it didn't register that it was indeed water falling from the sky, she couldn't remember the last time it rained. The next sound she heard was Dawn's feet pounding up the stairs and then the teenager burst into the room,"Buffy? Oh good you're up...do we have an umbrella?"

"Huh?"

"An um-brel-la, it's raining outside."

"It doesn't rain in Sunnydale."

"Tell that to the rain. Umbrella? Gotta go to work, the mall will be busy with the rain driving people inside, I don't want to be late."

"There might be one in the closet under the stairs. You'll be home when?"

"Later...before patrol time, promise! C-ya!" Dawn was gone before she had a chance to say anything more. Buffy rolled out of bed and padded across the way to the bathroom barely picking her feet up, yawning widely. Mornings were not her favorite time, Dawn was almost always up first, not a typical teenager. Buffy's sister was usually happy to start another day, Buffy usually asked for another hour of sleep. She stepped into the hot stream of the shower's water and swayed gently to the combined rhythm of the rain outside and the water flowing down her body. Her day was already planned in her mind, the first thing to do would be to sit down with Clement and let him down easy. She would thank him, tell him she was flattered, then break his poor sweet heart. She was dreading it, he'd gone to such lengths and showed such adorable devotion and they'd barely spent and time together.

She'd asked him one time if he'd heard from Spike and hadn't really spoken to him since, he was only able to tell her what she already knew. Spike had left with the intention of coming back, but now that he'd been gone so long even Clem wasn't sure he was coming back. Every time Buffy thought of the the long departed vampire her entire body felt an ache she didn't know was possible. She wasn't supposed to miss him, she wasn't supposed to care about where he'd gone and she definitely was not supposed to find herself silently hoping he was okay. Maybe he'd hooked up with Drusilla again, maybe they were raising hell all over Europe. Or perhaps he was just alone in the corner of some pub in London drowning his sorrows in a pint of beer. At any rate he wasn't in Sunnydale, despite the fact that his presence was everywhere she went. There wasn't a single spot in the entire city that didn't evoke some memory of him.

She hit the shower off abruptly, making the pipes groan loudly. She chastised herself for the apparent weakness for thinking about him and cursed the vampire for making her this way. She had some unpleasant business to attend to on this dreary day and the sooner she saw to it, the sooner she could get back to her life, whatever that meant. She never missed Riley this much, maybe not even Angel.

Later that same morning Buffy waited for the friendly demon to answer her knock on his door. She heard scuffling on the other side before the door was suddenly swept open to reveal a rather unsettled and ever wrinkly Clem."BUFFY! Buffy! So...so....so....n..nice to see you again. How's Dawn? What can I do for you? And how about that rain huh?" he stammered.

"Hello Clement, can I come in?"

"NO! I mean no, the place is a mess, it's embarrassing."

"I don't mind....well, this won't take too long. Clem you've been wonderful, ever since my birthday party and especially how you were with helping me with Dawn after Spike....after he left. The gifts have been beautiful, really they have, but I think last night needs to be the last time. It's not that I don't think you're a fantastic person....but I.....we can't work, we're just too different....."

"Buffy? What are you talking about?"

"Sorry?"

"What happened last night?"

"The flowers, the jewelry, the poetry..."

"Sophie would pull my skin tight if I so much as dared to think about another woman! You have a secret admirer? And you thought it was me?"

"Dawn said.....hold on, you're dating Sophie?"

"Ever since the party....love at first sight...you know how it is - can't fight destiny. Dawn's a sweet kid and we're pretty good pals, so maybe whatever she said was just wishful thinking?"

"That must be it.....sorry to have bothered you."

"Don't be silly, nothing to apologize for. You have a real good day Buffy."

"Yeah..." She turned and walked back down the hall of his apartment building, too embarrassed to think she could ever look Clem in the eye again. He shut the door and let out a sigh of relief, slumping against the wood. Spike emerged from the other room playing with the small kitten he held in his in his hand, it was from the other night's poker winnings.

"How long you gonna keep this up?" Clem inquired. Spike continued his mock battled with the feline, letting its paws bat at his fingers. He looked at Clem with a mischievous grin.

"You think the Slayer would like herself a kitty cat?"

Chapter 5

The rain had not let up all day and after nightfall it only seemed to get worse. Buffy and Dawn had shared dinner, with the younger of them telling of her insane day on the job. The rain had driven everyone inside and that meant a very busy day at the mall. To compound matters now, this night's patrol was going down in the record books as possibly the most miserable ever. The rain was positively torrential, the jacket Buffy wore was wholely inadequate and to top it off she hadn't seen a single vampire."Guess I'm the only one stupid enough to be out on a night like this." She broken into a run, heading for Spike's crypt, but along the way she got her foot stuck in a sink hole and fell into a pile of mud."Typical." When she finally reached her safe haven she looked and felt like a drowned rat. She was soaked through to the bone, shivering and on the verge of tears. She had the corner market on self pity. Buffy burst inside just as if Spike would have been waiting for her. As it was she stood there shocked to find many of her candles illuminated and the interior bathed in a soft amber hue.

Her slayer senses immediately alerted he to the presence of vampires. Six snarling and feral faces emerged from the shadows and advanced on her. With a stake in hand, Buffy engaged the first of them, giving it a few quick jabs and then strong left cross before giving him a stake to the heart. The others did not proved to be so easy to combat. Her strikes were hard, but misguided as she defended herself against all five at once. She managed to stake three within the melee, but the remaining two were very large and stronger than she'd expected.

Somehow her feet got kicked out from under and she landed flat on her back. Before she could recover the vampire had climbed on top of her with every intention of making a meal of her. However just as the reality of her peril sunk in he'd suddenly exploded into dust. The last vampire was no where in sight, and as the cloud of vampire remains settled a black clad figure with platinum blond hair loomed above her.

"Spike," she whispered, almost too overcome from seeing him standing there with a stake in hand and the familiar look of love on his face,"You're home." He offered her his hand, but she didn't react.

"You're alright, love? You're not 'urt are you?" He knelt down next to her, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth,"Buffy?"

"I...." her voice caught in her throat, then it came out with a sneeze. Almost instantaneously Spike had her by the shoulders and was lifting her to her feet. He guided her over to the cozy corner she had made for herself and bundled her up in the blanket.

"You shouldn't be out on a night like this, love. No vampires about, they'll have all gone inside or underground. Bloody rotten all this rain, makes me think I was back in merry olde England."

"Is that where you were?"

"No, pet...somewhere alot farther away, but I'm back now."

"Didn't think you were ever coming back."

"'M not surprised, considering how bad we left things....but I couldn't stay away for good....I made promises, and I never go back on m'word. So here I am and just in the nick of time I reckon, by the looks of things."

"I could have handled it."

"I know, Slayer, but I've always got your back."

"Yeah..." She fell in silence, staring down at the floor. She wasn't prepared for this moment, not by a long shot. Part of her wanted just to hold him to make sure he was real; while the other wanted to scream at him for being such a son of a bitch for leaving when he did, especially with so many unresolved issues between them.

"Buffy what happened between us right before I left...the very reason I left...." Suddenly Buffy was on her feet, the blanket tossed aside.

"I can't do this, not tonight...."

"Love..."

"Don't call me that! What is wrong with you? You disappear for months and then just waltz back into my live acting like a big hero......and.....and..."

"And maybe you should be getting home to the nibblet." His unwillingness to have a confrontation was even more infuriating than his sweet demeanor and the bedroom eyes he wouldn't turn off. Then in an unexpected act of chivalry he took off his heavy coat and presented it to her."To keep the rain off and the cold out."

"Spike, I can't....."

"Slayer, just take it. I'll stop by to see Dawn and retrieve it then. Go on, you need it more than I do....rain and cold don't do much to a vamp except make him grouchy." Reluctantly she accepted it and slipped her arms inside. She was practically swimming in the leather, but he was right, she needed it and she was grateful for it. She headed towards the door, but turned back for a moment to look again at his face, trying to imprint it deeper into her memory. He looked back at her in a similar manner, cocking his head to one side."I always knew you'd look beautiful in diamonds."

Chapter 6

"Dawn Summers get your ass down here now!!" Buffy shouted as soon as she stepped through the front door. Dawn emerged from the way of the kitchen. She stopped short at the sight of her sister and laughed at the drenched Slayer wearing what could only be Spike's coat.

"Is that a post reunion shag glow you've got going on?"

"Try a furious rage!"

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist.....or did he already for that for you?"

"He did nothing of the sort, nor will he be! You knew it was Spike all along and you didn't tell me!"

"Why would I? You loved all the attention having a secret admirer was giving you. I know you love everything he's given you. You never take off that necklace, or the earrings, the poetry book is on your bedside table. Admit it Buffy you missed him even more than I did. The only reason you took the coat is 'cause you knew he'd come for it."

"He helped me with some vamps and made me take the coat so I wouldn't get wet..."

"Yeah right. You're such and idiot! I can't believe you're my sister."

"Excuse me? He's stalking me again....he's sick.....twisted....."

"He was only trying to make you happy....he was only trying to tell you he still loves you. By the way, calling him names isn't working on convincing either of us."

"He doesn't know what love is, he doesn't have a soul....."

"Look in his eyes."

"What?"

"Take two seconds away from your bitching and moaning to look into his eyes and then tell me that he doesn't love you with all his heart." Buffy didn't have a convincing reply and it was clear Dawn was still Spike's champion over her's. A soft plaintiff mew came from the area at Buffy's feet and she looked down to see a very tiny orange colored kitten with blue eyes looking up at her.

"Where did.....??"

"Spike."

"Damn him....this is the last thing I need." Dawn scooped the kitten up, the creature barely filling her two hands.

"Good, because Spike didn't bring him for you, he gave him to me and brought everything else the fluffer will need. Plus, I have a job and I'll take care of him all by myself."

"We're not keeping the cat!" Dawn brought the kitten within an inch of Buffy's face and his small paw whapped at her nose, Buffy crumbled to the power of kitten cuteness.

"I've named him William."

***

Buffy had used up all the hot water getting herself warm and washing off all the mud and vampire dust. She entered her room with a towel around her body and the hair loose and freshly blow dried. When she saw Spike's coat where she'd let it fall on the floor, a sudden carnal knowing spread through her entire body. She felt a full ache of remembrance throb in her lower abdomen. She took a shaky breath and picked up the coat and let the towel fall in it's place. The leather duster wrapped around her like a cocoon, the silk interior sumptuous against her bare skin, almost as smooth as his skin. It smelled so keenly of the vampire, with his cigarettes and liquor, it made her heart thump wildly in her chest. Buffy lay on her bed, covered in his coat and thought of Spike as her hands traveled downwards on her body.

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