Every Night

As the Hellmouth rained down around them like confetti, the Slayer found she barely noticed. Caught in a moment. The blink of an eye. Not her eyes, though. It was his eyes that captured her mind. For that one moment, it was only she and he who existed. A perfect moment. More then most ever got.

That the underground cavern was crashing all around her really did not bother Buffy. Her hand was aflame but she only vaguely noticed the flames that licked at her skin. She did feel his hand though, entwined with hers. Could feel his skin warm, heated, which was unnatural for him.

His pale face was lit up by an aesthetic sunlight that highlighted his gaunt cheekbones and the hollows of his eyes rather harshly. His white blonde hair was strikingly bright, his dark clothes seemingly unnatural in the light.

Spike squeezed her hand “No, you don’t. But thanks for saying it”

So, just like that he denied her proclamation. She understood why he said it, of course. He wanted her to leave. To get to safety. To be safe.

They looked at each other. In his eyes Buffy could see herself, glowing from the light reflected from him. She looked beautiful, much more so than she usually saw when she looked in the mirror. Must have been what Spike saw when he looked at her.

The ground trembled underneath her feet, gently at first and then hard enough to shake her free of Spike’s grasp.

Her eye’s widened as she finally took in destruction around her. She glanced around then back to Spike.

“Now go!” He commanded, desperation for her in his eyes.

Buffy hesitated, took a step towards the exit.

She stopped.

This wasn’t right. She wouldn’t just leave him here. Buffy walked back up to him. Shook her head.

“Buffy, go!” Spike pleaded.

“No,” She said softly, lifted her chin “Not without you”

“I can’t! I have to finish this”

“It’s already finished!” Buffy grabbed the chain of the amulet and yanked hard, ripping it from the vampire’s neck.

She tossed it down into the cavern. Spike watched it go with disbelief.

“What did you bloody do that for?! That was my...my...” Spike stammered.

“Your what? Your destiny? I don’t think so. I’m not leaving you here” Buffy grabbed his hand, looked at him “Now, let’s go! Before we become supernatural pancakes”

Buffy pulled on Spike’s arm and after a moment he succumbed. They pounded up the winding stairs, the enormous rumblings of the whole school falling to the ground behind them. They made it to the ground level and the Slayer indicated the stairs to the roof. So, they ran.

The vibrations followed them up the stairs. Buffy’s heart was pounding in her ears. It was bright daylight outside but they had to catch up with the others. She kicked the door to the roof open and the sunlight streamed in, cutting a swath through the darkness.

Spike hissed and backtracked. She turned back to him and he pulled his jacket over his head, clutched it and ran out onto the roof. Buffy followed.

They jumped rooftop after rooftop, Spike leaving a trail of acrid smoke behind him.

They gained on the school bus fairly quickly; the buildings were crumbling just seconds behind them. Buffy called out to Spike. It was now or never.

The vampire and the Slayer looked at one another and then dived off the edge of the building. Spike’s coat flailed behind him, giving the impression of bat wings. He landed first, hard on the top of the bus. Buffy followed closely. Buffy grabbed hold of the edge of the bus and Spike held onto Buffy’s hand.

He hisses and cried out, he was burning up, his duster barely covering him.

The bus screeched to a stop.

Buffy pushed Spike off and jumped down. The door swung open and before Dawn could embrace her Buffy tossed Spike into the relative darkness of the school bus rather unceremoniously. Thick wafts of smoke filled the interior. His skin popped and cracked, skin had begun to char and flake off.

But he was still here. Still with her.

Buffy crawled into the back of the bus and sat opposite Spike on the floor, his back was pressed up against the back of a seat in the far corner, the darkest corner.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Spike coughed, wincing as he shifted “That was how it was meant to end for me”

“No. You still have so much to do, Spike,” Buffy reached over and placed her hand on his cheek lightly, looked into his eyes “And I kinda like having you around”

Spike paused then he tilted his head and smiled “Kind of?”

“Yeah, kinda” Buffy smiled back.

He reached up his hand to cover her own and –

Buffy sat bolt upright in bed, gasping. Her eyes were wide, not a trace of lethargy, her muscles tensed, her hands gripping the sheet to her chest.

She ran a hand through her hair, looked around her darkened room, the air thick and smothering.

“Oh god...” She groaned “Not again...”

The Slayer turned to look at the bed. No one besides her. Just an empty space. Just a ghost.

She squeezed her eyes closed, murmured “Every night...”

Every night she saves him.

A/N: Please Review. Did you like it? Go on! REVIEW! You know you wanna!