Title: Fluffy Empty Places

Author: Nebula

Rating: PG-13

Chapter: 1 of 1

Pairings: Spike/Buffy, Spike & Xander friendship

Summary: This was done as a request, actually.  A re-take on the
seventh season episode 'Empty Places', with a twist to ensure a
happy Fluffy, Spuffy ending.

Disclaimer: *sighs*  I don't own the boys.  Joss owns them, but he
lets me borrow them.  (This should be my standard disclaimer...)

NN: As always, all italics and emphasized words are 'in these'. 
Enjoy!

< --- >

  Buffy disposed of the final cop before turning to Faith, her eyes
wide with shock and disappointment.  "Were you completely insane?"
she yelled.
  "B, we were just having some fun," Faith started, but Buffy shook
her off.
  "We're fighting a war," she started, and the girls groaned.  One
glare at them had them rolling their eyes.
  "Seems we've been 'fighting a war' forever," Kennedy snorted.
  This time, Faith turned on the Potential as well.  "Tonight MAY
have been fun, but there is a war going on.  And considering both of
us Slayers have been here a lot longer then you, I think WE get the
right to say 'forever'."
  Kennedy flushed and looked away.
  Buffy shot her sister Slayer a grateful glance, her fear and anger
being replaced with weariness.  "What happened to your face?" Dawn
asked suddenly, frowning at her sister.
  "Caleb," she responded, and that earned a gasp from the girls. 
Finally, they were realizing the seriousness of the situation.
  "You went back to the vineyard?" Kennedy asked incredulously, and
any hope that Buffy had had about the girls understanding was
gone.  "How stupid can you be?"
  "He came to the school, and attacked me there," Buffy said, her
voice dangerously soft.  "I stood practically no chance.  That's why
you girls shouldn't be out here tonight.  With Caleb around..."
  "He could do to us what he did to Xander?" Kennedy said.
  Buffy swallowed, her gut clenching at the memory of Xander's
scream, the blood pouring down his face, the tears he shed with
Willow when they thought she'd gone, only one eye, and all because
of her.
  "We have to get back," Buffy said, watching Kennedy suppress a
smirk of satisfaction.  Buffy really had no idea what her friend saw
in the Potential.  She saw nothing but trouble.
  Faith seemed to realize the same thing, because she was turning to
the girls, pointing out of the alley.  With resigned sighs and nods
they trudged towards home.  Buffy bit her lip but said nothing as
she realized that they were listening more to Faith then her.  'Stop
it,' she scolded herself, 'You are NOT doing this, Summers.  You
have a war to face, and it's not with Faith.  She's here to help.'
  Buffy hurried ahead to lead the girls back to the house.  They had
to do something about Caleb, and fast.  He was worse then Glory, and
that meant that people were going to do more then lose their eyes by
his hand.
  They were going to wind up dead.

< --- >

  They got home just as a familiar car pulled into the driveway. 
Buffy quickly ushered the girls in, hoping the decorations were
still up.  It wasn't much, but hopefully enough to let Xander know
that they still cared, and were still there for him.
  She headed towards the door, opening it for her friend.  "May I
offer my assistance, kind sir?" she said, giving him a broad smile. 
Inside, she was screaming and sobbing at the sight of her friend. 
Caleb was going to pay, and in blood.  A whole lot of it.
  Xander gave her a tired smile in return, his single eye dull and
practically lifeless.  "Thank you kindly, m'lady," he said, letting
her pull him from the car and help him towards the door.
  Willow was waiting inside, offering him a bright smile as he
stared at the room in silent surprise.  "Welcome home," she said
softly.
  Xander began to smile as well, his bottom lip just as wobbly as
Buffy and Willow's.  "Thank you," he whispered, leaning against
Buffy as she led him to the sofa.
  After a few minutes of relaxing on the sofa, Xander turned to
Buffy, frowning slightly as he glanced at her bloody
forehead.  "What happened?" he asked.
  Buffy shrugged.  "Banged my head into something.  Do you need
anything?"
  He continued to stare at her, causing her to sigh.  "It was him,
wasn't it?" he asked, before she could say anything.  He paled as he
glanced up at her in horror.  "You didn't go...back down there, did
you?" he breathed.
  Buffy shook her head quickly.  "No, I didn't.  Don't worry."
  "That means he came up," Anya piped in, ever helpful.  Buffy
cringed, hoping this realization wouldn't freak Xander out even more.
  It did.  "Where?" he said, his voice hoarse.
  "The school," she said quietly, looking away.  "Willow's got so
many protection spells on this place, it's incredible.  No one's
coming in unless we want them to, Xan.  I promise.  And I don't
break my promises," she said, offering him a smile.  Xander gave her
a tremulous one in return.
  "Caleb's dangerous," he said, his smile dropping.  "We have to do
something about him."
  Buffy nodded, glancing around at the others.  She saw a few of
them make faces, knowing General Buffy's speech 562 was about to
make its entrance, but she didn't care.  "Xander's right: Caleb has
to be dealt with, and fast.  Trust me, we know that you don't let
people like him stick around for too long."
  Dawn shuddered, thinking of a blonde god.  Buffy gave her a sad
smile, before turning back once more to the crowd before
her.  "That's why I think we should head back in."
  Everyone stared at her like she was insane.  "Not tonight!" Buffy
said, giving them a wide-eyed stared.  "And not every..."
  "We're not going back down there!" one of the girls shrieked, and
that started everyone else.
  "You're insane," Kennedy snapped.  "To think that we'd even
CONSIDER going back down to face him!"
  Dawn shook her head, staring at her sister incredulously.  "I
can't believe you would even suggest such a thing," she said,
sounding disgusted.
  "Guys, we can't just forget about him!  I would love to, believe
me.  But from past experiences I know that if we do that, we'll lose
even more people, and I don't want that to happen!" Buffy argued.
  "I'm sorry, B, but I'm with them.  This is so way wrong."
  "I agree that he is a threat, Buffy, but you can't begin to think
that after such a battle as we fought last night that we would..."
  "Buffy, how could you?"
  "We're not going back down there, Ms. Summers!  We're not even
Slayers or anything yet!"
  Buffy cringed as the yelling came at her from all sides.  She
hadn't meant that very night, or that everyone go this time.  Just
the seasoned fighters.  She'd learned her lesson, and wasn't she
glancing over at the reminder this very minute?  His grief-filled,
scared, one-eyed gaze settled on Willow, making her cringe even more.
  The yelling increased in volume, and she covered her ears, trying
to stop the voices from pounding.  'We're not going back down
there...Are you so heartless that you would...How could you
even...You'll just get us killed again...Buffy, I'm disappointed in
you...'
  She kept her hands over her ears, but no one seemed to notice.  No
one was on her side at all.  Someone would be, if he was here.  But
Giles had sent him away.  The one person that she could trust these
days.
  "Spike," she whimpered under her breath, forcing the tears of
several months back.  "Where are you, Spike?"

< --- >

  Unknown to her, Spike was hurtling down the highway at an illegal
speed, with Andrew clutching onto him for dear life.  Spike didn't
care.  Spike wasn't going to sit around that damn monastery until
nightfall.  He'd grabbed a blanket from a house nearby, and had
covered himself as best as he could.  He'd set off, the sun behind
him setting over the trees and random hills, giving him some relief
from the light.  It was night now, and the blanket had long since
been discarded.
  "Why are we going so fast?" Andrew yelled above the wind, peering
up to see them passing the Bronze.  Almost there, then.
  "Because I'm not leavin' them when that preacher's 'round," Spike
growled.  After what Caleb had done to Xander...he shook his head
slightly, wishing he'd been a little faster.  Xander might've been
seeing things twenty/twenty now.
  'Or he very well might be dead,' a voice inside told him.  'You
saved his bloody life.  Just be lucky that Harris got off with just
the one eye.'
  Andrew gave a very girly shriek as Spike slid the cycle to a halt
outside the Summers' house.  "I guess Xander's home," Andrew said,
noticing the car in the driveway.
  Spike nodded absently, trying to pick up on the...shouting?  It
did sound like shouting and yelling inside the house.  Frowning,
Spike made his way up the path to the door.
  Just before he reached the porch, however, he began to make out
words from inside.  "We're not going back down there!"  One of the
Potentials, it sounded like.
  His frown deepened as he listened to the rest of them.  All
shouting, all sounding brassed off beyond belief.  Willow.  Giles. 
Faith.  Dawn.  Anya.  Kennedy.  The Potentials.
  Everyone, that is, except Xander and Buffy.  They were the only
two he hadn't heard yet.  He pulled out his key to the house and
headed in, and after staring at the spectacle before him, realized
why they were the only ones silent.
  Xander was sitting on the sofa, looking tired and miserable,
cringing as the voices began to increase in volume.  The others were
standing or sitting on the floor, all of them just as pissed off as
Spike had thought they were.  They were all shouting still at the
person in front of them.
  In the center of the room stood Buffy, her head slightly bowed,
hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the attacks.  Her
shoulders shook slightly, obvious to anyone that looked that she was
crying.  No one saw or cared for the two silent people in the room.
  "ENOUGH!!"
  All heads whipped around towards Spike, eyes widening in shock at
his arrival.  "Y-You were supposed to have checked out the lead,"
Giles sputtered.
  "I did.  Long drive, but didn't fancy gettin' stuck there all
night.  Knew I was riskin' gettin' burned, but I thought it would be
a good idea to hurry back.  Guess I was right."
  Everyone had stopped talking, realizing for the first time that
they might've gone overboard.  "Someone mind tellin' me why we're
suddenly not only attackin' Buffy, but givin' Xander a headache as
well?" he asked quietly, giving them an 'I-dare-you-to-say-a-thing'
look.  Xander's real name being said by the vampire was enough to
tell everyone that their best option was to shut up.
  Kennedy crossed her arms, accepting his dare.  "We're discussing
why Buffy suddenly thinks we should go back down into the vineyard,"
she said, glaring at him and Buffy.
  "Discussing?  As I recall, discussing needs two people, one on
each side of the argument.  Not twenty against one," he said, his
voice still dangerously quiet.  His accent had softened as well,
giving one more indication as to how furious he really was.
  Several people turned red and looked away, including Dawn and
Willow.
  "Was she actually given a chance to explain?" he asked.  When no
answer was given, he turned to Buffy.  Her eyes burning with unshed
tears, Buffy merely looked somewhere else.  That was answer enough.
  "Thought so," he said softly.  "Then I suggest that everyone just
shut their gobs and consider what they might've done, had
the 'discussion' kept goin'," he practically spat.
  He glanced at Xander, whose look was one of unhidden relief and
thanks.  He gave the young man a small smile, and was glad to see it
returned.
  His eyes turned to Buffy, who looked about ready to break down. 
Heart wrenching at the picture she made, Spike stepped forward,
laying a hand on her arm.  "Head on upstairs," he whispered, causing
Buffy to turn to him, uncertain.  "I've got this taken care of," he
promised.  "I'll be right behind you."
  It was those last words of his that had her nodding in agreement. 
She headed towards the stairs, arms wrapped around herself
protectively.
  One down, one to go.  Spike stepped towards Xander and offered the
young man his hand.  Xander gave him another grateful smile and
allowed himself to be pulled up.
  After making sure Xander wasn't going to slip, Spike turned back
to the group, his glare enough to make a few of them step
back.  "Happy now?" he asked, before turning back to help Xander up
the stairs.
  Buffy kept her eyes on the vampire as she waited on the bottom
stair.  It was too much to look at anyone else besides Xander and
Spike.  Spike caught her gaze and gave her another reassuring smile.
  With a silent Buffy leading them the three made their way
upstairs, leaving a quiet and stunned group behind them.

< --- >

  Spike knocked on Buffy's door, not expecting a response.  It was
just as well, because he didn't get one.  "Buffy, pet?" he called
softly.  Still nothing.
  Spike inwardly sighed and had to stop himself from cursing
everyone downstairs.  Once they'd gotten near the top, Buffy had
turned and helped Xander up the final steps.  They'd managed to get
him into the master bedroom, and Xander had assured them both that
he was still pretty well drugged up from the hospital.  Buffy had
managed to give him a tremulous smile, then had quickly excused
herself, practically running from the room so neither man would see
her tears.  They had, though.
  Spike had stayed with Xander a little while longer, making sure
the young man would be fine before he left him.  "Just call me, even
whisper my name, I'll hear.  All right?" Spike had said.
  Xander had nodded, so Spike had headed for the door.  "Spike?"
  Spike had turned back to see Xander smile.  "Thank you," he'd said
softly, and Spike had smiled as well.
  Spike glanced back once more at the master bedroom, listening out
of habit for the heartbeat within.  Slow and steady.  That was good;
Xander desperately needed to sleep.  Sound in the knowledge that
Xander was resting, Spike headed into Buffy's bedroom to an awaiting
darkness.
  He found the blonde sitting on the edge of the bed, head hung
low.  Her shoulders were hunched and shook, her head in her hands. 
She looked even tinier than normal as she silently cried.  Spike's
gut twisted as he gazed at the broken girl.  Slowly he made his way
over to kneel in front of her, reaching up to take her hands in his.
  She looked up, startled at the caress.  Her eyes and face were
red, and more tears continued to flow down her cheeks.  Spike gave
her a reassuring smile.  "I'm right here," he said softly.
  Choking back a sob she leaned forward, falling into his arms. 
Spike said nothing as she cried, besides the occasional "Shhh" and
other soothing murmurs.  He closed his eyes as he rocked her back
and forth, her sobs muffled by his shirt.
  When she began to sniffle, Spike pulled away to reach for tissue. 
She dried her eyes, looking down at the floor.  "What's wrong with
me?" she whispered.  "How could I have actually..."
  "Don't even THINK 'bout tellin' me that you actually believe those
ponces," Spike warned, thinking of a dozen better words
besides 'ponces', but that was the tamest at the moment.  Not only
had they started in on her at her lowest point, but they were
actually convincing her that it was true.  Definitely much better
word choices available.
  Buffy said nothing, wiping her eyes on her sleeve as her Kleenex
had disappeared somewhere.  "You listen to me," Spike said, causing
her to look up at him.  "They're scared.  Had a taste of what we've
been fightin' for years, and the fact that we got hit harder then
usual didn't help things.  They just took it out on you.  Had no
right to, but they did."
  "Were they..."
  "No, they were NOT right," Spike growled, hating that she would
even consider their words as truth.  "Buffy, they think that all of
these problems are 'cause you're leadin'.  Probably would've had a
mutiny on your hands if I hadn't gotten there in time."
  Buffy nodded, chuckling humorlessly.  "Maybe it would've been for
the better.  I probably would've gotten the rest of them killed
off.  Maybe I should just let Faith be the leader; she seems to be
in everyone's favor.  Or maybe I should just let them pick who they
want to follow."  She gave a bitter smile.  "Wonder who would follow
me."
  "I would," Spike said quietly.
  Buffy blinked, staring down at him.  His soft-spoken admission
caused tears to well in her eyes.
  "You said you're not through with me yet," Spike continued.  "And
I refuse to leave you unless you tell me to go."  His eyes met hers
just as the tears began to roll down her face silently.  He reached
up to brush them away.  "I love you," he whispered.
  Her eyes closed, sending more tears down her checks.  "Stay with
me," she said, barely loud enough for him to hear her.
  He smiled, though she couldn't see it.  "Told you, I'm not goin'
anywhere."
  "I meant tonight," she said a little louder, opening her eyes.  As
she had expected, his eyes widened slightly.
  "Tonight?" he asked.
  "Tonight," she confirmed.  "That is," she quickly added, "only if
you want to.  You don't have to..."
  "Scoot over," he said, shrugging off his duster.  She breathed a
small sigh of relief and did as he said.  He situated himself on the
bed, then turned to her with open arms.
  Buffy was already scrambling into his embrace.  She laid her head
on his chest, relaxing for the first time that night.  Spike smiled
as he felt her tension drain away.  Finally.
  "Where are the others gonna sleep?" she asked.
  "The basement or outside," Spike practically growled with a
snort.  "Don't bloody care."
  A pause.  "Me neither," she agreed softly, before she yawned.
  Spike grinned.  'Atta girl,' he thought, running his fingers
through her hair.  He could feel her heartbeat even out as she began
to fall asleep.
  "Spike?"  Her voice sounded extremely drowsy.
  "Yeah, luv?"
  "What are we gonna do about the whole thing?"
  Spike wasted no time in responding.  "We'll deal with 'em
tomorrow.  I'll be right by your side, promise."
  "Okay," she murmured, placing a soft kiss on his chest before
laying her head down again.  Spike closed his eyes happily, and the
two fell asleep curled up with each other.

THE END