Title: Demons and Souls, Part 1/?
Author: sibling
Email: sibling@fanfiction.net
Disclaimer: Joss owns all these characters, but does he love ‘em like we do? Not if he’s willing to put ‘em through all the pain on the real show!
Summary: Tara goes to Spike’s crypt after Buffy’s confession. What follows will eventually lead all three to startling revelations about souls, vampires, Slayers, and (of course) love.
Spoilers: Part 1 takes place the same night as the last scene of "Dead Things" Anything up to that is canon. Will contain AU version of "Older and Far Away". But I’m making it all up after that.
Feedback: This is my only my 2nd or 3rd fic, and the first one longer than a page or two, so please be gentle. (BTW, I know Spike is probably more evil than I’m making him out to be in this story, especially this chapter, and that he really meant all those things he’s been saying to Buffy – did I really say that about a fictional TV character? Ye Gods! -- but a little denial is necessary in fanfiction-world.)
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Spike was in a terrible mood, and his head and face still ached from the beating the Slayer had given him the night before. He felt like Hell. And although he didn’t have a mirror, and couldn’t have seen himself in it if he did have one, he was pretty sure he looked like Hell, too.
He was sitting in front of the telly, watching something but not really paying attention to it, when he heard something.
Knock, knock, knock.
He froze a moment, not quite believing his ears, then turned the sound down and listened.
Then he heard it again. Knock, knock, knock.
He was so surprised that he forgot to growl in pain as he got up to answer the door. For as long as he’d used this crypt as his home, everyone who’d ever come to see him had just opened the door and barged right in, usually as a prelude to beating him up or trying to bribe the latest demon gossip out of him. Even his Lil’ Bit, who treated him more like a human being than anyone else he knew, never bothered to knock on his door before coming in.
When he opened the door, he was greeted by the back of someone’s head, covered in blond hair, whose owner was nervously scanning the surrounding cemetery before turning back to the door. As he saw her face he gasped, “Tara?” The shy witch was the last person on Earth he expected to pay him a visit.
Tara took one look at the vampire she had come to visit, and blurted out “Good God, Spike, what happened to you?”
Too bemused to think up a grandiose tale of a loose Kampanak demon or a mob of rampaging vampires, he found himself shouting, “The bloody Slayer happened to me, that’s what!” As Tara stared blankly at him, he waved his hand dismissively and muttered, “Never mind. Just tell me the stupid bird isn’t in the clink over that soddin’ accident.”
Tara’s eyes widened as she figured out what Spike was talking about. “Oh, no! It wasn’t an accident! Um . . . ” She faltered for a moment, then visibly tried to pull herself together and asked, “M-may I c-come in, please?"
Struck again by the non sequitur and her (un)common courtesy, he stood frozen in the doorway for a moment before stepping aside and gesturing for her to enter. “Come on in.”
* * *
Tara walked through the door, peering about her in dazed horror and fascination. She still didn’t believe she was really here, in Spike’s crypt, and she hoped she would have the nerve to say what she had come here to say. As she looked around for a place to sit down that wasn’t covered in dust, dirt, and God knows what else, Spike asked her, “Well? So what’s with this ‘not an accident’ business?”
Still feeling nervous, she tried to answer, cursing inwardly as her old stutter came back to bedevil her. “Sh-she said that wh-when she heard that the d-dead g-g-girl had been identified as Warren’s ex-g-girlfriend-“
“Warren? The geek who built the ‘bots?” Spike interrupted, looking surprised and angry.
Tara nodded. “A-anyway, she figured that there had to be a co-connection, and that she’d been set up.”
Spike cocked his head to the side. “When did all this happen? Sorry, luv, but nobody’s been keeping me in the loop lately, since . . .,“ he broke off.
Tara could guess what he’d been about to say, and figuring this was as good an opening as any, she screwed up her nerve and finished his thought “. . . since B-buffy has been coming to you for s-s-s-sex, not advice.”
Spike managed to turn even paler than usual, and she wondered idly if vampires could faint. She had to bite back hysterical laughter at the thought, then continued, not thinking about what she was saying in order to keep from stuttering again. “She told me. About you, and her. Not just the sex, but about the chip, too. She asked me to look into the spell that brought her back, and how she might have come back wrong. When I told her she wasn’t wrong, she broke down and confessed everything . . . and then begged me not to forgive her,” she quietly added, silently praying to every god and goddess she knew.
Spike just continued to look at her dumbly for a moment. Then he spoke slowly. “She begged you . . . not to forgive her?”
Tara sighed. She’d been hoping and praying that Spike would be more concerned about Buffy than curious about the state of her humanity. She could fill him in on the details of her magical research later, but if he was really concerned about Buffy, if he really loved her enough to do the right thing for her. . .
Everything she’d been waiting to say came pouring out at once. “Spike, she’s falling apart. She’s using the sex like a drug, trying to make the pain go away, but she’s only feeling it more afterwards.” She took a deep breath. “She’s wasting away. Not physically, but emotionally, spiritually. If she doesn’t get help soon, there won’t be anything left of her:”
One more breath.
“Spike, I need your help to save her.”
* * *
At this point, Spike’s mind was reeling. None of what he’d heard made any sense. Buffy, falling apart? His Slayer, wasting away? Then, all the pieces began to fit together in his head, and he squeezed his eyes shut in grief as he realized what he’d done to his lover. He’d thought Buffy was stronger than this. It was her strength that he’d been attracted to in the first place, and he’d assumed that she’d managed to put herself back together in the past few months since her resurrection.
He’d thought he’d been having a little dark fun with someone who would understand that a demon’s idea of fun was almost always a bit on the dark side. He’d taken a few verbal jabs at her, just waiting for her to start returning in kind; to him, bantering with the blonde Slayer was almost as fun as fighting her -- or shagging her. But if what Tara was saying was correct, Buffy had probably been taking all his verbal jabs to heart. She was on a downward spiral . . . and he’d been greasing the wheels for her.
All at once, a voice came to him from out of the past. To kill this girl, you’ve gotta love her. “Goddamn you, Angelus,” he whispered. “Why did you have to be right for once?”
When he looked back up at Tara, his eyes were shining with tears. “Whatever you need, luv, you’ve got it. Just tell me what I can do.”
TBC
Title: Demons and Souls, Part 2/?
Author: sibling
Email: sibling@fanfiction.net
Disclaimer: Joss owns all these characters. But to paraphrase Tom Waits, there's no Devil in the Buffyverse, it's just Joss when he drinks!
Summary: Tara goes to Spike’s crypt after Buffy’s confession. What follows will eventually lead all three to startling revelations about souls, vampires, Slayers, and (of course) love.
Spoilers: Part 1 takes place the same night as the last scene of "Dead Things." Anything up to that is canon. Will contain AU version of "Older and Far Away". But I’m making it all up after that.
Feedback: I was so jazzed when I read the first few reviews of Chapter 1. I'm becoming a feedback junkie! Keep it coming, please!
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Spike quickly found out, however, that Tara hadn’t had time to think out her plans clearly, beyond getting him involved.
"No, no, no, Tara! Absolutely not!" he exclaimed at one point.
"But I thought you cared about her! If you aren't willing to give up having sex with her-"
"It's not like that, ducks. I may be an evil, lustful demon, but I'd wear a soddin' chastity belt if I thought it would help. Well, maybe for a little while, at least," he added hastily. "But you're not thinking about Buffy's history. If I don't mean anything to her, if I'm nothing but her sex toy," he couldn't help but grimace at the thought, "then fine, I could cut her off with no problems. But if she has any feelings for me at all, pulling away from her would be the worst thing I could do. She's got major issues with the people she loves leavin' her, especially men."
Tara's brow wrinkled a bit. "Because of her father, Riley, and Giles?"
Spike snorted. "Don't forget ol' Tall, Dark, and Stupid." At Tara's blank look, he clarified. "Angel."
Tara frowned. "Oh. Willow told me a bit about Angel before she went to L.A last summer, but I never got the whole story. We were all kind of . . . out of it at the time," she added ruefully.
Spike cocked his head in amazement at her. "So no one ever told you the whole bleedin' soap opera? Well, I'm not exactly the best one to tell this tale, 'cause I wasn't here for the whole thing, and between adoring Buffy and hatin' Angel's guts I can't claim to be neutral, but I suppose I can give you the highlights. I gather it started almost as soon as Buffy arrived here in Sunnyhell . . ."
* * *
Tara listened in amazement as Spike laid out the whole tragic tale. Angel. The Master. Darla. The gypsies' curse. When she heard how the curse had been broken, and what Angelus had done to Buffy in the following days, she felt her eyes begin to tear. She knew what it was like to have someone she loved hurt her, but what Spike was describing to her was appalling. The things her family and Willow had done to her had hurt her deeply, but they were just stupid, ignorant, shortsighted, human things. The deliberate torture that Angelus had put Buffy through made her feel nauseous.
Spike seemed to notice the green look on her face, and stopped his narrative for the moment. "I know what you're thinking, luv, and believe it or not, I felt the same way even then."
This really confused Tara. "But I thought you hated Buffy at the time."
"Of course I hated her. She was the bane of my bloody existence at the time! Still is, in some ways. . . .," he muttered.
He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, occasionally puffing on it or gesturing with it as he continued. "But even under all the hate I respected her. Remember that I'd fought two Slayers before, and they were real good, but I still managed to kill 'em both. And no one else I'd ever fought had even came close to those two.
"But Buffy . . . " A smile came to Spike's face as he broke off a moment, then continued, "Buffy was the best damn fighter I'd ever met. Quick, resourceful, willing to banter a bit between fisticuffs . . . It was glorious. It was a goddamn dream come true." He seemed to shake himself a bit, and took another puff of tobacco smoke. "Sure, I wanted to kill her, but what I really wanted to do was beat her, hopefully in an all-out brawl that would last a whole night."
"So it was all about . . . competition?"
"Of course it was about competition! It was about bein' the best. About beatin' the best! Angelus could have his mind-games and his torture, he always considered himself the Soddin' Great Artist of Pain and Death. What a crock!" He laughed. "Angelus never took any risks, never got into a fight he didn't know he could win. At least, not until Buffy got under his skin . . ." He chuckled a moment before continuing his story.
Tara didn't think it could've gotten any worse but it did. Acathla. The restoration of Angel's soul. And then . . .
"God," she whispered. "How did she do it? How could she . . . ?" She couldn't even say the words. She looked up and Spike and simply asked, "How did she survive it?"
"She damn near didn't, from what I hear. She completely fell apart, ran away from home, and tried to give up bein' the Slayer. You'd have to ask Willow or Dawn about that, I was too busy getting my own butt out of town at the time, with Drusilla on my back both literally and figuratively. I only know about the end of the fight because Dru had a vision about it, and I managed to piece it together from her crazy ramblings and the fact that the whole world hadn't gone to Hell."
Spike sped up his narrative a bit, explaining, "I only came back when Drusilla started carryin' on with other demons behind my back, or rather, in front of my face. I don't know how Angel got back from Hell, or what went on between the two of them for most of that year. All I know is that after this huge fight where they fought a giant snake-demon and blew up the high school -- God, I wish I coulda seen that one! -- Angel proved once and for all what a bloody flamin' stupid git he is, by breaking up with Buffy and shufflin' off to L.A. Threw away the best thing he ever had, and broke her heart at the same time."
Tara digested this for a moment, then slowly sighed. "I see what you mean about Buffy's problem. If she thinks you're going to leave her, she'll probably go into a panic. But you two can't go on like this. She's got sex and guilt and self-punishment all mixed up in her head, and it's only going to get worse. If you ever want to . . . " she couldn't believe she was saying this to Spike, of all people, "If you ever want to have a real relationship with her, you have to start fixing things now."
Spike took one last puff on his cigarette, then threw it on the floor and stamped it out. "I can try . . . doin' other things with 'er, but it'll be hard, in more ways than one. Ever since our little musical adventure, whenever she sees me, she beats me up and tells me how disgusting I am," here he pointed to his black-and-blue face, " or she throws me up against the wall and tries to climb down my throat. Or both."
Tara couldn't help blushing at the image Spike's words brought to mind, but her thoughts were interrupted as Spike continued. "But it's more than just her. I'm just as out of control as she is, these days. I've loved her -- well, I've admitted to myself that I've loved her -- for over a year now. That was bad enough, when she just hated my guts. But ever since we've been together . . . when I'm around her . . . when I'm with her . . . . I feel alive again. But she drives me so crazy, I don't know sometimes whether I want to bite her or shag her senseless! We're like . . ." he picked up his lighter, ". . . like flint and steel. When we rub together," he says as he flicks the lighter, "the sparks fly."
Tara thought about this a moment, then said, "Maybe I need to see the two of you get together."
"WOT!?"
Tara suddenly blushed and giggled as she realized how that had sounded. "No, not like that! I mean I need to see your auras, what happens to them when you touch one another. Maybe that will give me a clue as to what's going on." She muttered half to herself, "I wish I'd thought of this before, when I was with her. Now she's cried herself to sleep, and I'm going to be busy with classes for a couple of days. . . Maybe at Buffy's birthday party, I can check her aura out, both when she's alone and when she's with you."
Spike looked doubtful. "I don't know about all this aura stuff. How reliable is it anyway?"
Tara brightened. "Oh, if you can see someone's aura, you can tell all kinds of things about them! That's how I knew that Faith had switched places with Buffy when I first 'met' her."
* * *
Spike stared at Tara, not quite believing his ears. "When did this happen?" Then he remembered a certain night when Xander and Giles had warned him about the rogue Slayer, and a certain bizarre encounter with Buffy at the Bronze, and he laughed. "No, wait, let me guess. It was right after Buffy's first dust-up with Adam, when he tried to turn Riley into shish kabob."
Tara wrinkled her nose at that, but nodded.
Spike chuckled. "So that's what was goin' on that night! I just figured she was drunk -- Buffy could never hold her liquor -- and feelin' all frustrated since she couldn't see her little tin soldier-boy." He nodded to himself. So that had been Faith. Idly wishing for a moment that he'd had the opportunity to show her what happens to bad little Slayers who cock-tease vampires, he continued, "And you were able to tell that from Buffy's aura?"
Tara nodded, and filled him in on a few of the details. "Naturally, we weren't telling you what was going on, since you were evil then."
"I still am, luv, I still am," Spike chuckled. "But there's evil, and then there's evil. Truth be told, even with all the hell I've had over the past couple years, I've had as much fun fightin' alongside Buffy as fightin' with Buffy. As for the rest of you Scoobies, Xander and I will never get along, and I know Anya can't stand me, but you an' Red treat me like a person instead of a thing . . . and you know I adore the Lil' Bit."
*` * *
That last comment made Tara frown, and think some more. "Until lately, I would've said that the best way to make things better with Buffy would be to get Dawn on your side, but the two of them don't seem to be getting along very well."
Spike waved that off. "Of course they're not getting along, they're sisters. As much as they love each other, they've always gotten on each others' nerves."
Tara shook her head. "No, it's more than that. I can't put my finger on it, but something's up with her." She suddenly found herself yawning.
Spike stood up. "Let me walk you back to your place. You don't look very alert right now, and I can't afford to let one of my few friends get eaten right now."
Tara smiled. Ever since he'd done her the strange favor of hitting her in the nose, she'd gone out of her way to pay more attention to the blond vampire and the things he did. She'd been surprised to find that underneath the rough-and-tough "I'm an evil demon" exterior was a complex, intelligent, even compassionate person. He didn't seem to have much regard for humanity as a whole, but he was a loyal friend and a powerful ally. Spike wasn't exactly a shining example of humanity . . . but she'd known human beings who were less human than he was.
And she found that she really liked it when he called her his friend. "Thanks Spike. I'd like that."
The two walked to Tara's apartment, and agreed that they would think things over, and try to brainstorm a bit at Buffy's birthday party.
TBC
(I know, I know, it's been all talking and thinking and no action up to this point, but I promise things'll get really interesting soon! Part 3 will include a slightly altered version of certain events from "Older and Far Away", and from there I'm gonna leave the Jossverse behind and make up all my own stuff! Also, keep an eye out for my short story, "Capturing the Moment", which can either be read as a standalone or as an interlude between Parts 3 and 4.)
Title: Demons and Souls, Part 3/?
Author: sibling
Email: sibling@fanfiction.net
Disclaimer: Joss owns all these characters. But if you love someone, you gotta set 'em free!
Summary: Tara goes to Spike’s crypt after Buffy’s confession. What follows will eventually lead all three to startling revelations about souls, vampires, Slayers, and (of course) love.
Spoilers/Author's Note: This chapter relies heavily on the reader having seen "Older and Far Away", 'cause I realized soon after starting that I probably need a happy(er) Dawnie for my purposes, and I see no need to re-invent the wheel. This chapter, more than any other, will be a bit disjointed, since it will focus on those scenes from Buffy's birthday that I want to re-interpret for the reader. But after this I'm gonna try sticking to just my own storyline. Especially since the next new episode is supposedly "The Return of Riley" and I don't need that yutz mucking up my wicked plans!
Feedback: Always of the good!
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Willow had slipped up by mentioning Buffy's birthday party to Spike. Of course, she had made one of her patented "Oops, is that my foot in my mouth?" faces, and tried to pretend that nothing had happened. They both knew that Buffy didn't want him showing up at her house under any circumstances, much less on a happy occasion. Still, now he could honestly tell Buffy that he'd heard about the party from someone other than Tara.
He still wasn't completely sure that going to Buffy's party was the best idea in the world. All the things that went bump in the night seemed to get extra frisky right around January 19th, and he was somehow sure that this year would be no exception. Still, it might be good for a laugh. He could still cadge free beers by telling the story of Rupert Giles, the tweed-clad, nose-glued-to-a-book Watcher, being turned into a grunting, muscle-bound Fiyoral demon by Ethan Rayne. By the time he ended that story, a whole pub full of demons and vampires was usually rolling on the floor with laughter . . . which often made it easier to make off with certain small valuables.
Bringing Clem with him, though . . . he was sure that had been a stroke of genius. The wrinkly-skinned Nablith was one of Spike's few demon acquaintances who didn’t resent his current alliance with the Slayer. Nabliths were a relatively quiet species who kept to themselves and didn't usually attract the attention of human do-gooders like Buffy. Their inhuman appearance (and their dietary requirements) kept them restricted pretty much to demon society, but given a chance, they could act more like a human than some vampires . . . or Anya, for that matter, he thought with a grin.
Buffy still had that Watchers' Council-instilled mindset, "demons = evil". If he could get her to accept that a demon could be a decent person -- well, being, at any rate -- maybe he could convince her a demon could love, too.
And then all his fine plans went right out of his head, as soon as he walked into the kitchen.
It figured. The Scoobies were trying to set Buffy up with a nice, normal guy. From the general aura of loser-ness around him, he was probably one of Xander's friends. Granted, he didn't seem to have a stick up his arse like Captain Cardboard, but please! The wanker was dumber than Angel and Riley put together! And he looked like a puppy dog, sniffing around the Slayer like he didn't know whether to shake her hand, lick her face, or pee on her leg.
But she was paying attention to him, like he was a man and not a walking meatball sandwich!
Then Tara had to stick her two cents in, pretending to ask him and Clem about Dick ---er, Richard -- being "cute." Spike wanted to hurl. When Clem said, "I thought he was cute," it was all Spike could do to keep from kicking his elephantiatic butt out the door. Instead, he glared over at Tara.
Then he smiled wickedly. "He's not the only cute one, ducks. You're looking very fetching this evening. And is that a new frock I see?" He looked the young witch up and down appreciatively, grinning at her embarrassed blush, and picked up a paper cup from the table. "I'll bet you anything Little Red's all dolled up as well, and just waiting for you to bring her some punch." He handed her the cup, and snorted when she almost dropped it. Then he made a deliberate effort to make his smile more friendly and less predatory. "I was playing this game a century before you were even born, Glinda. Don't even go there."
But although Tara beat a hasty retreat into the next room, Spike was sure he'd seen a glimmer of challenge in the witch's eyes before she left. Oh well, he thought, if she wants to play with the nasty fire, she can't complain if her fingers get a little toasted. Then he put his arm around Clem and led him into the Summers' living room. He couldn’t wait to see the boy's face when Clem asked for anchovies and inchworms on his pizza.
* * *
Tara was enjoying the party immensely. She still got that nervous, fluttery feeling in her stomach whenever she found herself face-to-face with Willow, but it felt surprisingly comfortable being back together with the rest of the Scoobies, and she realized that she'd missed all of them terribly. And then, of all things, Anya had made a perfunctory compliment about Tara's necklace, and then calmly stated that everyone thought that the Scooby meetings at the Magic Box weren't the same without her. For Anya, that probably counts as CIA-class subtlety, Tara thought, but it was nice to know that she'd been missed.
Then Spike caught her eye, and nodded his head toward the hallway where Buffy was standing. She got the message immediately: he was going to make contact with Buffy, and she was supposed to check out Buffy's aura. She took a deep breath, and opened herself to the Sight.
It was a bit dizzying, seeing all the energy dancing around the room. Auras flowed and curled around each other, their owners' emotions driving them into ever-changing patterns. Dawn's bright, happy emerald green flickered along the edges of Xander's warm brown as they talked about some movie they had seen. Willow's strawberry red, somewhat dimmer than Tara remembered it, glowed like embers in a fireplace as she engaged Spike's friend in a conversation about his people. Clem's aura, surprisingly, was not the blood red or night-black of most demons, but olive-green, with swirls of the same earthy tones as Xander's. She made a mental note to ask Spike about him later.
Spike, she thought. Gotta keep my mind on business. She followed the vampire, whose aura was bright red with tinges of violet, toward the entrance to the hallway. There she tried to remain unobserved while Spike approached his reluctant lover.
When Willow had told Tara about Buffy two years ago, she been very frightened at the prospect of meeting her. She had still thought she was part-demon at the time, and her books had described Slayers as focused, fanatical demon killers. But trusting Willow's glowing descriptions over dusty tomes, she had resolved to meet the current Slayer, and to her surprise she had found Buffy to be a warm, compassionate, loving young woman. Her aura had matched her personality, enveloping the petite blonde like a bright gold corona.
As she peered into the hallway, Tara could see, to her dismay, that the energy surrounding Buffy had faded to a sullen orange, barely flickering above the surface of her skin. As Spike approached, though, it began growing bigger and brighter as it stretched toward the vampire, like a furnace being stoked. And when they touched-
God!
She had been expecting something to happen, but nothing had prepared her for the sudden bright flare that filled the hallway. Buffy's and Spike's auras merged, swelled to several times their size, and then flashed through several rainbow hues before settling into a rosy gold that surrounded the couple warmly, reminding Tara of postcards with romantic couples basking in the light of a perfect sunset.
Unfortunately, Spike was ruining the picture by guiding Buffy's trembling hand down to his denim pant leg. Having seen more than enough, Tara cleared her throat, and the two hastily pulled apart.
Their auras began sputtering their way back towards their normal configurations as onn as they broke contact. Buffy hurried off, but to Tara's surprise, Spike just stood there, looking like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. And then he made some lame excuse about Buffy helping him with a cramp!
"A cramp?" she asked, arching one eyebrow. "In your pants?"
"It's a thing!" Spike snapped. Tara had to smother a chuckle as she headed for the empty dining room to digest what she had seen. She was not going to let him forget this one anytime soon.
* * *
I don't believe I let that crystal-gazer get the better of me earlier, Spike thought. Plays a pretty good game of poker, though.
As it got towards what some of his human friends called "oh-late-hundred," those party guests who remained awake had settled into two groups playing games: Buffy, Dawn, Anya, and the Dork -- Spike refused to even think his name -- playing Monopoly, and Clem, Xander, Tara, and himself playing poker. He'd expected to be splitting all the money with his demon companion in no time, but Tara proved to be pretty good at keeping a poker face, and even Xander had managed to bluff him a couple of times.
But in the long run, no one does deadpan better than the dead. Spike began collecting pots slowly but steadily, and his mood began improving. This night's take would keep him in blood and smokes for a week or two.
His good mood didn't last long, though. When the Puppy suggested calling it a night, and Dawn brightly suggested a sleepover, he let himself make a suggestive comment to Buffy, just to see her beautiful face flush . . . only to be tagged again by Tara about that stupid cramp remark!
Even worse, he was pretty much unable to return fire at the time, since Willow had done her usual early facedown crash. The recovering witch was many things, but a night owl was not one of them. So he pushed a bill over to Tara's pile, silently adding One point for you, girl. But the game's not over yet.
By morning, though, teasing Tara was the last thing on his mind.
* * *
By the time the vengeance demon that Anya called Halfrek showed up, Buffy's mind was reeling from everything that had been going on at her party.
Just for once, can't I have a birthday that isn't a red-letter day on the Hellmouth calendar? she said to herself. Want some cheese to go with that whine? another part of her brain answered. It had all happened before, and she was sure it would happen again. She should just get used to associating trauma with getting older.
But even so, she was really wigged when, as Halfrek seemed to recognize Spike, she had had a vision. As she called him "William," she could have sworn she saw another face appear over the demonic visage. A human woman's face, with the dark, curly hair gathered up on top of her head.
Then she blinked, and the vision -- Hallucination? Maybe brought on by stress and lack of sleep? -- was gone.
* * *
As Spike walked out the Summers' door into the night air, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he snuck a peek back at the Slayer and her sister, and felt a smile appear as Buffy shut herself in, obviously ready to work things out with Dawn. He was happy for the Slayer and the Niblet, who had impressed even him with the amount of stuff she had nicked
Then he had an idea. Maybe he could convince Buffy to put all that youthful energy and dexterity to work on self-defense training. Buffy knew better than to think a teenage girl was going to stay in all the time.-- she herself had been ample proof of that. Dawn was going to get out by herself sooner or later, so she might as well be able to take care of herself. And nothing settled Buffy down like a good sparring session. Maybe . . .
Then he saw the two witches in front of him, walking side-by-side and obliviously looking up at the stars, and he smiled wickedly. Pretending not to see them, he strolled past them and elbowed Willow just hard enough to send her careening into Tara.
* * *
Tara automatically caught Willow as she stumbled, and before she knew it she was lost in her sea-green gaze.
They stood there, staring into each other's eyes, for a long minute. Then they found themselves embracing, and Tara felt Willow weeping into her shoulder.
"I miss you so much," the redhead babbled. "I know that I hurt you, and I can't make it up to you, but without you I feel like I'm half-dead inside. I feel like I know now what Buffy lost, when we pulled her out of Heaven, like this wonderful, beautiful thing was ripped away from me, only it's worse, 'cause I know it's my own fault that I lost it, and I don't know what I'm going to do without you . . . "
Tara bit her lip as her own eyes filled with tears. She wasn't ready to resume a full-time relationship with Willow, and vice-versa, and they both knew it. But still . . . She had seen that Willow was trying desperately to turn herself around. And, as angry and hurt as she had been at Willow -- as she still was, sometimes -- it hurt her just as much to see her in pain and to not do something to help her. And so she had stood up for Willow when Anya and Xander were trying to make her use her magic again. She had stood up for Willow . . . the way that Willow had stood up for her, when Tara had cast a spell that went dreadfully wrong.
Tara realized that she had an opportunity now. If she let it go, she didn't know when, or if, another one would come along.
She stroked Willow's red hair, and murmured to her softly until she stopped crying, and then she said, "Will? W-w-would you l-like to g-g-go somewhere and . . . . talk?"
And she felt herself break out in a huge smile as her lover looked up at her and said, "I'd love to."
* * *
Spike, having watched all this from a distance, grinned to himself as he went off to see what other mischief he could get into this fine night.
Point and Game, luv!
TBC
(At this point, the reader should go to my story, "Capturing the Moment" [to be uploaded 2/15/02] which can be read as a pure Joss-verse story, but will figure somewhat in Part 4 of this story [which I'm afraid won't be up until at least 2/19/02]. Happy Valentine's Day to all FF.net readers!)