Chapter 9



Buffy insisted that they take Spike to her house on Revello Drive rather than to his crypt.   Riley’s concern that Buffy was endangering her mother by leaving the vampire with her was completely wasted as Joyce took one look at his unconscious and bleeding body and ordered them to carry him upstairs to Buffy’s room.



For the first time since she met him, the vampire looked truely dead to Buffy.  He was usually so animated and active that it was easy to forget that he had been technically dead for well over 100 years.   Now, with him lying on her bed with no sign of life except the blood still slowly seeping from his ears and nose, she was forcibly reminded that despite his good looks  (Irrelevant, Buffy!  We’re not thinking about Spike’s looks right now!)  and human habits, he was still very much an animated corpse. 



(And the demon that animates him is what I was chosen to destroy.  Could my life suck any more?)



Joyce came back in the room with a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth with which she began gently wiping the blood off his face. 



“What happened to him, Buffy?” she asked, giving her daughter a look that said, “We’ll discuss later the fact that you have nothing on but Spike’s shirt and your underwear.”



“He saved Xander, me and Riley before he tried to get away,  Mom.  I’m not sure  exactly what happened to him, but he’s not dust, so I think he’ll be OK.” 



(I hope.  Please let him be OK. Why is it so important to me that he be OK?).



Buffy went to her dresser and pulled out some sweat pants and a tee shirt.  She took Spike’s shirt off, holding it to her nose for a minute and inhaling his scent before laying it down carefully beside him on the bed.  She reached a hand toward his face, then pulled it back with a guilty start as she noticed her mother watching her.



Joyce narrowed her eyes slightly, but didn’t say anything, just got up and went into the bathroom to empty the bowl of bloody  water.  She deliberately took her time rinsing out the washcloth and putting the bowl away before she came back into the room.  When she did, she saw that Buffy was sitting beside Spike’s inert body with tears in her eyes.  She put a gentle hand on Buffy’s shoulder and said, “I’ll watch him for  awhile.  I think you need to go downstairs and help your friends decide what’s next.”



Buffy gave her mother a watery smile and said,  “Thanks, Mom.  He really likes you, you know?”



“I know,” her mother said.  “I like him too.”



“You do remember he’s a vampire, right?” Buffy looked at her mother incredulously, remembering how much she had disliked Angel.



“I know that, honey.  But he has a good heart.  He’ll be fine here – and so will I.”



Buffy went downstairs shaking her head at hearing her mother describe William the Bloody as someone with a “good heart”. 



As she entered the living room, everyone looked up questioningly.  “Is he....?” Willow began.  Buffy shrugged.  “He’s not ready to sweep up with the dust buster, so we’ll just have to see what happens.”  She turned to her Watcher. “He’ll be alright, won’t he, Giles?” she asked, trying very hard not to sound like she was pleading.



Giles cleared his throat and cleaned his glasses before he answered, “I really don’t know Buffy.  We don’t know much about vampire’s and their nervousystems.  If he has brain damage from that chip......”



Buffy threw Riley a dirty look, even though she knew that if not for the chip no one, including her, would have given a second thought about Spike’s well-being.



(The chip made me see what he really is; and now it might kill him.  Life just keeps getting better.....)



Willow got on her lap top and with Riley’s input, tried to find out what the creature they saw might have been.   Giles contributed the information that Maggie Walsh had called him “Adam” and referred to him as her “son”.



“I guess we can assume from that, that she created him – whatever he is.” Buffy sighed.  “Any ideas, Riley?”



The commando shook his head.  “Obviously she included some demon parts, but I have no idea where the other parts came from – or what they’re capable of.   If we could get into her records somehow.......”



A loud noise from the driveway got everyone’s attention and they looked out the window to see two army Hummers pulling up.  At the sight of Forrest and Graham getting out, Buffy flew to the door and threw it open.



“What the hell are you doing here?” she growled as she stood on the porch glaring at them.



“Buffy .... look we’re sor-“ the rest of what he was going to say never made it out of his mouth as the Slayer landed an uppercut to his jaw that sent him flying back several feet, briefly knocking him unconscious.  By the time the rest of the gang, including Riley, joined her outside, she was holding Graham up by his belt and collar and preparing to throw him into a tree.



“Buffy!” Riley shouted.  “What are you doing?  These are my friends.”



She turned to stare at him coldly.  “These are the men who knocked me out and put me in that place.  Don’t try to defend them, Riley.”



Riley looked at his friends and Forrest nodded his head slowly, wincing as he moved his chin. “She’s right, Finn.  But we were just following orders from Professor Walsh.  We didn’t know what she was planning.  We’re sorry, Buffy,” he added.  “Really we are.”



Buffy reluctantly lowered Graham to the ground and continued to glower at them as she asked, “What are you doing here?”



“We thought this is where you might be and we were looking for Riley.”  They turned to meet the angry gaze of their senior officer and friend.  “We need to talk,” Forrest said.  “We have a big problem.”



“Yeah,” Xander put in, “we met him.  Big, ugly problem – with pointy things in one arm and energy cannons in the other!”



“We’ve got Professor Walsh’s records,” Graham waved at the vehicles.  “We’ll share them with you,” he added as a peace offering.



With a sigh, Buffy relaxed and turned back toward the house.  “Fine, you guys see what you can find out about this creep.  I’m going to check on Spike.”   She missed the look on Riley’s face as she went through the door and up the stairs, but Giles saw it and frowned



************************



Leaving Giles and Willow to go over the records Graham and Forrest had managed to get out of the Initiative, Buffy went back up to her room and entered quietly.



“Mom?” she asked softly.  “Is he...”



“He’s just the same, Buffy.  Hasn’t so much as twitched.  It seems strange to see Spike so still.  He’s always so.....vibrant.”  She looked up at her daughter and smiled.



“Why don’t you stay here for awhile and I’ll go downstairs and see if anyone wants something to eat or drink.   I don’t suppose......” she looked at Spike questioningly.



“Not unless you’ve got some O neg. in the fridge,”  Buffy smiled tightly.  “Just keep everyone downstairs for a while, Mom.  I’ll take care of Spike.”



Joyce frowned slightly, wondering what that meant exactly, but shook her head and left the room.  Since finding out that Buffy was the Slayer, she had come to realize that there were some things her daughter was more qualified to make decisions about than she was.  She sincerely hoped this was one of them.



*****************************



Much later, when everyone had digested the information provided, agreed that there was nothing more to be done right then, and left, the house was quiet and Joyce came upstairs to try to get a few hours sleep before going to the gallery to work.  She tiptoed to the door of Buffy’s room and slowly opened it.



The first thing she noticed was that there had still been no change in Spike.  He lay perfectly still like any dead body with no sign that he was even alive (so to speak), let alone conscious.  On the floor beside the bed, her daughter sat leaning against the bed with her head resting on the edge of the mattress near Spike’s hand.  She seemed to be sound asleep and Joyce decided not to wake her up.
 

Chapter 10















(Bloody hell.  This headache makes the rest of them seem like a spring breeze.  What the hell happened to me?  And where am I?  Feels soft – a bed? Smells like the Slayer?  What the hell?   Buffy?)















He opened his eyes carefully and looked around as best he could without actually moving his head.  He didn’t recognize his surroundings, but the pervasive scent combined with the girly decor gave him a strong hint.  (I’m in the Slayer’s room?  In her bed?  Did I die? Is this Heaven – not bloodly likely, that.  So I must be still among the living- er undead.)















He moved his hand experimentally and froze when his fingers touched something smooth and warm.  Tilting his head carefully to the side, he looked toward his hand and saw that it was resting on a small blond head.   Without consciously thinking about it, he began gently stroking Buffy’s head, letting his fingers enjoy the feel of her silky hair. 















The tired Slayer gradually woke up as the soft stroking of her head brought her out of the exhausted sleep she had fallen into while waiting for Spike to wake up.  She sighed and relaxed into the hand touching her head, reveling in the sensual pleasure of fingers in her hair.  When she was awake enough to wonder whose fingers they were, she sat up abruptly and whipped her head around.















“Spike!  You’re awake!”  She looked at him with genuine delight, then frowned a little as she noticed how still he was.  “Are you OK?  Do you hurt anywhere?”















“Good morning to you, too, Slayer.” he tried to smile at her, but his facial muscles still didn’t want to work that hard.  His hand felt empty now that she had sat up and he was no longer touching her head.  He tried to reach for her again, but found that the rest of the arm wouldn’t respond at all so he settled for touching her silky hair where it fell over his hand.















“What’s wrong?  Why aren’t you moving?”















“Not sure I can, luv.  Can make my mouth work –“















“Oh, surprise.” she couldn’t help saying.















“And my hand,” he growled, tugging on a strand of hair hard enough to make her wince.  “That’s about it, though.  Nothing else seems to be workin’”.















She moved up onto the bed beside him and ran her fingers lightly over his face. “So,” she said carefully, “You can’t move at all?  hmmmm”















He eyed her warily and answered,  “Not at the moment, no.  Got no feeling anywhere except my hand and my face.   Got lots of feeling in my head, though.  Feels like a bloody parade band marchin’ through it.  Hurts like a bastard.”















“Let me get you some blood.  It should help –“















“Just let me rest some more, love.  I’m not sure I could swallow anyway.  Having you close by will do me as much good as anything.....” he looked up at her concerned face and tried to smile.  The smile quickly turned into a wince as his head throbbed again.  “Ow! Soddin’ chip!  Now it’s firing for no reason,” he groaned. “That’s just wonderful.”















“Maybe we can take your mind off your head.....” she said as she moved closer to him.















“Really?” he asked with little enthusiasm.  “How do you plan to do that, luv?” 















“Oh, I don’t know.   Maybe I’d better check you for other injuries?  See what the damage is.  Where else does it hurt?”















“Pretty much everywhere.  Feel like I’ve been beat black and blue.  What the bleedin’ hell happened to me anyway?”















“Adam – that’s the creature’s name – “















“It has a name?”















“Yes it has a name. Don’t interrupt me.” she said beginning to pull his shirt up.  “Adam shot you with some kind of energy or electrical beam.  Probably would have killed a human –made the heart stop beating or something like that.  But since your heart doesn’t beat.......” as she spoke, she was running her hand lightly over his muscular chest, stroking it gently and letting her fingertips brush over his nipples. She stopped and left it lying on chest right over his heart.















“Slayer?  Buffy – what are you doin’, luv?” he asked hoarsely.















“Just checking you for injuries,” she said, smiling.  “Can’t have any of my rescuers hurt....”  She lowered her head and began planting light kisses all over his chest and neck.  “Just trying to make you feel better.”















“Oh, I think that might do it, Slayer,” he gasped as he felt himself begin to get feeling back into at least some body parts. 















She reached up toward his face, sliding her body over his as she did so, and looked into his eyes.  “Thank you for coming after me.” she said seriously.  “And for trying to stop them when they grabbed me.”















“Wasn’t much help there, was I?” he snorted and looked at her apologetically. “I’m sorry, luv.  Never wanted you to end up in there like that.  I just couldn’t stop them before the chip fired.”















“You tried, Spike.  That’s the important thing.  You were there for me and I appreciate it.  I even forgive you for following me and spying on me again,” she teased.















“Was just watchin’ your back,” he growled.  “Not spying on you.  Not like I want to spend my time watching you play kissy-face with soldier boy, you know.”















“Think I’m done with that,” she said shyly  and ducked her head. He cocked one eyebrow at her.  “With him, anyway,” she added as her eyes traveled down his naked chest to the hard abs disappearing into his jeans.  Suddenly she remembered their fully clothed grinding against the refrigerator and felt her underwear getting wet.















“Then who....” his question went unasked as she fastened her mouth on his and began kissing him.  Suddenly the fact that he couldn’t move his arms and legs became more than just an annoyance.  The same overwhelming need for more contact that had swept through them both after their dreams was running through his body.  















(God, I want her so much.  She smells so good, feels so good,  I need to touch her.  Want to make her feel it too......)















He groaned with frustration and need as she continued to move her supple lips on his, darting her tongue into his mouth and running it over his blunt teeth.















When she pulled away from his mouth so that she could catch some breath, he groaned again and struggled against whatever was keeping him immobile, trying to reach her to pull her in again. 















“Slayer. Buffy. Please love.  Come back,  Buffy, “ he begged as he tried to reach her mouth again. 















“Not through checking for injuries,” she said in a huskier than normal voice as she slid her mouth down his chest and onto his stomach.  “If you can’t move your legs, there must be something injured down here,” she breathed as she unfastened his jeans and pushed them down his hips.   “I think I’d better check it out.”















As she pushed his jeans down further and ran her small warm hand down his abdomen, following the line of soft brown curls that began just below his naval, she thought she saw something twitch. She ignored the strangled sounds he was making as she continued her exploration.















“Looks like some parts are more recovered than others,” she said as she reached into his pants and pulled out a semi-erect penis. “Do you suppose I could kiss it better?”  As she said that, his eyes rolled back in his head and he started cursing softly under his breath.  When he felt her warm mouth surrounding the tip of his cock, he whimpered in frustration and pleasure. 















“Oh, look!  I made it all better,” she chirped as she was suddenly looking at a full blown and rock hard erection.  “Whoa,” she added almost to herself.  “I made it waaay better. “   (No wonder it makes such a big bulge in his pants.  Not gonna be able to hide that thing.)















“Buffy.....”  Spike was putting so much energy into trying to move his arms and legs that he could hardly  speak coherently.  Having the Slayer running her tongue up and down his throbbing cock wasn’t helping that either.















“Poor Spike.  I should probably do something to help you with that, shouldn’t I?  It looks really uncomfortable.  Let me think.  Kissing it didn’t make it better – I wonder what else I could do?  I’ll think about it while I get ready for bed, I guess.”















She stood up and stretched her arms over her head before she pulled off her shirt and walked over to the dresser in her sweat pants.  “Oh, that’s right.  My  pajamas are back at the dorm.  Oh well, it’s a warm night – I’ll just sleep in my underwear, I guess.” She looked over her shoulder at him and grinned at the expression on his face. 















“You don’t mind, do you, Spike?” she asked innocently as she dropped her sweat pants to the floor and stood in front of him wearing nothing but a lace thong.  His eyes, usually such a pretty blue, were dark with desire and she almost turned away from their intensity as his gaze devoured her body. 















She found the intensity a little too uncomfortable, and reached for his shirt saying,  “Maybe I’ll just wear your shirt to bed.  It’s really soft and comfy – so smooth and silky,” She ran her hands down the unbuttoned shirt and over her body.  “I’ll see you after I have a little nap....” she put a pilow and blanket on the floor, smirking over her shoulder at him as she did so .















The immobile vampire growled and his eyes flickered yellow for just a second as he ground out between his teeth,  “You are a heartless, dick teasing bitch and when I can move again, you are going to pay for every second of this.”















“Or,” she said suddenly serious, “I could just leave the room and go sleep in the guest room....”  She whirled and turned to leave, face flaming.  She knew he was right, she HAD been teasing him, but still.....















“No!”  he almost screamed, terrified that she would really go and leave him paralyzed and aroused.  “No,” he said more softly.  “Don’t go.  Please.”















. ”I was just playing......”























  “I know you were just playing, love; and if we were just pretending I couldn’t move, I would be enjoying the hell out of it.  But I CAN’T move.  I want to touch you, to hold you, kiss you, taste you..... and all I can do is lie here and think about what I want to do with you.”  He blew out an unnecessary breath and continued,  “I’m sorry, Buffy.  It was just the frustration talkin’.  Sleep here.  Please?  With me?”  He was disgusted by the begging tone in his voice, but couldn’t help himself.  The idea that she might not stay with him was frighteningly depressing. 















(What the hell is wrong with me?  Why do I want this woman so badly? And why do I care so much what happens to her ? I can’t be falling in love with the Slayer.  I can’t –I’m William the fuckin’ Bloody.  I kill slayers.  I don’t ........)















Spike’s thoughts were interrupted by the feel of the Slayer’s warm body as she slid into the bed beside him.  She put her head on his shoulder and nuzzled his neck as she threw one arm across his chest and curled one leg around his.  Having her there, snuggled up to him felt so right, so perfect that he completely lost his train of thought.  All he could think of was how good her body felt pressed up against his.















“Ah, Slayer,  what am I gonna do with you?”  He smiled down at the top of her head and wished again that he could move more than his head.















“Well, not much I guess if you still can’t move.  But that’s OK.  We do need to rest.  Tomorrow I’ve got a frankenstein monster to slay.”  She nestled against him and yawned, “And you need to get better.”















*****************

 

Chapter 11:

Buffy gradually became aware of a weight across her waist and a soft purring sound.  As she woke up, she remembered where she was and who she was with and was amazed at how good it felt to be snuggled up with an undead body.  Turning her head slightly, she saw that the weight on her waist was Spike’s muscular arm and she concluded he was getting some feeling back in his limbs.







Moving slowly so as not to wake him, she tried to ease out from under his arm so she could go to the bathroom.  At the first sign of her leaving his side, his arm tightened around her and he growled into her ear, “Where do you think you’re goin’, Slayer?”







Buffy gave up trying to be careful and sat up quickly.  “I have to go pee,Spike. Let me go.”







“Will you come back?” he asked doubtfully.







“Yes, I’ll be back.  Now let me go or you’ll be sorry......”







“Oh, back to threatening me, are you?  Gonna hit a sick man?”







“I MEANT that I was going to wet the bed if I didn’t get to the bathroom; but if you’re going to be an ass about it, I could arrange a punch in the nose.”







He released her abruptly, laughing as he said, “OK, luv.  I get the picture.  Just come back soon.   Please? “ he added in much less confident voice as he pushed a piece of hair out of her face.







She leaned into his hand for a second, then pushed herself away, got out of bed and walked to the door without answering him.







The vampire dropped his arm and flopped back onto the bed.  He experimented with moving his other arm and his legs and found that he could feel them and with a concentrated effort he could make them twitch, but he still didn’t have full use of them.  Growling in frustration, he clenched his fist and pounded on the mattress with the one arm he could use.







(Got to get my body functioning again.  Can’t help her from here and I’m not sending her out there to face that thing alone)







In the bathroom Buffy studied her face in the mirror and wondered who she was looking at.







(I just spent the night snuggled up to an unsouled vampire and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.  What kind of Slayer am I?Two of the three men in my life are vampires – and I am saying Spike is in my life?  What about Riley?) She groaned and put her head in her hands.   (I must be the world’s worst Slayer.)







She splashed water on her face, then squared her shoulders and walked back into her room.   She could see that Spike hadn’t moved from where they’d put him yesterday and frowned at him with concern.







“Can you move yet?” she asked anxiously. 







Not much,” he admitted reluctantly. “Some feeling’s coming back, but I can’t move much but my head and this arm.” He hit the mattress again in frustration.







She looked at him thoughfully for a minute, then said, “I’m going to go downstairs and get you some blood.  And if that doesn’t work, we’ll pull out the big guns.”  Spike stared at her curiously, but didn’t ask what she meant.  He watched her pull on her sweat pants and a clean top as naturally as though she got dressed in front of him everyday.







(I wonder if that’s good or bad?  Is she that comfortable with me seeing her undressed; or just that unconcerned because I’m just a vampire?)







Buffy herself wasn’t sure why sure why she was so unconcerned about being undressed in front of Spike – she just knew that, like waking up next to him, it didn’t feel wrong.  Deciding to worry about her lack of modesty later, she smiled a goodbye at him and went out the door.











To Spike’s surprise, when his cup of warmed pig’s blood came back upstairs, it was Joyce carrying it, not Buffy.







“Good morning, Spike,” she said cheerfully.  “How are you this morning?”







“Been better,” he growled, “But then again, I’ve been a lot worse,” he added philosophically.







“Buffy tells me you still can’t move.” she asked, setting the cup down on the nightstand.  “If I prop you up, do you think you can hold the cup?”







The former Scourge of Europe stared at the human woman with amazement for a minute, then ducked his head shyly and said,  “I think so.  Can’t get myself up, though.  Sorry.” he apologized.







“Nothing to be sorry for.  You got hurt saving my daughter and her friends. You deserve whatever help we can give you,” she said firmly as she tugged him up and propped him up on the pillows she put behind his back.







“I have to get to the gallery soon, but Buffy  and her friends will be here.  If you need something, just yell and someone will hear you.”  She handed him the cup of blood and turned to leave, then turned back and hesitantly touched his cheek.  “Thank you, Spike, for saving my daughter.” she said softly.







When she was safely out of the room, the vampire rolled his eyes and groaned, “That woman – she hits me with an axe, then fixes me cocoa, and now she’s feeding me blood and leaving me in her daughter’s bed.  What is wrong with her?”  In spite of his complaining about Joyce’s lack of fear and her kindness to him,  he could feel a little warm spot in his chest for her.  “Bloody hell!  Another Summers woman to take care of.  I hope there aren’t any more of them!  I won’t have any reputation left at all.”











Downstairs the Scoobies were gathered for a strategy session, with the assistance of Riley and his two former comrades.  After poring over Professor Walsh’s notes, they felt they had some idea what Adam was, although how to stop him was still under discussion.  Buffy was all for charging in and taking him on face to face, the soldiers wanted to blow up the main bulding and hope he was in it, Giles was pleading for patience while the council got back to him about what kind of help they might expect from the government.







The discussion was becoming quite heated and loud when everyone’s attention was drawn to the stairs where a very slow-moving and shaky Spike was trying to work his way down while roaring, “What does a bloke have to do to get a little peace and quiet around here?”







The sound of an angry vampire froze everyone long enough for him to get to the bottom of the stairs where he collapsed onto the bottom stair. 







As Buffy ran to him crying, “Spike! What are you doing out of bed?” the two commandos recognized him and flinched back, reaching for their guns.







“It’s Hostile 17! “  Obviously they had not expected to ever see him again after leaving him bleeding and unconscious on the campus.  Certainly not in the Slayer’s house.  When they realized no one else was getting freaked out at the sight of a vampire coming into the Slayer’s living room and being helped to a seat by the small blond girl, they looked at Riley questioningly.







He shrugged, looking extremely unhappy as he watched Buffy fussing over the vampire and helping him get into a comfortable position on the couch.  The two witches moved over slightly to make room for him, but neither seemed inclined to flinch away from him.  If anything, they looked even more concerned than Buffy did.



Giles looked at Riley meaningfully and the big man shook his head in disgust as he said , “ It appears he has become a......a......” he struggled to put a name to what Spike’s position in Buffy’s life had become.







“A friend.” she said quietly as she glared at Forrest and Graham.  “He’s the reason I’m not being chopped up in your lab, and that Riley isn’t a puddle of protoplasm on the floor of the zoo you guys were stocking.”







The two commandos has the grace to look embarrassed as they were reminded of their participation in Buffy’s kidnapping and imprisonment.  Mumbling apologies again for their actions, they relaxed back onto their seats and tried not to look at the vampire staring at them coldly from across the room.  The only reason they weren’t edging toward the door was the knowledge that his chip would render him incapacitated before he could actually hurt them.







Before the discussion could get back to it’s previous sound level, the phone rang and Buffy handed it to Giles.  His face when he hung up was grim.  “Well, it appears we may be on our own for awhile.  There will be no help coming until the end of the week – and then it appears it will be a new commanding officer for the military personnel already here,” he glanced at Riley and his friends, “not re-inforcements.”







“So,” Buffy said, “We’re supposed to what?  Let Adam run amok and build his strength while we sit here and wait for him to find us?  I don’t think so!”







“Until we figure out how kill him, it doesn’t make much sense to try to take him on in his own territory,” Giles pointed out.  “We still don’t know where he is vulnerable.”







“Uh, nowhere?” Willow put in.  She had spent a good bit of the morning going back over the notes from his construction and couldn’t see any way to take him out short of an atomic bomb.







“He’s got to have a weakness,” Buffy growled.  “I’ll find it.  And when I do....”







“Not by yourself, you won’t!”  Spike’s growl was deeper and more real than Buffy’s and everyone turned to look at him. “Not before I’m able to go with you.”







“Since when are you giving orders, evil undead?” Xander asked incredulously.







He fully expected Buffy to smack the vampire down, if not physically then certainly verbally.  Instead, she just looked over at him and said,  “Don’t worry.  You’ll be OK by the time I’m ready to go”  Without offerering any explanation to either the frowning vampire or the curious Scoobies, she turned back to Giles and continued to plan.







“Willow says he’s powered by some sort of atomic thingie in his chest.  So cutting off his head won’t hurt him, but if I could get close enough to reach in and pull that out....”







“He’d fry you before you got within 50 feet,” Riley reminded her.  “He’s not approachable.”







Buffy looked at the two witches on the couch and her Watcher thoughtfully.  “But, if he didn’t know I was there until it was too late.......” 







While the soldiers just looked on in confusion,  Giles and Willow exchanged looks.   “Well, we could try.... but we would need a trial run of some sort first to be sure he’s susceptable to magics.”







“Well, you held him off for awhile before, didn’t you?”







“Yes, but I was just throwing up shields against the power surges he was sending – and they didn’t hold very long,” he looked at Spike apologeticaly and the vampire shrugged, “and they didn’t prevent him from seeing any of you.  We’d have to come up with a spell that would hide you until you were close enough to -”







“Ok, well, you and Willow work on that.  I’m going to get something to eat and try to get a couple of hours of rest before tonight.”  She turned around and started toward the kitchen but stopped when Riley said,  “Uh, Buffy?  What about us?  What can we do?”







“I don’t know, Riley.  What CAN you do?  I guess you could try to take out any manufactured demons that come after us.  I’m assuming YOUR guns actually work?” she snarked at them. 







Not being in on what happened to Buffy the first time she visited the Initiative, Forrest and Graham frowned in confusion.  Riley looked annoyed and said, “OK, Buffy.  You made your point about Maggie.  Can’t you let that go?”







An outraged snarl from Spike drew everyone’s attention and before anyone could stop him, he had pushed himself off the couch and into the larger man.  “You miserable, soddin’ bastard.  You let her get set up by your boss and you want her to ‘get over it?’  You shouldn’t even be in this house!”  The force of his leap had carried him into Riley’s body and knocked them both to the floor.   He was not in game face, but his intent was obvious. 







“Spike! Stop it! “  Buffy grabbed him by the collar, pulling him off of Riley and throwing him toward the stairs. 







Riley was on his feet immediately and leaping toward the blond vampire.  “YOU don’t belong in this house!” he shouted.  “You don’t belong anywhere near her, you bloodsucking-“  He was stopped by a surprisingly angry Slayer.







“You stop it too.  He’s just protecting me.... I mean, he’s...”at  the look on Riley’s face, she backtracked quickly,  “he’s touchy about that place – you know that’s where he got his chip.......”  her voice trailed off  and she turned to look at Spike with an expression of sheer horror on her face.  As soon as he saw her face, he grabbed his head and moaned, knowing he wasn’t fooling her, but hoping no one else had noticed that his chip didn’t fire when he crashed into Riley.
 

Chapter 12











Buffy went through the rest of the morning in a daze.  She helped Spike get back upstairs and into bed, but refused to meet his eyes or talk to him.  There was no banter, no flirting or tender touches, she was all business as she put him back on the bed and took the empty cup back downstairs with her.  If it weren’t for the slight trembling he could see every once in a while, Spike would have thought she was completely unconcerned about him.  But the cold tone of her voice when she said, “Stay here.” and the way her hand shook as she picked up the cup told him how worried she was about what she’d seen.







When she got back downstairs, she went through the motions of eating, picking up after the visitors and cleaning the kitchen.  Finally, when she had run out of things to do  (Avoidance much, Buffy?),  she squared her shoulders and went back up stairs to her room.  Pushing open the door slowly she steeled herself for the questions she knew had to be answered.







Spike was half-lying, half-sitting against the pillows with his eyes shut.  He was so still she thought he might be asleep again, but without opening his eyes he said evenly, “So, Slayer.  Come to stake me?”







“How long, Spike?”







He didn’t bother to pretend he didn’t know what she meant.  “Don’t know, luv.  Prob’ly since that jolt of whatever.  Must have fried the chip.  Sure would explain the headaches.”







“When did you know?”  She struggled to keep the fear and anxiety out of her voice as she continued her interrogation. 







(I won’t think about staking him until I know there’s a reason.)







He opened his eyes and looked at her flatly, “Same time you did, pet.  When I knocked Cap’t Cardboard down.”







“Why did you do that?” she asked suddenly, surprising both herself and him.







(Way to change the subject, Buffy.)







As though reading her mind, Spike didn’t answer her question, just said quietly, “It’s not going to go away just because you don’t talk about it, luv.  I’m not guaranteed safe anymore. You have to deal with that.”







Buffy stuck her lower lip out stubbornly and said, “Just answer my question, Spike.  Why did you do that?”







“He made me mad,” the vampire mumbled, looking down at the bed spread.



Knowing full well what had upset him, Buffy  let her shoulders slump as she approached the bed and slid to the floor.  She rested her head on the side of the bed and sighed when she felt his hand tentatively touch her hair. 







(Can’t I stop being the Slayer for just a few minutes?  Would the world come to an end if I took a little vacation and was just a normal girl for little while.  Oh wait. That’s right.  A normal girl wouldn’t have a vampire lying on her bed and feeling her hair. My life just sucks.))







She gave a small groan and turned to look up at him with such uncertainty and pain in her eyes that he was sure he could feel his heart breaking. 







(No use trying to kid yourself, nancy-boy.  You’re head over heels in love with this woman and the best thing you can do for her is to leave before you make her have to kill another man she cares about.)







“Slayer – Buffy,” he began slowly.  “Don’t ......I’m not going to make you stake me, love.  I promise.  Let me help you take care of the overgrown science project and then I’ll leave Sunnydale.  Please believe me, love.  Let me help you.  Please. Will you trust me?” he ended with such emotion in his voice that she was forced to accept what he was saying.







“You’re telling me you aren’t going to start feeding again?  That you aren’t going to take revenge on any Initiative soldiers you come across?  That my friends and family are all safe with you?  How can I believe you, Spike?  Tell me!  How can I believe that?”  Her eyes were filled with unshed tears as she pleaded with him to make her believe.







Blue eyes bored into hers with an intensity that shook her to her core.  “Because I love you, Slayer.  I love you too much to do anything that would hurt you. I know you can’t love something like me, but staking me would hurt you.   I know it and you know it.  You don’t want to kill me and I promise you I won’t do anything to make you feel you have to.”  He ran his hand from her head down her cheek and gently touched her bottom lip. “You’ve already buried yourself in my heart, Slayer.  I think the stake would be overkill.”







(He loves me?  Spike loves me?  When did that happen? Where was I?  I thought he just wanted me – in some macho/vampire possessive way.  He can’t love me. He has no soul.)







“Spike .....I ....I don’t......I can’t.......”







“I know you don’t, pet.  Don’t care.  Ok, thats a lie.  I care.  I care a lot.  But I don’t expect it.   Just don’t shut me out of this,” he pleaded.







Buffy took a deep breath, and shook herself.  (I’ll think about this later.)  she told herself.  (Way to go Scarlett – think about it tomorrow.)







“Speaking of helping,” she said as calmly as she could,  “we need to get you back to full strength quickly.  I think I know a way.” 







“Does this mean you trust me?” he asked.







“I guess it does, “ she told him, meeting his eyes fully and letting him see the truth there.    She moved up onto the bed beside him and slid into his embrace. 







“Don’t make me regret it.    Please.” she whispered into his chest.







“Never,” he breathed into her hair as he tightened his arms around her. 







She was so still and quiet he thought she might have fallen asleep, but then she stirred and shook herself slightly.  “Ok, enough with the cuddly stuff.  We’ve got to get you up to full strength if you’re going to help me.”  She pulled away from his chest and put her hands up to cup his face.







“I know what can make you better faster than anything else.  And it isn’t pig blood.”  She looked into his face, forcing him to see her meaning.







“No!” he shouted, pushing her away from him so hard she almost fell off the bed.  “No way!  Are you crazy?”







“You told me I could trust you, Spike.  And I do.  Take what you need.  It’s the only thing that will let you finish healing by tonight and you know it.”







The vampire knew he was giving a good imitation of a fish out of water, but he couldn’t wrap his brain around what she was offering.







(Is she really saying she wants me to drink from her? She’s offering me Slayer blood.  My god I love this woman.)







“Are you sure about this, love?”  He was torn between his desire to never harm her and his demon’s craving for the elixer she carried in her veins.  “Maybe just some human blood from the hospi-“







“Not the same and you know it.  And I know it.  You won’t drain me.  I trust you.” He felt like she was holding his heart in her small hands as she calmly bared her neck for him.  “Do it, Spike. Now.”







After another second’s hesitation, he gently put his lips on her neck just over the pulse he could hear pounding.  She could try to appear calm about this, but the rapid beating of her heart gave her away.  Instead of biting her, he ran his tongue over the pulse point and gently sucked on it.  Keeping his lips on her skin the whole time, he moved his mouth back up to her chin, then fastened it on her warm, soft lips. 







At this first touch of his lips, the world went away and she was lost in the sheer sensual pleasure of kissing him.  The soft, gentle pressure gradually became more demanding and she willingly opened her mouth to allow his cool tongue to slide in and meet her own.  When she finally had to pull away to breathe, he moved his lips slowly back down her neck and placed them over the scars left by Dracula and Angel. He sucked gently on the marks first, then let his fangs slide into her skin as easily as he could.







Buffy gave a little hiss of pain as his sharp teeth punctured her skin, then immediately moaned as the incredibly pleasurable sensation of his sucking erased all memory of the pain. 







(Oh my god!  It never felt like this before.  He could drain me and I’d die happy.  This is just........too.....too.....Spike!  Oh god, did I just......?)







Spike smiled into her neck as he felt her shudder with an orgasm and he stopped drinking, pulling his fangs out and licking the holes closed.  He felt the Slayer blood flooding his body with strength and healing, as well as giving him a raging hard-on.  He shifted uncomfortably, trying to relieve the pressure of his tight jeans without releasing his grip on the warm body lying next to his.







“Spike?  What the hell?  No wonder you killed so many people.  They must have been lining up for.....”  she shook herself in disgust and groaned, “I did not really say that.  Please tell me I didn’t really say that!”







He looked down at her shocked face and kissed her gently as he said,  “No, love, nobody lines up for that.  And no vampire takes that kind of care with the bite when he’s hungry.  This wasn’t about feeding – it was about you willingly giving me something you wanted me to have.  And about my appreciation and the connection between us that makes sharing something like that a....a......”  His voice trailed off as he refused to let himself say aloud what he was thinking.  (A holy experience).







For several minutes, he just clutched her to his chest, inhaling her scent and enjoying the feel of her in his arms, knowing it was probably the last time it would happen now that the chip was gone.







Buffy sighed with contentment as she snuggled up to him, forgetting for a time that he was an unchipped, potentially deadly vampire.   She gradually became aware that he was squirming carefully and realized that she wasn’t the only one to have found his drinking from her to be an arousing experience.   A quick mental calculation told her that they had some time to kill before anyone would be back to work on the plans to take Adam down.
 

Chapter 13







“Spike?” she asked softly.  “How do you feel now?”







I could take on the whole bleedin’ US Army, and still have time left for Robo-demon. Like magic, your blood is.”   He smiled at her gratefully and squeezed her again.







“Um, so you’re all recovered,then?  You can move and everything?”  As she spoke, she was running her hand down his chest to the unmistakable bulge in his jeans.  He drew in an unnecessary breath as she touched him and wrapped her warm hand around the bulge.







“An’ everything,” he growled, turning her on her back and running his hands down her body.  He took both her hands in his and stretched them up over her head,holding them in place with one hand while he allowed the other to roam across her body.  Every feather-light touch set her skin on fire and she squirmed under him.







“Let me go, Spike.” she gasped.  “Want to touch you,” she begged, blushing as she did so.







“Don’t think so, love.  Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?” he grinned as he teased her nipples through her shirt, rubbing them until he could see the hard little tips sticking up.  He lowered his mouth to suck on one of them through the cloth and she was able to wiggle one hand free.  She used her free arm to pull him in tighter and press his mouth into her breast as she arched up into him.







Suddenly they both needed to feel skin on skin, and she tore at his tee shirt as he ripped her top off.   He slid his hand down into the warmth of her sweat pants and began sliding them down her hips, following his fingers with his mouth.  She moaned as his tongue plunged in and out of her belly button then continued down the soft skin of her belly until he reached his target.  He inhaled deeply and groaned,  “Oh, Slayer, Buffy,  got to taste you.....” as he buried his face in her folds lapping at the moisture already there.







Buffy was reduced to whimpers and moans as he moved his talented tongue over and around her most sensitive parts.  He pulled her into his mouth and sucked gently as he plunged two fingers into her warmth.  “So wet, so tight, so beautiful,” he managed to gasp out without stopping his ministrations.  When Buffy started throwing her head from one side to the other and making mewing noises, he finally stopped teasing her and grabbed her clit gently with his teeth as he sucked on it hard.  At the same time, his fingers were hitting a spot inside her she hadn’t even known she had and she screamed as a powerful orgasm seized her.   While she was recovering her breath and her ablility to think, Spike had shed his jeans and moved up her body to place his engorged cock at her entrance.



He didn’t push his way in, though;  he waited, trembling, until she was looking at him and meeting his eyes.   He leaned in and kissed her, losing himself in the feel of her soft lips and darting tongue.  As her arms reached around him and pulled him closer, he fought to keep his demon in check and nuzzled his bite marks on her neck.  Buffy sucked in her breath in a gasp as he pulled gently on the skin over the marks before pushing himself up off her body again.  She whimpered and tried to pull him closer again but he shook his head and said,  “I have to know you want this, love.  I don’t want any regrets.”







“I would think it’s pretty obvious I want it,” she said wryly as her hips continued to push up toward him. 







He smirked at her briefly, then sobered, “No, love, I don’t mean that your body wants it . I mean that you – Buffy Summers, The Slayer – YOU want me.  ME – William the Bloody.  It means too much to me to settle for your body. “ 







She stared at him incredulously and he looked embarrassed,  “OK, I’ll settle – you know I will.  It’s taking every ounce of control I’ve gained in the last 126 years to hold off this long -  but, I need to know you feel something....anything......just give me a crumb, love.  Tell me it means something to you.”







Buffy stared into his pleading blue eyes, reading the truth in what he was saying and felt her heart ache to give him what he asked for.







(I am the Slayer.  I cannot love an unsouled vampire.  I can’t – shouldn’t love ANY  vampire.  People die when I allow my feelings for one of them to affect my decisions. I can’t give him what he wants.  I can’t. I’m the Slayer..... )







Buffy’s internal struggle was clearly visible on her face and her eyes filled with tears as she saw his sad acceptance of her unspoken answer.   When the tears spilled out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks he lowered his head and began licking them off her face. 







“Ah, don’t cry, love.  It’s OK.  I understand.  If I were you, I wouldn’t love me either.” he paused to give her his trademark smirk, but his eyes remained full of pain, “Well, I probably would – but then I’m evil – so I think I’m pretty bleedin’ irresistable.”







Buffy gave him a watery smile and said, “I think you’re irresistible too.  I just can’t........” she started to cry in earnest and clutched him to her.   (Way to destroy the mood, Buffy.  That’s me – Buffy the Romance Slayer.)







Spike rolled off her, pulling her with him as he went so that he was on his side holding a sobbing slayer in his arms and murmuring in her ear as he stroked her head.  “Don’t do this to yourself, pet.  Don’t, please.  I’m sorry.  I’m a bad, rude man and I never should have-“







“No, I’m sorry.  I want to.....you don’t deserve.......” she caught her breath and sniffled,  “I’m the Slayer, Spike.  I’m supposed to kill you, not fall in –“ she stopped, hoping she’d caught herself in time, but one look at Spike’s startled eyes and hopeful smile told her he’d heard every word, including the unspoken ones.  Before he could say anything, she put a hand to his cheek and stroked it.  “I’m not going to finish that sentence, Spike.  It wouldn’t change anything.  I’m the Slayer and you’re a soulless vampire.  This is all we’ll ever have.”







“Then it will have to be enough, my love,” he breathed in her ear as he pulled her ear lobe into his mouth.  As quickly as her tears had doused the heat between them, the touch of his lips on her skin brought the inferno back and within a few seconds they were both breathing hard and rolling back and forth across the bed trying to touch as many body parts as possible at one time.  The last roll brought them back to their earlier position with Spike lying on Buffy’s body, the head of his cock pushing against her wet warmth. 







This time he didn’t allow any conversation to interrupt them.  He moved the head of his cock slowly back and forth from her entrance to her throbbing clit several times until she grabbed his butt cheeks in both hands and pulled him to her gasping, “Now, Spike.  I want you inside me, now.”  







With a groan, he slid into her, a little at a time, giving her time to get used to his size and adjust to it.  As soon as he felt her warmth around him, he shuddered and clenched his teeth, struggling to maintain control and not pound into her.  Buffy’s sigh of relief as she felt him fill her up completely helped him relax and for a few seconds they were still, just reveling in the feel of each other.







“Buffy, my slayer, my love.  You feel so good, so hot.  I’ve wanted to be here for the longest time.”  Some small part of her brain noted that Spike’s accent had slid into something much closer to the way Giles spoke than to his usual manner of speaking. Not being particularly verbal herself, she settled for planting kisses everywhere she could reach and clenching her internal muscles around him to show him how happy she was to have him there.







His “Hey, now!” and groans of pleasure made her smile and begin to move.  They moved slowly and gently at first, enjoying the closeness and the connection between them, but neither could keep that up for long and he was soon thrusting into her as hard as he could while she urged him on with gasps and moans.  The way he twisted his hips at the end of each thrust soon had her raking her nails down his back and gasping incoherently.   As she reached her climax and screamed his name, she also bit down on his neck with her blunt little teeth and the vampire roared and exploded into her in ecstasy.







“Love you, Buffy.  Love you so much,” he murmured  over and over as he inhaled her scent and licked at the tiny punctures on her neck. Everytime his tongue touched the mark on her neck, Buffy felt a tingle go through her body and she unconsciously pushed up into the lean body lying on hers.







Buffy glanced at the marks she had made on his neck with her human teeth and saw that she had bitten him hard enough to break the skin.  The tentatively stuck out her tongue and gently licked at the tiny trickle of blood coming from the toothmarks.  At the touch of her tongue on his wounded neck, Spike hissed in suprise and pulled back from her.







“You bit me!” he whispered in awe as he stared at her tongue, still wet with a few drops of his blood.  He lowered his head and gently kissed her – touching her tongue with his and reveling in the taste of his own blood on her.  (Easy, mate. he told himself, she has no idea what that means to a vampire.  It was just passion for her, not a commitment.)
 

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