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Setting the stage
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
"Sorry, Giles, it's my job."
She walked determined out of the library. It's my job to slay the demons of this world until I die, even if that happens to be tonight. I wish it wasn't, I'm not done. I wanna do things, see the world, and try an adult relationship. Watch the new movie they put up yesterday. Go to college, try all the flavors of icecream there are. There is so much I haven't tried yet.
She wiped at a tear that was slowly making its way down her cheek. I’ve never seen Giles make a mistake about a prophecy, but I really hope he has this time. I hope and I pray that he’s wrong.
Everything after that happened so quickly, though it felt like a movie that moved too slow. Some of it repeated itself, again and again, until finally, there was nothing but peace.
-------
In the library, the phone began to ring loudly in the otherwise quiet room, startling the group of people gathered there.
Giles hurried to pick up the phone. "Buffy?"
"Am I correct in assuming that I'm talking with Mr. Giles?"
"Yes, this is Rupert Giles, how may I help you?" With his free hand he took off his glasses, and then rubbed his brow.
"One moment please, Mr. Quentin Travers wishes to speak with you."
"Mr. Giles, Quentin Travers here. I’m sorry to inform you that a new Slayer has been called."
"Oh my God, then it was true." Giles leaned heavily against the desk.
"I assume that you know how your Slayer died?" Giles heard the question from afar, as he turned around and looked over the small group that had gathered in the library to wait for Buffy’s return with him.
Xander and Willow were sitting at the table together, holding on to each other. Angel was on the stairs, head bowed.
Giles came back to himself when he heard the question asked again. "Yes, in fact I do. It was written that The Master would kill her. It seems he has fulfilled the prophecy."
"Seems? What do you mean by that? Didn’t you see him kill her?"
"No, Sir, I was not with her, but I will immediately go out to look for her body."
"Then the vampire must have seen her die?"
Giles whipped off his glasses, which he had just put back on. He stuttered in a voice filled with defeat, "S.. she was alone."
Travers raised his voice. "Why was she alone, especially when it was prophesied that she was at risk of dying?"
"Not at risk. It said quite clearly that The Master would kill her when he tried to break free. So, as you can see, there wasn’t anything that anyone could do about it."
Travers screamed so loud that even Xander and Willow could hear him. Angel had been listening to the whole conversation, and now his head was even more bowed. "You stupid, ignorant fool. You are a Watcher, or, you’re supposed to be. Apparently, you missed the lectures we held about prophecies."
"What do you mean, Sir?" Giles watched as Willow cried and Xander tried to comfort her.
"Now listen up. In fact, you’d better write this down. A prophecy doesn’t have to come true, literally. We have seen that if watchers go with their Slayer, they can often change the outcome of a prophecy. Why do you think her first watcher died? He was standing by her side, protecting his Slayer, as you should have been."
Giles sank down to sit on the floor, his glasses in hand, head bowed. "You mean to say that if I had gone with my Slayer, she would still be alive?"
"You, or that vampire who claims to have a soul. Yes, maybe, it’s hard to say. The only thing to do now though, is to find her body and make sure that she hasn’t been turned. However, I’m afraid that we have no use for your services after this fiasco. I will be sure to notify you formally, probably by mail. Goodbye, Mr. Giles."
Giles raised his head to lean it back against the desk, his tears making him blind to everything for a moment. He couldn’t even be bothered to hang up the phone, just letting it fall out of his grasp to lie on the floor.
Angel raised his eyes to Giles. "It may be our fault that she’s dead?"
"Yes, it seems so."
Xander shouted hysterically. "What does that mean? It’s your fault? Could you have stopped it? I don’t understand. You told us that nothing that could stop a prophecy from coming true."
Giles got up from the floor, found a handkerchief, and started to clean his glasses. "Well, it seems that if one or all of us had gone along with her," He stopped, taking a deep breath before he continued. "We might have changed the prophecy, and she might have lived." To die another day, he thought. That is the life of a Slayer. To live with death every day of their lives, for as long as they are allowed to live.
Willow began to cry louder.
"Xander, why don’t you take Willow home? Maybe stay with her tonight, while I go out and try to find Buffy’s body. Can I count on your help, Angel?"
Angel nodded and started toward the exit.
Xander protested. "Why does he get to help? We wanna help. She was our friend." Even now that she is dead, he butts in. She was my friend, not his. He’s the evil undead.
"I might not have known her as long as you, but I hope that she counted me as one of her friends. Besides, I can find her faster." Angel responded to Xander, like a father educating a child.
Xander got in his face, moving until they were almost nose to nose. "Yeah? And we should just believe that?"
"Xander, stop it." Giles tried to separate them.
"He’s right, Xander. He can follow her trail by scenting where she walked."
“You mean like a dog? That fits him," Xander said with a snarl.
"Enough is enough, Xander! Will you please stop arguing and take Willow home!"
Willow spoke up for the first time. "Will you please call us later? When you have found her? So we can see her, maybe, and say goodbye?"
"I’ll call as soon as I know something. Let's get started, Angel." I hope the children will be able to see her and say their goodbyes. That The Master and his minions didn’t let their hate for the Slayer cause them to mutilate her body.
He collected a crossbow and a couple of stakes. On the way out of the library Giles spoke to the vampire beside him. "Do you want a weapon, Angel?"
"No, I’ve got what I need."
Outside the school, they stopped and looked around.
“Which way, Angel?"
"That way, I think." He pointed the way with a nod of his head.
"Think? Can’t you say which way she went with any certainty?"
"She’s walked here so many times. All I can do is try to pick out the strongest scent. That should be the most recent, and should point us in the right direction."
"Let's go then."
They walked for a while in silence, Giles following Angel. Suddenly, Angel stopped so abruptly that Giles walked right into him. He took a step back, covered his nose with one hand, and ripped off his glasses with the other. "What in God's name made you stop?"
"Blood! I smell her blood, and if I’m not mistaken, her smell is overlapping here. Like she’s going back the way she came."
"Strange," Giles commented. They walked back, following almost the same route.
"Her smell is mixed with others. Maybe she helped someone?"
"Hmm," Giles grumbled.
They came to a halt just outside the cemetery gate. "It stops here."
"What do you mean? Have you lost her scent?"
"It’s like she vanished into thin air."
"What if she was carried away?"
"Then I would still smell her in the air." Angel started to walk around in circles, trying to catch her smell. "I’m getting nothing at all. That must mean that she was transported away in a car."
Giles searched through his pocket for a hanky and started polishing his glasses. "Why would they take her with them?"
"I have no idea whatsoever. The only thing I can think of is a ritual to free The Master."
Giles put his glasses back on. "Then there should be something in the books about it. I'd better go back and check them, since we don’t seem to be getting anywhere here."
Angel nodded. "I’ll look around and try to find The Master’s lair. Maybe they’ve taken her body there. That would be logical if there is a ritual involved."
"I’ll head back to the school. Will you please check in when you know something? Come to my apartment tomorrow night after dark, at least. I think I’ll take a little time off."
-------
The first thing Giles did when he arrived at the school, was to go over the prophecy about Buffy’s death with a fine tooth comb. He didn't find anything new. Nothing about any ritual, just that she would die at the hands of The Master.
Giles leaned back in his chair. One hand held his glasses, while he pinched the bridge of his nose with the other, like he was trying to stop an oncoming headache. He slowly got up from the chair, and went into his office to get the bottle he had stashed in the back of his lowest drawer.
He really needed a drink. Actually, he needed several, but he had too much to do while waiting for Buffy’s body to be found. Giles poured a large measure of whiskey into a coffee mug, took a swallow, refilled the mug, and then replaced the bottle in the drawer where it belonged.
He walked back into the main room and sat down, slowly sipping from his mug while he thought about what he had to do in the next days. Where did the janitor store the boxes I used when I brought my books here? The cellar, maybe?
Slowly he got to his feet, feeling exhausted, but knowing he had work to do. After he collected the boxes from the cellar, happy to have guessed correctly where they were stored, he began to gather his books and pile them on the library table while taking the occasional sip of whiskey from his mug. Giles was absorbed in his books, and was startled when he heard the library doors open. He yelled from the stacks: "Is that you Angel?"
"No, it’s me, Xander."
Giles stepped out from the stacks to see Xander standing at the desk. "What are you doing here, Xander? I thought that you went home with Willow?"
He looked down. "Yeah, but I couldn't stand it. Willow wouldn’t stop crying and blaming herself for not going along to help Buffy.”
"And you just left her alone?" Giles asked outraged.
Xander looked up at Giles, who was still standing on the stairs. "No, of course not. Her mum was at home, and it became kind of awkward. She thought I was Willow’s boyfriend, and that I had hurt her."
"What did you tell her?" Giles asked as he came down the stairs.
Xander helped Giles get the books down on the table. "We said that a friend of ours was missing, and it’s not even a lie. I guess that since you haven’t called yet, you had no luck finding her body?"
"That’s correct. We lost her trail after a short time." He sat down.
Xander joined him. "What are you doing here?"
"I’m packing my books together." Giles claimed his mug again.
"Why?" Xander asked.
Giles wrapped his hands around his mug, as if he was trying to warm his hands. "There are several reasons: First of all, I need all my time to find out what happened tonight, and for that I need my books." He stopped to take a sip from his mug.
"And? You said that there were several reasons," Xander asked curiously.
Giles was quiet for a couple of minutes before he answered, causing Xander to become anxious."Yes, there is. First as I said: I have to find out what happened tonight. Second: I need a break, and I don’t even know if I’ll have a job tomorrow."
"You think Principal Snyder will blame you because Buffy is gone? He can’t do that! He can’t fire you because of that, but even if he does, you’ll still be a Watcher.”
"That is where you might be incorrect. You know that The Watcher’s Council called today, to tell me that a new Slayer has been called."
"Yes, I know that. I was in the room when they called." Does he think that I'm stupid or something?
Giles sighed heavily. "They did more than tell me that a new Slayer was called. They also blamed me for Buffy’s death, and Travers told me that I shouldn't count on having a job as a watcher in the future."
"Oh, I see," Xander said. "But then, you have your job here at the school, as the librarian. It’s not that bad." Xander smiled a little.
Giles smiled sadly. "It’s not that easy. You see, it was The Watcher’s Council that made it so that I got this job, and they can take it away again, along with my title as Watcher. They have enough power to have me deported, just like that." He snapped his fingers.
"Oh, so you may have to leave for England?" the boy asked. "Then we’ll be all alone! Who’ll watch the Hellmouth? Willow and I can’t do it without help."
Giles sighed again. "I don’t think you’ll have to. As I see it, Angel is trying to earn redemption for what he has done in the past, so he can probably be convinced to help out."
"Angel! Always Angel! I don’t want to hear his name. It’s his fault that she’s dead," Xander screamed.
Giles stood up and started to pack his books, not looking at Xander. "You seem to have a selective memory. You forget that we all agreed not to go with her, not to help her. We said that she was the Slayer and needed to fight her battles alone." He looked up, but Xander wasn't meeting his eyes. "If you don’t have anything better to do, you can help me pack everything up and get the boxes out to my car."
"Sorry, Giles, it's my job."
She walked determined out of the library. It's my job to slay the demons of this world until I die, even if that happens to be tonight. I wish it wasn't, I'm not done. I wanna do things, see the world, and try an adult relationship. Watch the new movie they put up yesterday. Go to college, try all the flavors of icecream there are. There is so much I haven't tried yet.
She wiped at a tear that was slowly making its way down her cheek. I’ve never seen Giles make a mistake about a prophecy, but I really hope he has this time. I hope and I pray that he’s wrong.
Everything after that happened so quickly, though it felt like a movie that moved too slow. Some of it repeated itself, again and again, until finally, there was nothing but peace.
-------
In the library, the phone began to ring loudly in the otherwise quiet room, startling the group of people gathered there.
Giles hurried to pick up the phone. "Buffy?"
"Am I correct in assuming that I'm talking with Mr. Giles?"
"Yes, this is Rupert Giles, how may I help you?" With his free hand he took off his glasses, and then rubbed his brow.
"One moment please, Mr. Quentin Travers wishes to speak with you."
"Mr. Giles, Quentin Travers here. I’m sorry to inform you that a new Slayer has been called."
"Oh my God, then it was true." Giles leaned heavily against the desk.
"I assume that you know how your Slayer died?" Giles heard the question from afar, as he turned around and looked over the small group that had gathered in the library to wait for Buffy’s return with him.
Xander and Willow were sitting at the table together, holding on to each other. Angel was on the stairs, head bowed.
Giles came back to himself when he heard the question asked again. "Yes, in fact I do. It was written that The Master would kill her. It seems he has fulfilled the prophecy."
"Seems? What do you mean by that? Didn’t you see him kill her?"
"No, Sir, I was not with her, but I will immediately go out to look for her body."
"Then the vampire must have seen her die?"
Giles whipped off his glasses, which he had just put back on. He stuttered in a voice filled with defeat, "S.. she was alone."
Travers raised his voice. "Why was she alone, especially when it was prophesied that she was at risk of dying?"
"Not at risk. It said quite clearly that The Master would kill her when he tried to break free. So, as you can see, there wasn’t anything that anyone could do about it."
Travers screamed so loud that even Xander and Willow could hear him. Angel had been listening to the whole conversation, and now his head was even more bowed. "You stupid, ignorant fool. You are a Watcher, or, you’re supposed to be. Apparently, you missed the lectures we held about prophecies."
"What do you mean, Sir?" Giles watched as Willow cried and Xander tried to comfort her.
"Now listen up. In fact, you’d better write this down. A prophecy doesn’t have to come true, literally. We have seen that if watchers go with their Slayer, they can often change the outcome of a prophecy. Why do you think her first watcher died? He was standing by her side, protecting his Slayer, as you should have been."
Giles sank down to sit on the floor, his glasses in hand, head bowed. "You mean to say that if I had gone with my Slayer, she would still be alive?"
"You, or that vampire who claims to have a soul. Yes, maybe, it’s hard to say. The only thing to do now though, is to find her body and make sure that she hasn’t been turned. However, I’m afraid that we have no use for your services after this fiasco. I will be sure to notify you formally, probably by mail. Goodbye, Mr. Giles."
Giles raised his head to lean it back against the desk, his tears making him blind to everything for a moment. He couldn’t even be bothered to hang up the phone, just letting it fall out of his grasp to lie on the floor.
Angel raised his eyes to Giles. "It may be our fault that she’s dead?"
"Yes, it seems so."
Xander shouted hysterically. "What does that mean? It’s your fault? Could you have stopped it? I don’t understand. You told us that nothing that could stop a prophecy from coming true."
Giles got up from the floor, found a handkerchief, and started to clean his glasses. "Well, it seems that if one or all of us had gone along with her," He stopped, taking a deep breath before he continued. "We might have changed the prophecy, and she might have lived." To die another day, he thought. That is the life of a Slayer. To live with death every day of their lives, for as long as they are allowed to live.
Willow began to cry louder.
"Xander, why don’t you take Willow home? Maybe stay with her tonight, while I go out and try to find Buffy’s body. Can I count on your help, Angel?"
Angel nodded and started toward the exit.
Xander protested. "Why does he get to help? We wanna help. She was our friend." Even now that she is dead, he butts in. She was my friend, not his. He’s the evil undead.
"I might not have known her as long as you, but I hope that she counted me as one of her friends. Besides, I can find her faster." Angel responded to Xander, like a father educating a child.
Xander got in his face, moving until they were almost nose to nose. "Yeah? And we should just believe that?"
"Xander, stop it." Giles tried to separate them.
"He’s right, Xander. He can follow her trail by scenting where she walked."
“You mean like a dog? That fits him," Xander said with a snarl.
"Enough is enough, Xander! Will you please stop arguing and take Willow home!"
Willow spoke up for the first time. "Will you please call us later? When you have found her? So we can see her, maybe, and say goodbye?"
"I’ll call as soon as I know something. Let's get started, Angel." I hope the children will be able to see her and say their goodbyes. That The Master and his minions didn’t let their hate for the Slayer cause them to mutilate her body.
He collected a crossbow and a couple of stakes. On the way out of the library Giles spoke to the vampire beside him. "Do you want a weapon, Angel?"
"No, I’ve got what I need."
Outside the school, they stopped and looked around.
“Which way, Angel?"
"That way, I think." He pointed the way with a nod of his head.
"Think? Can’t you say which way she went with any certainty?"
"She’s walked here so many times. All I can do is try to pick out the strongest scent. That should be the most recent, and should point us in the right direction."
"Let's go then."
They walked for a while in silence, Giles following Angel. Suddenly, Angel stopped so abruptly that Giles walked right into him. He took a step back, covered his nose with one hand, and ripped off his glasses with the other. "What in God's name made you stop?"
"Blood! I smell her blood, and if I’m not mistaken, her smell is overlapping here. Like she’s going back the way she came."
"Strange," Giles commented. They walked back, following almost the same route.
"Her smell is mixed with others. Maybe she helped someone?"
"Hmm," Giles grumbled.
They came to a halt just outside the cemetery gate. "It stops here."
"What do you mean? Have you lost her scent?"
"It’s like she vanished into thin air."
"What if she was carried away?"
"Then I would still smell her in the air." Angel started to walk around in circles, trying to catch her smell. "I’m getting nothing at all. That must mean that she was transported away in a car."
Giles searched through his pocket for a hanky and started polishing his glasses. "Why would they take her with them?"
"I have no idea whatsoever. The only thing I can think of is a ritual to free The Master."
Giles put his glasses back on. "Then there should be something in the books about it. I'd better go back and check them, since we don’t seem to be getting anywhere here."
Angel nodded. "I’ll look around and try to find The Master’s lair. Maybe they’ve taken her body there. That would be logical if there is a ritual involved."
"I’ll head back to the school. Will you please check in when you know something? Come to my apartment tomorrow night after dark, at least. I think I’ll take a little time off."
-------
The first thing Giles did when he arrived at the school, was to go over the prophecy about Buffy’s death with a fine tooth comb. He didn't find anything new. Nothing about any ritual, just that she would die at the hands of The Master.
Giles leaned back in his chair. One hand held his glasses, while he pinched the bridge of his nose with the other, like he was trying to stop an oncoming headache. He slowly got up from the chair, and went into his office to get the bottle he had stashed in the back of his lowest drawer.
He really needed a drink. Actually, he needed several, but he had too much to do while waiting for Buffy’s body to be found. Giles poured a large measure of whiskey into a coffee mug, took a swallow, refilled the mug, and then replaced the bottle in the drawer where it belonged.
He walked back into the main room and sat down, slowly sipping from his mug while he thought about what he had to do in the next days. Where did the janitor store the boxes I used when I brought my books here? The cellar, maybe?
Slowly he got to his feet, feeling exhausted, but knowing he had work to do. After he collected the boxes from the cellar, happy to have guessed correctly where they were stored, he began to gather his books and pile them on the library table while taking the occasional sip of whiskey from his mug. Giles was absorbed in his books, and was startled when he heard the library doors open. He yelled from the stacks: "Is that you Angel?"
"No, it’s me, Xander."
Giles stepped out from the stacks to see Xander standing at the desk. "What are you doing here, Xander? I thought that you went home with Willow?"
He looked down. "Yeah, but I couldn't stand it. Willow wouldn’t stop crying and blaming herself for not going along to help Buffy.”
"And you just left her alone?" Giles asked outraged.
Xander looked up at Giles, who was still standing on the stairs. "No, of course not. Her mum was at home, and it became kind of awkward. She thought I was Willow’s boyfriend, and that I had hurt her."
"What did you tell her?" Giles asked as he came down the stairs.
Xander helped Giles get the books down on the table. "We said that a friend of ours was missing, and it’s not even a lie. I guess that since you haven’t called yet, you had no luck finding her body?"
"That’s correct. We lost her trail after a short time." He sat down.
Xander joined him. "What are you doing here?"
"I’m packing my books together." Giles claimed his mug again.
"Why?" Xander asked.
Giles wrapped his hands around his mug, as if he was trying to warm his hands. "There are several reasons: First of all, I need all my time to find out what happened tonight, and for that I need my books." He stopped to take a sip from his mug.
"And? You said that there were several reasons," Xander asked curiously.
Giles was quiet for a couple of minutes before he answered, causing Xander to become anxious."Yes, there is. First as I said: I have to find out what happened tonight. Second: I need a break, and I don’t even know if I’ll have a job tomorrow."
"You think Principal Snyder will blame you because Buffy is gone? He can’t do that! He can’t fire you because of that, but even if he does, you’ll still be a Watcher.”
"That is where you might be incorrect. You know that The Watcher’s Council called today, to tell me that a new Slayer has been called."
"Yes, I know that. I was in the room when they called." Does he think that I'm stupid or something?
Giles sighed heavily. "They did more than tell me that a new Slayer was called. They also blamed me for Buffy’s death, and Travers told me that I shouldn't count on having a job as a watcher in the future."
"Oh, I see," Xander said. "But then, you have your job here at the school, as the librarian. It’s not that bad." Xander smiled a little.
Giles smiled sadly. "It’s not that easy. You see, it was The Watcher’s Council that made it so that I got this job, and they can take it away again, along with my title as Watcher. They have enough power to have me deported, just like that." He snapped his fingers.
"Oh, so you may have to leave for England?" the boy asked. "Then we’ll be all alone! Who’ll watch the Hellmouth? Willow and I can’t do it without help."
Giles sighed again. "I don’t think you’ll have to. As I see it, Angel is trying to earn redemption for what he has done in the past, so he can probably be convinced to help out."
"Angel! Always Angel! I don’t want to hear his name. It’s his fault that she’s dead," Xander screamed.
Giles stood up and started to pack his books, not looking at Xander. "You seem to have a selective memory. You forget that we all agreed not to go with her, not to help her. We said that she was the Slayer and needed to fight her battles alone." He looked up, but Xander wasn't meeting his eyes. "If you don’t have anything better to do, you can help me pack everything up and get the boxes out to my car."
Little Girl Lost
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Giles worked until late in the morning, unpacking the books he needed now, and trying to find more information about the prophecy. He didn’t have any luck. Sleep, that’s what I need. Just a couple of hours in a proper bed before I continue my search.
When Giles got up, the first thing he did was to put water on to make tea. He started to unpack the last of the books while he waited for the water to boil. As he drank his tea, he began to sort out the rest of the books, trying to find a place to start. After several hours he was forced to take a break; his body demanded it. He went into the kitchen to make something to eat and a new pot of tea. As the sun went down, he started to realize that he wasn’t going to find anything in his books. He started to pile the books up along the wall, out of the way.
If I knew my standing with the Council I would have phoned them, but they might not even take my call. Maybe I should risk the humiliation? Yes, that’s what I’ll do. Better to be safe, than sorry.
Surprisingly, they took Giles’ call, but he had to talk to one of the younger Watchers. They called him back within an hour. The Council had been researching since Giles called about the prophecy and, as he suspected, there was no ritual mentioned anywhere. After tidying up, he got out a bottle of liquor and a glass. He took it to his comfy chair, settled himself down, and sipped at his scotch while staring vacantly ahead. He remained motionless until there was a knock on the door. It was Angel. As he was letting the vampire in, the phone rang. It was Xander calling, asking if there was news.
"No, not yet, but Angel has just arrived. Maybe he has some news." He looked at Angel, who just shook his head.
"If Willow is up for it, perhaps we should get together and maybe then we can find a solution." Giles waited while Xander talked with Willow.
"She says that she’s okay, so we’ll be right over." They both hung up.
Giles looked at Angel. "You look tired."
"I haven’t slept yet." He let his body fold itself into a chair, and took the drink Giles offered. They both sat quietly, just waiting. It wasn’t long before Willow and Xander rushed through the door.
Xander couldn't wait until he’d taken a seat. "What do you know? Have you found her body?" he asked impatiently.
Giles looked up. "Sit down, Xander." He waited until they both were sitting, before asking, "Do you want something to drink before we start?"
"No thanks, Giles, I'm good," Willow said from her place on the couch.
"I'm good too," Xander said. "Maybe now that the pleasantries are over, you’ll tell us what you know." Xander looked from Giles to Angel.
Giles met his eyes. "I guess I'd better start. We have to accept that Buffy is dead, because of the call from The Watcher’s Council, informing me that a new Slayer was called. Angel and I went out to find Buffy’s body. We tracked her to a cemetery, where we believe that she helped somebody and escorted them out of the area. From that point on, there was no trace of her. None at all."
"You said that you could trace her!" Xander screamed, at Angel. "You claimed you could track her like a dog. You can’t even do that. You’re useless!"
"We believe that she was transported away in a car," Angel defended himself.
Giles got up to refill their glasses while he asked, "What did you find out last night, Angel? Did you find the Master's lair?" He sat down again before Angel started talking.
"Yes, I found the lair, but there was no trace of her. She’s never been down there. And, by the way, I saw the Master down there, still trapped. He started yelling at me, wanting to know where“that damn Slayer“ was. He seems to think that she was supposed to free him with a sip of her blood."
Giles pulled his glasses off so quickly that it was hard to believe they didn’t arrive in his handkerchief by magical means. "You mean to say that because she didn’t go to the Master, he is still trapped?"
"I mean," Angel hesitated before he continued, "the prophecy not only foretold Buffy’s death, it was also a tool to free the Master."
“So, the prophecy said that Buffy would die at the hands of the Master, but neglected to tell us that he would break free from his prison when he tasted her blood. Neither event happened, though. While Buffy is dead, the Master did not kill her, and he certainly didn’t drink her blood.” Giles spoke quietly, as if he were talking to himself. The Council was right, prophecies could be changed.
"But where is her body? What’s happened to her?" Willow asked.
Giles sat down with a notepad and a pen. "What we need to find out is, who transported her away from the cemetery, and why. Last, but not least, we need to know where her body is. What we do know, is that there is no ritual involved with freeing the Master. I have checked my books, and to be sure I called the Council and asked if they knew anything about a ritual. They informed me that they have been researching since I told them about the prophecy. They didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, just a normal prophecy. Not to say that prophecies are normal, well, you know what I mean." Giles stopped writing and looked up. "Do any of you have anything to add?" Nobody responded.
"What now?" Xander asked.
"Now, we need to find the answers to the questions we asked before," Giles answered.
"Can’t we use magic to find her body?" inquired Willow.
"No, I’m afraid it can’t be used to find a dead body." Giles started to scribble again.
"What if she’s alive?" Xander said with hope in his voice, "couldn’t The Council have made a mistake? Maybe the girl they say is a new slayer is really just a very strong girl?"
"I’m sorry, Xander, but I doubt it very much. The Council is very competent and, as far as I know, has never made a mistake when identifying a new Slayer." They all sat there, staring at nothing.
There was a mumbling. Giles looked at Angel." What was it you said, Angel?"
"I said, that maybe there have been mistakes, but the Council wouldn’t want anyone to know about them," Angel said a little louder. "Is there anyone you can ask, Giles? Somebody you trust inside the Council?"
"I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it."
"Why not just try it?" Willow interrupted.
"Try what?" Xander asked. "What are you talking about?"
"A spell! A location spell," Willow said excited.
"What would that help? Giles said that they don’t work for finding dead people," Xander explained.
"Willow is right, Xander, but you are also right," Giles said thoughtfully, polishing his glasses. "It wouldn't hurt to try a location spell." He got up to find the right book, and then went to find the supplies he would need for the spell.
"Can you do the spell, Giles?" Willow asked, excited. "Can I help with anything?" She was so eager that she was almost jumping out of her seat.
"Yes, I can do the spell. As a Watcher you learn to use spells, and I also did a little dabbling when I was young." He returned with the supplies and the book. “Willow, why don’t you come over here and mix the herbs for me?"
It didn’t take them long to set the spell up. "Now, we just need something of Buffy’s. Do you have anything here, Giles?" Willow asked, as she checked off the other items on her list. “It’s the last thing we need, and then we can do the spell.”
Giles shook his head. "No, she was never here. We always met at the school."
"What now?" Xander asked.
"We need something that belongs to Buffy, and we can’t just go to her house and ask Mrs. Summers for it. She’d think that we were weirdos!" Willow explained.
"What about at school?" Xander suggested. "There must be something in her locker. Do you know her combination, Willow?"
"No, I don’t, but she has a change of clothes in the library. Would that do?" Willow inquired.
"Yes, it certainly would!" Giles answered with a little smile. "Good thinking, Willow."
She blushed.
"I’ll go get it," Xander interrupted.
"Not alone, Xander," Giles said, turning to Angel.
"I’ll go with Xander." Angel got up.
"I’ll find my keys." When Giles finally found them in his coat pocket, he gave them to Xander. "Be careful. The Master might have sent out minions looking for Buffy, or somebody they think can help them find her."
"And hurry back," Willow told them.
It wasn’t long before they were back.
"We found some well-worn tennis shoes, and pants covered with green goo. The shirt, I think, is soaked in blood."
"Let me see it, Xander." Giles held out his hand. "We can’t use the shoes or the pants, the goo might lead us to some demon that has escaped Buffy. As for the shirt, I don’t know. Angel, could you help me out here?"
“What can I do?" Angel asked, as he came to stand beside Giles.
"Can you tell me if this is Buffy's blood?" He held the shirt up in front of Angel.
He vamped out. "Sorry, I can smell better if I vamp out," he apologized, when he saw them pull back. He accepted the shirt offered by Giles. "Yes, it’s her blood, but there is also something else on it. Perhaps something from a demon."
"Damn! We’ve had nothing but bad luck the last couple of days," Giles cursed.
"Try looking in her pockets," Willow suggested.
As Angel was the only one holding Buffy’s clothes, he put down the shirt and picked the pants up. He looked at them oddly for a moment, and then used his index and middle fingers to search through the pockets. It didn’t take long before he was successful and revealed a hairband to the group.
"That was her favorite hairband," Willow cried out. “Oh no, I’ve already accepted that she’s dead." Willow started to sob loudly in the silent room.
Xander placed his arms around her and did his best to soothe her. "But we can do the location spell now, right? With the hairband?"
"Yes, Xander, that we can do," Giles replied. "I’ll start on it now."
Giles got up and took the band from Angel’s hand. Then he went over to the circle they had drawn on the floor. Once there, he sat down exactly in the middle and crossed his legs. He lay the hairband down in the circle next to a bowl, then started chanting, as he lit a candle and mixed herbs in the bowl. He carefully straightened the map on the floor before he set fire to the mixture of herbs. He then collected the crystal on a string, that lay ready beside him. Finally, he started to move it over the map. The chanting got louder by the minute. He started to shake. "They were right," he eventually muttered. "Here is the proof that she is dead." He lowered the crystal, not getting up from the floor. He just sat there, in the middle of the smelly herbs, with his head bowed. "I have lost my Slayer. She is gone."
The only sound heard in the silence, was Willow weeping.
It felt like hours before they started to move again. Willow getting up to blow out the candle, and Xander taking a firm grip on Giles’ upper arm to guide him to his chair, while Angel poured him a large drink.
The Watcher coughed as he gulped down too much in his first mouthful. "Take it easy, Giles. Maybe it would be better with a cup of tea?" Xander looked at Willow.
"I'll make it," Willow offered, and went to the small kitchen. It didn’t take long before she was back with a tray holding a cup of tea for each of them. They sat in silence for a long time, just sipping their tea.
At some point after sunrise, Giles drove Willow and Xander home.
Giles was indisposed for the next few days. The first day, he was drunk. The next he got a letter from The Watcher’s Council, telling him that he was fired. As he sat at his table, trying to decide whether to keep drinking or not, the phone rang. It was Snyder, asking why he wasn’t at his post in the library. Why not? As long as I have a job, I'll stay.
-----------------
The house at 1630 Revello Drive had been silent until the phone began to ring, at almost the same time that Giles received his call from the school Principal. After three rings the answering machine responded to the call, and a rushed voice left a message requesting that a Mrs. Joyce Summers please call back as soon as possible.
Giles worked until late in the morning, unpacking the books he needed now, and trying to find more information about the prophecy. He didn’t have any luck. Sleep, that’s what I need. Just a couple of hours in a proper bed before I continue my search.
When Giles got up, the first thing he did was to put water on to make tea. He started to unpack the last of the books while he waited for the water to boil. As he drank his tea, he began to sort out the rest of the books, trying to find a place to start. After several hours he was forced to take a break; his body demanded it. He went into the kitchen to make something to eat and a new pot of tea. As the sun went down, he started to realize that he wasn’t going to find anything in his books. He started to pile the books up along the wall, out of the way.
If I knew my standing with the Council I would have phoned them, but they might not even take my call. Maybe I should risk the humiliation? Yes, that’s what I’ll do. Better to be safe, than sorry.
Surprisingly, they took Giles’ call, but he had to talk to one of the younger Watchers. They called him back within an hour. The Council had been researching since Giles called about the prophecy and, as he suspected, there was no ritual mentioned anywhere. After tidying up, he got out a bottle of liquor and a glass. He took it to his comfy chair, settled himself down, and sipped at his scotch while staring vacantly ahead. He remained motionless until there was a knock on the door. It was Angel. As he was letting the vampire in, the phone rang. It was Xander calling, asking if there was news.
"No, not yet, but Angel has just arrived. Maybe he has some news." He looked at Angel, who just shook his head.
"If Willow is up for it, perhaps we should get together and maybe then we can find a solution." Giles waited while Xander talked with Willow.
"She says that she’s okay, so we’ll be right over." They both hung up.
Giles looked at Angel. "You look tired."
"I haven’t slept yet." He let his body fold itself into a chair, and took the drink Giles offered. They both sat quietly, just waiting. It wasn’t long before Willow and Xander rushed through the door.
Xander couldn't wait until he’d taken a seat. "What do you know? Have you found her body?" he asked impatiently.
Giles looked up. "Sit down, Xander." He waited until they both were sitting, before asking, "Do you want something to drink before we start?"
"No thanks, Giles, I'm good," Willow said from her place on the couch.
"I'm good too," Xander said. "Maybe now that the pleasantries are over, you’ll tell us what you know." Xander looked from Giles to Angel.
Giles met his eyes. "I guess I'd better start. We have to accept that Buffy is dead, because of the call from The Watcher’s Council, informing me that a new Slayer was called. Angel and I went out to find Buffy’s body. We tracked her to a cemetery, where we believe that she helped somebody and escorted them out of the area. From that point on, there was no trace of her. None at all."
"You said that you could trace her!" Xander screamed, at Angel. "You claimed you could track her like a dog. You can’t even do that. You’re useless!"
"We believe that she was transported away in a car," Angel defended himself.
Giles got up to refill their glasses while he asked, "What did you find out last night, Angel? Did you find the Master's lair?" He sat down again before Angel started talking.
"Yes, I found the lair, but there was no trace of her. She’s never been down there. And, by the way, I saw the Master down there, still trapped. He started yelling at me, wanting to know where“that damn Slayer“ was. He seems to think that she was supposed to free him with a sip of her blood."
Giles pulled his glasses off so quickly that it was hard to believe they didn’t arrive in his handkerchief by magical means. "You mean to say that because she didn’t go to the Master, he is still trapped?"
"I mean," Angel hesitated before he continued, "the prophecy not only foretold Buffy’s death, it was also a tool to free the Master."
“So, the prophecy said that Buffy would die at the hands of the Master, but neglected to tell us that he would break free from his prison when he tasted her blood. Neither event happened, though. While Buffy is dead, the Master did not kill her, and he certainly didn’t drink her blood.” Giles spoke quietly, as if he were talking to himself. The Council was right, prophecies could be changed.
"But where is her body? What’s happened to her?" Willow asked.
Giles sat down with a notepad and a pen. "What we need to find out is, who transported her away from the cemetery, and why. Last, but not least, we need to know where her body is. What we do know, is that there is no ritual involved with freeing the Master. I have checked my books, and to be sure I called the Council and asked if they knew anything about a ritual. They informed me that they have been researching since I told them about the prophecy. They didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, just a normal prophecy. Not to say that prophecies are normal, well, you know what I mean." Giles stopped writing and looked up. "Do any of you have anything to add?" Nobody responded.
"What now?" Xander asked.
"Now, we need to find the answers to the questions we asked before," Giles answered.
"Can’t we use magic to find her body?" inquired Willow.
"No, I’m afraid it can’t be used to find a dead body." Giles started to scribble again.
"What if she’s alive?" Xander said with hope in his voice, "couldn’t The Council have made a mistake? Maybe the girl they say is a new slayer is really just a very strong girl?"
"I’m sorry, Xander, but I doubt it very much. The Council is very competent and, as far as I know, has never made a mistake when identifying a new Slayer." They all sat there, staring at nothing.
There was a mumbling. Giles looked at Angel." What was it you said, Angel?"
"I said, that maybe there have been mistakes, but the Council wouldn’t want anyone to know about them," Angel said a little louder. "Is there anyone you can ask, Giles? Somebody you trust inside the Council?"
"I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it."
"Why not just try it?" Willow interrupted.
"Try what?" Xander asked. "What are you talking about?"
"A spell! A location spell," Willow said excited.
"What would that help? Giles said that they don’t work for finding dead people," Xander explained.
"Willow is right, Xander, but you are also right," Giles said thoughtfully, polishing his glasses. "It wouldn't hurt to try a location spell." He got up to find the right book, and then went to find the supplies he would need for the spell.
"Can you do the spell, Giles?" Willow asked, excited. "Can I help with anything?" She was so eager that she was almost jumping out of her seat.
"Yes, I can do the spell. As a Watcher you learn to use spells, and I also did a little dabbling when I was young." He returned with the supplies and the book. “Willow, why don’t you come over here and mix the herbs for me?"
It didn’t take them long to set the spell up. "Now, we just need something of Buffy’s. Do you have anything here, Giles?" Willow asked, as she checked off the other items on her list. “It’s the last thing we need, and then we can do the spell.”
Giles shook his head. "No, she was never here. We always met at the school."
"What now?" Xander asked.
"We need something that belongs to Buffy, and we can’t just go to her house and ask Mrs. Summers for it. She’d think that we were weirdos!" Willow explained.
"What about at school?" Xander suggested. "There must be something in her locker. Do you know her combination, Willow?"
"No, I don’t, but she has a change of clothes in the library. Would that do?" Willow inquired.
"Yes, it certainly would!" Giles answered with a little smile. "Good thinking, Willow."
She blushed.
"I’ll go get it," Xander interrupted.
"Not alone, Xander," Giles said, turning to Angel.
"I’ll go with Xander." Angel got up.
"I’ll find my keys." When Giles finally found them in his coat pocket, he gave them to Xander. "Be careful. The Master might have sent out minions looking for Buffy, or somebody they think can help them find her."
"And hurry back," Willow told them.
It wasn’t long before they were back.
"We found some well-worn tennis shoes, and pants covered with green goo. The shirt, I think, is soaked in blood."
"Let me see it, Xander." Giles held out his hand. "We can’t use the shoes or the pants, the goo might lead us to some demon that has escaped Buffy. As for the shirt, I don’t know. Angel, could you help me out here?"
“What can I do?" Angel asked, as he came to stand beside Giles.
"Can you tell me if this is Buffy's blood?" He held the shirt up in front of Angel.
He vamped out. "Sorry, I can smell better if I vamp out," he apologized, when he saw them pull back. He accepted the shirt offered by Giles. "Yes, it’s her blood, but there is also something else on it. Perhaps something from a demon."
"Damn! We’ve had nothing but bad luck the last couple of days," Giles cursed.
"Try looking in her pockets," Willow suggested.
As Angel was the only one holding Buffy’s clothes, he put down the shirt and picked the pants up. He looked at them oddly for a moment, and then used his index and middle fingers to search through the pockets. It didn’t take long before he was successful and revealed a hairband to the group.
"That was her favorite hairband," Willow cried out. “Oh no, I’ve already accepted that she’s dead." Willow started to sob loudly in the silent room.
Xander placed his arms around her and did his best to soothe her. "But we can do the location spell now, right? With the hairband?"
"Yes, Xander, that we can do," Giles replied. "I’ll start on it now."
Giles got up and took the band from Angel’s hand. Then he went over to the circle they had drawn on the floor. Once there, he sat down exactly in the middle and crossed his legs. He lay the hairband down in the circle next to a bowl, then started chanting, as he lit a candle and mixed herbs in the bowl. He carefully straightened the map on the floor before he set fire to the mixture of herbs. He then collected the crystal on a string, that lay ready beside him. Finally, he started to move it over the map. The chanting got louder by the minute. He started to shake. "They were right," he eventually muttered. "Here is the proof that she is dead." He lowered the crystal, not getting up from the floor. He just sat there, in the middle of the smelly herbs, with his head bowed. "I have lost my Slayer. She is gone."
The only sound heard in the silence, was Willow weeping.
It felt like hours before they started to move again. Willow getting up to blow out the candle, and Xander taking a firm grip on Giles’ upper arm to guide him to his chair, while Angel poured him a large drink.
The Watcher coughed as he gulped down too much in his first mouthful. "Take it easy, Giles. Maybe it would be better with a cup of tea?" Xander looked at Willow.
"I'll make it," Willow offered, and went to the small kitchen. It didn’t take long before she was back with a tray holding a cup of tea for each of them. They sat in silence for a long time, just sipping their tea.
At some point after sunrise, Giles drove Willow and Xander home.
Giles was indisposed for the next few days. The first day, he was drunk. The next he got a letter from The Watcher’s Council, telling him that he was fired. As he sat at his table, trying to decide whether to keep drinking or not, the phone rang. It was Snyder, asking why he wasn’t at his post in the library. Why not? As long as I have a job, I'll stay.
-----------------
The house at 1630 Revello Drive had been silent until the phone began to ring, at almost the same time that Giles received his call from the school Principal. After three rings the answering machine responded to the call, and a rushed voice left a message requesting that a Mrs. Joyce Summers please call back as soon as possible.
Little Girl Found.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
It was just after noon, when Joyce Summers used her key to get into her house. She was so tired. She’d had an opportunity to fit in a late meeting the night before, allowing her to wrap up her business almost a full day early and catch the first flight home that morning.
Joyce had a quick look around the house, and was happy to see that everything looked as it did when she left, and there was no evidence of any wild parties. It was good to know she could count on Buffy to keep her word. In the kitchen, Joyce noticed a note from Buffy on the fridge, advising her mom that Buffy would be spending the evening at Willow’s home. There was no date on the note, so Joyce assumed the note was written the night before. Joyce gave a small sigh of relief. I can get some sleep and do some shopping before Buffy gets home.
Joyce proceeded up the stairs, and didn’t even unpack before she changed into her sleepwear and tumbled into bed. She was so tired that she didn’t even notice the blinking light on the answering machine, announcing that a new message was waiting to be heard.
--------------------------------------
A couple hours of sleep can do wonders, Joyce mused. On her way to make coffee, she noticed the message light on the answering machine, and hit play as she went by. She noted that the first message left was a few days old, and wondered why Buffy hasn’t already picked it up. After searching around for a pen and a scrap of paper, she started the answering machine again. This time she wrote down the contact number given in the first message, before picking up the phone and calling back.
"Dr. Donald."
"Hi. This is Joyce Summers. You left a message on my machine a few days ago, asking me to call you back," Joyce informed the person on the phone, beginning to feel a bit nervous. Joyce didn’t understand why an unknown doctor had called her.
"Yes, I did. Just a moment, I need a file.”
Joyce was not the slightest bit patient, as she normally would be. “But who…?” She heard the phone being put down.
It took several minutes before Dr. Donald was back on the phone. “Mrs. Summers? I'm sorry to inform you that we have your daughter, Buffy Summers, hospitalized."
"What? That can’t be right. She left a note on the fridge, saying that she would be with Willow." Joyce was panicking.
"Do you have anyone that can drive you to the hospital? Then we can have a talk, and you can see for yourself."
"I…I’ll take a cab. I’ll be there as fast as I can." Joyce hung up the phone, and then picked it up again and dialed the cab company straight away. "I need a cab at 1630 Revello Drive. Hurry up, please." She grabbed her bag and her coat, putting it on while walking out the door. Once outside, she realized she had forgotten her keys, so she rushed back in to grab them, and then returning to the curb to wait for her cab.
-------------------------------------
Once at hospital reception, Joyce was asked to wait while the nurse paged Dr. Donald. She was feeling more nervous by the minute, twisting and turning a handkerchief, waiting for the doctor to arrive. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Joyce, he came. She got up to shake his hand.
"Mrs. Summers, good to finally meet you. As you can probably guess, I'm Dr. Donald. Will you please come this way?" He held out his arm to direct Joyce down a corridor.
They stopped at the door numbered seventeen, entering the room. “Buffy,” Joyce breathed. She rushed to the bed, taking one of Buffy’s hands between hers. “What happened to her?” Joyce kept looking at Buffy, while she talked with the Doctor.
"The police said they got a call from a man that lives right next to one of the cemeteries in town. He saw a young girl being attacked by a large group of young men."
Joyce looked at the doctor when she asked, “Why doesn’t she wake up and speak to me?”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Summers. We doubt she’ll wake up. She was conscious for a brief period when she was admitted. Enough to tell us her name, and that we shouldn’t bother locating you, because you were out of the country on a buying trip.” The doctor was sympathetic. He took hold of Joyce’s elbow as she seemed about to fall, and got her seated in a chair.
"Why? Why won’t she wake up?" she asked shaken.
"The witness told the police that they beat her with baseball bats. Physically, she has healed up. Even so, she doesn’t wake up. We have run into this before, where there might be some damage that we can’t see. I’m sorry," Doctor Donald said.
She looked up, a plea clear in her eyes. “Is there no hope at all?” Tears started to dribble down her cheeks.
“Sorry,” the doctor said, while he glanced at his watch.
“Have the police caught the attackers?” she asked.
“I can’t answer that. You’ll have to ask the police about the attackers. Please excuse me now, Mrs. Summers. I have other patients who need me. You can visit your daughter whenever you like. If you have any other questions, I’m normally here at the hospital on weekdays.” He nodded to her on his way out.
Joyce sat by her daughter’s bedside for hours, and then she went hunting for the doctor. It took a lot of effort on Joyce’s part, but after discussing the worst-case and most likely scenarios, Joyce was able to get the doctor to acknowledge that sometimes miracles did occur. Though there was only a very slim chance that Buffy would ever wake up, it was enough to give Joyce hope again. Buffy is strong, and she doesn't give up easily. Joyce repeated that over and over to herself in the following days.
Then came the day when the nurse told her that she needed to take a break. She went home, and sat on a chair in the kitchen for an hour, just staring at the coffee machine. Finally, she got up, turned off the coffee machine, and threw out the pot. At the same time, she wrote “buy new coffeepot” on her mental to-do list.
The first thing on that list was a shower and then trying to get some sleep. Sleep, she didn’t get. She gave up on that after twisting and turning for almost two hours. Next came a harder task: Nourishment. She was not hungry, but her body needed food. If I want to be there for Buffy, I need to eat, to be strong for her. With that she convinced herself to eat something.
Joyce also needed to know what she could about what happened to her daughter. She called the police station, where she got to talk with a detective.
The detective told Joyce that the police got a call about a girl being attacked by a group of young men with baseball bats. They later found out that it was a large group from a baseball team. They had a confession from two of the attackers, and the names of the rest of them. Almost all were arrested, and only three were still at large. When Joyce asked how many they were, she got a shock! The officer advised her that there were at least sixteen men involved in the beating. Finally, Joyce asked what she thought to be the most important question. Why? Why did the men attack Buffy? The detective said it appeared that someone had paid the team members to attack the young woman. One of the men had confessed that they were to “take her out of action, forever.”
Joyce didn’t understand why somebody would want to kill Buffy. Who would pay somebody to do such a dreadful deed? Joyce was relieved to hear that most of the men responsible were under lock and key. But she also recognized that, if they didn’t catch the man behind it all, Buffy would always be in danger, and they would probably never understand why.
Though Buffy was in the hospital, Joyce still had to earn a living. So, she started the day by spending a couple of hours at the hospital before work, and then visited again in the evening. Joyce continued to talk to Buffy, hoping and praying that she would wake up.
Joyce was coping as best as she could, but just a few days later she found another demand for her time. She received a letter from Sunnydale High, advising her that Buffy had missed too many days without an acceptable excuse, and would be expelled from the school if Joyce did not attend a meeting with Principal Snyder within the next week. Joyce made plans to visit the school the next day.
-------------------------------------
It was in the middle of the afternoon, when Joyce arrived at the school after a hard day at work. Her new purchases had come in, and she spent most of the day unpacking the pieces. Now she had to deal with the school, and she really didn’t want to. It made it all too real, and took a little more of her hope away.
In the school office, Joyce asked to talk with Principal Snyder. The secretary asked Joyce to wait, and invited her to take a seat. Joyce knew that Snyder was in his office, because she could hear him making phone calls every few minutes. After waiting over half an hour, Joyce was beginning to believe Buffy’s assertion that the Principal was a little worm. As she sat and watched Snyder filling out the forms to report why Buffy might never join the school again, the truth became clear, and Joyce realized that Buffy has been right in her assessment. Snyder was was a worm, and more. He didn’t seem to care that Buffy was in the hospital. In fact, he seemed to get some sort of malicious thrill from the young girl’s misfortune.
As she finally came out of the office, Joyce nearly walked into Willow. “Hey, Willow, how are you?”
“I’m okay, Mrs. Summers, I hope you’re well too?”
"I am, Willow, thank you for your concern. Do you mind if I ask you a question, Willow?"
"Of course not, Mrs. Summers. Ask me any question. I’ll answer if I can."
"Don’t take this the wrong way, but why haven’t you called to talk to Buffy during the past few weeks? You’re her best friend."
"I… I…I’m," Willow stuttered.
“You know that Buffy is in the hospital, right?”
“What?”
“Yes, she’s been there for weeks.”
Willow grabbed Joyce’s arm. “Come with me, please.” Willow pulled Joyce to the library.
------------------------------------
“Giles…Giles where are you?” Willow called shrilly.
"Lower your voice, Willow. I’m here. What’s so urgent?" He came out of his office.
"Mrs. Summers, what are you doing here?" Giles asked nervously. "Willow, maybe you should release Mrs. Summers’ arm!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Summers," Willow said, embarrassed. "But could you tell Giles, please? Tell him what you just said to me."
“You want me to ask Mr. Giles why you don’t call Buffy anymore?”
“No, not that! The part about Buffy being in the hospital.”
"Oh, okay. Buffy is in the hospital, Mr. Giles. She has been for weeks."
Giles staggered backwards. If the counter hadn’t stopped him, he would have fallen on his ass. “You’re serious? Buffy is in the hospital?”
“Yes, she’s been there for a few weeks now.”
Giles got himself together. He went to Joyce and led her to a chair at the table. “Why hasn't she called me?”
“I don’t understand. Why should she call you?” She looked doubtfully at him, wondering if this was someone she should warn Buffy to keep her distance from.
“Hi folks, how are you today?” Xander came bustling in through the doors. “What’s up? You all look so serious. Oh, Mrs. Summers.”
“Sit down, Xander, and keep quiet. It would appear that Buffy is alive.” He turned back to Joyce. “You see, it’s like this: Buffy is my Slayer, I’m her Watcher.”
She had looked at him for a long time, before asking, "What is a Slayer? Or a Watcher, for that matter?"
“You don’t know? Buffy hasn’t discussed her slaying duties with you?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you are talking about. I think there’s been some kind of mistake. I should go now.” She started to get up.
Willow laid a hand on her arm. “Please wait and listen to Giles. He’s telling the truth.”
She sat down slowly and looked from one to another of the people in the small group. They all looked seriously back at her.
So Joyce sat still, while Giles and the teenagers told her stories about Slayers and their Watchers, and about things that go bump in the night on the Hellmouth they called home. She started to cry silently, big fat tears running down her face.
"Why are you crying, Mrs. Summers?" Xander looked at her curiously. "Buffy is a good slayer. Don’t worry, she’ll keep us all safe."
Giles placed a glass of water in front of Joyce.
The troubled woman took a sip. “When we lived in L.A., Buffy told us that vampires were real, and that she was destined to kill them. It was when my marriage was at its worst. It’s no excuse. However, her father and I believed that it was a cry for attention. When she kept it up, we had her committed to an institution.” The hand holding the glass of water shook. “An institution for the mentally ill.” She wiped her eyes.
Xander and Willow looked at her with their mouths open.
“She never told us,” Xander got out. She told us everything. We were her friends, why didn’t we know? He didn’t know that Willow was thinking the same thing.
Giles coughed slightly. “Mrs. Summers, if I might ask you a question?”
“Joyce please. Yes, of course.”
“Do you, by any chance, know why Buffy hasn’t notified me? That she is in the hospital?”
“Or me?” Willow interrupted. “I'm her best friend.”
“We’re her best friends,” Xander said hurt.
Joyce looked down, and took a few minutes to collect her thoughts before she answered. “Buffy couldn’t have called you, even if she wanted to. You see, she’s in a coma. She was only conscious long enough to give the hospital staff her name and personal information, and to tell them I was out of town on a buying trip. She managed to let the staff know that I was travelling all over Europe, and could be anywhere, and then she lost consciousness. The doctor doesn’t think that she’ll ever wake up again.”
The group just sat there, looking at the Slayer’s mother. Doubting their ears.
Xander was the first to regain control of his voice. “What happened to her?”
“I talked with the police, and they told me that somebody paid the majority of a baseball team to “take her out”. Their words. Authorities have the most of the team members in custody now, and know the names of the players still missing. The only name they don’t have, is the name of the person behind the attack, the one who paid the team in the first place. All they got when they questioned the baseball players was that the person was male, and wore a brown robe. Nobody saw his face because of the big hood he wore.” Joyce drank the rest of her water. So much talking made her mouth dry.
“Can we pay her a visit?” Giles asked sadly.
“Yes, sure, anytime. I’ll make sure the hospital knows that you three are her friends and can visit.” Joyce sent Giles a little smile. “Now, I have to be going. It’s time to go and say goodnight to Buffy.”
“Can we go with you, Mrs. Summers? To see Buffy,” Willow asked.
"Do you really have time now? What about school?"
“School is out for today.”
“I’d like to accompany you, but I have a few things that I need to tie up.” Giles took off his glasses, and looked a bit shy. “I’ll visit later tonight. Maybe I’ll catch you before you leave?”
“That would be nice, Mr. Giles.”
“Rupert, if you like.” He started to get color in his cheeks.
“Rupert it is then.” She sent him a shy little smile. “Talk to you later.”
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Willow and Xander rode with Joyce to the hospital. They didn’t talk on the way there. The atmosphere was thick, and it didn’t get better when they arrived at their destination.
When the small group arrived at Buffy’s room, the teens stayed in the doorway, while Joyce sat down, took Buffy’s hand and greeted her. “I have company with me tonight, Buffy. Willow and Xander are here to see you.” She turned a little in the chair. ”Come closer and say hello.”
Willow slowly went closer. “Can she hear me?”
“The Doctors don’t know, but I’ve read about people who woke up from a coma, and later said that they heard their family talking to them while they were unconscious” Joyce looked down at Buffy, and kept stroking her hand while talking with Willow.
Xander silently walked up behind Willow. “She looks like she’s sleeping. If you didn’t know better, you’d think that she could wake up any minute.”
-----------------------------------
Later that evening, Giles visited Buffy. He and Joyce had a long talk about Buffy, and about her duties as the Slayer.
In bed that night Joyce had a good cry. So many thoughts were running through her head that she hardly slept. It was hard to accept all Giles had shared with her. Demons existed and Buffy was the Slayer. Destined to go out and kill whatever goes bump in the night. Joyce caught on quickly though, and learned to carry a cross in her coat pocket and wear a necklace with a cross. She also started keeping Holy water and stakes in her bag.
--------------------------------------
It wasn’t until the next day that Giles thought to tell Angel about Buffy.
Angel visited Buffy the same night, staying for a few hours. He kept up his nightly visits for several weeks, but started missing nights when the new Slayer came to Sunnydale, as Angel really wasn’t comfortable around Buffy. It wasn’t long before he missed more nights than he visited in a week and, in a surprisingly short period of time, Angel’s visits stopped completely.
The same happened with Willow and Xander, though for different reasons. The Scoobies became close friends with the new Slayer, Kendra, and had other things to do with their time.
Giles still visited Buffy, but never alone. He had become close to Joyce, and if he wanted to spend time with her, he had to go along when she visited Buffy each evening
It was just after noon, when Joyce Summers used her key to get into her house. She was so tired. She’d had an opportunity to fit in a late meeting the night before, allowing her to wrap up her business almost a full day early and catch the first flight home that morning.
Joyce had a quick look around the house, and was happy to see that everything looked as it did when she left, and there was no evidence of any wild parties. It was good to know she could count on Buffy to keep her word. In the kitchen, Joyce noticed a note from Buffy on the fridge, advising her mom that Buffy would be spending the evening at Willow’s home. There was no date on the note, so Joyce assumed the note was written the night before. Joyce gave a small sigh of relief. I can get some sleep and do some shopping before Buffy gets home.
Joyce proceeded up the stairs, and didn’t even unpack before she changed into her sleepwear and tumbled into bed. She was so tired that she didn’t even notice the blinking light on the answering machine, announcing that a new message was waiting to be heard.
--------------------------------------
A couple hours of sleep can do wonders, Joyce mused. On her way to make coffee, she noticed the message light on the answering machine, and hit play as she went by. She noted that the first message left was a few days old, and wondered why Buffy hasn’t already picked it up. After searching around for a pen and a scrap of paper, she started the answering machine again. This time she wrote down the contact number given in the first message, before picking up the phone and calling back.
"Dr. Donald."
"Hi. This is Joyce Summers. You left a message on my machine a few days ago, asking me to call you back," Joyce informed the person on the phone, beginning to feel a bit nervous. Joyce didn’t understand why an unknown doctor had called her.
"Yes, I did. Just a moment, I need a file.”
Joyce was not the slightest bit patient, as she normally would be. “But who…?” She heard the phone being put down.
It took several minutes before Dr. Donald was back on the phone. “Mrs. Summers? I'm sorry to inform you that we have your daughter, Buffy Summers, hospitalized."
"What? That can’t be right. She left a note on the fridge, saying that she would be with Willow." Joyce was panicking.
"Do you have anyone that can drive you to the hospital? Then we can have a talk, and you can see for yourself."
"I…I’ll take a cab. I’ll be there as fast as I can." Joyce hung up the phone, and then picked it up again and dialed the cab company straight away. "I need a cab at 1630 Revello Drive. Hurry up, please." She grabbed her bag and her coat, putting it on while walking out the door. Once outside, she realized she had forgotten her keys, so she rushed back in to grab them, and then returning to the curb to wait for her cab.
-------------------------------------
Once at hospital reception, Joyce was asked to wait while the nurse paged Dr. Donald. She was feeling more nervous by the minute, twisting and turning a handkerchief, waiting for the doctor to arrive. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Joyce, he came. She got up to shake his hand.
"Mrs. Summers, good to finally meet you. As you can probably guess, I'm Dr. Donald. Will you please come this way?" He held out his arm to direct Joyce down a corridor.
They stopped at the door numbered seventeen, entering the room. “Buffy,” Joyce breathed. She rushed to the bed, taking one of Buffy’s hands between hers. “What happened to her?” Joyce kept looking at Buffy, while she talked with the Doctor.
"The police said they got a call from a man that lives right next to one of the cemeteries in town. He saw a young girl being attacked by a large group of young men."
Joyce looked at the doctor when she asked, “Why doesn’t she wake up and speak to me?”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Summers. We doubt she’ll wake up. She was conscious for a brief period when she was admitted. Enough to tell us her name, and that we shouldn’t bother locating you, because you were out of the country on a buying trip.” The doctor was sympathetic. He took hold of Joyce’s elbow as she seemed about to fall, and got her seated in a chair.
"Why? Why won’t she wake up?" she asked shaken.
"The witness told the police that they beat her with baseball bats. Physically, she has healed up. Even so, she doesn’t wake up. We have run into this before, where there might be some damage that we can’t see. I’m sorry," Doctor Donald said.
She looked up, a plea clear in her eyes. “Is there no hope at all?” Tears started to dribble down her cheeks.
“Sorry,” the doctor said, while he glanced at his watch.
“Have the police caught the attackers?” she asked.
“I can’t answer that. You’ll have to ask the police about the attackers. Please excuse me now, Mrs. Summers. I have other patients who need me. You can visit your daughter whenever you like. If you have any other questions, I’m normally here at the hospital on weekdays.” He nodded to her on his way out.
Joyce sat by her daughter’s bedside for hours, and then she went hunting for the doctor. It took a lot of effort on Joyce’s part, but after discussing the worst-case and most likely scenarios, Joyce was able to get the doctor to acknowledge that sometimes miracles did occur. Though there was only a very slim chance that Buffy would ever wake up, it was enough to give Joyce hope again. Buffy is strong, and she doesn't give up easily. Joyce repeated that over and over to herself in the following days.
Then came the day when the nurse told her that she needed to take a break. She went home, and sat on a chair in the kitchen for an hour, just staring at the coffee machine. Finally, she got up, turned off the coffee machine, and threw out the pot. At the same time, she wrote “buy new coffeepot” on her mental to-do list.
The first thing on that list was a shower and then trying to get some sleep. Sleep, she didn’t get. She gave up on that after twisting and turning for almost two hours. Next came a harder task: Nourishment. She was not hungry, but her body needed food. If I want to be there for Buffy, I need to eat, to be strong for her. With that she convinced herself to eat something.
Joyce also needed to know what she could about what happened to her daughter. She called the police station, where she got to talk with a detective.
The detective told Joyce that the police got a call about a girl being attacked by a group of young men with baseball bats. They later found out that it was a large group from a baseball team. They had a confession from two of the attackers, and the names of the rest of them. Almost all were arrested, and only three were still at large. When Joyce asked how many they were, she got a shock! The officer advised her that there were at least sixteen men involved in the beating. Finally, Joyce asked what she thought to be the most important question. Why? Why did the men attack Buffy? The detective said it appeared that someone had paid the team members to attack the young woman. One of the men had confessed that they were to “take her out of action, forever.”
Joyce didn’t understand why somebody would want to kill Buffy. Who would pay somebody to do such a dreadful deed? Joyce was relieved to hear that most of the men responsible were under lock and key. But she also recognized that, if they didn’t catch the man behind it all, Buffy would always be in danger, and they would probably never understand why.
Though Buffy was in the hospital, Joyce still had to earn a living. So, she started the day by spending a couple of hours at the hospital before work, and then visited again in the evening. Joyce continued to talk to Buffy, hoping and praying that she would wake up.
Joyce was coping as best as she could, but just a few days later she found another demand for her time. She received a letter from Sunnydale High, advising her that Buffy had missed too many days without an acceptable excuse, and would be expelled from the school if Joyce did not attend a meeting with Principal Snyder within the next week. Joyce made plans to visit the school the next day.
-------------------------------------
It was in the middle of the afternoon, when Joyce arrived at the school after a hard day at work. Her new purchases had come in, and she spent most of the day unpacking the pieces. Now she had to deal with the school, and she really didn’t want to. It made it all too real, and took a little more of her hope away.
In the school office, Joyce asked to talk with Principal Snyder. The secretary asked Joyce to wait, and invited her to take a seat. Joyce knew that Snyder was in his office, because she could hear him making phone calls every few minutes. After waiting over half an hour, Joyce was beginning to believe Buffy’s assertion that the Principal was a little worm. As she sat and watched Snyder filling out the forms to report why Buffy might never join the school again, the truth became clear, and Joyce realized that Buffy has been right in her assessment. Snyder was was a worm, and more. He didn’t seem to care that Buffy was in the hospital. In fact, he seemed to get some sort of malicious thrill from the young girl’s misfortune.
As she finally came out of the office, Joyce nearly walked into Willow. “Hey, Willow, how are you?”
“I’m okay, Mrs. Summers, I hope you’re well too?”
"I am, Willow, thank you for your concern. Do you mind if I ask you a question, Willow?"
"Of course not, Mrs. Summers. Ask me any question. I’ll answer if I can."
"Don’t take this the wrong way, but why haven’t you called to talk to Buffy during the past few weeks? You’re her best friend."
"I… I…I’m," Willow stuttered.
“You know that Buffy is in the hospital, right?”
“What?”
“Yes, she’s been there for weeks.”
Willow grabbed Joyce’s arm. “Come with me, please.” Willow pulled Joyce to the library.
------------------------------------
“Giles…Giles where are you?” Willow called shrilly.
"Lower your voice, Willow. I’m here. What’s so urgent?" He came out of his office.
"Mrs. Summers, what are you doing here?" Giles asked nervously. "Willow, maybe you should release Mrs. Summers’ arm!"
"Sorry, Mrs. Summers," Willow said, embarrassed. "But could you tell Giles, please? Tell him what you just said to me."
“You want me to ask Mr. Giles why you don’t call Buffy anymore?”
“No, not that! The part about Buffy being in the hospital.”
"Oh, okay. Buffy is in the hospital, Mr. Giles. She has been for weeks."
Giles staggered backwards. If the counter hadn’t stopped him, he would have fallen on his ass. “You’re serious? Buffy is in the hospital?”
“Yes, she’s been there for a few weeks now.”
Giles got himself together. He went to Joyce and led her to a chair at the table. “Why hasn't she called me?”
“I don’t understand. Why should she call you?” She looked doubtfully at him, wondering if this was someone she should warn Buffy to keep her distance from.
“Hi folks, how are you today?” Xander came bustling in through the doors. “What’s up? You all look so serious. Oh, Mrs. Summers.”
“Sit down, Xander, and keep quiet. It would appear that Buffy is alive.” He turned back to Joyce. “You see, it’s like this: Buffy is my Slayer, I’m her Watcher.”
She had looked at him for a long time, before asking, "What is a Slayer? Or a Watcher, for that matter?"
“You don’t know? Buffy hasn’t discussed her slaying duties with you?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you are talking about. I think there’s been some kind of mistake. I should go now.” She started to get up.
Willow laid a hand on her arm. “Please wait and listen to Giles. He’s telling the truth.”
She sat down slowly and looked from one to another of the people in the small group. They all looked seriously back at her.
So Joyce sat still, while Giles and the teenagers told her stories about Slayers and their Watchers, and about things that go bump in the night on the Hellmouth they called home. She started to cry silently, big fat tears running down her face.
"Why are you crying, Mrs. Summers?" Xander looked at her curiously. "Buffy is a good slayer. Don’t worry, she’ll keep us all safe."
Giles placed a glass of water in front of Joyce.
The troubled woman took a sip. “When we lived in L.A., Buffy told us that vampires were real, and that she was destined to kill them. It was when my marriage was at its worst. It’s no excuse. However, her father and I believed that it was a cry for attention. When she kept it up, we had her committed to an institution.” The hand holding the glass of water shook. “An institution for the mentally ill.” She wiped her eyes.
Xander and Willow looked at her with their mouths open.
“She never told us,” Xander got out. She told us everything. We were her friends, why didn’t we know? He didn’t know that Willow was thinking the same thing.
Giles coughed slightly. “Mrs. Summers, if I might ask you a question?”
“Joyce please. Yes, of course.”
“Do you, by any chance, know why Buffy hasn’t notified me? That she is in the hospital?”
“Or me?” Willow interrupted. “I'm her best friend.”
“We’re her best friends,” Xander said hurt.
Joyce looked down, and took a few minutes to collect her thoughts before she answered. “Buffy couldn’t have called you, even if she wanted to. You see, she’s in a coma. She was only conscious long enough to give the hospital staff her name and personal information, and to tell them I was out of town on a buying trip. She managed to let the staff know that I was travelling all over Europe, and could be anywhere, and then she lost consciousness. The doctor doesn’t think that she’ll ever wake up again.”
The group just sat there, looking at the Slayer’s mother. Doubting their ears.
Xander was the first to regain control of his voice. “What happened to her?”
“I talked with the police, and they told me that somebody paid the majority of a baseball team to “take her out”. Their words. Authorities have the most of the team members in custody now, and know the names of the players still missing. The only name they don’t have, is the name of the person behind the attack, the one who paid the team in the first place. All they got when they questioned the baseball players was that the person was male, and wore a brown robe. Nobody saw his face because of the big hood he wore.” Joyce drank the rest of her water. So much talking made her mouth dry.
“Can we pay her a visit?” Giles asked sadly.
“Yes, sure, anytime. I’ll make sure the hospital knows that you three are her friends and can visit.” Joyce sent Giles a little smile. “Now, I have to be going. It’s time to go and say goodnight to Buffy.”
“Can we go with you, Mrs. Summers? To see Buffy,” Willow asked.
"Do you really have time now? What about school?"
“School is out for today.”
“I’d like to accompany you, but I have a few things that I need to tie up.” Giles took off his glasses, and looked a bit shy. “I’ll visit later tonight. Maybe I’ll catch you before you leave?”
“That would be nice, Mr. Giles.”
“Rupert, if you like.” He started to get color in his cheeks.
“Rupert it is then.” She sent him a shy little smile. “Talk to you later.”
-----------------------------------
Willow and Xander rode with Joyce to the hospital. They didn’t talk on the way there. The atmosphere was thick, and it didn’t get better when they arrived at their destination.
When the small group arrived at Buffy’s room, the teens stayed in the doorway, while Joyce sat down, took Buffy’s hand and greeted her. “I have company with me tonight, Buffy. Willow and Xander are here to see you.” She turned a little in the chair. ”Come closer and say hello.”
Willow slowly went closer. “Can she hear me?”
“The Doctors don’t know, but I’ve read about people who woke up from a coma, and later said that they heard their family talking to them while they were unconscious” Joyce looked down at Buffy, and kept stroking her hand while talking with Willow.
Xander silently walked up behind Willow. “She looks like she’s sleeping. If you didn’t know better, you’d think that she could wake up any minute.”
-----------------------------------
Later that evening, Giles visited Buffy. He and Joyce had a long talk about Buffy, and about her duties as the Slayer.
In bed that night Joyce had a good cry. So many thoughts were running through her head that she hardly slept. It was hard to accept all Giles had shared with her. Demons existed and Buffy was the Slayer. Destined to go out and kill whatever goes bump in the night. Joyce caught on quickly though, and learned to carry a cross in her coat pocket and wear a necklace with a cross. She also started keeping Holy water and stakes in her bag.
--------------------------------------
It wasn’t until the next day that Giles thought to tell Angel about Buffy.
Angel visited Buffy the same night, staying for a few hours. He kept up his nightly visits for several weeks, but started missing nights when the new Slayer came to Sunnydale, as Angel really wasn’t comfortable around Buffy. It wasn’t long before he missed more nights than he visited in a week and, in a surprisingly short period of time, Angel’s visits stopped completely.
The same happened with Willow and Xander, though for different reasons. The Scoobies became close friends with the new Slayer, Kendra, and had other things to do with their time.
Giles still visited Buffy, but never alone. He had become close to Joyce, and if he wanted to spend time with her, he had to go along when she visited Buffy each evening
The Book of ...What?
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
One night, Kendra got into a fight while trying to stop some vampires from robbing a mausoleum. Though she managed to dust several of the vamps, in the end she lost, because one of the vamps managed to escape into the night with a cloth-wrapped packaged clutched to his chest.
After a short chase, she realized that she had lost the vamp with the package, and decided to go back to the mausoleum to see how much damage the vampires had done. She was pleased to see that the destruction was minimal. It was clear they were very focused on their task and didn’t take extra time to smash anything else in the crypt. I'd better get a note to the caretaker about this.
Kendra cast the beam of her flashlight into the hole in the wall made by the robbers. At the far end, hidden behind a second little wall, was an old yellowed cloth that was wrapped around something.
Kendra quickly realized that her arms weren’t long enough to pry the package from the hole.
Looking around, she scanned the room for tools she could use. There, I can use that. She smiled and went over to collect the crowbar that one of the vamps had discarded on the floor. The package had been well protected in its hiding place, but she was able to knock over the inner wall without much trouble. She laughed to herself as she finally pulled her prize free, taking her time and working carefully to make sure she didn’t damage whatever it was that she had found.
The Slayer from the tropics had changed since arriving in Sunnydale. Making friends for the first time in her life had allowed her to develop confidence in herself. She became more relaxed and free, no longer taking everything so seriously and often laughing and smiling.
She laid the packet on a sarcophagus, and then used skills taught by her first Watcher to carefully unwrap what she had found. It came as no surprise when Kendra discovered the wrapping was hiding a book. That's what she'd guessed, just from the shape of the package. Well then, this is off to Mr. Giles. I know he'll want to see it right away. Hired as her temporary Watcher when Kendra arrived in Sunnydale, Giles continued to support and guide her, and she knew how very excited he became whenever he received a new book or piece of parchment.
Kendra was right. Giles got excited. From what he could tell, the book was written in several languages, and there were only a few words that he could translate right away. He was able to understand just enough to know that the prophecy was about a Slayer. He spent the next few weeks trying to translate the book, while Cordelia Chase finally got lucky and met up with Angel at the Bronze. Willow also made a new friend, one she hoped would be more than a friend with time. “She was so excited about her new relationship that she could hardly talk about anything but Oz and the band he played with.”
It took a lot of time, but Giles was slowly able to make some headway in the translation. He found that every success led to a greater understanding of the total prophecy. It was now clear that the prophecy was about two Slayers working together. Giles had to question the translation at that point. There had never been two Slayers in the world at the same time, well, aside from the current situation where Buffy was alive in body, though not in spirit. Giles didn't see how the prophecy could possibly be fulfilled, but failure seemed to promise an apocalypse.
After Giles had been working on the prophecy for a few weeks, he called Joyce's home to invite Kendra to a sundown meeting at his home. Though he was Kendra's Watcher, Joyce had made it clear that she felt it was inappropriate for the young girl to be living with a single older man. Xander was also phoned, and was asked to bring Cordelia with him. A final call to Willow, who would make sure Angel knew about the meeting, and everyone had been invited.
-----------------------
It was Joyce who answered the phone when Giles phoned to invite Kendra to the Scooby meeting. Since she didn’t want to be left out, she invited herself along by offering to bring snacks for the group. “You can’t live on doughnuts, even if Xander wants to. What time should we be there?” Joyce asked.
“Just after sundown, Dear.”
“We’ll see you then.”
----------------------------------
Joyce and Kendra were the first to arrive at the house that night. “Sorry we’re early, but there were fewer people in the grocery store than I expected.”
“That’s quite alright, Joyce. How are you, Kendra?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Giles.”
“Will you help me with the snacks, Kendra?” Joyce asked.
“Sure, Mrs. Su...Joyce.” She looked down, embarrassed.
Joyce laughed a little and gave her the bags. “Will you take them to the kitchen? I’ll join you in a minute.”
Joyce allowed Giles to help her with her coat. “Are you okay, Rupert? You look tired.”
“Yes, I confess I am somewhat tired. I’ve been researching around the clock for weeks now. It’s so exciting. I never suspected that part of the prophecy would be realized in my own lifetime. For some reason I thought it might have been set in the past, or perhaps far into the future. I’m not positive though, and that’s why I have called this meeting.” The Watcher turned to hang up her coat
“Then I think you should relax a little, while Kendra and I get some snacks ready for the gang. They’ll be here soon. Would you like a cup of tea?”
“If you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. One cup of tea, coming right up.” Smiling, she went into the kitchen.
A little later, the three of them were sipping warm drinks and sitting in comfortable silence. On the table in front of them were plates filled with assorted snacks.
The quiet didn’t last long. Shortly after the sun went down, Xander stormed through the door with his body half turned towards Willow, who followed at a slower pace. Oz and Cordelia trailed in as the childhood friends were taking off their coats.
“Yeah! Healthy snacks,” Xander grumbled sarcastically, while rubbing his hands.
Joyce looked up at him and smiled. “It’s good for you, Xander. You’re starting to get a belly,and it doesn't become you.”
Xander looked down and felt his stomach. After one last look at the treats on the table, he sat down and didn’t mention snacks again for the rest of the evening.
Joyce offered the group a choice of tea or cocoa, and Willow followed her into the kitchen to help make the hot beverages. Willow loved spending time with Joyce, and frequently wished that Joyce was her mom. Xander had the same wish, but he was trying to be manly and wouldn’t admit it, even to himself. What both of them were overlooking, was that it was only since the attack that Joyce had cut down on her travel for the gallery and really started paying attention to Buffy.
They were all relaxing with their hot beverages when Cordelia broke the silence. “So, why were we all asked to come here on a perfectly fine evening? Until you called, I was out shopping for a new outfit for a party my parents are giving in a week.”
The Watcher frowned at the young socialite. “We are waiting for Angel to arrive, and then we’ll begin.”
“Why did you invite him?” Xander, spat out.
“We need him, Xander.”
“We don’t need him. He’s not part of the group.” Xander looked as if he had just bit into a lemon.
“He’s lived for a long time, Xander. He knows a lot more than we do,” Giles explained.
Xander refused to reply, looking down at his lap, where his hands were tightly fisted. There was nothing to say. Giles was right.
“Excuse me, but who is Angel?” Joyce looked around at the surprised faces.
Giles got her attention by touching her hand. “You mean to say that you don’t know Angel? That you haven’t yet met him?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“He’s a bloodsucking, evil, disgusting thing, and not to be trusted.” There was no doubt about the disgust in the young man’s voice.
“Xander! Stop it.” Willow stroked his arm in an effort to calm him down.
Joyce was confused by the mixed messages she was receiving from the group.
Giles cleared his throat, took off his glasses, and started to polish them. ”Well, you see, Angel is a vampire. He works with us.”
“But vampires are evil!” Joyce appeared shocked.
“That’s what I said.” Xander crowed triumphantly.
“Mrs. Summers, Angel has a soul. He’s a good vampire,” Willow hurried to explain the souled vampire’s unique condition, before Xander started up with his harassment. She knew him, had for years, and knew the blind hatred he was capable of. Thank God, I got over my crush on him, she thought to herself. Oz is so much better looking.
Finally, there was a knock on the door. The last guest had arrived.
Giles opened the door. “Angel, come in.” Angel immediately walked over to Joyce.
“Mrs. Summers, I’m Angel. A friend of Buffy’s.” They shook hands.
“I didn’t get your last name?”
“It’s just Angel.”
“Or Angelus part of the scourge of Europe. Evil undead. Killer of thousands,” Xander informed Joyce maliciously.
“That’s enough, Xander. If you can’t hold your tongue, or at the very least be polite, you can leave.” Giles was irritated by Xander’s rudeness. The Scooby gang was used to it, but Joyce was not.
The young man looked hurt. “But...But.”
“No, Xander. No more,” Giles said firmly. “Either you sit down and keep quiet, or you leave.”
Xander started to open his mouth.
Giles raised his hand. “No.”
Though angry and frustrated, Xander sat down, head bowed. He realized that if he wanted to stay, he had to shut up. For now.
“Do you want a cup of tea or cocoa, Mr. Angel?”
“Just Angel, Mrs. Summers, and no, thank you.” He took a seat, as far away from Xander as possible.
“Now that we’re all here, we can start.” Giles leaned over to pick up a package from the table. ”This is a book that Kendra found a couple of weeks ago.” He set the package down again, and put on a pair of surgical gloves. “I have been trying to translate it, since it was brought to me. It’s very old and a bit fragile. That is why I will be the only one to touch it. Is that understood?”
Giles looked around at the people gathered in his home. “It is in several old languages, and it has been difficult to translate.” He closed the book and lay it carefully down on the cloth-covered table. “I have written some examples of the different languages down. I was hoping that you might recognize some of them, Angel.” He handed a sheet of paper to Angel.
“I’m sorry. I don’t recognize any of them.” Angel gave the paper back to Giles.
“It was worth a try.” He replaced the single sheet of paper with a writing pad. “The book is mostly about a Slayer, though I haven’t found out which one, yet. However, I’m confident that it will become clearer with time, and the number of words translated. One other thing that I have come to realize, is that there are two prophecies in the book. One of the prophecies appears to be about Kendra.” He looked up. There was only silence, even from Kendra. The group just sat there, waiting for him to continue. “What I have thus far is:
Slayer------Dark----
-------------------island.
-- -------------------------
Work---------------------
-----------------------light.
----------------------------
----------------------------
----------------------------
The slayer----------dead.
---------------------slayer.
That’s all I have. I’ve worked on it for weeks now, and I think it might be important. The other prophecy, I believe can wait, since it talks about a golden haired Slayer, and as we all know, Kendra is dark haired. I would like your help to translate the rest of the prophecy.”
Kendra was the first to talk. “Am I going to die, Watcher?”
Giles took off his glasses, and rubbed his brow with his free hand. “We will do our best to prevent that. As we know from recent conversations, a prophecy can be changed.”
Joyce laid a comforting hand over Kendra’s. “I can’t research, but I can keep the food and drinks coming.”
“We should start right away,” Willow said, smiling.
Xander jumped in. “Where are the books, G-man?”
It didn’t take long before the table was covered with books. They had to stop early in the evening though, as the children still had to attend school, or they would have Snyder on their backs. When school was out again, they gathered once more at Giles’ place. Joyce had already been there with snacks and was also taking care of shopping for dinner for all of them.
Once dinner had been served, and the washing up taken care of, Joyce left by herself to pay Buffy a visit, as she did every night. After saying goodnight to Buffy, she returned to the research party before she went home. The Slayer's mom then got an update on the progress the team had made, so she could plan meals for the next day.
In the beginning, they were translating at least two words each day. One day, Xander decided to start guessing at the words. Surprisingly, the technique seemed to be working, and the group found that Xander’s guesses were right almost half the time. In under two weeks, it seemed that the prophecy had been translated. The final result was:
Slayer with dark skin.
Coming from the island.
Came out of sleep.
Work together.
With The Eternal Light.
Close to the changeling.
Forever will stay gone.
The slayer is dead.
Long live the slayer.
Kendra was scared. She believed that the prophecy foretold that she was going to die in some upcoming battle. Everyone in the group tried to comfort and support her, but they really weren’t very successful.
-------------------------------------
Everyone agreed to take the weekend off before starting to decipher the rest of the text. Oz and his band, The Dingos, had a gig at the Bronze, and Willow and Xander headed to the club with them. Willow was happy for a chance to gaze at her boyfriend, and Xander was hoping to bump into some beauty on the dance floor.
Cordelia joined the group partway through the evening. In her normal, self-absorbed way, she showed no interest in anyone in the group, and simply asked them if they had seen Angel, and if they knew whether he was planning to show up at the popular club that night.
Joyce chose to head to the hospital during her break. She used the extra time to brush her daughter’s hair to a fine sheen, and massage a lubricating lotion into her skin because it was starting to become dry.
Giles went out to get some adult company, and enjoy an alcoholic drink or two. His break didn’t last long though. Giles was too much of a Watcher to stay away from the prophecy for more than a couple of hours. Parts of the prophecy were easily deciphered, but the majority of the document remained a mystery to him. Giles hoped that others would have more success solving the prophecy’s code.
Much to Giles’ chagrin, he knew that the Slayer and her friends were often very good at solving the mystical puzzles they ran into. Unfortunately, the gang wouldn’t be there until after school was out the next day. Even Kendra was enrolled in school at Joyce’s insistence. Giles would just have to be patient.
That night, Giles couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, time and again, trying to figure out what this latest challenge would mean for his Slayer.
It was almost light outside when he jumped up from his bed with an idea. The other prophecy might hold the key. Maybe they are linked. He got dressed and put the kettle on, then found his papers and the book. It wasn’t long before he was settled down at the table and had completely forgotten about his morning tea. So much so, that he was startled when the kettle whistled. Distracted for only a moment, Giles made himself a cup of tea, and then promptly forgot it.
Giles started to compare the translated prophecy with the one that he had put aside for later, and quickly realized that it would take ages to translate the second one. It was three or four times longer than the first. I don’t think we’ll ever get it translated without more help, and then we will need to understand it. Why can’t the Powers write prophecies in plain English, or at least in one language? Why in God's name does it have to be in riddles? Giles felt like throwing the book at the wall but, like the proper Englishman that he was, he restrained himself.
The others would be there soon, and he didn’t know what to do, what to tell them. He hoped that together they could come up with an answer, although he had a bad feeling about this prophecy. It was the same feeling he had experienced before, when he read about the Master killing Buffy. Somehow he knew, everything was about to change yet again.
One night, Kendra got into a fight while trying to stop some vampires from robbing a mausoleum. Though she managed to dust several of the vamps, in the end she lost, because one of the vamps managed to escape into the night with a cloth-wrapped packaged clutched to his chest.
After a short chase, she realized that she had lost the vamp with the package, and decided to go back to the mausoleum to see how much damage the vampires had done. She was pleased to see that the destruction was minimal. It was clear they were very focused on their task and didn’t take extra time to smash anything else in the crypt. I'd better get a note to the caretaker about this.
Kendra cast the beam of her flashlight into the hole in the wall made by the robbers. At the far end, hidden behind a second little wall, was an old yellowed cloth that was wrapped around something.
Kendra quickly realized that her arms weren’t long enough to pry the package from the hole.
Looking around, she scanned the room for tools she could use. There, I can use that. She smiled and went over to collect the crowbar that one of the vamps had discarded on the floor. The package had been well protected in its hiding place, but she was able to knock over the inner wall without much trouble. She laughed to herself as she finally pulled her prize free, taking her time and working carefully to make sure she didn’t damage whatever it was that she had found.
The Slayer from the tropics had changed since arriving in Sunnydale. Making friends for the first time in her life had allowed her to develop confidence in herself. She became more relaxed and free, no longer taking everything so seriously and often laughing and smiling.
She laid the packet on a sarcophagus, and then used skills taught by her first Watcher to carefully unwrap what she had found. It came as no surprise when Kendra discovered the wrapping was hiding a book. That's what she'd guessed, just from the shape of the package. Well then, this is off to Mr. Giles. I know he'll want to see it right away. Hired as her temporary Watcher when Kendra arrived in Sunnydale, Giles continued to support and guide her, and she knew how very excited he became whenever he received a new book or piece of parchment.
Kendra was right. Giles got excited. From what he could tell, the book was written in several languages, and there were only a few words that he could translate right away. He was able to understand just enough to know that the prophecy was about a Slayer. He spent the next few weeks trying to translate the book, while Cordelia Chase finally got lucky and met up with Angel at the Bronze. Willow also made a new friend, one she hoped would be more than a friend with time. “She was so excited about her new relationship that she could hardly talk about anything but Oz and the band he played with.”
It took a lot of time, but Giles was slowly able to make some headway in the translation. He found that every success led to a greater understanding of the total prophecy. It was now clear that the prophecy was about two Slayers working together. Giles had to question the translation at that point. There had never been two Slayers in the world at the same time, well, aside from the current situation where Buffy was alive in body, though not in spirit. Giles didn't see how the prophecy could possibly be fulfilled, but failure seemed to promise an apocalypse.
After Giles had been working on the prophecy for a few weeks, he called Joyce's home to invite Kendra to a sundown meeting at his home. Though he was Kendra's Watcher, Joyce had made it clear that she felt it was inappropriate for the young girl to be living with a single older man. Xander was also phoned, and was asked to bring Cordelia with him. A final call to Willow, who would make sure Angel knew about the meeting, and everyone had been invited.
-----------------------
It was Joyce who answered the phone when Giles phoned to invite Kendra to the Scooby meeting. Since she didn’t want to be left out, she invited herself along by offering to bring snacks for the group. “You can’t live on doughnuts, even if Xander wants to. What time should we be there?” Joyce asked.
“Just after sundown, Dear.”
“We’ll see you then.”
----------------------------------
Joyce and Kendra were the first to arrive at the house that night. “Sorry we’re early, but there were fewer people in the grocery store than I expected.”
“That’s quite alright, Joyce. How are you, Kendra?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Giles.”
“Will you help me with the snacks, Kendra?” Joyce asked.
“Sure, Mrs. Su...Joyce.” She looked down, embarrassed.
Joyce laughed a little and gave her the bags. “Will you take them to the kitchen? I’ll join you in a minute.”
Joyce allowed Giles to help her with her coat. “Are you okay, Rupert? You look tired.”
“Yes, I confess I am somewhat tired. I’ve been researching around the clock for weeks now. It’s so exciting. I never suspected that part of the prophecy would be realized in my own lifetime. For some reason I thought it might have been set in the past, or perhaps far into the future. I’m not positive though, and that’s why I have called this meeting.” The Watcher turned to hang up her coat
“Then I think you should relax a little, while Kendra and I get some snacks ready for the gang. They’ll be here soon. Would you like a cup of tea?”
“If you don’t mind?”
“Not at all. One cup of tea, coming right up.” Smiling, she went into the kitchen.
A little later, the three of them were sipping warm drinks and sitting in comfortable silence. On the table in front of them were plates filled with assorted snacks.
The quiet didn’t last long. Shortly after the sun went down, Xander stormed through the door with his body half turned towards Willow, who followed at a slower pace. Oz and Cordelia trailed in as the childhood friends were taking off their coats.
“Yeah! Healthy snacks,” Xander grumbled sarcastically, while rubbing his hands.
Joyce looked up at him and smiled. “It’s good for you, Xander. You’re starting to get a belly,and it doesn't become you.”
Xander looked down and felt his stomach. After one last look at the treats on the table, he sat down and didn’t mention snacks again for the rest of the evening.
Joyce offered the group a choice of tea or cocoa, and Willow followed her into the kitchen to help make the hot beverages. Willow loved spending time with Joyce, and frequently wished that Joyce was her mom. Xander had the same wish, but he was trying to be manly and wouldn’t admit it, even to himself. What both of them were overlooking, was that it was only since the attack that Joyce had cut down on her travel for the gallery and really started paying attention to Buffy.
They were all relaxing with their hot beverages when Cordelia broke the silence. “So, why were we all asked to come here on a perfectly fine evening? Until you called, I was out shopping for a new outfit for a party my parents are giving in a week.”
The Watcher frowned at the young socialite. “We are waiting for Angel to arrive, and then we’ll begin.”
“Why did you invite him?” Xander, spat out.
“We need him, Xander.”
“We don’t need him. He’s not part of the group.” Xander looked as if he had just bit into a lemon.
“He’s lived for a long time, Xander. He knows a lot more than we do,” Giles explained.
Xander refused to reply, looking down at his lap, where his hands were tightly fisted. There was nothing to say. Giles was right.
“Excuse me, but who is Angel?” Joyce looked around at the surprised faces.
Giles got her attention by touching her hand. “You mean to say that you don’t know Angel? That you haven’t yet met him?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“He’s a bloodsucking, evil, disgusting thing, and not to be trusted.” There was no doubt about the disgust in the young man’s voice.
“Xander! Stop it.” Willow stroked his arm in an effort to calm him down.
Joyce was confused by the mixed messages she was receiving from the group.
Giles cleared his throat, took off his glasses, and started to polish them. ”Well, you see, Angel is a vampire. He works with us.”
“But vampires are evil!” Joyce appeared shocked.
“That’s what I said.” Xander crowed triumphantly.
“Mrs. Summers, Angel has a soul. He’s a good vampire,” Willow hurried to explain the souled vampire’s unique condition, before Xander started up with his harassment. She knew him, had for years, and knew the blind hatred he was capable of. Thank God, I got over my crush on him, she thought to herself. Oz is so much better looking.
Finally, there was a knock on the door. The last guest had arrived.
Giles opened the door. “Angel, come in.” Angel immediately walked over to Joyce.
“Mrs. Summers, I’m Angel. A friend of Buffy’s.” They shook hands.
“I didn’t get your last name?”
“It’s just Angel.”
“Or Angelus part of the scourge of Europe. Evil undead. Killer of thousands,” Xander informed Joyce maliciously.
“That’s enough, Xander. If you can’t hold your tongue, or at the very least be polite, you can leave.” Giles was irritated by Xander’s rudeness. The Scooby gang was used to it, but Joyce was not.
The young man looked hurt. “But...But.”
“No, Xander. No more,” Giles said firmly. “Either you sit down and keep quiet, or you leave.”
Xander started to open his mouth.
Giles raised his hand. “No.”
Though angry and frustrated, Xander sat down, head bowed. He realized that if he wanted to stay, he had to shut up. For now.
“Do you want a cup of tea or cocoa, Mr. Angel?”
“Just Angel, Mrs. Summers, and no, thank you.” He took a seat, as far away from Xander as possible.
“Now that we’re all here, we can start.” Giles leaned over to pick up a package from the table. ”This is a book that Kendra found a couple of weeks ago.” He set the package down again, and put on a pair of surgical gloves. “I have been trying to translate it, since it was brought to me. It’s very old and a bit fragile. That is why I will be the only one to touch it. Is that understood?”
Giles looked around at the people gathered in his home. “It is in several old languages, and it has been difficult to translate.” He closed the book and lay it carefully down on the cloth-covered table. “I have written some examples of the different languages down. I was hoping that you might recognize some of them, Angel.” He handed a sheet of paper to Angel.
“I’m sorry. I don’t recognize any of them.” Angel gave the paper back to Giles.
“It was worth a try.” He replaced the single sheet of paper with a writing pad. “The book is mostly about a Slayer, though I haven’t found out which one, yet. However, I’m confident that it will become clearer with time, and the number of words translated. One other thing that I have come to realize, is that there are two prophecies in the book. One of the prophecies appears to be about Kendra.” He looked up. There was only silence, even from Kendra. The group just sat there, waiting for him to continue. “What I have thus far is:
Slayer------Dark----
-------------------island.
-- -------------------------
Work---------------------
-----------------------light.
----------------------------
----------------------------
----------------------------
The slayer----------dead.
---------------------slayer.
That’s all I have. I’ve worked on it for weeks now, and I think it might be important. The other prophecy, I believe can wait, since it talks about a golden haired Slayer, and as we all know, Kendra is dark haired. I would like your help to translate the rest of the prophecy.”
Kendra was the first to talk. “Am I going to die, Watcher?”
Giles took off his glasses, and rubbed his brow with his free hand. “We will do our best to prevent that. As we know from recent conversations, a prophecy can be changed.”
Joyce laid a comforting hand over Kendra’s. “I can’t research, but I can keep the food and drinks coming.”
“We should start right away,” Willow said, smiling.
Xander jumped in. “Where are the books, G-man?”
It didn’t take long before the table was covered with books. They had to stop early in the evening though, as the children still had to attend school, or they would have Snyder on their backs. When school was out again, they gathered once more at Giles’ place. Joyce had already been there with snacks and was also taking care of shopping for dinner for all of them.
Once dinner had been served, and the washing up taken care of, Joyce left by herself to pay Buffy a visit, as she did every night. After saying goodnight to Buffy, she returned to the research party before she went home. The Slayer's mom then got an update on the progress the team had made, so she could plan meals for the next day.
In the beginning, they were translating at least two words each day. One day, Xander decided to start guessing at the words. Surprisingly, the technique seemed to be working, and the group found that Xander’s guesses were right almost half the time. In under two weeks, it seemed that the prophecy had been translated. The final result was:
Slayer with dark skin.
Coming from the island.
Came out of sleep.
Work together.
With The Eternal Light.
Close to the changeling.
Forever will stay gone.
The slayer is dead.
Long live the slayer.
Kendra was scared. She believed that the prophecy foretold that she was going to die in some upcoming battle. Everyone in the group tried to comfort and support her, but they really weren’t very successful.
-------------------------------------
Everyone agreed to take the weekend off before starting to decipher the rest of the text. Oz and his band, The Dingos, had a gig at the Bronze, and Willow and Xander headed to the club with them. Willow was happy for a chance to gaze at her boyfriend, and Xander was hoping to bump into some beauty on the dance floor.
Cordelia joined the group partway through the evening. In her normal, self-absorbed way, she showed no interest in anyone in the group, and simply asked them if they had seen Angel, and if they knew whether he was planning to show up at the popular club that night.
Joyce chose to head to the hospital during her break. She used the extra time to brush her daughter’s hair to a fine sheen, and massage a lubricating lotion into her skin because it was starting to become dry.
Giles went out to get some adult company, and enjoy an alcoholic drink or two. His break didn’t last long though. Giles was too much of a Watcher to stay away from the prophecy for more than a couple of hours. Parts of the prophecy were easily deciphered, but the majority of the document remained a mystery to him. Giles hoped that others would have more success solving the prophecy’s code.
Much to Giles’ chagrin, he knew that the Slayer and her friends were often very good at solving the mystical puzzles they ran into. Unfortunately, the gang wouldn’t be there until after school was out the next day. Even Kendra was enrolled in school at Joyce’s insistence. Giles would just have to be patient.
That night, Giles couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, time and again, trying to figure out what this latest challenge would mean for his Slayer.
It was almost light outside when he jumped up from his bed with an idea. The other prophecy might hold the key. Maybe they are linked. He got dressed and put the kettle on, then found his papers and the book. It wasn’t long before he was settled down at the table and had completely forgotten about his morning tea. So much so, that he was startled when the kettle whistled. Distracted for only a moment, Giles made himself a cup of tea, and then promptly forgot it.
Giles started to compare the translated prophecy with the one that he had put aside for later, and quickly realized that it would take ages to translate the second one. It was three or four times longer than the first. I don’t think we’ll ever get it translated without more help, and then we will need to understand it. Why can’t the Powers write prophecies in plain English, or at least in one language? Why in God's name does it have to be in riddles? Giles felt like throwing the book at the wall but, like the proper Englishman that he was, he restrained himself.
The others would be there soon, and he didn’t know what to do, what to tell them. He hoped that together they could come up with an answer, although he had a bad feeling about this prophecy. It was the same feeling he had experienced before, when he read about the Master killing Buffy. Somehow he knew, everything was about to change yet again.
Searching for Clues
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
”Hello? Giles, where are you?”
”I’m here, Joyce.” Giles emerged at the top of the stairs.
”I hope you don’t mind that I let myself in? I rang the bell a couple of times.”
”No, that’s quite all right. I was on the phone. Let me help you with your coat.”
"Have the others arrived?"
”No, not yet. Everyone else is running a little late. Would you like a cup of tea, or maybe something stronger?”
Joyce looked at him curiously. ”Are we celebrating, or do you have something bad to tell us?”
Giles had turned his back to her, occupying himself with her coat.
”Judging by your behaviour, I’m going to guess that it’s something bad.”
”Other than offering you a drink, I don’t see how my behaviour towards you has changed.” He turned around to face her, a little befuddled.
Joyce smirked at him. ”You always hang my coat up quickly. Today you’re stalling, and won’t look me in the eye.”
”I’m sorry, Joyce. It’s been so short a time, but you already know me so well.”
”I’ll forgive you, Giles, if you tell me what the trouble is.”
”That’s why I have called this meeting today, instead of waiting until the weekend is over.” The Watcher led her to a chair. ”If you don’t mind, I would like to wait until the rest of the group arrives before beginning my explanations.”
”Okay, I’ll wait.”
”Can I get you that drink now?”
”Thank you,” Joyce said with a smile.
They talked lightly about everyday things, and slowly sipped their drinks until the others arrived.
Xander, as usual, couldn't keep his mouth closed. “Oh no, Giles has hit the bottle. Whatever’s happening, it must be really bad.”
”Is it that bad, Mr. Giles? Am I going to die?” Kendra asked fearfully.
”We are all going to die at some point. Some earlier than others.” By now he had his glasses off. ”You could die tomorrow or live for years, Kendra. For that matter, any of us could die tomorrow, or not.” They all sat in silence for a moment, even Xander, contemplating the fragility of life.
Giles was shaken from his silent reflection by the arrival of the last member of the party. “Would you like a drink of this fine, single-malt scotch, Angel?” Giles raised an extra glass.
”Will I need it?”
Giles poured him a glass. ”That’s the problem, isn’t it? I don’t know. However, I have a bad feeling that something is coming; something that is going to change everything. It’s not the first time I’ve had this feeling, either.”
”What happened before, when you felt like this?” Willow asked.
”I have had this feeling several times, in fact, and every time my instincts have proven correct and there has been some kind of change. Not small daily changes, because we know those happen all the time, but instead big, life altering changes.” He sighed deeply. ”The last time I had this feeling was when the Master was supposed to kill Buffy.” He looked apologetically at Joyce.
She sent him a small forgiving smile.
”Have you discovered anything new?” Willow asked. "Maybe the meaning of the prophecy?"
”I have tried to find out what it means. In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Finally, this morning, it came to me. I believe the second prophecy might hold the solution to the lines we don’t understand in the first prophecy. We know that we have to translate that one too, and I’ve discovered that there are some elements translated in the first prophecy which can also be found in the second prophecy. Maybe together we can discover more. We are in agreement that the slayer with dark skin who is from an island is Kendra, right?” They all nodded.
”That line, ‘Came out of sleep‘... It must mean that Kendra is here because Buffy is sleeping,” Willow hurried to say. She didn’t like to be left out.
Giles spoke up again. ”What I don’t understand is:”
Work together.
With The Eternal Light.
Close to the changeling.
The slayer is dead.
Long live the slayer.
”I have an idea for the last part.” Xander held up a hand. They all looked hopefully at him. ”I remember watching a movie where a king died. When the new king took the throne, the people said 'The King is dead; Long live the King.'”
”Why didn’t I think of that? You might be right, Xander. Maybe it means that the slayer line runs through Kendra now. It would be logical, now that Buffy is in a coma. Good job, Xander. Now, if we assume that it is correct, then what we don’t understand is:”
Work together.
With The Eternal Light.
Close to the changeling.
The members of the group were just gazing at each other, hoping that someone else would suddenly have an idea.
”I’ve carefully compared the prophecies and have discovered identical words used in both. In the prophecy we haven’t yet translated, I found the words: Eternal, light, too, together, with, and work. They are scattered all over the prophecy. It doesn't make any sense.” There was silence for a little while, before Giles continued. ”I think we need help to translate the second prophecy. At our current rate, it could take months and, if I’m not completely wrong, which I rarely am, I think the whole book is important.” Everyone knew at least one of the prophecies was about Kendra, and they silently wondered if solving the puzzle would bring welcome news.
”What now, Mr. Giles?”
”I don’t know, Kendra.”
The calm voice of Buffy’s mother was heard. ”May I speak?”
”Of course, Joyce, any help will be appreciated,” Giles assured her.
”I’ve heard you talk about somebody you call the Powers That Be. To me, it seems that they are at the center of everything we’re dealing with here. They call the Slayers. They write the prophecies, and so on. Can’t you ask them for help?”
”Your logic is amazing. Of course, that’s what we’ll do. Angel, you once told me that you were contacted by a demon who works for the Powers That Be. Can you arrange to meet with him directly?” Giles had turned to look at Angel, excitement and hope written on his face.
Angel looked up briefly. “You’re thinking of Whistler.” He didn’t continue, just looked down again and sat there brooding.
It was Xander that had the least patience with Angel. ”So, what about this guy? Whistler?”
Angel looked irritated. That boy is an annoyance. That he would dare to interrupt my thoughts is...
”Yes, what about him?” Now it was Joyce who interrupted him.
He sighed heavily, giving in to their questions. ”Demon, he is a demon. He works for the Powers That Be, as Giles just said. When I was in L.A., he took me to see Buffy and told me that I could redeem myself by helping her. I haven’t seen him since, and I don’t know how to get in touch with him.”
“Given what happened to Buffy, I think it’s safe to say you haven’t been much use,” exclaimed Xander, with venom in his voice.
Nobody corrected him. Nobody looked at Angel. It was all very telling.
”Hmm.” Giles got their attention. ”Is there any other way to make contact with Whistler, or the Powers That Be, or anyone who works with them or for them?”
”I don’t know of a way to contact the Powers, or any person or demon who works for them. Sorry.” The grumpy vampire rumbled.
”Could you try to find out?” Giles asked.
”I’ll go out tonight. Visit the demon bars. Beat up Willy. See if I can’t scare somebody into talking.”
He started to get up. ”I’ll be very lucky if I find somebody who knows something.”
”Are you actually going to beat somebody up?” Joyce jumped in.
They both turned to her.
Giles tore off his glasses and started to massage his forehead with two fingers. ”Well, Joyce, you see, Willy runs a demon bar. Beating him up is the only way to get him to talk to us. Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it sounds.” He turned to the vampire. ”You’d better go. The sooner you get started, the better. I will expect to hear from you tomorrow after sundown, or even sooner, if you get a lead.”
Angel nodded his consent and was gone.
--------------------------------------
Drusilla was whimpering, when she wasn’t wailing. ”The time is almost up. Soon you will not be mine.”
”I’ll always be yours, Dru.” Spike tried to calm her, by rocking her like a child.
”No, you were just on loan. My dark knight will soon be no more.”
”Am I going to die, Dru?”
”To me, you'll be dust.”
”What do you mean, Dru? Either I’m going to die or not. Tell me, Dru. What do you know?”
”It’s too soon for you to know it all.” She smiled sadly at him. ”All in the right time, my Spike. All in the right time.”
----------------------------------
They didn’t hear from Angel before the time they had agreed to meet again. When he finally came in, shortly after sundown, he looked more tired than he had in a long time. Giles served him a drink without asking. ”A long night?”
Angel nodded.
”Well, speak up. We are waiting.”
“I bet he hasn’t found a single clue, and just won’t admit it. He’s probably trying to come up with some lame excuse for failing again.” Xander couldn’t seem to keep his bitter comments to himself any longer.
”Xander!” Willow almost yelled at him.
They all starred at Xander. He looked down, his lips squeezed together to stop himself from saying something that would get him thrown out.
Joyce broke the embarrassing silence. ”So, Mr. Angel, did you find a way to contact the Powers?”
”Yes, Angel, did you find anything?” Giles jumped in.
Angel finally looked up. “I didn’t learn a lot, and what I did find out was confusing. If I understand it right, there are several beings who work for the Higher Powers. They’re all over the world.”
”That’s good. Right? Why do you seem so troubled?” Giles looked puzzled. "It should be a good thing that there are more people who work for the Powers."
I thought that I was someone special, working for the Powers That Be. I thought that Buffy was my destiny, my soul mate. A warrior so young that I could shape her into a companion worthy of standing beside me, the Champion for The Powers That Be. Who am I? Just one warrior among many, alone, now that Buffy is gone. ”Yes, Giles,” he lied through his clenched teeth.
”Did you also happen to find a way to contact the Powers?”
”No, but I was told that I might get some answers if I head to a particular club in L.A.”
”Do you have a name and an address for the club?” Giles had his pad ready to jot the address down.
Angel reached into his pocket. ”I had Willy write it down.” He held the note out to Giles.
”Willy? The guy you wanted to beat up?” Joyce asked.
”Don’t worry. I didn’t hurt him that much...just slapped him around a little. We needed the information.”
”And that makes it okay?” she asked, clearly agitated.
Giles sighed in weariness. First Xander with his dislike of demons, such a strong dislike. And now, Joyce. ”Please, Joyce. Can’t this wait for another time? I believe we have more important things to take care of right now.”
”Who says that it’s more important? Maybe it will only be important in a thousand years. I’m a bit tired of this. Xander says that Angel is evil, and you all say that vampires are evil. Then I see that he’s a vampire who helps us, and I start to believe that vampires can be good. But, suddenly, it all changes again. Now you talk about beating a man as if it’s something you do every day.” Joyce looked utterly confused. ”I don’t know what to think anymore.”
Giles placed the pad and the paper with the address down on the table. He took off his glasses, and leaned back in his chair, trying to get comfortable. ”I would rather have waited with this. I don’t want to get your hopes up, Joyce, because it might turn out to be nothing. From the little I could read in the book Kendra found, I know that part of the prophecy is about two Slayers. One dark haired; one golden haired. It is a very strange book. Even the prophecies are like nothing I have ever seen.” He was staring out into space. ”Sorry. I got sidetracked. The point is, the two Slayers. If Buffy wasn’t in a coma, there would be two Slayers right now. Maybe there is hope for Buffy. Maybe she’ll wake up, or maybe there is a way that we can wake her up.”
”Y...you think that Buffy might wake up?”
”Don’t get your hopes up, Joyce. I’m not sure. It is just a possibility.” He looked around at the others. He could see the hope shining from their eyes.
”Maybe magic can wake her up? We should start researching it.” Willow jumped up quickly. She wanted to start searching for a clue in Giles’ books right away.
”Calm down everyone. It’s just a chance. Let's find out if I’m right. And Willow, magic can do a lot of good, but it can also be damaging.” He looked around at the group, recognizing that the mood had changed again, and the excitement generated at the thought of a cure for Buffy had died down a bit. ”If it’s meant to be, it will happen.” I hope I'm right.”Well, let’s move on.” There were no protests. He settled his glasses in place on his nose, and grabbed the note with the address. ”Do you know anything about Caritas, Angel? Other than knowing that it is a nightclub?” He looked over at the souled vampire when he didn’t get an answer. ”Angel?”
”Giles?” Angel suddenly seemed to realize that the Watcher was speaking to him.
”Something wrong?”
”No, I was just lost in my own thoughts. What do you want?”
”I was just asking what you know about this club.”
”I don’t know much, Giles. Just that it’s visited by a lot of demons.”
”Maybe it’s a place like Willy’s?” He fumbled with the note. ”Angel, do you have time to go to the club with me tomorrow?”
”Yes I w...”
Joyce interrupted Angel. ”No. Not on your own. I’m coming too, since we might get some information about Buffy.”
”We want to go too,” Xander jumped in, speaking for himself and the other teens.
Giles looked at each face for a few seconds. ”Okay.” He nodded. ”Friday, after school. Two cars. Oz, would you mind taking some of us in your van?” The boy nodded his agreement. ”Joyce, would you mind if we use your car as well? I have a car, but it’s not working right now.”
”I don’t mind if we take my vehicle, but I’d prefer to have you drive us into the city.”
”Yes, of course, Joyce.” Giles smiled thankfully at Buffy’s mother. ”Okay, we’ll all go to L.A. tomorrow. Pack an overnight bag. If we don’t get what we need right away, it will be easier to stay the night and continue searching on Saturday, rather than making another trip to L.A. at a later date.” He stopped speaking, and looked around to see if the group had any objections. ”There is just one more thing. I have to call the Watcher’s Council.” He hurried to continue before anyone could protest. ”I want to send them copies of the book and see if they are able to translate any additional words or phrases. They might also have other documents which relate to the book or the prophecies, and might provide additional clues to help us understand what we’re dealing with. They have thousands of books, and that’s just in the upstairs library. I don’t know how many they have hidden away in the basement, or in the vault.”
”Do you think they will help, Mr. Giles?” Kendra asked doubtfully. The Council of Watchers really hadn’t been of much help lately. She had been in Sunnydale for months now, and still didn’t have a Watcher of her own. If Mr. Giles hadn’t agreed to step in and temporarily guide her, she would very quickly have been in a situation that she couldn't handle.
Giles knew what she meant. ”It would be in their own best interest to help us. If the world comes to an end, no one would survive. Not even the Council.” His smile was grim.
”They won’t believe you,” Angel stated.
”What won’t they believe?” Joyce asked, puzzled.
Giles carefully picked up the ancient book and started to re-wrap it. ”They won’t believe what’s in this book. They will probably want a copy of the entire book, so I expect I will have a busy day tomorrow, getting the book copied and then faxed to Council Headquarters.”
Willow raised her hand.
”What is it, Willow?”
”I can help you after school, if you’d like. It’s Friday, so we’re out early. Just tell me where you want to meet up and I’ll be there.”
”You’ll need to go home after school and pack an overnight bag.”
“I can pack tonight and just bring my bag to school with me tomorrow.”
”Okay. If you really want to help, I’ll either be in the copy room or the library. By the way, what about your parents?” Giles once again looked at all the teens in the group.“ Won’t they object to you taking a trip to L.A with your school librarian?”
Xander shrugged his shoulders. ”My parents don’t care, and Willow will just say that she is staying at my place. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Oz simply shrugged and said, “It’s cool.”
Cordelia said that her parents wouldn’t even bat an eye about her heading to L.A., once she told them that she was going for a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip.
”I see.” Giles took off his glasses, while searching for his hanky.
---------------------------------------
Spike was relieved that Drusilla finally had eaten a little. Maybe the spell to restore her health wasn’t necessary. He watched her dance around, all over the factory. She was singing a self made song about a black knight turning into a white king.
Suddenly, she stopped. ”They are on the right track.” A single teardrop escaped.
”What’s the matter, Dru?” Spike had jumped up when he smelled her tears. He took her in his arms.
”Remember my prince, that I will always be your sire, even when you are like ashes to me.”
”Hello? Giles, where are you?”
”I’m here, Joyce.” Giles emerged at the top of the stairs.
”I hope you don’t mind that I let myself in? I rang the bell a couple of times.”
”No, that’s quite all right. I was on the phone. Let me help you with your coat.”
"Have the others arrived?"
”No, not yet. Everyone else is running a little late. Would you like a cup of tea, or maybe something stronger?”
Joyce looked at him curiously. ”Are we celebrating, or do you have something bad to tell us?”
Giles had turned his back to her, occupying himself with her coat.
”Judging by your behaviour, I’m going to guess that it’s something bad.”
”Other than offering you a drink, I don’t see how my behaviour towards you has changed.” He turned around to face her, a little befuddled.
Joyce smirked at him. ”You always hang my coat up quickly. Today you’re stalling, and won’t look me in the eye.”
”I’m sorry, Joyce. It’s been so short a time, but you already know me so well.”
”I’ll forgive you, Giles, if you tell me what the trouble is.”
”That’s why I have called this meeting today, instead of waiting until the weekend is over.” The Watcher led her to a chair. ”If you don’t mind, I would like to wait until the rest of the group arrives before beginning my explanations.”
”Okay, I’ll wait.”
”Can I get you that drink now?”
”Thank you,” Joyce said with a smile.
They talked lightly about everyday things, and slowly sipped their drinks until the others arrived.
Xander, as usual, couldn't keep his mouth closed. “Oh no, Giles has hit the bottle. Whatever’s happening, it must be really bad.”
”Is it that bad, Mr. Giles? Am I going to die?” Kendra asked fearfully.
”We are all going to die at some point. Some earlier than others.” By now he had his glasses off. ”You could die tomorrow or live for years, Kendra. For that matter, any of us could die tomorrow, or not.” They all sat in silence for a moment, even Xander, contemplating the fragility of life.
Giles was shaken from his silent reflection by the arrival of the last member of the party. “Would you like a drink of this fine, single-malt scotch, Angel?” Giles raised an extra glass.
”Will I need it?”
Giles poured him a glass. ”That’s the problem, isn’t it? I don’t know. However, I have a bad feeling that something is coming; something that is going to change everything. It’s not the first time I’ve had this feeling, either.”
”What happened before, when you felt like this?” Willow asked.
”I have had this feeling several times, in fact, and every time my instincts have proven correct and there has been some kind of change. Not small daily changes, because we know those happen all the time, but instead big, life altering changes.” He sighed deeply. ”The last time I had this feeling was when the Master was supposed to kill Buffy.” He looked apologetically at Joyce.
She sent him a small forgiving smile.
”Have you discovered anything new?” Willow asked. "Maybe the meaning of the prophecy?"
”I have tried to find out what it means. In fact, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Finally, this morning, it came to me. I believe the second prophecy might hold the solution to the lines we don’t understand in the first prophecy. We know that we have to translate that one too, and I’ve discovered that there are some elements translated in the first prophecy which can also be found in the second prophecy. Maybe together we can discover more. We are in agreement that the slayer with dark skin who is from an island is Kendra, right?” They all nodded.
”That line, ‘Came out of sleep‘... It must mean that Kendra is here because Buffy is sleeping,” Willow hurried to say. She didn’t like to be left out.
Giles spoke up again. ”What I don’t understand is:”
Work together.
With The Eternal Light.
Close to the changeling.
The slayer is dead.
Long live the slayer.
”I have an idea for the last part.” Xander held up a hand. They all looked hopefully at him. ”I remember watching a movie where a king died. When the new king took the throne, the people said 'The King is dead; Long live the King.'”
”Why didn’t I think of that? You might be right, Xander. Maybe it means that the slayer line runs through Kendra now. It would be logical, now that Buffy is in a coma. Good job, Xander. Now, if we assume that it is correct, then what we don’t understand is:”
Work together.
With The Eternal Light.
Close to the changeling.
The members of the group were just gazing at each other, hoping that someone else would suddenly have an idea.
”I’ve carefully compared the prophecies and have discovered identical words used in both. In the prophecy we haven’t yet translated, I found the words: Eternal, light, too, together, with, and work. They are scattered all over the prophecy. It doesn't make any sense.” There was silence for a little while, before Giles continued. ”I think we need help to translate the second prophecy. At our current rate, it could take months and, if I’m not completely wrong, which I rarely am, I think the whole book is important.” Everyone knew at least one of the prophecies was about Kendra, and they silently wondered if solving the puzzle would bring welcome news.
”What now, Mr. Giles?”
”I don’t know, Kendra.”
The calm voice of Buffy’s mother was heard. ”May I speak?”
”Of course, Joyce, any help will be appreciated,” Giles assured her.
”I’ve heard you talk about somebody you call the Powers That Be. To me, it seems that they are at the center of everything we’re dealing with here. They call the Slayers. They write the prophecies, and so on. Can’t you ask them for help?”
”Your logic is amazing. Of course, that’s what we’ll do. Angel, you once told me that you were contacted by a demon who works for the Powers That Be. Can you arrange to meet with him directly?” Giles had turned to look at Angel, excitement and hope written on his face.
Angel looked up briefly. “You’re thinking of Whistler.” He didn’t continue, just looked down again and sat there brooding.
It was Xander that had the least patience with Angel. ”So, what about this guy? Whistler?”
Angel looked irritated. That boy is an annoyance. That he would dare to interrupt my thoughts is...
”Yes, what about him?” Now it was Joyce who interrupted him.
He sighed heavily, giving in to their questions. ”Demon, he is a demon. He works for the Powers That Be, as Giles just said. When I was in L.A., he took me to see Buffy and told me that I could redeem myself by helping her. I haven’t seen him since, and I don’t know how to get in touch with him.”
“Given what happened to Buffy, I think it’s safe to say you haven’t been much use,” exclaimed Xander, with venom in his voice.
Nobody corrected him. Nobody looked at Angel. It was all very telling.
”Hmm.” Giles got their attention. ”Is there any other way to make contact with Whistler, or the Powers That Be, or anyone who works with them or for them?”
”I don’t know of a way to contact the Powers, or any person or demon who works for them. Sorry.” The grumpy vampire rumbled.
”Could you try to find out?” Giles asked.
”I’ll go out tonight. Visit the demon bars. Beat up Willy. See if I can’t scare somebody into talking.”
He started to get up. ”I’ll be very lucky if I find somebody who knows something.”
”Are you actually going to beat somebody up?” Joyce jumped in.
They both turned to her.
Giles tore off his glasses and started to massage his forehead with two fingers. ”Well, Joyce, you see, Willy runs a demon bar. Beating him up is the only way to get him to talk to us. Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as it sounds.” He turned to the vampire. ”You’d better go. The sooner you get started, the better. I will expect to hear from you tomorrow after sundown, or even sooner, if you get a lead.”
Angel nodded his consent and was gone.
--------------------------------------
Drusilla was whimpering, when she wasn’t wailing. ”The time is almost up. Soon you will not be mine.”
”I’ll always be yours, Dru.” Spike tried to calm her, by rocking her like a child.
”No, you were just on loan. My dark knight will soon be no more.”
”Am I going to die, Dru?”
”To me, you'll be dust.”
”What do you mean, Dru? Either I’m going to die or not. Tell me, Dru. What do you know?”
”It’s too soon for you to know it all.” She smiled sadly at him. ”All in the right time, my Spike. All in the right time.”
----------------------------------
They didn’t hear from Angel before the time they had agreed to meet again. When he finally came in, shortly after sundown, he looked more tired than he had in a long time. Giles served him a drink without asking. ”A long night?”
Angel nodded.
”Well, speak up. We are waiting.”
“I bet he hasn’t found a single clue, and just won’t admit it. He’s probably trying to come up with some lame excuse for failing again.” Xander couldn’t seem to keep his bitter comments to himself any longer.
”Xander!” Willow almost yelled at him.
They all starred at Xander. He looked down, his lips squeezed together to stop himself from saying something that would get him thrown out.
Joyce broke the embarrassing silence. ”So, Mr. Angel, did you find a way to contact the Powers?”
”Yes, Angel, did you find anything?” Giles jumped in.
Angel finally looked up. “I didn’t learn a lot, and what I did find out was confusing. If I understand it right, there are several beings who work for the Higher Powers. They’re all over the world.”
”That’s good. Right? Why do you seem so troubled?” Giles looked puzzled. "It should be a good thing that there are more people who work for the Powers."
I thought that I was someone special, working for the Powers That Be. I thought that Buffy was my destiny, my soul mate. A warrior so young that I could shape her into a companion worthy of standing beside me, the Champion for The Powers That Be. Who am I? Just one warrior among many, alone, now that Buffy is gone. ”Yes, Giles,” he lied through his clenched teeth.
”Did you also happen to find a way to contact the Powers?”
”No, but I was told that I might get some answers if I head to a particular club in L.A.”
”Do you have a name and an address for the club?” Giles had his pad ready to jot the address down.
Angel reached into his pocket. ”I had Willy write it down.” He held the note out to Giles.
”Willy? The guy you wanted to beat up?” Joyce asked.
”Don’t worry. I didn’t hurt him that much...just slapped him around a little. We needed the information.”
”And that makes it okay?” she asked, clearly agitated.
Giles sighed in weariness. First Xander with his dislike of demons, such a strong dislike. And now, Joyce. ”Please, Joyce. Can’t this wait for another time? I believe we have more important things to take care of right now.”
”Who says that it’s more important? Maybe it will only be important in a thousand years. I’m a bit tired of this. Xander says that Angel is evil, and you all say that vampires are evil. Then I see that he’s a vampire who helps us, and I start to believe that vampires can be good. But, suddenly, it all changes again. Now you talk about beating a man as if it’s something you do every day.” Joyce looked utterly confused. ”I don’t know what to think anymore.”
Giles placed the pad and the paper with the address down on the table. He took off his glasses, and leaned back in his chair, trying to get comfortable. ”I would rather have waited with this. I don’t want to get your hopes up, Joyce, because it might turn out to be nothing. From the little I could read in the book Kendra found, I know that part of the prophecy is about two Slayers. One dark haired; one golden haired. It is a very strange book. Even the prophecies are like nothing I have ever seen.” He was staring out into space. ”Sorry. I got sidetracked. The point is, the two Slayers. If Buffy wasn’t in a coma, there would be two Slayers right now. Maybe there is hope for Buffy. Maybe she’ll wake up, or maybe there is a way that we can wake her up.”
”Y...you think that Buffy might wake up?”
”Don’t get your hopes up, Joyce. I’m not sure. It is just a possibility.” He looked around at the others. He could see the hope shining from their eyes.
”Maybe magic can wake her up? We should start researching it.” Willow jumped up quickly. She wanted to start searching for a clue in Giles’ books right away.
”Calm down everyone. It’s just a chance. Let's find out if I’m right. And Willow, magic can do a lot of good, but it can also be damaging.” He looked around at the group, recognizing that the mood had changed again, and the excitement generated at the thought of a cure for Buffy had died down a bit. ”If it’s meant to be, it will happen.” I hope I'm right.”Well, let’s move on.” There were no protests. He settled his glasses in place on his nose, and grabbed the note with the address. ”Do you know anything about Caritas, Angel? Other than knowing that it is a nightclub?” He looked over at the souled vampire when he didn’t get an answer. ”Angel?”
”Giles?” Angel suddenly seemed to realize that the Watcher was speaking to him.
”Something wrong?”
”No, I was just lost in my own thoughts. What do you want?”
”I was just asking what you know about this club.”
”I don’t know much, Giles. Just that it’s visited by a lot of demons.”
”Maybe it’s a place like Willy’s?” He fumbled with the note. ”Angel, do you have time to go to the club with me tomorrow?”
”Yes I w...”
Joyce interrupted Angel. ”No. Not on your own. I’m coming too, since we might get some information about Buffy.”
”We want to go too,” Xander jumped in, speaking for himself and the other teens.
Giles looked at each face for a few seconds. ”Okay.” He nodded. ”Friday, after school. Two cars. Oz, would you mind taking some of us in your van?” The boy nodded his agreement. ”Joyce, would you mind if we use your car as well? I have a car, but it’s not working right now.”
”I don’t mind if we take my vehicle, but I’d prefer to have you drive us into the city.”
”Yes, of course, Joyce.” Giles smiled thankfully at Buffy’s mother. ”Okay, we’ll all go to L.A. tomorrow. Pack an overnight bag. If we don’t get what we need right away, it will be easier to stay the night and continue searching on Saturday, rather than making another trip to L.A. at a later date.” He stopped speaking, and looked around to see if the group had any objections. ”There is just one more thing. I have to call the Watcher’s Council.” He hurried to continue before anyone could protest. ”I want to send them copies of the book and see if they are able to translate any additional words or phrases. They might also have other documents which relate to the book or the prophecies, and might provide additional clues to help us understand what we’re dealing with. They have thousands of books, and that’s just in the upstairs library. I don’t know how many they have hidden away in the basement, or in the vault.”
”Do you think they will help, Mr. Giles?” Kendra asked doubtfully. The Council of Watchers really hadn’t been of much help lately. She had been in Sunnydale for months now, and still didn’t have a Watcher of her own. If Mr. Giles hadn’t agreed to step in and temporarily guide her, she would very quickly have been in a situation that she couldn't handle.
Giles knew what she meant. ”It would be in their own best interest to help us. If the world comes to an end, no one would survive. Not even the Council.” His smile was grim.
”They won’t believe you,” Angel stated.
”What won’t they believe?” Joyce asked, puzzled.
Giles carefully picked up the ancient book and started to re-wrap it. ”They won’t believe what’s in this book. They will probably want a copy of the entire book, so I expect I will have a busy day tomorrow, getting the book copied and then faxed to Council Headquarters.”
Willow raised her hand.
”What is it, Willow?”
”I can help you after school, if you’d like. It’s Friday, so we’re out early. Just tell me where you want to meet up and I’ll be there.”
”You’ll need to go home after school and pack an overnight bag.”
“I can pack tonight and just bring my bag to school with me tomorrow.”
”Okay. If you really want to help, I’ll either be in the copy room or the library. By the way, what about your parents?” Giles once again looked at all the teens in the group.“ Won’t they object to you taking a trip to L.A with your school librarian?”
Xander shrugged his shoulders. ”My parents don’t care, and Willow will just say that she is staying at my place. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Oz simply shrugged and said, “It’s cool.”
Cordelia said that her parents wouldn’t even bat an eye about her heading to L.A., once she told them that she was going for a spur-of-the-moment shopping trip.
”I see.” Giles took off his glasses, while searching for his hanky.
---------------------------------------
Spike was relieved that Drusilla finally had eaten a little. Maybe the spell to restore her health wasn’t necessary. He watched her dance around, all over the factory. She was singing a self made song about a black knight turning into a white king.
Suddenly, she stopped. ”They are on the right track.” A single teardrop escaped.
”What’s the matter, Dru?” Spike had jumped up when he smelled her tears. He took her in his arms.
”Remember my prince, that I will always be your sire, even when you are like ashes to me.”
Whispers of the Future
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Giles spent over an hour copying the book. It was a bit difficult to turn the pages with his gloves on, but he was determined to do the job without damaging the fragile text.
Later, when he had seen to his duties as the school librarian, he phoned the Watcher’s Council. As expected, they didn’t believe his story about an ancient text with two prophecies. He offered to fax the copied book. It wasn’t enough. He was told that the Council would look through their predictions and prophecies and would call him back if they found anything that supported his claim. Realizing that he wouldn’t get any further information from them, Giles advised the Council representative that he would be leaving town at dusk, and would be back in a few days.
The Council still hadn’t called back when Willow showed up. She helped Giles stack and shelve books while they waited for a response from Britain. They had just decided to leave the library and drop in on Joyce, hoping that she would make them a cuppa, when the phone rang. The Council was not pleased by what they had discovered, but they now believed Giles had valid information.
The Council had contacted the head of a powerful coven they trusted, and had been told that the book was even more important than Giles had claimed. The Seer from the coven had been given a vision of what would happen if the prophecy in the book did not come to pass. Dark forces would grow, and evil would take over the Earth. The few humans who survived would be forced to hide underground like animals.
No longer a Watcher to be mocked, the Council even said please when they asked Giles to fax the copied pages of the book. That task complete, it wasn’t long until Willow and Giles were sitting in Joyce’s kitchen, drinking tea.
--------------------------
Joyce was warming her hands on her tea cup as she sipped from it. “When do you expect to hear from the Watcher’s Council?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a prophecy like this one. Maybe they’ll have something written that will confirm the prophecy, or maybe not. Regardless, I know they’ll keep looking for some kind of reference in the Codex, while they assign another team to translate what we’ve given them, and a third team to find the meaning within the prophecy. Therefore, it could be some time before we hear from the Council again.” He told the assembled Scoobies how the Council had contacted the coven, to confirm that the book was the real thing, before they would listen to the frustrated Watcher.
Joyce poured more tea. “How does the coven know that the prophecy is something important? Or that it’s even real?”
“They have a very good Seer,” Giles assured her, before he took a bite of his cookie.
“I’m sorry, Rupert, but I’m new to all of this. Half of the time I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.”
“What don’t you understand, Joyce? Please don’t hesitate to ask for clarification if you’re becoming confused. This is a lot to take in all at once.”
“Thank you. Right now, I’d like to know what a seer is, if you don’t mind?
Giles smiled, feeling a little bashful. “My apologies, I’m used to having people around me who understand my world. A Seer is somebody with a special gift. With a lot of training, they can see things normal people can’t. Some can even see flashes of the future.”
Joyce looked thoughtful. “Can’t they just tell us what to do, so that the future turns out well for all of us?”
“It doesn’t work like that. They only see what the Powers allow them to see, and the future is always subject to free will and personal choice. On rare occasions, Seers will get a message directly from the Powers That Be, and will be forced to act on their behalf.”
“I see. It’s all so strange, like a completely new world.”
“For you, it would be. For me, it has always been a part of my life.” He got up, taking his own cup and plate to the sink. “My father was a Watcher. It’s a tradition in our family that the first son joins the Watcher’s Council, so I was groomed for my position from birth.”
Willow placed her plate and cup beside Giles’. “I can handle the dishes.” She sent a small smile off towards Buffy’s mom, who had already entered the kitchen and was plugging the small sink.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all, Mrs. Summers.”
“Then Rupert and I will get the car ready for our trip. Who is riding with whom?” Ever the organizer, Joyce wanted to get the seating plan settled right away.
“Oh, oh!” Willow spoke up. “Can we meet up with Oz? I’d really like to ride with him.”
Both adults smiled at her enthusiasm. “Of course we can. Why don’t you call the others and arrange it?” Joyce suggested.
“I will. Right after I finish with the dishes.” Willow blushed prettily.
----------------------------------
Giles, Joyce, Kendra, and Willow met up with Oz, Xander, and Cordelia outside of Angel’s place, just after dark. It didn’t take them long to arrange who was riding in each vehicle. They all knew that it wouldn’t end well if Xander and Angel had to spend hours together in the same car. In the end, Willow, Xander and Kendra went with Oz in his van. Kendra had requested a seat in Giles’ vehicle, but Cordelia overrode her and it was Angel and Cordelia who travelled with Joyce and Giles, in Joyce’s car.
Cordelia wouldn’t miss a chance to hang out with Angel. She didn’t have much success getting him to talk with her, but she was persistent. She hoped that someday he would answer her with a whole sentence, instead of the monosyllabic response that was his standard now.
Most of the ride in Joyce’s car was made in pleasant silence, broken only by Cordelia’s occasional attempt to get a conversation going with Angel. Joyce and Giles found Cordy’s attempts to attract the broody vampire amusing, and shared a few gentle smiles at her expense as they drove towards the city.
The atmosphere in Oz’s van was light. The occupants joked around and made funny faces at the other drivers travelling on the road. Well, it was really only Xander making faces, but the others found it funny. At least, it was funny until he’d done it a hundred times...then it was just embarrassing.
Once in LA, the group had a little trouble finding Caritas. It wasn’t until they chanced across a demon who had been at the bar recently, that they were able to get proper directions.
When they finally arrived at the nightclub, they discovered that it wasn’t open yet. Instead of waiting in the parking lot until Caritas opened, they decided to go grab some dinner.
An hour later, after a meal at a small diner around the corner, they stepped into Caritas. Kendra was the first to enter, stake raised and ready for a fight. Giles and Xander were similarly armed. Willow hid behind Oz, and Cordelia and Joyce followed along, eyes open and scanning the bar. Angel was the last of the group through the door, and wasn’t aware of the stir the armed group was creating in the club.
A tall green demon with small horns quickly approached them. “Welcome...welcome to Caritas. I’m the Host.”
Giles started to lower his stake, while placing a calming hand on Kendra’s shoulder.
Xander, suspicious of demons to the end, stayed prepared for an attack.
The demon smiled. “This place has a sanctuary spell on it, preventing anyone from doing violence inside these walls. You can put your weapons away, you won’t need them here.”
After a quick glance at Giles, Kendra hid her stake in the back of her pants.
“Yeah, right. You’re just another filthy demon. Why should we believe you?” Xander spat out.
“Xander!” Joyce and Giles objected at the same time.
“It’s quite alright. He’s still young, just a puppy, really. You’ll learn, Sweet Cheeks.” The Host turned his attention to Joyce. “And who do I have the honour of welcoming to my club?” He took her hand and gently kissed the back with a very continental flair.
Joyce couldn’t help the colour that rushed to her cheeks. “This is Kendra, the Slayer. The young man with the stake is Xander, this is Oz, and behind him are Willow and Cordelia. The gentleman with the glasses is Rupert Giles, a Watcher, beside him is Angel, and I’m Joyce Summers.”
The Host laughed, delighted. “I’ve been waiting for you. This way, please.”
They were led to a table in the corner. “You’ve got a bit of privacy here.” The Host waited for them to settle into seats around the table.
Xander still had a death grip on his stake. He didn’t trust demons, and felt trapped sitting in the corner furthest from the door. The club was packed, and his eyes kept skipping from one occupant to the next. With each new demon, he became even more stressed.
“Xander!” Giles had to lay a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. The young man jerked away from the light touch, and automatically raised his stake as if to protect himself. Giles quickly grabbed his wrist. “Do you intend to stake me, Xander?” The Watcher released the young man’s arm. “Put that stake away, now.”
“But...Giles...we’re surrounded by demons,” Xander stuttered.
“You heard the Host. They can’t attack us.”
“How can you believe him, Giles? He’s a demon. He’s one of them.” Xander wasn’t willing to take anything on faith.
“Look around, Xander.” Giles encouraged the youth to observe the other people in the club.
Xander took another quick look. “Demons, demons, and more demons.”
The Watcher spoke quickly, but earnestly, to Xander, trying to get him to really open his eyes. “Look again, and you’ll see humans too, not only demons. Look to your right. The human and the demon at that table seem to be friends. It doesn’t look like it’s their first time here, either.”
Xander finally looked around again. This time, his eyes were opened wide when he turned to Giles again. “But...but...how? They can’t really be humans.”
“Look at their necks. They’re wearing crosses.” Giles sighed. “You have a hard time listening, Xander. The sanctuary spell, it makes it possible for demons and humans to associate with each other, without the threat of violence.”
Xander slowly tucked his stake away, but kept his hand in his pocket, with a strong grip around the weapon.
The Host returned his attention to their table, and clasped his hands together. “Now that we have that taken care of, maybe this would be a good time to ask what you would like to drink, on the house, of course. It’s not often that I have such famous guests in my club.” He beamed with pleasure.
So, he knows that I’m the Champion for the Powers That Be. Angel smiled smugly. “Do you have any blood?”
“Blood for the vampire, no problem at all. And you, Mrs. Summers? A nice Chianti, perhaps?”
“That would be lovely.” Joyce nodded her consent.
“As for Mr. Giles, I think you’d enjoy a bit of finely aged scotch. Am I right?”
“That you are, Mr. Host.” Giles decided that the happenings of the past few days merited the strong drink, and vowed that he’d only have one.
“Finally, for the younger people at the table, a round of soft drinks, perhaps?”
The teens all agreed, and then the group waited in silence for their beverages to arrive. Everyone was busy, taking in their surroundings. Giles’ hands were itching with the urge to document what he was seeing. He managed to resist, only because he was afraid of offending someone and possibly causing a disturbance which might cut their time in Caritas short. He couldn’t take the chance. They needed all the information they could get, and they needed it without further delay.
The Host came back with a waiter who carried their drinks on his tray. “Warm blood for the chocolate cupcake brooding in the corner. The wine goes to the lady. Scotch for the gentleman. Soft drinks for the rest. Oh, and the Sea Breeze is mine, of course.” The Host picked up his drink from the tray, and then undid a button on his colourful suit and sat down at the only empty place left at the table.
Giles pulled himself together. “Might I inquire as to what your name is? Surely the Host is simply your job description?”
“You are correct, Mr. Giles. My real name is impossible to pronounce with a human tongue, but if a name would make you feel more comfortable, you can call me Lorne.”
“Very well, may I ask you a question then, Lorne?”
“You’ve just done that, haven’t you, Mr. Giles?” Lorne laughed a little. “Even so, feel free to ask me any questions you like, my little Pumpkin Pie.”
“Where are you from, Lorne? I have never seen a demon quite like you before.” Giles was a Watcher, and he just couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m from another dimension, called Pylea. I’m a Krevlornswath, from the Deathwalk Clan.”
“Are you the only one from your dimension here on Earth?” Giles inquired.
“As far as I know, I’m the only one here. Enough about me though. How did you find my lovely little establishment?” Lorne was curious.
“They beat somebody up,” Joyce informed Lorne, her tone laced with contempt, as she shot a disapproving look at both Giles and Angel. It was obvious that she didn’t like their methods.
Lorne laid his hand over Joyce’s and gave it a comforting pat. “That’s one of the reasons why I left my dimension. I come from a clan of warriors, but I’m a lover, not a fighter. I can see you share the same outlook, don’t you my little Creme Puff?
“Joyce, I know you don’t agree with the methods that Angel used, but we don’t have time for finesse right now. We have discussed this all before.”
Joyce sent an apologetic look towards Giles. “I’m sorry. I remember what you said, but it’s still hard for me to feel okay about it.”
“Apology accepted.” The Watcher smiled at Joyce. “Maybe I’d better lead the conversation?” He looked around at the others. One after another, they either nodded or dropped their gaze to the table.
Giles turned back to Lorne. “Sorry for the interruptions. To get back to your question, we were searching for a way to contact the Powers, when a bar owner in Sunnydale told us that we could get help here.” He took off his glasses. “Did I hear correctly before? Were you expecting us?”
“You bet, you sweet little Lollipop.”
“How is that possible? We first learned about your bar only two days ago.” Giles was puzzled.
“For that explanation, I’m going to need another Sea Breeze.” Lorne turned in his chair and caught the bartender’s eye. “Now that my drink is on the way, let me explain. I work for the Powers That Be. I have a special gift, which allows me to read people when they sing. Sometimes I get their past, sometimes their future. That’s how I knew you were coming. I read it from some of my other guests. For instance, the demon that showed you the way to Caritas, he was here yesterday.”
Giles cleaned his glasses, while gazing very intently at the Host. “You propose to help us find the answers we need, by listening to us sing?”
“I can read what the Powers allow me to read, and share with you what they allow me to share. Some things are yours to know now, and other things you’re not ready for yet. So, if you’ll follow me to the stage?” Lorne started to get up. There were protests from all sides. “None of you want to get up on the stage and sing for me?” the green demon pouted.
“Do we really have to?” Joyce asked, sounding desperate.
Lorne sat down again. “No, my Sugar Plum. You don’t have to get up on stage, but you do have to sing a little. I meant it when I said I read people when I hear them sing. Are you sure you don’t want to try the stage? This is a karaoke bar, after all.” The Host looked hopefully at the group around the table, and then drooped with disappointment when it was clear that nobody was going to volunteer. “Okay then. I understand. No stage.”
Lorne looked across the table at the teenagers, and said, “You four can start. You can even sing together, if you want.” After several minutes of whispered squabbling, the teens sang a few lines from a popular song. Lorne thanked them, and then moved his attention to Angel.
Angel was in a bad mood. He’d agreed to travel to LA, believing that he was the important one, but the Host...who also worked for the Powers...wanted everyone to sing. It occurred to Angel that Lorne might be trying to humour the rest of the group, make them all feel like they were special. That made sense to the vampire. Sometimes you had to make allowances and accommodations when you were working with a bunch of bleeding hearts. Satisfied that he’d come up with a rational answer, Angel prepared to sing.
When the vampire’s voice started to abuse Mandy, Lorne couldn’t help the look that flashed across his face. Nor was he able to hide it from Giles, who had been watching for the Host’s reaction to the broody vampire’s song, The green demon did his best to stop Angel quickly, and then moved on to Giles, who sang something from the 60’s that only Lorne and Joyce recognized.
Joyce was inspired to sing something from the same period, and Kendra finished off the group by singing a sweet little lullaby from her homeland.
With all the singing done, the group sat in silence, staring at Lorne and waiting for his words of guidance.
Lorne took his time before speaking up. “It’s time for the Eternal Light.” He looked at them with awe.
The table erupted into a cacophony of questions, but Giles managed to gain control quickly. “What is the Eternal Light?”
“The story has been lost in time. Most consider it to be a myth. I’m sorry, but it’s not my place to tell you about the Light. Your problem is, there are several roads to choose from, and the future will depend on which road you decide to travel. If your path is the wrong way, then what that Seer of yours envisioned will come true. Things have already changed for the better. It started when your beautiful Slayer over there found the book and brought it to you, instead of ignoring it. Then, when you received the book, you chose to work on the mystery, instead of ignoring it yourself.” Lorne laughed a little. “I know it’s not likely, but it could have happened. You could have kept it to yourself and not called the Council, and then they wouldn’t have confirmed its importance to you.”
Kendra raised her hand. “Mr. Lorne, am I going to die?”
“Right now? No. Sometime in the future? Yes, we all die, my little Treacle Tart. Because of a prophecy? No.” He sent an encouraging smile to Kendra, recognizing her desperate need for reassurance.
“What else can you tell us?” Giles spoke up again.
“I can tell you that it has taken too long to translate the prophecies in the book. Everything has already changed.” Lorne turned to Angel. “You don’t have to brood. You’re still a Warrior for the Powers That Be, and you are still critical to the plan.”
“One among many,” Angel answered.
“So?” Lorne responded. “That means that you can get help for the big battles. More help means your chances of survival go up.”
“Yeah, maybe if I knew who the other Warriors were. They’re not much help to me if they’re hidden.”
“You have no faith in the Powers, Angel.” Lorne shook his head. “They will send help when you need it most. You just need to believe.”
Lorne turned to Xander next. “Now you, my Almond Bar. If you can put your biased opinions aside for just a few minutes, you’d realize that you are the heart of this group.” He started to turn to Willow, when he thought better of it and turned back to Xander. “Remember this: You are not your father. You never will be unless you choose that path for yourself.” He looked Xander directly in the eye as he said it, and wasn’t really surprised when the boy immediately collapsed into heart wrenching sobs afterwards.
Suddenly, the Host’s attention was caught elsewhere in the club. “Will you all excuse me for a moment? I see a customer I need to talk to. I’ll order a new round of drinks for you while I’m gone.” He got up from the table and went over to the bar, where they say him talk with a blue demon that appeared to be bundled up in all manner of sweaters and scarves.”
Joyce was playing with her empty glass. “So far, we haven’t been given that much that we can use.” She noted.
“You’re right,” Giles agreed. “Except for some personal information. I don’t think he’s done though.”
The only thing they could do now was wait for Lorne to come back. Giles and Joyce stayed focused on what they might learn about the prophecy, while the teens imagined what they might hear of their futures, and the vampire just sat and brooded.
Not long after the waiter had served them new drinks, Lorne returned to the table. “So, who wants to go next?” he asked the group.
“Wasn’t it supposed to be my turn?” Willow quickly asked.
“Sure thing, you little Strawberry Pie. You need to learn about magic.”
Willow jumped up and down in her seat, excited to have her interest in the Arts validated. “Thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t get so excited.” Lorne gave her a serious look. “Things have changed, but a wrong turn anywhere along the path can change them right back again. You have to learn to respect magic. Learn to use it properly, and also learn when not to use it. If you don’t learn control, eventually the magic will control you, and you’ll use it to destroy the Earth.”
“No.” Willow was horrified. “No, I’d never try to do that. Never.” Everyone at the table could hear the panic in the young red-head’s voice.
“You will if the circumstances are right. Take my advice, and never, ever, do magic without an experienced advisor at your side.” Lorne looked at Giles. “You have to teach her, or get her a tutor.”
Giles just sat there, staring at Willow, with his mouth gaping like a fish out of water. “Will she really become that dark and powerful?”
Lorne nodded. “If you don’t teach her to respect magic. You are their role model, almost a father to most of them. No matter what, you have to take care of them and you can never abandon them. It’s important that you accept that role. If you have any questions, you can either visit, or try to call me. I’d also advise you to continue working on your translation of the book.” With that, the Host appeared finished with the Watcher.
“Joyce, everything will be okay. You just continue to mother the current Slayer. Oh, and have regular check-ups with your doctor. A complete physical every three months.” Lorne gave her a teasing wink.
“Oz, watch out for small family members. Try not to let them bite you, but...if it happens, lock yourself up when there is a full moon.”
“Cordelia, say no if you are offered a job from someone who says they work for the Powers. And remember this: Acting is NOT a good career choice for you.”
“Now, I’m going to leave you all to think about what I’ve just told you. When you’re ready, the Watcher can come find me. I’ve got a little more to share with you all before you leave.” With that, the flamboyant green demon left the table.
“Is he the real thing, or a fraud?” Xander asked.
Angel stopped brooding for a moment to comment. “He’s definitely the real thing.” The vampire didn’t seem happy about that.
Xander snorted. “Of course, you would say that. He’s a demon, and you’re a demon. You demons stick together.”
Giles adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “I think he’s the real thing. Joyce, what is your opinion?”
“I don’t think I know enough about this world to have an opinion.”
“Fair enough,” Giles responded.
“Oz?”
“Real.”
“Kendra?”
“I can’t say, Mr. Giles.”
“Cordelia?”
“I don’t want to get involved with this stuff. You guys decide.”
“Willow?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever become as powerful as he says, Giles. I’m not sure I believe him.”
Giles sighed. “Let’s just say, for the purpose of this conversation, that he’s the real thing. What then?” Nobody commented. “Oz, are there any small children in your family?”
“Yeah, two, I think,” the laconic bass player responded.
“Would you please contact their parents, and find out if either of them is a werewolf?”
“Sure, Giles. It’s not too late to call.” Oz got up to find a phone. “I’ll be right back.”
“Xander, do you have any idea what Lorne’s comments to you meant?” the Watcher asked.
Now it was Xander’s turn to try to hide from the people at the table. “Yeah.” It took some time before he continued. “My father is a drunk. A mean drunk.” Xander looked down at the table.
“It’s okay, Xander.” Giles tried to comfort him.
“Excuse me, but I think I need to go wash my hands.” Joyce got up.
“I’ll join you.” Willow followed Joyce’s lead. Cordelia decided to tag along and all the ladies left the room together.
When they returned from their bathroom break, Oz was already back at the table.
“We waited for you,” Giles told the women. “So, Oz, what can you tell us?”
“My Aunt Maureen has a son, Jody, who is a werewolf.” Oz’s phone call seemed to support Lorne’s warning.
“Okay, now can we all agree that Lorne is the real thing?” Giles looked at the others. No one objected. “Are you ready for me to get Lorne back, so he can tell us the rest of the information he has.” Again, everyone responded with a nod.
Giles went up to the bar. He could see Lorne at the other end, talking with either a human or a vampire.
From this distance, Giles couldn’t tell which. He moved a little closer, so he could listen in on the conversation. He knew that it wasn’t polite, but he was curious. What he heard was a vampire thanking the Host for helping to find his mate, who had been taken hostage by a group of Fyarl demons. The vampire thanked Lorne for his help, and pledged to give the Host anything it was in his power to provide.
Giles turned to the barman, and ordered a round for the table, suggesting that he add another Sea Breeze for Lorne. By the time Giles was finished ordering the drinks, Lorne had finished his conversation with the grateful vampire, and was standing alone at the bar.
“Are you ready to continue?” Giles asked.
“Yes, I’m ready if you are.” Lorne stopped Giles when the Watcher turned to go back to the table.
“First, you and I need to have a chat.”
Giles was surprised. “Shouldn’t the others hear this as well?”
“Not this part. You’ll have to get it, and understand it now, or you’ll take a wrong turn on the road of life. What you need to do is trust. It will be hard, but there is someone that you must place your absolute and complete trust in. You must have faith in them without question, and trust their judgement without fail.”
“Who? My Slayer?” Giles wanted more information.
“No, the Light.” Lorne was very direct.
“You mean the Eternal Light?”
Lorne smiled a little. “I’ve already said too much about this. Let’s move on. Joyce has already taken on the role of mother for the group, but all the young ones with you now need a father too. Their parents don’t care about them. Willow’s parents think she’s so smart that she can handle everything by herself, but she needs guidance from you. Xander’s parents just don’t care. With time, you can gain his confidence. How far you’ll go in supporting the kids is up to you, but they’ll get into a lot of trouble if left to their own devices.
Giles just stood there, staring at Lorne.
“You’ve got some time to think about it, but not much. They need you, Watcher. Now, let’s get the show on the road and get back to the table. Just let me order myself another drink and I’ll be right there.”
“I’ve already taken the liberty of ordering you another drink when I ordered for the table,” Giles informed him. “And I think the waiter is on his way to our table right now.” Giles gestured to the waiter who was crossing the room with a tray full of drinks.
“Then let’s get back.” Lorne laid his hand on Giles’ shoulder, leading him back to the crowded table.
Everyone looked expectantly at Lorne when they pair approached.
“I hope you have something good to tell us. For instance, how to get in touch with Whistler, so we can get some real help.” Angel was annoyed that they were still wasting their time in the club. He had better things to do.
Lorne looked sad when he heard Angel. “Whistler.” The club owner sighed heavily. “Whistler was supposed to maintain the balance between good and evil. Unfortunately, the Powers did something that Whistler didn’t like. I don’t know what it was, but it made him angry enough that he decided to mess up their plans.
“What did the Powers do to him when they caught him?” Xander felt like he was in Kindergarten again, and it was story time.
“They didn’t find out before it was too late,” Lorne told the group.
“Does what he did have anything to do with us?” Giles asked.
“Yes, it does, actually. A lot.”
“What did he do?” Xander jumped in again.
Giles looked at Xander. “Xander, didn’t we agree that I would lead the conversation?”
“What? Um, yeah...but...”
“Why do you keep interrupting then?” The Watcher had a stern look on his face.
“Sorry, Giles. I won’t do it again.” Xander was puzzled. Usually Giles didn’t correct him unless he was harassing Angel, and that was only when it had gone on long enough to be annoying.
Lorne nodded his approval to Giles. “To answer your question, he kept some things to himself, instead of sharing them with Angel when he told the vampire about Buffy. That was enough to change what the Powers had put in motion.”
“And now it’s too late?” Giles inquired.
“Maybe. Maybe not. The timeline has been changed. Now, with the book, you get the chance to try to get it right. It all depends on you. The keyword is acceptance. Accept the Light as it is, in all its aspects. It’ll have a lot of baggage. And that advice goes for all of you, too.” Lorne looked around at the people sitting at the table.
“Who is the Light? Where do we find it?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that. The Light will come to you.”
“What about Buffy? Giles said that it might have something to do with Buffy?” Joyce had tears in her eyes.
“As I told you earlier, everything will be alright.” He smiled at her, hoping to encourage Buffy’s mom.
Giles looked speculatively at Lorne. He started to think of impossible scenarios, when Lorne didn’t answer Joyce’s question. Perhaps, but no, that just seems too implausible. I’ve always heard that it’s impossible. Still, as Joyce often says, miracles do happen.
Cordelia interrupted Giles’ musing. “Hey, wake up. We haven’t got what we came here for yet.”
“Yes, you are quite right, thank you, Cordelia. Lorne, you told me earlier that it has already taken too long to translate the book we’ve got. My guess is that it could take years to translate the entire book. I haven’t even identified all the languages yet, but I know that some are extinct. What I’m saying is, we need assistance to translate the book. Would you help us?”
“I can’t help you with the translation. I can’t even give you the name of someone who might be able to help you. That task is yours, with what help you can find.” He looked at Giles with sympathy. “I’m sorry, Mr. Giles. I wish I could help you. It’s clear that you seem to think it’s the most important thing to do right now.” Lorne finished his drink.
Giles looked curiously at Lorne. “Hmmm...you seem to be implying that it’s not the most important thing right now.”
“No, it’s not. The purpose of the book was to get the ball rolling. Now you need the Light, or rather, what could be the Light.”
Giles took off his glasses. “It is uncommonly difficult to understand you, Lorne. It’s like you speak in riddles.”
Lorne laughed. “I’m sorry. I want to help you, but I’m not allowed. However, I know of somebody who can. They are the Representatives for the Powers, the Oracles.”
“Do you know where to find them?” Giles was eager to move forward on his quest for information.
“That I do.”
Giles almost yelled at the green-skinned demon. “Can we go now? Where is it? Is it far?”
“We’ll go tomorrow. Meet me outside the club at noon, and don’t forget to bring a gift. Now, you’ll have to excuse me. I need to get back to my job.”
Giles spent over an hour copying the book. It was a bit difficult to turn the pages with his gloves on, but he was determined to do the job without damaging the fragile text.
Later, when he had seen to his duties as the school librarian, he phoned the Watcher’s Council. As expected, they didn’t believe his story about an ancient text with two prophecies. He offered to fax the copied book. It wasn’t enough. He was told that the Council would look through their predictions and prophecies and would call him back if they found anything that supported his claim. Realizing that he wouldn’t get any further information from them, Giles advised the Council representative that he would be leaving town at dusk, and would be back in a few days.
The Council still hadn’t called back when Willow showed up. She helped Giles stack and shelve books while they waited for a response from Britain. They had just decided to leave the library and drop in on Joyce, hoping that she would make them a cuppa, when the phone rang. The Council was not pleased by what they had discovered, but they now believed Giles had valid information.
The Council had contacted the head of a powerful coven they trusted, and had been told that the book was even more important than Giles had claimed. The Seer from the coven had been given a vision of what would happen if the prophecy in the book did not come to pass. Dark forces would grow, and evil would take over the Earth. The few humans who survived would be forced to hide underground like animals.
No longer a Watcher to be mocked, the Council even said please when they asked Giles to fax the copied pages of the book. That task complete, it wasn’t long until Willow and Giles were sitting in Joyce’s kitchen, drinking tea.
--------------------------
Joyce was warming her hands on her tea cup as she sipped from it. “When do you expect to hear from the Watcher’s Council?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen a prophecy like this one. Maybe they’ll have something written that will confirm the prophecy, or maybe not. Regardless, I know they’ll keep looking for some kind of reference in the Codex, while they assign another team to translate what we’ve given them, and a third team to find the meaning within the prophecy. Therefore, it could be some time before we hear from the Council again.” He told the assembled Scoobies how the Council had contacted the coven, to confirm that the book was the real thing, before they would listen to the frustrated Watcher.
Joyce poured more tea. “How does the coven know that the prophecy is something important? Or that it’s even real?”
“They have a very good Seer,” Giles assured her, before he took a bite of his cookie.
“I’m sorry, Rupert, but I’m new to all of this. Half of the time I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.”
“What don’t you understand, Joyce? Please don’t hesitate to ask for clarification if you’re becoming confused. This is a lot to take in all at once.”
“Thank you. Right now, I’d like to know what a seer is, if you don’t mind?
Giles smiled, feeling a little bashful. “My apologies, I’m used to having people around me who understand my world. A Seer is somebody with a special gift. With a lot of training, they can see things normal people can’t. Some can even see flashes of the future.”
Joyce looked thoughtful. “Can’t they just tell us what to do, so that the future turns out well for all of us?”
“It doesn’t work like that. They only see what the Powers allow them to see, and the future is always subject to free will and personal choice. On rare occasions, Seers will get a message directly from the Powers That Be, and will be forced to act on their behalf.”
“I see. It’s all so strange, like a completely new world.”
“For you, it would be. For me, it has always been a part of my life.” He got up, taking his own cup and plate to the sink. “My father was a Watcher. It’s a tradition in our family that the first son joins the Watcher’s Council, so I was groomed for my position from birth.”
Willow placed her plate and cup beside Giles’. “I can handle the dishes.” She sent a small smile off towards Buffy’s mom, who had already entered the kitchen and was plugging the small sink.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all, Mrs. Summers.”
“Then Rupert and I will get the car ready for our trip. Who is riding with whom?” Ever the organizer, Joyce wanted to get the seating plan settled right away.
“Oh, oh!” Willow spoke up. “Can we meet up with Oz? I’d really like to ride with him.”
Both adults smiled at her enthusiasm. “Of course we can. Why don’t you call the others and arrange it?” Joyce suggested.
“I will. Right after I finish with the dishes.” Willow blushed prettily.
----------------------------------
Giles, Joyce, Kendra, and Willow met up with Oz, Xander, and Cordelia outside of Angel’s place, just after dark. It didn’t take them long to arrange who was riding in each vehicle. They all knew that it wouldn’t end well if Xander and Angel had to spend hours together in the same car. In the end, Willow, Xander and Kendra went with Oz in his van. Kendra had requested a seat in Giles’ vehicle, but Cordelia overrode her and it was Angel and Cordelia who travelled with Joyce and Giles, in Joyce’s car.
Cordelia wouldn’t miss a chance to hang out with Angel. She didn’t have much success getting him to talk with her, but she was persistent. She hoped that someday he would answer her with a whole sentence, instead of the monosyllabic response that was his standard now.
Most of the ride in Joyce’s car was made in pleasant silence, broken only by Cordelia’s occasional attempt to get a conversation going with Angel. Joyce and Giles found Cordy’s attempts to attract the broody vampire amusing, and shared a few gentle smiles at her expense as they drove towards the city.
The atmosphere in Oz’s van was light. The occupants joked around and made funny faces at the other drivers travelling on the road. Well, it was really only Xander making faces, but the others found it funny. At least, it was funny until he’d done it a hundred times...then it was just embarrassing.
Once in LA, the group had a little trouble finding Caritas. It wasn’t until they chanced across a demon who had been at the bar recently, that they were able to get proper directions.
When they finally arrived at the nightclub, they discovered that it wasn’t open yet. Instead of waiting in the parking lot until Caritas opened, they decided to go grab some dinner.
An hour later, after a meal at a small diner around the corner, they stepped into Caritas. Kendra was the first to enter, stake raised and ready for a fight. Giles and Xander were similarly armed. Willow hid behind Oz, and Cordelia and Joyce followed along, eyes open and scanning the bar. Angel was the last of the group through the door, and wasn’t aware of the stir the armed group was creating in the club.
A tall green demon with small horns quickly approached them. “Welcome...welcome to Caritas. I’m the Host.”
Giles started to lower his stake, while placing a calming hand on Kendra’s shoulder.
Xander, suspicious of demons to the end, stayed prepared for an attack.
The demon smiled. “This place has a sanctuary spell on it, preventing anyone from doing violence inside these walls. You can put your weapons away, you won’t need them here.”
After a quick glance at Giles, Kendra hid her stake in the back of her pants.
“Yeah, right. You’re just another filthy demon. Why should we believe you?” Xander spat out.
“Xander!” Joyce and Giles objected at the same time.
“It’s quite alright. He’s still young, just a puppy, really. You’ll learn, Sweet Cheeks.” The Host turned his attention to Joyce. “And who do I have the honour of welcoming to my club?” He took her hand and gently kissed the back with a very continental flair.
Joyce couldn’t help the colour that rushed to her cheeks. “This is Kendra, the Slayer. The young man with the stake is Xander, this is Oz, and behind him are Willow and Cordelia. The gentleman with the glasses is Rupert Giles, a Watcher, beside him is Angel, and I’m Joyce Summers.”
The Host laughed, delighted. “I’ve been waiting for you. This way, please.”
They were led to a table in the corner. “You’ve got a bit of privacy here.” The Host waited for them to settle into seats around the table.
Xander still had a death grip on his stake. He didn’t trust demons, and felt trapped sitting in the corner furthest from the door. The club was packed, and his eyes kept skipping from one occupant to the next. With each new demon, he became even more stressed.
“Xander!” Giles had to lay a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. The young man jerked away from the light touch, and automatically raised his stake as if to protect himself. Giles quickly grabbed his wrist. “Do you intend to stake me, Xander?” The Watcher released the young man’s arm. “Put that stake away, now.”
“But...Giles...we’re surrounded by demons,” Xander stuttered.
“You heard the Host. They can’t attack us.”
“How can you believe him, Giles? He’s a demon. He’s one of them.” Xander wasn’t willing to take anything on faith.
“Look around, Xander.” Giles encouraged the youth to observe the other people in the club.
Xander took another quick look. “Demons, demons, and more demons.”
The Watcher spoke quickly, but earnestly, to Xander, trying to get him to really open his eyes. “Look again, and you’ll see humans too, not only demons. Look to your right. The human and the demon at that table seem to be friends. It doesn’t look like it’s their first time here, either.”
Xander finally looked around again. This time, his eyes were opened wide when he turned to Giles again. “But...but...how? They can’t really be humans.”
“Look at their necks. They’re wearing crosses.” Giles sighed. “You have a hard time listening, Xander. The sanctuary spell, it makes it possible for demons and humans to associate with each other, without the threat of violence.”
Xander slowly tucked his stake away, but kept his hand in his pocket, with a strong grip around the weapon.
The Host returned his attention to their table, and clasped his hands together. “Now that we have that taken care of, maybe this would be a good time to ask what you would like to drink, on the house, of course. It’s not often that I have such famous guests in my club.” He beamed with pleasure.
So, he knows that I’m the Champion for the Powers That Be. Angel smiled smugly. “Do you have any blood?”
“Blood for the vampire, no problem at all. And you, Mrs. Summers? A nice Chianti, perhaps?”
“That would be lovely.” Joyce nodded her consent.
“As for Mr. Giles, I think you’d enjoy a bit of finely aged scotch. Am I right?”
“That you are, Mr. Host.” Giles decided that the happenings of the past few days merited the strong drink, and vowed that he’d only have one.
“Finally, for the younger people at the table, a round of soft drinks, perhaps?”
The teens all agreed, and then the group waited in silence for their beverages to arrive. Everyone was busy, taking in their surroundings. Giles’ hands were itching with the urge to document what he was seeing. He managed to resist, only because he was afraid of offending someone and possibly causing a disturbance which might cut their time in Caritas short. He couldn’t take the chance. They needed all the information they could get, and they needed it without further delay.
The Host came back with a waiter who carried their drinks on his tray. “Warm blood for the chocolate cupcake brooding in the corner. The wine goes to the lady. Scotch for the gentleman. Soft drinks for the rest. Oh, and the Sea Breeze is mine, of course.” The Host picked up his drink from the tray, and then undid a button on his colourful suit and sat down at the only empty place left at the table.
Giles pulled himself together. “Might I inquire as to what your name is? Surely the Host is simply your job description?”
“You are correct, Mr. Giles. My real name is impossible to pronounce with a human tongue, but if a name would make you feel more comfortable, you can call me Lorne.”
“Very well, may I ask you a question then, Lorne?”
“You’ve just done that, haven’t you, Mr. Giles?” Lorne laughed a little. “Even so, feel free to ask me any questions you like, my little Pumpkin Pie.”
“Where are you from, Lorne? I have never seen a demon quite like you before.” Giles was a Watcher, and he just couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m from another dimension, called Pylea. I’m a Krevlornswath, from the Deathwalk Clan.”
“Are you the only one from your dimension here on Earth?” Giles inquired.
“As far as I know, I’m the only one here. Enough about me though. How did you find my lovely little establishment?” Lorne was curious.
“They beat somebody up,” Joyce informed Lorne, her tone laced with contempt, as she shot a disapproving look at both Giles and Angel. It was obvious that she didn’t like their methods.
Lorne laid his hand over Joyce’s and gave it a comforting pat. “That’s one of the reasons why I left my dimension. I come from a clan of warriors, but I’m a lover, not a fighter. I can see you share the same outlook, don’t you my little Creme Puff?
“Joyce, I know you don’t agree with the methods that Angel used, but we don’t have time for finesse right now. We have discussed this all before.”
Joyce sent an apologetic look towards Giles. “I’m sorry. I remember what you said, but it’s still hard for me to feel okay about it.”
“Apology accepted.” The Watcher smiled at Joyce. “Maybe I’d better lead the conversation?” He looked around at the others. One after another, they either nodded or dropped their gaze to the table.
Giles turned back to Lorne. “Sorry for the interruptions. To get back to your question, we were searching for a way to contact the Powers, when a bar owner in Sunnydale told us that we could get help here.” He took off his glasses. “Did I hear correctly before? Were you expecting us?”
“You bet, you sweet little Lollipop.”
“How is that possible? We first learned about your bar only two days ago.” Giles was puzzled.
“For that explanation, I’m going to need another Sea Breeze.” Lorne turned in his chair and caught the bartender’s eye. “Now that my drink is on the way, let me explain. I work for the Powers That Be. I have a special gift, which allows me to read people when they sing. Sometimes I get their past, sometimes their future. That’s how I knew you were coming. I read it from some of my other guests. For instance, the demon that showed you the way to Caritas, he was here yesterday.”
Giles cleaned his glasses, while gazing very intently at the Host. “You propose to help us find the answers we need, by listening to us sing?”
“I can read what the Powers allow me to read, and share with you what they allow me to share. Some things are yours to know now, and other things you’re not ready for yet. So, if you’ll follow me to the stage?” Lorne started to get up. There were protests from all sides. “None of you want to get up on the stage and sing for me?” the green demon pouted.
“Do we really have to?” Joyce asked, sounding desperate.
Lorne sat down again. “No, my Sugar Plum. You don’t have to get up on stage, but you do have to sing a little. I meant it when I said I read people when I hear them sing. Are you sure you don’t want to try the stage? This is a karaoke bar, after all.” The Host looked hopefully at the group around the table, and then drooped with disappointment when it was clear that nobody was going to volunteer. “Okay then. I understand. No stage.”
Lorne looked across the table at the teenagers, and said, “You four can start. You can even sing together, if you want.” After several minutes of whispered squabbling, the teens sang a few lines from a popular song. Lorne thanked them, and then moved his attention to Angel.
Angel was in a bad mood. He’d agreed to travel to LA, believing that he was the important one, but the Host...who also worked for the Powers...wanted everyone to sing. It occurred to Angel that Lorne might be trying to humour the rest of the group, make them all feel like they were special. That made sense to the vampire. Sometimes you had to make allowances and accommodations when you were working with a bunch of bleeding hearts. Satisfied that he’d come up with a rational answer, Angel prepared to sing.
When the vampire’s voice started to abuse Mandy, Lorne couldn’t help the look that flashed across his face. Nor was he able to hide it from Giles, who had been watching for the Host’s reaction to the broody vampire’s song, The green demon did his best to stop Angel quickly, and then moved on to Giles, who sang something from the 60’s that only Lorne and Joyce recognized.
Joyce was inspired to sing something from the same period, and Kendra finished off the group by singing a sweet little lullaby from her homeland.
With all the singing done, the group sat in silence, staring at Lorne and waiting for his words of guidance.
Lorne took his time before speaking up. “It’s time for the Eternal Light.” He looked at them with awe.
The table erupted into a cacophony of questions, but Giles managed to gain control quickly. “What is the Eternal Light?”
“The story has been lost in time. Most consider it to be a myth. I’m sorry, but it’s not my place to tell you about the Light. Your problem is, there are several roads to choose from, and the future will depend on which road you decide to travel. If your path is the wrong way, then what that Seer of yours envisioned will come true. Things have already changed for the better. It started when your beautiful Slayer over there found the book and brought it to you, instead of ignoring it. Then, when you received the book, you chose to work on the mystery, instead of ignoring it yourself.” Lorne laughed a little. “I know it’s not likely, but it could have happened. You could have kept it to yourself and not called the Council, and then they wouldn’t have confirmed its importance to you.”
Kendra raised her hand. “Mr. Lorne, am I going to die?”
“Right now? No. Sometime in the future? Yes, we all die, my little Treacle Tart. Because of a prophecy? No.” He sent an encouraging smile to Kendra, recognizing her desperate need for reassurance.
“What else can you tell us?” Giles spoke up again.
“I can tell you that it has taken too long to translate the prophecies in the book. Everything has already changed.” Lorne turned to Angel. “You don’t have to brood. You’re still a Warrior for the Powers That Be, and you are still critical to the plan.”
“One among many,” Angel answered.
“So?” Lorne responded. “That means that you can get help for the big battles. More help means your chances of survival go up.”
“Yeah, maybe if I knew who the other Warriors were. They’re not much help to me if they’re hidden.”
“You have no faith in the Powers, Angel.” Lorne shook his head. “They will send help when you need it most. You just need to believe.”
Lorne turned to Xander next. “Now you, my Almond Bar. If you can put your biased opinions aside for just a few minutes, you’d realize that you are the heart of this group.” He started to turn to Willow, when he thought better of it and turned back to Xander. “Remember this: You are not your father. You never will be unless you choose that path for yourself.” He looked Xander directly in the eye as he said it, and wasn’t really surprised when the boy immediately collapsed into heart wrenching sobs afterwards.
Suddenly, the Host’s attention was caught elsewhere in the club. “Will you all excuse me for a moment? I see a customer I need to talk to. I’ll order a new round of drinks for you while I’m gone.” He got up from the table and went over to the bar, where they say him talk with a blue demon that appeared to be bundled up in all manner of sweaters and scarves.”
Joyce was playing with her empty glass. “So far, we haven’t been given that much that we can use.” She noted.
“You’re right,” Giles agreed. “Except for some personal information. I don’t think he’s done though.”
The only thing they could do now was wait for Lorne to come back. Giles and Joyce stayed focused on what they might learn about the prophecy, while the teens imagined what they might hear of their futures, and the vampire just sat and brooded.
Not long after the waiter had served them new drinks, Lorne returned to the table. “So, who wants to go next?” he asked the group.
“Wasn’t it supposed to be my turn?” Willow quickly asked.
“Sure thing, you little Strawberry Pie. You need to learn about magic.”
Willow jumped up and down in her seat, excited to have her interest in the Arts validated. “Thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t get so excited.” Lorne gave her a serious look. “Things have changed, but a wrong turn anywhere along the path can change them right back again. You have to learn to respect magic. Learn to use it properly, and also learn when not to use it. If you don’t learn control, eventually the magic will control you, and you’ll use it to destroy the Earth.”
“No.” Willow was horrified. “No, I’d never try to do that. Never.” Everyone at the table could hear the panic in the young red-head’s voice.
“You will if the circumstances are right. Take my advice, and never, ever, do magic without an experienced advisor at your side.” Lorne looked at Giles. “You have to teach her, or get her a tutor.”
Giles just sat there, staring at Willow, with his mouth gaping like a fish out of water. “Will she really become that dark and powerful?”
Lorne nodded. “If you don’t teach her to respect magic. You are their role model, almost a father to most of them. No matter what, you have to take care of them and you can never abandon them. It’s important that you accept that role. If you have any questions, you can either visit, or try to call me. I’d also advise you to continue working on your translation of the book.” With that, the Host appeared finished with the Watcher.
“Joyce, everything will be okay. You just continue to mother the current Slayer. Oh, and have regular check-ups with your doctor. A complete physical every three months.” Lorne gave her a teasing wink.
“Oz, watch out for small family members. Try not to let them bite you, but...if it happens, lock yourself up when there is a full moon.”
“Cordelia, say no if you are offered a job from someone who says they work for the Powers. And remember this: Acting is NOT a good career choice for you.”
“Now, I’m going to leave you all to think about what I’ve just told you. When you’re ready, the Watcher can come find me. I’ve got a little more to share with you all before you leave.” With that, the flamboyant green demon left the table.
“Is he the real thing, or a fraud?” Xander asked.
Angel stopped brooding for a moment to comment. “He’s definitely the real thing.” The vampire didn’t seem happy about that.
Xander snorted. “Of course, you would say that. He’s a demon, and you’re a demon. You demons stick together.”
Giles adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “I think he’s the real thing. Joyce, what is your opinion?”
“I don’t think I know enough about this world to have an opinion.”
“Fair enough,” Giles responded.
“Oz?”
“Real.”
“Kendra?”
“I can’t say, Mr. Giles.”
“Cordelia?”
“I don’t want to get involved with this stuff. You guys decide.”
“Willow?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever become as powerful as he says, Giles. I’m not sure I believe him.”
Giles sighed. “Let’s just say, for the purpose of this conversation, that he’s the real thing. What then?” Nobody commented. “Oz, are there any small children in your family?”
“Yeah, two, I think,” the laconic bass player responded.
“Would you please contact their parents, and find out if either of them is a werewolf?”
“Sure, Giles. It’s not too late to call.” Oz got up to find a phone. “I’ll be right back.”
“Xander, do you have any idea what Lorne’s comments to you meant?” the Watcher asked.
Now it was Xander’s turn to try to hide from the people at the table. “Yeah.” It took some time before he continued. “My father is a drunk. A mean drunk.” Xander looked down at the table.
“It’s okay, Xander.” Giles tried to comfort him.
“Excuse me, but I think I need to go wash my hands.” Joyce got up.
“I’ll join you.” Willow followed Joyce’s lead. Cordelia decided to tag along and all the ladies left the room together.
When they returned from their bathroom break, Oz was already back at the table.
“We waited for you,” Giles told the women. “So, Oz, what can you tell us?”
“My Aunt Maureen has a son, Jody, who is a werewolf.” Oz’s phone call seemed to support Lorne’s warning.
“Okay, now can we all agree that Lorne is the real thing?” Giles looked at the others. No one objected. “Are you ready for me to get Lorne back, so he can tell us the rest of the information he has.” Again, everyone responded with a nod.
Giles went up to the bar. He could see Lorne at the other end, talking with either a human or a vampire.
From this distance, Giles couldn’t tell which. He moved a little closer, so he could listen in on the conversation. He knew that it wasn’t polite, but he was curious. What he heard was a vampire thanking the Host for helping to find his mate, who had been taken hostage by a group of Fyarl demons. The vampire thanked Lorne for his help, and pledged to give the Host anything it was in his power to provide.
Giles turned to the barman, and ordered a round for the table, suggesting that he add another Sea Breeze for Lorne. By the time Giles was finished ordering the drinks, Lorne had finished his conversation with the grateful vampire, and was standing alone at the bar.
“Are you ready to continue?” Giles asked.
“Yes, I’m ready if you are.” Lorne stopped Giles when the Watcher turned to go back to the table.
“First, you and I need to have a chat.”
Giles was surprised. “Shouldn’t the others hear this as well?”
“Not this part. You’ll have to get it, and understand it now, or you’ll take a wrong turn on the road of life. What you need to do is trust. It will be hard, but there is someone that you must place your absolute and complete trust in. You must have faith in them without question, and trust their judgement without fail.”
“Who? My Slayer?” Giles wanted more information.
“No, the Light.” Lorne was very direct.
“You mean the Eternal Light?”
Lorne smiled a little. “I’ve already said too much about this. Let’s move on. Joyce has already taken on the role of mother for the group, but all the young ones with you now need a father too. Their parents don’t care about them. Willow’s parents think she’s so smart that she can handle everything by herself, but she needs guidance from you. Xander’s parents just don’t care. With time, you can gain his confidence. How far you’ll go in supporting the kids is up to you, but they’ll get into a lot of trouble if left to their own devices.
Giles just stood there, staring at Lorne.
“You’ve got some time to think about it, but not much. They need you, Watcher. Now, let’s get the show on the road and get back to the table. Just let me order myself another drink and I’ll be right there.”
“I’ve already taken the liberty of ordering you another drink when I ordered for the table,” Giles informed him. “And I think the waiter is on his way to our table right now.” Giles gestured to the waiter who was crossing the room with a tray full of drinks.
“Then let’s get back.” Lorne laid his hand on Giles’ shoulder, leading him back to the crowded table.
Everyone looked expectantly at Lorne when they pair approached.
“I hope you have something good to tell us. For instance, how to get in touch with Whistler, so we can get some real help.” Angel was annoyed that they were still wasting their time in the club. He had better things to do.
Lorne looked sad when he heard Angel. “Whistler.” The club owner sighed heavily. “Whistler was supposed to maintain the balance between good and evil. Unfortunately, the Powers did something that Whistler didn’t like. I don’t know what it was, but it made him angry enough that he decided to mess up their plans.
“What did the Powers do to him when they caught him?” Xander felt like he was in Kindergarten again, and it was story time.
“They didn’t find out before it was too late,” Lorne told the group.
“Does what he did have anything to do with us?” Giles asked.
“Yes, it does, actually. A lot.”
“What did he do?” Xander jumped in again.
Giles looked at Xander. “Xander, didn’t we agree that I would lead the conversation?”
“What? Um, yeah...but...”
“Why do you keep interrupting then?” The Watcher had a stern look on his face.
“Sorry, Giles. I won’t do it again.” Xander was puzzled. Usually Giles didn’t correct him unless he was harassing Angel, and that was only when it had gone on long enough to be annoying.
Lorne nodded his approval to Giles. “To answer your question, he kept some things to himself, instead of sharing them with Angel when he told the vampire about Buffy. That was enough to change what the Powers had put in motion.”
“And now it’s too late?” Giles inquired.
“Maybe. Maybe not. The timeline has been changed. Now, with the book, you get the chance to try to get it right. It all depends on you. The keyword is acceptance. Accept the Light as it is, in all its aspects. It’ll have a lot of baggage. And that advice goes for all of you, too.” Lorne looked around at the people sitting at the table.
“Who is the Light? Where do we find it?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that. The Light will come to you.”
“What about Buffy? Giles said that it might have something to do with Buffy?” Joyce had tears in her eyes.
“As I told you earlier, everything will be alright.” He smiled at her, hoping to encourage Buffy’s mom.
Giles looked speculatively at Lorne. He started to think of impossible scenarios, when Lorne didn’t answer Joyce’s question. Perhaps, but no, that just seems too implausible. I’ve always heard that it’s impossible. Still, as Joyce often says, miracles do happen.
Cordelia interrupted Giles’ musing. “Hey, wake up. We haven’t got what we came here for yet.”
“Yes, you are quite right, thank you, Cordelia. Lorne, you told me earlier that it has already taken too long to translate the book we’ve got. My guess is that it could take years to translate the entire book. I haven’t even identified all the languages yet, but I know that some are extinct. What I’m saying is, we need assistance to translate the book. Would you help us?”
“I can’t help you with the translation. I can’t even give you the name of someone who might be able to help you. That task is yours, with what help you can find.” He looked at Giles with sympathy. “I’m sorry, Mr. Giles. I wish I could help you. It’s clear that you seem to think it’s the most important thing to do right now.” Lorne finished his drink.
Giles looked curiously at Lorne. “Hmmm...you seem to be implying that it’s not the most important thing right now.”
“No, it’s not. The purpose of the book was to get the ball rolling. Now you need the Light, or rather, what could be the Light.”
Giles took off his glasses. “It is uncommonly difficult to understand you, Lorne. It’s like you speak in riddles.”
Lorne laughed. “I’m sorry. I want to help you, but I’m not allowed. However, I know of somebody who can. They are the Representatives for the Powers, the Oracles.”
“Do you know where to find them?” Giles was eager to move forward on his quest for information.
“That I do.”
Giles almost yelled at the green-skinned demon. “Can we go now? Where is it? Is it far?”
“We’ll go tomorrow. Meet me outside the club at noon, and don’t forget to bring a gift. Now, you’ll have to excuse me. I need to get back to my job.”
Help From Above
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Nobody slept much that night. Willow spent her time thinking about how it would feel to be a great witch. She imagined doing everything with magic, and never having to clean or cook.
Xander thought about being a rich man in a suit, with a beautiful wife on his arm. He would show up late for work, and go home when he wanted. Home, to a big house with a swimming-pool.
Kendra dreamed of living a little longer. Having the chance to experience love. To live life.
Cordelia thought about her future, and about what to do with her life if she wasn’t cut out to be an actress.
Oz pondered ways to visit his family, without becoming a werewolf. He knew that he would hate to be locked up at every full moon.
Before falling into a restless sleep, Joyce prayed that somehow it all would have something to do with Buffy coming out of her coma. She couldn’t see any other outcome where everything would be okay.
Angel spent the night brooding about what Whistler didn’t tell him, wishing he knew what it was.
Giles’ thoughts kept running wild. Thinking the impossible. Hoping the impossible. He couldn’t see how it could happen, but he hoped his dream was about to come true. He prayed, really prayed as he hadn’t done in years.
-----------------------------------
What do you give to the representatives for the Powers? At a loss, Giles asked the others, but they didn’t have any ideas. He would have been grateful to know if the representatives were male or female, to know anything about those he was buying a gift for, really. He settled for a beautiful crystal vase, though it wasn’t an easy choice.
Morning came, eventually, and everyone gathered in the lobby of the hotel they had slept in. They knew they were going to have a hard time waiting for noon, Angel especially, because the sunny day would prevent him from attending the meeting with Lorne. Angel was left behind as the group decided to head to the Diner near Caritas for a late breakfast before the rendezvous with the Host. When it was finally time to go meet Lorne, Willow was quivering with nerves from all the coffee she’d consumed at the Diner.
They were outside Caritas half an hour before the meeting time, waiting for Lorne. The Host was late. It was barely one minute after twelve when Xander started on his ‘You Can’t Trust Demons’ campaign.
Almost immediately Giles spoke up. “Xander, have you never been late?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course I have.”
“Then, by your logic, you are not to be trusted either!”
“Of course, I am,” Xander said outraged. “I’m not a demon.”
“So what you are saying is, that if a demon is late you can’t trust him, but if a human is late, it’s okay?” Giles glared at Xander, who didn’t answer him and instead just stared sullenly back at the librarian. “You know it’s nonsense you speak. Grow up, Xander. You’re not a child anymore. Act your age, or be quiet.”
Now Xander glared back at Giles. He was offended. How dare he talk to me like that? He’s not my father. Xander looked around at the others. No one would look at him. Feeling isolated, he took a couple of steps away from the group. He didn’t understand it. It was his group. He had named it and everything. The Scooby Gang is mine, damn it.
Lorne appeared from inside Caritas. “Sorry I’m late. I had a busy night.” He turned to locate Giles. “Did you remember the gift?”
Giles showed him the vase.
“Good choice. It’s beautiful. Let's go.” Lorne led the way.
“Where are we going?” Giles asked, curious.
“To the post office,” the flamboyant green demon responded.
“Oh, of course, you need to post your mail on the way.” Giles nodded in understanding.
“No. We must enter a portal to get to the representatives, and the entrance to the portal room is under the post office. That’s where we are heading.”
“Won’t the people in the post office see us entering?” Willow inquired.
Lorne smiled. “That’s the funny thing. They don’t seem to notice, just like they don’t react when they see me. To them, it seems normal that a green demon with horns, looking the way they imagine the devil would look, is walking down the street.”
They all laughed a little. It took less than a minute to get into the room under the post office. It was obvious to all that Lorne had been there before. After checking once more to ensure that Giles had his gift ready, Lorne ushered the group through the sparkling portal on the far side of the room.
“Hallo again.” Lorne greeted the two beings standing in what seemed to be a doorway to another realm.
The Scooby gang stared at the couple, uncertain how to interpret what they were seeing.
Giles was fascinated by the representatives. I have never seen or read about anyone with golden skin, and that blue pattern is beautiful.
“Watcher!”
Giles looked at Lorne. It seemed the Host had tried several times to get his attention. “Yes, I’m sorry. It was rude to stare. I apologize.” Giles blushed, while bowing his head out of respect for the celestial beings.
“We are a connection to the Powers That Be.” The male spoke. “We have been waiting for you. Did you bring a gift?”
Giles stepped forward with their gift, while Lorne stepped to the back of the group. “Lovely,” the female commented as she accepted the gift. “You want our help!”
“Yes, that's correct. We have found a book that would take us years to translate, and Lorne says that it has already taken too long. We were hoping you could help us.”
The beings looked at each other briefly. “Yes, the Eternal Light. It should have been here in a time line somewhere. It’s not complete. We know where an incomplete part of the Light is.”
“Where?” Giles hurried to ask.
“Not a place you can go.”
Giles was losing his patience. “Why can’t we get the Light? Is it because we need oxygen? If that's the case then I can tell you that we have a vampire in our group. He can go.”
“No,” they both said as with one voice. “The Light wouldn’t listen to any of you.”
“How do you know that? The Light doesn’t know us!” Giles had a speculative look in his eyes. “Or does it know us?”
The beings didn’t reply.
That was all the answer Giles needed. “Where is this Light?”
“In the future.”
Giles frowned. “Who’s future?”
They again looked at each other, like they were communicating without words. “Yours, a future that could have been.”
“What do you mean by could have been?”
“We will try to explain it so that you can comprehend. There is the Light, who is not complete. That started when Whistler kept things from the souled vampire. There were several opportunities for the Light to become complete. Humans got in the way. The Light was not strong enough to stand against them. When the Light was ready, its other half was sent back to it, but family and friends hid the Light’s other half away. The Light found out about their betrayal by chance. The knowledge came too late for the Light to save its other half. The other half died saving the earth. If we let this time run as it is, it won't end well.”
“I still don’t see why we can’t go get the Light?”
“Look.”
In front of them appeared a small pillar with a bowl on top of it. “Look into the water.”
They gathered around the bowl. What they saw was horrifying. An earth of ruins, many houses on fire. The sky orange. Soot falling down. Demons running free in the streets. No humans to be seen.
“Do you understand now?”
Giles’ glasses were off, he was polishing them intensely. “I do. I apologize again.”
"”We will send an ambassador for the Light.” The representatives looked at each one in of the group. “I hope that you are ready to accept the Light as it is. The Light, or a messenger from the Light, will contact you.”
“What about Buffy?” Joyce asked, both suddenly and loudly. She couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“The Mother.”
“Yes, I’m the mother of Buffy Summers. How can we wake her from her coma?”
“The body that sleeps has lost its soul, and it cannot be retrieved again. It’s in what you call heaven. Do not disturb it.” They looked at Willow, as they spoke the next line. “Those who try will pay. A life for a life.”
“That’s why the spell didn’t work. The spell was searching for the soul.” Giles mumbled as he cleaned his glasses.
“That can’t be why. You said that the goo on her clothes could lead to some demon, they don’t have souls.” Xander shook his head in denial.
“Some demons have souls. Different from human souls, but still souls.” The male being looked for a long time at Xander and Willow, before he turned his gaze back to the others.
“And the book?” Giles asked.
“That is for your use. To have,” the female looked at the male shortly before she continued, “for verification.”
“That will be all.” The beings disappeared.
A few hours later, after they had exchanged phone numbers and addresses with Lorne, they headed for home. Everyone was deep in thought, and Joyce was mourning Buffy, crying on and off.
After arriving home, Giles used the rest of the day to write down what they had experienced in LA, making sure that he sent a copy to the Watcher’s Council.
After dropping her bags in the door of her home, Joyce immediately headed to the hospital, and sat there with Buffy until late in the evening.
Willow lay on her bed and wondered why they couldn’t bring Buffy back. She didn’t get it.
The next day was Sunday. Joyce was up early to make a pot roast, and had it ready when the gang invaded her house at noon.
-------------------------------------------
What a depressing place, Merrick thought. Not a place for a former Watcher. Looking out over what had once been a beautiful blue and green planet, Merrick now saw ruins, flames, and darkness. Even the air is dead. How does she live like this? He was grateful that he no longer had to breathe. The Watcher sighed heavily, knowing that he had a hard job ahead of him. How do I convince her to say yes? She’ll be taking such a big risk, and there’s no guarantee that she’ll be successful in the end. Merrick continued to think about the challenge before him, as he stepped around another fire and continued towards the building where he knew his quarry was located.
Merrick continued on his way, silently thanking the Powers for the spell that kept him invisible to the demons. Without it, he would have been long dead. Of course, he wouldn’t stay dead, but he knew it would still hurt like hell. He moved closer to the wall of what used to be a house, just down the road from his goal. Merrick realized he had been a little foolish to believe he would simply be able to stroll up the street and knock on the door. Finally, he could see the house he was looking for. Once a neat, two-story house, the top floor was now almost completely gone, and it looked like the remaining structured had collapsed in on itself.
Suddenly, he collided with an obstacle. “What the hell is this?” Though he couldn’t see anything in front of his legs, he clearly felt some kind of barrier that was preventing him from getting close to the house. He felt along it, trying to find an opening. He had to get past it. Damn it. He had followed the barrier in a circle around the house and was almost back where he started from. He was hoping to be discrete, but now he had no choice. He yelled as loud as he could. “Slayer. Slayer.” He waited for a little while and then yelled again. He tried several times before getting a reaction.
“Piss off. I’m not in the mood.” A hoarse voice sounded from the house.
“Not in the mood for what, Slayer? Shopping? As I remember, it was your favorite hobby.”
“Huh. Who are you?”
“Look for yourself. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Merrick saw a board being wiggled loose to create a peephole. Suddenly, the door was yanked open. A small, blond woman was rushing at him. Her strong arms circling him. A good thing I don’t need to breathe. He returned the hug with the same intensity.
“Merrick,” she cried. “It’s been so long. How? Why?”
“That it has, Buffy. A very long time. Let’s get inside to safety, and then I’ll explain.”
“Oh, you’re right, of course. Please come in, and welcome to my home, Merrick.” Buffy kept a tight grip on her old Watcher’s hand, as she pulled him into the house and through what remained of the entryway. There was nothing in the first or the second room, they were completely bare. “This way.” She led him through the kitchen, and down the basement stairs. “This is home, sweet home. Have a seat.”
Merrick took his time looking around the basement. A cot in the corner. A little night table. A comfy armchair in the middle of the room. A desk covered with papers. Bookcases along the rest of the walls, and books stacked on the floor. There seemed to be books everywhere. Everywhere except under the stairs.
Curious, the Watcher moved closer to get a look. The walls under the stairs were covered with drawings of William the Bloody, and underneath, on the floor, was a half open bag. A quick glance at the contents revealed what looked like black jeans and t-shirts. With a sigh, Merrick turned around and watched Buffy light some candle to brighten the room. It was clear that his Slayer wasn’t ready to let go of the past. “Why do you still color your hair, Buffy? There’s nobody to see it anymore. Nobody cares what you look like.”
Buffy remained silent while she finished with the candles, and then went to sit on the cot. Her legs bent up to her chest, arms holding them in place.
“He liked my hair. All golden and long.”
“You mean Spike?” Merrick asked.
“Yeah, you work for the Powers so you must know it all,” she said, her voice full of a lingering sorrow.
“How do you know I work for the Powers?”
“I saw your dead body, all those years ago. Even if I hadn’t, you look really good for your age. Given what happened the last time I saw him, the Powers know not to send Whistler again. They’d have to send somebody I would trust enough to listen to, and here you are.”
“I could work for the bad guys.”
“Nah, I can tell whether you’re good or bad.” She shrugged.
“I see.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t offer you anything. There is very little left around here to eat or drink.”
“That’s okay, I’m not here for your hospitality.”
“Why are you here then? I’ve given them all that I had. What more could they want?”
“It’s a bit hard to explain, and I’m afraid it'll take some time.”
“Go on. Time is one thing I have plenty of.” Even more sadness was evident in her voice.
“First, let me tell you a little about the past.”
She held up her hand. “I lived in the past. I don’t think that’s necessary, and I don’t want to hear it all over again.”
“You have your past, but somebody changed it. Someone from the future travelled to the past to try and assassinate a much younger you.”
She was now sitting up straight. “So if I’m dead in the past, why am I not dead here?”
“This would happen anyway. Losing you earlier would just make it worse.”
She bowed her head, her face hidden by her hair. “Don’t get my hopes up. Just for a second there...I thought...” She didn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t have to, they both understood what she had hoped.
Merrick ignored her and continued. “Your body in the past isn't dead, it’s in the hospital. Your soul, on the other hand, is gone.”
“They'll try to bring me back, again!”
“They’ve been warned against it, but I know that Willow is still thinking about it.”
Buffy started to breathe very deeply, trying to get herself under control. I will not get angry. Anger is just a waste of time. She repeated that mantra until she was calm again.
Merrick used the time Buffy was struggling with her temper to read the titles on her books. He continued to talk, when he saw that she was ready to listen. “They found a book, or, Kendra did. I think you’ve read the one I’m talking about?” He looked at her, raising his brow.
She started to shake. “You mean the book with the prophecies?”
Merrick just nodded.
“But, that burned in the other house.”
“Not in that time. The Powers made it possible for it to be found.” He paused for a moment, to give her a little time to digest the information. “So, they’re expecting the Light.”
“Since I’m here, there must be another Light in that time. Who is it?” Buffy looked so sad, and so accepting of that sadness.
“There is just one Light. They are waiting for you, if you want to return.”
Buffy sat on her cot, an inner light slowly beginning to brighten her eyes.
“If I want to? What’s the catch?”
Nobody slept much that night. Willow spent her time thinking about how it would feel to be a great witch. She imagined doing everything with magic, and never having to clean or cook.
Xander thought about being a rich man in a suit, with a beautiful wife on his arm. He would show up late for work, and go home when he wanted. Home, to a big house with a swimming-pool.
Kendra dreamed of living a little longer. Having the chance to experience love. To live life.
Cordelia thought about her future, and about what to do with her life if she wasn’t cut out to be an actress.
Oz pondered ways to visit his family, without becoming a werewolf. He knew that he would hate to be locked up at every full moon.
Before falling into a restless sleep, Joyce prayed that somehow it all would have something to do with Buffy coming out of her coma. She couldn’t see any other outcome where everything would be okay.
Angel spent the night brooding about what Whistler didn’t tell him, wishing he knew what it was.
Giles’ thoughts kept running wild. Thinking the impossible. Hoping the impossible. He couldn’t see how it could happen, but he hoped his dream was about to come true. He prayed, really prayed as he hadn’t done in years.
-----------------------------------
What do you give to the representatives for the Powers? At a loss, Giles asked the others, but they didn’t have any ideas. He would have been grateful to know if the representatives were male or female, to know anything about those he was buying a gift for, really. He settled for a beautiful crystal vase, though it wasn’t an easy choice.
Morning came, eventually, and everyone gathered in the lobby of the hotel they had slept in. They knew they were going to have a hard time waiting for noon, Angel especially, because the sunny day would prevent him from attending the meeting with Lorne. Angel was left behind as the group decided to head to the Diner near Caritas for a late breakfast before the rendezvous with the Host. When it was finally time to go meet Lorne, Willow was quivering with nerves from all the coffee she’d consumed at the Diner.
They were outside Caritas half an hour before the meeting time, waiting for Lorne. The Host was late. It was barely one minute after twelve when Xander started on his ‘You Can’t Trust Demons’ campaign.
Almost immediately Giles spoke up. “Xander, have you never been late?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course I have.”
“Then, by your logic, you are not to be trusted either!”
“Of course, I am,” Xander said outraged. “I’m not a demon.”
“So what you are saying is, that if a demon is late you can’t trust him, but if a human is late, it’s okay?” Giles glared at Xander, who didn’t answer him and instead just stared sullenly back at the librarian. “You know it’s nonsense you speak. Grow up, Xander. You’re not a child anymore. Act your age, or be quiet.”
Now Xander glared back at Giles. He was offended. How dare he talk to me like that? He’s not my father. Xander looked around at the others. No one would look at him. Feeling isolated, he took a couple of steps away from the group. He didn’t understand it. It was his group. He had named it and everything. The Scooby Gang is mine, damn it.
Lorne appeared from inside Caritas. “Sorry I’m late. I had a busy night.” He turned to locate Giles. “Did you remember the gift?”
Giles showed him the vase.
“Good choice. It’s beautiful. Let's go.” Lorne led the way.
“Where are we going?” Giles asked, curious.
“To the post office,” the flamboyant green demon responded.
“Oh, of course, you need to post your mail on the way.” Giles nodded in understanding.
“No. We must enter a portal to get to the representatives, and the entrance to the portal room is under the post office. That’s where we are heading.”
“Won’t the people in the post office see us entering?” Willow inquired.
Lorne smiled. “That’s the funny thing. They don’t seem to notice, just like they don’t react when they see me. To them, it seems normal that a green demon with horns, looking the way they imagine the devil would look, is walking down the street.”
They all laughed a little. It took less than a minute to get into the room under the post office. It was obvious to all that Lorne had been there before. After checking once more to ensure that Giles had his gift ready, Lorne ushered the group through the sparkling portal on the far side of the room.
“Hallo again.” Lorne greeted the two beings standing in what seemed to be a doorway to another realm.
The Scooby gang stared at the couple, uncertain how to interpret what they were seeing.
Giles was fascinated by the representatives. I have never seen or read about anyone with golden skin, and that blue pattern is beautiful.
“Watcher!”
Giles looked at Lorne. It seemed the Host had tried several times to get his attention. “Yes, I’m sorry. It was rude to stare. I apologize.” Giles blushed, while bowing his head out of respect for the celestial beings.
“We are a connection to the Powers That Be.” The male spoke. “We have been waiting for you. Did you bring a gift?”
Giles stepped forward with their gift, while Lorne stepped to the back of the group. “Lovely,” the female commented as she accepted the gift. “You want our help!”
“Yes, that's correct. We have found a book that would take us years to translate, and Lorne says that it has already taken too long. We were hoping you could help us.”
The beings looked at each other briefly. “Yes, the Eternal Light. It should have been here in a time line somewhere. It’s not complete. We know where an incomplete part of the Light is.”
“Where?” Giles hurried to ask.
“Not a place you can go.”
Giles was losing his patience. “Why can’t we get the Light? Is it because we need oxygen? If that's the case then I can tell you that we have a vampire in our group. He can go.”
“No,” they both said as with one voice. “The Light wouldn’t listen to any of you.”
“How do you know that? The Light doesn’t know us!” Giles had a speculative look in his eyes. “Or does it know us?”
The beings didn’t reply.
That was all the answer Giles needed. “Where is this Light?”
“In the future.”
Giles frowned. “Who’s future?”
They again looked at each other, like they were communicating without words. “Yours, a future that could have been.”
“What do you mean by could have been?”
“We will try to explain it so that you can comprehend. There is the Light, who is not complete. That started when Whistler kept things from the souled vampire. There were several opportunities for the Light to become complete. Humans got in the way. The Light was not strong enough to stand against them. When the Light was ready, its other half was sent back to it, but family and friends hid the Light’s other half away. The Light found out about their betrayal by chance. The knowledge came too late for the Light to save its other half. The other half died saving the earth. If we let this time run as it is, it won't end well.”
“I still don’t see why we can’t go get the Light?”
“Look.”
In front of them appeared a small pillar with a bowl on top of it. “Look into the water.”
They gathered around the bowl. What they saw was horrifying. An earth of ruins, many houses on fire. The sky orange. Soot falling down. Demons running free in the streets. No humans to be seen.
“Do you understand now?”
Giles’ glasses were off, he was polishing them intensely. “I do. I apologize again.”
"”We will send an ambassador for the Light.” The representatives looked at each one in of the group. “I hope that you are ready to accept the Light as it is. The Light, or a messenger from the Light, will contact you.”
“What about Buffy?” Joyce asked, both suddenly and loudly. She couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“The Mother.”
“Yes, I’m the mother of Buffy Summers. How can we wake her from her coma?”
“The body that sleeps has lost its soul, and it cannot be retrieved again. It’s in what you call heaven. Do not disturb it.” They looked at Willow, as they spoke the next line. “Those who try will pay. A life for a life.”
“That’s why the spell didn’t work. The spell was searching for the soul.” Giles mumbled as he cleaned his glasses.
“That can’t be why. You said that the goo on her clothes could lead to some demon, they don’t have souls.” Xander shook his head in denial.
“Some demons have souls. Different from human souls, but still souls.” The male being looked for a long time at Xander and Willow, before he turned his gaze back to the others.
“And the book?” Giles asked.
“That is for your use. To have,” the female looked at the male shortly before she continued, “for verification.”
“That will be all.” The beings disappeared.
A few hours later, after they had exchanged phone numbers and addresses with Lorne, they headed for home. Everyone was deep in thought, and Joyce was mourning Buffy, crying on and off.
After arriving home, Giles used the rest of the day to write down what they had experienced in LA, making sure that he sent a copy to the Watcher’s Council.
After dropping her bags in the door of her home, Joyce immediately headed to the hospital, and sat there with Buffy until late in the evening.
Willow lay on her bed and wondered why they couldn’t bring Buffy back. She didn’t get it.
The next day was Sunday. Joyce was up early to make a pot roast, and had it ready when the gang invaded her house at noon.
-------------------------------------------
What a depressing place, Merrick thought. Not a place for a former Watcher. Looking out over what had once been a beautiful blue and green planet, Merrick now saw ruins, flames, and darkness. Even the air is dead. How does she live like this? He was grateful that he no longer had to breathe. The Watcher sighed heavily, knowing that he had a hard job ahead of him. How do I convince her to say yes? She’ll be taking such a big risk, and there’s no guarantee that she’ll be successful in the end. Merrick continued to think about the challenge before him, as he stepped around another fire and continued towards the building where he knew his quarry was located.
Merrick continued on his way, silently thanking the Powers for the spell that kept him invisible to the demons. Without it, he would have been long dead. Of course, he wouldn’t stay dead, but he knew it would still hurt like hell. He moved closer to the wall of what used to be a house, just down the road from his goal. Merrick realized he had been a little foolish to believe he would simply be able to stroll up the street and knock on the door. Finally, he could see the house he was looking for. Once a neat, two-story house, the top floor was now almost completely gone, and it looked like the remaining structured had collapsed in on itself.
Suddenly, he collided with an obstacle. “What the hell is this?” Though he couldn’t see anything in front of his legs, he clearly felt some kind of barrier that was preventing him from getting close to the house. He felt along it, trying to find an opening. He had to get past it. Damn it. He had followed the barrier in a circle around the house and was almost back where he started from. He was hoping to be discrete, but now he had no choice. He yelled as loud as he could. “Slayer. Slayer.” He waited for a little while and then yelled again. He tried several times before getting a reaction.
“Piss off. I’m not in the mood.” A hoarse voice sounded from the house.
“Not in the mood for what, Slayer? Shopping? As I remember, it was your favorite hobby.”
“Huh. Who are you?”
“Look for yourself. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Merrick saw a board being wiggled loose to create a peephole. Suddenly, the door was yanked open. A small, blond woman was rushing at him. Her strong arms circling him. A good thing I don’t need to breathe. He returned the hug with the same intensity.
“Merrick,” she cried. “It’s been so long. How? Why?”
“That it has, Buffy. A very long time. Let’s get inside to safety, and then I’ll explain.”
“Oh, you’re right, of course. Please come in, and welcome to my home, Merrick.” Buffy kept a tight grip on her old Watcher’s hand, as she pulled him into the house and through what remained of the entryway. There was nothing in the first or the second room, they were completely bare. “This way.” She led him through the kitchen, and down the basement stairs. “This is home, sweet home. Have a seat.”
Merrick took his time looking around the basement. A cot in the corner. A little night table. A comfy armchair in the middle of the room. A desk covered with papers. Bookcases along the rest of the walls, and books stacked on the floor. There seemed to be books everywhere. Everywhere except under the stairs.
Curious, the Watcher moved closer to get a look. The walls under the stairs were covered with drawings of William the Bloody, and underneath, on the floor, was a half open bag. A quick glance at the contents revealed what looked like black jeans and t-shirts. With a sigh, Merrick turned around and watched Buffy light some candle to brighten the room. It was clear that his Slayer wasn’t ready to let go of the past. “Why do you still color your hair, Buffy? There’s nobody to see it anymore. Nobody cares what you look like.”
Buffy remained silent while she finished with the candles, and then went to sit on the cot. Her legs bent up to her chest, arms holding them in place.
“He liked my hair. All golden and long.”
“You mean Spike?” Merrick asked.
“Yeah, you work for the Powers so you must know it all,” she said, her voice full of a lingering sorrow.
“How do you know I work for the Powers?”
“I saw your dead body, all those years ago. Even if I hadn’t, you look really good for your age. Given what happened the last time I saw him, the Powers know not to send Whistler again. They’d have to send somebody I would trust enough to listen to, and here you are.”
“I could work for the bad guys.”
“Nah, I can tell whether you’re good or bad.” She shrugged.
“I see.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t offer you anything. There is very little left around here to eat or drink.”
“That’s okay, I’m not here for your hospitality.”
“Why are you here then? I’ve given them all that I had. What more could they want?”
“It’s a bit hard to explain, and I’m afraid it'll take some time.”
“Go on. Time is one thing I have plenty of.” Even more sadness was evident in her voice.
“First, let me tell you a little about the past.”
She held up her hand. “I lived in the past. I don’t think that’s necessary, and I don’t want to hear it all over again.”
“You have your past, but somebody changed it. Someone from the future travelled to the past to try and assassinate a much younger you.”
She was now sitting up straight. “So if I’m dead in the past, why am I not dead here?”
“This would happen anyway. Losing you earlier would just make it worse.”
She bowed her head, her face hidden by her hair. “Don’t get my hopes up. Just for a second there...I thought...” She didn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t have to, they both understood what she had hoped.
Merrick ignored her and continued. “Your body in the past isn't dead, it’s in the hospital. Your soul, on the other hand, is gone.”
“They'll try to bring me back, again!”
“They’ve been warned against it, but I know that Willow is still thinking about it.”
Buffy started to breathe very deeply, trying to get herself under control. I will not get angry. Anger is just a waste of time. She repeated that mantra until she was calm again.
Merrick used the time Buffy was struggling with her temper to read the titles on her books. He continued to talk, when he saw that she was ready to listen. “They found a book, or, Kendra did. I think you’ve read the one I’m talking about?” He looked at her, raising his brow.
She started to shake. “You mean the book with the prophecies?”
Merrick just nodded.
“But, that burned in the other house.”
“Not in that time. The Powers made it possible for it to be found.” He paused for a moment, to give her a little time to digest the information. “So, they’re expecting the Light.”
“Since I’m here, there must be another Light in that time. Who is it?” Buffy looked so sad, and so accepting of that sadness.
“There is just one Light. They are waiting for you, if you want to return.”
Buffy sat on her cot, an inner light slowly beginning to brighten her eyes.
“If I want to? What’s the catch?”
Do-Over
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
”If I want to? What’s the catch?”
“You'll have to work with the people who hurt you.” Merrick tried to read her expression. “The Scooby Gang, Angel and the Council.”
She looked like she was in pain. “Is there anything good for me in this deal?” she asked cold.
“He’ll be alive.”
She was gaping at Merrick. “Bloody hell.”
“Why don’t you just listen to the rest, and then you can come with all the questions you have,” Merrick suggested.
She just nodded her head, having a hard time believing that he could be alive somewhere.
“If I don’t say anything else I’m talking about the past Buffy, just so that’s clear.” He waited for Buffy’s accept before he spoke again.
“When Buffy was attacked, she was on her way to the Master, expecting to die. They all thought she was dead, until Joyce told them where she was. Months later, Kendra found the book. A little has been translated. They have met with Lorne.”
A little smile crept upon her face.
“He took them to the oracles, and they took contact to me. You know about the changeling’s?”
She nodded.
“The Light is supposed to help seal the rift to their home. After that, you have to find out what you want. You can stay, or leave again. If you stay, you have to take over the body of the Buffy that belongs there. If you want to leave, you’ll go back here.”
She took a little time thinking about it all. Merrick sat quiet, waiting. “How is it possible for me to take over her body?”
“In a way it’s your body. It’s a very simple procedure, a little magic and your soul will change place.”
“Who’ll do it? Willow?” she asked angry.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do it.”
“Will it be possible to lose the soul?”
“No! It belongs there. It wont be a curse. We’ll just move the soul to a younger body.” Merrick tried to sound reassuring.
“I'll have to find the spells I did since the last time I was in the company of the Scooby,” she said quiet.
It wasn’t meant for Merrick’s ears, but he heard. “You mean the spells that prevent anyone from placing a spell on you, or to track you?”
She nodded thoughtfully.
“They’ll follow you. They’re on your soul.”
She suddenly looked sadder, then she had been while he was there. “I can’t do it.”
Merrick was surprised. “Why not?”
“I can’t live through it again.” She got up, started to pace the length of the basement.
“Wauw, stop for a second. You have taken it all the wrong way. As long as you close the rift to the changeling’s you can do as you please.”
She stopped pacing. Eyes wide open. “You mean I can change what I want?”
“Correct.”
She squeezed her eyes together to small cracks. Her fists on her hips. “If I choose to stop slaying, that would be okay with the Powers?”
“Yes, it would.”
“I don’t understand. Why? Explain, Merrick.”
“There is a little chance that you can fulfill the prophecy, even if you change things. Love is unpredictable.” He smiled to Buffy. “And Kendra is the slayer. The line runs through her.”
“Just a second. Let me think.” She was standing in the middle of the room. A big smile covering her face. “Can I take revenge?”
Merrick made a face, showing his teeth in the process. “Depends, who and how?”
She had a grim look on her face. “The Council and where it hurts them the most. Their money.”
“Go at them, girl. They deserve it. They knew about the prophecies. So we have a deal?” Merrick held his hand out.
Buffy took it. “Yeah, but don’t you go telling that around. I need it in the bargain with the Council.” She smiled big. “So can I take things with me?”
“Yes, you can. Everything you can carry.”
“No, Merrick. Everything, we can carry. You are staying with me, as my new Watcher, if I need the help.”
“B..bu..but that was not the deal.”
“If you don’t want to stay forever, then stay until I’m settled in the new body and my new place, please, Merrick. I’ll need your help in the start. I was so mad at them, if I had seen them shortly after I found out that Spike had been alive, I would have killed them. I want to make sure that doesn't happen. By the way.” She held up her hand, waving a finger. “When we arrive, I’ll need some money to buy a sweater with a big hood. If we are to arrive in front of the gang, you’ll have to change it.”
”What do you need a sweater for?” Merrick asked curious. “The weather is pleasant.”
She didn’t hear it, or didn’t want to.
-----------------------------------
Joyce’s house had quieted down. They were sitting in the living room, just relaxing after their meal.
Giles was the first to speak up. “The Council called me just before I left.”
“What did they want?” Xander was half lying down on the couch. Hands on his stomach. Joyce’s food tasted too good to waste.
Giles balanced his cup steadier on the arm of his chair. “They told me that they have found some other prophecies from the same origin. Some old ones and a few new ones. It might not have anything to do with our prophecies, but the old ones are translated. Maybe they can be used to translate more of ours.”
“Have you got more translated?” Joyce asked.
“No, haven’t had much time for it. I had to write down what happened in LA.”
Willow suddenly raised her head from her mug. “If they are old and translated, they’ll have to know if the prophecies from that origin are trustworthy. Right?”
Giles sat up strait. “You are quite right, Willow. When I get home, I’ll call them.”
“You can call them from here, Giles,” Joyce suggested.
“Are you sure, Joyce?” He looked at his watch. “ I’ll pay for the call.”
“That’s fine. Shall I pour you some more tea, while you make your call?”
“Yes, please. The call shouldn’t take too long.” He went to make his call, it took a little longer than he anticipated. He sat down, taking off his glasses.
“Should I pour you a new cup of tea? It must be getting cold?”
“No, thank you. It’s quite alright.” He was polishing his glasses with a faraway look on his face.
“Giles what did they say?” Willow was impatient. She couldn’t wait until he had straightened out his thoughts. She still wanted to ask him why they couldn’t bring Buffy’s soul back.
He looked up, cleared his throat and put his glasses back at its place. “The origin is trustworthy. The prophecies from there always seems a little confusing at first, but they have never seen a prophecy from there, that hasn’t come true. Not in all the time the Council has existed.” He emptied his cup, before he continued. “They want me to call them when the Light is here.”
The normally quiet Oz spoke up. “What if the Light won’t stay in this time line?”
Giles got on his feet. “Then we’ll have to convince it to stay. Maybe with the help of the Council.”
-----------------------------------
Spike was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. Dru was dancing around him. He didn’t look at her. She was eating again, and she seemed healthy. Last night he had hoped that she was ready for a little cold comfort. She had turned him down, said he wasn’t hers anymore. Her loan period had almost expired. What she meant by that he didn’t know.
------------------------------------
Buffy started to collect her books to take with her.
Merrick placed a hand on her shoulder. “How do you expect to carry all that?”
“But I can’t leave it. It’s all I got.” Buffy was panicking.
“Let’s see." He held up a book. “Can you buy this book in the time where we are going?”
She looked down at her feet. Her hands behind her back. Shuffling her feet. She looked adorable. Like a child that has been caught. “Yeah,” she admitted.
Merrick held up another book. “We can go through them all. One by one?”
“But I don’t have any money.”
He smiled a little. “Didn’t you just say that you want the Council to pay you, for staying?”
Her face lightened up with a big smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She nodded. “I’ll sift through the books, select those I know I can’t get my hands on.” She found a pad and asked Merrick to write down the titles she left behind. When she was done, there were two boxes filled up with books, and her diaries. Sealing them didn’t take long. “Could you please explain to me how it all will be affected, when I start changing things?”
Merrick looked up from his writing, thought a little. Deciding how to explain it to her. “You started your life at point A. Your life moved forward, until short before point B. There you made a turn on your road, and you ended up here. We go back to before you made that turn, and make sure you don’t do it again.”
“What made me turn another way than I was destined for?”
“The start was Angel. Then a new thing made you take one more turn and then another, and so on. Sometimes you would clash with the main road, but you didn’t stay on it.”
“What was the second thing that made me make one more turn?”
“That was Angelus, and then the killing of Angel.”
“What happened when I clashed with the main road?”
“Time with Spike. One way or another, and for the rest, there’s the book.” The only sound that was heard for a time was the pen making contact with the paper, and Buffy packing clothes in an old leather satchel.
“Can I ask you a question, Buffy?” He kept writing so he didn’t see her nod.
She had to speak the words. “Sure, what do you want to know?”
“What do you need a sweater for?”
She stopped packing, and turned to him. “You know how controlling they are. I don’t want them to recognize me before I’ve put down some rules, at least gotten what I want.” She then continued to tell him about her plan.
He laughed out loud. “That’s a revenge, I’ll like to help you with. You deserve it.” They grinned big to each other. “I’m done. What about you?”
“Just one more thing to do.” She went over to the stairs, where she looked at the drawings. She caressed every one of them, before she carefully pulled them down from the wall and rolled them together. She placed them in the bag on the floor. From a little shelf in the corner, she grasped a little box. She looked at the items in it, before she closed it, and placed that in the bag too. She placed the bag on top of one of the boxes.
She turned around herself. Checking that she hadn’t missed something important. At the same time, she tried to take a picture with her mind, wanted to remember the room. It had been her home for so long, it would be strange to call another place home. She changed her focus to Merrick. “I’m done. What now?”
“Now we go to a spot not far from here, where I can open a portal.” He buttoned his coat. “What do you want me to carry?”
She took the bag and the box with the diaries. “That box and the satchel.” Merrick followed Buffy up the stairs, in the kitchen she abruptly stopped. Merrick bumped into her with the box. She turned to him. “Sorry, Merrick, but I forgot my supplies, just a minute.” She ran down to the basement again. She appeared with a smaller satchel than the one Merrick was ordered to carry.
“Are you sure you are done now?” he asked. “You don’t want to pack down the whole house?”
“I did say I was sorry,” she pouted.
Merrick shook his head and walked ahead, out of the house.
------------------------------------
Spike laid on a bed in one of the spare rooms. When he had come home from hunting that night, he had found his belongings thrown out of their room. He turned onto his stomach, buried his face in the pillow. After a hundred years together. He felt like crying.
------------------------------------
Merrick and Buffy walked carefully down the street, avoiding the fires. “Buffy?”
“Hmm. What’s up?”
“What’s wrong with your voice?”
“What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with my voice.”
“You sound very hoarse, and if I’m not mistaken it has gotten worse.”
“Oh, that. I don’t talk much with others. There can go months between. I don’t seek them out. They only contacted me when they needed me.”
“To kill a demon?” Merrick asked.
“Yeah, and sometimes for an antidote.”
“Antidote?”
“Yep. Some demons contain poison.”
“You have learned a lot.”
“I had to do something with my time. I had a lot of it.” Her head bowed. Cheeks had turned slightly red. “I’ve come to love books.” Merrick observed her expression closely. She seemed shy about her admission.
“It’s okay to like books. It’s great. It will save time when you slay.”
She looked enraged at him. “The deal was that I didn't have to slay.”
Merrick looked her in the eyes. “You don’t have to, but do you really think that you can stop completely?”
After a little while she spoke. “You’re right. As Spike would say: I need a spot of violence before bed,” she admitted. She smiled a little at the memory. At a time where she wouldn’t admit that he was right, but still a good memory. She was ripped out of her thoughts by Merrick's announcement that they had arrived. “What kind of a place is this?”
“From here it should be easier to make a port for a short while. Something about the walls being thinner.” Merrick led the way inside the building. He placed the box on the floor just inside the doorstep, the satchel on top. “Stay back here.” He went to the opposite wall, found a small leather bag in the front pocket of his pants, and loosened the drawstrings. He chanted while he threw the herbs at the wall. After a few minutes of chanting, there was a small glow, that slowly got stronger. Merrick went to Buffy, collected the box and satchel. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded hesitantly. “Will you help me?” She looked pleading at Merrick. “Help me not to mess it up with Spike?”
He looked seriously at her. “I promise.”
“Then I’m ready.”
”If I want to? What’s the catch?”
“You'll have to work with the people who hurt you.” Merrick tried to read her expression. “The Scooby Gang, Angel and the Council.”
She looked like she was in pain. “Is there anything good for me in this deal?” she asked cold.
“He’ll be alive.”
She was gaping at Merrick. “Bloody hell.”
“Why don’t you just listen to the rest, and then you can come with all the questions you have,” Merrick suggested.
She just nodded her head, having a hard time believing that he could be alive somewhere.
“If I don’t say anything else I’m talking about the past Buffy, just so that’s clear.” He waited for Buffy’s accept before he spoke again.
“When Buffy was attacked, she was on her way to the Master, expecting to die. They all thought she was dead, until Joyce told them where she was. Months later, Kendra found the book. A little has been translated. They have met with Lorne.”
A little smile crept upon her face.
“He took them to the oracles, and they took contact to me. You know about the changeling’s?”
She nodded.
“The Light is supposed to help seal the rift to their home. After that, you have to find out what you want. You can stay, or leave again. If you stay, you have to take over the body of the Buffy that belongs there. If you want to leave, you’ll go back here.”
She took a little time thinking about it all. Merrick sat quiet, waiting. “How is it possible for me to take over her body?”
“In a way it’s your body. It’s a very simple procedure, a little magic and your soul will change place.”
“Who’ll do it? Willow?” she asked angry.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do it.”
“Will it be possible to lose the soul?”
“No! It belongs there. It wont be a curse. We’ll just move the soul to a younger body.” Merrick tried to sound reassuring.
“I'll have to find the spells I did since the last time I was in the company of the Scooby,” she said quiet.
It wasn’t meant for Merrick’s ears, but he heard. “You mean the spells that prevent anyone from placing a spell on you, or to track you?”
She nodded thoughtfully.
“They’ll follow you. They’re on your soul.”
She suddenly looked sadder, then she had been while he was there. “I can’t do it.”
Merrick was surprised. “Why not?”
“I can’t live through it again.” She got up, started to pace the length of the basement.
“Wauw, stop for a second. You have taken it all the wrong way. As long as you close the rift to the changeling’s you can do as you please.”
She stopped pacing. Eyes wide open. “You mean I can change what I want?”
“Correct.”
She squeezed her eyes together to small cracks. Her fists on her hips. “If I choose to stop slaying, that would be okay with the Powers?”
“Yes, it would.”
“I don’t understand. Why? Explain, Merrick.”
“There is a little chance that you can fulfill the prophecy, even if you change things. Love is unpredictable.” He smiled to Buffy. “And Kendra is the slayer. The line runs through her.”
“Just a second. Let me think.” She was standing in the middle of the room. A big smile covering her face. “Can I take revenge?”
Merrick made a face, showing his teeth in the process. “Depends, who and how?”
She had a grim look on her face. “The Council and where it hurts them the most. Their money.”
“Go at them, girl. They deserve it. They knew about the prophecies. So we have a deal?” Merrick held his hand out.
Buffy took it. “Yeah, but don’t you go telling that around. I need it in the bargain with the Council.” She smiled big. “So can I take things with me?”
“Yes, you can. Everything you can carry.”
“No, Merrick. Everything, we can carry. You are staying with me, as my new Watcher, if I need the help.”
“B..bu..but that was not the deal.”
“If you don’t want to stay forever, then stay until I’m settled in the new body and my new place, please, Merrick. I’ll need your help in the start. I was so mad at them, if I had seen them shortly after I found out that Spike had been alive, I would have killed them. I want to make sure that doesn't happen. By the way.” She held up her hand, waving a finger. “When we arrive, I’ll need some money to buy a sweater with a big hood. If we are to arrive in front of the gang, you’ll have to change it.”
”What do you need a sweater for?” Merrick asked curious. “The weather is pleasant.”
She didn’t hear it, or didn’t want to.
-----------------------------------
Joyce’s house had quieted down. They were sitting in the living room, just relaxing after their meal.
Giles was the first to speak up. “The Council called me just before I left.”
“What did they want?” Xander was half lying down on the couch. Hands on his stomach. Joyce’s food tasted too good to waste.
Giles balanced his cup steadier on the arm of his chair. “They told me that they have found some other prophecies from the same origin. Some old ones and a few new ones. It might not have anything to do with our prophecies, but the old ones are translated. Maybe they can be used to translate more of ours.”
“Have you got more translated?” Joyce asked.
“No, haven’t had much time for it. I had to write down what happened in LA.”
Willow suddenly raised her head from her mug. “If they are old and translated, they’ll have to know if the prophecies from that origin are trustworthy. Right?”
Giles sat up strait. “You are quite right, Willow. When I get home, I’ll call them.”
“You can call them from here, Giles,” Joyce suggested.
“Are you sure, Joyce?” He looked at his watch. “ I’ll pay for the call.”
“That’s fine. Shall I pour you some more tea, while you make your call?”
“Yes, please. The call shouldn’t take too long.” He went to make his call, it took a little longer than he anticipated. He sat down, taking off his glasses.
“Should I pour you a new cup of tea? It must be getting cold?”
“No, thank you. It’s quite alright.” He was polishing his glasses with a faraway look on his face.
“Giles what did they say?” Willow was impatient. She couldn’t wait until he had straightened out his thoughts. She still wanted to ask him why they couldn’t bring Buffy’s soul back.
He looked up, cleared his throat and put his glasses back at its place. “The origin is trustworthy. The prophecies from there always seems a little confusing at first, but they have never seen a prophecy from there, that hasn’t come true. Not in all the time the Council has existed.” He emptied his cup, before he continued. “They want me to call them when the Light is here.”
The normally quiet Oz spoke up. “What if the Light won’t stay in this time line?”
Giles got on his feet. “Then we’ll have to convince it to stay. Maybe with the help of the Council.”
-----------------------------------
Spike was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. Dru was dancing around him. He didn’t look at her. She was eating again, and she seemed healthy. Last night he had hoped that she was ready for a little cold comfort. She had turned him down, said he wasn’t hers anymore. Her loan period had almost expired. What she meant by that he didn’t know.
------------------------------------
Buffy started to collect her books to take with her.
Merrick placed a hand on her shoulder. “How do you expect to carry all that?”
“But I can’t leave it. It’s all I got.” Buffy was panicking.
“Let’s see." He held up a book. “Can you buy this book in the time where we are going?”
She looked down at her feet. Her hands behind her back. Shuffling her feet. She looked adorable. Like a child that has been caught. “Yeah,” she admitted.
Merrick held up another book. “We can go through them all. One by one?”
“But I don’t have any money.”
He smiled a little. “Didn’t you just say that you want the Council to pay you, for staying?”
Her face lightened up with a big smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She nodded. “I’ll sift through the books, select those I know I can’t get my hands on.” She found a pad and asked Merrick to write down the titles she left behind. When she was done, there were two boxes filled up with books, and her diaries. Sealing them didn’t take long. “Could you please explain to me how it all will be affected, when I start changing things?”
Merrick looked up from his writing, thought a little. Deciding how to explain it to her. “You started your life at point A. Your life moved forward, until short before point B. There you made a turn on your road, and you ended up here. We go back to before you made that turn, and make sure you don’t do it again.”
“What made me turn another way than I was destined for?”
“The start was Angel. Then a new thing made you take one more turn and then another, and so on. Sometimes you would clash with the main road, but you didn’t stay on it.”
“What was the second thing that made me make one more turn?”
“That was Angelus, and then the killing of Angel.”
“What happened when I clashed with the main road?”
“Time with Spike. One way or another, and for the rest, there’s the book.” The only sound that was heard for a time was the pen making contact with the paper, and Buffy packing clothes in an old leather satchel.
“Can I ask you a question, Buffy?” He kept writing so he didn’t see her nod.
She had to speak the words. “Sure, what do you want to know?”
“What do you need a sweater for?”
She stopped packing, and turned to him. “You know how controlling they are. I don’t want them to recognize me before I’ve put down some rules, at least gotten what I want.” She then continued to tell him about her plan.
He laughed out loud. “That’s a revenge, I’ll like to help you with. You deserve it.” They grinned big to each other. “I’m done. What about you?”
“Just one more thing to do.” She went over to the stairs, where she looked at the drawings. She caressed every one of them, before she carefully pulled them down from the wall and rolled them together. She placed them in the bag on the floor. From a little shelf in the corner, she grasped a little box. She looked at the items in it, before she closed it, and placed that in the bag too. She placed the bag on top of one of the boxes.
She turned around herself. Checking that she hadn’t missed something important. At the same time, she tried to take a picture with her mind, wanted to remember the room. It had been her home for so long, it would be strange to call another place home. She changed her focus to Merrick. “I’m done. What now?”
“Now we go to a spot not far from here, where I can open a portal.” He buttoned his coat. “What do you want me to carry?”
She took the bag and the box with the diaries. “That box and the satchel.” Merrick followed Buffy up the stairs, in the kitchen she abruptly stopped. Merrick bumped into her with the box. She turned to him. “Sorry, Merrick, but I forgot my supplies, just a minute.” She ran down to the basement again. She appeared with a smaller satchel than the one Merrick was ordered to carry.
“Are you sure you are done now?” he asked. “You don’t want to pack down the whole house?”
“I did say I was sorry,” she pouted.
Merrick shook his head and walked ahead, out of the house.
------------------------------------
Spike laid on a bed in one of the spare rooms. When he had come home from hunting that night, he had found his belongings thrown out of their room. He turned onto his stomach, buried his face in the pillow. After a hundred years together. He felt like crying.
------------------------------------
Merrick and Buffy walked carefully down the street, avoiding the fires. “Buffy?”
“Hmm. What’s up?”
“What’s wrong with your voice?”
“What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with my voice.”
“You sound very hoarse, and if I’m not mistaken it has gotten worse.”
“Oh, that. I don’t talk much with others. There can go months between. I don’t seek them out. They only contacted me when they needed me.”
“To kill a demon?” Merrick asked.
“Yeah, and sometimes for an antidote.”
“Antidote?”
“Yep. Some demons contain poison.”
“You have learned a lot.”
“I had to do something with my time. I had a lot of it.” Her head bowed. Cheeks had turned slightly red. “I’ve come to love books.” Merrick observed her expression closely. She seemed shy about her admission.
“It’s okay to like books. It’s great. It will save time when you slay.”
She looked enraged at him. “The deal was that I didn't have to slay.”
Merrick looked her in the eyes. “You don’t have to, but do you really think that you can stop completely?”
After a little while she spoke. “You’re right. As Spike would say: I need a spot of violence before bed,” she admitted. She smiled a little at the memory. At a time where she wouldn’t admit that he was right, but still a good memory. She was ripped out of her thoughts by Merrick's announcement that they had arrived. “What kind of a place is this?”
“From here it should be easier to make a port for a short while. Something about the walls being thinner.” Merrick led the way inside the building. He placed the box on the floor just inside the doorstep, the satchel on top. “Stay back here.” He went to the opposite wall, found a small leather bag in the front pocket of his pants, and loosened the drawstrings. He chanted while he threw the herbs at the wall. After a few minutes of chanting, there was a small glow, that slowly got stronger. Merrick went to Buffy, collected the box and satchel. “Are you ready to go?”
She nodded hesitantly. “Will you help me?” She looked pleading at Merrick. “Help me not to mess it up with Spike?”
He looked seriously at her. “I promise.”
“Then I’m ready.”
Starting Fresh
As always betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
When they emerged from the portal, Buffy breathed in deeply. “Fresh air. Strange, I don’t remember it being this good, even for a big city like LA.”
“How do you know we’re in Los Angeles?” Merrick asked her.
Buffy smiled, and nodded back at the newsstand they had just passed.
“It would seem that time has made you a lot wiser. When we first met, you were a cheerleader and an airhead. Hopefully, with time, I’ll get used to this new and improved, Knowledge Buffy.”
Buffy blushed when she heard Merrick’s back-handed compliment. “You’ve changed a lot, too.” She had a teasing look about her. “You’re not as stuffy as I remember.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the Watcher said, laughing.
“Where’re we going?”
“To Caritas.” Suddenly, Merrick couldn’t make eye contact with Buffy any longer. “It would do you good to clean up a bit before we continue on to Sunnydale.”
“I just need that sweater, and then I’m good to go.”
“I don’t think so, Buffy.” Merrick’s eyes were fixed straight ahead, looking anywhere but directly at the girl beside of him.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Merrick realized that there was no way out of this situation, but to just be direct. His cheeks turned pink as he finally met his Slayer’s gaze head-on. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to say this, Buffy. I know it’s been a long time, but I think you need to have a look at yourself in a mirror.”
“You mean I look bad?” Buffy stopped walking and turned to look at her reflection in the closest shop-window. Her mouth and eyes opened wide. With a bump, the box she carried was on the pavement. A hand flew to cover her mouth, the other hand made a desperate grab at her hair. “Why didn’t you say something before?” She turned reproachful eyes to Merrick.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you cared.” Even as the words left his mouth, Merrick realized how ridiculous his excuse was. Buffy picked up her box, and they began walking again, this time at a slightly faster pace.
“I didn’t, before we came here. I haven’t thought about clothes or hair in a long time. Well, at first I didn’t care, and then it became harder to get clothes and basic personal hygiene products. By then it didn’t really matter anyway. I was more concerned with getting food and water. For drinking mind you, not for washing. There wasn’t much, and I couldn’t waste what I found.”
Becoming more self-conscious, Buffy tried to lift her arm and discretely smell herself, while still carrying her belongings. “OMG…I smell really rank,” she whined. “Let’s hurry up so I can get in the bathroom and try to do a little damage control.” The Slayer noticed that people on the street were turning and staring at her. She began walking even faster, in an effort to get to Caritas quickly. When they finally arrived at the club, Merrick’s knock on the door seemed thunderous in Buffy’s ears.
Lorne opened the door. “Ah, there you are. I’ve been expecting you. Welcome to Caritas, Eternal One. I am the Host, but you can call me Lorne.” He opened the door as wide as it could go, swept his arm out, and bowed. “My home is your home.”
“Thank you, Lorne.” Everything felt a little strange. Buffy wasn’t used to having many other people around, and definitely wasn’t used to being treated like visiting royalty. “Call me Buffy, please.”
“Thank you, Buffy. What can I help you with?” Lorne asked, excited.
“I…Well, I…” Buffy didn’t know how to ask to borrow his shower.
“May I?” Merrick looked at Buffy.
She nodded, happy to let Merrick take over.
Merrick turned to Lorne. “Could you put us up for a couple of days?”
The green demon smiled. “Yes, of course. Your rooms are this way.” The weary travellers were led to a hidden door by the bar. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Maybe later.” Buffy looked at Lorne. “Do you know of any jobs available nearby? Just something part-time and short-term?”
“Maybe I’m being too frank, but why does the Eternal One need a job?” Lorne asked, concerned.
Buffy looked down, embarrassed. “I need some money to buy some things. Personal things.”
“I’d be delighted to help you out with anything you need. Just make a list and I’ll take care of everything.”
“Are you sure? It could be expensive,” Buffy was worried that she might be putting Lorne in a tight spot.
“I can afford it. It’s my club.”
“Still, I’ll pay you back.” They smiled at each other, and Buffy’s new admirer nodded in agreement.
Always the perfect host, Lorne asked, “Is there anything you need right now?”
Buffy gave Lorne an apologetic smile. “I think I’m really in need of a shower and a change of clothes.” She wrinkled up her nose. Suddenly, her stomach rumbled loudly, causing Buffy to blush again.
Lorne laughed. “Let’s start with clothes. A former employee left a tracksuit behind when she quit her job last week. You can have that to wear for now. The shower is fully stocked with soap and shampoo, and you’ll find toothpaste and new toothbrushes in the vanity drawer. I’ll order food while you get cleaned up. What do you want?”
“Mmmm….would a pizza be possible?”
“What kind?” Clearly, the green demon knew the right questions to ask.
“Pepperoni.”
“OK, I’ll order it in a minute. First, this room is yours for as long as you wish.” Having gone up a flight of stairs and down a long hall, the group had finally stopped in front of an engraved white door. Lorne went into the room, opened a door to the left and took a look around the bathroom. “I’ll get you some towels.” Lorne quickly left the room, but returned after only a few minutes. “Here you go.” He laid the towels on the counter. Turning to Buffy, he asked, “How hungry are you? Would you like me to order the pizza right now, or wait until you get out of the shower?”
“Could you wait, maybe half an hour?” Buffy was looking at her feet again.
The Host responded with a smile and a nod. “See you downstairs when you’re done.”
Buffy taken care of, Lorne turned to her companion. “Now for you, Mr. Merrick. Do you need a place to sleep?”
“If it’s not too much trouble?”
“Not at all.” Lorne continued down the hallway, until he reached a bright blue door.
“At least I don’t need to eat or drink…This time around.”
“I see. Would you like to shower too?”
“No thanks. I was there just as long as it took to persuade Buffy to come back with me.”
Lorne nodded. “Then perhaps I could convince you to join me downstairs for a drink?” He held his hand up to stop Merrick from talking. “I know you don’t need to drink, surely that doesn’t mean you can’t just enjoy the flavour?”
Merrick smiled broadly. “I’ll join you for a drink, if you tell me why you’re calling Buffy ‘The Eternal One’?”
Lorne shrugged. “She’s immortal.” There was a friendly silence, as the men sat themselves down at a table, waiting for Buffy to join them. In the meantime, it didn’t take long for their drinks to arrive. After the first sip, Lorne once again turned to Merrick, this time asking, “So, what’s the matter with Buffy?”
“Nothing, as far as I know,” Merrick answered.
Lorne explained, “You know, I can read people. I get the clearest readings when they sing, but I can pick up things without songs, especially if they’re feeling very strong emotions.” He took a sip of his drink. “In the hallway upstairs, Buffy was very ill at ease. I couldn’t tell what the cause was though. Is there something I can do to help?”
Merrick thought for a minute, trying to decide how much of Buffy’s other timeline he should share with his host. “We talked a little bit on the way here. First off, she’s not really used to company anymore. She’s spent the past several years alone, and we both know that being alone can change a person in a profound way. Second, in the time she came from, there was a shortage of almost everything: food, water, clothes, and medicine. You name it, and there was a shortage of it. Buffy even had to burn some of her furniture to keep warm. I can tell you that you’ve pretty much seen her entire wardrobe already. Aside from a few pairs of underwear and one shirt, she’s wearing everything she owns. She’s going to have to go shopping for some clothes today, or tomorrow at the latest. She’s used to taking care of herself, and it’s hard for her to accept help from others now.”
“You’re afraid she won’t take my help?” Lorne asked.
“Yes,” Merrick smiled at his host again. “She’s a very proud woman, and asking for help won’t come easy for her.”
Lorne was confident. “We’ll find a solution.” The Watcher and the Host passed the time easily, talking about all sorts of things and losing track of time altogether. Eventually, Buffy joined them, fresh from her shower. Her hair was still wet, and she was in dire need of a mani/pedi and a facial, but now she was so clean that she was practically shining. Lorne could see though, that her clothes hung on her, and it was obvious that she hadn’t been eating any more than just what she needed to survive. Her first question, once seated at the table, was, “has the food arrived yet?”
Lorne wasn’t happy to be the one telling Buffy that the pizza hasn’t arrived yet, but he felt he redeemed himself in some small way by quickly jumping up from the table and fetching her a diet coke on ice. As he returned to the table with her drink, there was a knock on the door. The pizza had finally arrived. Lorne put the pizza on the table in front of Buffy, and then sat down again to resume his conversation with Merrick. While the two men were chatting, Buffy dove into the pizza and, before she even realized it, she had finished off the whole pie and washed down the crumbs with another coke. One polite burp later, she looked up, only to realize that both men were watching her eat. Quickly realizing that she had single-handedly consumed the entire pizza, and had not left so much as a crumb for the men, Buffy’s face flushed scarlet. “Oh no! OMG…I’m such a pig! Why didn’t you guys say something and stop me from eating the whole thing?”
There was nothing but kindness in Lorne’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Buffy. Merrick doesn’t eat, and I had just finished breakfast when you arrived.”
She looked at him, not sure if he was telling the truth.
“I get up late.” He shrugged. “Let’s go, girl.” Lorne grabbed Buffy’s hand. “See you in a while, Merrick.”
“Where are we going?” Buffy reluctantly allowed Lorne to drag her out of the club.
“We are going shopping.” He told her. “But first, we need a trip to the hair salon.”
“No…no I don’t have any money.” Suddenly, Buffy stopped moving. Try as he might, Lorne couldn’t pull her any longer. She was too strong.
“Let me treat you.” He smiled at her. “I just want the bragging rights to call you my friend, please?” As he spoke, he got down on his knees and pretended to beg shamelessly.
No matter how tough and self-sufficient she had become, Buffy just couldn’t say no. It’s impossible to not like him. He’s so sweet, both in this timeline and in the other one. He was so kind to me when we passed through LA after Sunnydale was gone. I think he saw what losing Spike meant to me. He was also the one that contacted me after he fled from the fight in LA, as soon as he found and stopped the spell that was placed on him. They didn’t talk about the spell or who had done it. They both knew who and why.
The Slayer decided that this time, it would be ok to get a little bit of help from her green-skinned host. “Okay, Lorne, but I want to pay you back.”
“We can talk about that later, Sweetness. For now, it’s Shopping Time!” Buffy couldn’t help but giggle at his enthusiasm.
At their first stop, the hairdresser suggested that Buffy cut her hair into a shorter style, claiming that long hair was no longer in style. Buffy refused though. Instead, she had her hair styled and bleached California blonde, with even lighter hi-lites to increase that sunshine-girl effect. While waiting for the bleach to do its thing, Buffy and Lorne both had mani-pedi treatments, and went for matching pink polish to finish off the look. The couple laughed and joked so much, that other customers started staring at them, trying to figure out if the Slayer and her green-skinned companion were rich, famous, or just crazy.
After the personal grooming exercise, Buffy and Lorne turned their attention to the clothing acquisition portion of their trip. Entering a trendy downtown boutique, Buffy found several pieces that she liked enough to try on. To her surprise though, before she could close the change-room curtain, Lorne stepped up and shoved at least another dozen outfits into her arms. Buffy squawked and refused to try the outfits on, but Lorne just pushed her into her change-room and told her that he would be standing outside, waiting to see each and every outfit. There wasn’t much Buffy could do without making a really big scene, so she settled for wearing a pout when she stepped out of the room a few minutes later, wrapped in the first dress that Lorne had chosen.
After clothes, came shoes, and the fearless shoppers spent over an hour in various shoe shops, making sure they got just the right footwear for all the outfits they had purchased. Their last stop, a spa shop, provided everything Buffy could possibly need in the way of creams and lotions, and it was after a very pleasant hour enjoying a facial and brow wax that they headed back to Caritas, loaded with bags and boxes. Amidst all their shopping, there was one bag that stood out. It was a big black bag, with a skull and crossbones and some gothic lettering on the outside. When he saw the two tired-out shoppers and the out-of-place bag, Merrick couldn’t help but ask what on Earth the dynamic duo had managed to find for Buffy at a biker shop. Laughing, Buffy dropped the rest of the bags she carried, and brought the bag in question over to where Merrick sat.
Asking him to close his eyes for a minute, Buffy quickly pulled out her purchase. “Do you think they would recognize me in this?" she asked, as she pulled a heavy sweatshirt over her head, tugging the hood down in front of her face. She could barely see.
Merrick had to laugh. “No, I don’t think so.” He got up and walked around her. “That hoodie is so bulky that I can’t even tell that you’re a woman. You look like a short man with a big upper body.”
“Thank you, Merrick. That’s just what I wanted.” The normally reserved Slayer hugged him. She could see it surprised him, but he was her friend. Her only friend except Lorne, who was almost like a girlfriend after their day of shopping. “Could we stay here a couple of days? Like a mini vacation?”
“If Lorne doesn’t mind?” The Watcher looked over at Lorne.
“Not at all. I love to have company! Maybe I’ll even get you to sing tonight.” The Host laughed at her shocked expression. “Or maybe not. You’ll have to excuse me now. If you don’t want to be in the bar tonight, there is a little TV room in the back, opposite Merrick’s room. You’re more than welcome to relax there instead.” Lorne got up and went to unlock the front door of the club. “My staff will be here shortly though, so I need to start getting ready for tonight’s guests.”
“Maybe we should go watch some TV, Merrick. I think Lorne is afraid that I’ll slay his guests.” She giggled on the way out of the room, thinking about Lorne’s embarrassed face.
Later, the Slayer and her Watcher went out to get something to eat with the money Lorne had handed to Merrick earlier. Over dinner, they talked about what to do when they arrived in Sunnydale.
Buffy dropped the last chicken wing on her plate, and then pushed the plate into the middle of the table. “So we find a hotel room, and I’ll wait there while you go tell Giles that I’m in town. See if you can find out when they want to close the rift to the changeling’s dimension.”
“And then what?” Merrick asked.
“Then I guess we’ll see. You have to be flexible. Maybe Giles will have some questions. Maybe he won’t be alone. Just about anything is possible, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.”
“I know you’d like to stay on a little longer with Lorne, but I believe we need to get a move on tomorrow. Get the show on the road, as it were.”
She pouted. “I like it here. I want to stay.”
Merrick smiled. “I know you do, but you can come back later. When we’ve settled things in Sunnydale and you have more time to shop.”
“I know, I have to go.” Buffy fumbled with her teaspoon. “I’m just scared.”
Merrick was waiting for her to continue. She didn’t. “What are you afraid of?”
She looked at him with those sad eyes, the ones she had displayed all the time in the other time line. “I fear being alone. I’m scared that Spike won’t love me. I think about losing him to death. About how maybe he’s better off with Drusilla, because at least then he would be alive. I can’t go through it again. I’m terrified that I’ll lose him, even if I’m lucky enough to get him this time.” Her eyes were shining brightly with unshed tears.
“As you said just a minute ago, we never know what might happen in the future. All things are possible. I’ve promised you my support though, so let’s go to Sunnydale and just see what happens. We don’t need to borrow problems and worries, we’ll just take it as it comes once we’re there. How does that sound?” Merrick reached his hand out to Buffy, and firmly clasped her hand when she extended it. “You can only try your best, right?” After a little hesitation, Buffy seemed to come to some kind of inner decision, and firmly shook her Watcher’s hand.
“You’re right. We’ll head for Sunnydale tomorrow!” she confirmed. Buffy seemed to sit up just a little straighter in her chair, as if preparing for departure already.
“We’ll want to arrive bright and early. Rupert will know that I’m dead, you realize, and I don’t want to be mistaken for a vampire. Sunshine would be a plus, when I turn up at your former Watcher’s doorstep.” They couldn’t help but laugh when they imagined the expression on Giles’ face, discovering his dearly departed friend on his doorstep. Yep, sunshine was definitely a good thing.
Planning continued into the evening. After some discussion, the pair decided they would wait before they rented a room somewhere. They needed to save their money, and Buffy knew that Giles had a spare room. If they were lucky, he might invite 'the Light' and her guide to stay with him.
Setting out from LA early in the morning, Buffy had the window seat on the bus ride. I remember Sunnydale like it was only yesterday that I was here last, not so many years ago. Some places in Sunnydale I remember with absolute clarity, others are foggy. Some I don’t want to remember. And then there are those I wish I could remember better. Right now I have only one wish. I wish that I wasn’t so scared. My hands are shaking. It has to stop. I can’t afford to mess this up. She rubbed her hands over her face, frustrated with her inability to get her fear under control.
I’m not used to being this scared. I’m scared that they’ll try to take over my life again. Make me nothing more than a slave, just doing whatever they want me to do. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to stand up to them. Buffy took a deep breath and concentrated on relaxing for a moment, trying to stop her body from shaking.
Noticing her distress, Merrick laid his hand on top of hers. Buffy looked up, met her Watcher’s eyes, and remembered. I’m not alone, and I’ve changed, changed a lot. I’m my own woman. I can say no to them. I will say no to them. As if by magic, Buffy felt her shaking decrease, and she gave a sigh of relief. Everything will be okay.
------------------------------------
Shortly after the knock, the door opened. “It’s me, Giles. Hope you don’t mind that I came straight in?”
“I don’t mind at all. It just makes things easier for me.” Joyce went past him with a teapot. “Come into the living room. Willow is already here.”
“Hi, Giles,” Willow greeted him.
“Willow, how are you today?” Giles’ glasses were already off his face. “You're early.”
“Yes, Joyce told me you would be here early. I wanted to speak with you, about getting Buffy’s soul back into her body. Here.” She tried to hand him a book. “It’s a spell to bring her soul back.” Giles didn’t take the book. “I can help you with the spell, but you have to do it. I can still only float a pencil.”
Giles sighed heavily. “I wish that it was that easy. But no, Willow. We can’t.”
“Why can’t we do it? Aren’t you powerful enough?”
“It’s not about power, Willow.” While he was polishing his glasses, Giles tried to find a way to explain to Willow why returning Buffy’s soul wouldn’t be a good idea. “Who do you love most in this world, Willow?”
“I don’t understand. What has that got to do with anything?”
“Just humour me.” The librarian’s glasses were on again. Now that he had found a way to explain it to Willow, he didn’t need the distraction that polishing his lenses afforded him.
She blushed. “Oz.”
“Would you give up Oz for Buffy’s soul?”
“What? Oz would never leave me.”
“I’m not talking about Oz leaving. I’m talking about Oz dying, as payment for Buffy’s soul.”
“No…no, they can’t do that.” Willow was frantically shaking her head.
“If we do get Buffy’s soul back from Heaven, that’s what will happen!” A mask of sadness fell over the tired Englishman’s face. “And, if we got her back, she would be damaged. It’s quite possible that she might not survive for long.”
“Damaged? How do you mean? And why wouldn’t she survive?” Willow wanted to know. In her eyes, she had found the perfect solution to their problem, and she wasn’t about to give up easily.
“It’s Heaven, Willow. I would expect that it would be very peaceful. To come from Heaven to Earth, would definitely be Hell for her. She would want to go back to Heaven. I have only ever read of one case where a soul was successfully retrieved from Heaven. The process was fully documented, including the repercussions. The person resouled was unable to adapt to their Earthly environment again, and committed suicide shortly after being restored.”
“Oh my God.” Willow’s eyes filled with tears. She turned to the comfort of Joyce’s arms, made readily available when the Slayer’s mother sat down on the sofa, next to the overwrought young witch.
Giles looked flustered having forgotten about Joyce’s presence in the room. “I’m sorry, Joyce. I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”
“It’s okay, Giles. I needed to hear it.” She sent him a smile of regretful understanding.
Giles turned his attention to Willow again, noting that she was still crying quietly in Joyce’s arms. “Will you promise me that you will never try to do that? Never try to retrieve a soul from Heaven?”
Willow’s tearstained face lifted and she met the Watcher’s eyes without hesitation. “Never, Giles. I promise.”
“You have tremendous potential as a witch. Once we have dealt with the Light and all that entails, I want to begin formally training you, Willow. You will need careful guidance to develop the control and power needed to reach your true potential.” Willow’s face instantly brightened. It was easy to see that she had been playing around with magic, trying to teach herself the arts with the same determination that she had tackled calculus and computer programming. That awareness confirmed Giles’ recent suspicions, and he felt a sense of fear for his young charge. “Magic is not something to be toyed with, Willow. Until your lessons begin, I expect you to refrain from practicing any spells or enchantments.” Willow was clearly embarrassed to be caught, and not happy to have her explorations curtailed, but she met Giles’ eyes and nodded her consent.
At that, Giles turned his attention to Joyce, and said, “now might be a good time for a cup of tea.” With fresh beverages to distract them, it didn’t seem long before the rest of the group joined them.
-----------------------------------
“Nice little town.” Merrick said, as they walked down the well-tended sidewalks.
Buffy looked at the Watcher, as if he were something from another planet. “You do know it’s right above a Hellmouth, and at night you can hardly step outside, without becoming dinner for some demon, right?”
“Didn’t mean it like that.” Merrick looked at her with a smile in his eyes. “And you know that.”
Buffy smiled back. “I do. In the sun, it seems like a perfectly nice and normal American town, where regular people would raise their children or retire.”
After walking a while, Merrick couldn’t help but tease Buffy a bit. “Aren’t you grateful that we left your boxes and bags at the bus station? It’s been quite a walk already.”
“No!” She pouted. “I still don’t like it. They could get stolen, or that guy at the station could sell my books.”
“Don’t be silly, Buffy. It’s his job to look after the things left in storage there. He gets paid to watch them.”
“Doesn't make me like it.”
“I know, Buffy. I know. If I recall correctly, we’re just about at Giles’ flat now, aren’t we? Best keep quiet now. You never know who is watching or listening. You’re certain you want to go through with this?”
Merrick looked thoughtfully at the Slayer, trying to read her mood. I don’t think that she has overcome her fear. It’s better, but not gone. I know how hard this must be for her, after what they did to her. And now she has to see them again. There is only one reason for her to be here, and that’s Spike. If he hadn’t been here, I think she would have preferred to stay where she was, hoping that, one day, somebody would destroy the world, so that she might finally find peace. He sighed. I hope she gets what she deserves. What she should have had the first time around.
Buffy already had the bulky sweatshirt on, but now she pulled the hood down as far as she could get it. Before they left her bags at the bus station, she pulled out a few couple pairs of sweatpants to add to her disguise. It made her more confident that her former friends wouldn’t recognize her. At this point, there was a very little chance that they would even be able to guess whether she was a woman or a man.
As they approached the apartment door, Buffy stayed in the background. Merrick knocked, and then knocked again after a brief pause. “I don’t think he’s at home. Maybe we should come back later?”
“I want to get this over with before I lose my nerve. Why don’t we try a few other places in town? Maybe we’ll get lucky and figure out where he is. If not, we can always come back here again later.” Buffy asked impatiently.
“Hmm…Alright. Do you know where else he might be,” Merrick asked.
“Well, school is out, but he could be there anyway. Let’s try and call the library.”
Merrick flashed her a supportive smile, proud that she was handling the delay so well. “Okay. Let’s find a phone.”
“There’s one about a block away,” Buffy told him.
Merrick made the call, after Buffy gave him the number from memory. “No one is picking up.” He hung up the phone. “What now?”
Buffy looked thoughtful. “Try Willow. Say she has an overdue library book. If she is not there, try to find out where you can get a hold of her.”
There was a speculative gleam in Merrick’s eye, when he finished speaking with Willow’s mother. “You said earlier that your mom doesn’t know you are the Slayer in this time line, but if we find Giles where we’re going to find Willow, my guess is you’re wrong.”
“Huh?”
“As far as Willow’s mother knows, Willow is at your place.”
Buffy thought for a few minutes. “So you think my mom already knows? That’s not bad, not at all. At least then I don’t have to tell her.”
-----------------------------------
Spike tried to convince Drusilla to leave Sunnydale behind. He had hoped that if they skipped town, all would turn back to normal.
He hadn’t counted on Drusilla refusing to leave. She said that she was waiting for her Daddy. Spike was very patient, as he explained again and again that Angel had a soul now and wouldn’t be coming for his Princess. Nothing helped. Dru insisted on staying, so Spike stayed too. He had nowhere else to go, and had never been away from Dru. Though he was frustrated by her behaviour, he hoped that she would return to him in time.
When they emerged from the portal, Buffy breathed in deeply. “Fresh air. Strange, I don’t remember it being this good, even for a big city like LA.”
“How do you know we’re in Los Angeles?” Merrick asked her.
Buffy smiled, and nodded back at the newsstand they had just passed.
“It would seem that time has made you a lot wiser. When we first met, you were a cheerleader and an airhead. Hopefully, with time, I’ll get used to this new and improved, Knowledge Buffy.”
Buffy blushed when she heard Merrick’s back-handed compliment. “You’ve changed a lot, too.” She had a teasing look about her. “You’re not as stuffy as I remember.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the Watcher said, laughing.
“Where’re we going?”
“To Caritas.” Suddenly, Merrick couldn’t make eye contact with Buffy any longer. “It would do you good to clean up a bit before we continue on to Sunnydale.”
“I just need that sweater, and then I’m good to go.”
“I don’t think so, Buffy.” Merrick’s eyes were fixed straight ahead, looking anywhere but directly at the girl beside of him.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Merrick realized that there was no way out of this situation, but to just be direct. His cheeks turned pink as he finally met his Slayer’s gaze head-on. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to say this, Buffy. I know it’s been a long time, but I think you need to have a look at yourself in a mirror.”
“You mean I look bad?” Buffy stopped walking and turned to look at her reflection in the closest shop-window. Her mouth and eyes opened wide. With a bump, the box she carried was on the pavement. A hand flew to cover her mouth, the other hand made a desperate grab at her hair. “Why didn’t you say something before?” She turned reproachful eyes to Merrick.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you cared.” Even as the words left his mouth, Merrick realized how ridiculous his excuse was. Buffy picked up her box, and they began walking again, this time at a slightly faster pace.
“I didn’t, before we came here. I haven’t thought about clothes or hair in a long time. Well, at first I didn’t care, and then it became harder to get clothes and basic personal hygiene products. By then it didn’t really matter anyway. I was more concerned with getting food and water. For drinking mind you, not for washing. There wasn’t much, and I couldn’t waste what I found.”
Becoming more self-conscious, Buffy tried to lift her arm and discretely smell herself, while still carrying her belongings. “OMG…I smell really rank,” she whined. “Let’s hurry up so I can get in the bathroom and try to do a little damage control.” The Slayer noticed that people on the street were turning and staring at her. She began walking even faster, in an effort to get to Caritas quickly. When they finally arrived at the club, Merrick’s knock on the door seemed thunderous in Buffy’s ears.
Lorne opened the door. “Ah, there you are. I’ve been expecting you. Welcome to Caritas, Eternal One. I am the Host, but you can call me Lorne.” He opened the door as wide as it could go, swept his arm out, and bowed. “My home is your home.”
“Thank you, Lorne.” Everything felt a little strange. Buffy wasn’t used to having many other people around, and definitely wasn’t used to being treated like visiting royalty. “Call me Buffy, please.”
“Thank you, Buffy. What can I help you with?” Lorne asked, excited.
“I…Well, I…” Buffy didn’t know how to ask to borrow his shower.
“May I?” Merrick looked at Buffy.
She nodded, happy to let Merrick take over.
Merrick turned to Lorne. “Could you put us up for a couple of days?”
The green demon smiled. “Yes, of course. Your rooms are this way.” The weary travellers were led to a hidden door by the bar. “Can I get you anything else?”
“Maybe later.” Buffy looked at Lorne. “Do you know of any jobs available nearby? Just something part-time and short-term?”
“Maybe I’m being too frank, but why does the Eternal One need a job?” Lorne asked, concerned.
Buffy looked down, embarrassed. “I need some money to buy some things. Personal things.”
“I’d be delighted to help you out with anything you need. Just make a list and I’ll take care of everything.”
“Are you sure? It could be expensive,” Buffy was worried that she might be putting Lorne in a tight spot.
“I can afford it. It’s my club.”
“Still, I’ll pay you back.” They smiled at each other, and Buffy’s new admirer nodded in agreement.
Always the perfect host, Lorne asked, “Is there anything you need right now?”
Buffy gave Lorne an apologetic smile. “I think I’m really in need of a shower and a change of clothes.” She wrinkled up her nose. Suddenly, her stomach rumbled loudly, causing Buffy to blush again.
Lorne laughed. “Let’s start with clothes. A former employee left a tracksuit behind when she quit her job last week. You can have that to wear for now. The shower is fully stocked with soap and shampoo, and you’ll find toothpaste and new toothbrushes in the vanity drawer. I’ll order food while you get cleaned up. What do you want?”
“Mmmm….would a pizza be possible?”
“What kind?” Clearly, the green demon knew the right questions to ask.
“Pepperoni.”
“OK, I’ll order it in a minute. First, this room is yours for as long as you wish.” Having gone up a flight of stairs and down a long hall, the group had finally stopped in front of an engraved white door. Lorne went into the room, opened a door to the left and took a look around the bathroom. “I’ll get you some towels.” Lorne quickly left the room, but returned after only a few minutes. “Here you go.” He laid the towels on the counter. Turning to Buffy, he asked, “How hungry are you? Would you like me to order the pizza right now, or wait until you get out of the shower?”
“Could you wait, maybe half an hour?” Buffy was looking at her feet again.
The Host responded with a smile and a nod. “See you downstairs when you’re done.”
Buffy taken care of, Lorne turned to her companion. “Now for you, Mr. Merrick. Do you need a place to sleep?”
“If it’s not too much trouble?”
“Not at all.” Lorne continued down the hallway, until he reached a bright blue door.
“At least I don’t need to eat or drink…This time around.”
“I see. Would you like to shower too?”
“No thanks. I was there just as long as it took to persuade Buffy to come back with me.”
Lorne nodded. “Then perhaps I could convince you to join me downstairs for a drink?” He held his hand up to stop Merrick from talking. “I know you don’t need to drink, surely that doesn’t mean you can’t just enjoy the flavour?”
Merrick smiled broadly. “I’ll join you for a drink, if you tell me why you’re calling Buffy ‘The Eternal One’?”
Lorne shrugged. “She’s immortal.” There was a friendly silence, as the men sat themselves down at a table, waiting for Buffy to join them. In the meantime, it didn’t take long for their drinks to arrive. After the first sip, Lorne once again turned to Merrick, this time asking, “So, what’s the matter with Buffy?”
“Nothing, as far as I know,” Merrick answered.
Lorne explained, “You know, I can read people. I get the clearest readings when they sing, but I can pick up things without songs, especially if they’re feeling very strong emotions.” He took a sip of his drink. “In the hallway upstairs, Buffy was very ill at ease. I couldn’t tell what the cause was though. Is there something I can do to help?”
Merrick thought for a minute, trying to decide how much of Buffy’s other timeline he should share with his host. “We talked a little bit on the way here. First off, she’s not really used to company anymore. She’s spent the past several years alone, and we both know that being alone can change a person in a profound way. Second, in the time she came from, there was a shortage of almost everything: food, water, clothes, and medicine. You name it, and there was a shortage of it. Buffy even had to burn some of her furniture to keep warm. I can tell you that you’ve pretty much seen her entire wardrobe already. Aside from a few pairs of underwear and one shirt, she’s wearing everything she owns. She’s going to have to go shopping for some clothes today, or tomorrow at the latest. She’s used to taking care of herself, and it’s hard for her to accept help from others now.”
“You’re afraid she won’t take my help?” Lorne asked.
“Yes,” Merrick smiled at his host again. “She’s a very proud woman, and asking for help won’t come easy for her.”
Lorne was confident. “We’ll find a solution.” The Watcher and the Host passed the time easily, talking about all sorts of things and losing track of time altogether. Eventually, Buffy joined them, fresh from her shower. Her hair was still wet, and she was in dire need of a mani/pedi and a facial, but now she was so clean that she was practically shining. Lorne could see though, that her clothes hung on her, and it was obvious that she hadn’t been eating any more than just what she needed to survive. Her first question, once seated at the table, was, “has the food arrived yet?”
Lorne wasn’t happy to be the one telling Buffy that the pizza hasn’t arrived yet, but he felt he redeemed himself in some small way by quickly jumping up from the table and fetching her a diet coke on ice. As he returned to the table with her drink, there was a knock on the door. The pizza had finally arrived. Lorne put the pizza on the table in front of Buffy, and then sat down again to resume his conversation with Merrick. While the two men were chatting, Buffy dove into the pizza and, before she even realized it, she had finished off the whole pie and washed down the crumbs with another coke. One polite burp later, she looked up, only to realize that both men were watching her eat. Quickly realizing that she had single-handedly consumed the entire pizza, and had not left so much as a crumb for the men, Buffy’s face flushed scarlet. “Oh no! OMG…I’m such a pig! Why didn’t you guys say something and stop me from eating the whole thing?”
There was nothing but kindness in Lorne’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Buffy. Merrick doesn’t eat, and I had just finished breakfast when you arrived.”
She looked at him, not sure if he was telling the truth.
“I get up late.” He shrugged. “Let’s go, girl.” Lorne grabbed Buffy’s hand. “See you in a while, Merrick.”
“Where are we going?” Buffy reluctantly allowed Lorne to drag her out of the club.
“We are going shopping.” He told her. “But first, we need a trip to the hair salon.”
“No…no I don’t have any money.” Suddenly, Buffy stopped moving. Try as he might, Lorne couldn’t pull her any longer. She was too strong.
“Let me treat you.” He smiled at her. “I just want the bragging rights to call you my friend, please?” As he spoke, he got down on his knees and pretended to beg shamelessly.
No matter how tough and self-sufficient she had become, Buffy just couldn’t say no. It’s impossible to not like him. He’s so sweet, both in this timeline and in the other one. He was so kind to me when we passed through LA after Sunnydale was gone. I think he saw what losing Spike meant to me. He was also the one that contacted me after he fled from the fight in LA, as soon as he found and stopped the spell that was placed on him. They didn’t talk about the spell or who had done it. They both knew who and why.
The Slayer decided that this time, it would be ok to get a little bit of help from her green-skinned host. “Okay, Lorne, but I want to pay you back.”
“We can talk about that later, Sweetness. For now, it’s Shopping Time!” Buffy couldn’t help but giggle at his enthusiasm.
At their first stop, the hairdresser suggested that Buffy cut her hair into a shorter style, claiming that long hair was no longer in style. Buffy refused though. Instead, she had her hair styled and bleached California blonde, with even lighter hi-lites to increase that sunshine-girl effect. While waiting for the bleach to do its thing, Buffy and Lorne both had mani-pedi treatments, and went for matching pink polish to finish off the look. The couple laughed and joked so much, that other customers started staring at them, trying to figure out if the Slayer and her green-skinned companion were rich, famous, or just crazy.
After the personal grooming exercise, Buffy and Lorne turned their attention to the clothing acquisition portion of their trip. Entering a trendy downtown boutique, Buffy found several pieces that she liked enough to try on. To her surprise though, before she could close the change-room curtain, Lorne stepped up and shoved at least another dozen outfits into her arms. Buffy squawked and refused to try the outfits on, but Lorne just pushed her into her change-room and told her that he would be standing outside, waiting to see each and every outfit. There wasn’t much Buffy could do without making a really big scene, so she settled for wearing a pout when she stepped out of the room a few minutes later, wrapped in the first dress that Lorne had chosen.
After clothes, came shoes, and the fearless shoppers spent over an hour in various shoe shops, making sure they got just the right footwear for all the outfits they had purchased. Their last stop, a spa shop, provided everything Buffy could possibly need in the way of creams and lotions, and it was after a very pleasant hour enjoying a facial and brow wax that they headed back to Caritas, loaded with bags and boxes. Amidst all their shopping, there was one bag that stood out. It was a big black bag, with a skull and crossbones and some gothic lettering on the outside. When he saw the two tired-out shoppers and the out-of-place bag, Merrick couldn’t help but ask what on Earth the dynamic duo had managed to find for Buffy at a biker shop. Laughing, Buffy dropped the rest of the bags she carried, and brought the bag in question over to where Merrick sat.
Asking him to close his eyes for a minute, Buffy quickly pulled out her purchase. “Do you think they would recognize me in this?" she asked, as she pulled a heavy sweatshirt over her head, tugging the hood down in front of her face. She could barely see.
Merrick had to laugh. “No, I don’t think so.” He got up and walked around her. “That hoodie is so bulky that I can’t even tell that you’re a woman. You look like a short man with a big upper body.”
“Thank you, Merrick. That’s just what I wanted.” The normally reserved Slayer hugged him. She could see it surprised him, but he was her friend. Her only friend except Lorne, who was almost like a girlfriend after their day of shopping. “Could we stay here a couple of days? Like a mini vacation?”
“If Lorne doesn’t mind?” The Watcher looked over at Lorne.
“Not at all. I love to have company! Maybe I’ll even get you to sing tonight.” The Host laughed at her shocked expression. “Or maybe not. You’ll have to excuse me now. If you don’t want to be in the bar tonight, there is a little TV room in the back, opposite Merrick’s room. You’re more than welcome to relax there instead.” Lorne got up and went to unlock the front door of the club. “My staff will be here shortly though, so I need to start getting ready for tonight’s guests.”
“Maybe we should go watch some TV, Merrick. I think Lorne is afraid that I’ll slay his guests.” She giggled on the way out of the room, thinking about Lorne’s embarrassed face.
Later, the Slayer and her Watcher went out to get something to eat with the money Lorne had handed to Merrick earlier. Over dinner, they talked about what to do when they arrived in Sunnydale.
Buffy dropped the last chicken wing on her plate, and then pushed the plate into the middle of the table. “So we find a hotel room, and I’ll wait there while you go tell Giles that I’m in town. See if you can find out when they want to close the rift to the changeling’s dimension.”
“And then what?” Merrick asked.
“Then I guess we’ll see. You have to be flexible. Maybe Giles will have some questions. Maybe he won’t be alone. Just about anything is possible, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.”
“I know you’d like to stay on a little longer with Lorne, but I believe we need to get a move on tomorrow. Get the show on the road, as it were.”
She pouted. “I like it here. I want to stay.”
Merrick smiled. “I know you do, but you can come back later. When we’ve settled things in Sunnydale and you have more time to shop.”
“I know, I have to go.” Buffy fumbled with her teaspoon. “I’m just scared.”
Merrick was waiting for her to continue. She didn’t. “What are you afraid of?”
She looked at him with those sad eyes, the ones she had displayed all the time in the other time line. “I fear being alone. I’m scared that Spike won’t love me. I think about losing him to death. About how maybe he’s better off with Drusilla, because at least then he would be alive. I can’t go through it again. I’m terrified that I’ll lose him, even if I’m lucky enough to get him this time.” Her eyes were shining brightly with unshed tears.
“As you said just a minute ago, we never know what might happen in the future. All things are possible. I’ve promised you my support though, so let’s go to Sunnydale and just see what happens. We don’t need to borrow problems and worries, we’ll just take it as it comes once we’re there. How does that sound?” Merrick reached his hand out to Buffy, and firmly clasped her hand when she extended it. “You can only try your best, right?” After a little hesitation, Buffy seemed to come to some kind of inner decision, and firmly shook her Watcher’s hand.
“You’re right. We’ll head for Sunnydale tomorrow!” she confirmed. Buffy seemed to sit up just a little straighter in her chair, as if preparing for departure already.
“We’ll want to arrive bright and early. Rupert will know that I’m dead, you realize, and I don’t want to be mistaken for a vampire. Sunshine would be a plus, when I turn up at your former Watcher’s doorstep.” They couldn’t help but laugh when they imagined the expression on Giles’ face, discovering his dearly departed friend on his doorstep. Yep, sunshine was definitely a good thing.
Planning continued into the evening. After some discussion, the pair decided they would wait before they rented a room somewhere. They needed to save their money, and Buffy knew that Giles had a spare room. If they were lucky, he might invite 'the Light' and her guide to stay with him.
Setting out from LA early in the morning, Buffy had the window seat on the bus ride. I remember Sunnydale like it was only yesterday that I was here last, not so many years ago. Some places in Sunnydale I remember with absolute clarity, others are foggy. Some I don’t want to remember. And then there are those I wish I could remember better. Right now I have only one wish. I wish that I wasn’t so scared. My hands are shaking. It has to stop. I can’t afford to mess this up. She rubbed her hands over her face, frustrated with her inability to get her fear under control.
I’m not used to being this scared. I’m scared that they’ll try to take over my life again. Make me nothing more than a slave, just doing whatever they want me to do. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to stand up to them. Buffy took a deep breath and concentrated on relaxing for a moment, trying to stop her body from shaking.
Noticing her distress, Merrick laid his hand on top of hers. Buffy looked up, met her Watcher’s eyes, and remembered. I’m not alone, and I’ve changed, changed a lot. I’m my own woman. I can say no to them. I will say no to them. As if by magic, Buffy felt her shaking decrease, and she gave a sigh of relief. Everything will be okay.
------------------------------------
Shortly after the knock, the door opened. “It’s me, Giles. Hope you don’t mind that I came straight in?”
“I don’t mind at all. It just makes things easier for me.” Joyce went past him with a teapot. “Come into the living room. Willow is already here.”
“Hi, Giles,” Willow greeted him.
“Willow, how are you today?” Giles’ glasses were already off his face. “You're early.”
“Yes, Joyce told me you would be here early. I wanted to speak with you, about getting Buffy’s soul back into her body. Here.” She tried to hand him a book. “It’s a spell to bring her soul back.” Giles didn’t take the book. “I can help you with the spell, but you have to do it. I can still only float a pencil.”
Giles sighed heavily. “I wish that it was that easy. But no, Willow. We can’t.”
“Why can’t we do it? Aren’t you powerful enough?”
“It’s not about power, Willow.” While he was polishing his glasses, Giles tried to find a way to explain to Willow why returning Buffy’s soul wouldn’t be a good idea. “Who do you love most in this world, Willow?”
“I don’t understand. What has that got to do with anything?”
“Just humour me.” The librarian’s glasses were on again. Now that he had found a way to explain it to Willow, he didn’t need the distraction that polishing his lenses afforded him.
She blushed. “Oz.”
“Would you give up Oz for Buffy’s soul?”
“What? Oz would never leave me.”
“I’m not talking about Oz leaving. I’m talking about Oz dying, as payment for Buffy’s soul.”
“No…no, they can’t do that.” Willow was frantically shaking her head.
“If we do get Buffy’s soul back from Heaven, that’s what will happen!” A mask of sadness fell over the tired Englishman’s face. “And, if we got her back, she would be damaged. It’s quite possible that she might not survive for long.”
“Damaged? How do you mean? And why wouldn’t she survive?” Willow wanted to know. In her eyes, she had found the perfect solution to their problem, and she wasn’t about to give up easily.
“It’s Heaven, Willow. I would expect that it would be very peaceful. To come from Heaven to Earth, would definitely be Hell for her. She would want to go back to Heaven. I have only ever read of one case where a soul was successfully retrieved from Heaven. The process was fully documented, including the repercussions. The person resouled was unable to adapt to their Earthly environment again, and committed suicide shortly after being restored.”
“Oh my God.” Willow’s eyes filled with tears. She turned to the comfort of Joyce’s arms, made readily available when the Slayer’s mother sat down on the sofa, next to the overwrought young witch.
Giles looked flustered having forgotten about Joyce’s presence in the room. “I’m sorry, Joyce. I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”
“It’s okay, Giles. I needed to hear it.” She sent him a smile of regretful understanding.
Giles turned his attention to Willow again, noting that she was still crying quietly in Joyce’s arms. “Will you promise me that you will never try to do that? Never try to retrieve a soul from Heaven?”
Willow’s tearstained face lifted and she met the Watcher’s eyes without hesitation. “Never, Giles. I promise.”
“You have tremendous potential as a witch. Once we have dealt with the Light and all that entails, I want to begin formally training you, Willow. You will need careful guidance to develop the control and power needed to reach your true potential.” Willow’s face instantly brightened. It was easy to see that she had been playing around with magic, trying to teach herself the arts with the same determination that she had tackled calculus and computer programming. That awareness confirmed Giles’ recent suspicions, and he felt a sense of fear for his young charge. “Magic is not something to be toyed with, Willow. Until your lessons begin, I expect you to refrain from practicing any spells or enchantments.” Willow was clearly embarrassed to be caught, and not happy to have her explorations curtailed, but she met Giles’ eyes and nodded her consent.
At that, Giles turned his attention to Joyce, and said, “now might be a good time for a cup of tea.” With fresh beverages to distract them, it didn’t seem long before the rest of the group joined them.
-----------------------------------
“Nice little town.” Merrick said, as they walked down the well-tended sidewalks.
Buffy looked at the Watcher, as if he were something from another planet. “You do know it’s right above a Hellmouth, and at night you can hardly step outside, without becoming dinner for some demon, right?”
“Didn’t mean it like that.” Merrick looked at her with a smile in his eyes. “And you know that.”
Buffy smiled back. “I do. In the sun, it seems like a perfectly nice and normal American town, where regular people would raise their children or retire.”
After walking a while, Merrick couldn’t help but tease Buffy a bit. “Aren’t you grateful that we left your boxes and bags at the bus station? It’s been quite a walk already.”
“No!” She pouted. “I still don’t like it. They could get stolen, or that guy at the station could sell my books.”
“Don’t be silly, Buffy. It’s his job to look after the things left in storage there. He gets paid to watch them.”
“Doesn't make me like it.”
“I know, Buffy. I know. If I recall correctly, we’re just about at Giles’ flat now, aren’t we? Best keep quiet now. You never know who is watching or listening. You’re certain you want to go through with this?”
Merrick looked thoughtfully at the Slayer, trying to read her mood. I don’t think that she has overcome her fear. It’s better, but not gone. I know how hard this must be for her, after what they did to her. And now she has to see them again. There is only one reason for her to be here, and that’s Spike. If he hadn’t been here, I think she would have preferred to stay where she was, hoping that, one day, somebody would destroy the world, so that she might finally find peace. He sighed. I hope she gets what she deserves. What she should have had the first time around.
Buffy already had the bulky sweatshirt on, but now she pulled the hood down as far as she could get it. Before they left her bags at the bus station, she pulled out a few couple pairs of sweatpants to add to her disguise. It made her more confident that her former friends wouldn’t recognize her. At this point, there was a very little chance that they would even be able to guess whether she was a woman or a man.
As they approached the apartment door, Buffy stayed in the background. Merrick knocked, and then knocked again after a brief pause. “I don’t think he’s at home. Maybe we should come back later?”
“I want to get this over with before I lose my nerve. Why don’t we try a few other places in town? Maybe we’ll get lucky and figure out where he is. If not, we can always come back here again later.” Buffy asked impatiently.
“Hmm…Alright. Do you know where else he might be,” Merrick asked.
“Well, school is out, but he could be there anyway. Let’s try and call the library.”
Merrick flashed her a supportive smile, proud that she was handling the delay so well. “Okay. Let’s find a phone.”
“There’s one about a block away,” Buffy told him.
Merrick made the call, after Buffy gave him the number from memory. “No one is picking up.” He hung up the phone. “What now?”
Buffy looked thoughtful. “Try Willow. Say she has an overdue library book. If she is not there, try to find out where you can get a hold of her.”
There was a speculative gleam in Merrick’s eye, when he finished speaking with Willow’s mother. “You said earlier that your mom doesn’t know you are the Slayer in this time line, but if we find Giles where we’re going to find Willow, my guess is you’re wrong.”
“Huh?”
“As far as Willow’s mother knows, Willow is at your place.”
Buffy thought for a few minutes. “So you think my mom already knows? That’s not bad, not at all. At least then I don’t have to tell her.”
-----------------------------------
Spike tried to convince Drusilla to leave Sunnydale behind. He had hoped that if they skipped town, all would turn back to normal.
He hadn’t counted on Drusilla refusing to leave. She said that she was waiting for her Daddy. Spike was very patient, as he explained again and again that Angel had a soul now and wouldn’t be coming for his Princess. Nothing helped. Dru insisted on staying, so Spike stayed too. He had nowhere else to go, and had never been away from Dru. Though he was frustrated by her behaviour, he hoped that she would return to him in time.
Encore Performance
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Giles was on his second cup of tea when there was a knock on the door. Joyce got up to open it, wondering who it was and hoping that it wasn’t bad news. At least she knew it wouldn’t be Angel, because the vampire stayed in his own apartment when the sun was shining.
“Giles, it’s for you,” Joyce said, as she returned to the living room.
“For me? Nobody knows I’m here.” Giles responded as he got up and went to the door.
“Yes, what….Merrick? But….but, you’re dead.” The Watcher immediately grabbed for the cross in his pocket.
“Hello to you too, Giles.” Merrick smiled carefully at Giles, while stepping back from the door. “Giles, look up.”
“Pardon me?” Giles stopped for a moment, unable to process Merrick’s request.
“Look up at the sky.” Merrick stepped back even further when Giles took a step towards him, cross in one hand, and a stake taken from his coat pocket in the other.
Giles stopped advancing, suddenly realizing that Merrick was standing in direct sunlight. “How?”
“The Powers That Be needed my help.”
Giles didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at Merrick. “You’ve been dead for a good while now,” he finally said.
“That’s right, but what can you do when the Powers ask for your help? You can’t turn them down,” Merrick said with a smile.
“Oh.” Wordless, Giles just kept standing there, cross extended towards Merrick and the stake still half-raised.
“Giles?” Merrick snapped his fingers in the stunned Watcher’s face. “Are you alright, Giles?”
“Oh. Yes, sorry, Merrick. It’s just, I didn’t expect you. Are you the Light?”
Merrick laughed. “No, Giles. Sorry to disappoint you. Though, I am here because of the Light.” He looked around, and then asked, “Could we possibly take this inside?”
“Yes, sorry. I’m still stunned to see you here.” Giles went back into the house, leaving the door open for Merrick to follow. “You know how it works.” Careful to avoid an invitation into the home, Giles stayed by the door, waiting.
Merrick walked past him, and into the house. “I have a friend with me. Can….?”
Giles looked curiously at Buffy, and then back at Merrick. “Does this friend have anything to do with the reason you’re here?”
Merrick hesitated, and looked at Buffy, who gave him a slight nod. “Yes.”
“Then, by all means.” He gestured with his arm.
Buffy followed Merrick in, head down, just to be safe. As long as Angel didn’t sniff her out, everything would be ok. She knew Angel wasn’t likely to be at the meeting because the sun was up, but just to be sure she used perfume to hide her natural scent. If she had to, she could always use a spell to hide her essence, but magic always had consequences. She smiled a little at the memory that thought brought. Memories of Spike always made her smile.
After being ushered into the living room, Merrick was offered Joyce’s seat, which he in turn offered to Buffy. Once she was seated, Merrick stood by her side until Joyce returned to the room with a chair from the dining room. Placing that chair near to his charge so he could offer her his support and act as a bit of a buffer, the two waited silently while Joyce grabbed a second chair and then seated herself near Giles.
“This is an unexpected development,” Giles said, shock still visible on his face.
Merrick couldn’t help but smile at Giles. The other Watcher had yet to relax the tight grip he had on his glasses and return them to his face. As the silence dragged on and Giles showed no inclination to start speaking, Joyce finally gave him a light nudge with her elbow, making him jump a little. He quickly turned to look at the Slayer’s mother, who raised a questioning brow his way.
“My apologies everyone. This is Merrick, an old Watcher friend of mine. He was Buffy’s first Watcher, and was killed in the line of duty before she moved to Sunnydale.”
Upon learning of Merrick’s deceased status, the rest of the group began to panic a bit. Leading the panic was Xander, who had automatically assumed that if Merrick had died and was now before them, he must be a vamp. Attempting to push Willow behind his body, Xander had found a stake and was now threatening Merrick with it. Quickly stepping between Xander and his old friend, Giles demanded, “Xander, put that stake away. Just sit down, be quiet, and stop acting like such a fool.”
“But….Giles….” Xander grumbled, as he sat down. He didn’t know what had changed, but it seemed like everything he did lately irritated the man he had come to think of as a substitute father.
“He’s not a vampire, Xander.” Giles tried to explain to the frustrated teen. “Merrick has informed me that he was called back to this plane to work for the Powers. They asked for his help, and he agreed to come here on their behalf. That is all I know, and now I think we should hear him out and find out what else he can tell us about his mission.” The moment the group heard that Merrick was working for the Powers That Be, the fear in their eyes changed to wonder.
On the bus ride to Sunnydale, Merrick and Buffy had tried to anticipate the questions that would be thrown at them once they made their presence known to the group. They wanted to have their bases covered, so that Merrick wouldn’t have to guess what Buffy wanted or, even worse, consult her in front of the group.
“Are you here about the Light?” Willow was impatient, as always.
“Yes, I am.” Merrick nodded. “Who are you?”
“Oh, sorry,” she giggled. “I’m Willow.” The young witch took a few moments to introduce the others in the room, before her curiosity overwhelmed her again. “Who’s your friend?”
“I’m afraid I’m not allowed to reveal that information, but I can tell you that my companion is the one I serve now.” Merrick tried to temper his comment with an apology, but everyone in the room heard the steel in his voice and understood exactly where the returned Watcher’s allegiance lay.
Giles had finally found his handkerchief, and was industriously cleaning his glasses while he digested the information Merrick had shared. “How do we then address your companion?”
“You don’t.” Merrick spoke with such a sense of finality in his voice that nobody thought to argue.
Letting the introductions pass her by, Buffy was silently watching her past friends and family interact with Merrick. It was strange, to see them like this. Never would she have dreamed that she would be placed back in their company again, and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about the changes the last few days had brought.
Buffy wished that she could forget what they had done to her so long ago, and find a way to forgive them. She knew she had to try to let things go, and accept that they weren’t the same people who had betrayed her so long ago. Not yet, at least, and if she had anything to do with it, they never would be. Buffy was terrified that somehow history would repeat itself, and she would once again be trying to defend herself from those she had once loved. She had to stop it before it started, had to remember that she was a grown woman, in control of her own life. The people in this room held her affection, but no power over her. Though the Slayer in her was strong, the vulnerable young woman inside couldn’t help but shiver. If she wasn’t able to save herself this time, then all would be lost.
But then there was Mom. Buffy had forgotten that she was alive and well at this point in time. Knowing she could always count on her mother, Buffy knew she had to do everything she could to prevent Joyce from falling ill again. Her mother was her role model, and she deserved better than to have her life cut short.
Next, Buffy’s gaze went to Willow. It was hard to see her friend looking as sweet and friendly as when they first met, knowing the changes that time had wrought in their relationship. The girl who had so eagerly welcomed her on her first day of school was still here, and Buffy wanted so desperately to be able to trust in her friendship again. Knowledge could be a terrible thing though, and now Buffy knew just what depths Willow would sink to in order to keep Buffy under control.
And Xander, who was like a big brother to her, but couldn’t seem to accept that he would never be more. He never gave up trying to control her life, hoping that eventually she would give him a chance. Xander pretended to have her back, criticizing her relationships, all except the one with Riley…. probably because he knew that Buffy wasn’t really in love with the shy boy from Iowa. Xander was always so fixated on her feelings for Angel, believing the vampire was the love of her life. As usual, Xander was wrong though, and Buffy had eventually come to understand that what she felt for Angel was a crush, like most girls would have felt for a movie star, or a famous singer. He was all dark and exciting, the ultimate forbidden fruit.
For so long, Buffy had deluded herself, thinking that she had found love with the souled vampire. She knew now though, knew it the moment she and Spike shared their first real kiss, after their song and dance routine, courtesy of Sweets. With Spike, it was real love, and it scared the Hell out of her. Buffy was so sure she knew what love was. She had no idea.
While Buffy spent her time thinking about the past, Joyce had made a fresh pot of tea, and now she offered a cup to Merrick and Buffy. After accepting for himself, and declining for Buffy, the group waited while Joyce topped up everyone else’s cup.
After taking a sip or two, Giles placed his cup back down on the table. “Merrick, do you know where the Light is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“When we were in LA, the representatives for the Powers showed us a future full of death and destruction. Is it true that the world will turn out that way?” asked Joyce.
“The future isn’t written in stone, by any means. A lot of what happens will depend on you and your friends here.”
“How can that be?” Giles frowned. “I understood that what happens will depend on the Light. If we get the Light to our time, then the crisis will be averted.”
Merrick leaned forward in his seat. “You’ve missed an important part of the picture, Giles. Who is to say, even if you get the Light here, that it will stay?” The guide shook his head. “You’re not thinking this through.” He looked at each person in the group, hoping that one of them would finally show some understanding.
Xander spoke up, “Why wouldn’t the Light want to stay? It must be a lot better here than where it was before.”
“Many things will influence whether the Light will choose to stay in this time or not. It might even choose to stay in this timeline, but ignore the prophecies and choose a new path.” Merrick shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into his chair, wondering how this information would be received.
Not surprisingly, everyone started to speak at the same time, getting progressively louder and louder, until they were all yelling questions at each other. The only one silent was Joyce, who didn’t understand why everyone was yelling, instead of asking what Merrick knew.
“Be Quiet!”
The room went silent, as everyone stared in shock at the Slayer’s mother.
“Don’t yell in my house.” Joyce stood up. “If you can’t behave, you know where the door is.”
“Sorry, Joyce,” Giles offered, not looking at her. He was embarrassed, knowing that he should have been the one to get the group under control. Unable to look Joyce in the eye, everyone else mumbled an apology as well.
“Please explain, Merrick. In what way can we affect the Light’s choice?” Giles wanted to gather as much information as possible, and felt it was important to regain his position as leader of the group.
“It is important that you recognize that the Light is from the future. It has seen, and lived, what is now and what is to come.” Merrick arched an eyebrow, as if chiding them for not understanding on their own.
“What is that supposed to mean, exactly?” snarled Xander.
“Xander! Let me handle this.” Giles stopped Xander before he went too far. The Watcher was tired of constantly having to scold Xander, especially when it didn’t seem to change his behaviour.
“Merrick, do you know why the Light would choose to stay in the other timeline?”
Once again leaning forward, in an attempt to engage Giles directly, Merrick advised, “I know some of the reasons why the Light might choose not to stay, but not all of them. The place from your vision might be terrible, I’ll give you that, but everything that the Light has is there: an established life, memories, personal possessions, and a sense of belonging and purpose. What does the Light have in this time?”
“Is that what this is all about for the Light? Possessions?” Giles wanted to know. It was clear that the rest of the Scoobies were curious as well.
Merrick looked at Buffy, who was shaking her head. She had a hard time believing how stupid they were, how immature. She didn’t remember them being that way. Maybe her own youth had something to do with that, colouring her perceptions and protecting her from things she didn’t want to see. It was easier if she just saw the good in people, counterbalancing the evil she dealt with when the sun went down. The last time around, she had trusted them all with her life. Not this time. She noticed that Merrick had paused and was looking at her. She made a brief gesture, encouraging him to continue.
“No, it’s not all about possessions. The Light is returning from the future. It has lived through this time already.” He hesitated before he continued. “Not all the Light’s memories are good ones.”
For the second time that afternoon, conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Willow offered, jumping up from her seat on the couch where she had been snuggling with her boyfriend, Oz.
When she returned, she was followed by Angel.
“Good Heavens. Is it already that late, or have you dared defy the sun today?” Giles asked the vampire, as he entered the room behind the witch.
Not impressed in the least, Angel grumbled, “I was looking for you.” He looked suspiciously at Merrick and his companion, and then continued. “I was hoping for an update, on that business we were checking out in LA recently?”
“It’s quite alright,” Giles tried to reassure Angel. “They work for the Powers That Be.”
This time, when Angel answered, he sounded a little offended. “You’re holding a meeting? It would have been nice to have been told about it.” His brow was already wrinkled. I’m a Representative for the Powers, and that makes me the most important person here. I’ve got the power; they’re just back-up. So, why did they call a meeting and not let me know?
“This wasn’t exactly planned, Angel. We had no idea that my old friend would be arriving today,” Giles nodded towards Merrick, “but now that he and his companion are here, we’re trying to draw what information we can from them.”
“I see.” It was clear that Angel didn’t believe him. The vampire went over to lean against the wall, in full brood mode.
Giles turned back to Merrick. “What can we do to convince the Light to stay here? In this time?”
“There is still a lot to discuss, and it’s late. My companion and I still need to secure a hotel room for the night.” Merrick got up from his chair.
“Where do you intend to stay?” Giles inquired.
“I’m not certain where we can find unoccupied rooms this late. We also need to go to the bus station.” Merrick threw a glance at Buffy. “I suppose it should be the bus station first, so we can retrieve our luggage. If you’ll excuse us?” The Watcher bowed lightly, and turned to the door. Buffy imitated him, and then followed him from the room.
The couple was almost to the door when Giles stopped them. “I’m not comfortable without a way to contact you once you leave this home. I do have a spare room in my flat, and I believe Joyce has a spare room here as well.” Joyce, who had followed the group to the door, nodded her agreement.
“Oh, please. You’re very welcome to stay here, if you’d like,” the Slayer’s mom added.
Buffy had grasped Merrick’s hand as soon as she realized that Giles and her mother were talking about separating the two travellers. Merrick understood Buffy’s silent plea, and quickly responded to the suggestion. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept either of your offers. My companion and I need to stay together.” Once she was confident that Merrick would stay with her, Buffy released his hand again.
“If you are willing to share a room, or if one of you can make use of the couch, then you are both welcome at my home for as long as you need a place. Or, if you wish, you could stay here with Joyce,” Giles offered, looking to Joyce, who nodded her agreement once again.
Merrick glanced briefly at Buffy, before he accepted the offer from Giles. Buffy gave him a brief nod, to show that she was ok with his choice. “We have to get our bags before we can join you, Giles. When will you be home?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure when I’ll be done here,” Giles said. At that, Joyce quickly raised her hand. “Yes, what is it, Joyce?” Giles responded.
“Sorry to interrupt, Giles. I just wanted to remind you that you gave me your spare key a few weeks ago when I was preparing for that early research session.” She handed him the key. “I thought it might make things easier if you just gave them a key to your flat.”
Pleased with her forethought, Giles smiled at Joyce as he took the keys from her. “Thank you, Joyce. I appreciate your level-headedness.” Giles passed the key to Merrick, and then explained which room was the guest room, and where the extra towels and bed linen could be found.
Keys in hand, Merrick and Buffy left, deciding to grab a bite to eat before they went to the bus station to pick up the luggage.
After seeing the couple off, Giles returned to the living room, ready to try to soothe Angel’s wounded ego. They couldn’t afford to lose him now. Kendra was improving every day, but she was far from the Slayer that Buffy had been. It was times like this that he was struck anew with how much he missed her.
Giles was on his second cup of tea when there was a knock on the door. Joyce got up to open it, wondering who it was and hoping that it wasn’t bad news. At least she knew it wouldn’t be Angel, because the vampire stayed in his own apartment when the sun was shining.
“Giles, it’s for you,” Joyce said, as she returned to the living room.
“For me? Nobody knows I’m here.” Giles responded as he got up and went to the door.
“Yes, what….Merrick? But….but, you’re dead.” The Watcher immediately grabbed for the cross in his pocket.
“Hello to you too, Giles.” Merrick smiled carefully at Giles, while stepping back from the door. “Giles, look up.”
“Pardon me?” Giles stopped for a moment, unable to process Merrick’s request.
“Look up at the sky.” Merrick stepped back even further when Giles took a step towards him, cross in one hand, and a stake taken from his coat pocket in the other.
Giles stopped advancing, suddenly realizing that Merrick was standing in direct sunlight. “How?”
“The Powers That Be needed my help.”
Giles didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at Merrick. “You’ve been dead for a good while now,” he finally said.
“That’s right, but what can you do when the Powers ask for your help? You can’t turn them down,” Merrick said with a smile.
“Oh.” Wordless, Giles just kept standing there, cross extended towards Merrick and the stake still half-raised.
“Giles?” Merrick snapped his fingers in the stunned Watcher’s face. “Are you alright, Giles?”
“Oh. Yes, sorry, Merrick. It’s just, I didn’t expect you. Are you the Light?”
Merrick laughed. “No, Giles. Sorry to disappoint you. Though, I am here because of the Light.” He looked around, and then asked, “Could we possibly take this inside?”
“Yes, sorry. I’m still stunned to see you here.” Giles went back into the house, leaving the door open for Merrick to follow. “You know how it works.” Careful to avoid an invitation into the home, Giles stayed by the door, waiting.
Merrick walked past him, and into the house. “I have a friend with me. Can….?”
Giles looked curiously at Buffy, and then back at Merrick. “Does this friend have anything to do with the reason you’re here?”
Merrick hesitated, and looked at Buffy, who gave him a slight nod. “Yes.”
“Then, by all means.” He gestured with his arm.
Buffy followed Merrick in, head down, just to be safe. As long as Angel didn’t sniff her out, everything would be ok. She knew Angel wasn’t likely to be at the meeting because the sun was up, but just to be sure she used perfume to hide her natural scent. If she had to, she could always use a spell to hide her essence, but magic always had consequences. She smiled a little at the memory that thought brought. Memories of Spike always made her smile.
After being ushered into the living room, Merrick was offered Joyce’s seat, which he in turn offered to Buffy. Once she was seated, Merrick stood by her side until Joyce returned to the room with a chair from the dining room. Placing that chair near to his charge so he could offer her his support and act as a bit of a buffer, the two waited silently while Joyce grabbed a second chair and then seated herself near Giles.
“This is an unexpected development,” Giles said, shock still visible on his face.
Merrick couldn’t help but smile at Giles. The other Watcher had yet to relax the tight grip he had on his glasses and return them to his face. As the silence dragged on and Giles showed no inclination to start speaking, Joyce finally gave him a light nudge with her elbow, making him jump a little. He quickly turned to look at the Slayer’s mother, who raised a questioning brow his way.
“My apologies everyone. This is Merrick, an old Watcher friend of mine. He was Buffy’s first Watcher, and was killed in the line of duty before she moved to Sunnydale.”
Upon learning of Merrick’s deceased status, the rest of the group began to panic a bit. Leading the panic was Xander, who had automatically assumed that if Merrick had died and was now before them, he must be a vamp. Attempting to push Willow behind his body, Xander had found a stake and was now threatening Merrick with it. Quickly stepping between Xander and his old friend, Giles demanded, “Xander, put that stake away. Just sit down, be quiet, and stop acting like such a fool.”
“But….Giles….” Xander grumbled, as he sat down. He didn’t know what had changed, but it seemed like everything he did lately irritated the man he had come to think of as a substitute father.
“He’s not a vampire, Xander.” Giles tried to explain to the frustrated teen. “Merrick has informed me that he was called back to this plane to work for the Powers. They asked for his help, and he agreed to come here on their behalf. That is all I know, and now I think we should hear him out and find out what else he can tell us about his mission.” The moment the group heard that Merrick was working for the Powers That Be, the fear in their eyes changed to wonder.
On the bus ride to Sunnydale, Merrick and Buffy had tried to anticipate the questions that would be thrown at them once they made their presence known to the group. They wanted to have their bases covered, so that Merrick wouldn’t have to guess what Buffy wanted or, even worse, consult her in front of the group.
“Are you here about the Light?” Willow was impatient, as always.
“Yes, I am.” Merrick nodded. “Who are you?”
“Oh, sorry,” she giggled. “I’m Willow.” The young witch took a few moments to introduce the others in the room, before her curiosity overwhelmed her again. “Who’s your friend?”
“I’m afraid I’m not allowed to reveal that information, but I can tell you that my companion is the one I serve now.” Merrick tried to temper his comment with an apology, but everyone in the room heard the steel in his voice and understood exactly where the returned Watcher’s allegiance lay.
Giles had finally found his handkerchief, and was industriously cleaning his glasses while he digested the information Merrick had shared. “How do we then address your companion?”
“You don’t.” Merrick spoke with such a sense of finality in his voice that nobody thought to argue.
Letting the introductions pass her by, Buffy was silently watching her past friends and family interact with Merrick. It was strange, to see them like this. Never would she have dreamed that she would be placed back in their company again, and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about the changes the last few days had brought.
Buffy wished that she could forget what they had done to her so long ago, and find a way to forgive them. She knew she had to try to let things go, and accept that they weren’t the same people who had betrayed her so long ago. Not yet, at least, and if she had anything to do with it, they never would be. Buffy was terrified that somehow history would repeat itself, and she would once again be trying to defend herself from those she had once loved. She had to stop it before it started, had to remember that she was a grown woman, in control of her own life. The people in this room held her affection, but no power over her. Though the Slayer in her was strong, the vulnerable young woman inside couldn’t help but shiver. If she wasn’t able to save herself this time, then all would be lost.
But then there was Mom. Buffy had forgotten that she was alive and well at this point in time. Knowing she could always count on her mother, Buffy knew she had to do everything she could to prevent Joyce from falling ill again. Her mother was her role model, and she deserved better than to have her life cut short.
Next, Buffy’s gaze went to Willow. It was hard to see her friend looking as sweet and friendly as when they first met, knowing the changes that time had wrought in their relationship. The girl who had so eagerly welcomed her on her first day of school was still here, and Buffy wanted so desperately to be able to trust in her friendship again. Knowledge could be a terrible thing though, and now Buffy knew just what depths Willow would sink to in order to keep Buffy under control.
And Xander, who was like a big brother to her, but couldn’t seem to accept that he would never be more. He never gave up trying to control her life, hoping that eventually she would give him a chance. Xander pretended to have her back, criticizing her relationships, all except the one with Riley…. probably because he knew that Buffy wasn’t really in love with the shy boy from Iowa. Xander was always so fixated on her feelings for Angel, believing the vampire was the love of her life. As usual, Xander was wrong though, and Buffy had eventually come to understand that what she felt for Angel was a crush, like most girls would have felt for a movie star, or a famous singer. He was all dark and exciting, the ultimate forbidden fruit.
For so long, Buffy had deluded herself, thinking that she had found love with the souled vampire. She knew now though, knew it the moment she and Spike shared their first real kiss, after their song and dance routine, courtesy of Sweets. With Spike, it was real love, and it scared the Hell out of her. Buffy was so sure she knew what love was. She had no idea.
While Buffy spent her time thinking about the past, Joyce had made a fresh pot of tea, and now she offered a cup to Merrick and Buffy. After accepting for himself, and declining for Buffy, the group waited while Joyce topped up everyone else’s cup.
After taking a sip or two, Giles placed his cup back down on the table. “Merrick, do you know where the Light is?”
“Yes, I do.”
“When we were in LA, the representatives for the Powers showed us a future full of death and destruction. Is it true that the world will turn out that way?” asked Joyce.
“The future isn’t written in stone, by any means. A lot of what happens will depend on you and your friends here.”
“How can that be?” Giles frowned. “I understood that what happens will depend on the Light. If we get the Light to our time, then the crisis will be averted.”
Merrick leaned forward in his seat. “You’ve missed an important part of the picture, Giles. Who is to say, even if you get the Light here, that it will stay?” The guide shook his head. “You’re not thinking this through.” He looked at each person in the group, hoping that one of them would finally show some understanding.
Xander spoke up, “Why wouldn’t the Light want to stay? It must be a lot better here than where it was before.”
“Many things will influence whether the Light will choose to stay in this time or not. It might even choose to stay in this timeline, but ignore the prophecies and choose a new path.” Merrick shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into his chair, wondering how this information would be received.
Not surprisingly, everyone started to speak at the same time, getting progressively louder and louder, until they were all yelling questions at each other. The only one silent was Joyce, who didn’t understand why everyone was yelling, instead of asking what Merrick knew.
“Be Quiet!”
The room went silent, as everyone stared in shock at the Slayer’s mother.
“Don’t yell in my house.” Joyce stood up. “If you can’t behave, you know where the door is.”
“Sorry, Joyce,” Giles offered, not looking at her. He was embarrassed, knowing that he should have been the one to get the group under control. Unable to look Joyce in the eye, everyone else mumbled an apology as well.
“Please explain, Merrick. In what way can we affect the Light’s choice?” Giles wanted to gather as much information as possible, and felt it was important to regain his position as leader of the group.
“It is important that you recognize that the Light is from the future. It has seen, and lived, what is now and what is to come.” Merrick arched an eyebrow, as if chiding them for not understanding on their own.
“What is that supposed to mean, exactly?” snarled Xander.
“Xander! Let me handle this.” Giles stopped Xander before he went too far. The Watcher was tired of constantly having to scold Xander, especially when it didn’t seem to change his behaviour.
“Merrick, do you know why the Light would choose to stay in the other timeline?”
Once again leaning forward, in an attempt to engage Giles directly, Merrick advised, “I know some of the reasons why the Light might choose not to stay, but not all of them. The place from your vision might be terrible, I’ll give you that, but everything that the Light has is there: an established life, memories, personal possessions, and a sense of belonging and purpose. What does the Light have in this time?”
“Is that what this is all about for the Light? Possessions?” Giles wanted to know. It was clear that the rest of the Scoobies were curious as well.
Merrick looked at Buffy, who was shaking her head. She had a hard time believing how stupid they were, how immature. She didn’t remember them being that way. Maybe her own youth had something to do with that, colouring her perceptions and protecting her from things she didn’t want to see. It was easier if she just saw the good in people, counterbalancing the evil she dealt with when the sun went down. The last time around, she had trusted them all with her life. Not this time. She noticed that Merrick had paused and was looking at her. She made a brief gesture, encouraging him to continue.
“No, it’s not all about possessions. The Light is returning from the future. It has lived through this time already.” He hesitated before he continued. “Not all the Light’s memories are good ones.”
For the second time that afternoon, conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Willow offered, jumping up from her seat on the couch where she had been snuggling with her boyfriend, Oz.
When she returned, she was followed by Angel.
“Good Heavens. Is it already that late, or have you dared defy the sun today?” Giles asked the vampire, as he entered the room behind the witch.
Not impressed in the least, Angel grumbled, “I was looking for you.” He looked suspiciously at Merrick and his companion, and then continued. “I was hoping for an update, on that business we were checking out in LA recently?”
“It’s quite alright,” Giles tried to reassure Angel. “They work for the Powers That Be.”
This time, when Angel answered, he sounded a little offended. “You’re holding a meeting? It would have been nice to have been told about it.” His brow was already wrinkled. I’m a Representative for the Powers, and that makes me the most important person here. I’ve got the power; they’re just back-up. So, why did they call a meeting and not let me know?
“This wasn’t exactly planned, Angel. We had no idea that my old friend would be arriving today,” Giles nodded towards Merrick, “but now that he and his companion are here, we’re trying to draw what information we can from them.”
“I see.” It was clear that Angel didn’t believe him. The vampire went over to lean against the wall, in full brood mode.
Giles turned back to Merrick. “What can we do to convince the Light to stay here? In this time?”
“There is still a lot to discuss, and it’s late. My companion and I still need to secure a hotel room for the night.” Merrick got up from his chair.
“Where do you intend to stay?” Giles inquired.
“I’m not certain where we can find unoccupied rooms this late. We also need to go to the bus station.” Merrick threw a glance at Buffy. “I suppose it should be the bus station first, so we can retrieve our luggage. If you’ll excuse us?” The Watcher bowed lightly, and turned to the door. Buffy imitated him, and then followed him from the room.
The couple was almost to the door when Giles stopped them. “I’m not comfortable without a way to contact you once you leave this home. I do have a spare room in my flat, and I believe Joyce has a spare room here as well.” Joyce, who had followed the group to the door, nodded her agreement.
“Oh, please. You’re very welcome to stay here, if you’d like,” the Slayer’s mom added.
Buffy had grasped Merrick’s hand as soon as she realized that Giles and her mother were talking about separating the two travellers. Merrick understood Buffy’s silent plea, and quickly responded to the suggestion. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept either of your offers. My companion and I need to stay together.” Once she was confident that Merrick would stay with her, Buffy released his hand again.
“If you are willing to share a room, or if one of you can make use of the couch, then you are both welcome at my home for as long as you need a place. Or, if you wish, you could stay here with Joyce,” Giles offered, looking to Joyce, who nodded her agreement once again.
Merrick glanced briefly at Buffy, before he accepted the offer from Giles. Buffy gave him a brief nod, to show that she was ok with his choice. “We have to get our bags before we can join you, Giles. When will you be home?”
“Well, I’m not quite sure when I’ll be done here,” Giles said. At that, Joyce quickly raised her hand. “Yes, what is it, Joyce?” Giles responded.
“Sorry to interrupt, Giles. I just wanted to remind you that you gave me your spare key a few weeks ago when I was preparing for that early research session.” She handed him the key. “I thought it might make things easier if you just gave them a key to your flat.”
Pleased with her forethought, Giles smiled at Joyce as he took the keys from her. “Thank you, Joyce. I appreciate your level-headedness.” Giles passed the key to Merrick, and then explained which room was the guest room, and where the extra towels and bed linen could be found.
Keys in hand, Merrick and Buffy left, deciding to grab a bite to eat before they went to the bus station to pick up the luggage.
After seeing the couple off, Giles returned to the living room, ready to try to soothe Angel’s wounded ego. They couldn’t afford to lose him now. Kendra was improving every day, but she was far from the Slayer that Buffy had been. It was times like this that he was struck anew with how much he missed her.
Learn From Your Mistakes.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
After a very satisfying stop at a local Chinese eatery, Buffy and Merrick were once again on the move. They picked up Buffy’s belongings, and then headed towards Giles’ home, stopping a few times along the way to stake a couple of fledglings.
“It’s been years since I’ve had to stake a fledgling,” Buffy laughed. “I’d forgotten how very stupid they are. Humans quickly learned to watch out for demons at night, and they stayed indoors when they could. Later, when the sky changed, they learned to always travel in large groups so they could help each other out if they were attacked. Some people would watch out for demons, and others would do whatever task was needed.”
“What about you? Did you have someone to watch your back?” Merrick was curious to hear Buffy’s answer.
Buffy smiled sadly. “At first I helped out all the time. Then a rumour started that the groups were only attacked because the demons wanted me, and so, suddenly I wasn’t welcome anymore. It was too late, when they finally figured out that they would be attacked anyway.”
“It must have been difficult to be ostracized like that.”
“It wasn’t so bad. After...” She briefly closed her eyes. “After I lost Spike, and learned about the betrayal, I wasn’t really a people person. I did look forward to the odd visit from Clem, an old friend of Spike’s, but even that relationship was pretty limited. Clem would stop by when he could, but I wasn’t welcome in his home. His family knew I was the Slayer, and they were uncomfortable having me around.”
Merrick was silent after hearing Buffy’s story. Really, there wasn’t anything he could say to make her feel better about the years she had spent alone, so the rest of the walk to Giles’ flat was made in silence. The Watcher made a vow though, that he would do whatever he could to make sure his charge didn’t have to live through loneliness like that again.
Once they reached their destination and had a look at the accommodations, it was decided that Buffy would occupy the bed in Giles’ guest room. Merrick didn’t need much sleep, so he would get what he could on the couch, or on the bedroom floor, if he had to.
It had been an emotionally exhausting day, and Buffy felt overwhelmed by the memories that had been assaulting her since she returned to Sunnydale. Most of them were connected to her visit to the house on Revello Drive and seeing the Scoobies again. She knew there were good memories, but they were overshadowed by memories of the gang’s disapproval of her life and relationship choices. Even more devastating were the memories of her mother’s death. Her last thought before slipping off in to the arms of Morpheus, was the night when she was kicked out of her own home by her family and friends. She smiled when she thought of Spike searching her out and comforting her, despite her treatment of him. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been back then. If she had been honest, she would have told him how much she loved him, even before he got his soul back.
Not knowing if Merrick would need to sleep on the floor or not, Buffy didn’t lock the bedroom door when she went to bed that night. For that reason, when a knock on the door woke her just before noon the next day, her first response was to pull the blankets up over her head and hide.
“Are you awake?” It was Merrick.
Recognizing Merrick’s voice, Buffy relaxed and poked her head out from under the covers. Walking to the door, she opened it just enough to let him into the room.
“What’s on the schedule for today?” Buffy asked, as she looked for clean clothes to put on after the shower she planned to take.
“I had hoped we could talk with Giles today, before the gang comes along.”
“Makes sense. We can actually have a discussion without questions from Willow, brooding from Angel, or Xander’s hysterical bias against demons causing trouble. It just makes me so angry.” Buffy finally found the shirt she had been looking for, and gathered everything she needed in her arms, ready to head off for her shower.
“Angry? What exactly is it that’s bothering you?” Merrick thought a little venting would be good for the Slayer, and stood patiently, waiting for her response.
Pausing at the door, clean clothing in hand, Buffy turned back to her Watcher. “It’s everything. They have no respect for me and my feelings. Everything is about them and what they want and what they think.” Buffy had the door open, ready to leave, when she added, “Just let me shower, and then we’ll go talk with Giles.”
“Haven’t you forgotten something?” Merrick held up Buffy’s big black hoodie.
“I wish it wasn’t necessary,” Buffy sighed, as she pulled the bulky garment over her head. “I’ll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
------------------------------------
It was almost twenty minutes later when Buffy, hidden in her hooded sweater once more, sat down at the kitchen table with the Watchers. Merrick immediately placed a huge plate of food in front of her, clearly expecting that she would eat it for breakfast. If she hadn’t been wearing the hood, she would have looked at him and pouted, and then asked if he thought she was a pig. When a tall glass of milk was added to the table, she decided to just eat what she wanted and leave the rest for Merrick to deal with. Surprisingly, once she started eating, it wasn’t long until her plate was empty and the milk was gone. As Buffy leaned back in her chair, Merrick cleared her place and then passed her a cup of hot tea.
From the time that Buffy joined the men at the table, Giles found himself carefully observing his guests. They acted like a family; a father taking care of his child, possibly. Giles knew Merrick had been a bachelor when he died, and couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.
When Merrick sat down with his own cup of tea, Giles cleared his throat and directed his attention to Buffy. “Merrick didn’t want to answer any of my questions before you were present. Yesterday he told us that he was working for you. Is that correct?”
Buffy shrugged her shoulders.
“I see. You plan to remain silent?” Feeling frustrated, Giles turned to Merrick instead. “Well, now that your boss is here, will you finally answer some of my questions?” he asked sarcastically.
Not appreciating Giles’ attitude, Merrick chose to simply smile and say, “Go ahead, Giles.”
“Do you know how it is that we are to get the Light to this time? How we are to retrieve it from wherever it is now?”
“Yes, I do,” Merrick answered, but didn’t elaborate.
“How?” Giles put his pen to paper, ready to write down whatever information Merrick could provide.
“How the Light is retrieved doesn’t matter,” Merrick began, but stopped talking and raised a hand in protest when it appeared that Giles was about to interrupt him. “Let me finish. The ‘how’ of the retrieval doesn’t matter, because I’ve already picked the Light up and brought it here.”
Giles’ glasses immediately came off, as he tried to polish them while still holding on to his pad of paper and pen. After a moment, he gave up on the glasses and placed them back on his nose where they belonged. “The Light is here? In this time? Already?”
“That it is.” Merrick smiled at Giles’ flabbergasted look.
“You’ve spoken with the Light? Is that why you said that the Light might choose not to stay in this time?” Giles thought hard for a moment. “The Light works for the Powers, correct? They should be able to just tell the Light to stay in this time, right?”
“Wrong.”
“But...how?”
“A reward from the Powers, for services rendered. The Light will choose its own path.” Merrick responded, shrugging his shoulders. His message was clear: Nothing I can do about it.
“Do you know what the Light did to receive such a gift from the Powers?” Giles was scribbling away at his notepad. He didn’t see Merrick look questioningly at Buffy, or the short nod of permission she sent back to him.
“The Light agreed to come to this time, in an effort to prevent the future you were shown in LA. The Powers know the Light has lived through this time before, and that it was a time filled with fear, sadness, and regret. In this time, the Light was meant to become complete, but because of interference, that never happened. By agreeing to return, the Light has been granted another opportunity. There is no guarantee, but the chance to become complete is there.” Merrick noticed that Giles was writing like a madman, and he paused to give him a chance to catch up.
After a few minutes, Giles finally looked up. “You said the Light was to become complete. What prevented that from happening?”
“The Scooby Gang, Angel, and the Watcher’s Council all chose to interfere with the path the Light was to follow.”
The glasses flew from Giles’ face so quickly that his hand seemed invisible. “Do you mean to say that the Light failed to become complete because of something we did?”
Merrick nodded seriously.
“If that’s the case, I can certainly understand why the Light might be reluctant to stay in this time.” Giles seemed shaken, and rose from his chair, heading for the living room. “I believe I need a drink. Would you like one?” Giles was so caught up that he seemed to forget that Buffy was even in the room.
Merrick refused the offer of a drink so early in the day, but used the time that Giles was busy to briefly communicate with Buffy. He wanted to know how much of her history she would let him reveal to the other Watcher. Her answer was simple: Merrick could reveal everything, except the identity of the Light.
Giles returned to his chair, placing his glass on the table and once again picking up his pad and pen. “I can’t understand how it could be our fault that the Light failed to become complete. If it was destined by the Powers...?”
“Time to put your pad and paper to good use, Giles. Write this down. It’s important that you remember it,” Merrick said, harshly. Before Giles could say anything, Merrick continued. “The Watcher’s Council had the book you found for years, and even had time to translate it. Instead, they chose to hide the book.” Giles looked surprised, and paused in his writing for a moment. Before he could say anything, Merrick continued. “Also, Angel should never have been able to touch your Slayer.”
“Excuse me? Angel has never touched Buffy, as far as I know,” Giles interrupted.
“If your Slayer hadn’t been attacked, it would have happened,” Merrick said, with certainty in his voice.
“I see, or rather, I hadn’t seen that their relationship was heading that way.” Giles was chewing on the ear piece of his glasses as he spoke. “I suppose the danger is now out of the way, given that Buffy is currently in the hospital.” Suddenly he threw a sharp look toward Merrick and then his companion, almost as if asking if that assumption was an accurate one.
Giles was in a quandary. He still hoped that Buffy would recover and leave the hospital, but that might mean she was in some sort of danger because of her relationship with Angel. If, instead, Buffy was actually the Light, it would mean that he and the Scoobies had done so much wrong that he couldn’t even think of being forgiven. He was afraid to hope for either result, and could only think of doing what he could to minimize the potential damage. “So, what can we do to stop everyone from interfering with the Light this time?”
“By now you must have realized that the Light was in your close circle of friends?”
Giles nodded. “I suspected as much. Does that have something to do with what happened to the Light?”
“The teachings from the Council had a great deal to do with what happened.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.” Giles looked confused.
“What have you always taught those around you? It was always the same. Demons are evil and should be put down. Demons without a soul can’t love. Over and over again.”
“The Council has proven that information correct, and it was my responsibility...”
Buffy’s head bowed further, and her hands were knotted in her lap.
Merrick couldn’t listen to any more. “Wrong!” he loudly exclaimed, as he leapt from his chair and started pacing.
Buffy couldn’t take it anymore. Both men noticed that there were tears leaking out from under her hood. Merrick was at her side immediately, offering support when she got up from her chair. “I’ll be right back,” he told Giles. Merrick escorted Buffy to her room, and then stayed with her until she stopped crying. They talked a bit about what happened downstairs, and made a few more decisions about what they wanted for the future. Merrick promised to come and get her if he had any doubts about what she would want, and then went back downstairs to continue his conversation with Giles.
“Why was your companion so upset?” Giles asked, when Merrick sat down in front of him.
Merrick sighed heavily. “The Light could have been complete, if not for that attitude.”
“I’m afraid I simply don’t understand what that has to do with the Light becoming complete?” Giles just couldn’t seem to make the connection.
“It is the Council’s faulty teaching that has informed the Scoobies,” Merrick pointed out.
Giles couldn’t remain at the table any longer, finding himself back in the living room and reaching for the Scotch once again, while he tried to figure how Merrick could possibly believe what he was saying. He could tell both Merrick and his companion were genuinely upset but, even after sitting by himself in the living room and trying to process what he had heard, Giles still couldn’t suspend his belief in what he had been taught. “Please, explain it to me. I just can’t seem to understand what it is you’re trying to say.”
“Come on, Giles. It’s a simple enough idea. You were indoctrinated in the Council’s teachings, and it is that knowledge and belief system that you pass on to those you meet now. The problem is, the Council really didn’t know a lot about vampires and other demons, so it made up information as it went along. The information you have been taught is wrong. For example, you have been taught to believe that demons cannot love. While it is true that some very few breeds of demon are completely without the capacity to feel affection and love, most demons, especially vampires, can love. Not all demons are inherently evil.”
“But, Angel...”
Merrick shook his head sadly. “Angel, or Angelus, can’t love, and is as evil as they come. He believes that all demons are like him, but he’s wrong. Demons are like humans...some good, some evil, all different. Of course, the majority of demons follow a different moral and ethical code than humans, and we would likely consider them to be evil, and the majority of humans to be good.”
Giles had brought his hankie out, and was trying to polish his glasses again, but his hands were shaking too hard and he was forced to give up his efforts. “You mean to say that everything I have learned as a Watcher has been false?”
“Perhaps not everything, but certainly a significant amount of your knowledge is fiction. So now, the question becomes, can you change?”
Giles had picked up another pen and pad of paper, hoping to take notes for reference later, but now he lay them down again, and leaned back in his chair to dangle his glasses between two fingers once more. “Since you work for the Powers, I believe what you are telling me is the truth. I have no choice but to change. I’ve already see what will become of the world if the Light does not remain, and that’s not something I want to experience first-hand.”
Merrick smiled sadly. “The fate of the world doesn’t rest on whether the Light will stay in this time. What is important is that the Light becomes complete.”
Seeking knowledge again, Giles had to ask, “What will it take for the Light to become complete?”
“The Light was meant to join with a special companion, the Light’s missing half. Only then will it be complete.”
Suddenly Giles leaned forward, looking curiously at Merrick. “Will you tell me who the Light is? Or, if you cannot do that, tell me who the Light’s companion is?”
“I can’t. I am not willing to risk the Light’s happiness, should you or the Scoobie Gang decide you don’t approve and want to change the Light’s fate.”
Moments before, Giles had been trying to think of anyone of his acquaintance who might possibly be the Light, or the Light’s companion, but now, he couldn’t help but sit back in his chair and feel somewhat offended, and his attitude showed.
“I’m sorry, Giles, but we’re not prepared to trust you just yet. I know that you genuinely believe in your role as a Watcher, but the Council has already ruined this lifetime for the Light once before.”
Giles looked thoughtfully at Merrick. “When I first heard of the Light, I had my own idea about who we were waiting for. Since that time, I have not learned anything that would make me believe my theory is incorrect.”
“You’ve developed your own theory, have you?” Merrick couldn’t help but smile.
Giles smirked. “Maybe you can tell me how it is that I have the book, instead of the Council?”
“The Powers That Be took a chance on you, hoping that you would be so interested in the book that you would want to translate it yourself. It would seem they know you well, my friend.” Merrick’s face split into a big grin.
After a very satisfying stop at a local Chinese eatery, Buffy and Merrick were once again on the move. They picked up Buffy’s belongings, and then headed towards Giles’ home, stopping a few times along the way to stake a couple of fledglings.
“It’s been years since I’ve had to stake a fledgling,” Buffy laughed. “I’d forgotten how very stupid they are. Humans quickly learned to watch out for demons at night, and they stayed indoors when they could. Later, when the sky changed, they learned to always travel in large groups so they could help each other out if they were attacked. Some people would watch out for demons, and others would do whatever task was needed.”
“What about you? Did you have someone to watch your back?” Merrick was curious to hear Buffy’s answer.
Buffy smiled sadly. “At first I helped out all the time. Then a rumour started that the groups were only attacked because the demons wanted me, and so, suddenly I wasn’t welcome anymore. It was too late, when they finally figured out that they would be attacked anyway.”
“It must have been difficult to be ostracized like that.”
“It wasn’t so bad. After...” She briefly closed her eyes. “After I lost Spike, and learned about the betrayal, I wasn’t really a people person. I did look forward to the odd visit from Clem, an old friend of Spike’s, but even that relationship was pretty limited. Clem would stop by when he could, but I wasn’t welcome in his home. His family knew I was the Slayer, and they were uncomfortable having me around.”
Merrick was silent after hearing Buffy’s story. Really, there wasn’t anything he could say to make her feel better about the years she had spent alone, so the rest of the walk to Giles’ flat was made in silence. The Watcher made a vow though, that he would do whatever he could to make sure his charge didn’t have to live through loneliness like that again.
Once they reached their destination and had a look at the accommodations, it was decided that Buffy would occupy the bed in Giles’ guest room. Merrick didn’t need much sleep, so he would get what he could on the couch, or on the bedroom floor, if he had to.
It had been an emotionally exhausting day, and Buffy felt overwhelmed by the memories that had been assaulting her since she returned to Sunnydale. Most of them were connected to her visit to the house on Revello Drive and seeing the Scoobies again. She knew there were good memories, but they were overshadowed by memories of the gang’s disapproval of her life and relationship choices. Even more devastating were the memories of her mother’s death. Her last thought before slipping off in to the arms of Morpheus, was the night when she was kicked out of her own home by her family and friends. She smiled when she thought of Spike searching her out and comforting her, despite her treatment of him. She couldn’t believe how stupid she had been back then. If she had been honest, she would have told him how much she loved him, even before he got his soul back.
Not knowing if Merrick would need to sleep on the floor or not, Buffy didn’t lock the bedroom door when she went to bed that night. For that reason, when a knock on the door woke her just before noon the next day, her first response was to pull the blankets up over her head and hide.
“Are you awake?” It was Merrick.
Recognizing Merrick’s voice, Buffy relaxed and poked her head out from under the covers. Walking to the door, she opened it just enough to let him into the room.
“What’s on the schedule for today?” Buffy asked, as she looked for clean clothes to put on after the shower she planned to take.
“I had hoped we could talk with Giles today, before the gang comes along.”
“Makes sense. We can actually have a discussion without questions from Willow, brooding from Angel, or Xander’s hysterical bias against demons causing trouble. It just makes me so angry.” Buffy finally found the shirt she had been looking for, and gathered everything she needed in her arms, ready to head off for her shower.
“Angry? What exactly is it that’s bothering you?” Merrick thought a little venting would be good for the Slayer, and stood patiently, waiting for her response.
Pausing at the door, clean clothing in hand, Buffy turned back to her Watcher. “It’s everything. They have no respect for me and my feelings. Everything is about them and what they want and what they think.” Buffy had the door open, ready to leave, when she added, “Just let me shower, and then we’ll go talk with Giles.”
“Haven’t you forgotten something?” Merrick held up Buffy’s big black hoodie.
“I wish it wasn’t necessary,” Buffy sighed, as she pulled the bulky garment over her head. “I’ll see you downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
------------------------------------
It was almost twenty minutes later when Buffy, hidden in her hooded sweater once more, sat down at the kitchen table with the Watchers. Merrick immediately placed a huge plate of food in front of her, clearly expecting that she would eat it for breakfast. If she hadn’t been wearing the hood, she would have looked at him and pouted, and then asked if he thought she was a pig. When a tall glass of milk was added to the table, she decided to just eat what she wanted and leave the rest for Merrick to deal with. Surprisingly, once she started eating, it wasn’t long until her plate was empty and the milk was gone. As Buffy leaned back in her chair, Merrick cleared her place and then passed her a cup of hot tea.
From the time that Buffy joined the men at the table, Giles found himself carefully observing his guests. They acted like a family; a father taking care of his child, possibly. Giles knew Merrick had been a bachelor when he died, and couldn’t help but wonder what was going on.
When Merrick sat down with his own cup of tea, Giles cleared his throat and directed his attention to Buffy. “Merrick didn’t want to answer any of my questions before you were present. Yesterday he told us that he was working for you. Is that correct?”
Buffy shrugged her shoulders.
“I see. You plan to remain silent?” Feeling frustrated, Giles turned to Merrick instead. “Well, now that your boss is here, will you finally answer some of my questions?” he asked sarcastically.
Not appreciating Giles’ attitude, Merrick chose to simply smile and say, “Go ahead, Giles.”
“Do you know how it is that we are to get the Light to this time? How we are to retrieve it from wherever it is now?”
“Yes, I do,” Merrick answered, but didn’t elaborate.
“How?” Giles put his pen to paper, ready to write down whatever information Merrick could provide.
“How the Light is retrieved doesn’t matter,” Merrick began, but stopped talking and raised a hand in protest when it appeared that Giles was about to interrupt him. “Let me finish. The ‘how’ of the retrieval doesn’t matter, because I’ve already picked the Light up and brought it here.”
Giles’ glasses immediately came off, as he tried to polish them while still holding on to his pad of paper and pen. After a moment, he gave up on the glasses and placed them back on his nose where they belonged. “The Light is here? In this time? Already?”
“That it is.” Merrick smiled at Giles’ flabbergasted look.
“You’ve spoken with the Light? Is that why you said that the Light might choose not to stay in this time?” Giles thought hard for a moment. “The Light works for the Powers, correct? They should be able to just tell the Light to stay in this time, right?”
“Wrong.”
“But...how?”
“A reward from the Powers, for services rendered. The Light will choose its own path.” Merrick responded, shrugging his shoulders. His message was clear: Nothing I can do about it.
“Do you know what the Light did to receive such a gift from the Powers?” Giles was scribbling away at his notepad. He didn’t see Merrick look questioningly at Buffy, or the short nod of permission she sent back to him.
“The Light agreed to come to this time, in an effort to prevent the future you were shown in LA. The Powers know the Light has lived through this time before, and that it was a time filled with fear, sadness, and regret. In this time, the Light was meant to become complete, but because of interference, that never happened. By agreeing to return, the Light has been granted another opportunity. There is no guarantee, but the chance to become complete is there.” Merrick noticed that Giles was writing like a madman, and he paused to give him a chance to catch up.
After a few minutes, Giles finally looked up. “You said the Light was to become complete. What prevented that from happening?”
“The Scooby Gang, Angel, and the Watcher’s Council all chose to interfere with the path the Light was to follow.”
The glasses flew from Giles’ face so quickly that his hand seemed invisible. “Do you mean to say that the Light failed to become complete because of something we did?”
Merrick nodded seriously.
“If that’s the case, I can certainly understand why the Light might be reluctant to stay in this time.” Giles seemed shaken, and rose from his chair, heading for the living room. “I believe I need a drink. Would you like one?” Giles was so caught up that he seemed to forget that Buffy was even in the room.
Merrick refused the offer of a drink so early in the day, but used the time that Giles was busy to briefly communicate with Buffy. He wanted to know how much of her history she would let him reveal to the other Watcher. Her answer was simple: Merrick could reveal everything, except the identity of the Light.
Giles returned to his chair, placing his glass on the table and once again picking up his pad and pen. “I can’t understand how it could be our fault that the Light failed to become complete. If it was destined by the Powers...?”
“Time to put your pad and paper to good use, Giles. Write this down. It’s important that you remember it,” Merrick said, harshly. Before Giles could say anything, Merrick continued. “The Watcher’s Council had the book you found for years, and even had time to translate it. Instead, they chose to hide the book.” Giles looked surprised, and paused in his writing for a moment. Before he could say anything, Merrick continued. “Also, Angel should never have been able to touch your Slayer.”
“Excuse me? Angel has never touched Buffy, as far as I know,” Giles interrupted.
“If your Slayer hadn’t been attacked, it would have happened,” Merrick said, with certainty in his voice.
“I see, or rather, I hadn’t seen that their relationship was heading that way.” Giles was chewing on the ear piece of his glasses as he spoke. “I suppose the danger is now out of the way, given that Buffy is currently in the hospital.” Suddenly he threw a sharp look toward Merrick and then his companion, almost as if asking if that assumption was an accurate one.
Giles was in a quandary. He still hoped that Buffy would recover and leave the hospital, but that might mean she was in some sort of danger because of her relationship with Angel. If, instead, Buffy was actually the Light, it would mean that he and the Scoobies had done so much wrong that he couldn’t even think of being forgiven. He was afraid to hope for either result, and could only think of doing what he could to minimize the potential damage. “So, what can we do to stop everyone from interfering with the Light this time?”
“By now you must have realized that the Light was in your close circle of friends?”
Giles nodded. “I suspected as much. Does that have something to do with what happened to the Light?”
“The teachings from the Council had a great deal to do with what happened.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.” Giles looked confused.
“What have you always taught those around you? It was always the same. Demons are evil and should be put down. Demons without a soul can’t love. Over and over again.”
“The Council has proven that information correct, and it was my responsibility...”
Buffy’s head bowed further, and her hands were knotted in her lap.
Merrick couldn’t listen to any more. “Wrong!” he loudly exclaimed, as he leapt from his chair and started pacing.
Buffy couldn’t take it anymore. Both men noticed that there were tears leaking out from under her hood. Merrick was at her side immediately, offering support when she got up from her chair. “I’ll be right back,” he told Giles. Merrick escorted Buffy to her room, and then stayed with her until she stopped crying. They talked a bit about what happened downstairs, and made a few more decisions about what they wanted for the future. Merrick promised to come and get her if he had any doubts about what she would want, and then went back downstairs to continue his conversation with Giles.
“Why was your companion so upset?” Giles asked, when Merrick sat down in front of him.
Merrick sighed heavily. “The Light could have been complete, if not for that attitude.”
“I’m afraid I simply don’t understand what that has to do with the Light becoming complete?” Giles just couldn’t seem to make the connection.
“It is the Council’s faulty teaching that has informed the Scoobies,” Merrick pointed out.
Giles couldn’t remain at the table any longer, finding himself back in the living room and reaching for the Scotch once again, while he tried to figure how Merrick could possibly believe what he was saying. He could tell both Merrick and his companion were genuinely upset but, even after sitting by himself in the living room and trying to process what he had heard, Giles still couldn’t suspend his belief in what he had been taught. “Please, explain it to me. I just can’t seem to understand what it is you’re trying to say.”
“Come on, Giles. It’s a simple enough idea. You were indoctrinated in the Council’s teachings, and it is that knowledge and belief system that you pass on to those you meet now. The problem is, the Council really didn’t know a lot about vampires and other demons, so it made up information as it went along. The information you have been taught is wrong. For example, you have been taught to believe that demons cannot love. While it is true that some very few breeds of demon are completely without the capacity to feel affection and love, most demons, especially vampires, can love. Not all demons are inherently evil.”
“But, Angel...”
Merrick shook his head sadly. “Angel, or Angelus, can’t love, and is as evil as they come. He believes that all demons are like him, but he’s wrong. Demons are like humans...some good, some evil, all different. Of course, the majority of demons follow a different moral and ethical code than humans, and we would likely consider them to be evil, and the majority of humans to be good.”
Giles had brought his hankie out, and was trying to polish his glasses again, but his hands were shaking too hard and he was forced to give up his efforts. “You mean to say that everything I have learned as a Watcher has been false?”
“Perhaps not everything, but certainly a significant amount of your knowledge is fiction. So now, the question becomes, can you change?”
Giles had picked up another pen and pad of paper, hoping to take notes for reference later, but now he lay them down again, and leaned back in his chair to dangle his glasses between two fingers once more. “Since you work for the Powers, I believe what you are telling me is the truth. I have no choice but to change. I’ve already see what will become of the world if the Light does not remain, and that’s not something I want to experience first-hand.”
Merrick smiled sadly. “The fate of the world doesn’t rest on whether the Light will stay in this time. What is important is that the Light becomes complete.”
Seeking knowledge again, Giles had to ask, “What will it take for the Light to become complete?”
“The Light was meant to join with a special companion, the Light’s missing half. Only then will it be complete.”
Suddenly Giles leaned forward, looking curiously at Merrick. “Will you tell me who the Light is? Or, if you cannot do that, tell me who the Light’s companion is?”
“I can’t. I am not willing to risk the Light’s happiness, should you or the Scoobie Gang decide you don’t approve and want to change the Light’s fate.”
Moments before, Giles had been trying to think of anyone of his acquaintance who might possibly be the Light, or the Light’s companion, but now, he couldn’t help but sit back in his chair and feel somewhat offended, and his attitude showed.
“I’m sorry, Giles, but we’re not prepared to trust you just yet. I know that you genuinely believe in your role as a Watcher, but the Council has already ruined this lifetime for the Light once before.”
Giles looked thoughtfully at Merrick. “When I first heard of the Light, I had my own idea about who we were waiting for. Since that time, I have not learned anything that would make me believe my theory is incorrect.”
“You’ve developed your own theory, have you?” Merrick couldn’t help but smile.
Giles smirked. “Maybe you can tell me how it is that I have the book, instead of the Council?”
“The Powers That Be took a chance on you, hoping that you would be so interested in the book that you would want to translate it yourself. It would seem they know you well, my friend.” Merrick’s face split into a big grin.
Reality Check.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Later that day, Buffy and Merrick went out, deliberately absenting themselves from Giles’ home when they knew the Scoobies were due for a meeting. Buffy didn’t want to deal with Angel’s sulky attitude, now that he had realized he wasn’t the most important person in Sunnydale. Willow as well, with her sweet face and scheming mind, and Xander, with his ‘demons must die’ outlook. It was all just too much for her to deal with right now.
Buffy was glad that she had the sense to disguise herself before returning to Sunnydale. If her friends had recognized her, she was certain they would have tried to take control of her, and the situation, already. That’s why they were so upset last night...they weren’t in control and they didn’t like the feeling.
With nothing in particular to do, Buffy and Merrick were currently wandering though one of the many parks in Sunnydale. “Merrick?”
“Yes, Buffy?”
“Can we go see her?”
“Who is it that you would like to see?”
She looked at him, suddenly shy. “Buffy. I mean, I’d like to see the Buffy from this time.”
“The Buffy from this time?” Merrick stopped walking, his brow wrinkled. “Why on Earth would you want to visit her? She’s not there anymore, Buffy. It’s just a body that will die if you decide not to take it over.”
Buffy looked down, embarrassed. “I don’t know, Merrick. I think seeing her, the other Buffy...I think it would make this feel real.”
Merrick looked at her, sympathy written on his face. “You’re having a hard time believing this is real?”
Buffy nodded, and started to move again. “Yeah. I mean, think about it. When have the Powers ever done anything good for me?”
Merrick thought about it, and quickly realized that Buffy was right. By unspoken agreement, they both turned and began walking toward the hospital.
When they reached the entrance, there was a moment when Buffy wasn’t sure if she’d be able to enter the building. It was a combination of the antiseptic smell, and the memories that assaulted her mind. She had been here so many times, and each occasion brought with it a special and specific kind of grief. The worst memory was when her mother was sick, and then later, when she died. Though everyone had grieved the gentle woman, it was barely a week later that Buffy had been told to get over her sorrow and get on with her life. She should have seen what was happening then. It was clear in hindsight that the Scoobies saw Buffy as a tool, not a living and breathing person. Buffy reluctantly smiled when those thoughts brought her to memories of Spike and his Buffybot. He’d had such crazy ideas sometimes. Buffy shook her head, returning to reality when she heard Merrick ask the front desk clerk for the room number of Buffy Summers.
It wasn’t long before they were standing beside a bed, looking down on the body of a younger Buffy. “I don’t understand why she isn’t dead yet, if her soul is already gone,” Buffy commented to Merrick, wondering if he knew how the body was being maintained.
“I don’t really know the details of the process. I do know that the Powers had to react very quickly, to ensure that your body would be maintained on this plane for a while. They actually had to freeze time, until they found a solution to the problem.” Merrick smiled at Buffy’s surprised look.
“They froze time? How did they do that?” Buffy asked.
“Again, I don’t know all the details. From where I was watching, it looked almost like someone pushed the pause button on a TV screen. Everything just stopped. It would have been funny, had it not been for your death.” Merrick laughed at the memory of birds frozen in the air and strange expressions caught on peoples’ faces.
Buffy scowled at Merrick. “I hope you’ll pardon me if I don’t see anything funny about my death.”
“I guess you had to be there.” The Watcher just smiled at Buffy’s bad mood.
Feeling a connection with the girl lying in the hospital bed, Buffy reached out to stroke her hair. “Let’s get out of here. We don’t want to have to explain ourselves if anyone else shows up.”
“You can stay longer, if you want,” came a voice from the doorway.
Together, Buffy and Merrick turned to face the open door, and the elderly nurse who was speaking to them.
“Poor girl doesn’t get many visitors. Only her mom, in the evenings. She stays for about an hour, talking to her and brushing her hair each night.” The nurse checked the machinery that was hooked up to the body in the bed.
“What about her friends?” Buffy dared to ask the nurse.
“There were a few, but they don’t come anymore. I guess they had to get on with their lives, so now it’s just her mother.” The nurse wrote down some information on the clipboard at the end of the bed, and then left the room.
And there it was: pain so sharp that Buffy could only squeeze her eyes together and wait for it to pass. Seeing her grief, Merrick helped her to a chair, and knelt in front of her, watching with worried eyes. Unable to contain herself, Buffy leaned forward, and cried on her Watcher’s shoulder as he held her close and tried to soothe her, telling her that everything would be okay this time.
After a while, Buffy seemed to gain some control, and moved out of Merrick’s arms, looking up at him. “Now do you see it? They always abandon me. I’m just a tool to be used, and then discarded when they think I’m broken.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before, Buffy. I understand now though, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you find happiness if you decide to stay here. We can start by finding you a house, if you’d like.”
“I’d definitely like that.” She smirked at him. “Let’s get out of here.”
Walking down the long hospital corridor, something suddenly occurred to the Watcher. “Have you thought about how you’re going to explain things to your mother? I’m quite certain that she’s not going to approve of her young daughter moving out and living on her own.” Merrick was a little worried that he might be involved in that conversation with Joyce.
“Giles isn’t stupid, and you said he was hinting that he thought he knew who I was. Either way, when we go public, I’ll just let him handle it. He was her Watcher, after all.” Buffy couldn’t help but smile when she imagined Giles trying to explain things to her mother.
Going around a group of people standing in front of the hospital, Merrick asked, “Well, Buffy. Have you given any thought as to where you’d like to live? Which part of town, I mean? Though I suppose we should first make sure the Council is willing to pay for your accommodations, before we put much effort into finding something.”
“It doesn’t really matter whether the Council is willing to pay up or not. It would be nice, but I don’t exactly need their money. It’s only fair. If they want me to stay here, then they should compensate me for what I had to leave behind, as well as the mental torment I’ll go through by reliving this time again.” Buffy frowned at the Watcher.
“Wait a minute. How can you not need their money? I distinctly recall that when we were in LA, you didn’t have a penny to your name.” Merrick was starting to think that curiosity was going to be a permanent aspect of his relationship with the Slayer.
“I don’t have any money, but I can get it. It’ll just take some work.” Buffy had a secretive look on her face.
“I take it that you don’t intend to share your plans with me then?” It was easy to see that Buffy was enjoying her secret just a little too much.
“Got it in one, Merrick. You’ll have to wait and see.” She grabbed his arm. “This way.”
“Where are we going now?” While he was travelling with the Slayer, there were some areas of Sunnydale that the Watcher would prefer to stay out of, simply for safety’s sake.
“I want to go look at a warehouse.” Buffy dropped his arm, now that they were headed in the right direction.
“Explain yourself please.” Merrick’s feet stopped walking, as he tried to figure out this latest puzzle from his charge.
Buffy walked back to where he was standing, and then continued forward once more, arm in arm with her Watcher. “Let me tell you about my vision for the future.” She quickly checked to see if he was listening. “I’d like to live in a warehouse, renovated so that I have an apartment on the top floor. The rooms will all be big, with high ceilings and lots of space. The lower floor will be a training room, a rec room, a kitchen, and a few extra bedrooms for guests. What do you think?”
“I like your plan, and I bet that you’ve already found the warehouse, haven’t you?” Merrick smiled affectionately at Buffy. She was quite the whirlwind when she got started with a plan.
Buffy laughed. “Got it in one. I remember, way back in this time, I hunted a demon into a warehouse that would be just perfect for what I want.” She looked around. “Over there. I’m pretty sure that’s it.” She pointed. “What do you think?”
Merrick looked at the derelict warehouse. “That one? Are you sure? It doesn’t look like it’s been used in a long time.”
“You’re not wrong about that, but I can get it cleaned up again. It won’t take long, especially if I have help.” Buffy smiled at Merrick, and he knew that he’d been had.
Merrick walked to the building and tried to look through the dirty windows. “Is it empty?”
Buffy joined him. “I’m not sure. It was empty when I saw it, but that’s a couple of years from now. It felt long abandoned then, so my guess is that it’s empty now.”
“Who owns it?” Merrick gave up trying to see through the dirty pane of glass, and turned back to Buffy.
“I have no clue, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find out. I just hope it’s for sale.” They turned around and started walking back to Giles’ home. “Do you think it’s safe at Giles’?” Buffy asked.
“Wondering if the Scooby meeting is over yet?” Merrick teased.
Buffy pouted. “I know it’s silly, but I’m afraid that someone will say something and I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut. I’m still so angry that it’s hard not to lash out at them whenever they’re near.”
Having a bit more background information now, Merrick could definitely empathize with the angry young woman he had brought back from the future. “I understand your feelings.” Merrick thought for a moment, and then continued. “What you have to remember, is that they aren’t those people who betrayed you, yet. They might never be, if you’re able to effect changes now.”
An indelicate snort escaped from the Slayer. “Sure, Merrick. That’s easier said than done.” Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a truck.
“Buffy? What’s happening?”
“Shh...look,” she whispered. Nodding her head, she gestured down the street, on the other side of the truck.
Merrick carefully peeked over the hood.
The Watcher’s eyes widened, as he noticed Spike and Drusilla leaving a warehouse, and making their way down the street. The couple was arguing as they approached the hidden pair. Merrick and Buffy slowly circled the truck as the vampires passed, staying out of sight, but still keeping an eye on the bloodthirsty couple. From what Merrick overheard, Spike was after Dru to share something she had seen in a vision. She refused, telling him that the time wasn’t right, and he wasn’t ready. As they passed the truck, Drusilla turned her head and looked directly at Buffy for a moment. The brunette vampire smiled and gave a little nod, and then hurried to catch up with Spike.
After seeing Spike for the first time in so very many years, Buffy was nearly overwhelmed. Oh Spike, I miss you so much. I can hardly contain my happiness, seeing you alive again. I wish I could just run into your arms, and never leave them again, but I know the time isn’t right. It’s too soon, and you don’t love me yet. Right now, I’m just another notch on your belt, a third Slayer to kill. I’ll have to wait, and hope, that things will work out this time.
“Well, that was strange. Clearly, she knew that we were here, but she didn’t try to attack us. Didn’t threaten us at all.”
Buffy smiled softly. “She knows, Merrick.”
“She knows? Clearly she knew we were here. In fact, that was my point.” Merrick was surprised at Buffy’s response.
“No, not about us being here. I mean, yes, she knew that. Duh.” Buffy hated it when people thought she was too stupid to understand things. “Merrick, she knows why I’m here. About the Light.”
Now Merrick was confused. He looked at Buffy, who was wiping her cheeks.
She looked at him with teary eyes, though there was a gentle smile on her face. “Dru has visions. She can see what’s to come, and she knows that there’s a chance that he’ll love me. She understands what’s happening, and accepts it.”
“How on Earth could you possibly know that?” Merrick asked.
“In the future, after...after Spike was gone for good, I meet up with her every few years. She was a part of him, and she loved him in her own way and mourned his loss like I did.” Buffy looked down, embarrassed and afraid that Merrick would think her foolishly sentimental.
Acceptance was easy for the old Watcher. “I understand,” he said, sending a supportive smile her way.
----------------------------------
Earlier in the evening, while Buffy and Merrick were out, the Scoobies gathered at Giles’ home to hear the latest news. Angel was there as well, and was not happy when Giles told him about Merrick’s status as a Representative from the Powers That Be, and a Warrior for Good.
How many Warriors for Good do the Powers need, anyway? Angel thought, sulking once again.
“So, when are your guests planning to honour us with their company?” Xander asked, in that sarcastic voice that just seemed normal for him lately.
Giles sighed, while the others in the room just looked away, embarrassed. Since Giles had started correcting Xander when he was out of line, the others in the group had started to notice his behaviour and found that it made them uncomfortable.
“What?” He looked around, noticing that everyone was deliberately looking elsewhere. “What is wrong with everyone? I just asked when they were joining us. It’s not like I was rude or anything.”
Joyce looked at Giles, as if wondering what could be done with Buffy’s young friend. “While we wait, would you mind if I made us a pot of tea, Giles?” Joyce asked, as she got up and moved towards the kitchen.
“We’ll help.” Kendra and Willow both got up and joined the Slayer’s mother in the kitchen. Angel wandered over to a window, and Oz moved off to intently study Giles’ book collection.
Giles turned his attention back to Xander. “It’s not what you said, rather it’s how you said it,” Giles told him. “Everything out of your mouth lately is either sarcastic, condescending, or just plain hateful. You cannot continue to act this way and expect to remain a part of this group, Xander. Your behaviour is alienating people, pushing them away from you and this group. Please, think before you speak next time.”
“What the hell is your problem? You’re always on my back lately,” Xander said, enraged. “I haven’t done anything to anyone. If people can’t take the truth, that’s not my problem.”
Giles was rapidly losing his temper. “You’re not speaking the truth, you’re speaking like a fool, running about trying to get everyone in a panic. Like yesterday, when you were accusing Merrick of being a demon, waving a stake in his face before you bothered to ask any questions. Now I won’t say it again. Sit down, be quiet, and don’t say anything unless you can do it without sounding like an idiot,” Giles snarled at the oblivious youth.
Xander jumped up from the couch. “Better safe than sorry. At least I’m prepared. As for driving people away, nobody has left yet. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m tired of it.”
Xander waited, confident that Giles would give in and apologize to him.
Giles closed his eyes for a moment. He knew what Xander expected, but he wasn’t going to give in to the youth’s demands this time. “You’re going to lose a lot if you don’t deal with your issues, Xander. And to answer your question: No, my guests will not be joining us this evening.”
Xander opened his mouth to respond, irked that he had gone to the trouble of attending this meeting when the people he wanted to speak with weren’t going to be in attendance.
Just at that moment, Joyce appeared at the kitchen door with a tray. “Who wants a cup of tea?” Joyce poured while the two girls helped pass out cups, and offered milk and sugar.
“I don’t understand, Giles. Why won’t they be joining us?” As expected, Angel had refused the tea, and instead remained on the other side of the room, clearly holding himself separate from the others in the room.
Rather than respond directly to Angel, Giles looked around at the group. “Now that everyone is here, we can get started. We know that the Light has lived this time before and, from what I understand, the Light knows us all personally.” They all looked surprised. Giles was pleased at their reaction, because it meant that nobody else had any idea who the Light might be. If I’m right about who it is, then I’m beginning to understand why the Light might be reluctant to stay here. I believe if I were the Light, I wouldn’t stay at this point either, if given a choice. “There’s something else for us to think about. We don’t seem to bring the Light any happy memories. In fact, I think we might have hurt it badly at some point in time.”
Xander’s response was swift. “The Light must be a demon then. We only hurt demons, so it makes sense.”
“And again, Xander, there you go leaping to conclusions and assuming people are demons without proof.” By now Giles had his glasses off. “Merrick and his companion won’t tolerate your attitude, and I can’t blame them. We have to find a way to get the Light to stay in this time, not drive it away. It is vital that we support the Light, and assist it to become complete, if we can.”
“What do you mean, Giles?” Joyce asked. “Please explain how the Light can become complete.”
“Does everyone remember the glimpse of the future that we were shown?” Giles saw them nodding. “For that not to happen, it’s not enough that the Light stays here. For the world to be safe, the Light needs to become complete.”
“How are we going to stay updated, if your guests refuse to meet with us?” Angel asked, straightening up against the window frame.
“I will make it a priority to keep everyone informed when I have news. It likely won’t be every day though. Is that acceptable to everyone?” The Watcher looked around the room, where everyone was nodding their agreement.
“This isn’t right.” Xander was irritated now. “What if I’m right and the Light is a demon? This could all be a setup to get you alone and kill you.”
“People, please remember, the Light works for the Powers That Be, as does Merrick.” Giles was so tired of Xander’s stubborn determination to believe the worst of everyone. “I’m sorry, but it’s late and I’m very tired. I appreciate you all taking the time to meet tonight, but I really must be getting to bed.” He knew his conversation was bordering on rude, but he was exhausted and knew tomorrow would be a busy day as well. Giles needed to figure out what had to be done to convince the Light to stay in this time. Maybe I should just play hardball with them? I can tell them that I’m tired of all this mystery that surrounds them, and that I’m not going to help them unless they come clean with us. Giles continued mulling the situation over, while he got ready for bed.
It was late when Giles heard them come in.
Though they did their best to be quiet, Merrick cursed when he bumped into something in the dark. It was late, closer to morning than evening. Dawn would arrive soon, and everyone needed their rest.
Later that day, Buffy and Merrick went out, deliberately absenting themselves from Giles’ home when they knew the Scoobies were due for a meeting. Buffy didn’t want to deal with Angel’s sulky attitude, now that he had realized he wasn’t the most important person in Sunnydale. Willow as well, with her sweet face and scheming mind, and Xander, with his ‘demons must die’ outlook. It was all just too much for her to deal with right now.
Buffy was glad that she had the sense to disguise herself before returning to Sunnydale. If her friends had recognized her, she was certain they would have tried to take control of her, and the situation, already. That’s why they were so upset last night...they weren’t in control and they didn’t like the feeling.
With nothing in particular to do, Buffy and Merrick were currently wandering though one of the many parks in Sunnydale. “Merrick?”
“Yes, Buffy?”
“Can we go see her?”
“Who is it that you would like to see?”
She looked at him, suddenly shy. “Buffy. I mean, I’d like to see the Buffy from this time.”
“The Buffy from this time?” Merrick stopped walking, his brow wrinkled. “Why on Earth would you want to visit her? She’s not there anymore, Buffy. It’s just a body that will die if you decide not to take it over.”
Buffy looked down, embarrassed. “I don’t know, Merrick. I think seeing her, the other Buffy...I think it would make this feel real.”
Merrick looked at her, sympathy written on his face. “You’re having a hard time believing this is real?”
Buffy nodded, and started to move again. “Yeah. I mean, think about it. When have the Powers ever done anything good for me?”
Merrick thought about it, and quickly realized that Buffy was right. By unspoken agreement, they both turned and began walking toward the hospital.
When they reached the entrance, there was a moment when Buffy wasn’t sure if she’d be able to enter the building. It was a combination of the antiseptic smell, and the memories that assaulted her mind. She had been here so many times, and each occasion brought with it a special and specific kind of grief. The worst memory was when her mother was sick, and then later, when she died. Though everyone had grieved the gentle woman, it was barely a week later that Buffy had been told to get over her sorrow and get on with her life. She should have seen what was happening then. It was clear in hindsight that the Scoobies saw Buffy as a tool, not a living and breathing person. Buffy reluctantly smiled when those thoughts brought her to memories of Spike and his Buffybot. He’d had such crazy ideas sometimes. Buffy shook her head, returning to reality when she heard Merrick ask the front desk clerk for the room number of Buffy Summers.
It wasn’t long before they were standing beside a bed, looking down on the body of a younger Buffy. “I don’t understand why she isn’t dead yet, if her soul is already gone,” Buffy commented to Merrick, wondering if he knew how the body was being maintained.
“I don’t really know the details of the process. I do know that the Powers had to react very quickly, to ensure that your body would be maintained on this plane for a while. They actually had to freeze time, until they found a solution to the problem.” Merrick smiled at Buffy’s surprised look.
“They froze time? How did they do that?” Buffy asked.
“Again, I don’t know all the details. From where I was watching, it looked almost like someone pushed the pause button on a TV screen. Everything just stopped. It would have been funny, had it not been for your death.” Merrick laughed at the memory of birds frozen in the air and strange expressions caught on peoples’ faces.
Buffy scowled at Merrick. “I hope you’ll pardon me if I don’t see anything funny about my death.”
“I guess you had to be there.” The Watcher just smiled at Buffy’s bad mood.
Feeling a connection with the girl lying in the hospital bed, Buffy reached out to stroke her hair. “Let’s get out of here. We don’t want to have to explain ourselves if anyone else shows up.”
“You can stay longer, if you want,” came a voice from the doorway.
Together, Buffy and Merrick turned to face the open door, and the elderly nurse who was speaking to them.
“Poor girl doesn’t get many visitors. Only her mom, in the evenings. She stays for about an hour, talking to her and brushing her hair each night.” The nurse checked the machinery that was hooked up to the body in the bed.
“What about her friends?” Buffy dared to ask the nurse.
“There were a few, but they don’t come anymore. I guess they had to get on with their lives, so now it’s just her mother.” The nurse wrote down some information on the clipboard at the end of the bed, and then left the room.
And there it was: pain so sharp that Buffy could only squeeze her eyes together and wait for it to pass. Seeing her grief, Merrick helped her to a chair, and knelt in front of her, watching with worried eyes. Unable to contain herself, Buffy leaned forward, and cried on her Watcher’s shoulder as he held her close and tried to soothe her, telling her that everything would be okay this time.
After a while, Buffy seemed to gain some control, and moved out of Merrick’s arms, looking up at him. “Now do you see it? They always abandon me. I’m just a tool to be used, and then discarded when they think I’m broken.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you before, Buffy. I understand now though, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you find happiness if you decide to stay here. We can start by finding you a house, if you’d like.”
“I’d definitely like that.” She smirked at him. “Let’s get out of here.”
Walking down the long hospital corridor, something suddenly occurred to the Watcher. “Have you thought about how you’re going to explain things to your mother? I’m quite certain that she’s not going to approve of her young daughter moving out and living on her own.” Merrick was a little worried that he might be involved in that conversation with Joyce.
“Giles isn’t stupid, and you said he was hinting that he thought he knew who I was. Either way, when we go public, I’ll just let him handle it. He was her Watcher, after all.” Buffy couldn’t help but smile when she imagined Giles trying to explain things to her mother.
Going around a group of people standing in front of the hospital, Merrick asked, “Well, Buffy. Have you given any thought as to where you’d like to live? Which part of town, I mean? Though I suppose we should first make sure the Council is willing to pay for your accommodations, before we put much effort into finding something.”
“It doesn’t really matter whether the Council is willing to pay up or not. It would be nice, but I don’t exactly need their money. It’s only fair. If they want me to stay here, then they should compensate me for what I had to leave behind, as well as the mental torment I’ll go through by reliving this time again.” Buffy frowned at the Watcher.
“Wait a minute. How can you not need their money? I distinctly recall that when we were in LA, you didn’t have a penny to your name.” Merrick was starting to think that curiosity was going to be a permanent aspect of his relationship with the Slayer.
“I don’t have any money, but I can get it. It’ll just take some work.” Buffy had a secretive look on her face.
“I take it that you don’t intend to share your plans with me then?” It was easy to see that Buffy was enjoying her secret just a little too much.
“Got it in one, Merrick. You’ll have to wait and see.” She grabbed his arm. “This way.”
“Where are we going now?” While he was travelling with the Slayer, there were some areas of Sunnydale that the Watcher would prefer to stay out of, simply for safety’s sake.
“I want to go look at a warehouse.” Buffy dropped his arm, now that they were headed in the right direction.
“Explain yourself please.” Merrick’s feet stopped walking, as he tried to figure out this latest puzzle from his charge.
Buffy walked back to where he was standing, and then continued forward once more, arm in arm with her Watcher. “Let me tell you about my vision for the future.” She quickly checked to see if he was listening. “I’d like to live in a warehouse, renovated so that I have an apartment on the top floor. The rooms will all be big, with high ceilings and lots of space. The lower floor will be a training room, a rec room, a kitchen, and a few extra bedrooms for guests. What do you think?”
“I like your plan, and I bet that you’ve already found the warehouse, haven’t you?” Merrick smiled affectionately at Buffy. She was quite the whirlwind when she got started with a plan.
Buffy laughed. “Got it in one. I remember, way back in this time, I hunted a demon into a warehouse that would be just perfect for what I want.” She looked around. “Over there. I’m pretty sure that’s it.” She pointed. “What do you think?”
Merrick looked at the derelict warehouse. “That one? Are you sure? It doesn’t look like it’s been used in a long time.”
“You’re not wrong about that, but I can get it cleaned up again. It won’t take long, especially if I have help.” Buffy smiled at Merrick, and he knew that he’d been had.
Merrick walked to the building and tried to look through the dirty windows. “Is it empty?”
Buffy joined him. “I’m not sure. It was empty when I saw it, but that’s a couple of years from now. It felt long abandoned then, so my guess is that it’s empty now.”
“Who owns it?” Merrick gave up trying to see through the dirty pane of glass, and turned back to Buffy.
“I have no clue, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find out. I just hope it’s for sale.” They turned around and started walking back to Giles’ home. “Do you think it’s safe at Giles’?” Buffy asked.
“Wondering if the Scooby meeting is over yet?” Merrick teased.
Buffy pouted. “I know it’s silly, but I’m afraid that someone will say something and I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut. I’m still so angry that it’s hard not to lash out at them whenever they’re near.”
Having a bit more background information now, Merrick could definitely empathize with the angry young woman he had brought back from the future. “I understand your feelings.” Merrick thought for a moment, and then continued. “What you have to remember, is that they aren’t those people who betrayed you, yet. They might never be, if you’re able to effect changes now.”
An indelicate snort escaped from the Slayer. “Sure, Merrick. That’s easier said than done.” Suddenly, she grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a truck.
“Buffy? What’s happening?”
“Shh...look,” she whispered. Nodding her head, she gestured down the street, on the other side of the truck.
Merrick carefully peeked over the hood.
The Watcher’s eyes widened, as he noticed Spike and Drusilla leaving a warehouse, and making their way down the street. The couple was arguing as they approached the hidden pair. Merrick and Buffy slowly circled the truck as the vampires passed, staying out of sight, but still keeping an eye on the bloodthirsty couple. From what Merrick overheard, Spike was after Dru to share something she had seen in a vision. She refused, telling him that the time wasn’t right, and he wasn’t ready. As they passed the truck, Drusilla turned her head and looked directly at Buffy for a moment. The brunette vampire smiled and gave a little nod, and then hurried to catch up with Spike.
After seeing Spike for the first time in so very many years, Buffy was nearly overwhelmed. Oh Spike, I miss you so much. I can hardly contain my happiness, seeing you alive again. I wish I could just run into your arms, and never leave them again, but I know the time isn’t right. It’s too soon, and you don’t love me yet. Right now, I’m just another notch on your belt, a third Slayer to kill. I’ll have to wait, and hope, that things will work out this time.
“Well, that was strange. Clearly, she knew that we were here, but she didn’t try to attack us. Didn’t threaten us at all.”
Buffy smiled softly. “She knows, Merrick.”
“She knows? Clearly she knew we were here. In fact, that was my point.” Merrick was surprised at Buffy’s response.
“No, not about us being here. I mean, yes, she knew that. Duh.” Buffy hated it when people thought she was too stupid to understand things. “Merrick, she knows why I’m here. About the Light.”
Now Merrick was confused. He looked at Buffy, who was wiping her cheeks.
She looked at him with teary eyes, though there was a gentle smile on her face. “Dru has visions. She can see what’s to come, and she knows that there’s a chance that he’ll love me. She understands what’s happening, and accepts it.”
“How on Earth could you possibly know that?” Merrick asked.
“In the future, after...after Spike was gone for good, I meet up with her every few years. She was a part of him, and she loved him in her own way and mourned his loss like I did.” Buffy looked down, embarrassed and afraid that Merrick would think her foolishly sentimental.
Acceptance was easy for the old Watcher. “I understand,” he said, sending a supportive smile her way.
----------------------------------
Earlier in the evening, while Buffy and Merrick were out, the Scoobies gathered at Giles’ home to hear the latest news. Angel was there as well, and was not happy when Giles told him about Merrick’s status as a Representative from the Powers That Be, and a Warrior for Good.
How many Warriors for Good do the Powers need, anyway? Angel thought, sulking once again.
“So, when are your guests planning to honour us with their company?” Xander asked, in that sarcastic voice that just seemed normal for him lately.
Giles sighed, while the others in the room just looked away, embarrassed. Since Giles had started correcting Xander when he was out of line, the others in the group had started to notice his behaviour and found that it made them uncomfortable.
“What?” He looked around, noticing that everyone was deliberately looking elsewhere. “What is wrong with everyone? I just asked when they were joining us. It’s not like I was rude or anything.”
Joyce looked at Giles, as if wondering what could be done with Buffy’s young friend. “While we wait, would you mind if I made us a pot of tea, Giles?” Joyce asked, as she got up and moved towards the kitchen.
“We’ll help.” Kendra and Willow both got up and joined the Slayer’s mother in the kitchen. Angel wandered over to a window, and Oz moved off to intently study Giles’ book collection.
Giles turned his attention back to Xander. “It’s not what you said, rather it’s how you said it,” Giles told him. “Everything out of your mouth lately is either sarcastic, condescending, or just plain hateful. You cannot continue to act this way and expect to remain a part of this group, Xander. Your behaviour is alienating people, pushing them away from you and this group. Please, think before you speak next time.”
“What the hell is your problem? You’re always on my back lately,” Xander said, enraged. “I haven’t done anything to anyone. If people can’t take the truth, that’s not my problem.”
Giles was rapidly losing his temper. “You’re not speaking the truth, you’re speaking like a fool, running about trying to get everyone in a panic. Like yesterday, when you were accusing Merrick of being a demon, waving a stake in his face before you bothered to ask any questions. Now I won’t say it again. Sit down, be quiet, and don’t say anything unless you can do it without sounding like an idiot,” Giles snarled at the oblivious youth.
Xander jumped up from the couch. “Better safe than sorry. At least I’m prepared. As for driving people away, nobody has left yet. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m tired of it.”
Xander waited, confident that Giles would give in and apologize to him.
Giles closed his eyes for a moment. He knew what Xander expected, but he wasn’t going to give in to the youth’s demands this time. “You’re going to lose a lot if you don’t deal with your issues, Xander. And to answer your question: No, my guests will not be joining us this evening.”
Xander opened his mouth to respond, irked that he had gone to the trouble of attending this meeting when the people he wanted to speak with weren’t going to be in attendance.
Just at that moment, Joyce appeared at the kitchen door with a tray. “Who wants a cup of tea?” Joyce poured while the two girls helped pass out cups, and offered milk and sugar.
“I don’t understand, Giles. Why won’t they be joining us?” As expected, Angel had refused the tea, and instead remained on the other side of the room, clearly holding himself separate from the others in the room.
Rather than respond directly to Angel, Giles looked around at the group. “Now that everyone is here, we can get started. We know that the Light has lived this time before and, from what I understand, the Light knows us all personally.” They all looked surprised. Giles was pleased at their reaction, because it meant that nobody else had any idea who the Light might be. If I’m right about who it is, then I’m beginning to understand why the Light might be reluctant to stay here. I believe if I were the Light, I wouldn’t stay at this point either, if given a choice. “There’s something else for us to think about. We don’t seem to bring the Light any happy memories. In fact, I think we might have hurt it badly at some point in time.”
Xander’s response was swift. “The Light must be a demon then. We only hurt demons, so it makes sense.”
“And again, Xander, there you go leaping to conclusions and assuming people are demons without proof.” By now Giles had his glasses off. “Merrick and his companion won’t tolerate your attitude, and I can’t blame them. We have to find a way to get the Light to stay in this time, not drive it away. It is vital that we support the Light, and assist it to become complete, if we can.”
“What do you mean, Giles?” Joyce asked. “Please explain how the Light can become complete.”
“Does everyone remember the glimpse of the future that we were shown?” Giles saw them nodding. “For that not to happen, it’s not enough that the Light stays here. For the world to be safe, the Light needs to become complete.”
“How are we going to stay updated, if your guests refuse to meet with us?” Angel asked, straightening up against the window frame.
“I will make it a priority to keep everyone informed when I have news. It likely won’t be every day though. Is that acceptable to everyone?” The Watcher looked around the room, where everyone was nodding their agreement.
“This isn’t right.” Xander was irritated now. “What if I’m right and the Light is a demon? This could all be a setup to get you alone and kill you.”
“People, please remember, the Light works for the Powers That Be, as does Merrick.” Giles was so tired of Xander’s stubborn determination to believe the worst of everyone. “I’m sorry, but it’s late and I’m very tired. I appreciate you all taking the time to meet tonight, but I really must be getting to bed.” He knew his conversation was bordering on rude, but he was exhausted and knew tomorrow would be a busy day as well. Giles needed to figure out what had to be done to convince the Light to stay in this time. Maybe I should just play hardball with them? I can tell them that I’m tired of all this mystery that surrounds them, and that I’m not going to help them unless they come clean with us. Giles continued mulling the situation over, while he got ready for bed.
It was late when Giles heard them come in.
Though they did their best to be quiet, Merrick cursed when he bumped into something in the dark. It was late, closer to morning than evening. Dawn would arrive soon, and everyone needed their rest.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
The next morning, it was a sour faced Watcher that greeted his guest.
“Good morning, Giles. Is there something wrong?” Merrick asked.
“What’s wrong is that I had to bear the brunt of everyone else’s outrage, when they heard that you lacked the common courtesy required to attend last night’s meeting. I can see why you wanted to deal with me directly, after listening to them for an hour. They can be incredibly tiring.”
As she had the day before, Buffy claimed the shower as soon as she woke. Merrick started on breakfast while she completed her morning ritual upstairs, and Giles made a fresh pot of tea.
“Since I had nothing better to do this morning while I waited for you, I have continued to work on translating the book.” Giles was feeling rather resentful, and wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it.
Merrick sighed. It would seem that subtle just wasn’t going to get the job done. “When I spoke of how the Scoobies would need to change their attitudes, I was not only speaking of the children and Angel.”
Giles looked at the other Watcher, clearly not picking up on his not-so-subtle hint. “Who else? I don’t understand...?”
Merrick refused to pull his punches at this late date. He turned to look directly at his long-time friend, and said, “You, Giles. You are a member of the Scoobies as well.”
“And just what is your point, Merrick?”
“Every one of them, not just the children, but even Angel and Joyce...they all look to you to lead them, to teach them, and to guide them through all the crazy and scary things that affect their lives, now that they understand that they live in a town full of demons. You’re comfortable in the role, and you think of yourself as the one in charge.”
Giles tore off his glasses. Merrick could see that he was offended.
“You...Why...I don’t...,” Giles spluttered. “I believe I am the one in charge, because I am the Watcher. It’s my job to supervise and direct the Slayer. I’ll admit, the Scoobies are technically civilians, but they have joined in the Slayer’s cause, and therefore are also my responsibility.”
“While that might be appropriate were all your charges are as young and innocent as the Scoobies, you need to recognize that some people have old souls and are mature beyond their years.” Merrick was trying hard to think of a way to get his message across to Giles without offending the other Watcher even more. “Your experience with the Council has taught you to believe that you know what is best for everyone. You collect what information you can, and then manipulate those around you for the best forecasted result. You deploy the Slayer, like a finely honed weapon, believing that you have the right to direct her fate. Even now, though you have no authority over my companion and me, you lash out at us, because we aren’t at your beck and call. You need to remember, the Council is not infallible. The last time they were given an opportunity to help the Slayer, they chose to hide the book, thus condemning her to a life of misery, and the world to a living Hell.”
Giles was just standing there, glasses forgotten in hand, and mouth hanging open. He felt as if he had just been scolded by his father. “I...I’m sorry.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I didn’t realize...” Giles turned around, rubbing his brow, but then turned back almost immediately. “Thank you, Merrick...for telling me, and helping me understand where I’ve been going wrong.” He smiled thankfully at Merrick. The table was set in silence, each man quietly thinking about their recent conversation until Buffy joined them for breakfast.
Giles peered at his new breakfast companion, frustrated that the shrouding black hoodie was still firmly in place. “Did you sleep well? I hope I didn’t wake you.” He placed the sugar pot in front of Buffy. She just shook her head.
“I slept okay,” Merrick spoke up. “Thank you, Giles. How about you?”
Responding to Merrick, Giles replied simply, “Fine. Thank you. Our conversation isn’t finished though, Merrick. When breakfast is done, we need to settle some things. One of which,” he looked pointedly at Buffy, “is the identity of my second house guest. I’d also like to discuss what it will take to get the Light to stay here.” Merrick looked at Buffy, who looked down into her cup.
“Maybe it’s time?” Merrick kept looking at Buffy’s bowed head.
She sighed.
“I know you’re not ready, but will you ever be? Think about it.”
Just when Giles was certain he couldn’t wait any longer for a response, Merrick quietly encouraged, “Maybe just Giles?”
Buffy wasn’t ready to give up her cover, her shield from those who would use her. It was what kept her from being hurt. Wrong, she told herself. Her life was in her own hands and, as long as she didn’t abdicate her power, she would make her own decisions. It was her responsibility to protect herself, instead of depending on others and then complaining when things didn’t work out the way she wanted them to. In a voice hoarse with reservation, Buffy finally responded, “Okay, but later. First we eat.”
Giles stared at the unknown entity in his kitchen. I was wrong. I was so sure...I thought I knew...but it’s not. It can’t be, not with that voice. I’m glad I didn’t share my suspicions with Joyce. She would be devastated. He looked down at his breakfast but, for many reasons, his appetite was gone.
The plan was to finish breakfast before the big reveal, but Buffy had lost her appetite, Giles was too curious to eat, and Merrick didn’t really need food to survive. After another ten minutes of playing with their toast crusts, by mutual agreement, the group picked up their tea cups and moved into the living room.
Giles waited patiently. He could see that she was nervous. His mystery guest was definitely a girl, or possibly a woman. After hearing her voice, he was certain of that fact. It was rough, but definitely female. Now that he knew what to look for, he noticed her small hands, the delicacy and grace of movement not in any way affected by the painful looking scar across one of her palms.
“I don’t want anyone else to know,” came her voice, muffled by the thick hood on her head.
“I give you my word; I won’t breathe a hint of your identity to anybody. I’m certain Merrick won’t tell either,” Giles assured her.
“You don’t need to speak for Merrick. I trust him. He’s never betrayed me.” Giles took off his glasses, and began to polish the lenses with his handkerchief. He got the message, loud and clear: he wasn’t trusted and he had betrayed this woman.
“I won’t betray your trust.” Giles didn’t know what else he could say. “I promise.”
Again, the scratchy, but somehow familiar voice, directed, “Lock the door, and pull the curtains closed. I’m not ready for anyone else to know this.”
Giles obeyed without question. He locked the front door, and pulled one curtain that Merrick had missed. Then, he and Merrick returned to sit on the couch.
“Remember now, Giles. No telling.”
He nodded.
“Not even the Council,” Buffy confirmed again.
“I swear.”
There was no more reason to delay. Crossing her arms, Buffy pulled at the bottom of her sweater.
Giles was in shock. It was Buffy; an older Buffy, no doubt, but still Buffy. He just couldn’t believe his eyes. Overcome, Giles stepped forward and hugged her, having trouble believing she was real. Though Buffy flinched and didn’t return his hug, she didn’t pull away from him either. It wasn’t until Giles finally collected himself and moved off to sit in a chair, that he was able to get a closer look at her eyes. They were so sad...almost haunted. Dear God, what did we do to her?
Giles sat there, gazing at his Slayer, his eyes filling with tears. He found himself wanting to reach out and touch her, but her body language clearly said she wouldn’t be happy if he tried. “I thought...I mean...I was hoping, and not hoping, that it was you.” He found his handkerchief and used it to dry his eyes.
“What do you mean, hoping and not hoping? You can’t have it both ways,” Buffy said.
“Well, the hoping, that’s easy. We all miss you so very much.”
Buffy was fuming. Miss me, my ass. You never visit me in the hospital. Mom’s the only one that still goes. She squeezed her hands tightly together in her lap, and didn’t dare look at her former Watcher. She knew that if she did her anger would boil over, and it wasn’t time for that. Right now there were too many other important things to do.
Giles didn’t notice Buffy’s distress, and Merrick was aware but chose to ignore it. He knew that he had been sent by the Powers to guide and protect Buffy, but believed that protecting her, in this case, would do more harm than good. She needed to get used to being around the others, and Giles was a good person to start with. At least he might have some sympathy for her situation and understand her fears and reservations.
“As for not hoping,” Giles was rubbing his glasses. “If you were here, it could mean two things: either the Powers asked you for your help too, and sent Merrick with you for additional support, or you could be here for another reason.” Giles was afraid to continue.
Buffy sighed heavily, twisting her hands in her lap, still unable to express the thoughts running through her mind. The scars on her hands felt hot to the touch, when Merrick reached over and clasped one of Buffy’s hands in a show of support. Finally, the emotionally exhausted Slayer looked at Giles and admitted, “Yes, Giles. I am the Eternal Light.”
At that, Giles polished his glasses so vigorously that he popped a lens free of the frames. He stared, stunned, at his glasses, one finger poking through where the corrective lens should have been.
Buffy couldn’t help it. She tried to stop herself by holding her hands over her mouth, but the laughter broke through. “It...it...it had to...had to happen...,Giles,” she giggled.
More restrained than the Slayer, Merrick was also chuckling.
The couple looked so different from just a few minutes before, that Giles simply sat in his chair, staring at them.
It was that gaze that started Buffy laughing all over again. Soon she was holding her stomach and just about sliding off the couch, she was laughing so hard. “Oh God...I can’t breathe...your face...,” she said to Giles.
It didn’t take long for Giles to see the hilarity in the situation. Soon, he was laughing so hard that he had tears running down his face. “I’m sorry,” he finally got out.
Still emitting the occasional giggle, Buffy tried to sit up straight and pay attention to Giles. “Huh? They’re your glasses. Why are you apologizing to me?”
Giles was suddenly serious. “The glasses are neither here, nor there. What I believe I need to apologize for is whatever happened in the future, for my part in preventing you from finding your other half and becoming complete.”
With Giles’ comment, the room became silent.
After a quick look at the shelves that lined the walls, Buffy gestured to Giles’ liquor cabinet and the bottle of Scotch displayed there. “Can I?”
Giles looked surprised, but wasn’t going to stand in Buffy’s way. “Sure,” he responded, as she picked up three glasses and the bottle of whiskey and returned to the two men. Placing the glasses on the coffee table, she proceeded to pour two fingers of the golden fluid into each glass. When she was finished, she picked up a glass and returned to her seat on the couch.
Giles raised his glass with hers in a silent cheer. He even managed to restrain himself when she swallowed half her tumbler of whiskey in one shot, without even flinching.
“I was expecting you to choke, but clearly you’ve had whiskey before,” Giles said with amazement.
“Scotch holds some special memories for me. Sometimes a drink helps me remember better times.” She sat with her glass cradled in her hands, warming the whiskey, lost in her memories, with a little smile on her lips.
Giles moved his gaze from Buffy to Merrick, cocking a brow at him in question. Merrick just shook his head, indicating that they should wait for Buffy to come back to them on her own. Another few sips, and then, with her glass empty, the Slayer seemed to withdraw from times past and wake up to her current situation.
It was painful for Giles to watch her eyes change as she rejoined the conversation. He wanted to cringe, but they needed to move on. “Tell me please, Buffy. What will it take to get you to stay in this time?”
“Merrick can fill you in on some of the things he and I have already discussed. That’s probably a good place to start.”
“Yes, well, we have agreed that Buffy shouldn’t have to slay unless she wants to,” Merrick started.
“But, she’s the Slayer,” Giles objected.
“No. She is not.”
“She’s not? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Buffy smiled, pleased to hear Giles admit that he didn’t know everything.
Merrick sighed. “Kendra is your Slayer, Giles. Buffy is the Light...something completely different. If she finds her true partner and manages to become complete in this lifetime, her destiny won’t let her slay.”
Giles nodded, beginning to understand that Buffy had evolved into something so much more than being a Slayer.
“I understand. If the Light becomes complete, Buffy’s part will be to protect mankind by preventing Hell on Earth from happening.” The Watcher shrugged, as if Buffy’s contribution were somehow a simple one.
“And so, it would seem that everything depends on Buffy uniting with her other half, but how are we to know who that might be?” Giles asked.
Buffy quickly spoke up. “That’s none of your business, Giles. I know who it is, and that’s what matters. If you need confirmation, you’ll find it in the book, once you get it translated.”
“How can you be certain? At this point, we’ve barely begun to have any success deciphering the volume.” It wasn’t that Giles doubted her, but she spoke with such self-assurance that he felt she must know more than she was letting on.
“You need to remember that I’ve lived through this time before. Several decades ago, that book was in my possession. I eventually lost it in a fire, but I had a lot of time to study it before it was destroyed.”
“So, you know what is written in the book?” the excited Watcher asked.
“Yes, I know what it says, but, no, I won’t tell you.” Buffy looked sternly at the man that was once her substitute father. “If you want to know what the book says, you’ll need to translate it for yourself.”
Looking Giles directly in the eye, the Slayer continued. “The book doesn’t really matter much anyway. What matters is the future you envision for the World. Do you want the nightmare you saw in LA., or do you want a Hell-free world, where humans and demons work together? If the first is your choice, you don’t need to do anything. For the second, though, the Council is going to have to pay. They were the ones who tried to destroy my life by hiding the book, so it’s only right that they be the ones to pay whatever it takes to put my life back on track if I return to this time.”
“That sounds ominous. What, exactly, did you have in mind?”
“Get your pen and paper ready, Giles. This is an important list, and I don’t want to have to say it twice,” Buffy informed him. She waited patiently for him to get ready, before she started talking again. “First, I want a home of my own, and I want the Council to pay for it. I’ve already got the location picked out.”
“I’m not trying to create problems, Buffy, but what do you imagine your mother will say when you tell her that you are moving out?” Giles interrupted.
“She’s just going to have to deal, Giles. I’ve lived too many years on my own to go back to living with a curfew and daily chores.” Buffy grimaced. “Listen, I’ve thought really hard about this list. Why don’t I just tell you what I want, and then you can ask me all your questions when I’m done?” Buffy wanted to get this part over quickly, knowing that it was likely to cause some protests.
“Yes, of course, Buffy. I apologize. Do go on, please. I’ll keep a tight rein on my curiosity until you have finished speaking.”
The Light smiled thankfully at Giles. “I’ll need money to purchase the building, and to renovate it so it suits my needs. I’ll also need furniture and whatever else is missing, so that it’s a comfortable home for me. I’d also like a car. Something small, like what Cordelia has, would be great.”
Buffy continued. “I expect a paycheque each month, simply because I choose to stay here, with no obligation on my part to respond to any requests from the Council. Like other Council members, each year I want a raise, and I want a guarantee, in writing, that I will never receive a cheque that is smaller than what the head of the Council gets.”
Buffy frowned grimly, as a thought occurred to her. “I want it understood, they don’t have the option of giving the boss a pay cut, so that they can reduce what I receive. That won’t do at all. If they’re strapped for cash, they’ll have to cut back on Watchers. Understand that when I say I want what Travers gets, I mean everything that he gets: medical, dental, transportation allowance. If he gets it, I want it. Also, I want to be reimbursed for clothes and shoes that I ruin when I’m slaying or in some other way working to keep the world a nice place to live in. Weapons and books too. If I need it, I want it paid for. I don’t want to have to hassle about every little expense, so make sure this gets set up right.” At that, Buffy nodded to Giles, letting him know that it was now his turn to ask questions.
Giles’ pen had barely stopped moving before he asked, “I don’t understand why you won’t make an effort to live with your mother again. And what are your plans for the Buffy of this time...the one in the hospital? And what about...?”
“Hey,” Buffy interrupted. “One question at a time, Giles. First, I know I look like a teenager, but I’m old. Really old. I’ve got my own way of doing things and, as if that weren’t enough, can you really imagine my mom being ok with my boyfriend moving in? If I’m lucky enough to get him this time, no force on Earth would be enough to make me let him go. I plan to live with him, sharing a consenting, sexual, adult relationship, whether you approve or not. Actually, I think I’ll make it your job to get mom to agree to my new living arrangements. That should keep you busy for a while.”
Giles stiffened in his seat. “And just how do you expect me to get your mother to agree to your plans?”
“My mother loves the Buffy that’s lying in the hospital right now. We know she’s gone, but I know my mom is still praying that she’ll come back somehow. In a way, Mom is going to get her wish. For me to stay in this time, I need to take over the other Buffy’s body. Her essence has already passed on to Heaven, so her body is just an empty shell right now. I don’t understand the process, but Merrick will move my essence to the younger body, so I can stay here. If you need more specifics about the move, you’ll have to talk to him.”
Giles turned to Merrick with a look of expectation. “A little spell, that’s all.”
“If Buffy takes over the body in the hospital, what happens to the body that she is in now?” Giles was worried that he might have to make some kind of body swap. Future Buffy’s body was noticeably different from the one in the hospital bed.
“Don’t worry about that,” Merrick responded. “Once Buffy’s essence leaves this body, it will automatically return to the future.”
“You seem to have everything planned out, but I foresee a small flaw in your agenda.” Giles sipped at the Scotch in his glass. “I don’t believe the Council will pay what you are demanding. In fact, I don’t believe they will agree to pay you anything at all, Buffy.”
“Really, Giles? You think they’d prefer Hell on Earth? Try telling them that I know all their dirty little secrets: the hidden bank accounts, the vault in the basement of the Council headquarters, and the strongboxes hidden across the globe.” Suddenly, the Slayer had an evil smile around her mouth.
“I get the impression that you don’t like the Council, Buffy.” When Giles became a Watcher, he made a lifetime commitment. It was hard for him to hear the derision in his young charge’s voice now, when she spoke of the long-standing institution.
“You’ve got that right,” the Light confirmed. “Don’t like them, don’t trust them. Do you blame me?”
For a brief moment, it was as if the years fell away and Giles was once again the father figure she knew she could count on, no matter what. Buffy wished she could hold on to that feeling, but knew she had changed too much for them to ever have that kind of relationship again.
Giles gave her a sad smile, shadowed with loss he had yet to experience. “No, I don’t blame you at all, Buffy.”
That was it. Buffy knew that her emotions were going to get the best of her soon, and didn’t want to start crying in front of Giles. “I want a contract in twenty-four hours.”
“That’s not enough time,” Giles sputtered.
Buffy sighed. “Too bad. I’m tired of trying to disguise myself, and of wasting time wrangling with the Council instead of finding my other half and becoming complete. I want to know where I stand. Am I living here, or returning to the future?”
The next morning, it was a sour faced Watcher that greeted his guest.
“Good morning, Giles. Is there something wrong?” Merrick asked.
“What’s wrong is that I had to bear the brunt of everyone else’s outrage, when they heard that you lacked the common courtesy required to attend last night’s meeting. I can see why you wanted to deal with me directly, after listening to them for an hour. They can be incredibly tiring.”
As she had the day before, Buffy claimed the shower as soon as she woke. Merrick started on breakfast while she completed her morning ritual upstairs, and Giles made a fresh pot of tea.
“Since I had nothing better to do this morning while I waited for you, I have continued to work on translating the book.” Giles was feeling rather resentful, and wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it.
Merrick sighed. It would seem that subtle just wasn’t going to get the job done. “When I spoke of how the Scoobies would need to change their attitudes, I was not only speaking of the children and Angel.”
Giles looked at the other Watcher, clearly not picking up on his not-so-subtle hint. “Who else? I don’t understand...?”
Merrick refused to pull his punches at this late date. He turned to look directly at his long-time friend, and said, “You, Giles. You are a member of the Scoobies as well.”
“And just what is your point, Merrick?”
“Every one of them, not just the children, but even Angel and Joyce...they all look to you to lead them, to teach them, and to guide them through all the crazy and scary things that affect their lives, now that they understand that they live in a town full of demons. You’re comfortable in the role, and you think of yourself as the one in charge.”
Giles tore off his glasses. Merrick could see that he was offended.
“You...Why...I don’t...,” Giles spluttered. “I believe I am the one in charge, because I am the Watcher. It’s my job to supervise and direct the Slayer. I’ll admit, the Scoobies are technically civilians, but they have joined in the Slayer’s cause, and therefore are also my responsibility.”
“While that might be appropriate were all your charges are as young and innocent as the Scoobies, you need to recognize that some people have old souls and are mature beyond their years.” Merrick was trying hard to think of a way to get his message across to Giles without offending the other Watcher even more. “Your experience with the Council has taught you to believe that you know what is best for everyone. You collect what information you can, and then manipulate those around you for the best forecasted result. You deploy the Slayer, like a finely honed weapon, believing that you have the right to direct her fate. Even now, though you have no authority over my companion and me, you lash out at us, because we aren’t at your beck and call. You need to remember, the Council is not infallible. The last time they were given an opportunity to help the Slayer, they chose to hide the book, thus condemning her to a life of misery, and the world to a living Hell.”
Giles was just standing there, glasses forgotten in hand, and mouth hanging open. He felt as if he had just been scolded by his father. “I...I’m sorry.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I didn’t realize...” Giles turned around, rubbing his brow, but then turned back almost immediately. “Thank you, Merrick...for telling me, and helping me understand where I’ve been going wrong.” He smiled thankfully at Merrick. The table was set in silence, each man quietly thinking about their recent conversation until Buffy joined them for breakfast.
Giles peered at his new breakfast companion, frustrated that the shrouding black hoodie was still firmly in place. “Did you sleep well? I hope I didn’t wake you.” He placed the sugar pot in front of Buffy. She just shook her head.
“I slept okay,” Merrick spoke up. “Thank you, Giles. How about you?”
Responding to Merrick, Giles replied simply, “Fine. Thank you. Our conversation isn’t finished though, Merrick. When breakfast is done, we need to settle some things. One of which,” he looked pointedly at Buffy, “is the identity of my second house guest. I’d also like to discuss what it will take to get the Light to stay here.” Merrick looked at Buffy, who looked down into her cup.
“Maybe it’s time?” Merrick kept looking at Buffy’s bowed head.
She sighed.
“I know you’re not ready, but will you ever be? Think about it.”
Just when Giles was certain he couldn’t wait any longer for a response, Merrick quietly encouraged, “Maybe just Giles?”
Buffy wasn’t ready to give up her cover, her shield from those who would use her. It was what kept her from being hurt. Wrong, she told herself. Her life was in her own hands and, as long as she didn’t abdicate her power, she would make her own decisions. It was her responsibility to protect herself, instead of depending on others and then complaining when things didn’t work out the way she wanted them to. In a voice hoarse with reservation, Buffy finally responded, “Okay, but later. First we eat.”
Giles stared at the unknown entity in his kitchen. I was wrong. I was so sure...I thought I knew...but it’s not. It can’t be, not with that voice. I’m glad I didn’t share my suspicions with Joyce. She would be devastated. He looked down at his breakfast but, for many reasons, his appetite was gone.
The plan was to finish breakfast before the big reveal, but Buffy had lost her appetite, Giles was too curious to eat, and Merrick didn’t really need food to survive. After another ten minutes of playing with their toast crusts, by mutual agreement, the group picked up their tea cups and moved into the living room.
Giles waited patiently. He could see that she was nervous. His mystery guest was definitely a girl, or possibly a woman. After hearing her voice, he was certain of that fact. It was rough, but definitely female. Now that he knew what to look for, he noticed her small hands, the delicacy and grace of movement not in any way affected by the painful looking scar across one of her palms.
“I don’t want anyone else to know,” came her voice, muffled by the thick hood on her head.
“I give you my word; I won’t breathe a hint of your identity to anybody. I’m certain Merrick won’t tell either,” Giles assured her.
“You don’t need to speak for Merrick. I trust him. He’s never betrayed me.” Giles took off his glasses, and began to polish the lenses with his handkerchief. He got the message, loud and clear: he wasn’t trusted and he had betrayed this woman.
“I won’t betray your trust.” Giles didn’t know what else he could say. “I promise.”
Again, the scratchy, but somehow familiar voice, directed, “Lock the door, and pull the curtains closed. I’m not ready for anyone else to know this.”
Giles obeyed without question. He locked the front door, and pulled one curtain that Merrick had missed. Then, he and Merrick returned to sit on the couch.
“Remember now, Giles. No telling.”
He nodded.
“Not even the Council,” Buffy confirmed again.
“I swear.”
There was no more reason to delay. Crossing her arms, Buffy pulled at the bottom of her sweater.
Giles was in shock. It was Buffy; an older Buffy, no doubt, but still Buffy. He just couldn’t believe his eyes. Overcome, Giles stepped forward and hugged her, having trouble believing she was real. Though Buffy flinched and didn’t return his hug, she didn’t pull away from him either. It wasn’t until Giles finally collected himself and moved off to sit in a chair, that he was able to get a closer look at her eyes. They were so sad...almost haunted. Dear God, what did we do to her?
Giles sat there, gazing at his Slayer, his eyes filling with tears. He found himself wanting to reach out and touch her, but her body language clearly said she wouldn’t be happy if he tried. “I thought...I mean...I was hoping, and not hoping, that it was you.” He found his handkerchief and used it to dry his eyes.
“What do you mean, hoping and not hoping? You can’t have it both ways,” Buffy said.
“Well, the hoping, that’s easy. We all miss you so very much.”
Buffy was fuming. Miss me, my ass. You never visit me in the hospital. Mom’s the only one that still goes. She squeezed her hands tightly together in her lap, and didn’t dare look at her former Watcher. She knew that if she did her anger would boil over, and it wasn’t time for that. Right now there were too many other important things to do.
Giles didn’t notice Buffy’s distress, and Merrick was aware but chose to ignore it. He knew that he had been sent by the Powers to guide and protect Buffy, but believed that protecting her, in this case, would do more harm than good. She needed to get used to being around the others, and Giles was a good person to start with. At least he might have some sympathy for her situation and understand her fears and reservations.
“As for not hoping,” Giles was rubbing his glasses. “If you were here, it could mean two things: either the Powers asked you for your help too, and sent Merrick with you for additional support, or you could be here for another reason.” Giles was afraid to continue.
Buffy sighed heavily, twisting her hands in her lap, still unable to express the thoughts running through her mind. The scars on her hands felt hot to the touch, when Merrick reached over and clasped one of Buffy’s hands in a show of support. Finally, the emotionally exhausted Slayer looked at Giles and admitted, “Yes, Giles. I am the Eternal Light.”
At that, Giles polished his glasses so vigorously that he popped a lens free of the frames. He stared, stunned, at his glasses, one finger poking through where the corrective lens should have been.
Buffy couldn’t help it. She tried to stop herself by holding her hands over her mouth, but the laughter broke through. “It...it...it had to...had to happen...,Giles,” she giggled.
More restrained than the Slayer, Merrick was also chuckling.
The couple looked so different from just a few minutes before, that Giles simply sat in his chair, staring at them.
It was that gaze that started Buffy laughing all over again. Soon she was holding her stomach and just about sliding off the couch, she was laughing so hard. “Oh God...I can’t breathe...your face...,” she said to Giles.
It didn’t take long for Giles to see the hilarity in the situation. Soon, he was laughing so hard that he had tears running down his face. “I’m sorry,” he finally got out.
Still emitting the occasional giggle, Buffy tried to sit up straight and pay attention to Giles. “Huh? They’re your glasses. Why are you apologizing to me?”
Giles was suddenly serious. “The glasses are neither here, nor there. What I believe I need to apologize for is whatever happened in the future, for my part in preventing you from finding your other half and becoming complete.”
With Giles’ comment, the room became silent.
After a quick look at the shelves that lined the walls, Buffy gestured to Giles’ liquor cabinet and the bottle of Scotch displayed there. “Can I?”
Giles looked surprised, but wasn’t going to stand in Buffy’s way. “Sure,” he responded, as she picked up three glasses and the bottle of whiskey and returned to the two men. Placing the glasses on the coffee table, she proceeded to pour two fingers of the golden fluid into each glass. When she was finished, she picked up a glass and returned to her seat on the couch.
Giles raised his glass with hers in a silent cheer. He even managed to restrain himself when she swallowed half her tumbler of whiskey in one shot, without even flinching.
“I was expecting you to choke, but clearly you’ve had whiskey before,” Giles said with amazement.
“Scotch holds some special memories for me. Sometimes a drink helps me remember better times.” She sat with her glass cradled in her hands, warming the whiskey, lost in her memories, with a little smile on her lips.
Giles moved his gaze from Buffy to Merrick, cocking a brow at him in question. Merrick just shook his head, indicating that they should wait for Buffy to come back to them on her own. Another few sips, and then, with her glass empty, the Slayer seemed to withdraw from times past and wake up to her current situation.
It was painful for Giles to watch her eyes change as she rejoined the conversation. He wanted to cringe, but they needed to move on. “Tell me please, Buffy. What will it take to get you to stay in this time?”
“Merrick can fill you in on some of the things he and I have already discussed. That’s probably a good place to start.”
“Yes, well, we have agreed that Buffy shouldn’t have to slay unless she wants to,” Merrick started.
“But, she’s the Slayer,” Giles objected.
“No. She is not.”
“She’s not? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Buffy smiled, pleased to hear Giles admit that he didn’t know everything.
Merrick sighed. “Kendra is your Slayer, Giles. Buffy is the Light...something completely different. If she finds her true partner and manages to become complete in this lifetime, her destiny won’t let her slay.”
Giles nodded, beginning to understand that Buffy had evolved into something so much more than being a Slayer.
“I understand. If the Light becomes complete, Buffy’s part will be to protect mankind by preventing Hell on Earth from happening.” The Watcher shrugged, as if Buffy’s contribution were somehow a simple one.
“And so, it would seem that everything depends on Buffy uniting with her other half, but how are we to know who that might be?” Giles asked.
Buffy quickly spoke up. “That’s none of your business, Giles. I know who it is, and that’s what matters. If you need confirmation, you’ll find it in the book, once you get it translated.”
“How can you be certain? At this point, we’ve barely begun to have any success deciphering the volume.” It wasn’t that Giles doubted her, but she spoke with such self-assurance that he felt she must know more than she was letting on.
“You need to remember that I’ve lived through this time before. Several decades ago, that book was in my possession. I eventually lost it in a fire, but I had a lot of time to study it before it was destroyed.”
“So, you know what is written in the book?” the excited Watcher asked.
“Yes, I know what it says, but, no, I won’t tell you.” Buffy looked sternly at the man that was once her substitute father. “If you want to know what the book says, you’ll need to translate it for yourself.”
Looking Giles directly in the eye, the Slayer continued. “The book doesn’t really matter much anyway. What matters is the future you envision for the World. Do you want the nightmare you saw in LA., or do you want a Hell-free world, where humans and demons work together? If the first is your choice, you don’t need to do anything. For the second, though, the Council is going to have to pay. They were the ones who tried to destroy my life by hiding the book, so it’s only right that they be the ones to pay whatever it takes to put my life back on track if I return to this time.”
“That sounds ominous. What, exactly, did you have in mind?”
“Get your pen and paper ready, Giles. This is an important list, and I don’t want to have to say it twice,” Buffy informed him. She waited patiently for him to get ready, before she started talking again. “First, I want a home of my own, and I want the Council to pay for it. I’ve already got the location picked out.”
“I’m not trying to create problems, Buffy, but what do you imagine your mother will say when you tell her that you are moving out?” Giles interrupted.
“She’s just going to have to deal, Giles. I’ve lived too many years on my own to go back to living with a curfew and daily chores.” Buffy grimaced. “Listen, I’ve thought really hard about this list. Why don’t I just tell you what I want, and then you can ask me all your questions when I’m done?” Buffy wanted to get this part over quickly, knowing that it was likely to cause some protests.
“Yes, of course, Buffy. I apologize. Do go on, please. I’ll keep a tight rein on my curiosity until you have finished speaking.”
The Light smiled thankfully at Giles. “I’ll need money to purchase the building, and to renovate it so it suits my needs. I’ll also need furniture and whatever else is missing, so that it’s a comfortable home for me. I’d also like a car. Something small, like what Cordelia has, would be great.”
Buffy continued. “I expect a paycheque each month, simply because I choose to stay here, with no obligation on my part to respond to any requests from the Council. Like other Council members, each year I want a raise, and I want a guarantee, in writing, that I will never receive a cheque that is smaller than what the head of the Council gets.”
Buffy frowned grimly, as a thought occurred to her. “I want it understood, they don’t have the option of giving the boss a pay cut, so that they can reduce what I receive. That won’t do at all. If they’re strapped for cash, they’ll have to cut back on Watchers. Understand that when I say I want what Travers gets, I mean everything that he gets: medical, dental, transportation allowance. If he gets it, I want it. Also, I want to be reimbursed for clothes and shoes that I ruin when I’m slaying or in some other way working to keep the world a nice place to live in. Weapons and books too. If I need it, I want it paid for. I don’t want to have to hassle about every little expense, so make sure this gets set up right.” At that, Buffy nodded to Giles, letting him know that it was now his turn to ask questions.
Giles’ pen had barely stopped moving before he asked, “I don’t understand why you won’t make an effort to live with your mother again. And what are your plans for the Buffy of this time...the one in the hospital? And what about...?”
“Hey,” Buffy interrupted. “One question at a time, Giles. First, I know I look like a teenager, but I’m old. Really old. I’ve got my own way of doing things and, as if that weren’t enough, can you really imagine my mom being ok with my boyfriend moving in? If I’m lucky enough to get him this time, no force on Earth would be enough to make me let him go. I plan to live with him, sharing a consenting, sexual, adult relationship, whether you approve or not. Actually, I think I’ll make it your job to get mom to agree to my new living arrangements. That should keep you busy for a while.”
Giles stiffened in his seat. “And just how do you expect me to get your mother to agree to your plans?”
“My mother loves the Buffy that’s lying in the hospital right now. We know she’s gone, but I know my mom is still praying that she’ll come back somehow. In a way, Mom is going to get her wish. For me to stay in this time, I need to take over the other Buffy’s body. Her essence has already passed on to Heaven, so her body is just an empty shell right now. I don’t understand the process, but Merrick will move my essence to the younger body, so I can stay here. If you need more specifics about the move, you’ll have to talk to him.”
Giles turned to Merrick with a look of expectation. “A little spell, that’s all.”
“If Buffy takes over the body in the hospital, what happens to the body that she is in now?” Giles was worried that he might have to make some kind of body swap. Future Buffy’s body was noticeably different from the one in the hospital bed.
“Don’t worry about that,” Merrick responded. “Once Buffy’s essence leaves this body, it will automatically return to the future.”
“You seem to have everything planned out, but I foresee a small flaw in your agenda.” Giles sipped at the Scotch in his glass. “I don’t believe the Council will pay what you are demanding. In fact, I don’t believe they will agree to pay you anything at all, Buffy.”
“Really, Giles? You think they’d prefer Hell on Earth? Try telling them that I know all their dirty little secrets: the hidden bank accounts, the vault in the basement of the Council headquarters, and the strongboxes hidden across the globe.” Suddenly, the Slayer had an evil smile around her mouth.
“I get the impression that you don’t like the Council, Buffy.” When Giles became a Watcher, he made a lifetime commitment. It was hard for him to hear the derision in his young charge’s voice now, when she spoke of the long-standing institution.
“You’ve got that right,” the Light confirmed. “Don’t like them, don’t trust them. Do you blame me?”
For a brief moment, it was as if the years fell away and Giles was once again the father figure she knew she could count on, no matter what. Buffy wished she could hold on to that feeling, but knew she had changed too much for them to ever have that kind of relationship again.
Giles gave her a sad smile, shadowed with loss he had yet to experience. “No, I don’t blame you at all, Buffy.”
That was it. Buffy knew that her emotions were going to get the best of her soon, and didn’t want to start crying in front of Giles. “I want a contract in twenty-four hours.”
“That’s not enough time,” Giles sputtered.
Buffy sighed. “Too bad. I’m tired of trying to disguise myself, and of wasting time wrangling with the Council instead of finding my other half and becoming complete. I want to know where I stand. Am I living here, or returning to the future?”
My Way or the Highway.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Buffy was becoming frustrated. Giles had been on the phone with the Council for hours, and they were still refusing to discuss her terms. The Council insisted that the Slayer...the active one...didn’t get paid, and therefore they were not willing to pay someone they considered retired.
Eventually, Buffy couldn’t stand to listen to the Council’s excuses any longer. She walked over to Giles, and asked him quietly, “It is Travers? On the phone, I mean.”
Giles covered the mouthpiece with his hand, and shook his head. “No. He refused to return to the phone after I presented him with your list of demands.”
“I’m tired of this. Tell whoever you’re talking to that I want to speak with Travers.” She kept her voice low, so the receiver wouldn’t pick up what she was saying. “Tell them that the Eternal Light wants to speak with the Head of the Watcher’s Council.”
Merrick, watching everything from a comfortable seat on Giles’ couch, started to grin. Buffy smirked back, while she waited for the call to be transferred.
“Yes. Yes, that’s right. The Light. Correct...I’ll wait.” Giles nodded to Buffy, indicating that she should approach the telephone. “Mr. Travers. Yes, sir. Just one moment.” The phone was passed to Buffy, and Giles went to join Merrick on the couch.
Buffy nodded her thanks to Giles. “Mr. Travers...Yes, I’m the Light. Yes, that’s right. Ask your seers, I’m certain they’ll back me up.” Buffy was openly smirking now. “Listen up, Travers. I know all about the Council’s financial situation. About the vault, and about...” Buffy was speaking into the phone, very softly, and in a strange language that neither Watcher was familiar with. After a moment, it became obvious that Travers was speaking, and Buffy was content to simply listen with an odd smile on her face.
Merrick and Giles appeared confused, looking briefly at each other, before returning their gaze to Buffy.
“Yes, that’s right. Okay, I’m looking forward to it. Have a nice day.” Buffy hung up the phone. When she turned back to her Watchers, there was a big smile on her face. “They’re going to courier the contract. It should be here by tomorrow afternoon.”
“No reason why we can’t celebrate today,” Merrick exclaimed, as he gave Buffy a hug.
Happily returning her guide’s embrace, Buffy cautioned, “Let’s wait until we have the money, and the contract has been signed.”
“Excuse me, Buffy, but I couldn’t seem to place the language you were speaking. Would you mind telling me what language it was, and what you were telling Travers?” Giles interrupted the hug-fest that was going on.
“Sorry, Giles, but I can’t tell you that.” Buffy untangled herself from Merrick. “I promised Travers that what I said would stay between the two of us, and I always keep my word. The only thing I can tell you is, the Council of Watchers has a lot of secrets, and I know most of them.”
“There’s something else you really need to understand.” She sighed. Hopefully Giles would get what she was saying the first time. Buffy didn’t want to think about what would happen if her friends and family started trying to take over again. She knew that her mom would understand with a bit of time, and Willow might also be willing to listen. The problem would be with the men. Definitely Xander and Angel, and maybe Giles, though he seemed to be on board at this point. There wasn’t much she could do though. Once the soul transfer was complete, she was here for good and she would force them to understand, if she had to.
“This time I’m my own person, and I won’t be pushed around by you, my friends, my mother, or the Council. You have to trust that I know what I’m doing, and that I can make good decisions.”
“I’ll do my best to remember that, especially because it’s clearly very important to you,” Giles managed to respond.
“Now, what are we going to do for lunch? I’m hungry. Oh, and I have to get to the library today.” Buffy gave Merrick a quick hug, grabbed her hoodie, and was already heading to the door of Giles’ apartment.
“Wait a moment, Buffy. You can take my library card with you,” Giles offered.
“Thanks Giles. That’s great. I don’t know whether I’ll need one or not.”
“Yes, well, if you expect to be allowed to borrow books, you’ll need a library card,” Giles said in a slightly condescending voice.
Buffy closed her eyes briefly. “Actually, I was heading to the library to find out who owns the building I want, so I can give them a call and see if it’s for sale.”
“Oh, well, if you can’t get that information at the library, you’ll most likely find it available at city hall.” Again, Giles the Lecturer made an appearance, peeking at Buffy over the top of his glasses.
Do I really come across as that stupid? He seems to believe I’m still the naive child that I was before the Master killed me. Did nothing from the past few days sink in? Buffy grimaced at her own thoughts.
Giles handed Buffy his library card, and she left to check the town registry while the two Watchers went to the Espresso Pump to wait for her results. They were both finishing their lattes when Buffy rejoined the group.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Merrick inquired.
“Uh-huh.” Buffy nodded, before being distracted by the menu board.
“Well? Is it a secret?” Merrick asked, amused.
“Hang on, Merrick. First I want to get some coffee.” She looked pleadingly at the two older men. “I went so long without it. So very, very long.”
Unable to resist, Merrick quickly offered, “I’ll go get it for you.”
“Thank you, Merrick. You’re such a gentleman.” Buffy teased, while wearing a smile so big that it was even visible beneath her hoodie. “Get me something sweet and foamy, with sprinkles and whipped cream, please.”
Once again, Giles was struck by the interaction between Buffy and Merrick. I wonder what’s really going on here. One minute Merrick behaves like her father, and the next he’s a friend, a very close friend. Could he be her other half? I know she’s lived several lifetimes, but he just seems too old for her. If it’s not him, then who? Xander or Angel? Xander is much too immature and hot-headed, and Angel...well, he is a Representative for the Powers. He’s a warrior, and is almost as strong as Buffy. She needs an equal, and Angel could certainly help her when she’s fighting. Plus, he’s got his soul, which is a bonus and should make him protect her when needed. Anyone else as strong as a Slayer would kill her, and that wouldn’t do. Giles decided he would have to do some more research, so he could confirm the identity of Buffy’s other half and do what he could to support their relationship.
Unfortunately, Giles was already forgetting the lessons learned in his apartment earlier that day, and was busy trying to organize the Slayer’s life. He just couldn’t accept that there were others who might have answers that he himself was missing. His job was to guide his Slayer, and his Slayer’s job was to listen to his direction. Feeling uncomfortably like he was losing control of Buffy, Giles decided that he had best invest more time and energy in translating the book of prophecy. When he discovered the book’s answers, then he would be better able to guide Buffy in the right direction.
Giles watched Buffy and Merrick joking and having fun at the table. He couldn’t help feeling some contempt for his compatriot, as it was clear that Merrick didn’t understand that a Slayer and a Watcher should not behave like best friends. There were boundaries to be maintained, for the good of all. Maybe it would be best if Giles took over Merrick’s official role? Merrick would benefit from seeing an experienced Watcher at work, and Buffy would flourish once she had firm boundaries to work within. Pleased with his plan, Giles thought of the transfer of power as a done deal.
Though outwardly joking and laughing with Merrick, Buffy had been watching Giles’ reflection in the cafe window. Seeing his demeanour change as he assessed the situation and then developed his plan, Buffy could see he was falling back into his must-be-in-control trap. She knew that look, and it didn’t bode well for her future. Realizing that her openness earlier had changed nothing, the Slayer suddenly felt exhausted. Hopefully the Council would be quick to come through with her money. She needed to get away from Giles, but would have to just make the best of things for now.
Merrick knew that something was going on. He could see the change in Buffy’s eyes, and recognized the sadness she was feeling. Merrick decided to ask her about it later, when the two of them were alone. For now, he would do what he could to make Buffy laugh, and help her to forget her troubles for a little while.
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Late the next morning, as promised, the contract was delivered by a messenger from the Council. The messenger was asked to sit in the living room, while Buffy and Merrick withdrew to the kitchen and reviewed the papers he carried. Buffy read the contracts very carefully, both copies side-by-side to ensure they were identical. Merrick, who was reading over her shoulder, did his best to look for flaws and loopholes. Giles, sitting across the table from the couple, was fuming over the fact that he wasn’t asked for his input.
The Watcher and his charge read the documents several times, to be certain that the contract was exactly as she had requested, right down to the tiniest detail. An additional envelope sent with the contract included two bank cards for Buffy’s use. The first card was a credit card, to be used to purchase her home, and for any repairs or furnishings she desired. It was also earmarked for any weapons or books she might want, as well as to replace any clothing that might become damaged in the course of her work as a Slayer. The second card was a debit card, and was linked to the account where the Council would be depositing her paycheque. Buffy smiled when she saw the statement of accounting for her first cheque. No more flipping greasy burgers for this Slayer.
“What do you think, Merrick? Does it look okay?” She looked over her shoulder at the Watcher.
“If there are loopholes here, I don’t see them. You must have scared the Head of the Council pretty badly.” Travers had already signed the contract. They smirked at each other, satisfied with what they had achieved.
“Giles, do you have a pen I can use?”
“I cannot abide this. Do you not see how wrong it is, to demand money, payment, for doing your duty?” Giles was clearly irritated as he handed over his pen.
“I have no duties, Giles.” Buffy’s face had lost the smile she was wearing minutes before.
“Buffy...the Buffy in the hospital bed, is the Slayer. If you take over her body, you’ll be the Slayer,” Giles claimed.
“Wrong again, Giles. I won’t be the Slayer, I’ll be the Light. Kendra is the Slayer, not me.” She turned her attention back to the papers on the table. “What do you think, Merrick? Are they okay for me to sign?”
“Everything seems as it should be, Buffy. I think they’re fine to sign.”
Buffy smiled, delighted by Merrick’s answer. This was it. She looked at the papers spread in front of her and then, with a deep breath, she signed the contracts. Free. I’m finally free to do what I want. I don’t have to listen to the Council, don’t have to do what my friends say, don’t have to pretend to want Mr. Normal. I’m finally free to build a life for myself, and to love whoever I want. Oh, Spike, I wonder what you’re doing right now?
Buffy’s brief mental holiday was disturbed by the sound of the Council messenger clearing his throat. She turned to him and asked, “When can I start using the cards?”
“You need to go to a local branch of the bank, and have the cards activated. They should be useable as soon as you’ve done that.” The messenger picked up the contracts from the table, checking them over for signatures and initials. Putting one copy in his bag, he handed the remaining copy back to Buffy. “Here’s your copy of the contract. I’m also to give you this,” he said, passing her a sealed envelope. “Have a nice day.” The messenger bowed slightly, then nodded to Giles and Merrick before making his way out of the apartment.
“Hey, Merrick, let’s go for a walk.” Buffy looked at him, pleading for his cooperation. She wanted to escape the apartment before Giles started up again.
“Sure. Why not?” Merrick agreed.
Before the couple left, Buffy turned back to return Giles’ pen. “Giles, will you talk with mom tonight?”
Giles wasn’t happy about not being consulted when the contracts were reviewed. Buffy didn’t listen to him, or even ask his opinion. She didn’t want his help then, so who was she to demand it now? “Sorry, Buffy, but I’m busy for the rest of the day.” Unwilling to make eye contact, Giles was polishing his glasses.
Buffy could tell that Giles wasn’t reacting well to her demand for independence, but she refused to apologize for her actions. “Okay, Giles. When do you think you’ll have the time?”
“I will consult my calendar and get back to you with some possible dates.” Giles became even more stuffy, trying to show Buffy that he was still in charge and wasn’t willing to do things according to her schedule.
Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before responding. “What the Hell are you doing, Giles?”
“I...That is, I...” The spectacles, recently returned to his nose, were back in his hand again.
“If you’re thinking of betraying me, give it up. I’m not a naive young teenager anymore, and I refuse to let you or anyone else control my life.” She paced in front of Giles, not letting him get a word in. “You know what? I was crazy to think I could trust you to understand. I’m done here.” She marched to the door. “Are you coming, Merrick?” With that, Buffy was gone, leaving her Watcher to follow.
Merrick hurried to catch his charge before she disappeared. He knew she was heading to the bank, but didn’t know exactly where the bank was. His only hope was to walk there with Buffy. “Hey, slow down! Not everyone travels at Slayer speed.”
Merrick could see Buffy pause, and then continue at a much slower pace. As he drew closer, he could also see that her shoulders were shaking.
Merrick touched her arm. “What’s going on?”
Buffy turned to him, tears running down her face. “He’s trying to do it again, Merrick.”
Wanting only to protect her from any more pain, Merrick wrapped the Slayer in his arms as if she were a small child in need of comfort.
“He wants to take control of my life.” She sniffled against his chest. “I can’t go through that again.”
Merrick took a small step back from Buffy, using two fingers to lift her chin, so he could look her in the eye. “Listen up, Buffy. You can choose your own fate and, if it’s what you want, you will never have to speak with Giles again. The power is all yours. Now, let’s dry your tears and get to the bank. It’s still early, and we can accomplish a lot before the day is over.” He wiped her cheeks with a tissue from his coat pocket.
Feeling a little braver, Buffy smiled at him. “Thanks for the pep talk, Merrick.” With that, she linked their arms together and set off for the bank with a more positive attitude towards the future.
As they walked, Merrick asked Buffy about the envelope she had received with the contracts. Buffy told him that yesterday, when he and Giles had gone to the store, she had called the Council and told them she needed papers that said she was older than the Buffy from this time was. She couldn’t shake a lingering fear that Giles would turn on her, and wanted to make sure he couldn’t use her supposed youth as a means to control her. As a minor, Giles and her mother would have a legal right to make decisions about where she lived and whether she was allowed to marry. Though she hoped that Giles had truly learned his lesson and her suspicions were unfounded, he was already starting to revert to his over-controlling ways.
“And they just agreed, with no argument? How did you manage that, without telling them you are the Light?” Merrick was amazed.
“Oh, I didn’t have to explain anything. Giles had already given them a full report, so they weren’t surprised at all.” She smiled sadly.
“What? After you explicitly said that nobody was to know?” Merrick was stunned.
Buffy just nodded in response to the question. She couldn’t seem to speak around the lump in her throat.
------------------------------------
At the bank, Buffy found out that her first paycheque had already been deposited into her account. When activating the credit card, she was advised that the account was earmarked for buying, renovating, and furnishing a home, and that the card had no limit. Buffy asked to see the branch manager, and told him that she was interested in purchasing a building that the bank had foreclosed on a few years before. Things happened quickly after that, and when Buffy and Merrick left the bank an hour later, Buffy was holding the keys to her new home in her hand.
“Let’s go look at it again.” The elated Slayer bounced down the sidewalk beside Merrick.
“Absolutely.” He couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “Now that you have the keys, we can have a good look inside, instead of peeking through the windows.”
Laughing and playing as they made their way through the warehouse district, they hurried to explore Buffy’s new home. They had a little trouble getting in, because the big freight door was jammed, but eventually they gained access without damaging anything. Buffy ran around like a child, checking everything out. It was exactly as she remembered it, with a broad stairway, little freight elevator, and big, open rooms upstairs.
Being in the warehouse, Buffy couldn’t help but start planning how the space was going to be used. There would be a large living room, library, and kitchen upstairs, as well as a master bedroom with ensuite bath, and a few smaller bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, for guests. Downstairs, there would be at least one training room, a large kitchen for feeding groups, and a few more bed and bath sets.
“Buffy.” Merrick had been trying to get her attention for some time now.
“What is it, Merrick?” Buffy still had a dreamy look on her face, as she answered the Watcher.
“Who are you going to get to do all the work on this place? We’re not talking about an easy job that will be done in a weekend, you know.”
“Don’t worry. I know it’s a big job, but I also know where I can get the help I need to have it done as soon as possible.” She grasped her Watcher’s hand and pulled him to the door. “Let’s go talk to a friend of a friend. He’s just the guy for the job.” Buffy locked the door again once they were outside, and then turned to Merrick. “Here, Merrick, I want you to have these.” She handed him a extra set of keys to the building. “I would like it very much if you would stay with me. You can have one of the guest bedrooms downstairs, so you have your privacy. I mean, if you want to. If you’d rather stay somewhere else, that’s fine too. You can still keep the keys, so you’ve got a copy in case I lose mine, or um...in case you need something from my place, or...if something happens to me...”
“Buffy, you’re babbling, my dear.” Merrick laughed gently.
Buffy sent an apologetic smile his way. “Sorry.”
Merrick smiled right back at her. “It’s okay, and I’d love to take the room you are so kindly offering.”
“Thank you, thank you.” Buffy bounced as she hugged him. “I’m so happy!” Finally, the Slayer felt like she was on her way home.
Buffy was becoming frustrated. Giles had been on the phone with the Council for hours, and they were still refusing to discuss her terms. The Council insisted that the Slayer...the active one...didn’t get paid, and therefore they were not willing to pay someone they considered retired.
Eventually, Buffy couldn’t stand to listen to the Council’s excuses any longer. She walked over to Giles, and asked him quietly, “It is Travers? On the phone, I mean.”
Giles covered the mouthpiece with his hand, and shook his head. “No. He refused to return to the phone after I presented him with your list of demands.”
“I’m tired of this. Tell whoever you’re talking to that I want to speak with Travers.” She kept her voice low, so the receiver wouldn’t pick up what she was saying. “Tell them that the Eternal Light wants to speak with the Head of the Watcher’s Council.”
Merrick, watching everything from a comfortable seat on Giles’ couch, started to grin. Buffy smirked back, while she waited for the call to be transferred.
“Yes. Yes, that’s right. The Light. Correct...I’ll wait.” Giles nodded to Buffy, indicating that she should approach the telephone. “Mr. Travers. Yes, sir. Just one moment.” The phone was passed to Buffy, and Giles went to join Merrick on the couch.
Buffy nodded her thanks to Giles. “Mr. Travers...Yes, I’m the Light. Yes, that’s right. Ask your seers, I’m certain they’ll back me up.” Buffy was openly smirking now. “Listen up, Travers. I know all about the Council’s financial situation. About the vault, and about...” Buffy was speaking into the phone, very softly, and in a strange language that neither Watcher was familiar with. After a moment, it became obvious that Travers was speaking, and Buffy was content to simply listen with an odd smile on her face.
Merrick and Giles appeared confused, looking briefly at each other, before returning their gaze to Buffy.
“Yes, that’s right. Okay, I’m looking forward to it. Have a nice day.” Buffy hung up the phone. When she turned back to her Watchers, there was a big smile on her face. “They’re going to courier the contract. It should be here by tomorrow afternoon.”
“No reason why we can’t celebrate today,” Merrick exclaimed, as he gave Buffy a hug.
Happily returning her guide’s embrace, Buffy cautioned, “Let’s wait until we have the money, and the contract has been signed.”
“Excuse me, Buffy, but I couldn’t seem to place the language you were speaking. Would you mind telling me what language it was, and what you were telling Travers?” Giles interrupted the hug-fest that was going on.
“Sorry, Giles, but I can’t tell you that.” Buffy untangled herself from Merrick. “I promised Travers that what I said would stay between the two of us, and I always keep my word. The only thing I can tell you is, the Council of Watchers has a lot of secrets, and I know most of them.”
“There’s something else you really need to understand.” She sighed. Hopefully Giles would get what she was saying the first time. Buffy didn’t want to think about what would happen if her friends and family started trying to take over again. She knew that her mom would understand with a bit of time, and Willow might also be willing to listen. The problem would be with the men. Definitely Xander and Angel, and maybe Giles, though he seemed to be on board at this point. There wasn’t much she could do though. Once the soul transfer was complete, she was here for good and she would force them to understand, if she had to.
“This time I’m my own person, and I won’t be pushed around by you, my friends, my mother, or the Council. You have to trust that I know what I’m doing, and that I can make good decisions.”
“I’ll do my best to remember that, especially because it’s clearly very important to you,” Giles managed to respond.
“Now, what are we going to do for lunch? I’m hungry. Oh, and I have to get to the library today.” Buffy gave Merrick a quick hug, grabbed her hoodie, and was already heading to the door of Giles’ apartment.
“Wait a moment, Buffy. You can take my library card with you,” Giles offered.
“Thanks Giles. That’s great. I don’t know whether I’ll need one or not.”
“Yes, well, if you expect to be allowed to borrow books, you’ll need a library card,” Giles said in a slightly condescending voice.
Buffy closed her eyes briefly. “Actually, I was heading to the library to find out who owns the building I want, so I can give them a call and see if it’s for sale.”
“Oh, well, if you can’t get that information at the library, you’ll most likely find it available at city hall.” Again, Giles the Lecturer made an appearance, peeking at Buffy over the top of his glasses.
Do I really come across as that stupid? He seems to believe I’m still the naive child that I was before the Master killed me. Did nothing from the past few days sink in? Buffy grimaced at her own thoughts.
Giles handed Buffy his library card, and she left to check the town registry while the two Watchers went to the Espresso Pump to wait for her results. They were both finishing their lattes when Buffy rejoined the group.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Merrick inquired.
“Uh-huh.” Buffy nodded, before being distracted by the menu board.
“Well? Is it a secret?” Merrick asked, amused.
“Hang on, Merrick. First I want to get some coffee.” She looked pleadingly at the two older men. “I went so long without it. So very, very long.”
Unable to resist, Merrick quickly offered, “I’ll go get it for you.”
“Thank you, Merrick. You’re such a gentleman.” Buffy teased, while wearing a smile so big that it was even visible beneath her hoodie. “Get me something sweet and foamy, with sprinkles and whipped cream, please.”
Once again, Giles was struck by the interaction between Buffy and Merrick. I wonder what’s really going on here. One minute Merrick behaves like her father, and the next he’s a friend, a very close friend. Could he be her other half? I know she’s lived several lifetimes, but he just seems too old for her. If it’s not him, then who? Xander or Angel? Xander is much too immature and hot-headed, and Angel...well, he is a Representative for the Powers. He’s a warrior, and is almost as strong as Buffy. She needs an equal, and Angel could certainly help her when she’s fighting. Plus, he’s got his soul, which is a bonus and should make him protect her when needed. Anyone else as strong as a Slayer would kill her, and that wouldn’t do. Giles decided he would have to do some more research, so he could confirm the identity of Buffy’s other half and do what he could to support their relationship.
Unfortunately, Giles was already forgetting the lessons learned in his apartment earlier that day, and was busy trying to organize the Slayer’s life. He just couldn’t accept that there were others who might have answers that he himself was missing. His job was to guide his Slayer, and his Slayer’s job was to listen to his direction. Feeling uncomfortably like he was losing control of Buffy, Giles decided that he had best invest more time and energy in translating the book of prophecy. When he discovered the book’s answers, then he would be better able to guide Buffy in the right direction.
Giles watched Buffy and Merrick joking and having fun at the table. He couldn’t help feeling some contempt for his compatriot, as it was clear that Merrick didn’t understand that a Slayer and a Watcher should not behave like best friends. There were boundaries to be maintained, for the good of all. Maybe it would be best if Giles took over Merrick’s official role? Merrick would benefit from seeing an experienced Watcher at work, and Buffy would flourish once she had firm boundaries to work within. Pleased with his plan, Giles thought of the transfer of power as a done deal.
Though outwardly joking and laughing with Merrick, Buffy had been watching Giles’ reflection in the cafe window. Seeing his demeanour change as he assessed the situation and then developed his plan, Buffy could see he was falling back into his must-be-in-control trap. She knew that look, and it didn’t bode well for her future. Realizing that her openness earlier had changed nothing, the Slayer suddenly felt exhausted. Hopefully the Council would be quick to come through with her money. She needed to get away from Giles, but would have to just make the best of things for now.
Merrick knew that something was going on. He could see the change in Buffy’s eyes, and recognized the sadness she was feeling. Merrick decided to ask her about it later, when the two of them were alone. For now, he would do what he could to make Buffy laugh, and help her to forget her troubles for a little while.
------------------------------------
Late the next morning, as promised, the contract was delivered by a messenger from the Council. The messenger was asked to sit in the living room, while Buffy and Merrick withdrew to the kitchen and reviewed the papers he carried. Buffy read the contracts very carefully, both copies side-by-side to ensure they were identical. Merrick, who was reading over her shoulder, did his best to look for flaws and loopholes. Giles, sitting across the table from the couple, was fuming over the fact that he wasn’t asked for his input.
The Watcher and his charge read the documents several times, to be certain that the contract was exactly as she had requested, right down to the tiniest detail. An additional envelope sent with the contract included two bank cards for Buffy’s use. The first card was a credit card, to be used to purchase her home, and for any repairs or furnishings she desired. It was also earmarked for any weapons or books she might want, as well as to replace any clothing that might become damaged in the course of her work as a Slayer. The second card was a debit card, and was linked to the account where the Council would be depositing her paycheque. Buffy smiled when she saw the statement of accounting for her first cheque. No more flipping greasy burgers for this Slayer.
“What do you think, Merrick? Does it look okay?” She looked over her shoulder at the Watcher.
“If there are loopholes here, I don’t see them. You must have scared the Head of the Council pretty badly.” Travers had already signed the contract. They smirked at each other, satisfied with what they had achieved.
“Giles, do you have a pen I can use?”
“I cannot abide this. Do you not see how wrong it is, to demand money, payment, for doing your duty?” Giles was clearly irritated as he handed over his pen.
“I have no duties, Giles.” Buffy’s face had lost the smile she was wearing minutes before.
“Buffy...the Buffy in the hospital bed, is the Slayer. If you take over her body, you’ll be the Slayer,” Giles claimed.
“Wrong again, Giles. I won’t be the Slayer, I’ll be the Light. Kendra is the Slayer, not me.” She turned her attention back to the papers on the table. “What do you think, Merrick? Are they okay for me to sign?”
“Everything seems as it should be, Buffy. I think they’re fine to sign.”
Buffy smiled, delighted by Merrick’s answer. This was it. She looked at the papers spread in front of her and then, with a deep breath, she signed the contracts. Free. I’m finally free to do what I want. I don’t have to listen to the Council, don’t have to do what my friends say, don’t have to pretend to want Mr. Normal. I’m finally free to build a life for myself, and to love whoever I want. Oh, Spike, I wonder what you’re doing right now?
Buffy’s brief mental holiday was disturbed by the sound of the Council messenger clearing his throat. She turned to him and asked, “When can I start using the cards?”
“You need to go to a local branch of the bank, and have the cards activated. They should be useable as soon as you’ve done that.” The messenger picked up the contracts from the table, checking them over for signatures and initials. Putting one copy in his bag, he handed the remaining copy back to Buffy. “Here’s your copy of the contract. I’m also to give you this,” he said, passing her a sealed envelope. “Have a nice day.” The messenger bowed slightly, then nodded to Giles and Merrick before making his way out of the apartment.
“Hey, Merrick, let’s go for a walk.” Buffy looked at him, pleading for his cooperation. She wanted to escape the apartment before Giles started up again.
“Sure. Why not?” Merrick agreed.
Before the couple left, Buffy turned back to return Giles’ pen. “Giles, will you talk with mom tonight?”
Giles wasn’t happy about not being consulted when the contracts were reviewed. Buffy didn’t listen to him, or even ask his opinion. She didn’t want his help then, so who was she to demand it now? “Sorry, Buffy, but I’m busy for the rest of the day.” Unwilling to make eye contact, Giles was polishing his glasses.
Buffy could tell that Giles wasn’t reacting well to her demand for independence, but she refused to apologize for her actions. “Okay, Giles. When do you think you’ll have the time?”
“I will consult my calendar and get back to you with some possible dates.” Giles became even more stuffy, trying to show Buffy that he was still in charge and wasn’t willing to do things according to her schedule.
Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before responding. “What the Hell are you doing, Giles?”
“I...That is, I...” The spectacles, recently returned to his nose, were back in his hand again.
“If you’re thinking of betraying me, give it up. I’m not a naive young teenager anymore, and I refuse to let you or anyone else control my life.” She paced in front of Giles, not letting him get a word in. “You know what? I was crazy to think I could trust you to understand. I’m done here.” She marched to the door. “Are you coming, Merrick?” With that, Buffy was gone, leaving her Watcher to follow.
Merrick hurried to catch his charge before she disappeared. He knew she was heading to the bank, but didn’t know exactly where the bank was. His only hope was to walk there with Buffy. “Hey, slow down! Not everyone travels at Slayer speed.”
Merrick could see Buffy pause, and then continue at a much slower pace. As he drew closer, he could also see that her shoulders were shaking.
Merrick touched her arm. “What’s going on?”
Buffy turned to him, tears running down her face. “He’s trying to do it again, Merrick.”
Wanting only to protect her from any more pain, Merrick wrapped the Slayer in his arms as if she were a small child in need of comfort.
“He wants to take control of my life.” She sniffled against his chest. “I can’t go through that again.”
Merrick took a small step back from Buffy, using two fingers to lift her chin, so he could look her in the eye. “Listen up, Buffy. You can choose your own fate and, if it’s what you want, you will never have to speak with Giles again. The power is all yours. Now, let’s dry your tears and get to the bank. It’s still early, and we can accomplish a lot before the day is over.” He wiped her cheeks with a tissue from his coat pocket.
Feeling a little braver, Buffy smiled at him. “Thanks for the pep talk, Merrick.” With that, she linked their arms together and set off for the bank with a more positive attitude towards the future.
As they walked, Merrick asked Buffy about the envelope she had received with the contracts. Buffy told him that yesterday, when he and Giles had gone to the store, she had called the Council and told them she needed papers that said she was older than the Buffy from this time was. She couldn’t shake a lingering fear that Giles would turn on her, and wanted to make sure he couldn’t use her supposed youth as a means to control her. As a minor, Giles and her mother would have a legal right to make decisions about where she lived and whether she was allowed to marry. Though she hoped that Giles had truly learned his lesson and her suspicions were unfounded, he was already starting to revert to his over-controlling ways.
“And they just agreed, with no argument? How did you manage that, without telling them you are the Light?” Merrick was amazed.
“Oh, I didn’t have to explain anything. Giles had already given them a full report, so they weren’t surprised at all.” She smiled sadly.
“What? After you explicitly said that nobody was to know?” Merrick was stunned.
Buffy just nodded in response to the question. She couldn’t seem to speak around the lump in her throat.
------------------------------------
At the bank, Buffy found out that her first paycheque had already been deposited into her account. When activating the credit card, she was advised that the account was earmarked for buying, renovating, and furnishing a home, and that the card had no limit. Buffy asked to see the branch manager, and told him that she was interested in purchasing a building that the bank had foreclosed on a few years before. Things happened quickly after that, and when Buffy and Merrick left the bank an hour later, Buffy was holding the keys to her new home in her hand.
“Let’s go look at it again.” The elated Slayer bounced down the sidewalk beside Merrick.
“Absolutely.” He couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “Now that you have the keys, we can have a good look inside, instead of peeking through the windows.”
Laughing and playing as they made their way through the warehouse district, they hurried to explore Buffy’s new home. They had a little trouble getting in, because the big freight door was jammed, but eventually they gained access without damaging anything. Buffy ran around like a child, checking everything out. It was exactly as she remembered it, with a broad stairway, little freight elevator, and big, open rooms upstairs.
Being in the warehouse, Buffy couldn’t help but start planning how the space was going to be used. There would be a large living room, library, and kitchen upstairs, as well as a master bedroom with ensuite bath, and a few smaller bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, for guests. Downstairs, there would be at least one training room, a large kitchen for feeding groups, and a few more bed and bath sets.
“Buffy.” Merrick had been trying to get her attention for some time now.
“What is it, Merrick?” Buffy still had a dreamy look on her face, as she answered the Watcher.
“Who are you going to get to do all the work on this place? We’re not talking about an easy job that will be done in a weekend, you know.”
“Don’t worry. I know it’s a big job, but I also know where I can get the help I need to have it done as soon as possible.” She grasped her Watcher’s hand and pulled him to the door. “Let’s go talk to a friend of a friend. He’s just the guy for the job.” Buffy locked the door again once they were outside, and then turned to Merrick. “Here, Merrick, I want you to have these.” She handed him a extra set of keys to the building. “I would like it very much if you would stay with me. You can have one of the guest bedrooms downstairs, so you have your privacy. I mean, if you want to. If you’d rather stay somewhere else, that’s fine too. You can still keep the keys, so you’ve got a copy in case I lose mine, or um...in case you need something from my place, or...if something happens to me...”
“Buffy, you’re babbling, my dear.” Merrick laughed gently.
Buffy sent an apologetic smile his way. “Sorry.”
Merrick smiled right back at her. “It’s okay, and I’d love to take the room you are so kindly offering.”
“Thank you, thank you.” Buffy bounced as she hugged him. “I’m so happy!” Finally, the Slayer felt like she was on her way home.
Making it Official.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Buffy was in high spirits as she led her Watcher through town. “Come on, Merrick. I know exactly who we need to see now,” she said, as she pointed at an apartment complex down the road. As they got closer, Merrick noticed that they were passing lots of demons on the street, breeds known to be friendly and non-violent for the most part. Merrick shot a questioning glance at Buffy, but she simply responded with a smile and continued walking.
Once in the building, Buffy didn’t bother to check the list of tenants, instead taking the stairs directly to the basement. On that landing, there were three apartments, each with a different, brightly coloured door. Without any hesitation, Buffy approached the red door on the left and knocked.
The pair outside could hear shuffling footsteps approach the other side of the door, and then a voice asked who was knocking. Buffy explained that she owned a building, and that she was looking for someone to do renovations for her. To Merrick’s amazement, she offered the job, sight unseen, to the person on the other side of the door.
Rather than continue the conversation the way it had started, the person Buffy was talking with decided to open the door and peek at the people on his landing. Hmmm...humans, he thought, even though the little one is making me feel kind of funny. Not feeling any danger from the couple, he decided to open the door and invite them in.
The wrinkled demon asked, “Where have you heard of me?”
“I asked around town, and was told that if I wanted a good job done for a fair price, that this was the place to go.” Buffy spoke through her hood, which she had left up. It would be difficult to explain if she was seen in her older body, and then appeared again in the body of the Buffy from this time.
At that, the demon straightened up and reached his hand out to shake with Buffy and Merrick. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, and a pleasure to know you’ve heard good things. My name is Clem.”
“I’m Buffy, and this is Merrick.” Buffy continued to hold her head down while she talked, so that her face remained hidden from Clem. She was really looking forward to getting out of the voluminous hoodie though, and becoming friends with Clem again. “I’ve just purchased a large warehouse, and I’d like it converted into living space as soon as possible. When do you think you’d be able to take a look at it?”
Nodding, Clem swallowed and suggested, “I’m free at noon tomorrow. How about then?”
Buffy looked at Merrick, who nodded, and then back at Clem. His face was one big smile, and his floppy cheeks were jiggling as he waited for her response. “Okay, sounds like a plan. Here’s the address.” She showed him the purchase documents, and Clem quickly wrote down the information he needed on a napkin that was handy.
Buffy and Merrick had lots left to accomplish that day, and so they said a quick goodbye to Clem and went on their way. Neither said it out loud, but they both recognized that they couldn’t trust Giles not to do something stupid and put Buffy’s happiness at risk again.
----------------------------------
With Revello Drive as their next destination, the pair stopped to pick up take-out sandwiches on the way to see Buffy’s mother. They both agreed that, if Giles in his childish tantrum wasn’t going to talk with Joyce, then Merrick and Buffy would have to try to explain things to her themselves. It was going to be a shock for her when her daughter rose from her hospital bed, no longer in a coma, and in possession of a mind and soul far older than she’d had just a few days before. Joyce would also need to understand why her daughter would be insisting on living in her own home.
Once at the door, Buffy’s nerves got the better of her. “I can’t, Merrick. You knock. I’m so nervous that I’m shaking.” Buffy looked pale and was visibly trembling. When he took her hand, Merrick noted that her skin felt cold and clammy.
“I’m afraid this might be more than just nerves.” Merrick grimaced. “There’s a limit to how long you can stay here in this body. We’re going to have to do the soul transfer soon, probably today, if you want to stay in this time.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me I had so little time? I’m not ready, Merrick.”
“I’m sorry. I thought we’d have more time to get things sorted out before we had to do the spell. I wasn’t trying to keep secrets from you, Buffy. It just never occurred to me that things would take so long that we’d run out of time.”
Buffy placed her hand on Merrick’s shoulder and gave him a pat. “It’s okay, Merrick. I know you weren’t trying to trick me.” She sent a reassuring smile his way. “Now, let’s get this over with, so we can move on and do the spell.”
Merrick nodded and turned back to the door, knocking sharply.
Joyce opened the door almost immediately. “Oh.” She tilted her head as if trying to place her guests. “Mr. Merrick, the Watcher friend of Giles, right? Come in, please, you and your companion. Is Mr. Giles coming too?” She looked hopefully at them.
Buffy remained silent, though it was a struggle for her to not reach out and hug her mother.
Merrick responded, “Haven’t you spoken with him today, Mrs. Summers?”
“No, I haven’t heard from him in a few days now. I was starting to worry about him.”
“We saw him just a few hours ago, and he was fine then,” Merrick informed her.
Joyce sighed. Great. Yet another man that’s lost interest in me, she thought sadly. “Well, thank you for letting me know. What can I help you with? Are you tired of sleeping on Giles’ couch? You know you’re more than welcome to stay here, if you’d like.”
“Yes, well, we’d like to accept your very gracious offer, Mrs. Summers. As long as it won’t inconvenience you, of course. We’d also like to speak with you, if you have time?” Merrick smiled warmly at Buffy’s mother. She seemed to be a kind, warm, and loving woman, with a strong will, and a fierce need to protect her child. The kind of woman the Watcher had spent his life looking for, but never found.
“Please, I’d love to have houseguests, and you wouldn’t be an inconvenience at all. It’s my day off, and normally I’d spend it with the gang, doing research. Since there doesn’t seem to be a Scooby meeting today, I guess my day is yours.” Joyce smiled and showed Merrick and Buffy into the living room. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? How about a mug of hot cocoa?”
“Cocoa would be lovely, Mrs. Summers.” Merrick smiled.
Still feeling weak and shaky, with a voice that was hoarse and barely above a whisper, Buffy said, “I’ll take care of it.”
Joyce started to protest, but Merrick stopped her. “It’s probably for the best. I need to speak with you, and time is short. Please, Mrs. Summers?” When she nodded her assent, Merrick gestured to an armchair near the couch and asked that she sit.
Knowing she wasn’t needed for this part of the conversation, and looking forward to a mug of the Summers secret-recipe hot chocolate, Buffy headed to the kitchen.
Focused on the Watcher’s companion as she left the room, the Slayer’s mother reluctantly returned her attention to Merrick. “Please, I’d like you to call me Joyce. Formality isn’t necessary between friends.”
“Certainly, Joyce.” Merrick could see that he didn’t have Joyce’s full attention. He lightly touched her arm, drawing her focus back from the kitchen, and thoughts of someone she didn’t know, busy making drinks for them. “She’ll be okay.”
“Your companion is a woman? I couldn’t tell. Why does she wear that big sweater? She must be rather warm,” Joyce rambled.
In the kitchen, Buffy stopped listening to the conversation in the living room, and let her memories surround her. She still remembered where everything was, even after all these years, and had no trouble making the cocoa. There were many times in the past, when she could recall sitting in the kitchen as her mother made her cure-all drink and soothed Buffy’s girlhood sorrows.
It was when she turned from the stove to get some mugs that the basement door caught her eye, and suddenly she was filled with a different set of memories. Flashes from the time when Spike was in the basement, so close but so untouchable. And then later, when they’d finally managed to reconnect, and Buffy had hoped they would be together, only to be devastated by the loss of her vampire in the end. This time, she promised herself, Spike wouldn’t have to go through the pain of getting his soul. This time she knew better, realizing the value of his love and accepting him without reservation, both man and vampire.
Pulling herself away from thoughts of Spike, she returned to the tray she was filling. The pain of losing Spike was sharp, and she could barely see because of the tears in her eyes. Of course, she had missed her mother as well, but when Spike died, she was denied an eternity with her soul mate. There weren’t words to describe how deeply that knowledge cut.
Looking at the kitchen clock, Buffy realized that she had been lost in her memories for almost half an hour. That should be long enough for Merrick to explain the situation to her mom. With that thought in mind, Buffy carried the tray of hot chocolate into the living room and placed it on the table. “Help yourself,” Buffy said, as she took a mug and a handful of little marshmallows.
“But...” Joyce seemed bewildered when she looked at Buffy. “It’s not her voice.” She looked back at Merrick.
“Time changes everything, Mom,” Buffy said, as she slowly pulled the thick, black hood from her head.
“Buffy.” Joyce pressed both hands over her mouth, tears rushing to her eyes. She held her arms out and Buffy immediately left her chair and went to kneel in front of her mother.
Looking like she expected Buffy to disappear if she blinked, Joyce slowly reached a hand out towards Buffy’s face, touching her cheek gently. “Oh, Buffy, it’s you. You’re here. But...you’ve changed. What’s happened to you?”
Buffy smiled softly at her mother. “It’s me, Mom. I’m here to stay. Don’t worry about the changes though. Soon, I’ll be just like I was, and I’ll have the voice you know, too.”
Joyce pulled Buffy into her arms, squeezing her so tight that Buffy was reminded of all the times when she would hug her friends and they would say she was going to break their ribs.
“Mom,...air...I need air.” Buffy croaked out.
“Sorry, Honey.” Joyce’s cheeks flushed as she loosened her embrace a bit, but she didn’t let her daughter go. Buffy stayed in her arms for what felt like an eternity, but was really only ten minutes.
“Sorry, Mom, but you’re going to have to let me go. I don’t feel very well.” Buffy stumbled when she tried to stand, causing Joyce and Merrick to reach out and support her.
“What’s the matter? Are you sick?” Joyce asked, worried. She moved over to the couch, and sat beside Buffy, holding her hand and occasionally patting it.
“No, I’m not sick. My body just wants to return to its own time.” Buffy leaned back, resting her head on the back of the couch. “Have you told her everything?” She turned her head to lock eyes with Merrick.
The Watcher pressed his lips together in a thin line, and nodded.
Buffy turned in her seat, so she was looking at her mother. “Do you understand what Merrick has told you? You can ask us anything. It’s important that you’re okay with this, Mom.”
Joyce hesitated. “I think I understand, Honey.”
“Well, if you think of anything else later, you can always ask then. I’ll be here.” Buffy tried to sound positive. What she really wanted, though, was to finish up with her mom so that she and Merrick could get to the hospital. She was starting to feel nauseous. “Merrick did explain to you that I’ll be living at my own place, right?”
“He mentioned something about that, but I don’t understand why you can’t live here. It’s your home, Buffy.”
“Would you like to move in with your mom? Now, today?” Buffy waited patiently for her mother to answer.
Joyce was staring at her daughter, with her mouth slightly open. “It’s not the same, Buffy. I’ve had my own home for years.”
Buffy couldn’t help but smile. She looked down for a moment, before meeting her mother’s concerned gaze. “I’m a lot older than you, Mom,” Buffy said softly. “I’ve had my own place for decades.”
Joyce stared at her daughter, a blank look on her face, but it wasn’t long before she shook herself out of her mood. “Now I understand. I don’t like that you’ll be living by yourself, but I can see I’ll have to learn to accept it. However, you have to promise me that we’ll see each other often.” She looked pleadingly at Buffy, while she held her daughter’s hands tightly.
“I promise, Mom.” Buffy leaned forward and hugged Joyce. “Now, we have to go. I’ll be back soon though.”
“Can’t you stay for dinner?” Joyce looked over at the Watcher. “You too, Merrick?”
Looking closely at Buffy, Merrick realized that she was even paler than before, and was sweating and shaking. They needed to do the soul transfer now. “Joyce, do you have a car?”
“Yes, why?” Her brow wrinkled in confusion at the sudden change of subject.
“Could you do us a favour?” Merrick asked Joyce.
She nodded. “Of course. What do you need?”
“I think we need to get Buffy to the hospital. Now, please.” Merrick pulled Buffy to her feet and was standing beside her, holding her steady.
“It’s ok, we can...,” Buffy got out, before her knees buckled. Merrick caught her and lifted her up into his arms.
“Joyce! Car...now!” Merrick demanded, heading for the front door.
Joyce did as she was told. Now that she had Buffy back, she wasn’t going to do anything to risk losing her again. She grabbed her keys and her coat with one hand, opening the door for Merrick and Buffy with the other.
When they reached the car, Merrick put Buffy in the back seat while Joyce went to climb in behind the wheel. Merrick was about to crawl in the back with his Slayer, when he noticed Joyce’s pale complexion and shaking hands. “I can drive. You get in with Buffy,” he told her.
Joyce readily turned her keys over to Merrick, and climbed in the backseat with her daughter. “Will she be okay?” she asked, once they were on the road to the hospital. The worried mother held one of her daughter’s hands, and brushed Buffy’s hair off her ashen face.
Merrick dared a look in the rear view mirror. “We can’t wait any longer. The soul transfer must be done today, the faster the better. Once the process is complete, Buffy should improve dramatically.” He drove the car into the parking lot near the front of the hospital, before turning in his seat to speak to the Slayer. “We’ll do our best to support you, Buffy, but you have to walk to the room yourself, or hospital staff might start asking questions we don’t have time for.”
Buffy nodded weakly and allowed Merrick to help her out of the car. She leaned heavily on both her companions as they made their way into the building, and almost collapsed several times before they made it to the hospital room. Once inside, Merrick lifted her up into his arms, and carried her to the bed, where he gently placed her beside the body of her younger self.
“Is there something I can do to help?” Joyce stood near the door, twisting her hands together and wanting to help, but not knowing how. “Can I stay, or do you need me to leave?”
“Please, stay. I’ll need your help to lock the door, and make sure we’re not disturbed,” Merrick told her, without looking in her direction. He was busy spreading a fragrant paste over the hearts, eyes, and hands of the two bodies on the bed. Never had he been more grateful that he’d thought to keep the ingredients for the soul transfer spell in his pocket. Clearly, the Powers were looking out for the Slayer tonight. Once he was done with the paste, he took a phial of white powder and used it to make a circle on the floor, encompassing the bed. As he was preparing to sit in the circle and begin his casting, he noticed Joyce enroute to the bed. “Joyce, don’t touch the bed, or the circle on the floor. Go stand by the door, please.” He sent her a smile to soften the effect of his commanding tone.
Joyce appeared startled by this new side of the Watcher. Merrick had always been so calm and soft spoken. Suddenly, she understood. He’s as worried as I am. Recognizing that her feelings weren’t a priority at this time, Joyce immediately forgave Merrick’s harsh tone and retreated to the door.
She watched as he lit two candles, placing them in front of his body, one near each knee and within reach in the circle, and then began chanting in a strange language that Joyce didn’t understand. Joyce was almost ready to give up, believing that the spell had failed, when suddenly a brilliant white, pulsing light hid the bed from sight. Merrick continued his laboured chanting for another minute or two, before gradually slowing and finally stopping altogether as the light hiding the bed became a steady glow. The room was silent, as both adults waited; Joyce at the door, and Merrick seated on the floor.
Slowly, the light enveloping the bed dissipated, until they could finally make out the single occupant under the blanket. The couple staring at the bed held their breath for what seemed like an eternity, until Buffy’s eyelashes began to flutter.
It was only another minute, before her eyes were open and she was looking around. The first person Buffy saw was her mother, who had gradually crept closer to the bed. “Hi, Mom.” Then she turned to Merrick and asked, “Why are you on the floor?”
“Where else could I make a magical circle?” he asked, humorously. Happy that his work was done, Merrick blew out the two candles at his knees, and then stood up. Hearing a commotion down the hall, he told Joyce to unlock the door, and did his best to remove all evidence of the circle on the floor, sweeping the white powder under the bed. In seconds, the room was filled with nurses, and a doctor was paged. Joyce and Merrick were firmly escorted from the room, and given directions to the waiting room.
Knowing they had no other option, the couple retired to the drab and uncomfortable room. Joyce sighed and found herself a seat near the door, while Merrick began pacing.
Five minutes later, Joyce had reached her limit. “Will you please stop doing laps around the room? You’re making me dizzy.” Joyce patted the seat beside her. “Is it too soon to call the Scoobies and let them know that Buffy is awake?”
“Definitely too soon.” Merrick turned to Joyce, taking one of her hands in his own. “Joyce, it’s the Eternal Light that’s awakened. You need to understand that it’s still Buffy, but she’s not the Slayer anymore. She can slay if she wants to, but it’s no longer her duty or sacred calling.”
Joyce began to smile in delight. “She doesn’t have to go out at night anymore, risking her life? She can finally have a normal life? Maybe even get married and have children?” It was easy to see the hopeful look in Joyce’s eyes.
Merrick sighed, and damned Giles and his stubbornness. He should be the one explaining all this to Joyce. “Joyce, the Eternal Light is immortal.” Merrick looked at her with pity, hating to crush her dreams.
Joyce’s mouth opened, but nothing came out for a minute or two. “Immortal? Does that mean I’ll never have grandchildren?”
“I don’t know, Joyce. All I know is that she has no future with a normal human being.” Joyce’s grip on his hand tightened painfully. “Joyce, could you please loosen your grip a bit?”
“Sorry. I’m so sorry, Merrick.” She let go of his hand. “I don’t understand though. Why can’t she be with a normal man?”
“Think, Joyce. She’s strong, as in, very strong. The Eternal Light is even stronger than a Slayer.” Merrick tried to explain. “She would always have to be careful not to break a normal human being. Plus, if she were to marry a human, he would age and eventually die, leaving her alone. That’s not what you want for her, is it?”
“No. I’d never wish that for my little girl,” Joyce whispered, suddenly overcome with the bleak future that awaited her daughter if Buffy was unable to find her soul mate and become complete.
The silence in the waiting room was broken when Buffy’s doctor arrived. “Mrs. Summers, I don’t know what’s happening, but it seems that your daughter is awake. We’ll have to do some more tests, and we’ll want to keep an eye on her for a few days, but I think she might just be fine.”
“Can I see her now?” Joyce asked.
“In a few minutes. We’re just doing a few tests right now. Your daughter is a very stubborn girl. She wants to go home immediately.” The doctor laughed. “She’s been in a coma for some time. She’ll be too weak to even walk without physiotherapy.” He shook his head.
“Buffy has never liked hospitals,” Joyce laughed. “Oh, I’d like to introduce Mr. Merrick. He’s a close family friend.” The men shook hands.
“It’s nice to meet you,” the doctor responded, before looking at his watch. “They should be finishing up with her now. Let’s go back and have a talk with your daughter.”
As they approached the Light’s room, they could hear a commotion inside. The doctor hurried into the room ahead of Joyce and Merrick. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
The nurses in the room parted like the Red Sea, leaving Buffy standing alone at the side of her bed.
“Somebody explain why this young lady is on her feet. Now,” the doctor said.
An older nurse stepped forward. “She’s refusing to stay in bed, Doctor. She insists that she’s ready to go home.”
The doctor turned to Buffy. “Miss Summers, if you would be so kind as to return to your bed, so the nurses can finish up their tests, and then you and I can sit with your mother and discuss a return home plan for you.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. I’ve been here long enough.” She pouted. “I want to go home.”
“And I’ve said that we’ll talk about it, after you’ve returned to your bed,” the doctor insisted.
“That’s blackmail,” Buffy said, as she reluctantly returned to the hospital bed.
Once Buffy was settled under the blankets, the doctor stepped up to one side of the bed, and Merrick and Joyce approached the other.
“It’s clear that you’ve decided you’ve had enough of our company, but you haven’t been released yet. Now tell me, Miss Summers, how do you feel?” the doctor asked, as he was taking her pulse.
“I’m fine, really. I feel good.” Buffy nodded fiercely. “I’m ready to go home.”
“It’s amazing that you’re already standing, young lady. If your test results are okay, I don’t see any reason why you can’t go home tomorrow.” The doctor gave the young blonde a no-nonsense look. “I expect you to use a wheelchair for a while though,” he added.
“A wheelchair? You’ve got to be kidding!” Buffy gaped at him.
Recognizing the light of battle in Buffy’s eyes, Merrick stepped in to diffuse the situation. “It sounds like you have a choice to make Buffy. If you want out tomorrow, you leave in a wheelchair. Otherwise, you’ll be in the hospital for a few more days.”
Buffy pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “When did you get into the blackmailing market? Was there a discount? Learn to blackmail, two for the price of one?” Still, wheelchair or no, the Light couldn’t help but smile, because she knew tomorrow she would be free.
Buffy was in high spirits as she led her Watcher through town. “Come on, Merrick. I know exactly who we need to see now,” she said, as she pointed at an apartment complex down the road. As they got closer, Merrick noticed that they were passing lots of demons on the street, breeds known to be friendly and non-violent for the most part. Merrick shot a questioning glance at Buffy, but she simply responded with a smile and continued walking.
Once in the building, Buffy didn’t bother to check the list of tenants, instead taking the stairs directly to the basement. On that landing, there were three apartments, each with a different, brightly coloured door. Without any hesitation, Buffy approached the red door on the left and knocked.
The pair outside could hear shuffling footsteps approach the other side of the door, and then a voice asked who was knocking. Buffy explained that she owned a building, and that she was looking for someone to do renovations for her. To Merrick’s amazement, she offered the job, sight unseen, to the person on the other side of the door.
Rather than continue the conversation the way it had started, the person Buffy was talking with decided to open the door and peek at the people on his landing. Hmmm...humans, he thought, even though the little one is making me feel kind of funny. Not feeling any danger from the couple, he decided to open the door and invite them in.
The wrinkled demon asked, “Where have you heard of me?”
“I asked around town, and was told that if I wanted a good job done for a fair price, that this was the place to go.” Buffy spoke through her hood, which she had left up. It would be difficult to explain if she was seen in her older body, and then appeared again in the body of the Buffy from this time.
At that, the demon straightened up and reached his hand out to shake with Buffy and Merrick. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, and a pleasure to know you’ve heard good things. My name is Clem.”
“I’m Buffy, and this is Merrick.” Buffy continued to hold her head down while she talked, so that her face remained hidden from Clem. She was really looking forward to getting out of the voluminous hoodie though, and becoming friends with Clem again. “I’ve just purchased a large warehouse, and I’d like it converted into living space as soon as possible. When do you think you’d be able to take a look at it?”
Nodding, Clem swallowed and suggested, “I’m free at noon tomorrow. How about then?”
Buffy looked at Merrick, who nodded, and then back at Clem. His face was one big smile, and his floppy cheeks were jiggling as he waited for her response. “Okay, sounds like a plan. Here’s the address.” She showed him the purchase documents, and Clem quickly wrote down the information he needed on a napkin that was handy.
Buffy and Merrick had lots left to accomplish that day, and so they said a quick goodbye to Clem and went on their way. Neither said it out loud, but they both recognized that they couldn’t trust Giles not to do something stupid and put Buffy’s happiness at risk again.
----------------------------------
With Revello Drive as their next destination, the pair stopped to pick up take-out sandwiches on the way to see Buffy’s mother. They both agreed that, if Giles in his childish tantrum wasn’t going to talk with Joyce, then Merrick and Buffy would have to try to explain things to her themselves. It was going to be a shock for her when her daughter rose from her hospital bed, no longer in a coma, and in possession of a mind and soul far older than she’d had just a few days before. Joyce would also need to understand why her daughter would be insisting on living in her own home.
Once at the door, Buffy’s nerves got the better of her. “I can’t, Merrick. You knock. I’m so nervous that I’m shaking.” Buffy looked pale and was visibly trembling. When he took her hand, Merrick noted that her skin felt cold and clammy.
“I’m afraid this might be more than just nerves.” Merrick grimaced. “There’s a limit to how long you can stay here in this body. We’re going to have to do the soul transfer soon, probably today, if you want to stay in this time.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me I had so little time? I’m not ready, Merrick.”
“I’m sorry. I thought we’d have more time to get things sorted out before we had to do the spell. I wasn’t trying to keep secrets from you, Buffy. It just never occurred to me that things would take so long that we’d run out of time.”
Buffy placed her hand on Merrick’s shoulder and gave him a pat. “It’s okay, Merrick. I know you weren’t trying to trick me.” She sent a reassuring smile his way. “Now, let’s get this over with, so we can move on and do the spell.”
Merrick nodded and turned back to the door, knocking sharply.
Joyce opened the door almost immediately. “Oh.” She tilted her head as if trying to place her guests. “Mr. Merrick, the Watcher friend of Giles, right? Come in, please, you and your companion. Is Mr. Giles coming too?” She looked hopefully at them.
Buffy remained silent, though it was a struggle for her to not reach out and hug her mother.
Merrick responded, “Haven’t you spoken with him today, Mrs. Summers?”
“No, I haven’t heard from him in a few days now. I was starting to worry about him.”
“We saw him just a few hours ago, and he was fine then,” Merrick informed her.
Joyce sighed. Great. Yet another man that’s lost interest in me, she thought sadly. “Well, thank you for letting me know. What can I help you with? Are you tired of sleeping on Giles’ couch? You know you’re more than welcome to stay here, if you’d like.”
“Yes, well, we’d like to accept your very gracious offer, Mrs. Summers. As long as it won’t inconvenience you, of course. We’d also like to speak with you, if you have time?” Merrick smiled warmly at Buffy’s mother. She seemed to be a kind, warm, and loving woman, with a strong will, and a fierce need to protect her child. The kind of woman the Watcher had spent his life looking for, but never found.
“Please, I’d love to have houseguests, and you wouldn’t be an inconvenience at all. It’s my day off, and normally I’d spend it with the gang, doing research. Since there doesn’t seem to be a Scooby meeting today, I guess my day is yours.” Joyce smiled and showed Merrick and Buffy into the living room. “Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? How about a mug of hot cocoa?”
“Cocoa would be lovely, Mrs. Summers.” Merrick smiled.
Still feeling weak and shaky, with a voice that was hoarse and barely above a whisper, Buffy said, “I’ll take care of it.”
Joyce started to protest, but Merrick stopped her. “It’s probably for the best. I need to speak with you, and time is short. Please, Mrs. Summers?” When she nodded her assent, Merrick gestured to an armchair near the couch and asked that she sit.
Knowing she wasn’t needed for this part of the conversation, and looking forward to a mug of the Summers secret-recipe hot chocolate, Buffy headed to the kitchen.
Focused on the Watcher’s companion as she left the room, the Slayer’s mother reluctantly returned her attention to Merrick. “Please, I’d like you to call me Joyce. Formality isn’t necessary between friends.”
“Certainly, Joyce.” Merrick could see that he didn’t have Joyce’s full attention. He lightly touched her arm, drawing her focus back from the kitchen, and thoughts of someone she didn’t know, busy making drinks for them. “She’ll be okay.”
“Your companion is a woman? I couldn’t tell. Why does she wear that big sweater? She must be rather warm,” Joyce rambled.
In the kitchen, Buffy stopped listening to the conversation in the living room, and let her memories surround her. She still remembered where everything was, even after all these years, and had no trouble making the cocoa. There were many times in the past, when she could recall sitting in the kitchen as her mother made her cure-all drink and soothed Buffy’s girlhood sorrows.
It was when she turned from the stove to get some mugs that the basement door caught her eye, and suddenly she was filled with a different set of memories. Flashes from the time when Spike was in the basement, so close but so untouchable. And then later, when they’d finally managed to reconnect, and Buffy had hoped they would be together, only to be devastated by the loss of her vampire in the end. This time, she promised herself, Spike wouldn’t have to go through the pain of getting his soul. This time she knew better, realizing the value of his love and accepting him without reservation, both man and vampire.
Pulling herself away from thoughts of Spike, she returned to the tray she was filling. The pain of losing Spike was sharp, and she could barely see because of the tears in her eyes. Of course, she had missed her mother as well, but when Spike died, she was denied an eternity with her soul mate. There weren’t words to describe how deeply that knowledge cut.
Looking at the kitchen clock, Buffy realized that she had been lost in her memories for almost half an hour. That should be long enough for Merrick to explain the situation to her mom. With that thought in mind, Buffy carried the tray of hot chocolate into the living room and placed it on the table. “Help yourself,” Buffy said, as she took a mug and a handful of little marshmallows.
“But...” Joyce seemed bewildered when she looked at Buffy. “It’s not her voice.” She looked back at Merrick.
“Time changes everything, Mom,” Buffy said, as she slowly pulled the thick, black hood from her head.
“Buffy.” Joyce pressed both hands over her mouth, tears rushing to her eyes. She held her arms out and Buffy immediately left her chair and went to kneel in front of her mother.
Looking like she expected Buffy to disappear if she blinked, Joyce slowly reached a hand out towards Buffy’s face, touching her cheek gently. “Oh, Buffy, it’s you. You’re here. But...you’ve changed. What’s happened to you?”
Buffy smiled softly at her mother. “It’s me, Mom. I’m here to stay. Don’t worry about the changes though. Soon, I’ll be just like I was, and I’ll have the voice you know, too.”
Joyce pulled Buffy into her arms, squeezing her so tight that Buffy was reminded of all the times when she would hug her friends and they would say she was going to break their ribs.
“Mom,...air...I need air.” Buffy croaked out.
“Sorry, Honey.” Joyce’s cheeks flushed as she loosened her embrace a bit, but she didn’t let her daughter go. Buffy stayed in her arms for what felt like an eternity, but was really only ten minutes.
“Sorry, Mom, but you’re going to have to let me go. I don’t feel very well.” Buffy stumbled when she tried to stand, causing Joyce and Merrick to reach out and support her.
“What’s the matter? Are you sick?” Joyce asked, worried. She moved over to the couch, and sat beside Buffy, holding her hand and occasionally patting it.
“No, I’m not sick. My body just wants to return to its own time.” Buffy leaned back, resting her head on the back of the couch. “Have you told her everything?” She turned her head to lock eyes with Merrick.
The Watcher pressed his lips together in a thin line, and nodded.
Buffy turned in her seat, so she was looking at her mother. “Do you understand what Merrick has told you? You can ask us anything. It’s important that you’re okay with this, Mom.”
Joyce hesitated. “I think I understand, Honey.”
“Well, if you think of anything else later, you can always ask then. I’ll be here.” Buffy tried to sound positive. What she really wanted, though, was to finish up with her mom so that she and Merrick could get to the hospital. She was starting to feel nauseous. “Merrick did explain to you that I’ll be living at my own place, right?”
“He mentioned something about that, but I don’t understand why you can’t live here. It’s your home, Buffy.”
“Would you like to move in with your mom? Now, today?” Buffy waited patiently for her mother to answer.
Joyce was staring at her daughter, with her mouth slightly open. “It’s not the same, Buffy. I’ve had my own home for years.”
Buffy couldn’t help but smile. She looked down for a moment, before meeting her mother’s concerned gaze. “I’m a lot older than you, Mom,” Buffy said softly. “I’ve had my own place for decades.”
Joyce stared at her daughter, a blank look on her face, but it wasn’t long before she shook herself out of her mood. “Now I understand. I don’t like that you’ll be living by yourself, but I can see I’ll have to learn to accept it. However, you have to promise me that we’ll see each other often.” She looked pleadingly at Buffy, while she held her daughter’s hands tightly.
“I promise, Mom.” Buffy leaned forward and hugged Joyce. “Now, we have to go. I’ll be back soon though.”
“Can’t you stay for dinner?” Joyce looked over at the Watcher. “You too, Merrick?”
Looking closely at Buffy, Merrick realized that she was even paler than before, and was sweating and shaking. They needed to do the soul transfer now. “Joyce, do you have a car?”
“Yes, why?” Her brow wrinkled in confusion at the sudden change of subject.
“Could you do us a favour?” Merrick asked Joyce.
She nodded. “Of course. What do you need?”
“I think we need to get Buffy to the hospital. Now, please.” Merrick pulled Buffy to her feet and was standing beside her, holding her steady.
“It’s ok, we can...,” Buffy got out, before her knees buckled. Merrick caught her and lifted her up into his arms.
“Joyce! Car...now!” Merrick demanded, heading for the front door.
Joyce did as she was told. Now that she had Buffy back, she wasn’t going to do anything to risk losing her again. She grabbed her keys and her coat with one hand, opening the door for Merrick and Buffy with the other.
When they reached the car, Merrick put Buffy in the back seat while Joyce went to climb in behind the wheel. Merrick was about to crawl in the back with his Slayer, when he noticed Joyce’s pale complexion and shaking hands. “I can drive. You get in with Buffy,” he told her.
Joyce readily turned her keys over to Merrick, and climbed in the backseat with her daughter. “Will she be okay?” she asked, once they were on the road to the hospital. The worried mother held one of her daughter’s hands, and brushed Buffy’s hair off her ashen face.
Merrick dared a look in the rear view mirror. “We can’t wait any longer. The soul transfer must be done today, the faster the better. Once the process is complete, Buffy should improve dramatically.” He drove the car into the parking lot near the front of the hospital, before turning in his seat to speak to the Slayer. “We’ll do our best to support you, Buffy, but you have to walk to the room yourself, or hospital staff might start asking questions we don’t have time for.”
Buffy nodded weakly and allowed Merrick to help her out of the car. She leaned heavily on both her companions as they made their way into the building, and almost collapsed several times before they made it to the hospital room. Once inside, Merrick lifted her up into his arms, and carried her to the bed, where he gently placed her beside the body of her younger self.
“Is there something I can do to help?” Joyce stood near the door, twisting her hands together and wanting to help, but not knowing how. “Can I stay, or do you need me to leave?”
“Please, stay. I’ll need your help to lock the door, and make sure we’re not disturbed,” Merrick told her, without looking in her direction. He was busy spreading a fragrant paste over the hearts, eyes, and hands of the two bodies on the bed. Never had he been more grateful that he’d thought to keep the ingredients for the soul transfer spell in his pocket. Clearly, the Powers were looking out for the Slayer tonight. Once he was done with the paste, he took a phial of white powder and used it to make a circle on the floor, encompassing the bed. As he was preparing to sit in the circle and begin his casting, he noticed Joyce enroute to the bed. “Joyce, don’t touch the bed, or the circle on the floor. Go stand by the door, please.” He sent her a smile to soften the effect of his commanding tone.
Joyce appeared startled by this new side of the Watcher. Merrick had always been so calm and soft spoken. Suddenly, she understood. He’s as worried as I am. Recognizing that her feelings weren’t a priority at this time, Joyce immediately forgave Merrick’s harsh tone and retreated to the door.
She watched as he lit two candles, placing them in front of his body, one near each knee and within reach in the circle, and then began chanting in a strange language that Joyce didn’t understand. Joyce was almost ready to give up, believing that the spell had failed, when suddenly a brilliant white, pulsing light hid the bed from sight. Merrick continued his laboured chanting for another minute or two, before gradually slowing and finally stopping altogether as the light hiding the bed became a steady glow. The room was silent, as both adults waited; Joyce at the door, and Merrick seated on the floor.
Slowly, the light enveloping the bed dissipated, until they could finally make out the single occupant under the blanket. The couple staring at the bed held their breath for what seemed like an eternity, until Buffy’s eyelashes began to flutter.
It was only another minute, before her eyes were open and she was looking around. The first person Buffy saw was her mother, who had gradually crept closer to the bed. “Hi, Mom.” Then she turned to Merrick and asked, “Why are you on the floor?”
“Where else could I make a magical circle?” he asked, humorously. Happy that his work was done, Merrick blew out the two candles at his knees, and then stood up. Hearing a commotion down the hall, he told Joyce to unlock the door, and did his best to remove all evidence of the circle on the floor, sweeping the white powder under the bed. In seconds, the room was filled with nurses, and a doctor was paged. Joyce and Merrick were firmly escorted from the room, and given directions to the waiting room.
Knowing they had no other option, the couple retired to the drab and uncomfortable room. Joyce sighed and found herself a seat near the door, while Merrick began pacing.
Five minutes later, Joyce had reached her limit. “Will you please stop doing laps around the room? You’re making me dizzy.” Joyce patted the seat beside her. “Is it too soon to call the Scoobies and let them know that Buffy is awake?”
“Definitely too soon.” Merrick turned to Joyce, taking one of her hands in his own. “Joyce, it’s the Eternal Light that’s awakened. You need to understand that it’s still Buffy, but she’s not the Slayer anymore. She can slay if she wants to, but it’s no longer her duty or sacred calling.”
Joyce began to smile in delight. “She doesn’t have to go out at night anymore, risking her life? She can finally have a normal life? Maybe even get married and have children?” It was easy to see the hopeful look in Joyce’s eyes.
Merrick sighed, and damned Giles and his stubbornness. He should be the one explaining all this to Joyce. “Joyce, the Eternal Light is immortal.” Merrick looked at her with pity, hating to crush her dreams.
Joyce’s mouth opened, but nothing came out for a minute or two. “Immortal? Does that mean I’ll never have grandchildren?”
“I don’t know, Joyce. All I know is that she has no future with a normal human being.” Joyce’s grip on his hand tightened painfully. “Joyce, could you please loosen your grip a bit?”
“Sorry. I’m so sorry, Merrick.” She let go of his hand. “I don’t understand though. Why can’t she be with a normal man?”
“Think, Joyce. She’s strong, as in, very strong. The Eternal Light is even stronger than a Slayer.” Merrick tried to explain. “She would always have to be careful not to break a normal human being. Plus, if she were to marry a human, he would age and eventually die, leaving her alone. That’s not what you want for her, is it?”
“No. I’d never wish that for my little girl,” Joyce whispered, suddenly overcome with the bleak future that awaited her daughter if Buffy was unable to find her soul mate and become complete.
The silence in the waiting room was broken when Buffy’s doctor arrived. “Mrs. Summers, I don’t know what’s happening, but it seems that your daughter is awake. We’ll have to do some more tests, and we’ll want to keep an eye on her for a few days, but I think she might just be fine.”
“Can I see her now?” Joyce asked.
“In a few minutes. We’re just doing a few tests right now. Your daughter is a very stubborn girl. She wants to go home immediately.” The doctor laughed. “She’s been in a coma for some time. She’ll be too weak to even walk without physiotherapy.” He shook his head.
“Buffy has never liked hospitals,” Joyce laughed. “Oh, I’d like to introduce Mr. Merrick. He’s a close family friend.” The men shook hands.
“It’s nice to meet you,” the doctor responded, before looking at his watch. “They should be finishing up with her now. Let’s go back and have a talk with your daughter.”
As they approached the Light’s room, they could hear a commotion inside. The doctor hurried into the room ahead of Joyce and Merrick. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
The nurses in the room parted like the Red Sea, leaving Buffy standing alone at the side of her bed.
“Somebody explain why this young lady is on her feet. Now,” the doctor said.
An older nurse stepped forward. “She’s refusing to stay in bed, Doctor. She insists that she’s ready to go home.”
The doctor turned to Buffy. “Miss Summers, if you would be so kind as to return to your bed, so the nurses can finish up their tests, and then you and I can sit with your mother and discuss a return home plan for you.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. I’ve been here long enough.” She pouted. “I want to go home.”
“And I’ve said that we’ll talk about it, after you’ve returned to your bed,” the doctor insisted.
“That’s blackmail,” Buffy said, as she reluctantly returned to the hospital bed.
Once Buffy was settled under the blankets, the doctor stepped up to one side of the bed, and Merrick and Joyce approached the other.
“It’s clear that you’ve decided you’ve had enough of our company, but you haven’t been released yet. Now tell me, Miss Summers, how do you feel?” the doctor asked, as he was taking her pulse.
“I’m fine, really. I feel good.” Buffy nodded fiercely. “I’m ready to go home.”
“It’s amazing that you’re already standing, young lady. If your test results are okay, I don’t see any reason why you can’t go home tomorrow.” The doctor gave the young blonde a no-nonsense look. “I expect you to use a wheelchair for a while though,” he added.
“A wheelchair? You’ve got to be kidding!” Buffy gaped at him.
Recognizing the light of battle in Buffy’s eyes, Merrick stepped in to diffuse the situation. “It sounds like you have a choice to make Buffy. If you want out tomorrow, you leave in a wheelchair. Otherwise, you’ll be in the hospital for a few more days.”
Buffy pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “When did you get into the blackmailing market? Was there a discount? Learn to blackmail, two for the price of one?” Still, wheelchair or no, the Light couldn’t help but smile, because she knew tomorrow she would be free.
Life, Turned Upside Down.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
“I’ll be back tomorrow.” Before heading home for the night, Joyce bent down to kiss Buffy’s brow and smooth her hair back one more time.
“Mom, wait a minute. I need to talk to you before you go.” The newly-restored Light clearly wasn’t ready to be left alone, though it was easy to see that she was fighting exhaustion. It had been a difficult day for the young girl, and she needed to get some rest.
“What do you need, Buffy?” Joyce asked as she picked up her coat.
“I need you to be careful around Giles. You can’t trust him, Mom.” It was important to Buffy that her mother understood the situation with Giles.
Joyce stopped buttoning her coat, and focused on her daughter. “What do you mean, Honey?”
“Giles doesn’t understand about the Light and what it means. He still believes that I’m his Slayer, and that he has the right to control every aspect of my life. When he found out I wanted a paycheque from the Council, he told me he thought I was being self-centered, and that I shouldn’t be paid for doing my duty.” Even thinking about the altercation with Giles was enough to make Buffy start to cry. Though she did her best to hold herself together, she quickly dissolved into a puddle of tears.
Joyce was immediately drawn back to the sobbing girl on the bed. Intellectually, she knew that the small blonde had lived several lifetimes, and was now the Eternal Light. Emotionally though, Buffy was still her seventeen year old daughter, and Joyce would do whatever she could to comfort and protect her. Gathering Buffy close, Joyce rubbed her back and rocked her, until her daughter’s tears slowed.
“Sorry, Mom,” Buffy got out, as her sobbing ended.
“It’s okay, Buffy. It sounds like you’ve had a difficult time, and we all sometimes need to just let our feelings out. Now, are you ready to tell me about it?” Joyce located a handkerchief in her pocket, and started to dry her daughter’s cheeks.
“I don’t think I should, Mom. Let’s just say that I know how things went in the past, and I was really hoping to change some things this time. I thought I’d made a big difference, made things better...only now I know that I haven’t really changed anything at all. It sucks.” Buffy took the handkerchief from her mother.
“Oh, Honey, I’m sorry. I understand that you need to keep some information from the future to yourself, but I want you to know that I’m here for you, if you ever need someone to listen. Do you want me to go talk to the floor nurse? Visiting hours are over, but maybe she’ll let me stay a bit longer if I ask nicely.” Joyce wanted to be sure that Buffy was okay before she left.
“I’m fine, Mom.” Buffy gave Joyce a wobbly smile. “They’re just bad memories. They can’t hurt me anymore. You’d better go now, so you can get here bright and early to sign me out tomorrow.”
“Alright, Honey. I’ll go home now, but I want you to know that I’ll always be willing to listen if you need me.”
“Thanks, Mom. Don’t forget to pick Merrick up from Giles’ on your way here.”
“Will do. I love you, Buffy. Now get some sleep.” With a final kiss, Joyce was out the door.
------------------------------------
Giles woke up to find his nose smashed into his carpet. His arms shook as he slowly raised himself to his knees. From there, he was able to get one arm onto the coffee table, and lift himself carefully onto the couch.
His head was throbbing, and his mouth felt as dry as a desert. What on Earth happened? I seem to remember...oh. Oh no. I did exactly what I wasn’t supposed to do. I tried to force Buffy to do what I wanted her to do. Why would I do that? I knew it was the wrong approach, but I just couldn’t seem to help myself. I’m going to lose her if I can’t stop this behaviour. This new Buffy...She’s different. Still like a daughter to me though, and I’m so afraid I’ll end up losing her. I meant to find her and apologize. Just a quick drink for courage, and then I was going to call Joyce. I guess one drink turned into another, and I became completely intoxicated before I found the courage to go looking for my Slayer.
Giles wiped a hand over his bleary eyes, hoping to clear his vision. When that didn’t work, he looked around for his glasses, which were nowhere in sight. Finally, realizing that he wasn’t in any condition to speak with Buffy or Joyce, Giles dragged himself up the stairs to his bedroom, taking at least twice as long to get there as usual.
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“Don’t fret, my dear Spike. Soon you will meet the Light.” Drusilla was dancing around her new lover, Warren, who was smiling condescendingly at Spike. Warren thought he had stolen the enchanting brunette vampire away from her long-time paramour, and was trying to wallow in Spike’s misery.
”All is in place, all is in place. Soon there will be tea and cakes for everyone,” Dru continued.
Spike curled his lip at Warren. The boy was barely more than a fledge, but at least he wasn’t as disgusting as the last few lovers Drusilla had paraded through their lair. He shuddered at the memory of one of the scenes he had walked in on last week. He’d never imagined a Chaos demon was capable of producing that much slime.
It didn’t take long before Dru tired of her new playthings, and she was quite the black widow once they ceased to amuse. When it was all over, she’d approach Spike, begging for help to clean up the mess left behind. A lady didn’t clean, she said. Spike tried to convince her that she shouldn’t be making such a mess in their home to start with, but it was no use. Dru could be very stubborn. At least Warren’s remains could be handled with a broom and dustpan when his time came.
“I’m not going out to see the sunrise, Dru.” Spike turned back to his telly and a rerun of Passions.
Warren approached Spike, moving to stand between the TV and the seated vampire. With his face just centimetres away from Spike’s, Dru’s new toy said maliciously, “If Dru says that you’ll greet the sun, you can believe it’s going to happen.”
“Now, now. You are a bad boy, and there will be no tea for you, my pet. The time is not right for my golden prince just yet.” Dru pulled Warren away, tossing a secretive wink to Spike.
“Dru, how am I to know what you mean, when you won’t stop talking in your bloody riddles?” Spike demanded, as his Sire pulled Warren towards her bedroom.
The crazy vampire let out a giggle. “The stars tell me the time is not right for sharing secrets. Miss Edith will cry if I spoil her party.” And then they were gone.
Spike let his head fall back against the chair, closing his eyes in frustration.
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Since giving up on Angel, Cordelia had developed a finer appreciation for Xander. One night the unlikely pair had been forced to run from vampires, and ended up hiding in a closet together for several hours. When they were finally discovered in the middle of a heated embrace, they admitted they were together. Suddenly, Oz and Willow had a couple they could double-date with.
In fact, that was why Willow and Xander were currently at their usual table at the Bronze, waiting for their respective partners to show.
“How long do you think it will be, before Giles has news for us?” Xander’s knees were bouncing up and down energetically. He seemed anxious about something.
Willow sighed. “For the tenth time, I don’t know, Xander. Can we please talk about something else? Anything else?”
Xander scowled at her. “Would you rather talk about when you and I kissed?”
“No, no. Let’s talk about Giles.” Willow blushed a bright, cherry red. “Should we call Giles? What do you think, Xander?”
“Well, he hasn’t been at work, so I think we should stop by his house and check on him. Just to make sure he’s ok.” Xander couldn’t help the satisfied smile that graced his face.
“What are you smiling about, Xander? No communication from Giles is bad, not something to smile about. What if he’s hurt? What if he’s been waiting for us to come help him?” Willow began to really worry.
Her fear just caused Xander’s smile to grow. “Maybe I was right? Maybe that Merrick guy was a demon with plans to kill Giles? Have you ever thought of that?”
Willow was stunned, and couldn’t help but stare at Xander for a minute, her mind a whirlwind of panicked thoughts. “No, don’t say things like that, Xander. It was broad daylight when Merrick came to the house, and I don’t think an evil demon would have come to tell us about the Eternal Light. Oh...and he didn’t try to hurt anyone, even when you were threatening him,” the redhead finished.
The couple were so involved in their discussion, that they missed the arrival of their dates. “So, what’s up guys?”
Yet another conversation saved by the Oz-man. “Nothing much,” Xander rushed to say. “Have a seat.”
Willow moved over a stool, to make room for Oz beside her.
“Hey, Willow, Oz, Xander. Sorry I’m late. I had to turn down a football jerk. You know how it is.” Cordelia erupted onto the scene. “Move it, Xander,” she said, as she took the chair he had been using. “Oh, and while you’re up, I need a drink.”
“Sure, Cordelia.” Xander wasn’t a fool, and grabbed the opportunity to escape from the table for a few minutes.
After Xander left, Oz laid his arm across the back of Willow’s chair. “So, what were you talking about before we got here?”
Willow paled. Did Oz hear Xander mention the kiss? “What do you mean?”
“It’s a simple enough question, Willow. What were you talking about before we got here?” Cordelia blew a bubble, and started to file her nails with a file she pulled out of her purse. “You had a strange look on your face.”
“Oh.” Willow sagged in relief. They didn’t hear anything, thank the Goddess. “Xander was going on about his demon theory again.”
Oz couldn’t help but smile. “Who does he think is a demon now?”
“Giles’ friend, Merrick.” Willow looked embarrassed.
“It’s a little ridiculous, don’t you think? Everyone is a demon, in his eyes.” Cordelia was done with her nails, just in time to take the Coke that Xander held out to her.
“Whose eyes are you talking about?” Xander asked.
“Your eyes, Xander, and your assumption that everyone that you meet is a demon,” Cordelia informed him without a hint of shyness.
Xander smiled confidently. “So, you like my sexy eyes?” he asked, leaning into Cordelia.
“No, Xander,” Cordelia said, with conviction. “I date you, but I don’t think you’re sexy at all.”
“What? Well, then why are you dating me?”
“We were talking about demons, remember?” Oz interrupted, before the volatile couple started an argument in the middle of the Bronze.
“Huh?” Xander asked, having clearly missed that last conversational curve.
“We were talking about how you thought Merrick was a demon,” Oz explained patiently.
“I don’t want to start in on that again. Willow has already told me I’m wrong, but I still think that it’s been too long since we’ve heard from Giles.” Xander mumbled the last part into his Coke.
Wanting to placate her childhood friend, Willow quickly suggested, “Hey. Why don’t we go check up on him on our way home?”
“That’s a good idea, Sweetheart.” Oz kissed Willow’s cheek.
“Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s dance.” Cordelia grabbed Xander, and pulled him out on the dance floor.
It wasn’t long before Willow and Oz joined them, their concerns forgotten for the moment.
------------------------------------
Several hours later, the group of teens was knocking on the door to Giles’ apartment.
“Where could he be? It’s late. He should be home in bed now.” Willow began to panic again.
Her hysteria was contagious, and soon all four of the teens were banging on the Watcher’s door.
Suddenly, from behind them, came a voice. “What’s going on here?”
“Aaaaaah.” The teens turned around as one.
Cordy was the first to react. “Angel. You startled us.” Cordelia slapped him on the chest with her purse.
“Yes. It’s not nice to scare people, Angel.” Willow pouted. Oz thought it was cute, and leaned over to give her a little peck on the lips. Blushing, she whispered, “Not now, Oz.”
Xander had decided to ignore the vampire, and had turned back to the door and started knocking again.
“Will somebody please tell me what’s going on?”
“We’re trying to see if Giles is okay, oh brooding one.” Xander didn’t even bother to turn around when he answered.
Willow looked embarrassed, as she explained, “Xander thinks that, because we haven’t heard from Giles in a few days, Giles’ friend, Merrick, is a demon.”
Xander finally took a break from knocking on the door to turn back to the vampire. “Giles could be lying inside, dead, or hurt.”
“Well, you silly nit, given that it’s the middle of the night, I was asleep until you started pounding on my door.”
Shocked, the group turned to the door again. Giles was staring at them, clearly unharmed, even if he did look a little rumpled. The Watcher was dressed, but his clothes were wrinkled, and his shirt was hanging out of his pants. His hair was standing up, and, for the first time that the teens could remember, he was without his glasses.
“Xander thought you were dead, or being tortured, or something.” Cordelia slapped Xander on the back of his head.
“Hey! Stop it.” Xander threw a glare at his girlfriend.
“Why should I? You need to get some sense knocked into that head of yours.” Cordelia wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “Now that we know Giles is okay, I want to go home. I need my beauty sleep.” The brunette diva turned to leave.
“Hang on.” Xander grabbed Cordelia’s arm.
“Xander! Let go of my arm. I’ll leave when I want to.”
Xander grudgingly let go of Cordelia. “Just a second, I said.” He turned to Giles. “What’s going on? You don’t call us, but you still have time to get drunk?” he ranted. “Don’t even try to deny it. We can smell it on you from here. You reek of alcohol.” He folded his arms over his chest and glared at the Watcher. “Well?”
Giles wished he had his glasses to polish. “Who do think you are, Xander? My father?” He stepped a bit closer to Xander, looking at him almost nose to nose. “I can drink whenever I want, and how much I want. Your supervision in this matter is neither needed, nor is it appreciated.”
Xander immediately deflated. “I...I...I’m sorry, Giles,” he stuttered. “I was...we were just scared.”
“I understand, Xander,” Giles comforted the youth. “You must stop rushing to conclusions though. Your rash assumptions serve no purpose and do nothing but escalate whatever situation you are in.”
“Okay, G-Man. Just call me No-Conclusion Guy from now on.” Xander responded.
“Stop that, Xander. I have asked you before to stop calling me that.”
“Sorry...again.” Xander made a face when the Watcher wasn’t looking. “I’ll shut up now.” He mimed locking his lips with a key.
“Giles,” came the soft whisper from the redhead.
“Yes, Willow?” Giles sighed. He wanted to return to his bed, instead of continuing the conversation on his doorstep.
The young witch swallowed. “Do you have anything new about...um...you know who?” She asked in a theatrical whisper.
“Yes, Willow. I do, but it’s late. Let’s meet tomorrow evening, so we can discuss the matter with everyone in attendance.” Looking quickly at the people assembled on his front step, and not seeing anyone objecting, Giles quickly bid everyone good night and closed his door. The group was startled by his actions, and spent a moment staring at the door that had been closed and locked in their faces. Giles had never acted so rudely before.
“Xander, I want to go home now.” Cordelia stamped her imported shoe on the stone pathway, snapping off the high heel and throwing herself off-balance for a moment. “Damn it, you made me ruin my shoe.”
“Alright, already. Come on, Cordelia,” Xander said with a lingering look at Giles’ closed door.
“Hey...wait. I can’t walk like this.” Cordelia stopped to remove her broken shoe.
Oz and Willow caught up to the departing pair. “Come on guys, I’ll give you a ride home,” Oz offered.
“Thanks man. I owe you.” Xander led Cordelia to the van and helped her into the back seat. Willow jumped in the passenger seat, beside Oz.
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While the teens spent the evening enjoying the music at the Bronze, Joyce and Merrick were chatting over cocoa in the Summers’ kitchen. It was late when Merrick returned to Giles’ apartment, and he went straight to bed, not wanting to talk to the Watcher who had caused him such frustration and disappointment.
Merrick deliberately woke early the next day, in an effort to avoid contact with Giles. The ex-Watcher was still yawning and fighting the urge to go back to bed when he left the apartment and headed for the street. Buffy had made her expectations clear. She wanted to be gone from the hospital as soon as possible, and Merrick knew that ‘I’m tired because I spent the night talking to your mother’ was not an excuse she’d accept for his tardiness.
Joyce was waiting at the curb for Merrick. She rolled her window down when she saw him, sent him a sunny smile, and said, “Good morning, Merrick.”
“Good morning, Joyce,” he replied, before getting into the car. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Thank you, Merrick. I slept like a lamb. How about you?” Joyce asked.
“Honestly, I could use another hour or two in bed. My eyes aren’t convinced they should stay open at this point.” Merrick laughed.
“I’m sorry I kept you up so late, Merrick. Time just seemed to fly when we were talking.” Joyce blushed.
“Please don’t apologize Joyce. I lost track of time myself. That happens when you’re in good company,” Merrick replied with a wry smile. “Maybe we can try to repeat our success at a later date?”
Now there was no mistaking the blush that stained Joyce’s cheeks. “I’d like that. Maybe over dinner next time?”
“I’d be honoured to have dinner with you, preferably in a location where it’s possible to ask you for a dance as well.” They smiled at each other. “But, first I have to help Buffy,” Merrick said, with a sad expression.
“You’re right. I agree that Buffy needs to come first right now, but when things are settled, and you have a break, we’ve got a date. In the meantime, don’t be a stranger. I’ll always have time to share a cup of hot chocolate with you.” With that, Joyce turned into the hospital parking lot.
“I’ll remember that, Joyce. Now, let’s go get Buffy. She’s probably climbing the walls by now.”
Merrick and Joyce shared a little laugh at Buffy’s expense. “You’re probably right,” the Slayer’s mom said. Together they got out of the car and walked into the hospital.
The first thing they saw when they opened the door to Buffy’s private room, was Buffy, sitting on the bed. Sulking. “About time you guys showed up. You wouldn’t believe what they tried to feed me for breakfast!” Buffy grimaced. “Did you bring the clothes I asked for?”
“Here you go.” Joyce passed Buffy an overnight bag. “Everything you asked for, plus a new toothbrush.”
“Thanks, Mom. You’re a lifesaver.” Buffy emptied the bag out onto the bed. “The doctor said something about papers you need to sign before I can get out of here.” The Light made shameless puppy-dog eyes at her mother.
Joyce laughed. “Okay, Buffy. I can take a hint. I’ll go deal with the paperwork while you’re getting changed.” She left the room quickly, heading for the hospital administration office.
“I’ll wait in the hallway for you,” Merrick quickly added, as he saw Buffy start to undo the strings at the back of her gown.
“Okay. I’ll be out in a bit,” Buffy said. Not even waiting for the door to swing shut after Merrick’s departure, Buffy dumped the bag on the bed. She hurried to put on her underwear and bra, but then paused a moment to bury her face in her t-shirt and just inhale the smell of home. The shirt smelled like her mother, and love, and safety. Buffy would have lingered longer, but she heard voices in the hallway and hurried to finish dressing.
Buffy only paused once more, after she put her pants on, to check the fit. Everything was just a little on the big side. Oh well. Either she would eat a few extra treats, or she had a great excuse to take Lorne on another shopping trip. It was a win/win situation.
Buffy was just sitting down to tie the laces on her runners, when the hospital room door opened and an orderly came in with a wheelchair. The Light sighed. She really wasn’t in the mood for this. She had an appointment with Clem at the warehouse, and she wanted to travel quickly. On the other hand, if this was the only way she would be discharged from the hospital, she was just going to have to put up with it for a little while. She smiled at the orderly, and sat down in the chair without a fight.
“I’ll be back tomorrow.” Before heading home for the night, Joyce bent down to kiss Buffy’s brow and smooth her hair back one more time.
“Mom, wait a minute. I need to talk to you before you go.” The newly-restored Light clearly wasn’t ready to be left alone, though it was easy to see that she was fighting exhaustion. It had been a difficult day for the young girl, and she needed to get some rest.
“What do you need, Buffy?” Joyce asked as she picked up her coat.
“I need you to be careful around Giles. You can’t trust him, Mom.” It was important to Buffy that her mother understood the situation with Giles.
Joyce stopped buttoning her coat, and focused on her daughter. “What do you mean, Honey?”
“Giles doesn’t understand about the Light and what it means. He still believes that I’m his Slayer, and that he has the right to control every aspect of my life. When he found out I wanted a paycheque from the Council, he told me he thought I was being self-centered, and that I shouldn’t be paid for doing my duty.” Even thinking about the altercation with Giles was enough to make Buffy start to cry. Though she did her best to hold herself together, she quickly dissolved into a puddle of tears.
Joyce was immediately drawn back to the sobbing girl on the bed. Intellectually, she knew that the small blonde had lived several lifetimes, and was now the Eternal Light. Emotionally though, Buffy was still her seventeen year old daughter, and Joyce would do whatever she could to comfort and protect her. Gathering Buffy close, Joyce rubbed her back and rocked her, until her daughter’s tears slowed.
“Sorry, Mom,” Buffy got out, as her sobbing ended.
“It’s okay, Buffy. It sounds like you’ve had a difficult time, and we all sometimes need to just let our feelings out. Now, are you ready to tell me about it?” Joyce located a handkerchief in her pocket, and started to dry her daughter’s cheeks.
“I don’t think I should, Mom. Let’s just say that I know how things went in the past, and I was really hoping to change some things this time. I thought I’d made a big difference, made things better...only now I know that I haven’t really changed anything at all. It sucks.” Buffy took the handkerchief from her mother.
“Oh, Honey, I’m sorry. I understand that you need to keep some information from the future to yourself, but I want you to know that I’m here for you, if you ever need someone to listen. Do you want me to go talk to the floor nurse? Visiting hours are over, but maybe she’ll let me stay a bit longer if I ask nicely.” Joyce wanted to be sure that Buffy was okay before she left.
“I’m fine, Mom.” Buffy gave Joyce a wobbly smile. “They’re just bad memories. They can’t hurt me anymore. You’d better go now, so you can get here bright and early to sign me out tomorrow.”
“Alright, Honey. I’ll go home now, but I want you to know that I’ll always be willing to listen if you need me.”
“Thanks, Mom. Don’t forget to pick Merrick up from Giles’ on your way here.”
“Will do. I love you, Buffy. Now get some sleep.” With a final kiss, Joyce was out the door.
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Giles woke up to find his nose smashed into his carpet. His arms shook as he slowly raised himself to his knees. From there, he was able to get one arm onto the coffee table, and lift himself carefully onto the couch.
His head was throbbing, and his mouth felt as dry as a desert. What on Earth happened? I seem to remember...oh. Oh no. I did exactly what I wasn’t supposed to do. I tried to force Buffy to do what I wanted her to do. Why would I do that? I knew it was the wrong approach, but I just couldn’t seem to help myself. I’m going to lose her if I can’t stop this behaviour. This new Buffy...She’s different. Still like a daughter to me though, and I’m so afraid I’ll end up losing her. I meant to find her and apologize. Just a quick drink for courage, and then I was going to call Joyce. I guess one drink turned into another, and I became completely intoxicated before I found the courage to go looking for my Slayer.
Giles wiped a hand over his bleary eyes, hoping to clear his vision. When that didn’t work, he looked around for his glasses, which were nowhere in sight. Finally, realizing that he wasn’t in any condition to speak with Buffy or Joyce, Giles dragged himself up the stairs to his bedroom, taking at least twice as long to get there as usual.
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“Don’t fret, my dear Spike. Soon you will meet the Light.” Drusilla was dancing around her new lover, Warren, who was smiling condescendingly at Spike. Warren thought he had stolen the enchanting brunette vampire away from her long-time paramour, and was trying to wallow in Spike’s misery.
”All is in place, all is in place. Soon there will be tea and cakes for everyone,” Dru continued.
Spike curled his lip at Warren. The boy was barely more than a fledge, but at least he wasn’t as disgusting as the last few lovers Drusilla had paraded through their lair. He shuddered at the memory of one of the scenes he had walked in on last week. He’d never imagined a Chaos demon was capable of producing that much slime.
It didn’t take long before Dru tired of her new playthings, and she was quite the black widow once they ceased to amuse. When it was all over, she’d approach Spike, begging for help to clean up the mess left behind. A lady didn’t clean, she said. Spike tried to convince her that she shouldn’t be making such a mess in their home to start with, but it was no use. Dru could be very stubborn. At least Warren’s remains could be handled with a broom and dustpan when his time came.
“I’m not going out to see the sunrise, Dru.” Spike turned back to his telly and a rerun of Passions.
Warren approached Spike, moving to stand between the TV and the seated vampire. With his face just centimetres away from Spike’s, Dru’s new toy said maliciously, “If Dru says that you’ll greet the sun, you can believe it’s going to happen.”
“Now, now. You are a bad boy, and there will be no tea for you, my pet. The time is not right for my golden prince just yet.” Dru pulled Warren away, tossing a secretive wink to Spike.
“Dru, how am I to know what you mean, when you won’t stop talking in your bloody riddles?” Spike demanded, as his Sire pulled Warren towards her bedroom.
The crazy vampire let out a giggle. “The stars tell me the time is not right for sharing secrets. Miss Edith will cry if I spoil her party.” And then they were gone.
Spike let his head fall back against the chair, closing his eyes in frustration.
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Since giving up on Angel, Cordelia had developed a finer appreciation for Xander. One night the unlikely pair had been forced to run from vampires, and ended up hiding in a closet together for several hours. When they were finally discovered in the middle of a heated embrace, they admitted they were together. Suddenly, Oz and Willow had a couple they could double-date with.
In fact, that was why Willow and Xander were currently at their usual table at the Bronze, waiting for their respective partners to show.
“How long do you think it will be, before Giles has news for us?” Xander’s knees were bouncing up and down energetically. He seemed anxious about something.
Willow sighed. “For the tenth time, I don’t know, Xander. Can we please talk about something else? Anything else?”
Xander scowled at her. “Would you rather talk about when you and I kissed?”
“No, no. Let’s talk about Giles.” Willow blushed a bright, cherry red. “Should we call Giles? What do you think, Xander?”
“Well, he hasn’t been at work, so I think we should stop by his house and check on him. Just to make sure he’s ok.” Xander couldn’t help the satisfied smile that graced his face.
“What are you smiling about, Xander? No communication from Giles is bad, not something to smile about. What if he’s hurt? What if he’s been waiting for us to come help him?” Willow began to really worry.
Her fear just caused Xander’s smile to grow. “Maybe I was right? Maybe that Merrick guy was a demon with plans to kill Giles? Have you ever thought of that?”
Willow was stunned, and couldn’t help but stare at Xander for a minute, her mind a whirlwind of panicked thoughts. “No, don’t say things like that, Xander. It was broad daylight when Merrick came to the house, and I don’t think an evil demon would have come to tell us about the Eternal Light. Oh...and he didn’t try to hurt anyone, even when you were threatening him,” the redhead finished.
The couple were so involved in their discussion, that they missed the arrival of their dates. “So, what’s up guys?”
Yet another conversation saved by the Oz-man. “Nothing much,” Xander rushed to say. “Have a seat.”
Willow moved over a stool, to make room for Oz beside her.
“Hey, Willow, Oz, Xander. Sorry I’m late. I had to turn down a football jerk. You know how it is.” Cordelia erupted onto the scene. “Move it, Xander,” she said, as she took the chair he had been using. “Oh, and while you’re up, I need a drink.”
“Sure, Cordelia.” Xander wasn’t a fool, and grabbed the opportunity to escape from the table for a few minutes.
After Xander left, Oz laid his arm across the back of Willow’s chair. “So, what were you talking about before we got here?”
Willow paled. Did Oz hear Xander mention the kiss? “What do you mean?”
“It’s a simple enough question, Willow. What were you talking about before we got here?” Cordelia blew a bubble, and started to file her nails with a file she pulled out of her purse. “You had a strange look on your face.”
“Oh.” Willow sagged in relief. They didn’t hear anything, thank the Goddess. “Xander was going on about his demon theory again.”
Oz couldn’t help but smile. “Who does he think is a demon now?”
“Giles’ friend, Merrick.” Willow looked embarrassed.
“It’s a little ridiculous, don’t you think? Everyone is a demon, in his eyes.” Cordelia was done with her nails, just in time to take the Coke that Xander held out to her.
“Whose eyes are you talking about?” Xander asked.
“Your eyes, Xander, and your assumption that everyone that you meet is a demon,” Cordelia informed him without a hint of shyness.
Xander smiled confidently. “So, you like my sexy eyes?” he asked, leaning into Cordelia.
“No, Xander,” Cordelia said, with conviction. “I date you, but I don’t think you’re sexy at all.”
“What? Well, then why are you dating me?”
“We were talking about demons, remember?” Oz interrupted, before the volatile couple started an argument in the middle of the Bronze.
“Huh?” Xander asked, having clearly missed that last conversational curve.
“We were talking about how you thought Merrick was a demon,” Oz explained patiently.
“I don’t want to start in on that again. Willow has already told me I’m wrong, but I still think that it’s been too long since we’ve heard from Giles.” Xander mumbled the last part into his Coke.
Wanting to placate her childhood friend, Willow quickly suggested, “Hey. Why don’t we go check up on him on our way home?”
“That’s a good idea, Sweetheart.” Oz kissed Willow’s cheek.
“Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s dance.” Cordelia grabbed Xander, and pulled him out on the dance floor.
It wasn’t long before Willow and Oz joined them, their concerns forgotten for the moment.
------------------------------------
Several hours later, the group of teens was knocking on the door to Giles’ apartment.
“Where could he be? It’s late. He should be home in bed now.” Willow began to panic again.
Her hysteria was contagious, and soon all four of the teens were banging on the Watcher’s door.
Suddenly, from behind them, came a voice. “What’s going on here?”
“Aaaaaah.” The teens turned around as one.
Cordy was the first to react. “Angel. You startled us.” Cordelia slapped him on the chest with her purse.
“Yes. It’s not nice to scare people, Angel.” Willow pouted. Oz thought it was cute, and leaned over to give her a little peck on the lips. Blushing, she whispered, “Not now, Oz.”
Xander had decided to ignore the vampire, and had turned back to the door and started knocking again.
“Will somebody please tell me what’s going on?”
“We’re trying to see if Giles is okay, oh brooding one.” Xander didn’t even bother to turn around when he answered.
Willow looked embarrassed, as she explained, “Xander thinks that, because we haven’t heard from Giles in a few days, Giles’ friend, Merrick, is a demon.”
Xander finally took a break from knocking on the door to turn back to the vampire. “Giles could be lying inside, dead, or hurt.”
“Well, you silly nit, given that it’s the middle of the night, I was asleep until you started pounding on my door.”
Shocked, the group turned to the door again. Giles was staring at them, clearly unharmed, even if he did look a little rumpled. The Watcher was dressed, but his clothes were wrinkled, and his shirt was hanging out of his pants. His hair was standing up, and, for the first time that the teens could remember, he was without his glasses.
“Xander thought you were dead, or being tortured, or something.” Cordelia slapped Xander on the back of his head.
“Hey! Stop it.” Xander threw a glare at his girlfriend.
“Why should I? You need to get some sense knocked into that head of yours.” Cordelia wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “Now that we know Giles is okay, I want to go home. I need my beauty sleep.” The brunette diva turned to leave.
“Hang on.” Xander grabbed Cordelia’s arm.
“Xander! Let go of my arm. I’ll leave when I want to.”
Xander grudgingly let go of Cordelia. “Just a second, I said.” He turned to Giles. “What’s going on? You don’t call us, but you still have time to get drunk?” he ranted. “Don’t even try to deny it. We can smell it on you from here. You reek of alcohol.” He folded his arms over his chest and glared at the Watcher. “Well?”
Giles wished he had his glasses to polish. “Who do think you are, Xander? My father?” He stepped a bit closer to Xander, looking at him almost nose to nose. “I can drink whenever I want, and how much I want. Your supervision in this matter is neither needed, nor is it appreciated.”
Xander immediately deflated. “I...I...I’m sorry, Giles,” he stuttered. “I was...we were just scared.”
“I understand, Xander,” Giles comforted the youth. “You must stop rushing to conclusions though. Your rash assumptions serve no purpose and do nothing but escalate whatever situation you are in.”
“Okay, G-Man. Just call me No-Conclusion Guy from now on.” Xander responded.
“Stop that, Xander. I have asked you before to stop calling me that.”
“Sorry...again.” Xander made a face when the Watcher wasn’t looking. “I’ll shut up now.” He mimed locking his lips with a key.
“Giles,” came the soft whisper from the redhead.
“Yes, Willow?” Giles sighed. He wanted to return to his bed, instead of continuing the conversation on his doorstep.
The young witch swallowed. “Do you have anything new about...um...you know who?” She asked in a theatrical whisper.
“Yes, Willow. I do, but it’s late. Let’s meet tomorrow evening, so we can discuss the matter with everyone in attendance.” Looking quickly at the people assembled on his front step, and not seeing anyone objecting, Giles quickly bid everyone good night and closed his door. The group was startled by his actions, and spent a moment staring at the door that had been closed and locked in their faces. Giles had never acted so rudely before.
“Xander, I want to go home now.” Cordelia stamped her imported shoe on the stone pathway, snapping off the high heel and throwing herself off-balance for a moment. “Damn it, you made me ruin my shoe.”
“Alright, already. Come on, Cordelia,” Xander said with a lingering look at Giles’ closed door.
“Hey...wait. I can’t walk like this.” Cordelia stopped to remove her broken shoe.
Oz and Willow caught up to the departing pair. “Come on guys, I’ll give you a ride home,” Oz offered.
“Thanks man. I owe you.” Xander led Cordelia to the van and helped her into the back seat. Willow jumped in the passenger seat, beside Oz.
------------------------------------
While the teens spent the evening enjoying the music at the Bronze, Joyce and Merrick were chatting over cocoa in the Summers’ kitchen. It was late when Merrick returned to Giles’ apartment, and he went straight to bed, not wanting to talk to the Watcher who had caused him such frustration and disappointment.
Merrick deliberately woke early the next day, in an effort to avoid contact with Giles. The ex-Watcher was still yawning and fighting the urge to go back to bed when he left the apartment and headed for the street. Buffy had made her expectations clear. She wanted to be gone from the hospital as soon as possible, and Merrick knew that ‘I’m tired because I spent the night talking to your mother’ was not an excuse she’d accept for his tardiness.
Joyce was waiting at the curb for Merrick. She rolled her window down when she saw him, sent him a sunny smile, and said, “Good morning, Merrick.”
“Good morning, Joyce,” he replied, before getting into the car. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. Thank you, Merrick. I slept like a lamb. How about you?” Joyce asked.
“Honestly, I could use another hour or two in bed. My eyes aren’t convinced they should stay open at this point.” Merrick laughed.
“I’m sorry I kept you up so late, Merrick. Time just seemed to fly when we were talking.” Joyce blushed.
“Please don’t apologize Joyce. I lost track of time myself. That happens when you’re in good company,” Merrick replied with a wry smile. “Maybe we can try to repeat our success at a later date?”
Now there was no mistaking the blush that stained Joyce’s cheeks. “I’d like that. Maybe over dinner next time?”
“I’d be honoured to have dinner with you, preferably in a location where it’s possible to ask you for a dance as well.” They smiled at each other. “But, first I have to help Buffy,” Merrick said, with a sad expression.
“You’re right. I agree that Buffy needs to come first right now, but when things are settled, and you have a break, we’ve got a date. In the meantime, don’t be a stranger. I’ll always have time to share a cup of hot chocolate with you.” With that, Joyce turned into the hospital parking lot.
“I’ll remember that, Joyce. Now, let’s go get Buffy. She’s probably climbing the walls by now.”
Merrick and Joyce shared a little laugh at Buffy’s expense. “You’re probably right,” the Slayer’s mom said. Together they got out of the car and walked into the hospital.
The first thing they saw when they opened the door to Buffy’s private room, was Buffy, sitting on the bed. Sulking. “About time you guys showed up. You wouldn’t believe what they tried to feed me for breakfast!” Buffy grimaced. “Did you bring the clothes I asked for?”
“Here you go.” Joyce passed Buffy an overnight bag. “Everything you asked for, plus a new toothbrush.”
“Thanks, Mom. You’re a lifesaver.” Buffy emptied the bag out onto the bed. “The doctor said something about papers you need to sign before I can get out of here.” The Light made shameless puppy-dog eyes at her mother.
Joyce laughed. “Okay, Buffy. I can take a hint. I’ll go deal with the paperwork while you’re getting changed.” She left the room quickly, heading for the hospital administration office.
“I’ll wait in the hallway for you,” Merrick quickly added, as he saw Buffy start to undo the strings at the back of her gown.
“Okay. I’ll be out in a bit,” Buffy said. Not even waiting for the door to swing shut after Merrick’s departure, Buffy dumped the bag on the bed. She hurried to put on her underwear and bra, but then paused a moment to bury her face in her t-shirt and just inhale the smell of home. The shirt smelled like her mother, and love, and safety. Buffy would have lingered longer, but she heard voices in the hallway and hurried to finish dressing.
Buffy only paused once more, after she put her pants on, to check the fit. Everything was just a little on the big side. Oh well. Either she would eat a few extra treats, or she had a great excuse to take Lorne on another shopping trip. It was a win/win situation.
Buffy was just sitting down to tie the laces on her runners, when the hospital room door opened and an orderly came in with a wheelchair. The Light sighed. She really wasn’t in the mood for this. She had an appointment with Clem at the warehouse, and she wanted to travel quickly. On the other hand, if this was the only way she would be discharged from the hospital, she was just going to have to put up with it for a little while. She smiled at the orderly, and sat down in the chair without a fight.
There's No Place Like Home.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Joyce and Buffy got comfortable in the car, while Merrick folded the wheelchair and put it in the trunk.
“Mom, do you mind dropping me off at my house?”
“Your house?” Joyce asked in confusion.
“Yeah, I bought a house. Well, a warehouse. Do you want to see it? I’m meeting a contractor there at noon. He’s going to renovate it for me so it’s living space.” It was easy to see that Buffy was excited by the thought of her new home.
“I’d love to see it, Buffy,” Joyce told her, sadness evident in her voice.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll still visit, and once the renovations are done, there’ll be lots of room for you to stay the night.” Buffy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Joyce gave Buffy a small smile, as she reached up to hold her daughter’s hand, sadness still in her eyes. “Everything will be okay, Mom.”
When they arrived at the warehouse, Joyce stayed in the car, both hands on the wheel, looking out the windshield, mouth slightly open.
“Mom?” Buffy tried to get Joyce’s attention. The Light waved a hand in front of her mother, finally snapping her out of her daze.
“Buffy? It’s a warehouse..,” she got out, so quietly that Buffy almost missed her comment. “I didn’t think you were serious. You can’t live here.”
“It won’t be a warehouse for long, Mom. Remember? I’m meeting someone who’s going to renovate it for me. I’ll have an apartment upstairs, and downstairs I’m going to have rooms for training and research, as well as a large kitchen and space for guests to stay.” Buffy tried to reassure her mother.
Buffy turned to her mother, no laughter in her eyes. “In the future, I’ve lived alone for a very long time, not just a year or two.” The serious tone of her voice had Joyce listening carefully. “I like my privacy, and I want a space that will be mine. Well, mine and my partner, if we’re lucky enough to become complete this time.”
Joyce felt something inside her heart break, when she realized the full extent of the sorrow her daughter carried with her. She leaned forward and wrapped Buffy in her arms, just like she had done a hundred times before when Buffy was a young girl and needed comfort. “I understand, Buffy,” she whispered into her daughter’s ear.
Buffy closed her eyes, accepting the support and love her mother was offering. She tried to be strong, but a single tear still managed to escape and run down her cheek.
After a long moment, Joyce let go of Buffy. The women got out of the car, and walked toward the empty building. As they walked, Joyce put her arm through Buffy’s and looked up at the unwelcoming warehouse. Once inside, she began to see the potential that Buffy had found in the old building. “It’s not too bad, Honey. I think with a little work, you could have a nice home here.”
It meant the world to Buffy that her mom was willing to accept her daughter’s choice and support her, even though it was clear that Joyce had reservations about Buffy’s plans.
“Ah-hem,” Clem cleared his throat, trying to gently catch the attention of the women.
Buffy’s head immediately whipped in his direction, her body moving swiftly into an attack position. “Clem,” she breathed out. “You scared us.” Buffy relaxed her posture, and invited the wrinkly demon further into her future home. “Come in, Clem, and welcome.” She walked toward Clem, her hand outstretched.
Just before he connected with her outstretched hand, Clem suddenly scrabbled back a few steps. “Slayer?” Now that he had recognized Buffy, he was clearly debating the wisdom of accepting the renovation job. “Are you sure you’ve asked the right guy to do your reno? As you can see, I’m a demon.”
Buffy was careful to keep her distance from the skittish contractor. “Yes, I’m sure you’re the right one for the job. As for the Slayer title, I’m retired. As long as you and your crew are human-friendly, you have nothing to fear here.”
“I didn’t know Slayers got to retire,” Clem said, rather intrigued with the petite blonde in front of him.
Buffy smiled softly at Clem. “I think I’m the first one to try.” Not wanting to startle Clem, she stepped to the side, and then gestured to her mother. “Come meet my mom, Joyce Summers.”
Clem looked from Buffy to Joyce, reassured by the presence of the Slayer’s mother. After all, who would bring their mother to an attack? He walked forward and greeted Joyce, who liked him immediately.
Again, Buffy spoke up. “And over here, we have Merrick. You met him yesterday.” She motioned for Merrick to step closer. The two men shook hands.
“If you don’t want the job, I’ll understand. Just tell me now please, so I can find someone else to do the work,” Buffy told Clem. “No hard feelings, but time is of the essence here.”
“No...no, I want the job. Um...what should I call you? Slayer?” Clem asked nervously.
“How about just Buffy?” The Light smiled. “So, should we get started?”
“Sure. Why don’t you show me around, and tell me what you want done?” Clem suggested tentatively.
“Sounds great. Do you want the rooms in any particular order?” Buffy watched Clem pull a pad of paper and a pen out of his backpack.
“Nope. Here is fine. Let’s get started.” His pen began to rough in a diagram of the floor.
“Okay, big picture, I want the exterior fixed up, and I need some kind of garage,” she told Clem. “Enough space for at least two cars.”
At that point, Merrick interjected. “Did they give you the car too? I haven’t heard you mention it.”
“Yeah, they did.” Buffy’s smile was full of victory. “It’s in LA, at the dealer’s still. Once I’ve got somewhere to park it, I’ll call Lorne and make a weekend of picking it up. There will be other things I’ll need that I’m only going to find in the city.”
“About the garage...maybe on the port side of the building? I could make a wall with a door, right about here.” Clem drew a line in the dust on the floor, showing where the wall would be.
“Good idea, Clem. That would work perfectly.” Buffy then went on to tell him the other modifications she wanted done to the building. Clem made notes on his pad, and told Buffy he had several friends that would be able to make the special items she was requesting, like floor to ceiling bookshelves for the research room.
“Now that you’ve retired from slaying, you could always start working in my line of business,” Clem teased her.
“Huh?” was Buffy’s intelligent answer.
Clem laughed and indicated his notepad. “Doing stuff like this. Making a warehouse into a home. A very nice home, judging by the plans we’ve just made. You’ve got a knack for it.”
Buffy blushed. “Oh, well. This warehouse is something I’ve thought about for years. You know, things I would change if I had the chance.” She looked around the cavernous old building. “When I dream of a happy life, this place is part of that dream.” Her eyes grew distant for a moment, but then the sparkle returned, even brighter than before. Buffy still had hope. “So, Clem, how quickly can you get the job done?”
“Well, I guess that depends on how big a crew I can get in here. And that’s going to depend on how much you want to pay.” Clem was busy writing figures down on the back of his pad.
“I’m not really worried about the cost; I just want the work done quickly.” Buffy looked at her mother. “Sorry, Mom, but I need my own space.”
Joyce nodded, but turned away to hide her tearing eyes. She had always known that the day would come when he daughter would move out and have her own home, but it was happening much earlier than Joyce had expected.
“How fast can you get it done, and what will it cost?” Buffy waited patiently while Clem wrote down calculations on each page of notes.
“Well, if you don’t mind workers coming in while you live here, we could probably have the basics done in about a week.” Clem kept calculating.
“Is that with a crew working day and night?”
Clem looked up. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. We’d probably disturb the other people in the neighbourhood.”
“What people?” Buffy asked, smiling.
Clem gazed at Buffy for a minute, before breaking out in a big smile. “Hang on.” He kept on smiling as he calculated some new numbers. “Okay. I’m positive that we’d be ready for you to move in after a week, but you have to understand that it’s going to still be noisy around the clock for a while. Really, the longer you wait to move in, the sooner we’re going to be done.” He looked up at Buffy, and then swallowed and took a step back, as if suddenly remembering who he was talking to. He’d forgotten in his excitement, thinking of the work involved with the renovation.
Recognizing that trust takes time, Buffy sent a reassuring smile to Clem. “Sounds good. When can you start?”
“If you’ll give me the keys, I’ll get started as soon as I can round up a crew and some materials.” He seemed to hesitate, and stood shuffling his feet.
“Is there something else you need?” Buffy asked, as she gave him a set of keys.
“It’s just...well...how do you feel about me hiring demons to do the work?”
“As long as they’re peaceful demons, hire away.” Buffy smiled, seeing the colour return to Clem’s cheeks and his body relax again.
“Thanks, Buffy. You won’t regret it.” Clem almost ran from the building, his phone already attached to his ear.
“I think you’ve found yourself a very dedicated worker,” Joyce commented, looking at her daughter. “You look tired, Buffy.”
“I am, a little,” Buffy admitted. “It’s been a busy few days.”
“You need to rest for a bit. Why don’t you come home with me? You can relax, and I’ll order us something to eat.”
Buffy and Merrick looked at each other. Buffy knew she needed some rest. Her body hadn’t been used in months, and she really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Giles.
“Thanks, Mom. That sounds great. Can Merrick come with us?”
“Of course, he’s always welcome.” Joyce looked happier than she had in a long time, as she drove Buffy and her Watcher home to Revello Drive.
When they got to the house, it became clear to Buffy that some things had definitely changed in a good way. Before, when Buffy had lived with Joyce, her mom was working all the time. She was always working late, or leaving town on buying trips, and was determined to do most of the work at the gallery herself, not trusting her employees to take care of things. This time, it would seem that Joyce had chosen to make her daughter her priority, even though Buffy was non-responsive in the hospital.
Once everyone was in the house, Joyce locked the front door. “Buffy, you can take the couch. Just a minute, and I’ll grab a quilt for you.” She quickly ran upstairs, and returned to the edge of the couch, wrapping Buffy in a warm blanket. “What do you want to eat? Pizza, Chinese, or something else?”
“Doesn’t matter. Whatever you want is good, Mom.” Buffy yawned and closed her eyes.
“Okay, Honey. You just rest and I’ll wake you when the food gets here.” Joyce lightly brushed the hair away from Buffy’s face, and then retired to the kitchen to discuss food with Merrick. Both of them felt that Buffy needed some rest after her exciting morning, so they dealt with ordering the food, and then enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate while they waited for it to arrive.
-----------------------------------
Buffy came awake to someone violently shaking her shoulders.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here? What have you done to Joyce?” A voice demanded.
“Hey, cut that out. Stop.” Buffy tried to sit up, and suddenly found herself pulled upright by the hands on her shoulders. She tossed her head up quickly, in an effort to clear the hair from her face. It would be easy for her to throw her attacker off, but she didn’t want to hurt anyone so she just relaxed into the other person’s hold.
The voice that was demanding answers was slightly familiar, but Buffy couldn’t quite place it. Frustrated, Buffy’s attacker started to shake the Light, hoping to get answers from her. Finally feeling that she’d taken enough abuse, Buffy reached up and grasped the young woman’s wrists, firmly pushing the girl away. Using an arm to sweep the hair out of her face, Buffy was at last able to see clearly.
“Kendra!” Buffy smiled fondly at the Slayer. “How are you?”
Not really in the mood to answer questions herself, Kendra frantically repeated, “Who are you? What have you done to Joyce?”
“Calm down, Kendra. Look at the pictures on the mantelpiece.” Buffy wondered where Merrick and her mother had disappeared to.
“Huh?” the dark Slayer asked. She’d noticed that the stranger wasn’t attacking, and was instead just holding her at arm’s length.
“Look at the pictures,” Buffy insisted.
Kendra knew the stranger on the couch was strong, so she only dared a quick glance at the pictures. Not long enough to recognize anything.
“I won’t attack you. I promise,” Buffy assured her.
Kendra dared a longer look. “You...you are in the pictures?”
Buffy nodded.
“What’s going on here?” Suddenly, Joyce was standing in the doorway. Merrick was behind her, arms loaded with bags. “Buffy? Kendra?”
Kendra’s head swung back from Joyce to Buffy, then to the pictures on the mantel, and then back to Buffy. She swallowed as she finally turned to Joyce. “This is your daughter? Buffy?” She swallowed nervously.
Buffy chuckled.
Joyce smiled gently at the Slayer. “Yes, My daughter, Buffy.”
Kendra appeared stunned.
“I’m going to let you go now, okay, Kendra?” Buffy asked softly.
“Oh, sorry.” Kendra blushed, embarrassed now that she had attacked the sleeping girl. “How come you’re not in a coma?”
“It’s a...” Buffy’s stomach chose that moment to interrupt her with a loud growling demand for food. “Sorry, I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast this morning at the hospital.” Buffy blushed and placed a hand on her noisy stomach.
“Then it’s a good thing that we’ve got plenty of food.” Merrick placed his bags on the coffee table, and began to take out small boxes of Chinese food.
“I’ll just go upstairs and freshen up.” Buffy took the quilt with her when she went upstairs to use the bathroom.
“Kendra, will you come help me in the kitchen? You can carry the drinks, and I’ll bring in the plates.” Joyce didn’t wait for Kendra to follow.
Soon, everyone was seated comfortably around the coffee table. Joyce, Merrick and Buffy tried to explain Buffy’s return to Kendra. They didn’t share everything, but made sure she understood Buffy’s situation.
“So, I’m still the Slayer?” Kendra asked.
“The one and only, but if you need help, I’m still strong and willing to lend a hand.” Buffy and Kendra smiled at each other. “When my place is ready, we can even train there together, if you want,” Buffy offered.
“I’d like that,” Kendra said with enthusiasm. She blushed a bit. “I train with Giles, but it’s...” she shrugged her shoulders.
Buffy giggled. “I know. He thinks he can handle it, but he’s so...what’s the word?” The Light and the Slayer had a giggle fit. “Breakable...that’s it.” The pair ended up rolling on the floor, gasping and complaining about stomach aches caused by their laughter.
Joyce was happy to see the two young women in her life getting along so well. Buffy was her daughter, and Kendra had assumed a similar place in her heart.
“That’s enough of this silliness, girls,” Joyce said with a smile, as she started picking up empty food cartons. “Kendra, will you help me clean up please?” Together, it didn’t take them long to clear off the table.
Merrick and Buffy settled down on the couch in silence. Merrick noted, as they waited for the return of the other two women, that Buffy began to look less pleased as time went by.
“Is something wrong, Buffy?” he finally asked.
“I’m not looking forward to dealing with Giles again anytime soon. First I think he understands and is onboard with the plan, and then suddenly he turns on a dime and starts trying to control me again.” Buffy peeked out from under her bangs, and pouted at Merrick. “Would you mind if we just rented a hotel room for the next week, instead of going back to his apartment?”
“Certainly, we can do that if you want. My only concern would be whether we have the funds to pay for a hotel.”
Buffy smiled, relieved to have Merrick’s consent. “Don’t worry about the money. I’ve got enough to cover it.”
“You don’t have to stay at a hotel, Buffy. You and Merrick are both welcome to stay here,” Joyce offered. She’d overheard the last part of their conversation, and jumped at the chance to spend more time with her daughter.
“I don’t know, Mom. It will just be for a few days, and then I’ll be moving into my own place.” Buffy didn’t want to raise her mother’s hopes.
“I understand. It’s just for a week, until your own place is habitable.” Joyce took a seat on the couch beside Buffy. “If you like, we can use the time to shop for things for your place. Some mother-daughter bonding time?” Joyce looked at Buffy with hope in her eyes.
It was then that Buffy knew that there was no way she could say no to her mother. She looked at Merrick, who wasn’t at all put off by the idea, judging by his smile. “Okay, Mom. We’ll stay, but only for a week. I’d love to have you help me shop, especially for kitchen supplies. Maybe Kendra could lend a hand too?”
Joyce nodded happily, and hugged Buffy. “I’ll call the gallery and get George to take over for the next week.”
“Who’s George? I don’t think I’ve met him before.”
“No, you wouldn’t know him. I hired him to help out at the gallery, when I found out you were in the hospital.” Joyce’s smile paled a bit, and she couldn’t help the rush of tears in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m here now, and everything will be fine.” This time it was Buffy who initiated the hug.
An hour later, Merrick was on his way to Giles’ to pick up their possessions. Buffy had convinced him to go alone, saying that she needed some time alone with her mother. Merrick knew the real reason was because Buffy didn’t want to run into Giles. She was afraid that she’d lose control and start screaming at him, doing more harm than good in the long run. Clearly, she didn’t realize that Merrick was suffering from the same frustration. Luckily, Giles wasn’t at home. Merrick wrote him a note, thanking him for his hospitality, placed his key on top of the note, and let the door lock behind him as he left.
Joyce was preparing dinner when the phone rang. “Hello? Joyce here,” she answered cheerfully.
“Yes, it’s Rupert Giles calling. We’re having a gathering tonight, and I wanted to invite you.”
“A gathering? What for?” Joyce’s voice was noticeably cooler than when she first answered the phone.
“Oh, well, I’ve gathered some new information about the Light,” Giles stammered, surprised that Joyce would ask.
“I see,” was all that Joyce said, noncommittally.
Uncertain whether Joyce would be joining them, Giles forced himself to ask, “Will you be attending tonight?”
“Sorry, Giles. I’ve got company.”
“Of course, I understand,” Giles said with regret. He had been looking forward to seeing Joyce again. “Perhaps another time then, Joyce?”
Not bothering to respond to his question, Joyce simply said, “Goodbye, Giles.” And ended the call before he could reply.
Joyce and Buffy got comfortable in the car, while Merrick folded the wheelchair and put it in the trunk.
“Mom, do you mind dropping me off at my house?”
“Your house?” Joyce asked in confusion.
“Yeah, I bought a house. Well, a warehouse. Do you want to see it? I’m meeting a contractor there at noon. He’s going to renovate it for me so it’s living space.” It was easy to see that Buffy was excited by the thought of her new home.
“I’d love to see it, Buffy,” Joyce told her, sadness evident in her voice.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll still visit, and once the renovations are done, there’ll be lots of room for you to stay the night.” Buffy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Joyce gave Buffy a small smile, as she reached up to hold her daughter’s hand, sadness still in her eyes. “Everything will be okay, Mom.”
When they arrived at the warehouse, Joyce stayed in the car, both hands on the wheel, looking out the windshield, mouth slightly open.
“Mom?” Buffy tried to get Joyce’s attention. The Light waved a hand in front of her mother, finally snapping her out of her daze.
“Buffy? It’s a warehouse..,” she got out, so quietly that Buffy almost missed her comment. “I didn’t think you were serious. You can’t live here.”
“It won’t be a warehouse for long, Mom. Remember? I’m meeting someone who’s going to renovate it for me. I’ll have an apartment upstairs, and downstairs I’m going to have rooms for training and research, as well as a large kitchen and space for guests to stay.” Buffy tried to reassure her mother.
Buffy turned to her mother, no laughter in her eyes. “In the future, I’ve lived alone for a very long time, not just a year or two.” The serious tone of her voice had Joyce listening carefully. “I like my privacy, and I want a space that will be mine. Well, mine and my partner, if we’re lucky enough to become complete this time.”
Joyce felt something inside her heart break, when she realized the full extent of the sorrow her daughter carried with her. She leaned forward and wrapped Buffy in her arms, just like she had done a hundred times before when Buffy was a young girl and needed comfort. “I understand, Buffy,” she whispered into her daughter’s ear.
Buffy closed her eyes, accepting the support and love her mother was offering. She tried to be strong, but a single tear still managed to escape and run down her cheek.
After a long moment, Joyce let go of Buffy. The women got out of the car, and walked toward the empty building. As they walked, Joyce put her arm through Buffy’s and looked up at the unwelcoming warehouse. Once inside, she began to see the potential that Buffy had found in the old building. “It’s not too bad, Honey. I think with a little work, you could have a nice home here.”
It meant the world to Buffy that her mom was willing to accept her daughter’s choice and support her, even though it was clear that Joyce had reservations about Buffy’s plans.
“Ah-hem,” Clem cleared his throat, trying to gently catch the attention of the women.
Buffy’s head immediately whipped in his direction, her body moving swiftly into an attack position. “Clem,” she breathed out. “You scared us.” Buffy relaxed her posture, and invited the wrinkly demon further into her future home. “Come in, Clem, and welcome.” She walked toward Clem, her hand outstretched.
Just before he connected with her outstretched hand, Clem suddenly scrabbled back a few steps. “Slayer?” Now that he had recognized Buffy, he was clearly debating the wisdom of accepting the renovation job. “Are you sure you’ve asked the right guy to do your reno? As you can see, I’m a demon.”
Buffy was careful to keep her distance from the skittish contractor. “Yes, I’m sure you’re the right one for the job. As for the Slayer title, I’m retired. As long as you and your crew are human-friendly, you have nothing to fear here.”
“I didn’t know Slayers got to retire,” Clem said, rather intrigued with the petite blonde in front of him.
Buffy smiled softly at Clem. “I think I’m the first one to try.” Not wanting to startle Clem, she stepped to the side, and then gestured to her mother. “Come meet my mom, Joyce Summers.”
Clem looked from Buffy to Joyce, reassured by the presence of the Slayer’s mother. After all, who would bring their mother to an attack? He walked forward and greeted Joyce, who liked him immediately.
Again, Buffy spoke up. “And over here, we have Merrick. You met him yesterday.” She motioned for Merrick to step closer. The two men shook hands.
“If you don’t want the job, I’ll understand. Just tell me now please, so I can find someone else to do the work,” Buffy told Clem. “No hard feelings, but time is of the essence here.”
“No...no, I want the job. Um...what should I call you? Slayer?” Clem asked nervously.
“How about just Buffy?” The Light smiled. “So, should we get started?”
“Sure. Why don’t you show me around, and tell me what you want done?” Clem suggested tentatively.
“Sounds great. Do you want the rooms in any particular order?” Buffy watched Clem pull a pad of paper and a pen out of his backpack.
“Nope. Here is fine. Let’s get started.” His pen began to rough in a diagram of the floor.
“Okay, big picture, I want the exterior fixed up, and I need some kind of garage,” she told Clem. “Enough space for at least two cars.”
At that point, Merrick interjected. “Did they give you the car too? I haven’t heard you mention it.”
“Yeah, they did.” Buffy’s smile was full of victory. “It’s in LA, at the dealer’s still. Once I’ve got somewhere to park it, I’ll call Lorne and make a weekend of picking it up. There will be other things I’ll need that I’m only going to find in the city.”
“About the garage...maybe on the port side of the building? I could make a wall with a door, right about here.” Clem drew a line in the dust on the floor, showing where the wall would be.
“Good idea, Clem. That would work perfectly.” Buffy then went on to tell him the other modifications she wanted done to the building. Clem made notes on his pad, and told Buffy he had several friends that would be able to make the special items she was requesting, like floor to ceiling bookshelves for the research room.
“Now that you’ve retired from slaying, you could always start working in my line of business,” Clem teased her.
“Huh?” was Buffy’s intelligent answer.
Clem laughed and indicated his notepad. “Doing stuff like this. Making a warehouse into a home. A very nice home, judging by the plans we’ve just made. You’ve got a knack for it.”
Buffy blushed. “Oh, well. This warehouse is something I’ve thought about for years. You know, things I would change if I had the chance.” She looked around the cavernous old building. “When I dream of a happy life, this place is part of that dream.” Her eyes grew distant for a moment, but then the sparkle returned, even brighter than before. Buffy still had hope. “So, Clem, how quickly can you get the job done?”
“Well, I guess that depends on how big a crew I can get in here. And that’s going to depend on how much you want to pay.” Clem was busy writing figures down on the back of his pad.
“I’m not really worried about the cost; I just want the work done quickly.” Buffy looked at her mother. “Sorry, Mom, but I need my own space.”
Joyce nodded, but turned away to hide her tearing eyes. She had always known that the day would come when he daughter would move out and have her own home, but it was happening much earlier than Joyce had expected.
“How fast can you get it done, and what will it cost?” Buffy waited patiently while Clem wrote down calculations on each page of notes.
“Well, if you don’t mind workers coming in while you live here, we could probably have the basics done in about a week.” Clem kept calculating.
“Is that with a crew working day and night?”
Clem looked up. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. We’d probably disturb the other people in the neighbourhood.”
“What people?” Buffy asked, smiling.
Clem gazed at Buffy for a minute, before breaking out in a big smile. “Hang on.” He kept on smiling as he calculated some new numbers. “Okay. I’m positive that we’d be ready for you to move in after a week, but you have to understand that it’s going to still be noisy around the clock for a while. Really, the longer you wait to move in, the sooner we’re going to be done.” He looked up at Buffy, and then swallowed and took a step back, as if suddenly remembering who he was talking to. He’d forgotten in his excitement, thinking of the work involved with the renovation.
Recognizing that trust takes time, Buffy sent a reassuring smile to Clem. “Sounds good. When can you start?”
“If you’ll give me the keys, I’ll get started as soon as I can round up a crew and some materials.” He seemed to hesitate, and stood shuffling his feet.
“Is there something else you need?” Buffy asked, as she gave him a set of keys.
“It’s just...well...how do you feel about me hiring demons to do the work?”
“As long as they’re peaceful demons, hire away.” Buffy smiled, seeing the colour return to Clem’s cheeks and his body relax again.
“Thanks, Buffy. You won’t regret it.” Clem almost ran from the building, his phone already attached to his ear.
“I think you’ve found yourself a very dedicated worker,” Joyce commented, looking at her daughter. “You look tired, Buffy.”
“I am, a little,” Buffy admitted. “It’s been a busy few days.”
“You need to rest for a bit. Why don’t you come home with me? You can relax, and I’ll order us something to eat.”
Buffy and Merrick looked at each other. Buffy knew she needed some rest. Her body hadn’t been used in months, and she really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Giles.
“Thanks, Mom. That sounds great. Can Merrick come with us?”
“Of course, he’s always welcome.” Joyce looked happier than she had in a long time, as she drove Buffy and her Watcher home to Revello Drive.
When they got to the house, it became clear to Buffy that some things had definitely changed in a good way. Before, when Buffy had lived with Joyce, her mom was working all the time. She was always working late, or leaving town on buying trips, and was determined to do most of the work at the gallery herself, not trusting her employees to take care of things. This time, it would seem that Joyce had chosen to make her daughter her priority, even though Buffy was non-responsive in the hospital.
Once everyone was in the house, Joyce locked the front door. “Buffy, you can take the couch. Just a minute, and I’ll grab a quilt for you.” She quickly ran upstairs, and returned to the edge of the couch, wrapping Buffy in a warm blanket. “What do you want to eat? Pizza, Chinese, or something else?”
“Doesn’t matter. Whatever you want is good, Mom.” Buffy yawned and closed her eyes.
“Okay, Honey. You just rest and I’ll wake you when the food gets here.” Joyce lightly brushed the hair away from Buffy’s face, and then retired to the kitchen to discuss food with Merrick. Both of them felt that Buffy needed some rest after her exciting morning, so they dealt with ordering the food, and then enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate while they waited for it to arrive.
-----------------------------------
Buffy came awake to someone violently shaking her shoulders.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here? What have you done to Joyce?” A voice demanded.
“Hey, cut that out. Stop.” Buffy tried to sit up, and suddenly found herself pulled upright by the hands on her shoulders. She tossed her head up quickly, in an effort to clear the hair from her face. It would be easy for her to throw her attacker off, but she didn’t want to hurt anyone so she just relaxed into the other person’s hold.
The voice that was demanding answers was slightly familiar, but Buffy couldn’t quite place it. Frustrated, Buffy’s attacker started to shake the Light, hoping to get answers from her. Finally feeling that she’d taken enough abuse, Buffy reached up and grasped the young woman’s wrists, firmly pushing the girl away. Using an arm to sweep the hair out of her face, Buffy was at last able to see clearly.
“Kendra!” Buffy smiled fondly at the Slayer. “How are you?”
Not really in the mood to answer questions herself, Kendra frantically repeated, “Who are you? What have you done to Joyce?”
“Calm down, Kendra. Look at the pictures on the mantelpiece.” Buffy wondered where Merrick and her mother had disappeared to.
“Huh?” the dark Slayer asked. She’d noticed that the stranger wasn’t attacking, and was instead just holding her at arm’s length.
“Look at the pictures,” Buffy insisted.
Kendra knew the stranger on the couch was strong, so she only dared a quick glance at the pictures. Not long enough to recognize anything.
“I won’t attack you. I promise,” Buffy assured her.
Kendra dared a longer look. “You...you are in the pictures?”
Buffy nodded.
“What’s going on here?” Suddenly, Joyce was standing in the doorway. Merrick was behind her, arms loaded with bags. “Buffy? Kendra?”
Kendra’s head swung back from Joyce to Buffy, then to the pictures on the mantel, and then back to Buffy. She swallowed as she finally turned to Joyce. “This is your daughter? Buffy?” She swallowed nervously.
Buffy chuckled.
Joyce smiled gently at the Slayer. “Yes, My daughter, Buffy.”
Kendra appeared stunned.
“I’m going to let you go now, okay, Kendra?” Buffy asked softly.
“Oh, sorry.” Kendra blushed, embarrassed now that she had attacked the sleeping girl. “How come you’re not in a coma?”
“It’s a...” Buffy’s stomach chose that moment to interrupt her with a loud growling demand for food. “Sorry, I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast this morning at the hospital.” Buffy blushed and placed a hand on her noisy stomach.
“Then it’s a good thing that we’ve got plenty of food.” Merrick placed his bags on the coffee table, and began to take out small boxes of Chinese food.
“I’ll just go upstairs and freshen up.” Buffy took the quilt with her when she went upstairs to use the bathroom.
“Kendra, will you come help me in the kitchen? You can carry the drinks, and I’ll bring in the plates.” Joyce didn’t wait for Kendra to follow.
Soon, everyone was seated comfortably around the coffee table. Joyce, Merrick and Buffy tried to explain Buffy’s return to Kendra. They didn’t share everything, but made sure she understood Buffy’s situation.
“So, I’m still the Slayer?” Kendra asked.
“The one and only, but if you need help, I’m still strong and willing to lend a hand.” Buffy and Kendra smiled at each other. “When my place is ready, we can even train there together, if you want,” Buffy offered.
“I’d like that,” Kendra said with enthusiasm. She blushed a bit. “I train with Giles, but it’s...” she shrugged her shoulders.
Buffy giggled. “I know. He thinks he can handle it, but he’s so...what’s the word?” The Light and the Slayer had a giggle fit. “Breakable...that’s it.” The pair ended up rolling on the floor, gasping and complaining about stomach aches caused by their laughter.
Joyce was happy to see the two young women in her life getting along so well. Buffy was her daughter, and Kendra had assumed a similar place in her heart.
“That’s enough of this silliness, girls,” Joyce said with a smile, as she started picking up empty food cartons. “Kendra, will you help me clean up please?” Together, it didn’t take them long to clear off the table.
Merrick and Buffy settled down on the couch in silence. Merrick noted, as they waited for the return of the other two women, that Buffy began to look less pleased as time went by.
“Is something wrong, Buffy?” he finally asked.
“I’m not looking forward to dealing with Giles again anytime soon. First I think he understands and is onboard with the plan, and then suddenly he turns on a dime and starts trying to control me again.” Buffy peeked out from under her bangs, and pouted at Merrick. “Would you mind if we just rented a hotel room for the next week, instead of going back to his apartment?”
“Certainly, we can do that if you want. My only concern would be whether we have the funds to pay for a hotel.”
Buffy smiled, relieved to have Merrick’s consent. “Don’t worry about the money. I’ve got enough to cover it.”
“You don’t have to stay at a hotel, Buffy. You and Merrick are both welcome to stay here,” Joyce offered. She’d overheard the last part of their conversation, and jumped at the chance to spend more time with her daughter.
“I don’t know, Mom. It will just be for a few days, and then I’ll be moving into my own place.” Buffy didn’t want to raise her mother’s hopes.
“I understand. It’s just for a week, until your own place is habitable.” Joyce took a seat on the couch beside Buffy. “If you like, we can use the time to shop for things for your place. Some mother-daughter bonding time?” Joyce looked at Buffy with hope in her eyes.
It was then that Buffy knew that there was no way she could say no to her mother. She looked at Merrick, who wasn’t at all put off by the idea, judging by his smile. “Okay, Mom. We’ll stay, but only for a week. I’d love to have you help me shop, especially for kitchen supplies. Maybe Kendra could lend a hand too?”
Joyce nodded happily, and hugged Buffy. “I’ll call the gallery and get George to take over for the next week.”
“Who’s George? I don’t think I’ve met him before.”
“No, you wouldn’t know him. I hired him to help out at the gallery, when I found out you were in the hospital.” Joyce’s smile paled a bit, and she couldn’t help the rush of tears in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m here now, and everything will be fine.” This time it was Buffy who initiated the hug.
An hour later, Merrick was on his way to Giles’ to pick up their possessions. Buffy had convinced him to go alone, saying that she needed some time alone with her mother. Merrick knew the real reason was because Buffy didn’t want to run into Giles. She was afraid that she’d lose control and start screaming at him, doing more harm than good in the long run. Clearly, she didn’t realize that Merrick was suffering from the same frustration. Luckily, Giles wasn’t at home. Merrick wrote him a note, thanking him for his hospitality, placed his key on top of the note, and let the door lock behind him as he left.
Joyce was preparing dinner when the phone rang. “Hello? Joyce here,” she answered cheerfully.
“Yes, it’s Rupert Giles calling. We’re having a gathering tonight, and I wanted to invite you.”
“A gathering? What for?” Joyce’s voice was noticeably cooler than when she first answered the phone.
“Oh, well, I’ve gathered some new information about the Light,” Giles stammered, surprised that Joyce would ask.
“I see,” was all that Joyce said, noncommittally.
Uncertain whether Joyce would be joining them, Giles forced himself to ask, “Will you be attending tonight?”
“Sorry, Giles. I’ve got company.”
“Of course, I understand,” Giles said with regret. He had been looking forward to seeing Joyce again. “Perhaps another time then, Joyce?”
Not bothering to respond to his question, Joyce simply said, “Goodbye, Giles.” And ended the call before he could reply.
Scooby Meeting?
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Giles was still standing with his hand on the phone a few minutes later. He didn’t understand what had just happened, why Joyce sounded so dismissive. He thought they had been getting along very well, and that maybe he and the Slayer’s mother might have a future together. Had he done something wrong, or misinterpreted what they had shared? He shook his head to clear it, deciding he would think about it later when he had more time.
Picking up the phone again, he dialled Xander’s number and asked him to bring snacks for that night’s meeting.
------------------------------------
Xander was confused when he hung up the phone. He hadn’t brought snacks to a Scooby meeting in weeks. Joyce brought them now. Maybe something terrible had happened to Joyce? Maybe Giles was lying, and was just tired of eating healthy snacks? Xander fondly patted his stomach, and started making a mental shopping list. Donuts, snowballs, licorice...
Before venturing forth on his shopping trip, Xander placed a quick call to Willow, to update her on the meeting situation. Willow, having known Xander since kindergarten, was quick to pick up on his ‘Joyce might be hurt’ theme, and reassured him that she’d check with Joyce herself before heading to the meeting that night.
Hanging up from her conversation with Xander, Willow quickly placed a call to Joyce. When she asked why the older woman wasn’t going to attend the meeting that night, she received the same answer that was given to Giles. Joyce had company, and would be serving dinner for them in her home that night. Joyce’s answer convinced Willow that Xander had been told the truth.
One more quick call back to Xander, and his anxiety was calmed for the moment.
Xander had a box of donuts in his hands when he barged through Giles’ door, just a few hours later. “Hey there, G-man. How are things going today? I’ve brought sugary goodness with me. Yes, sir, fuel for the brain.”
Willow smiled at him from her seat on Oz’s lap.
“I have asked you repeatedly not to call me that, Xander. You know I don’t like it.” Giles rummaged around his shelves as he cursed under his breath.
The door crashed open again. “Couldn’t you have just waited a few minutes for me to park the car?” Cordelia ranted at Xander. “A lot of things could have happened out there. I could have been attacked, or even killed.” She stood in front of Xander, hands on her hips and red in the face. “You really don’t care, do you? Maybe I should just re-think this whole dating you thing?”
“Oh, come on, Cordy. Nothing happened. Sit down and have some brain food. Giles was trying to say something and you interrupted.” Xander shoved the box of sweet treats in his girlfriend’s direction.
Cordelia gave up on her attempts to make Xander understand. She knew she would have a lot of thinking to do in the near future, about whether there was a future for the two of them together. Right now, she doubted it.
Giles looked sympathetically toward Cordelia. He felt sorry for the way she was treated by Xander, and wanted the girl to know she had his support, should she choose not to put up with the young man’s behaviour any longer.
A knock at his door drew the Watcher’s attention away from the group of teens in his living room. Angel had arrived.
“The Evil Dead doesn’t get any donuts,” Xander stated, when the dark-haired vampire entered the room. With one arm around the box, he grabbed a cream filled treat and stuffed it into his mouth like a pig. The cream and sugar spurted out, covering the rest of the donuts in the box. The rest of the group ignored both the mess, and the boy who had created it.
“Well, it would seem that we are all here, so we should probably start,” Giles announced, while giving his glasses an extra polish. If Joyce had agreed to join them, he would have told her about Buffy before the others arrived, but that option was now gone. “I have gathered some information from my former guests.”
“Former guests? Where have they gone?” Angel asked, frustration wrinkling his brow. They didn’t even introduce themselves. I’m the warrior...the one with the power. It’s an insult that they’ve left without making themselves known to me. What if they need help at some point? An old man and a mute midget...they don’t stand a chance without my protection. What are the Powers doing, anyway? They clearly don’t have any idea how to pick effective representatives. It’s too bad I can’t communicate with them directly. I could tell them where they’re going wrong, and help them pick more useful representatives next time.
“Angel!”
“What?” His head turned and he looked at Giles. “I’m sorry, Giles. I was thinking about something else. What were you asking?”
Giles sighed. He was tired of repeating himself. “To answer your question, yes, my guests left sometime earlier today. I don’t know where they have gone.”
“You said you had some new info?” Willow asked curiously. “What did your friend tell you?”
“I began our conversation by asking my colleague if he knew how to get the Eternal Light to this time line. He told me that it didn’t matter.” Giles watched helplessly as the room erupted. Everyone was yelling, trying to be heard over everyone else. Giles gave up for the moment and just slumped down in his chair. He was starting to think it was time to call the Council and ask them to hurry up with a new Watcher for Kendra. Suddenly, he realized who was missing from the meeting. “Kendra!” His outburst caused everyone to turn to him, quiet for a moment. “Where’s Kendra?” he asked.
“Yeah, why isn’t she here?” Xander asked accusingly. “She’s the Slayer. She should be at all our meetings.” The others nodded their agreement.
Giles closed his eyes. He knew why she wasn’t there. “It’s not her fault.”
“We’re not her nannies. It’s her responsibility to attend our meetings. She needs to take her duty more seriously, and you need to stop making excuses for her,” Angel said with authority.
“I’m certain she would have been here, had I remembered to invite her.” There was an icy silence after Giles’ statement. Suddenly, nobody wanted to make eye contact with anyone else, too ashamed at the realization that they hadn’t even thought about inviting the Slayer. “I suggest we break for a few moments, while I attempt to contact her now.”
Before long, Giles had Kendra on the phone. They spoke for a few minutes, and then Giles ended the call. Instead of returning to the group immediately, he stayed by the phone until he had collected his thoughts. Looking back on his conversation with the Slayer, he wondered if this was how his relationship with Buffy had started crumbling in the reality she had lived.
“Speak up, Giles. How long are we going to have to wait for Kendra to get here?” Xander got out between bites of donut. He was still energetically eating, though nobody else seemed interested in his treats.
Giles turned back to the group, after returning his glasses to his face. “When I called and spoke with her, she asked if the meeting had anything to do with slaying. Once I explained that the meeting was to share information about the Light, she refused to attend.” He sighed. “I believe that she would have been here, had I requested her presence earlier.” He avoided eye contact as he continued. “She overheard my earlier invitation to Joyce, and knows that we forgot to invite her.”
“Who cares? We can do this without her. She was right when she said she didn’t need to be here. This thing with the Light really has nothing to do with her. She should be out in the cemeteries, making the world a safer place for the rest of us.” The angry teen didn’t try to hide the contempt in his voice.
“Xander, when will you learn to think before you speak?” Giles closed his eyes in frustration. “Be quiet and don’t interrupt again, or you will be leaving this meeting early.” The Watcher really wished he hadn’t emptied his liquor stores the night before. A drink would have been welcome.
Giles wasted no more time before advising the group that the Light was already in this time, and it was free to choose whether it wanted to stay here or not. Not surprisingly, Xander again lost control of his mouth and began to rant about how the Warriors for the Powers should just do as they were told.
When Giles told him he was dismissed, Xander just stood there, his jaw hanging in disbelief. Though he attempted to bluster, Giles was adamant that the meeting would not continue until the door had closed behind the angry young man. The remainder of the group watched Giles cautiously, concerned that the Watcher appeared to be nearing the end of his rope.
After Xander left, Giles continued to discuss the Light, but decided not to share who the Light actually was, the fact that she was not required to slay, or that she was getting paid to remain in this time. While the Watcher believed Buffy had the right to announce her own arrival, he was personally embarrassed and offended by her refusal to do her duty and by her demands for compensation.
After Giles finished speaking, the group began to rain questions down on him. Hours later, when they had reviewed his information several times, the Scoobies finally left. Giles grabbed his coat and keys, feeling that it was an opportune time for a quick trip to the local liquor store. Given the situation the group from Sunnydale found themselves in, Giles had no doubt he would soon be in need of liquid fortification once again.
As he left the building, he noticed Willow outside in the courtyard, arguing with Xander. Angel had also noticed the teens, and was waiting on a bench near the Watcher’s door, doing his best to remain out of sight, while still keeping a protective eye on the Scooby squabble.
“I don’t want to leave while they have their attention on their argument, instead of their surroundings. It makes them vulnerable to attack,” the vampire said, as the Watcher drew near.
“Yes, I see what you mean. They haven’t even noticed our presence. Oh, but I see Oz is coming with the van now.” Oz’s zebra striped van had stopped at the curb, near the arguing couple. Oz nodded to Angel and Giles, and waited patiently for Willow and Xander to climb in, before driving away.
“Where is Cordelia?” Giles looked around for her.
“She got mad at Xander, right after they left your apartment. When he started arguing with Willow, she just left on her own.”
“Probably not a bad decision on her part,” the Watcher commented.
Angel and Giles walked down the path to the road, side by side.
“Would you like to join me for a drink at the pub around the corner?” Giles asked Angel. At this point, any sympathetic company would be appreciated...even Angel’s.
“Yeah. That sounds like just what I need after that circus,” the vampire agreed.
-----------------------------------
Spike was pacing near the factory doors, just waiting for the sun to go down. He was sick of listening to Dru and that Warren boy. Their shagging was bad enough, but the rambling from Dru seemed to be getting worse.
It was kind of funny, watching Warren try to indulge Dru’s every whim. Drinking tea out of doll cups, with Miss Edith sitting at the end of the table, Dru ruled like a storybook princess.
Of course, the worst part was that Warren was constantly in Spike’s face, misunderstanding Dru’s ramblings and threatening to force Spike to take a walk in the sun if he didn’t go of his own volition.
Even if the silly git was only temporary entertainment for Dru, Warren was getting on Spike’s nerves. He was beginning to doubt that he would ever get his Dark Princess back. Sure, she had strayed before, but she’d always returned to her prince after indulging in her distractions. She’d never stayed away from his bed this long before.
Finally, the sun was down and Spike could get out of the factory. His first stop was Willy’s, just to get the lay of the land. After about an hour, he moved on. What he was really looking for was some alone time with a bottle of Jack Daniels, and alone time wasn’t something he could find at the popular nightspot.
After a bit of wandering, Spike found a cozy little demon bar, where the only light came from lamps at the bar and candles on the tables. He ordered a bottle of their whiskey, with a large glass of O Neg. He nursed his drinks for a few hours, sitting quietly and mulling over the strange turn his life had taken. He wasn’t brooding though...that was reserved for poofters with huge foreheads.
Spike had just ordered a new bottle of whiskey when he sensed family near. It must be Dru. She’s finally come to her senses and has come to take me back. He smiled to himself. Now, how should I handle this? I’m happy she’s back, but she’s got to pay for the humiliation Warren caused. Maybe I’ll just make her beg for a bit. Spike snuck a glimpse around a column, and then quickly shut his eyes at the sight that walked through the door. It wasn’t Dru, but it was definitely family. Tall, dark, and forehead, and some human dressed in tweed.
The mismatched couple sat down at a booth on the other side of the column from Spike. There was no way the blonde vampire could exit now, without alerting his Grandsire. Spike knew Angel would jump at the chance to stake him, just like he had tried to after Spike had fought that dark Slayer in the 70’s. Angel always seemed to be around when there was a Slayer in town. Spike smirked to himself. He figured the Slayer was the perfect magnet to draw in Angelus; a balance between innocent young girl and fearsome powerhouse killing machine.
Angel’s companion ordered a bottle of particularly good Irish whiskey, along with two glasses, and the pair at the table waited in silence for it to arrive. Even after the alcohol was delivered, neither man seemed inclined to talk. Spike really hoped that things would get more interesting soon, especially if he was going to be trapped at his table for a while. Spike needed a distraction from his struggling relationship with Drusilla. Angel’s appearance had sobered him up a bit, and he was quickly coming to the realization that Dru wasn’t going to be seeking him out that night.
Spike was almost ready to give up and try sneaking out of the pub, right past the watchful eyes of his Grandsire, when the human with Angel started talking in a sluggish voice. The vampire leaned back toward the column, trying to listen to what was being said at the other table.
“Tell me, Angel, if a Slayer fell into a deathlike coma, and another Slayer was called...then, the first Slayer somehow woke up from her coma. Would she still be a Slayer?” Giles took a big sip of his drink and smacked his lips together. “Well?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to be talking about that in here?” Angel looked around suspiciously.
“There are only a few customers at the bar. If we keep it low, I doubt anyone will hear us.” Giles looked annoyed at being reprimanded by Angel. “Why do you have to worry and brood so much? Can’t you just answer my question?”
Angel sighed. “Clearly, she would still be a Slayer. It’s a sacred calling, not something you can avoid by taking an extended nap.” The vampire noticed the satisfied look on Giles’ face, and started wondering if the Watcher knew something that he didn’t. Angel really didn’t like that feeling. “Is that what’s happening, Giles? Is Buffy waking up?"
“I can’t speak any more on the matter.” Giles shook his head. “I have given my word that I would not share the information with anyone.” Feeling slightly lightheaded from the whiskey, Giles sniggered into his glass.
Angel’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Do you have more information that you didn’t share with us at the meeting?”
Giles giggled, and almost fell off his chair. “What if she were the one?” He let out in a theatrical whisper, complete with a suspicious scan of the immediate area. “What if she’s the one from the future?” Giles’ nose was now as close as it could get to Angel’s without touching.
Listening to the conversation, it wasn’t hard for Spike to surmise that the human with his Grandsire was a Watcher, and that the two men were talking about a Slayer. Spike was always interested in Slayers. They could usually be counted on to put up a good fight before he killed them. He’d already ended the lives of two of the Chosen Ones, so he should know. When you were immortal, love and glory were really the only things worth living for.
The Watcher was now so drunk that it was impossible to understand anything he was mumbling. Barely ten minutes later, he had passed out on the table, and Angel tossed the Watcher over his shoulder, threw a few bills on the table, and left the pub with his human cargo.
Finally, Spike could leave. As he walked back to the factory, he thought about what he had heard. If there was a Slayer from the future, she might be a good source of information. She could tell him if Drusilla would ever return to him. At the very least, it was worth looking into, maybe sending some minions to check her out. Who knew? There might be an even more worthy Slayer out there; one willing to join him in the dance, and not hide behind Angel’s enormous bulk. The Slayer of Slayers smiled in expectation.
When Spike got home, he immediately called for Dalton and shared what he had learned. Dalton was instructed to get whatever information he could on the Slayer, but to keep his questions quiet. Spike didn’t want to startle the poor maid away before he was ready for their fight.
Giles was still standing with his hand on the phone a few minutes later. He didn’t understand what had just happened, why Joyce sounded so dismissive. He thought they had been getting along very well, and that maybe he and the Slayer’s mother might have a future together. Had he done something wrong, or misinterpreted what they had shared? He shook his head to clear it, deciding he would think about it later when he had more time.
Picking up the phone again, he dialled Xander’s number and asked him to bring snacks for that night’s meeting.
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Xander was confused when he hung up the phone. He hadn’t brought snacks to a Scooby meeting in weeks. Joyce brought them now. Maybe something terrible had happened to Joyce? Maybe Giles was lying, and was just tired of eating healthy snacks? Xander fondly patted his stomach, and started making a mental shopping list. Donuts, snowballs, licorice...
Before venturing forth on his shopping trip, Xander placed a quick call to Willow, to update her on the meeting situation. Willow, having known Xander since kindergarten, was quick to pick up on his ‘Joyce might be hurt’ theme, and reassured him that she’d check with Joyce herself before heading to the meeting that night.
Hanging up from her conversation with Xander, Willow quickly placed a call to Joyce. When she asked why the older woman wasn’t going to attend the meeting that night, she received the same answer that was given to Giles. Joyce had company, and would be serving dinner for them in her home that night. Joyce’s answer convinced Willow that Xander had been told the truth.
One more quick call back to Xander, and his anxiety was calmed for the moment.
Xander had a box of donuts in his hands when he barged through Giles’ door, just a few hours later. “Hey there, G-man. How are things going today? I’ve brought sugary goodness with me. Yes, sir, fuel for the brain.”
Willow smiled at him from her seat on Oz’s lap.
“I have asked you repeatedly not to call me that, Xander. You know I don’t like it.” Giles rummaged around his shelves as he cursed under his breath.
The door crashed open again. “Couldn’t you have just waited a few minutes for me to park the car?” Cordelia ranted at Xander. “A lot of things could have happened out there. I could have been attacked, or even killed.” She stood in front of Xander, hands on her hips and red in the face. “You really don’t care, do you? Maybe I should just re-think this whole dating you thing?”
“Oh, come on, Cordy. Nothing happened. Sit down and have some brain food. Giles was trying to say something and you interrupted.” Xander shoved the box of sweet treats in his girlfriend’s direction.
Cordelia gave up on her attempts to make Xander understand. She knew she would have a lot of thinking to do in the near future, about whether there was a future for the two of them together. Right now, she doubted it.
Giles looked sympathetically toward Cordelia. He felt sorry for the way she was treated by Xander, and wanted the girl to know she had his support, should she choose not to put up with the young man’s behaviour any longer.
A knock at his door drew the Watcher’s attention away from the group of teens in his living room. Angel had arrived.
“The Evil Dead doesn’t get any donuts,” Xander stated, when the dark-haired vampire entered the room. With one arm around the box, he grabbed a cream filled treat and stuffed it into his mouth like a pig. The cream and sugar spurted out, covering the rest of the donuts in the box. The rest of the group ignored both the mess, and the boy who had created it.
“Well, it would seem that we are all here, so we should probably start,” Giles announced, while giving his glasses an extra polish. If Joyce had agreed to join them, he would have told her about Buffy before the others arrived, but that option was now gone. “I have gathered some information from my former guests.”
“Former guests? Where have they gone?” Angel asked, frustration wrinkling his brow. They didn’t even introduce themselves. I’m the warrior...the one with the power. It’s an insult that they’ve left without making themselves known to me. What if they need help at some point? An old man and a mute midget...they don’t stand a chance without my protection. What are the Powers doing, anyway? They clearly don’t have any idea how to pick effective representatives. It’s too bad I can’t communicate with them directly. I could tell them where they’re going wrong, and help them pick more useful representatives next time.
“Angel!”
“What?” His head turned and he looked at Giles. “I’m sorry, Giles. I was thinking about something else. What were you asking?”
Giles sighed. He was tired of repeating himself. “To answer your question, yes, my guests left sometime earlier today. I don’t know where they have gone.”
“You said you had some new info?” Willow asked curiously. “What did your friend tell you?”
“I began our conversation by asking my colleague if he knew how to get the Eternal Light to this time line. He told me that it didn’t matter.” Giles watched helplessly as the room erupted. Everyone was yelling, trying to be heard over everyone else. Giles gave up for the moment and just slumped down in his chair. He was starting to think it was time to call the Council and ask them to hurry up with a new Watcher for Kendra. Suddenly, he realized who was missing from the meeting. “Kendra!” His outburst caused everyone to turn to him, quiet for a moment. “Where’s Kendra?” he asked.
“Yeah, why isn’t she here?” Xander asked accusingly. “She’s the Slayer. She should be at all our meetings.” The others nodded their agreement.
Giles closed his eyes. He knew why she wasn’t there. “It’s not her fault.”
“We’re not her nannies. It’s her responsibility to attend our meetings. She needs to take her duty more seriously, and you need to stop making excuses for her,” Angel said with authority.
“I’m certain she would have been here, had I remembered to invite her.” There was an icy silence after Giles’ statement. Suddenly, nobody wanted to make eye contact with anyone else, too ashamed at the realization that they hadn’t even thought about inviting the Slayer. “I suggest we break for a few moments, while I attempt to contact her now.”
Before long, Giles had Kendra on the phone. They spoke for a few minutes, and then Giles ended the call. Instead of returning to the group immediately, he stayed by the phone until he had collected his thoughts. Looking back on his conversation with the Slayer, he wondered if this was how his relationship with Buffy had started crumbling in the reality she had lived.
“Speak up, Giles. How long are we going to have to wait for Kendra to get here?” Xander got out between bites of donut. He was still energetically eating, though nobody else seemed interested in his treats.
Giles turned back to the group, after returning his glasses to his face. “When I called and spoke with her, she asked if the meeting had anything to do with slaying. Once I explained that the meeting was to share information about the Light, she refused to attend.” He sighed. “I believe that she would have been here, had I requested her presence earlier.” He avoided eye contact as he continued. “She overheard my earlier invitation to Joyce, and knows that we forgot to invite her.”
“Who cares? We can do this without her. She was right when she said she didn’t need to be here. This thing with the Light really has nothing to do with her. She should be out in the cemeteries, making the world a safer place for the rest of us.” The angry teen didn’t try to hide the contempt in his voice.
“Xander, when will you learn to think before you speak?” Giles closed his eyes in frustration. “Be quiet and don’t interrupt again, or you will be leaving this meeting early.” The Watcher really wished he hadn’t emptied his liquor stores the night before. A drink would have been welcome.
Giles wasted no more time before advising the group that the Light was already in this time, and it was free to choose whether it wanted to stay here or not. Not surprisingly, Xander again lost control of his mouth and began to rant about how the Warriors for the Powers should just do as they were told.
When Giles told him he was dismissed, Xander just stood there, his jaw hanging in disbelief. Though he attempted to bluster, Giles was adamant that the meeting would not continue until the door had closed behind the angry young man. The remainder of the group watched Giles cautiously, concerned that the Watcher appeared to be nearing the end of his rope.
After Xander left, Giles continued to discuss the Light, but decided not to share who the Light actually was, the fact that she was not required to slay, or that she was getting paid to remain in this time. While the Watcher believed Buffy had the right to announce her own arrival, he was personally embarrassed and offended by her refusal to do her duty and by her demands for compensation.
After Giles finished speaking, the group began to rain questions down on him. Hours later, when they had reviewed his information several times, the Scoobies finally left. Giles grabbed his coat and keys, feeling that it was an opportune time for a quick trip to the local liquor store. Given the situation the group from Sunnydale found themselves in, Giles had no doubt he would soon be in need of liquid fortification once again.
As he left the building, he noticed Willow outside in the courtyard, arguing with Xander. Angel had also noticed the teens, and was waiting on a bench near the Watcher’s door, doing his best to remain out of sight, while still keeping a protective eye on the Scooby squabble.
“I don’t want to leave while they have their attention on their argument, instead of their surroundings. It makes them vulnerable to attack,” the vampire said, as the Watcher drew near.
“Yes, I see what you mean. They haven’t even noticed our presence. Oh, but I see Oz is coming with the van now.” Oz’s zebra striped van had stopped at the curb, near the arguing couple. Oz nodded to Angel and Giles, and waited patiently for Willow and Xander to climb in, before driving away.
“Where is Cordelia?” Giles looked around for her.
“She got mad at Xander, right after they left your apartment. When he started arguing with Willow, she just left on her own.”
“Probably not a bad decision on her part,” the Watcher commented.
Angel and Giles walked down the path to the road, side by side.
“Would you like to join me for a drink at the pub around the corner?” Giles asked Angel. At this point, any sympathetic company would be appreciated...even Angel’s.
“Yeah. That sounds like just what I need after that circus,” the vampire agreed.
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Spike was pacing near the factory doors, just waiting for the sun to go down. He was sick of listening to Dru and that Warren boy. Their shagging was bad enough, but the rambling from Dru seemed to be getting worse.
It was kind of funny, watching Warren try to indulge Dru’s every whim. Drinking tea out of doll cups, with Miss Edith sitting at the end of the table, Dru ruled like a storybook princess.
Of course, the worst part was that Warren was constantly in Spike’s face, misunderstanding Dru’s ramblings and threatening to force Spike to take a walk in the sun if he didn’t go of his own volition.
Even if the silly git was only temporary entertainment for Dru, Warren was getting on Spike’s nerves. He was beginning to doubt that he would ever get his Dark Princess back. Sure, she had strayed before, but she’d always returned to her prince after indulging in her distractions. She’d never stayed away from his bed this long before.
Finally, the sun was down and Spike could get out of the factory. His first stop was Willy’s, just to get the lay of the land. After about an hour, he moved on. What he was really looking for was some alone time with a bottle of Jack Daniels, and alone time wasn’t something he could find at the popular nightspot.
After a bit of wandering, Spike found a cozy little demon bar, where the only light came from lamps at the bar and candles on the tables. He ordered a bottle of their whiskey, with a large glass of O Neg. He nursed his drinks for a few hours, sitting quietly and mulling over the strange turn his life had taken. He wasn’t brooding though...that was reserved for poofters with huge foreheads.
Spike had just ordered a new bottle of whiskey when he sensed family near. It must be Dru. She’s finally come to her senses and has come to take me back. He smiled to himself. Now, how should I handle this? I’m happy she’s back, but she’s got to pay for the humiliation Warren caused. Maybe I’ll just make her beg for a bit. Spike snuck a glimpse around a column, and then quickly shut his eyes at the sight that walked through the door. It wasn’t Dru, but it was definitely family. Tall, dark, and forehead, and some human dressed in tweed.
The mismatched couple sat down at a booth on the other side of the column from Spike. There was no way the blonde vampire could exit now, without alerting his Grandsire. Spike knew Angel would jump at the chance to stake him, just like he had tried to after Spike had fought that dark Slayer in the 70’s. Angel always seemed to be around when there was a Slayer in town. Spike smirked to himself. He figured the Slayer was the perfect magnet to draw in Angelus; a balance between innocent young girl and fearsome powerhouse killing machine.
Angel’s companion ordered a bottle of particularly good Irish whiskey, along with two glasses, and the pair at the table waited in silence for it to arrive. Even after the alcohol was delivered, neither man seemed inclined to talk. Spike really hoped that things would get more interesting soon, especially if he was going to be trapped at his table for a while. Spike needed a distraction from his struggling relationship with Drusilla. Angel’s appearance had sobered him up a bit, and he was quickly coming to the realization that Dru wasn’t going to be seeking him out that night.
Spike was almost ready to give up and try sneaking out of the pub, right past the watchful eyes of his Grandsire, when the human with Angel started talking in a sluggish voice. The vampire leaned back toward the column, trying to listen to what was being said at the other table.
“Tell me, Angel, if a Slayer fell into a deathlike coma, and another Slayer was called...then, the first Slayer somehow woke up from her coma. Would she still be a Slayer?” Giles took a big sip of his drink and smacked his lips together. “Well?”
“Do you think it’s a good idea to be talking about that in here?” Angel looked around suspiciously.
“There are only a few customers at the bar. If we keep it low, I doubt anyone will hear us.” Giles looked annoyed at being reprimanded by Angel. “Why do you have to worry and brood so much? Can’t you just answer my question?”
Angel sighed. “Clearly, she would still be a Slayer. It’s a sacred calling, not something you can avoid by taking an extended nap.” The vampire noticed the satisfied look on Giles’ face, and started wondering if the Watcher knew something that he didn’t. Angel really didn’t like that feeling. “Is that what’s happening, Giles? Is Buffy waking up?"
“I can’t speak any more on the matter.” Giles shook his head. “I have given my word that I would not share the information with anyone.” Feeling slightly lightheaded from the whiskey, Giles sniggered into his glass.
Angel’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Do you have more information that you didn’t share with us at the meeting?”
Giles giggled, and almost fell off his chair. “What if she were the one?” He let out in a theatrical whisper, complete with a suspicious scan of the immediate area. “What if she’s the one from the future?” Giles’ nose was now as close as it could get to Angel’s without touching.
Listening to the conversation, it wasn’t hard for Spike to surmise that the human with his Grandsire was a Watcher, and that the two men were talking about a Slayer. Spike was always interested in Slayers. They could usually be counted on to put up a good fight before he killed them. He’d already ended the lives of two of the Chosen Ones, so he should know. When you were immortal, love and glory were really the only things worth living for.
The Watcher was now so drunk that it was impossible to understand anything he was mumbling. Barely ten minutes later, he had passed out on the table, and Angel tossed the Watcher over his shoulder, threw a few bills on the table, and left the pub with his human cargo.
Finally, Spike could leave. As he walked back to the factory, he thought about what he had heard. If there was a Slayer from the future, she might be a good source of information. She could tell him if Drusilla would ever return to him. At the very least, it was worth looking into, maybe sending some minions to check her out. Who knew? There might be an even more worthy Slayer out there; one willing to join him in the dance, and not hide behind Angel’s enormous bulk. The Slayer of Slayers smiled in expectation.
When Spike got home, he immediately called for Dalton and shared what he had learned. Dalton was instructed to get whatever information he could on the Slayer, but to keep his questions quiet. Spike didn’t want to startle the poor maid away before he was ready for their fight.
Little Slayer, All Grown Up.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Just as Spike was settling into his lonely bed, Buffy was waking up. She’d had a hard time sleeping; there were too many memories in the house for her to find peace. They filled her dreams, and tiny things forgotten years ago were brought to the surface once again.
Wishing she could sleep, Buffy trudged down to the kitchen to make coffee. Once it was made, and she’d poured herself a mug liberally laced with cream and sugar, she stood at the kitchen counter, looking out into the darkness. Buffy wondered what Spike was doing, right at that moment. She wanted to know if he was alright; if he was happy and safe. Those questions had plagued her since her brief view of him the other night.
Recognizing that her freedom would be limited as long as she was trying to keep her identity a secret, Buffy decided to call a Scooby meeting for later that day. Once all had been revealed, she would be able to do what she wanted, and what she wanted most was to patrol tonight and see if she could get another glimpse of Spike. Maybe, if she was really lucky, she’d managed to get close enough for a little bit of rough and tumble. Spike could always be counted on for a spot of violence.
Buffy was so lost in her thoughts that she was startled when she felt something drop onto her hand. Her fingers wiped the tears from her cheeks, as she shook her head in wonder. Imagine that. She was crying in happiness at the possibility of a fight with Spike. Buffy hurried to clear away all traces of her tears, as she heard steps approaching the kitchen.
“Good morning, Buffy. You’re up early today. Is something wrong?” Merrick rubbed his eyes and took a seat at the kitchen table.
Buffy turned away from the red horizon, bright with the promise of a new day. “Just memories.” She smiled at Merrick. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” The Watcher yawned behind his hand. “So, what’s going to happen today?” Merrick gratefully accepted the coffee that Buffy placed in front of him.
“A Scooby meeting, I think,” Buffy said from her seat across from Merrick. “It’s about time they know what’s going on. You know how Xander sees demons everywhere, and if he sees me out and about without an explanation who knows what kind of crazy theories he’s going to come up with. I don’t want to have to deal with that kind of damage control.”
“I understand completely.”
By the time Joyce joined Buffy and Merrick at the table, there were pancakes and a fresh pot of coffee waiting for her.
“Mmmmm, this is lovely. A homemade breakfast that I didn’t have to make for myself. Thank you, Merrick,” Joyce said, while sipping her coffee.
“Don’t thank me.” The Watcher smiled. “I didn’t make it.” He pointed at Buffy.
“What? You can’t mean that Buffy made breakfast?” Joyce looked from Merrick to Buffy. “But, Buffy can’t cook.”
Buffy smiled softly at her mother. “You’re forgetting that I’ve been on my own for years, Mom. When you don’t have anyone else to cook for you, you learn how to handle yourself in the kitchen. It was either that, or starve.” The Light laughed.
“Sorry, Buffy. It was a lovely breakfast. Thank you.” Joyce was impressed.
“You’re welcome.” Buffy started to collect the dirty plates from the table. “Would you do me a favour, Mom?”
“Of course, Honey. Whatever you need. I’d be happy to help.” Joyce wasn’t about to fail her daughter again. Whatever Buffy needed, she would be there for her.
“First, I want you to call a Scooby meeting. Make sure you invite everyone; I want the whole gang there. It’s about time we let them in on just who the Light is.” Buffy sighed. “I’m really not looking forward to this, but it’s probably best to just get it over with.”
“I’ll call Giles, and he can contact the others. Anything else?” Joyce turned when she heard a noise at the doorway. “Good morning, Kendra. I hope we didn’t wake you?”
“No, it was just my time to wake up. Is there anything for breakfast?” Kendra took a seat beside Joyce at the table.
Buffy smiled brightly. “Hey, Kendra. You get to choose between pancakes, or pancakes. Lucky you.”
“Well then, I think I’ll have pancakes,” Kendra laughed.
“Coffee?” Buffy lifted the pot in the Slayer’s direction.
Kendra made a face. “No thank you. I prefer juice.”
After Buffy had served Kendra the remaining pancakes, she turned her attention to Joyce once again. “Mom, can I borrow the car? I need to go shopping.”
“Do you mind if I tag along, Buffy? It’s been a while since I’ve been on a shopping spree,” Joyce asked her daughter, with longing in her eyes.
“Sure, Mom. Sounds like fun. What about you, Kendra? Want to join us?”
“I can’t. It’s a school day.” Kendra pouted.
“Don’t take it so hard, Kendra. I’m calling a meeting tonight to bring the Scoobies up on the wonder that is me. After that, why don’t we go patrolling together and plan to wrap the evening up at the Bronze? What do you think? Could be fun.” Buffy waited patiently for the Slayer’s answer.
“Sitting through that meeting isn’t going to be much fun.” Suddenly, Kendra got a sly look on her face. “If you bring home some ice cream, it’s a deal.”
Buffy laughed. “It’s a deal. Ice cream for dessert.”
The two bystanders to the conversation smiled. Joyce was happy that the girls really seemed to like each other, and Merrick was pleased to see Buffy having fun.
“What am I supposed to do while you two lovely ladies are at the mall?” Merrick tried his best to pout. Joyce and Buffy broke out in hysterical laughter at the sight. “How about if I prepare dinner for us while you’re out?”
Joyce and Buffy looked at each other and shrugged. “Why not? Let me show you what I was planning to make.” Joyce showed Merrick a page from a cookbook.
“Looks like something I can handle easily.” Merrick nodded, while he read the recipe. “You two go ahead. Have a good day.”
“I’ll call Giles and ask him to set up the meeting, and then I’ll go get dressed for our day out.” Joyce moved towards the phone.
“Alright then, I’m off to school. Don’t forget my ice cream,” Kendra said to Buffy, before grabbing her bag and heading for the back door.
“And on that note, I’m off to get dressed, too.” Buffy left the kitchen and bounced up the stairs like the young girl she had been a lifetime ago.
Half an hour later, Buffy and Joyce were making their way out the door, when Buffy yelled, “We’ll be home for dinner...Dad.” And then the door closed and they were gone.
Merrick could hear the ladies giggling their way down the sidewalk from the kitchen.
------------------------------------
“Where to first, Buffy?” Joyce asked her daughter.
“I think I should get a phone, so you can get in touch with me when you need me.” Buffy linked her arm with her mother’s, as they walked into the mall.
“We should probably get one for Merrick, too,” the Light mused.
“Can’t he buy his own?” Joyce was a little intimidated at the thought of purchasing something as personal as a cell phone for her new house guest.
Buffy laughed. “He doesn’t have money, or anything else, Mom.”
“What, Dear?” Joyce wasn’t really listening to the conversation, as much as she was simply enjoying her daughter’s company.
“I said, all Merrick has, is what he’s wearing.”
“No money? No change of clothes?” Joyce looked stunned when Buffy nodded her head in confirmation. “But, he always looks so neat and clean.”
“It probably has something to do with working for the Powers That Be. Some kind of clean laundry perk.” Buffy shrugged. “Some things you just have to accept without trying to understand, Mom.”
Spying the cell phone kiosk, Buffy pulled at her mother. “Let’s grab the phones, and then we can go window shopping.”
“Calm down, Buffy. We’ve got the whole day,” Joyce laughed.
“I need to shop for some clothes, too. I’ve got nothing to wear, and I definitely want a new outfit for tonight.”
Some things never change. “You do know all the clothes in your closet are yours, right?”
“I’d completely forgotten about that,” Buffy said, smiling. “Thanks, Mom. I still want to get something new for tonight, though. It’s kind of symbolic. New beginnings and all that stuff, right?”
“Giles told us that you are trying to find your other half. Is that who you want to dress up for?” Joyce asked.
“I hope,” Buffy replied with a secretive smile.
“You don’t know?” Joyce asked, bewildered. “How can you not know? Don’t you know who he is?”
“Oh, I know who it is, Mom. Believe me, that’s the least of my worries. Maybe I’ll meet up with him tonight, maybe not. I can only hope.” The happy face that Buffy had been wearing was suddenly replaced with a vision of misery.
“I don’t understand, Honey. If you know who it is, why not just go see him?” Joyce was puzzled.
“Can we talk about this later, Mom? I just want to enjoy my time with you.”
“But, Buffy...,” Joyce tried.
“Over dinner, Mom. I promise. For now, let’s just forget my problems and have some mother/daughter shopping goodness.” Buffy looked pleadingly at her mother.
“Alright, Buffy, but at dinner I expect you to come clean. I want to know everything,” Joyce teased. “Especially the name of the boy that’s stolen my daughter’s heart.”
“We’ll see.” Finally at the kiosk, Buffy tried to distract her mother by asking about the different features on some of the phones.
Half an hour later, the ladies were done shopping for phones. Buffy was moping. “I should have just used my old cell phone. It would have been cheaper. I don’t remember them costing this much.”
“Stop complaining. You said it yourself, Buffy. You need a phone,” Joyce reminded her daughter.
“I know.” Buffy pouted. “It just wasn’t a really fun way to spend so much money.” The Light sighed. “Sorry, Mom. Let’s go look at furniture. You can help me find a style I like, so it will be easier to furnish the warehouse when it’s done.”
“Why not buy what you like now, and then get the store to deliver it when your placer is ready?” Joyce asked.
“What a brilliant idea, Mom.” Buffy hugged Joyce, forgetting the bag in her hand until it smacked into her leg. “Ugh.” She rubbed the offended limb. “Did I hit you?”
“No.” Joyce chuckled. “Let’s get moving to the furniture store. The mall is only open for another eight hours, and we’ve got lots to do,” she teased. This time it was Joyce who linked arms with Buffy.
By lunchtime, the shopping team was ready for a break. Buffy had ordered a couple of beds and bedding for the upstairs rooms. Buffy’s bed was a king-sized four-poster, with beautiful carvings. The bed for the spare room would get a wrought-iron frame in a queen-size. The pair had also purchased everything they could think of for the kitchen.
Now, the ladies were definitely enjoying the opportunity to rest their feet and linger over a cool glass of fruit juice.
“So, are you ready to tell me who my future son-in-law is?” Joyce couldn’t wait any longer.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but it’s not safe for me to tell you his name.” Buffy refused to meet her mother’s eyes, instead focusing intently on her juice.
“Why not? Do I know him? Do I dislike him?” Joyce tried to catch Buffy’s gaze. “Is it that vampire, Angel?”
“No, no. A thousand times no.” She reached across the table to hold her mother’s hands.
“Please try to understand, Mom. I can’t tell you his name.” Buffy’s eyes seemed far away, and were filled with so much pain that Joyce almost wished her daughter were still staring at her juice. “If they...If they knew who he was, they’d try to kill him,” Buffy finished in a harsh whisper.
Joyce didn’t understand. “Why would someone want to kill him? For that matter, who would want to kill him?” she asked.
“Giles. The Scoobies. None of them like him. In my time, Giles even tried to distract me so someone else could try to kill the man I love. Xander can’t get it through his head that, even if my other half is gone, I’m never going to see him in a romantic way. He’s always going to be the brother I never had. And Willow, well, she’s too afraid of upsetting or disappointing Giles or Xander to think for herself.” Buffy was lost in her memories.
Joyce gently squeezed Buffy’s hands to get her attention. “It sounds like you have good reason to be upset with all of them, but there was something special in your voice when you mentioned Willow. What aren’t you saying, Buffy?”
Buffy smiled sadly. “You know me too well, Mom. Later on, as her powers grew, Xander and Giles used Willow to try to control me. They wanted a puppet on a string, not the real me.”
“In all this, you haven’t mentioned Angel. What did he think of your partner?” Joyce was curious. Surely someone in Buffy’s life must have been supportive?
“Angel was the worst of the bunch. He believes that I’m his property. That the Powers have promised me as some kind of reward.” Buffy made a sour face.
The appearance of the waiter at their table ended the conversation, and after his departure the women switched to lighter topics like carpets and window treatments.
When Joyce and Buffy were all shopped out, they decided to stop in at the warehouse to see how the renovations were progressing. Walls were going up to separate parts of the lower level, and the upper floor was progressing nicely. Clem was onsite, so the women took a few minutes to talk with him, and Buffy gave the contractor her new cell number.
Joyce had to draw Buffy’s attention to the time. The women had promised to be home for dinner, and didn’t want to upset Merrick by being late for the meal. They also had a Scooby meeting planned for that evening, and Buffy wanted to be well out of sight before anyone arrived for it.
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Arriving home, Buffy dumped her bags just inside the door and headed for the kitchen. “Hi, Merrick. Did you have a good day?”
“Yes, thank you, Buffy.” Merrick turned slightly from the stove to look at his charge. “How was your day?”
“Good, until Mom said it was time to head home.” Buffy leaned over the kitchen island, attempting to peek at Merrick’s creation.
“You didn’t want to come home for dinner? That hurts. Have a little faith in me, Buffy.” Merrick turned to face Buffy, and arched a brow.
“It’s not dinner I’m worried about.” She sighed. “I’m not looking forward to the meeting. All Hell is going to break loose.” Buffy grabbed an apple. “You know that Giles has already started. They want their puppet back. I can’t and won’t be theirs to command. Giles will want to be my Watcher again, but I don’t trust him. Too much has happened.” Tears were threatening to spill from Buffy’s eyes.
“Hey now.” Merrick placed an arm around her shoulders. “It’ll be okay. You’re not alone this time, and you’re not theirs to control. You’re your own woman, Buffy. Remember that. Plus, you’ve got me on your side. You’ve got a friend you can count on.”
Buffy dried her eyes. “More than one friend, really. There’s you, and Kendra, and maybe I can even call my Mom a friend, after today.”
Joyce had followed Buffy into the kitchen. “I’d be honoured to be called your friend,” she said, joining them at the counter.
“Thanks, Mom.” Buffy hugged her. “Oh, hey. There’s also Clem. Give him a bag of chips and he’ll be your friend for life,” she joked.
Responding to Buffy’s attempt at levity, Joyce went to the stove and lifted the lid on the casserole. “How is dinner coming along, Merrick?” She sniffed. “Hmm. Smells fantastic.”
“Yipes. I forgot to put Kendra’s ice cream in the freezer.” Buffy went to look through the stack of shopping bags.
“It’s in the red bag, Buffy. Pass it to me and I’ll put it away.” Joyce turned to Merrick. “Is Kendra home?”
“Yes. She came in an hour ago. Said she was going up to her room to do her homework. She seems to be a very dedicated girl,” the Watcher said.
“That she is.” Joyce laughed. “In everything she does. Buffy, will you please let her know that dinner is ready? I’ll set the table.”
Buffy grabbed her shopping bags and went upstairs.
The Big Reveal.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Buffy was nervous, and scared. Her arms were crossed over her stomach, and she was pacing back and forth across her old room. It was almost time for her to see the Scoobies, and she knew that they would want to talk to her, and probably hug her. They wouldn’t understand if she was reserved and kept her distance from them.
She sighed, and forced herself to stop pacing. A quick look in the mirror, a final run of her fingers through her hair, and she was ready. The person in the mirror looked so young, but felt so old. It was strange, this second chance at life, at happiness. I can’t mess this up. I have to be strong this time.
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Downstairs, Merrick and Joyce were welcoming the gang. Everyone had arrived at the same time, for once.
Giles didn’t know how to behave around Joyce after her refusal to come to the last meeting. He didn’t have much experience with women, never having been married or in a committed relationship before. He felt as if he had been given the brush-off, and now he sat tentatively on the edge of his chair in the living room.
Willow and Xander were uneasy as well. Normally, it was Giles or one of them that called a meeting, but this time it was Joyce. If Giles had asked her to call, they would have understood, but that’s not what happened.
Angel was annoyed. He was the one that should be calling these meetings. It was offensive that an ordinary human seemed to believe they had the right to order him around. Oz didn’t care what the reason for the meeting was, he was just happy to have an excuse to spend the evening with Willow. Cordelia wasn’t quite as happy to be spending quality time with Xander again. He really needed to learn some manners.
Merrick helped Joyce serve drinks to the group. Everyone was waiting impatiently to get down to business.
Giles was the one who cracked first. “Will someone please tell me why we have been summoned here? We had a meeting only last night, and I don’t believe there have been any new developments since that time.”
“Yes, let’s get this over with. I need to get out and patrol, since the Slayer seems to be on vacation,” Angel growled.
Suddenly, Xander turned accusing eyes on Kendra. “Yeah, why aren’t you out there making the world a safer place? Don’t you realize that people die when you slack off and just sit on your butt?”
Willow looked apologetically at Kendra, but nodded her agreement with Xander just the same.
Kendra’s eyes were bright with suppressed tears. “I thought you were my friends, and that I was a member of the gang. Thank you for correcting my mistake.” She looked briefly from Xander to Willow, and then fled to the kitchen.
Xander looked confused.
Willow jumped up from the couch, wanting to follow her and make things better. “We didn’t mean it like that, Kendra.”
Joyce stopped the young witch before she left the room. “I think you’ve done enough damage tonight.” Willow had never heard the motherly woman’s voice that cold. Joyce sent a brief warning glance to Xander, and then left the room. She followed Kendra to where the young Slayer was sitting on the back porch, crying. Joyce quietly sat beside her, and enclosed the girl in a protective embrace.
“I really believed they were my friends,” Kendra said, her voice muffled by her tears and Joyce’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, too, Honey. It would seem that we were both wrong about them.” The two women sat together for a while.
“Are you ready to go back in, Kendra?” Joyce asked with concern, straightening Kendra’s hair. “You know that Buffy is your friend, right?”
A twinkle returned to Kendra’s eyes, and the corner of her mouth curved up a little. “Yeah, I have other friends too. You, and Merrick. You’re both people I can count on.” The Slayer wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Is my hair okay?” When Joyce nodded, she said, “Alright, let’s go then.”
Joyce smiled and linked her arm with Kendra’s. “Let’s go in there and show our support for Buffy. If they were even half as bad to her as they’ve been to you, she’ll need it.”
Kendra nodded with determination. There was no way she was going to leave Buffy to face that group alone.
When Kendra and Joyce returned to the living room, Willow and Xander immediately began to apologize for their earlier behaviour.
Kendra held up her hands. “Just don’t. Don’t bother. I don’t want to hear whatever you’ve got to say.”
“But...” Xander stood up and started walking toward the Slayer.
“Stay away from me.” Kendra stepped back, a mixture of fear and disgust crossing her face.
Willow frowned. “Hey. Xander’s not going to hurt you. He’s one of the good guys, so just relax.”
Kendra quickly looked down, refusing to make eye contact with anyone in the room. Tears landed on her shirt, as she wound her arms protectively about herself.
Joyce went to the Slayer, and placed an arm around her shoulders. “Kendra?”
“I...I...” The young girl was now crying so hard that she was unable to speak.
Joyce led Kendra upstairs. This was not normal behaviour for the young Slayer, and her caregiver wanted to get to the bottom of it quickly. Nobody in the living room said anything when they left, instead just looking at each other in confusion.
Upstairs, Buffy’s pacing had come to a halt when she picked up the sound of Kendra, weeping as she climbed the stairs with Joyce’s assistance. She rushed to her bedroom door. “What happened?” She helped her mom lead Kendra into the room, and sat her on the bed, a woman on either side of the distraught Slayer. Both women were concerned about Kendra’s behaviour, and were trying to comfort her and find out what problem had caused such an emotional reaction in the young girl.
Unable to get any information from Kendra, Buffy asked her mother what had happened downstairs. Joyce told her daughter what she knew, but it wasn’t much. Thinking back on her own life, Buffy realized that there had only ever been one time when she had been afraid of Xander herself. The Light closed her eyes, and sighed. “Kendra, has Xander tried forcing himself on you?”
Kendra cried even harder, but nodded. Joyce and Buffy looked at each other over Kendra’s bowed head. They waited, just being there for her, hoping that she would get herself together so that they could hear exactly what had happened.
When Kendra’s weeping had slowed to a hiccup, Joyce passed her a handkerchief, which she used to blot her face. “He...he always...he tried...” She swallowed. “He tried to...touch me,” she said in a quiet voice. “Told me to give up the innocent act. Said he knew I liked it.” Tears were leaking from the Slayer’s eyes again.
“That’s it. I’m going down there to have a word with him.” Buffy started to get up from the bed, filled with outrage on Kendra’s behalf.
“Buffy, calm down,” Joyce said. “He must have misunderstood something. We’re talking about Xander here.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. He tried worse with me when the opportunity arose. He’s hiding some pretty dark fantasies.” Buffy gave a weary sigh. “I think I know what the real problem is.”
“Okay, what’s our plan then, Buffy? Do you want to deal with this first, or the business about the Light?” Joyce asked.
“Well, if Kendra doesn’t mind, I’d like to be there when Xander gets his ass kicked. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion though, that both issues are related.” Buffy continued to gently hug Kendra, but she was clearly distracted.
Kendra dried her eyes and blew her nose. “Let’s just deal with the Light business first. I’m not speaking to Xander though, and I don’t want him anywhere near me, either.” She looked at Buffy, and then Joyce. They both nodded in understanding.
“You don’t have to go down there if you don’t want to, Kendra. Buffy and I would both understand why you’re not comfortable around Xander.” Joyce wanted to be sure that Kendra knew she had a choice, and that she had their support.
“I know, and it means a lot to me. Thanks.” Kendra hugged Joyce. “But, I want to be there. I think it’s important for me to hear everything.”
“Are we still keeping to the original plan? You’re going to wait up here for the signal, Buffy?” Joyce asked her daughter, peering at her over Kendra’s head.
“I think I’m going to have to. If I go down there now, nobody will listen to me. They’ll be all over me, either assuming that I’m some kind of demon or doppelganger, or trying to force things back to the way they were.”
“You don’t seem too excited at the thought of things going back to normal.” Joyce narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to see what Buffy wasn’t saying. “I’d really like to know what they’ve done to you.”
“That’s the problem, Mom. At this point in time, they really haven’t done anything to me. It’s not fair to punish them for something that hasn’t happened yet, and I’m struggling to remember that.”
“Oh, Buffy, you’ve grown into such a beautiful woman, inside and out. You’ll always be my child though, and I will do everything I can to help you and protect you from harm.” Joyce let go of Kendra, and moved to embrace Buffy. After a moment, they opened their arms and brought Kendra into their circle as well.
It wasn’t much later when Joyce and Kendra walked back down the stairs and entered the living room. The women travelled arm-in-arm, and Joyce shot Xander a glare that clearly said ‘stay away’ as they crossed the room. Joyce led Kendra over to where Merrick was standing, sandwiching the Slayer between the two protective adults. Everyone in the room noticed how Kendra kept her eyes on the ground, but nobody was brave enough to say anything about it.
After a glance around her living room, Joyce turned to Merrick. “Have you started?”
“No. I was waiting for the two of you to return. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get started?” Merrick gestured to the couch, where Xander and Cordelia were already sitting. “I think there’s enough room for both of you over there.”
Feeling Kendra start to tremble with anxiety, Joyce quickly responded, “No, thank you. We’d prefer to stay here.”
“Certainly, if that is your wish.” Merrick had picked up on Kendra’s strange behaviour.
Addressing the group gathered in the living room, “You all know who I am?” Merrick looked around to see everyone nod. “I work for the Powers That Be. They requested that I find the Light in the future, and bring it here, a job which I have now completed.”
“We already know the Light is here. We came to get new information, not just waste time listening to stuff we’ve already heard.” Xander sat with his arms across the back of the couch, effectively blocking the last empty seats in the room.
Merrick glared at Xander for a moment, before turning his gaze to Giles, who looked embarrassed. “As I was saying, I have brought the Light to this time and place.”
“Well, where is it, Merrick? It sounds like the prophecy says we have to use the Light as a tool. I’d like to know who or what we’re fighting with it.” Angel stood up from where he had been leaning against the wall.
“If I might be allowed to finish...” Merrick’s expression made it clear that he didn’t appreciate being interrupted. “The Light is here, in this time, but before you learn where, there is something else I need to tell you. The Light is not just a weapon, she is a Warrior...if she chooses to be...”
“She?” Merrick was interrupted again. “The Light is a girl?” Willow asked happily.
“I don’t know if girl is the correct term, but yes, the Light is female,” Merrick confirmed. “The Light is not required to fight. As a reward for coming back to this time and trying to fulfill the prophecy, the Light has been given the right to do as she pleases.” He sighed. “All of you have had a hurtful impact on the Light in the past.”
Willow’s smile began to fade. Angel was frowning. Xander didn’t seem to care about the information at all.
“It’s important that you realize that she’s no longer the person you once knew.” Merrick paused. “After the Light had been here for a few days, her body began to deteriorate and needed to be returned to its own time. The only way for the Eternal Light to remain was for her soul to be transferred into another body that belonged here. Fortunately, we were able to locate her past body in this time line, and the Light was able to inhabit it because the soul that belonged in the body had already passed on. You see, an enemy from the Light’s future had arranged to travel to the past in an attempt to eliminate her before she could cause him trouble.” Merrick waited for an eruption that didn’t come. A quick look at the group, and Merrick realized they were all staring, open-mouthed, at the stairs.
Like a ghost, Buffy slowly advanced down the stairs. “Hey guys.” She waved at the group, a small smile on her lips.
At first there was complete silence, but then Willow and Xander moved as one, rushing to Buffy and hugging her. Neither noticed that she didn’t move to hug them back, simply standing there, accepting their greetings.
Angel straightened to his full height, but didn’t move from his position near the wall. Oz welcomed Buffy home with a wave. Cordelia briefly looked up from her fashion magazine, gave the Light a nod, and then went back to her reading.
“How did this happen? When did you get out of the hospital?” Willow and Xander kept asking, again and again.
Buffy discretely freed herself from their grasping hands. “I left the hospital three days ago, in this body.” She stepped away from her childhood friends.
“Huh?” Xander responded, very intelligently, before shaking his head. “It doesn’t really matter how it happened. Now we’ve got two slayers on the job.”
Willow pulled on Buffy’s arm to get her attention. “Oh, oh! Before you go out to patrol tonight, we should totally hit the Bronze to celebrate your return.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Xander threw his arms around Buffy and Willow.
Nothing has changed. They still think that I’m here to save them, and they’re already trying to take charge of my life. I can’t deal with this right now. Later...I’ll be able to take care of this later...when I’m stronger. Right now I need to deal with more important things, like the changelings, and then, hopefully, Spike. That last thought was enough to strengthen Buffy’s resolve. She twisted out from under Xander’s arm. “No.”
“No? Oh, I get it. You’re just getting back into the swing of slaying. You’re probably too worn out to party. We understand.” Xander nodded. “Maybe sometime next week? Willow and I can save a seat at our usual table for you, until you feel up to joining us.”
“Sure! Next week will be great.” Willow was one big smile.
Buffy shook her head. “Stop making plans for me. Just sit down and listen.”
“Oh, right. I forgot we were right in the middle of a Scooby meeting. Sorry guys,” she said in apology to the rest of the group assembled in the room.
“Yeah, sorry guys. We were just surprised to see Buffy.” Xander returned to his seat on the couch, placing himself as far away from Cordelia as possible. “Come on and have a seat, Buffy. There’s room here, with me.” He gave the seat cushion beside him a pat.
“No thanks, Xander. I’d rather just stand over here.” Buffy looked at the others in the room. Angel was staring at her oddly, and Giles was polishing his glasses, yet again. “Giles, stop with the polishing. Your glasses are fine.” Then she looked at Willow, once again on Oz’s lap, and Xander. “I don’t remember you guys being this dense.”
“Hey,” Willow whined. “Not nice.”
“Yeah. What’s the matter with you? Being in a coma hasn’t done you any favours. Did all those blows to the head make you forget who your friends are? You should be a little more grateful that we stuck around, even when you were out of it.” Xander sent Willow a look of self-righteous solidarity.
“Merrick.” Buffy’s voice was shrill. “Help me out here, please.”
The Watcher turned to his charge. “I understand why you were reluctant to see them. They’re very...oh, what’s the word? Ah, yes...controlling. They’re very controlling.” Both Xander and Willow started to protest. “I’m not listening to a word you’re saying,” Merrick told them. “When you’re finished babbling, I’ll continue.”
“Giles, why are we still here, listening to this crap?” Xander had given up on Merrick, and was now addressing a more familiar authority figure.
At the same time, Willow was looking uncertainly around the room. “We’re not controlling, are we? I’m not trying to be controlling, I just want to be a good friend,” she whined.
Cordelia was the only one to respond to the redhead. “You guys are definitely controlling,” she said. “Whiney too.”
At that, Willow began to cry.
“Look at what you’ve done now, Cordy.” Xander quickly went to comfort Willow, though she was already perched on Oz’s lap. Oz, rather oddly, appeared deep in thought, and was ignoring his girlfriend.
Giles sighed and replaced his glasses. “Everyone just sit down and be quiet. Merrick has made his point and I would be hard pressed to dispute it right now.”
Xander sent Giles a glance that clearly said he felt betrayed, but he returned to his seat. It took a bit longer for Willow to calm down.
Oz wasn’t the only one who had used the interruption to think about relationship issues. Cordelia did too. Buffy could see it, but she wasn’t going to get in the middle of that mess.
“Now that we’re all seated again, I need to make one thing perfectly clear.” Merrick looked from Xander to Willow. “Buffy is the Eternal Light. She is not the Slayer. Kendra is the Slayer.”
“No...no...that’s not right. Once a Slayer, always a Slayer. Right, Giles?” Xander looked pleadingly at the Watcher.
“Not in this case, Xander.” Giles shrugged.
Willow turned an awestruck gaze on Buffy. “Are you really the Light?”
Buffy nodded.
“Can you tell me about the future? About whether I become a powerful witch?” Willow was once again excited, her tears from earlier forgotten.
Everyone was listening to Willow, curious to hear Buffy’s answer. The blonde hesitated for a moment, before replying, “Maybe some other time and, even then, I’m only going to share things I think you need to know.”
“Why won’t you tell us everything?” Xander demanded. “I have the right to know about my future.”
“Do you really want to know everything about your own future? All about the good and the bad?” The Light wasn’t responding well to pressure from her friends.
“Of course. I want to hear it all,” Xander blustered.
“Do you want everyone else to hear too? Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we make a game out of it? I’ll tell you the future, and you guys can count how many times each of you have betrayed me,” Buffy said, the venom unmistakable in her voice.
“Hey, ease off. I haven’t done anything to you,” Xander squawked.
“I’m doing my very best to remember that. Right now I’m trying to not hold your future actions against you. I’m not sure I could do that if I dredged it all up again. I may be the Eternal Light, but I’m also human.”
Xander made a face that told Buffy he had changed his mind. For the moment, at least, getting to know the future didn’t appear to be such a good idea.
“If that’s all for tonight, I’m going to head out and do a quick sweep of a few cemeteries on the way home.” Angel came to stand in front of Buffy. “Welcome back.” He reached a hesitant hand out, as if he wanted to touch her. When she didn’t react at all, he frowned and withdrew. He left immediately, without acknowledging anyone else in the room. Buffy was relieved when he was gone, but she wouldn’t have felt so happy had she known what he was thinking about on his way home.
Angel’s departure stirred others to act, and Giles was the next to talk about going home.
Buffy held up a hand. “Wait a minute, Giles. We’ve got demon business to talk about.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you let Angel leave if you knew there was more information to discuss?” Giles started towards the door. “One moment and I’ll call him back.”
“Sit down, Giles. Angel isn’t needed for what I have to say.” Buffy looked at Kendra. “Remember what we talked about upstairs? I think I know why those things happened to you.”
“Excuse me, but what has happened to Kendra? I’m her Watcher, and I should be told everything, without fail.” Giles got up, and went to stand in front of the Slayer. “Have you been negligent in your nightly reporting?” Kendra took a step back, a frightened look on her face.
Buffy placed a hand on her former Watcher’s chest, stopping him from stepping closer to Kendra. “Enough, Giles. Go sit down.”
“You have no authority to tell me what to do, Buffy. As you have said yourself, you are no longer a Slayer. Kendra is a Slayer, and I am her Watcher. This is none of your business.” Giles again turned to Kendra.
“Wrong again, Giles. This is definitely the business of the Eternal Light.”
“How can it be your business when it involves my Slayer?” The Watcher felt that Buffy was trying to undermine his authority, and was becoming irate.
“Try to remember the prophecy, Giles.” She raised a brow and tilted her head towards a chair. “Go sit down, now!”
Giles ripped off his glasses, but did as Buffy asked, likely out of sheer surprise. He had never heard that commanding tone in her voice before, and the look in her eyes confused him. There was something familiar about the pose she had taken, but he couldn’t seem to place it. It scared him though. In that moment, he doubted he would ever again have any influence over Buffy.
Buffy sighed heavily. “Kendra has had some regrettable experiences with Xander, and I think I know why.”
“Regrettable experiences? What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Xander leaned forward.
Buffy grimaced, and rubbed her hands on her jeans, as if wiping them clean. “I’m guessing you don’t want everyone else to know what you’ve been up to, right, Xander?”
“I want to know what you’re talking about. You’re obviously accusing me of something, but I have no idea what.” Xander shot a malicious glare at Kendra. “What kind of crap have you been telling her?”
Giles gave a tired sigh. “Come now, Buffy. Even criminals know what crimes they are accused of. Clearly, Xander has no idea what you’re talking about. Just tell him and then we can clear up this misunderstanding.”
Buffy looked at Kendra. “Do you want to tell them?”
Kendra refused to raise her head, simply shaking it and gesturing for Buffy to continue.
Buffy cleared her throat. “Fine. I’ll say it then.” She put her hands in her pockets, as if trying to stop herself from reaching out to give Xander a smack. “Xander has been making advances towards Kendra.”
“What’s wrong with Xander liking Kendra?” Willow was sitting stiffly on Oz’s lap.
“Kendra made it clear that she didn’t welcome his advances. She asked him to stop, to leave her alone, and he told her to quit playing innocent and give it up.” Buffy was angry, and it showed.
Everyone looked at Xander in shock.
Willow leapt to her feet. “That’s not true. Xander would never do that.” Everyone else stayed still and silent.
For the first time, Kendra responded directly. “So, you’re saying I’m a liar?” She glared at Willow, though everyone could see the hurt in her eyes.
“No...no, I...,” Willow stuttered.
Xander hadn’t commented, and was instead staring at his hands, which were twisting in his lap.
Buffy decided it was time to take control of the conversation again. “As I was saying, I know what is causing this behaviour. The Changelings are here, and they are increasing their power by working their magic on humans.”
This was an area of interest to Giles. “Buffy, what exactly are the Changelings, and what is it that they do? More importantly, what do they have to do with Xander?”
“Patience, Giles.” Buffy smiled at that. Normally it was the other way around, with the Watcher asking Buffy to have patience. “The Changelings are invisible beings that feast on souls, slowly eating them and making the souled being weak, so they can’t resist their darker desires. I think that’s what’s happening to Xander. His inhibitions are on holiday, and his common sense is sleeping.”
Everyone was staring at the Light, mouths hanging open in shock.
“What? Why are you all staring at me like that?” Buffy lifted her arms, palms up, and shrugged. “Seriously, guys. What’s up?”
Willow gave an uncertain smile. “You sound just like Giles.”
Buffy gave Willow a wry smile and shrugged. “Giles, would you please take Xander home with you?” Giles nodded his acceptance. “Just for tonight. Kendra, we have to fulfill the prophecy about the Changelings and kick them out of our dimension.”
“Wait a minute. You’re saying I’m possessed?” Xander asked. “I’m not! I’d know if I was possessed and I can guarantee you that there are no little invisible guys in me.”
“Oh, so you’re saying that it’s perfectly normal for you to molest young girls?” Buffy looked at Xander curiously.
Xander looked away in embarrassment.
Buffy went to her weapons chest, where she pulled out a long, bone-handled knife. “Mom, do you have any white candles?”
“I think so. How many do you need, Honey?” Joyce went to a drawer in the china cabinet.
“Just four. Oh, and matches or a lighter, please.”
“What are you doing, Buffy?” Giles inquired.
“My job, Giles. Kendra and I need to perform a ritual together. After that, the Changelings shouldn’t be any trouble.” She accepted the candles from her mother.
“If you are planning to rid us of the Changelings tonight, then why must I keep Xander in my apartment until tomorrow?” The Watcher was not looking forward to having a houseguest for the evening.
“The ritual will evict all the Changelings from this dimension, but those that have already attached themselves to humans will take a bit longer to draw out.” Buffy went to the kitchen and took some spice jars out of a cupboard. “Mom, where are the matches?” Joyce handed her a fresh book from a cupboard over the stove. “I need a bowl too. One that I can use and then throw out.”
Giles had followed Buffy and Joyce into the kitchen, and was watching Buffy’s preparations. “Do you know what to do?” he asked her.
“Yes. I had the book for years, before it was destroyed in a fire.” The Light gathered all the items she had collected, and placed them in the bowl. “Kendra, let’s get started. We’ll set up the spell in the basement. We shouldn’t be interrupted there.”
In the basement, Buffy made a circle with salt, large enough for Kendra and her to sit in. She ignored Giles, who had followed the women down the stairs.
Buffy sat on her knees in the circle, with Kendra sitting opposite. Giving two of the four candles to the Slayer, Buffy mixed the spices in the bowl.
When she was ready, Buffy told Kendra to light the candles and place them on either side of the bowl, in the circle.
Once the two women were settled in the circle, Buffy held Kendra’s wrist over the bowl. Chanting steadily under her breath, she used the knife to cut both Kendra’s wrist and her own. Letting their wounds bleed into the bowl, Buffy continued the chanting until the circle was enveloped in a flash of light.
Allowing Kendra to withdraw her arm, Buffy quickly grabbed a cloth and passed it to the Slayer so she could tend to her wound. Then the Light grabbed a cloth for herself, and held it against her own damaged limb. “It’s done. Do you know what time it is, Giles?”
A quick look at his time piece, and the Watcher responded, “By my watch, a quarter to eleven.”
“Right then. Allowing for stragglers, this dimension should be free of the Changelings by eight tomorrow morning, at the latest. Now, who wants to help me clean up this mess?” the Light teased.
Buffy was nervous, and scared. Her arms were crossed over her stomach, and she was pacing back and forth across her old room. It was almost time for her to see the Scoobies, and she knew that they would want to talk to her, and probably hug her. They wouldn’t understand if she was reserved and kept her distance from them.
She sighed, and forced herself to stop pacing. A quick look in the mirror, a final run of her fingers through her hair, and she was ready. The person in the mirror looked so young, but felt so old. It was strange, this second chance at life, at happiness. I can’t mess this up. I have to be strong this time.
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Downstairs, Merrick and Joyce were welcoming the gang. Everyone had arrived at the same time, for once.
Giles didn’t know how to behave around Joyce after her refusal to come to the last meeting. He didn’t have much experience with women, never having been married or in a committed relationship before. He felt as if he had been given the brush-off, and now he sat tentatively on the edge of his chair in the living room.
Willow and Xander were uneasy as well. Normally, it was Giles or one of them that called a meeting, but this time it was Joyce. If Giles had asked her to call, they would have understood, but that’s not what happened.
Angel was annoyed. He was the one that should be calling these meetings. It was offensive that an ordinary human seemed to believe they had the right to order him around. Oz didn’t care what the reason for the meeting was, he was just happy to have an excuse to spend the evening with Willow. Cordelia wasn’t quite as happy to be spending quality time with Xander again. He really needed to learn some manners.
Merrick helped Joyce serve drinks to the group. Everyone was waiting impatiently to get down to business.
Giles was the one who cracked first. “Will someone please tell me why we have been summoned here? We had a meeting only last night, and I don’t believe there have been any new developments since that time.”
“Yes, let’s get this over with. I need to get out and patrol, since the Slayer seems to be on vacation,” Angel growled.
Suddenly, Xander turned accusing eyes on Kendra. “Yeah, why aren’t you out there making the world a safer place? Don’t you realize that people die when you slack off and just sit on your butt?”
Willow looked apologetically at Kendra, but nodded her agreement with Xander just the same.
Kendra’s eyes were bright with suppressed tears. “I thought you were my friends, and that I was a member of the gang. Thank you for correcting my mistake.” She looked briefly from Xander to Willow, and then fled to the kitchen.
Xander looked confused.
Willow jumped up from the couch, wanting to follow her and make things better. “We didn’t mean it like that, Kendra.”
Joyce stopped the young witch before she left the room. “I think you’ve done enough damage tonight.” Willow had never heard the motherly woman’s voice that cold. Joyce sent a brief warning glance to Xander, and then left the room. She followed Kendra to where the young Slayer was sitting on the back porch, crying. Joyce quietly sat beside her, and enclosed the girl in a protective embrace.
“I really believed they were my friends,” Kendra said, her voice muffled by her tears and Joyce’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, too, Honey. It would seem that we were both wrong about them.” The two women sat together for a while.
“Are you ready to go back in, Kendra?” Joyce asked with concern, straightening Kendra’s hair. “You know that Buffy is your friend, right?”
A twinkle returned to Kendra’s eyes, and the corner of her mouth curved up a little. “Yeah, I have other friends too. You, and Merrick. You’re both people I can count on.” The Slayer wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Is my hair okay?” When Joyce nodded, she said, “Alright, let’s go then.”
Joyce smiled and linked her arm with Kendra’s. “Let’s go in there and show our support for Buffy. If they were even half as bad to her as they’ve been to you, she’ll need it.”
Kendra nodded with determination. There was no way she was going to leave Buffy to face that group alone.
When Kendra and Joyce returned to the living room, Willow and Xander immediately began to apologize for their earlier behaviour.
Kendra held up her hands. “Just don’t. Don’t bother. I don’t want to hear whatever you’ve got to say.”
“But...” Xander stood up and started walking toward the Slayer.
“Stay away from me.” Kendra stepped back, a mixture of fear and disgust crossing her face.
Willow frowned. “Hey. Xander’s not going to hurt you. He’s one of the good guys, so just relax.”
Kendra quickly looked down, refusing to make eye contact with anyone in the room. Tears landed on her shirt, as she wound her arms protectively about herself.
Joyce went to the Slayer, and placed an arm around her shoulders. “Kendra?”
“I...I...” The young girl was now crying so hard that she was unable to speak.
Joyce led Kendra upstairs. This was not normal behaviour for the young Slayer, and her caregiver wanted to get to the bottom of it quickly. Nobody in the living room said anything when they left, instead just looking at each other in confusion.
Upstairs, Buffy’s pacing had come to a halt when she picked up the sound of Kendra, weeping as she climbed the stairs with Joyce’s assistance. She rushed to her bedroom door. “What happened?” She helped her mom lead Kendra into the room, and sat her on the bed, a woman on either side of the distraught Slayer. Both women were concerned about Kendra’s behaviour, and were trying to comfort her and find out what problem had caused such an emotional reaction in the young girl.
Unable to get any information from Kendra, Buffy asked her mother what had happened downstairs. Joyce told her daughter what she knew, but it wasn’t much. Thinking back on her own life, Buffy realized that there had only ever been one time when she had been afraid of Xander herself. The Light closed her eyes, and sighed. “Kendra, has Xander tried forcing himself on you?”
Kendra cried even harder, but nodded. Joyce and Buffy looked at each other over Kendra’s bowed head. They waited, just being there for her, hoping that she would get herself together so that they could hear exactly what had happened.
When Kendra’s weeping had slowed to a hiccup, Joyce passed her a handkerchief, which she used to blot her face. “He...he always...he tried...” She swallowed. “He tried to...touch me,” she said in a quiet voice. “Told me to give up the innocent act. Said he knew I liked it.” Tears were leaking from the Slayer’s eyes again.
“That’s it. I’m going down there to have a word with him.” Buffy started to get up from the bed, filled with outrage on Kendra’s behalf.
“Buffy, calm down,” Joyce said. “He must have misunderstood something. We’re talking about Xander here.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. He tried worse with me when the opportunity arose. He’s hiding some pretty dark fantasies.” Buffy gave a weary sigh. “I think I know what the real problem is.”
“Okay, what’s our plan then, Buffy? Do you want to deal with this first, or the business about the Light?” Joyce asked.
“Well, if Kendra doesn’t mind, I’d like to be there when Xander gets his ass kicked. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion though, that both issues are related.” Buffy continued to gently hug Kendra, but she was clearly distracted.
Kendra dried her eyes and blew her nose. “Let’s just deal with the Light business first. I’m not speaking to Xander though, and I don’t want him anywhere near me, either.” She looked at Buffy, and then Joyce. They both nodded in understanding.
“You don’t have to go down there if you don’t want to, Kendra. Buffy and I would both understand why you’re not comfortable around Xander.” Joyce wanted to be sure that Kendra knew she had a choice, and that she had their support.
“I know, and it means a lot to me. Thanks.” Kendra hugged Joyce. “But, I want to be there. I think it’s important for me to hear everything.”
“Are we still keeping to the original plan? You’re going to wait up here for the signal, Buffy?” Joyce asked her daughter, peering at her over Kendra’s head.
“I think I’m going to have to. If I go down there now, nobody will listen to me. They’ll be all over me, either assuming that I’m some kind of demon or doppelganger, or trying to force things back to the way they were.”
“You don’t seem too excited at the thought of things going back to normal.” Joyce narrowed her eyes, as if she was trying to see what Buffy wasn’t saying. “I’d really like to know what they’ve done to you.”
“That’s the problem, Mom. At this point in time, they really haven’t done anything to me. It’s not fair to punish them for something that hasn’t happened yet, and I’m struggling to remember that.”
“Oh, Buffy, you’ve grown into such a beautiful woman, inside and out. You’ll always be my child though, and I will do everything I can to help you and protect you from harm.” Joyce let go of Kendra, and moved to embrace Buffy. After a moment, they opened their arms and brought Kendra into their circle as well.
It wasn’t much later when Joyce and Kendra walked back down the stairs and entered the living room. The women travelled arm-in-arm, and Joyce shot Xander a glare that clearly said ‘stay away’ as they crossed the room. Joyce led Kendra over to where Merrick was standing, sandwiching the Slayer between the two protective adults. Everyone in the room noticed how Kendra kept her eyes on the ground, but nobody was brave enough to say anything about it.
After a glance around her living room, Joyce turned to Merrick. “Have you started?”
“No. I was waiting for the two of you to return. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get started?” Merrick gestured to the couch, where Xander and Cordelia were already sitting. “I think there’s enough room for both of you over there.”
Feeling Kendra start to tremble with anxiety, Joyce quickly responded, “No, thank you. We’d prefer to stay here.”
“Certainly, if that is your wish.” Merrick had picked up on Kendra’s strange behaviour.
Addressing the group gathered in the living room, “You all know who I am?” Merrick looked around to see everyone nod. “I work for the Powers That Be. They requested that I find the Light in the future, and bring it here, a job which I have now completed.”
“We already know the Light is here. We came to get new information, not just waste time listening to stuff we’ve already heard.” Xander sat with his arms across the back of the couch, effectively blocking the last empty seats in the room.
Merrick glared at Xander for a moment, before turning his gaze to Giles, who looked embarrassed. “As I was saying, I have brought the Light to this time and place.”
“Well, where is it, Merrick? It sounds like the prophecy says we have to use the Light as a tool. I’d like to know who or what we’re fighting with it.” Angel stood up from where he had been leaning against the wall.
“If I might be allowed to finish...” Merrick’s expression made it clear that he didn’t appreciate being interrupted. “The Light is here, in this time, but before you learn where, there is something else I need to tell you. The Light is not just a weapon, she is a Warrior...if she chooses to be...”
“She?” Merrick was interrupted again. “The Light is a girl?” Willow asked happily.
“I don’t know if girl is the correct term, but yes, the Light is female,” Merrick confirmed. “The Light is not required to fight. As a reward for coming back to this time and trying to fulfill the prophecy, the Light has been given the right to do as she pleases.” He sighed. “All of you have had a hurtful impact on the Light in the past.”
Willow’s smile began to fade. Angel was frowning. Xander didn’t seem to care about the information at all.
“It’s important that you realize that she’s no longer the person you once knew.” Merrick paused. “After the Light had been here for a few days, her body began to deteriorate and needed to be returned to its own time. The only way for the Eternal Light to remain was for her soul to be transferred into another body that belonged here. Fortunately, we were able to locate her past body in this time line, and the Light was able to inhabit it because the soul that belonged in the body had already passed on. You see, an enemy from the Light’s future had arranged to travel to the past in an attempt to eliminate her before she could cause him trouble.” Merrick waited for an eruption that didn’t come. A quick look at the group, and Merrick realized they were all staring, open-mouthed, at the stairs.
Like a ghost, Buffy slowly advanced down the stairs. “Hey guys.” She waved at the group, a small smile on her lips.
At first there was complete silence, but then Willow and Xander moved as one, rushing to Buffy and hugging her. Neither noticed that she didn’t move to hug them back, simply standing there, accepting their greetings.
Angel straightened to his full height, but didn’t move from his position near the wall. Oz welcomed Buffy home with a wave. Cordelia briefly looked up from her fashion magazine, gave the Light a nod, and then went back to her reading.
“How did this happen? When did you get out of the hospital?” Willow and Xander kept asking, again and again.
Buffy discretely freed herself from their grasping hands. “I left the hospital three days ago, in this body.” She stepped away from her childhood friends.
“Huh?” Xander responded, very intelligently, before shaking his head. “It doesn’t really matter how it happened. Now we’ve got two slayers on the job.”
Willow pulled on Buffy’s arm to get her attention. “Oh, oh! Before you go out to patrol tonight, we should totally hit the Bronze to celebrate your return.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Xander threw his arms around Buffy and Willow.
Nothing has changed. They still think that I’m here to save them, and they’re already trying to take charge of my life. I can’t deal with this right now. Later...I’ll be able to take care of this later...when I’m stronger. Right now I need to deal with more important things, like the changelings, and then, hopefully, Spike. That last thought was enough to strengthen Buffy’s resolve. She twisted out from under Xander’s arm. “No.”
“No? Oh, I get it. You’re just getting back into the swing of slaying. You’re probably too worn out to party. We understand.” Xander nodded. “Maybe sometime next week? Willow and I can save a seat at our usual table for you, until you feel up to joining us.”
“Sure! Next week will be great.” Willow was one big smile.
Buffy shook her head. “Stop making plans for me. Just sit down and listen.”
“Oh, right. I forgot we were right in the middle of a Scooby meeting. Sorry guys,” she said in apology to the rest of the group assembled in the room.
“Yeah, sorry guys. We were just surprised to see Buffy.” Xander returned to his seat on the couch, placing himself as far away from Cordelia as possible. “Come on and have a seat, Buffy. There’s room here, with me.” He gave the seat cushion beside him a pat.
“No thanks, Xander. I’d rather just stand over here.” Buffy looked at the others in the room. Angel was staring at her oddly, and Giles was polishing his glasses, yet again. “Giles, stop with the polishing. Your glasses are fine.” Then she looked at Willow, once again on Oz’s lap, and Xander. “I don’t remember you guys being this dense.”
“Hey,” Willow whined. “Not nice.”
“Yeah. What’s the matter with you? Being in a coma hasn’t done you any favours. Did all those blows to the head make you forget who your friends are? You should be a little more grateful that we stuck around, even when you were out of it.” Xander sent Willow a look of self-righteous solidarity.
“Merrick.” Buffy’s voice was shrill. “Help me out here, please.”
The Watcher turned to his charge. “I understand why you were reluctant to see them. They’re very...oh, what’s the word? Ah, yes...controlling. They’re very controlling.” Both Xander and Willow started to protest. “I’m not listening to a word you’re saying,” Merrick told them. “When you’re finished babbling, I’ll continue.”
“Giles, why are we still here, listening to this crap?” Xander had given up on Merrick, and was now addressing a more familiar authority figure.
At the same time, Willow was looking uncertainly around the room. “We’re not controlling, are we? I’m not trying to be controlling, I just want to be a good friend,” she whined.
Cordelia was the only one to respond to the redhead. “You guys are definitely controlling,” she said. “Whiney too.”
At that, Willow began to cry.
“Look at what you’ve done now, Cordy.” Xander quickly went to comfort Willow, though she was already perched on Oz’s lap. Oz, rather oddly, appeared deep in thought, and was ignoring his girlfriend.
Giles sighed and replaced his glasses. “Everyone just sit down and be quiet. Merrick has made his point and I would be hard pressed to dispute it right now.”
Xander sent Giles a glance that clearly said he felt betrayed, but he returned to his seat. It took a bit longer for Willow to calm down.
Oz wasn’t the only one who had used the interruption to think about relationship issues. Cordelia did too. Buffy could see it, but she wasn’t going to get in the middle of that mess.
“Now that we’re all seated again, I need to make one thing perfectly clear.” Merrick looked from Xander to Willow. “Buffy is the Eternal Light. She is not the Slayer. Kendra is the Slayer.”
“No...no...that’s not right. Once a Slayer, always a Slayer. Right, Giles?” Xander looked pleadingly at the Watcher.
“Not in this case, Xander.” Giles shrugged.
Willow turned an awestruck gaze on Buffy. “Are you really the Light?”
Buffy nodded.
“Can you tell me about the future? About whether I become a powerful witch?” Willow was once again excited, her tears from earlier forgotten.
Everyone was listening to Willow, curious to hear Buffy’s answer. The blonde hesitated for a moment, before replying, “Maybe some other time and, even then, I’m only going to share things I think you need to know.”
“Why won’t you tell us everything?” Xander demanded. “I have the right to know about my future.”
“Do you really want to know everything about your own future? All about the good and the bad?” The Light wasn’t responding well to pressure from her friends.
“Of course. I want to hear it all,” Xander blustered.
“Do you want everyone else to hear too? Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we make a game out of it? I’ll tell you the future, and you guys can count how many times each of you have betrayed me,” Buffy said, the venom unmistakable in her voice.
“Hey, ease off. I haven’t done anything to you,” Xander squawked.
“I’m doing my very best to remember that. Right now I’m trying to not hold your future actions against you. I’m not sure I could do that if I dredged it all up again. I may be the Eternal Light, but I’m also human.”
Xander made a face that told Buffy he had changed his mind. For the moment, at least, getting to know the future didn’t appear to be such a good idea.
“If that’s all for tonight, I’m going to head out and do a quick sweep of a few cemeteries on the way home.” Angel came to stand in front of Buffy. “Welcome back.” He reached a hesitant hand out, as if he wanted to touch her. When she didn’t react at all, he frowned and withdrew. He left immediately, without acknowledging anyone else in the room. Buffy was relieved when he was gone, but she wouldn’t have felt so happy had she known what he was thinking about on his way home.
Angel’s departure stirred others to act, and Giles was the next to talk about going home.
Buffy held up a hand. “Wait a minute, Giles. We’ve got demon business to talk about.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you let Angel leave if you knew there was more information to discuss?” Giles started towards the door. “One moment and I’ll call him back.”
“Sit down, Giles. Angel isn’t needed for what I have to say.” Buffy looked at Kendra. “Remember what we talked about upstairs? I think I know why those things happened to you.”
“Excuse me, but what has happened to Kendra? I’m her Watcher, and I should be told everything, without fail.” Giles got up, and went to stand in front of the Slayer. “Have you been negligent in your nightly reporting?” Kendra took a step back, a frightened look on her face.
Buffy placed a hand on her former Watcher’s chest, stopping him from stepping closer to Kendra. “Enough, Giles. Go sit down.”
“You have no authority to tell me what to do, Buffy. As you have said yourself, you are no longer a Slayer. Kendra is a Slayer, and I am her Watcher. This is none of your business.” Giles again turned to Kendra.
“Wrong again, Giles. This is definitely the business of the Eternal Light.”
“How can it be your business when it involves my Slayer?” The Watcher felt that Buffy was trying to undermine his authority, and was becoming irate.
“Try to remember the prophecy, Giles.” She raised a brow and tilted her head towards a chair. “Go sit down, now!”
Giles ripped off his glasses, but did as Buffy asked, likely out of sheer surprise. He had never heard that commanding tone in her voice before, and the look in her eyes confused him. There was something familiar about the pose she had taken, but he couldn’t seem to place it. It scared him though. In that moment, he doubted he would ever again have any influence over Buffy.
Buffy sighed heavily. “Kendra has had some regrettable experiences with Xander, and I think I know why.”
“Regrettable experiences? What the heck is that supposed to mean?” Xander leaned forward.
Buffy grimaced, and rubbed her hands on her jeans, as if wiping them clean. “I’m guessing you don’t want everyone else to know what you’ve been up to, right, Xander?”
“I want to know what you’re talking about. You’re obviously accusing me of something, but I have no idea what.” Xander shot a malicious glare at Kendra. “What kind of crap have you been telling her?”
Giles gave a tired sigh. “Come now, Buffy. Even criminals know what crimes they are accused of. Clearly, Xander has no idea what you’re talking about. Just tell him and then we can clear up this misunderstanding.”
Buffy looked at Kendra. “Do you want to tell them?”
Kendra refused to raise her head, simply shaking it and gesturing for Buffy to continue.
Buffy cleared her throat. “Fine. I’ll say it then.” She put her hands in her pockets, as if trying to stop herself from reaching out to give Xander a smack. “Xander has been making advances towards Kendra.”
“What’s wrong with Xander liking Kendra?” Willow was sitting stiffly on Oz’s lap.
“Kendra made it clear that she didn’t welcome his advances. She asked him to stop, to leave her alone, and he told her to quit playing innocent and give it up.” Buffy was angry, and it showed.
Everyone looked at Xander in shock.
Willow leapt to her feet. “That’s not true. Xander would never do that.” Everyone else stayed still and silent.
For the first time, Kendra responded directly. “So, you’re saying I’m a liar?” She glared at Willow, though everyone could see the hurt in her eyes.
“No...no, I...,” Willow stuttered.
Xander hadn’t commented, and was instead staring at his hands, which were twisting in his lap.
Buffy decided it was time to take control of the conversation again. “As I was saying, I know what is causing this behaviour. The Changelings are here, and they are increasing their power by working their magic on humans.”
This was an area of interest to Giles. “Buffy, what exactly are the Changelings, and what is it that they do? More importantly, what do they have to do with Xander?”
“Patience, Giles.” Buffy smiled at that. Normally it was the other way around, with the Watcher asking Buffy to have patience. “The Changelings are invisible beings that feast on souls, slowly eating them and making the souled being weak, so they can’t resist their darker desires. I think that’s what’s happening to Xander. His inhibitions are on holiday, and his common sense is sleeping.”
Everyone was staring at the Light, mouths hanging open in shock.
“What? Why are you all staring at me like that?” Buffy lifted her arms, palms up, and shrugged. “Seriously, guys. What’s up?”
Willow gave an uncertain smile. “You sound just like Giles.”
Buffy gave Willow a wry smile and shrugged. “Giles, would you please take Xander home with you?” Giles nodded his acceptance. “Just for tonight. Kendra, we have to fulfill the prophecy about the Changelings and kick them out of our dimension.”
“Wait a minute. You’re saying I’m possessed?” Xander asked. “I’m not! I’d know if I was possessed and I can guarantee you that there are no little invisible guys in me.”
“Oh, so you’re saying that it’s perfectly normal for you to molest young girls?” Buffy looked at Xander curiously.
Xander looked away in embarrassment.
Buffy went to her weapons chest, where she pulled out a long, bone-handled knife. “Mom, do you have any white candles?”
“I think so. How many do you need, Honey?” Joyce went to a drawer in the china cabinet.
“Just four. Oh, and matches or a lighter, please.”
“What are you doing, Buffy?” Giles inquired.
“My job, Giles. Kendra and I need to perform a ritual together. After that, the Changelings shouldn’t be any trouble.” She accepted the candles from her mother.
“If you are planning to rid us of the Changelings tonight, then why must I keep Xander in my apartment until tomorrow?” The Watcher was not looking forward to having a houseguest for the evening.
“The ritual will evict all the Changelings from this dimension, but those that have already attached themselves to humans will take a bit longer to draw out.” Buffy went to the kitchen and took some spice jars out of a cupboard. “Mom, where are the matches?” Joyce handed her a fresh book from a cupboard over the stove. “I need a bowl too. One that I can use and then throw out.”
Giles had followed Buffy and Joyce into the kitchen, and was watching Buffy’s preparations. “Do you know what to do?” he asked her.
“Yes. I had the book for years, before it was destroyed in a fire.” The Light gathered all the items she had collected, and placed them in the bowl. “Kendra, let’s get started. We’ll set up the spell in the basement. We shouldn’t be interrupted there.”
In the basement, Buffy made a circle with salt, large enough for Kendra and her to sit in. She ignored Giles, who had followed the women down the stairs.
Buffy sat on her knees in the circle, with Kendra sitting opposite. Giving two of the four candles to the Slayer, Buffy mixed the spices in the bowl.
When she was ready, Buffy told Kendra to light the candles and place them on either side of the bowl, in the circle.
Once the two women were settled in the circle, Buffy held Kendra’s wrist over the bowl. Chanting steadily under her breath, she used the knife to cut both Kendra’s wrist and her own. Letting their wounds bleed into the bowl, Buffy continued the chanting until the circle was enveloped in a flash of light.
Allowing Kendra to withdraw her arm, Buffy quickly grabbed a cloth and passed it to the Slayer so she could tend to her wound. Then the Light grabbed a cloth for herself, and held it against her own damaged limb. “It’s done. Do you know what time it is, Giles?”
A quick look at his time piece, and the Watcher responded, “By my watch, a quarter to eleven.”
“Right then. Allowing for stragglers, this dimension should be free of the Changelings by eight tomorrow morning, at the latest. Now, who wants to help me clean up this mess?” the Light teased.
A Merry Chase.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
It was just before sundown, and Spike was waiting for his minions to return and report to him. Dalton had briefly shown up earlier, and had confirmed that the Watcher currently located in Sunnydale was, in fact, on his second Slayer. Many thought the dark-skinned girl currently slaying was his first, but Dalton had discovered that there had been a blonde in his care for a short time before the current Slayer arrived. Spike was hopeful that the few minions who had yet to return to the factory would have even more information.
Spike was now watching his telly to pass the time, and Dalton had been sent back out to gather more information. This time, Spike had sent him to the Sunnydale Memorial Hospital to look for signs of the mysterious Slayer from the future. The other minions might stumble upon useful information accidently, but Dalton was the only one that Spike really trusted for the jobs that required some finesse and intelligence.
An hour later, Dalton made his way to Spike’s side again. “Master, I bring news from the hospital. You were correct when you thought they might have information that would further your cause.” Dalton was happy to be the one to support his Master in this way. Many of the other vampires in the nest believed that the scholarly vamp served no purpose, but Spike had been quick to see the benefit of having another intellectual around. “Three days ago, a young blonde girl woke from a coma. That girl has the same name as the Slayer that was active before the current girl. It all fits, Master.” Dalton extended a piece of paper to the smiling vampire. “Here, Master. I have the girl’s address for you.”
“Well, now,” Spike drawled. “Isn’t that just...interesting. I’ll have to go check her out myself. Good work, Dalton. Now, go get yourself a bite to eat before the Slayer starts her patrol.”
Just then, Drusilla and Warren came into the room. They were walking unsteadily, and both were snickering, as if they shared a nasty secret. As they neared Spike, Drusilla broke away from her lover, and stepped between the blonde vampire and the television. She trailed a razor sharp nail down his cheek, and said, “My Spike is going to see the sun for the first time tonight.”
“The sun’s not out at night, Dru. You’d think you’d remember that after being a vampire for almost two hundred years.” Spike shook his head. Dru was getting nuttier by the day. He stood up, grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, and pulled it on. “I’m out of here. I’ve got things to do tonight.”
“The time is right. Mommy’s prince will soon be on the road to becoming effulgent.” Spike’s sire danced back over to Warren.
Dru’s giggle was the last sound that Spike heard, as he pulled the heavy door to the factory shut behind him. Ready for a bit of action and a stiff drink, the vampire headed straight for Willy’s Bar. By the time he felt lubricated enough to relax, several hours had passed.
------------------------------------
Giles left the Summers’ home with Xander in tow. Willow continued to beg Buffy for a Bronze night, even without Xander, until Oz finally put an end to it by offering to drive the rest of the gang home in his van.
When everyone was gone, Buffy smiled at Kendra. “Now that we’ve got that over with, how about some fun? Just the two of us.” Buffy grabbed a few stakes from her weapons chest and tossed one to the Slayer.
“I have to patrol,” Kendra objected. “I won’t just ignore my duty, even if that’s what the others think I do.”
“I would never ask you to neglect your Slayer duties, Kendra. What I am doing is asking you if you’d like help on your patrol. If there are two of us out there, we can do it in half the time, right? I’ll take north and west, and you take south and east. When we’re done, we meet up at the Bronze and blow off a little stress. What do you say?” Buffy smiled at Kendra.
“You really want to go patrol? I know you don’t have to anymore.” Kendra grabbed a few more stakes, distributing them strategically throughout her pockets.
Buffy laughed. “It’s true, I’m not required to slay anymore, but sometimes I still need a bit of rough and tumble to let off some stress.” Buffy smiled and shrugged. “That’s me, Rough and Tumble Girl. Come on, let’s go.” The Light grabbed her coat on the way out.
Once outside, Buffy paused for a moment, closing her eyes and reaching out with her otherworldly senses. There he was. She had always been able to tell when Spike was close. It was so good, just to feel him, to know that he was out there somewhere. The question now was, who would he follow when the pair of women split up? The Slayer, or the woman he probably thought was a walking Happy Meal? Eager for a bit of together time, the Slayer and the Light decided to patrol the first cemetery as a team.
As Spike approached the women, he could hear them talking. He tried to creep even closer, deciding that whatever they had to say was probably going to be interesting.
Kendra and Buffy kept chatting, even while they slayed. Kendra had lots of questions about slaying, and Buffy was happy to tell Kendra all about the progress Clem was making with the warehouse.
Following along at a discrete distance, Spike was mesmerized. The dark Slayer was okay, but not in the same category as the blonde that had so completely captivated him. The Slayer was beautiful, and she moved like she was dancing. He couldn’t stop watching her. Imagine that. Two Slayers at the same time. Maybe nobody would mind if he took one for himself then?
Buffy could feel Spike move closer, and that brought a soft smile to her face. Though she tried to remain realistic, her eyes shone with hope. Maybe he’s interested, now that he knows I’m not just a meal. All I can do is wait, and see what happens.
It wasn’t long before the women had worked their way across the cemetery, to the gates on the other side. They agreed to meet up at the Bronze in two hours, and then split up. Buffy headed left, and Kendra went down the road to the right.
Buffy was travelling slowly, trying to feel Spike’s whereabouts as she went. She was counting on him choosing to follow her. There. She closed her eyes in relief. He was following her down the road.
Buffy remembered a conversation with Spike, held a lifetime ago. The vampire had told her that the first time he had seen her as the Slayer, he hadn’t known whether to kill her or shag her. He’d admitted that he’d finally gone with killing her, just because he was with Dru at the time, and he wasn’t the kind of vamp that cheated.
Really, nothing had changed. Buffy needed to catch Spike’s interest, and do it in a way that ensured the vampire wasn’t hoping for her death. When she reached the next cemetery, Buffy took a few minutes to comb through her hair with her fingers. Then, certain she looked her best, she made a show out of each fight she found. She jumped a bit higher, rolled more elegantly, and really tried to put a bit more flair into all her fighting moves. She was dancing as much as she was fighting.
Spike was still on her trail when Buffy arrived at her warehouse. She happily greeted Clem, letting him show her what the building crew had been working on. With Buffy’s approval, the wrinkly demon then promised that he would hire extra workers the next day, in order to have the renovations done on schedule. Outside the building, within hearing range of Spike, Buffy told the contractor that she would be heading to LA in a few days, and that he should feel free to call her if needed.
On the roof of the building across the street, Spike was filing away the information Buffy was giving to the wrinkly demon. After listening in on the conversation at the warehouse, the vampire followed Buffy to the Bronze, and spent some time watching her dance with the other Slayer.
After a few songs, Buffy and Kendra decided to relax at a table and enjoy a soda or two. Buffy leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and relaxed, enjoying the feel of having Spike nearby.
“Are you okay, Buffy?” Kendra asked, concerned by Buffy’s silence.
Reluctant to lose contact with Spike, Buffy popped her eyes open and shook her head, focussing once more on Kendra. “Yeah. I’m good. Better than I’ve been in a long time.”
“Sorry. I was just wondering. You’ve been really quiet.” Kendra blushed and turned her attention to the dance floor.
Buffy placed a hand on the Slayer’s arm. “It’s okay to worry about your friends, Kendra.” She would have continued, but suddenly there was a large, brooding vampire standing at their table.
“Hello, Buffy. I wasn’t expecting to find you here tonight.”
“Angel.” Buffy didn’t let her surprise show, but inwardly she was a little annoyed with herself. She hadn’t felt the master vampire approach, and that was just sloppy. As wonderful though it was, to relax and enjoy the comfort of having Spike near, this was a dangerous time and Buffy needed to stay alert.
“May I sit down?” Angel asked.
“It’s a free country.” Buffy shrugged her shoulders, not even looking at Angel, and then ignored him. Instead, she turned to Kendra, and started a conversation about fashion accessories.
Spike smirked. He could tell Angelus was fuming, but the little blonde chit didn’t seem to have a problem with ignoring the broody vampire. Spurred on by her example, Spike decided that his grandsire was probably too distracted to sense him, and moved closer to the table the group was seated at. He didn’t know what was happening, but he really wanted to find out what was going on between Angelus and the blonde Slayer.
Angel waited for a lull in the music, and then leaned forward. “Buffy, can we talk?” he asked. The vampire didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like it. He was doing his best to hit Buffy with his puppy-dog eyes, and knew that girls often found his brooding countenance to be romantically attractive. Still, he was being all but ignored.
“I don’t see a need for it,” Buffy said dismissively. “My guess is, you’re not going to give me a choice though, are you? You’re going to just sit right there and act like a big, old, wet, broody blanket until we talk, aren’t you? There’s no win/win here. Either way you ruin my evening.”
The wrinkles on Angel’s brow got even deeper. “I don’t understand what’s going on here, Buffy. I thought we were becoming more than friends, but now you’re acting so childishly that I can’t even begin to guess what you want.” Angel cleared his throat, and then looked down. “I was hoping that we could continue to build on the relationship that we had before you were injured, but I think you have a lot of growing up to do before that can happen.”
Still refusing to look at him, the Light snapped back, “So not going to happen.”
“What? Buffy, everyone has to grow up eventually. I know it’s not always easy to understand adult relationships, but if you’d follow my lead...”
“Never,” Buffy responded brusquely. “I have absolutely no interest in being in a relationship with you, Angel.”
Angel was becoming very irritated. How dare she try to shut me out like that? I was told that our love was part of a prophecy. She doesn’t get to just walk away. She belongs to me, and the sooner she figures that out, the better things will be. He decided to try a little reverse-psychology on the temperamental blonde. “So, you don’t mind if I see other people then?”
Making eye contact for the first time since Angel sat down, Buffy gestured to the dance floor and responded, “Be my guest.”
Angel pushed his chair away from the table and marched away in anger.
“Aren’t you afraid of what he’s going to do?” Kendra asked.
“Not so much.” Buffy shrugged. “I know I can take him down, if I have to.” Buffy smiled at the thought of taking Angel down a peg or two. She had no doubt about her ability to school the older vampire.
Kendra watched Angel as he stalked out of the club. “He always seems to be hanging around, stalking me. I don’t think he believes I can do my job,” the Jamaican Slayer said.
Buffy gave a snort. “I know exactly what you mean.” She smiled at Kendra. “Believe me when I say that he’s the one with the problem, not you. Angel thinks the whole world revolves around him. I’ve never met someone more full of himself.”
An hour or so later, when the two women were making their way out of the Bronze, they noticed Angel in a corner booth, having drinks with Cordelia. The vampire made a big production out of turning away and ignoring Buffy and Kendra.
Spike hadn’t had so much fun in ages. He’d had such a good laugh, watching the petite blonde Slayer reject his grandsire, that he’d almost revealed himself a few times by accident. Now though, the girls were heading home to the house on Revello Drive. Knowing that the entertainment was over for the time being, Spike decided to return to the factory and check on Drusilla. She was his sire, after all.
Giles was tired of watching over Xander. Shortly after the pair had arrived at Giles’ apartment, Xander seemed to have some kind of emotional breakdown that had been very uncomfortable for the reserved Brit to witness. The boy had sat himself down on the couch and blubbered about his friends not liking him anymore, because of the Changeling possession. Then he blubbered about fighting with his girlfriend. Then he blubbered because Buffy didn’t have to slay. Basically, he just blubbered and whined for over an hour. At first, Giles had tried to provide some moral support, and had loaned Xander his hanky. The Watcher very quickly gave up on that plan though, and instead tossed Xander a roll of toilet paper to wipe his nose with, before retreating to the blessed silence of his bedroom.
When morning arrived, Giles was quick to suggest to Xander that the men relocate themselves to the school library. Not only did the school provide a venue for the Scooby meeting planned for that afternoon, but the stacks gave Giles somewhere to hide, in case Xander became emotionally overwrought again. To give Giles credit, he did stay at the front counter, supervising Xander, until Willow arrived. Like a horse out of the gate though, as soon as the young witch dropped her backpack, the Watcher announced he had some urgent filing to do, and disappeared.
Willow spent most of the morning browsing the internet, looking for books that might be used to translate more of the volume of prophecy. Xander pretended to look through an old reference book, but he had a comic book hidden inside the heavy cover. Both teens kept sneaking looks at each other, when they thought nobody else would be looking. Xander was still afraid there would be repercussions from his behaviour, and was hoping Willow would let him off with a simple lecture. Willow, thanks to a bit of creative thinking on Giles’ part, was under the impression that her best friend didn’t really remember anything that went on when he was under the influence of the Changelings.
Suddenly, Giles came out of the stacks, with a book right under his nose, as if he was having difficulty seeing the words. More likely, having caught a few of the glances between the teens, Giles was trying to ensure the printed words were the only thing in his range of vision. “Willow, did you pass the message about the meeting on to the other Scoobies? They should have been here by now.” Giles carefully placed a finger between the pages of the book. He didn’t want to lose his place and have to start the page over again.
“I did, Giles. I told them all. Well, not all, all, because Angel doesn’t go to school. Oh, and because he’s all super-old, and he’s a vampire and he can’t come out during the day. But I told all the Scoobies that go to school. And Angel wouldn’t come today anyway, because of the...you know...flaming thing.” The witch’s babbling seemed to just trickle off.
At that moment, the door to the library opened. The small group looked up with expectation.
They were under attack. A nasty, little troll entered the room, heading directly for the librarian. “Mr. Giles! Why are there students here?” Principal Snyder demanded. Without waiting for a reply, he turned to glare at Willow and Xander. “Well? Why aren’t you in class?”
“Ah, yes. These two have the day off, and have volunteered to assist me with carding and checking out our library collection.” Giles smoothly lied to the principal.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I doubt Mr. Harris even knows his alphabet. And Ms. Rosenburg? Clearly, she’s playing computer games, instead of getting some work done.” Snyder stepped closer to the teens.
Again, Giles drew Snyder’s attention. “Willow is very adept with computers, so I have taken this opportunity to get her to begin cataloguing our collection on the computer. Once she has completed her task, finding books should be a very simplified process.”
“I see.” The principal looked disappointed. Clearly he had hoped to catch them in some misdeed. It was clear the nasty little man hadn’t given up though. Both teens knew that Snyder would be watching them closely in the future. “Mr. Giles. My office. Now,” the principal demanded rudely.
Giles nodded, and with a quick warning glance at Willow and Xander, followed Snyder out of the library.
It wasn’t long before Willow’s nerves and curiosity got the better of her. With her eyes on the computer, she asked Xander, “Was it just because of the Changelings that you liked me? Do you still like me? You know...that way?” When she didn’t get an answer, she looked up. Xander wasn’t in his seat. For a moment she thought he had left, but then she felt his hands on her shoulders. Gently but surely, he forced her to stand up and turn to face him. She looked into his soft, brown eyes.
Working hard to perpetuate his earlier lie, Xander moved his hands up to frame Willow’s face. “I’m sorry, Willow. I don’t remember everything, but I know that it wasn’t because of the Changelings. I’ve liked you for a long time. I still do.” Then he leaned forward, and kissed her. At first, he carefully tested her, keeping the kiss very gentle and undemanding, but when she didn’t move away, he deepened their embrace.
It took a few moments for Willow to grasp the reality of what was happening. When she did, she put her hands on Xander’s chest, but didn’t push him away. Xander felt Willow’s grip on his shirt, and knew that she was willingly kissing him. He pressed a little more, and then she opened her mouth a little. Xander immediately took that as an invitation to taste more deeply, and lowered his hands to place his arms around her waist, even as his tongue crept into Willow’s mouth.
“What the Hell is going on here?”
The best friends had been so occupied with each other that they hadn’t heard the library doors open. They separated immediately, both of them looking shocked and guilty. A quick glance at the doorway revealed their worst nightmare come true. Cordelia, Oz, and Kendra were inadvertent witnesses to their momentary infidelity.
It was just before sundown, and Spike was waiting for his minions to return and report to him. Dalton had briefly shown up earlier, and had confirmed that the Watcher currently located in Sunnydale was, in fact, on his second Slayer. Many thought the dark-skinned girl currently slaying was his first, but Dalton had discovered that there had been a blonde in his care for a short time before the current Slayer arrived. Spike was hopeful that the few minions who had yet to return to the factory would have even more information.
Spike was now watching his telly to pass the time, and Dalton had been sent back out to gather more information. This time, Spike had sent him to the Sunnydale Memorial Hospital to look for signs of the mysterious Slayer from the future. The other minions might stumble upon useful information accidently, but Dalton was the only one that Spike really trusted for the jobs that required some finesse and intelligence.
An hour later, Dalton made his way to Spike’s side again. “Master, I bring news from the hospital. You were correct when you thought they might have information that would further your cause.” Dalton was happy to be the one to support his Master in this way. Many of the other vampires in the nest believed that the scholarly vamp served no purpose, but Spike had been quick to see the benefit of having another intellectual around. “Three days ago, a young blonde girl woke from a coma. That girl has the same name as the Slayer that was active before the current girl. It all fits, Master.” Dalton extended a piece of paper to the smiling vampire. “Here, Master. I have the girl’s address for you.”
“Well, now,” Spike drawled. “Isn’t that just...interesting. I’ll have to go check her out myself. Good work, Dalton. Now, go get yourself a bite to eat before the Slayer starts her patrol.”
Just then, Drusilla and Warren came into the room. They were walking unsteadily, and both were snickering, as if they shared a nasty secret. As they neared Spike, Drusilla broke away from her lover, and stepped between the blonde vampire and the television. She trailed a razor sharp nail down his cheek, and said, “My Spike is going to see the sun for the first time tonight.”
“The sun’s not out at night, Dru. You’d think you’d remember that after being a vampire for almost two hundred years.” Spike shook his head. Dru was getting nuttier by the day. He stood up, grabbed his coat from the back of his chair, and pulled it on. “I’m out of here. I’ve got things to do tonight.”
“The time is right. Mommy’s prince will soon be on the road to becoming effulgent.” Spike’s sire danced back over to Warren.
Dru’s giggle was the last sound that Spike heard, as he pulled the heavy door to the factory shut behind him. Ready for a bit of action and a stiff drink, the vampire headed straight for Willy’s Bar. By the time he felt lubricated enough to relax, several hours had passed.
------------------------------------
Giles left the Summers’ home with Xander in tow. Willow continued to beg Buffy for a Bronze night, even without Xander, until Oz finally put an end to it by offering to drive the rest of the gang home in his van.
When everyone was gone, Buffy smiled at Kendra. “Now that we’ve got that over with, how about some fun? Just the two of us.” Buffy grabbed a few stakes from her weapons chest and tossed one to the Slayer.
“I have to patrol,” Kendra objected. “I won’t just ignore my duty, even if that’s what the others think I do.”
“I would never ask you to neglect your Slayer duties, Kendra. What I am doing is asking you if you’d like help on your patrol. If there are two of us out there, we can do it in half the time, right? I’ll take north and west, and you take south and east. When we’re done, we meet up at the Bronze and blow off a little stress. What do you say?” Buffy smiled at Kendra.
“You really want to go patrol? I know you don’t have to anymore.” Kendra grabbed a few more stakes, distributing them strategically throughout her pockets.
Buffy laughed. “It’s true, I’m not required to slay anymore, but sometimes I still need a bit of rough and tumble to let off some stress.” Buffy smiled and shrugged. “That’s me, Rough and Tumble Girl. Come on, let’s go.” The Light grabbed her coat on the way out.
Once outside, Buffy paused for a moment, closing her eyes and reaching out with her otherworldly senses. There he was. She had always been able to tell when Spike was close. It was so good, just to feel him, to know that he was out there somewhere. The question now was, who would he follow when the pair of women split up? The Slayer, or the woman he probably thought was a walking Happy Meal? Eager for a bit of together time, the Slayer and the Light decided to patrol the first cemetery as a team.
As Spike approached the women, he could hear them talking. He tried to creep even closer, deciding that whatever they had to say was probably going to be interesting.
Kendra and Buffy kept chatting, even while they slayed. Kendra had lots of questions about slaying, and Buffy was happy to tell Kendra all about the progress Clem was making with the warehouse.
Following along at a discrete distance, Spike was mesmerized. The dark Slayer was okay, but not in the same category as the blonde that had so completely captivated him. The Slayer was beautiful, and she moved like she was dancing. He couldn’t stop watching her. Imagine that. Two Slayers at the same time. Maybe nobody would mind if he took one for himself then?
Buffy could feel Spike move closer, and that brought a soft smile to her face. Though she tried to remain realistic, her eyes shone with hope. Maybe he’s interested, now that he knows I’m not just a meal. All I can do is wait, and see what happens.
It wasn’t long before the women had worked their way across the cemetery, to the gates on the other side. They agreed to meet up at the Bronze in two hours, and then split up. Buffy headed left, and Kendra went down the road to the right.
Buffy was travelling slowly, trying to feel Spike’s whereabouts as she went. She was counting on him choosing to follow her. There. She closed her eyes in relief. He was following her down the road.
Buffy remembered a conversation with Spike, held a lifetime ago. The vampire had told her that the first time he had seen her as the Slayer, he hadn’t known whether to kill her or shag her. He’d admitted that he’d finally gone with killing her, just because he was with Dru at the time, and he wasn’t the kind of vamp that cheated.
Really, nothing had changed. Buffy needed to catch Spike’s interest, and do it in a way that ensured the vampire wasn’t hoping for her death. When she reached the next cemetery, Buffy took a few minutes to comb through her hair with her fingers. Then, certain she looked her best, she made a show out of each fight she found. She jumped a bit higher, rolled more elegantly, and really tried to put a bit more flair into all her fighting moves. She was dancing as much as she was fighting.
Spike was still on her trail when Buffy arrived at her warehouse. She happily greeted Clem, letting him show her what the building crew had been working on. With Buffy’s approval, the wrinkly demon then promised that he would hire extra workers the next day, in order to have the renovations done on schedule. Outside the building, within hearing range of Spike, Buffy told the contractor that she would be heading to LA in a few days, and that he should feel free to call her if needed.
On the roof of the building across the street, Spike was filing away the information Buffy was giving to the wrinkly demon. After listening in on the conversation at the warehouse, the vampire followed Buffy to the Bronze, and spent some time watching her dance with the other Slayer.
After a few songs, Buffy and Kendra decided to relax at a table and enjoy a soda or two. Buffy leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and relaxed, enjoying the feel of having Spike nearby.
“Are you okay, Buffy?” Kendra asked, concerned by Buffy’s silence.
Reluctant to lose contact with Spike, Buffy popped her eyes open and shook her head, focussing once more on Kendra. “Yeah. I’m good. Better than I’ve been in a long time.”
“Sorry. I was just wondering. You’ve been really quiet.” Kendra blushed and turned her attention to the dance floor.
Buffy placed a hand on the Slayer’s arm. “It’s okay to worry about your friends, Kendra.” She would have continued, but suddenly there was a large, brooding vampire standing at their table.
“Hello, Buffy. I wasn’t expecting to find you here tonight.”
“Angel.” Buffy didn’t let her surprise show, but inwardly she was a little annoyed with herself. She hadn’t felt the master vampire approach, and that was just sloppy. As wonderful though it was, to relax and enjoy the comfort of having Spike near, this was a dangerous time and Buffy needed to stay alert.
“May I sit down?” Angel asked.
“It’s a free country.” Buffy shrugged her shoulders, not even looking at Angel, and then ignored him. Instead, she turned to Kendra, and started a conversation about fashion accessories.
Spike smirked. He could tell Angelus was fuming, but the little blonde chit didn’t seem to have a problem with ignoring the broody vampire. Spurred on by her example, Spike decided that his grandsire was probably too distracted to sense him, and moved closer to the table the group was seated at. He didn’t know what was happening, but he really wanted to find out what was going on between Angelus and the blonde Slayer.
Angel waited for a lull in the music, and then leaned forward. “Buffy, can we talk?” he asked. The vampire didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t like it. He was doing his best to hit Buffy with his puppy-dog eyes, and knew that girls often found his brooding countenance to be romantically attractive. Still, he was being all but ignored.
“I don’t see a need for it,” Buffy said dismissively. “My guess is, you’re not going to give me a choice though, are you? You’re going to just sit right there and act like a big, old, wet, broody blanket until we talk, aren’t you? There’s no win/win here. Either way you ruin my evening.”
The wrinkles on Angel’s brow got even deeper. “I don’t understand what’s going on here, Buffy. I thought we were becoming more than friends, but now you’re acting so childishly that I can’t even begin to guess what you want.” Angel cleared his throat, and then looked down. “I was hoping that we could continue to build on the relationship that we had before you were injured, but I think you have a lot of growing up to do before that can happen.”
Still refusing to look at him, the Light snapped back, “So not going to happen.”
“What? Buffy, everyone has to grow up eventually. I know it’s not always easy to understand adult relationships, but if you’d follow my lead...”
“Never,” Buffy responded brusquely. “I have absolutely no interest in being in a relationship with you, Angel.”
Angel was becoming very irritated. How dare she try to shut me out like that? I was told that our love was part of a prophecy. She doesn’t get to just walk away. She belongs to me, and the sooner she figures that out, the better things will be. He decided to try a little reverse-psychology on the temperamental blonde. “So, you don’t mind if I see other people then?”
Making eye contact for the first time since Angel sat down, Buffy gestured to the dance floor and responded, “Be my guest.”
Angel pushed his chair away from the table and marched away in anger.
“Aren’t you afraid of what he’s going to do?” Kendra asked.
“Not so much.” Buffy shrugged. “I know I can take him down, if I have to.” Buffy smiled at the thought of taking Angel down a peg or two. She had no doubt about her ability to school the older vampire.
Kendra watched Angel as he stalked out of the club. “He always seems to be hanging around, stalking me. I don’t think he believes I can do my job,” the Jamaican Slayer said.
Buffy gave a snort. “I know exactly what you mean.” She smiled at Kendra. “Believe me when I say that he’s the one with the problem, not you. Angel thinks the whole world revolves around him. I’ve never met someone more full of himself.”
An hour or so later, when the two women were making their way out of the Bronze, they noticed Angel in a corner booth, having drinks with Cordelia. The vampire made a big production out of turning away and ignoring Buffy and Kendra.
Spike hadn’t had so much fun in ages. He’d had such a good laugh, watching the petite blonde Slayer reject his grandsire, that he’d almost revealed himself a few times by accident. Now though, the girls were heading home to the house on Revello Drive. Knowing that the entertainment was over for the time being, Spike decided to return to the factory and check on Drusilla. She was his sire, after all.
Giles was tired of watching over Xander. Shortly after the pair had arrived at Giles’ apartment, Xander seemed to have some kind of emotional breakdown that had been very uncomfortable for the reserved Brit to witness. The boy had sat himself down on the couch and blubbered about his friends not liking him anymore, because of the Changeling possession. Then he blubbered about fighting with his girlfriend. Then he blubbered because Buffy didn’t have to slay. Basically, he just blubbered and whined for over an hour. At first, Giles had tried to provide some moral support, and had loaned Xander his hanky. The Watcher very quickly gave up on that plan though, and instead tossed Xander a roll of toilet paper to wipe his nose with, before retreating to the blessed silence of his bedroom.
When morning arrived, Giles was quick to suggest to Xander that the men relocate themselves to the school library. Not only did the school provide a venue for the Scooby meeting planned for that afternoon, but the stacks gave Giles somewhere to hide, in case Xander became emotionally overwrought again. To give Giles credit, he did stay at the front counter, supervising Xander, until Willow arrived. Like a horse out of the gate though, as soon as the young witch dropped her backpack, the Watcher announced he had some urgent filing to do, and disappeared.
Willow spent most of the morning browsing the internet, looking for books that might be used to translate more of the volume of prophecy. Xander pretended to look through an old reference book, but he had a comic book hidden inside the heavy cover. Both teens kept sneaking looks at each other, when they thought nobody else would be looking. Xander was still afraid there would be repercussions from his behaviour, and was hoping Willow would let him off with a simple lecture. Willow, thanks to a bit of creative thinking on Giles’ part, was under the impression that her best friend didn’t really remember anything that went on when he was under the influence of the Changelings.
Suddenly, Giles came out of the stacks, with a book right under his nose, as if he was having difficulty seeing the words. More likely, having caught a few of the glances between the teens, Giles was trying to ensure the printed words were the only thing in his range of vision. “Willow, did you pass the message about the meeting on to the other Scoobies? They should have been here by now.” Giles carefully placed a finger between the pages of the book. He didn’t want to lose his place and have to start the page over again.
“I did, Giles. I told them all. Well, not all, all, because Angel doesn’t go to school. Oh, and because he’s all super-old, and he’s a vampire and he can’t come out during the day. But I told all the Scoobies that go to school. And Angel wouldn’t come today anyway, because of the...you know...flaming thing.” The witch’s babbling seemed to just trickle off.
At that moment, the door to the library opened. The small group looked up with expectation.
They were under attack. A nasty, little troll entered the room, heading directly for the librarian. “Mr. Giles! Why are there students here?” Principal Snyder demanded. Without waiting for a reply, he turned to glare at Willow and Xander. “Well? Why aren’t you in class?”
“Ah, yes. These two have the day off, and have volunteered to assist me with carding and checking out our library collection.” Giles smoothly lied to the principal.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I doubt Mr. Harris even knows his alphabet. And Ms. Rosenburg? Clearly, she’s playing computer games, instead of getting some work done.” Snyder stepped closer to the teens.
Again, Giles drew Snyder’s attention. “Willow is very adept with computers, so I have taken this opportunity to get her to begin cataloguing our collection on the computer. Once she has completed her task, finding books should be a very simplified process.”
“I see.” The principal looked disappointed. Clearly he had hoped to catch them in some misdeed. It was clear the nasty little man hadn’t given up though. Both teens knew that Snyder would be watching them closely in the future. “Mr. Giles. My office. Now,” the principal demanded rudely.
Giles nodded, and with a quick warning glance at Willow and Xander, followed Snyder out of the library.
It wasn’t long before Willow’s nerves and curiosity got the better of her. With her eyes on the computer, she asked Xander, “Was it just because of the Changelings that you liked me? Do you still like me? You know...that way?” When she didn’t get an answer, she looked up. Xander wasn’t in his seat. For a moment she thought he had left, but then she felt his hands on her shoulders. Gently but surely, he forced her to stand up and turn to face him. She looked into his soft, brown eyes.
Working hard to perpetuate his earlier lie, Xander moved his hands up to frame Willow’s face. “I’m sorry, Willow. I don’t remember everything, but I know that it wasn’t because of the Changelings. I’ve liked you for a long time. I still do.” Then he leaned forward, and kissed her. At first, he carefully tested her, keeping the kiss very gentle and undemanding, but when she didn’t move away, he deepened their embrace.
It took a few moments for Willow to grasp the reality of what was happening. When she did, she put her hands on Xander’s chest, but didn’t push him away. Xander felt Willow’s grip on his shirt, and knew that she was willingly kissing him. He pressed a little more, and then she opened her mouth a little. Xander immediately took that as an invitation to taste more deeply, and lowered his hands to place his arms around her waist, even as his tongue crept into Willow’s mouth.
“What the Hell is going on here?”
The best friends had been so occupied with each other that they hadn’t heard the library doors open. They separated immediately, both of them looking shocked and guilty. A quick glance at the doorway revealed their worst nightmare come true. Cordelia, Oz, and Kendra were inadvertent witnesses to their momentary infidelity.
Bad Touchies.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
“And one more time, just for clarity. What the Hell is going on here?” Cordelia turned from one friend, to the other. “Xander? Willow?”
Oz gave Willow a wounded look, before silently turning to leave.
“Oz!” Willow begged. “I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.” She ran after him, trying to get him to listen to her, and almost colliding with Buffy as she left the library.
“Hey guys. What’s up? Willow almost mowed me over on her way out,” Buffy commented as she stepped into the room behind Kendra.
It was Cordelia, who finally answered, “We just caught Willow and Xander making out.” She threw a look of disgust at Xander, but it didn’t quite hide the hurt in her eyes. “How could you?”
Xander opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He tried again though, attempting to find the words to defend his behaviour, gesturing with his hands when the words couldn’t be found.
Cordelia shook her head sadly. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. This just confirms what I’ve suspected for a while now. I am so over you, Alexander LaVelle Harris.” She turned to the stairs leading down from the stacks. “Angel. There you are. I had a great time with you last night. Why don’t we try for a repeat tonight?” The flashy brunette cheerleader wanted to tempt the broody vampire, in part to stroke her ego after the humiliating breakup, and also to prove that she could do much better than Xander.
Angel had arrived in the middle of the altercation between Cordelia and Xander, and wasn’t quite certain what was happening. After a moment of thought, he decided that he might be able to use the situation to his advantage. Maybe Buffy just needs a wake-up call. When she sees me with someone else, she’ll realize how close she’s come to losing me, and she’ll smarten up and recognize that she’s my other half. Angel half-smiled to himself. “I’d like that, Cordelia.” He went to Cordelia and took her hand, lifting it and placing a kiss on her knuckles. He glanced at Buffy under his lashes, looking for any signs of jealousy. He was disappointed when he found none. Fine then, I’ll just have to take things a step further.
Ignoring the vampire, Buffy stepped in front of Cordelia. “Just don’t sleep with him. Sex with Angel leads to nothing but badness.”
“What? You bitch! You figure because you don’t want him, nobody else should have him either?” Cordelia turned to Buffy, hands on her hips.
“Not likely, Cordelia. You’re welcome to him. Just don’t sleep with him for now. Wait until I’ve gathered some supplies I can only get in LA. Then we can secure his soul, and you can sleep with him all you want. If you guys have sex before then, you’re going to release Angelus.” Buffy wanted to make sure that Cordelia got the point.
“I don’t believe you. Angel has a soul. He’s good, and you’re just a jealous bitch.” Cordelia stormed out of the library, dragging Angel with her.
“Well, that went well...not.” Buffy shook her head in disbelief.
Buffy and Kendra moved to the table.
Xander could see trouble coming, and was ready to leave before it found him.
Recognizing the signs of his imminent departure, Buffy stopped the teen from leaving. “Sit down, Xander. We have some things to discuss. Relax and order a drink. We’ll wait a bit and see if the others return. At the very least, Giles should be present.”
It wasn’t long before Oz and Willow returned to the table, sitting as far as possible from each other. Willow’s eyes were red and swollen, and Oz was deliberately ignoring the pleading looks she sent his way.
When Giles returned, he looked around the table. “Where are the others?”
“You missed the latest developments,” Buffy informed Giles, as she looked from Xander to Willow.
“What is going on?” Giles looked at Willow’s tear-filled eyes and Xander’s defeated posture. “Will someone please speak up, or do you expect me to guess?”
Buffy tried to look up at Giles, who had approached the table from behind her. “Why don’t you sit down, Giles? Trying to look at you is giving me a crick in my neck.”
Giles looked taken aback for a moment, but then obeyed Buffy’s request. “Now, would you please tell me what has happened, before I lose my temper?”
“Are you going to tell him?” Buffy looked at Xander. He didn’t react, so she tossed a wadded up napkin at his head and then repeated the question. The teen shook his head, refusing to make eye contact or to speak. The Light then turned to Willow, who shook her head before Buffy could even ask. “Look guys, he needs to know, and if you’re not going to tell him, then I’ll have to.” Both teens stayed slumped in their chairs, eyes on the table. They didn’t dare make eye contact with anyone in the group, especially the person they were just caught kissing a short time before.
“Fine. I guess it’s up to me again, which is so unfair. This doesn’t even have anything to do with me,” Buffy sighed. “Willow and Xander kissed.” She looked accusingly at her two shame-faced friends. “The group walked in on them. Oz and Cordy saw everything. There was some yelling, and then Queen C stormed out of here with Angel in tow.”
Giles had taken off his glasses, and was pinching the bridge of his nose. “What on Earth were you two thinking?” he asked, as he looked from Xander to Willow.
To the relief of the couple currently under scrutiny, Buffy chose to step in. “The why doesn’t really matter right now. I’m not so sure I want to hear it, anyway. What matters is that Cordelia is trying to date Angel again.”
“Oh, quite right,” the Watcher replied with a nod. “Of course, you don’t want him to be with another woman if he’s your other half.” He polished his glasses before he placed them back on his nose.
“I didn’t say he was my other half. My problem is, if she sleeps with him, she’ll set Angelus loose. I tried to warn her, but I know she thought I was just being jealous. You need to get her to listen to you.” Buffy was tapping her fingers on the table in frustration. “Just get her to keep her legs together until I get back from LA. After that, she can sleep with him as often as she wants.”
At first horrified that he was having a conversation about the teens he knew and their potential sex life, Giles forgot his embarrassment as he listened to Buffy. “I don’t understand, Buffy. Will you please explain what you mean about Cordelia releasing Angelus?”
“Oops. Sorry, Giles. I’m used to people knowing what I’m talking about, so I just jumped over a few things. Angel’s soul is a curse. If he experiences a moment of true happiness, it’s all over. Understand now?” Buffy waited for Giles to answer.
Giles was frowning. “I’m afraid not.”
Buffy sighed deeply. “A curse can be broken, correct?”
Giles nodded.
“Angel’s soul is a curse. If he sleeps with someone, there’s a chance he could experience a moment of pure happiness. If that happens, the curse will be broken, and Angelus will be loose in Sunnydale.” Buffy was getting tired. She had a sneaking suspicion that Merrick would have been able to speak Watcher with Giles, and get the information across much faster. Too bad the other Watcher would have drawn unwanted attention on the school grounds.
“I understand the curse, and how it works. What I don’t understand is how any of that information will change once you make a trip to LA? You’re being quite confusing,” Giles confessed.
Buffy closed her eyes. She needed to find a way to tell them what she was going to do, without giving away the fact that she was capable of doing magic. Sure, they’d seen her perform the spell to banish the Changelings, but that could be explained away as part of the prophecy. Finally, she decided to just dodge the issue. “I have some business in LA before preparations to secure Angel’s soul can be made. Once everything is done, the curse will be removed and his soul will be anchored.”
After Giles’ nod of understanding, Buffy looked at the others seated at the table. They were all staring at her, with varying degrees of astonishment on their faces. Xander, in particular, had a look in his eyes that she recognized. It was a mixture of hope and lust, and it turned her stomach. He hid it immediately when he noticed her shiver of revulsion. Unfortunately, she recognized his second look too.
“So, the Evil Dead isn’t your other half?” Xander asked, maliciously. “I guess that means his Get Out of Jail Free card has now expired. Can I do the staking?”
“Just give it a rest, Xander. Angel is not going to be staked. He works for the Powers that Be, and there’ll be no risk once his soul is anchored. Since when do we run around killing the good guys?” Buffy gave the bloodthirsty teen a hard stare.
Damn it. Why can’t I just keep my big mouth shut? Now she’s pissed at me, and if Tall, Dark, and Gloomy accidently ends up in someone’s dust-buster, they’re all going to be pointing a finger at me. “Sorry, Buff. You’re right,” Xander apologized, attempting to save face. The apology wasn’t worth much though, because everyone there knew he didn’t mean it.
Buffy stared at Xander for a few moments, before turning to Giles. “I’m counting on you to keep Angel and Cordelia out of the same bed.” The Watcher blushed profusely, his English sense of propriety horrified by a public conversation about sex. “That’s not the reason for today’s meeting though. I need the truth, Giles. Did Xander display any odd behaviour when he was with you last night or this morning?”
“Yes, of course. Moving on.” There was still a pink tinge to Giles’ cheeks, and his glasses were off so he could avoid eye contact with any of the Scoobies present. “Since you ask, yes, Xander wasn’t his usual self last night. At one point, he began crying, and seemed quite inconsolable. I have no idea, however, what brought the episode on.”
“Xander, why did you start crying?” Buffy looked intently at the teen.
“I...I don’t really know,” he answered with a low mumble. The group was barely able to hear him, and he kept his face down and his eyes hidden.
Buffy knew Xander was lying, but before she could reveal his duplicity to the group, Giles spoke up, “When we spoke this morning, Xander told me that he couldn’t remember much of what has happened over the past month. He said he’s been having blackouts. I suspect the time he cannot recollect is when the Changelings were in control of his actions.”
“Really, Giles? Is that really what you think has happened?” Buffy tried to force the Watcher to maintain eye contact with her, but he avoided the confrontation by cleaning his glasses.
“Historically, it has been well documented that people who are possessed rarely remember any of their actions, once their unwanted companion has been evicted and they have been freed from its influence,” Giles lied, very convincingly.
Buffy closed her eyes, and clenched her teeth, keeping her hands locked between her thighs so that she didn’t wrap them around Giles’ scrawny British neck. “Are you sure about that?” Watcher and Whelp remained steadfastly silent. “Xander? Giles? Speak up, guys. We’re all waiting to hear your answer.”
“Yes. Qu...Quite certain,” Giles stuttered.
“Yeah. I wish I could remember, Buff, but it’s just a big blur,” Xander tried to convince her.
Pushed beyond his limits, Giles left the table to put the kettle on for tea. He needed a few minutes alone, so he could continue to convince himself he was doing right by lying to Buffy and the Scoobies. He just didn’t want to believe the alternative though, which was that Xander was not the funny, sweet, harmless guy he appeared to be.
Meanwhile, back at the table, Willow was starting to feel offended on Xander and Giles’ behalf. “Why do you keep asking them the same question, Buffy? They’ve both said that Xander doesn’t remember, and if they say so, then it’s true. Xander wouldn’t lie to us, and Giles knows all about this kind of stuff.” Willow looked from Buffy’s grim face, to Xander’s bowed head, and then over to Giles, preparing his tea behind the library counter.
“I’m not trying to pick on anyone, Willow. You need to remember, though, that I’ve lived through all this before, and that I’m the Eternal Light. That prophecy book that you guys have been working on so hard? I had it for a long time. Long enough to translate it, and to know all there is to know about the Changelings.” Buffy shot a look of contempt at Xander, and then at Giles, who was returning to the table. “When, or if, you two come to your senses and decide to start telling the truth, you can get in touch with my through my mom.” She touched Kendra’s arm, and they stood up, ready to leave. “I’d also advise you to stay away from Kendra. I doubt she’ll want anything to do with either of you anyway. Your lies have given Xander an easy way out, so that he doesn’t have to accept any responsibility for the way he treated my friend here. Think about that, while you try to remember exactly where you heard that people lose their memory when they’re possessed.”
No one spoke for several minutes. Willow was stunned by what she had just heard, and what Buffy was implying. She turned to her life-long friend, disbelief on her face. “I believed you. How could you lie like that? To me? To Kendra?”
“I’m afraid that...well, you see...the falsity, I’m afraid that was my suggestion.” Giles was energetically polishing his lenses again, but nothing was going to get him out of this one. “I thought it best, to spare you the pain, and to keep your friendship intact.”
“Oh, so you think that our friendship is based on lies? Lies aren’t good for friendships, Giles,” she said, with tears in her eyes. Turning to her old friend, she wiped at her face. “I don’t even know you anymore, Xander. How could you do this?” Willow was even more horrified when she realized that she had jeopardized her relationship with Oz for a guy that was perfectly willing to lie to her face, and pass the buck when it came to accepting responsibility for his actions. “I can’t do this right now. Oz and I need some time alone.” She got up, pulling Oz with her. “No wonder Buffy wasn’t thrilled to see us all again. You’re going to push her away for good, if you keep this up. We’ve got a second chance, and you guys are both going to ruin it quickly.”
As the pair of men remaining watched the door shut behind the redhead, they realized the truth of her words. They had already messed up once, and they knew Buffy wouldn’t give them many more chances.
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Buffy and Kendra made it out of the school without running into Snyder. They walked home, arm in arm, quietly talking about what had happened in the library. Kendra couldn’t understand how Willow could believe Xander over Buffy, when she was the one with knowledge of the future.
Buffy explained to Kendra that Willow had known Xander since kindergarten, and that made it harder for her to believe that her friend would lie to her. After that, the girls started on other relationships, and the conversation naturally moved to Merrick and Joyce. Both girls agreed that Merrick would be a great guy for Joyce to have around, and decided to do what they could to support that relationship.
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Willow and Oz stopped at the Espresso Pump for take-out, and then drove over to a quiet park, where they sat and talked for hours. They discussed why Willow had kissed Xander, and the attraction that she felt for her childhood friend. They also discussed their relationship, and the way they felt about each other. In the end, they agreed that they would give their relationship another go, but that they would take things slow for a while.
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Kendra and Buffy continued to chat after they arrived back at the house. In fact, they were still chatting when Kendra finally went to bed that night, ensuring that they had thoroughly covered all things Xander, Willow, and Oz. After Kendra went to bed, Buffy gave Clem a call, looking for an update on the construction team’s progress. She also wanted to pass along a few more instructions. It seemed like she came up with one or two new modifications every day. This time, Buffy also asked Clem if she could borrow a few tools. Clem was probably scratching his head, wondering what use she would have for them, but he agreed to loan her his pickaxe and a spade.
Once Buffy secured the tools, she asked her mother if she could borrow the car for a few days. At first, Joyce tried to get Buffy to use a taxi. To get Joyce’s cooperation, Buffy had to tell her mom that she was going on a secret mission, and that if she couldn’t borrow the car, she’d just rent one. Her mother eventually agreed, but only after checking to see that Buffy actually had a current driver’s license. Finally, with a hug from Joyce, and the spare set of car keys, Buffy was off on a treasure hunt.
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Spike woke to see Drusilla leaning over him. “And so it has begun. You are starting to swim in the sunshine. Bad doggie. Grrrr.” Dru bared her teeth and used her hands like claws, growling as if she were about to attack him. “The stars told me, but some part of me refused to believe it until now. I am taking your plate away from the table. No tea and cake for my prince ever again.”
Spike remained still, looking at his Sire with astonishment. He didn’t understand what she was saying, and he was a little worried that she was going to attack him. He wouldn’t hurt his wicked plum, even to defend himself.
Instead of scratching him, Drusilla slowly trailed a nail down his cheek. Spike was really beginning to feel ill at ease. He sat up, sheet crumpling around his hips. Dru refused to remove her finger, instead trailing her nail down his chest, over his abs, and along the treasure trail that disappeared under the sheet. Suddenly, she straightened up, gave his erection a pat, and then turned to glide out of the room.
Pausing for a moment at the doorway, Drusilla turned her head, looking at Spike over her shoulder. “You were always destined for the Light, my Childe. The pixies told me to turn you, so that you could fulfill your destiny and finally meet the sunshine.”
“And one more time, just for clarity. What the Hell is going on here?” Cordelia turned from one friend, to the other. “Xander? Willow?”
Oz gave Willow a wounded look, before silently turning to leave.
“Oz!” Willow begged. “I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.” She ran after him, trying to get him to listen to her, and almost colliding with Buffy as she left the library.
“Hey guys. What’s up? Willow almost mowed me over on her way out,” Buffy commented as she stepped into the room behind Kendra.
It was Cordelia, who finally answered, “We just caught Willow and Xander making out.” She threw a look of disgust at Xander, but it didn’t quite hide the hurt in her eyes. “How could you?”
Xander opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He tried again though, attempting to find the words to defend his behaviour, gesturing with his hands when the words couldn’t be found.
Cordelia shook her head sadly. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. This just confirms what I’ve suspected for a while now. I am so over you, Alexander LaVelle Harris.” She turned to the stairs leading down from the stacks. “Angel. There you are. I had a great time with you last night. Why don’t we try for a repeat tonight?” The flashy brunette cheerleader wanted to tempt the broody vampire, in part to stroke her ego after the humiliating breakup, and also to prove that she could do much better than Xander.
Angel had arrived in the middle of the altercation between Cordelia and Xander, and wasn’t quite certain what was happening. After a moment of thought, he decided that he might be able to use the situation to his advantage. Maybe Buffy just needs a wake-up call. When she sees me with someone else, she’ll realize how close she’s come to losing me, and she’ll smarten up and recognize that she’s my other half. Angel half-smiled to himself. “I’d like that, Cordelia.” He went to Cordelia and took her hand, lifting it and placing a kiss on her knuckles. He glanced at Buffy under his lashes, looking for any signs of jealousy. He was disappointed when he found none. Fine then, I’ll just have to take things a step further.
Ignoring the vampire, Buffy stepped in front of Cordelia. “Just don’t sleep with him. Sex with Angel leads to nothing but badness.”
“What? You bitch! You figure because you don’t want him, nobody else should have him either?” Cordelia turned to Buffy, hands on her hips.
“Not likely, Cordelia. You’re welcome to him. Just don’t sleep with him for now. Wait until I’ve gathered some supplies I can only get in LA. Then we can secure his soul, and you can sleep with him all you want. If you guys have sex before then, you’re going to release Angelus.” Buffy wanted to make sure that Cordelia got the point.
“I don’t believe you. Angel has a soul. He’s good, and you’re just a jealous bitch.” Cordelia stormed out of the library, dragging Angel with her.
“Well, that went well...not.” Buffy shook her head in disbelief.
Buffy and Kendra moved to the table.
Xander could see trouble coming, and was ready to leave before it found him.
Recognizing the signs of his imminent departure, Buffy stopped the teen from leaving. “Sit down, Xander. We have some things to discuss. Relax and order a drink. We’ll wait a bit and see if the others return. At the very least, Giles should be present.”
It wasn’t long before Oz and Willow returned to the table, sitting as far as possible from each other. Willow’s eyes were red and swollen, and Oz was deliberately ignoring the pleading looks she sent his way.
When Giles returned, he looked around the table. “Where are the others?”
“You missed the latest developments,” Buffy informed Giles, as she looked from Xander to Willow.
“What is going on?” Giles looked at Willow’s tear-filled eyes and Xander’s defeated posture. “Will someone please speak up, or do you expect me to guess?”
Buffy tried to look up at Giles, who had approached the table from behind her. “Why don’t you sit down, Giles? Trying to look at you is giving me a crick in my neck.”
Giles looked taken aback for a moment, but then obeyed Buffy’s request. “Now, would you please tell me what has happened, before I lose my temper?”
“Are you going to tell him?” Buffy looked at Xander. He didn’t react, so she tossed a wadded up napkin at his head and then repeated the question. The teen shook his head, refusing to make eye contact or to speak. The Light then turned to Willow, who shook her head before Buffy could even ask. “Look guys, he needs to know, and if you’re not going to tell him, then I’ll have to.” Both teens stayed slumped in their chairs, eyes on the table. They didn’t dare make eye contact with anyone in the group, especially the person they were just caught kissing a short time before.
“Fine. I guess it’s up to me again, which is so unfair. This doesn’t even have anything to do with me,” Buffy sighed. “Willow and Xander kissed.” She looked accusingly at her two shame-faced friends. “The group walked in on them. Oz and Cordy saw everything. There was some yelling, and then Queen C stormed out of here with Angel in tow.”
Giles had taken off his glasses, and was pinching the bridge of his nose. “What on Earth were you two thinking?” he asked, as he looked from Xander to Willow.
To the relief of the couple currently under scrutiny, Buffy chose to step in. “The why doesn’t really matter right now. I’m not so sure I want to hear it, anyway. What matters is that Cordelia is trying to date Angel again.”
“Oh, quite right,” the Watcher replied with a nod. “Of course, you don’t want him to be with another woman if he’s your other half.” He polished his glasses before he placed them back on his nose.
“I didn’t say he was my other half. My problem is, if she sleeps with him, she’ll set Angelus loose. I tried to warn her, but I know she thought I was just being jealous. You need to get her to listen to you.” Buffy was tapping her fingers on the table in frustration. “Just get her to keep her legs together until I get back from LA. After that, she can sleep with him as often as she wants.”
At first horrified that he was having a conversation about the teens he knew and their potential sex life, Giles forgot his embarrassment as he listened to Buffy. “I don’t understand, Buffy. Will you please explain what you mean about Cordelia releasing Angelus?”
“Oops. Sorry, Giles. I’m used to people knowing what I’m talking about, so I just jumped over a few things. Angel’s soul is a curse. If he experiences a moment of true happiness, it’s all over. Understand now?” Buffy waited for Giles to answer.
Giles was frowning. “I’m afraid not.”
Buffy sighed deeply. “A curse can be broken, correct?”
Giles nodded.
“Angel’s soul is a curse. If he sleeps with someone, there’s a chance he could experience a moment of pure happiness. If that happens, the curse will be broken, and Angelus will be loose in Sunnydale.” Buffy was getting tired. She had a sneaking suspicion that Merrick would have been able to speak Watcher with Giles, and get the information across much faster. Too bad the other Watcher would have drawn unwanted attention on the school grounds.
“I understand the curse, and how it works. What I don’t understand is how any of that information will change once you make a trip to LA? You’re being quite confusing,” Giles confessed.
Buffy closed her eyes. She needed to find a way to tell them what she was going to do, without giving away the fact that she was capable of doing magic. Sure, they’d seen her perform the spell to banish the Changelings, but that could be explained away as part of the prophecy. Finally, she decided to just dodge the issue. “I have some business in LA before preparations to secure Angel’s soul can be made. Once everything is done, the curse will be removed and his soul will be anchored.”
After Giles’ nod of understanding, Buffy looked at the others seated at the table. They were all staring at her, with varying degrees of astonishment on their faces. Xander, in particular, had a look in his eyes that she recognized. It was a mixture of hope and lust, and it turned her stomach. He hid it immediately when he noticed her shiver of revulsion. Unfortunately, she recognized his second look too.
“So, the Evil Dead isn’t your other half?” Xander asked, maliciously. “I guess that means his Get Out of Jail Free card has now expired. Can I do the staking?”
“Just give it a rest, Xander. Angel is not going to be staked. He works for the Powers that Be, and there’ll be no risk once his soul is anchored. Since when do we run around killing the good guys?” Buffy gave the bloodthirsty teen a hard stare.
Damn it. Why can’t I just keep my big mouth shut? Now she’s pissed at me, and if Tall, Dark, and Gloomy accidently ends up in someone’s dust-buster, they’re all going to be pointing a finger at me. “Sorry, Buff. You’re right,” Xander apologized, attempting to save face. The apology wasn’t worth much though, because everyone there knew he didn’t mean it.
Buffy stared at Xander for a few moments, before turning to Giles. “I’m counting on you to keep Angel and Cordelia out of the same bed.” The Watcher blushed profusely, his English sense of propriety horrified by a public conversation about sex. “That’s not the reason for today’s meeting though. I need the truth, Giles. Did Xander display any odd behaviour when he was with you last night or this morning?”
“Yes, of course. Moving on.” There was still a pink tinge to Giles’ cheeks, and his glasses were off so he could avoid eye contact with any of the Scoobies present. “Since you ask, yes, Xander wasn’t his usual self last night. At one point, he began crying, and seemed quite inconsolable. I have no idea, however, what brought the episode on.”
“Xander, why did you start crying?” Buffy looked intently at the teen.
“I...I don’t really know,” he answered with a low mumble. The group was barely able to hear him, and he kept his face down and his eyes hidden.
Buffy knew Xander was lying, but before she could reveal his duplicity to the group, Giles spoke up, “When we spoke this morning, Xander told me that he couldn’t remember much of what has happened over the past month. He said he’s been having blackouts. I suspect the time he cannot recollect is when the Changelings were in control of his actions.”
“Really, Giles? Is that really what you think has happened?” Buffy tried to force the Watcher to maintain eye contact with her, but he avoided the confrontation by cleaning his glasses.
“Historically, it has been well documented that people who are possessed rarely remember any of their actions, once their unwanted companion has been evicted and they have been freed from its influence,” Giles lied, very convincingly.
Buffy closed her eyes, and clenched her teeth, keeping her hands locked between her thighs so that she didn’t wrap them around Giles’ scrawny British neck. “Are you sure about that?” Watcher and Whelp remained steadfastly silent. “Xander? Giles? Speak up, guys. We’re all waiting to hear your answer.”
“Yes. Qu...Quite certain,” Giles stuttered.
“Yeah. I wish I could remember, Buff, but it’s just a big blur,” Xander tried to convince her.
Pushed beyond his limits, Giles left the table to put the kettle on for tea. He needed a few minutes alone, so he could continue to convince himself he was doing right by lying to Buffy and the Scoobies. He just didn’t want to believe the alternative though, which was that Xander was not the funny, sweet, harmless guy he appeared to be.
Meanwhile, back at the table, Willow was starting to feel offended on Xander and Giles’ behalf. “Why do you keep asking them the same question, Buffy? They’ve both said that Xander doesn’t remember, and if they say so, then it’s true. Xander wouldn’t lie to us, and Giles knows all about this kind of stuff.” Willow looked from Buffy’s grim face, to Xander’s bowed head, and then over to Giles, preparing his tea behind the library counter.
“I’m not trying to pick on anyone, Willow. You need to remember, though, that I’ve lived through all this before, and that I’m the Eternal Light. That prophecy book that you guys have been working on so hard? I had it for a long time. Long enough to translate it, and to know all there is to know about the Changelings.” Buffy shot a look of contempt at Xander, and then at Giles, who was returning to the table. “When, or if, you two come to your senses and decide to start telling the truth, you can get in touch with my through my mom.” She touched Kendra’s arm, and they stood up, ready to leave. “I’d also advise you to stay away from Kendra. I doubt she’ll want anything to do with either of you anyway. Your lies have given Xander an easy way out, so that he doesn’t have to accept any responsibility for the way he treated my friend here. Think about that, while you try to remember exactly where you heard that people lose their memory when they’re possessed.”
No one spoke for several minutes. Willow was stunned by what she had just heard, and what Buffy was implying. She turned to her life-long friend, disbelief on her face. “I believed you. How could you lie like that? To me? To Kendra?”
“I’m afraid that...well, you see...the falsity, I’m afraid that was my suggestion.” Giles was energetically polishing his lenses again, but nothing was going to get him out of this one. “I thought it best, to spare you the pain, and to keep your friendship intact.”
“Oh, so you think that our friendship is based on lies? Lies aren’t good for friendships, Giles,” she said, with tears in her eyes. Turning to her old friend, she wiped at her face. “I don’t even know you anymore, Xander. How could you do this?” Willow was even more horrified when she realized that she had jeopardized her relationship with Oz for a guy that was perfectly willing to lie to her face, and pass the buck when it came to accepting responsibility for his actions. “I can’t do this right now. Oz and I need some time alone.” She got up, pulling Oz with her. “No wonder Buffy wasn’t thrilled to see us all again. You’re going to push her away for good, if you keep this up. We’ve got a second chance, and you guys are both going to ruin it quickly.”
As the pair of men remaining watched the door shut behind the redhead, they realized the truth of her words. They had already messed up once, and they knew Buffy wouldn’t give them many more chances.
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Buffy and Kendra made it out of the school without running into Snyder. They walked home, arm in arm, quietly talking about what had happened in the library. Kendra couldn’t understand how Willow could believe Xander over Buffy, when she was the one with knowledge of the future.
Buffy explained to Kendra that Willow had known Xander since kindergarten, and that made it harder for her to believe that her friend would lie to her. After that, the girls started on other relationships, and the conversation naturally moved to Merrick and Joyce. Both girls agreed that Merrick would be a great guy for Joyce to have around, and decided to do what they could to support that relationship.
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Willow and Oz stopped at the Espresso Pump for take-out, and then drove over to a quiet park, where they sat and talked for hours. They discussed why Willow had kissed Xander, and the attraction that she felt for her childhood friend. They also discussed their relationship, and the way they felt about each other. In the end, they agreed that they would give their relationship another go, but that they would take things slow for a while.
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Kendra and Buffy continued to chat after they arrived back at the house. In fact, they were still chatting when Kendra finally went to bed that night, ensuring that they had thoroughly covered all things Xander, Willow, and Oz. After Kendra went to bed, Buffy gave Clem a call, looking for an update on the construction team’s progress. She also wanted to pass along a few more instructions. It seemed like she came up with one or two new modifications every day. This time, Buffy also asked Clem if she could borrow a few tools. Clem was probably scratching his head, wondering what use she would have for them, but he agreed to loan her his pickaxe and a spade.
Once Buffy secured the tools, she asked her mother if she could borrow the car for a few days. At first, Joyce tried to get Buffy to use a taxi. To get Joyce’s cooperation, Buffy had to tell her mom that she was going on a secret mission, and that if she couldn’t borrow the car, she’d just rent one. Her mother eventually agreed, but only after checking to see that Buffy actually had a current driver’s license. Finally, with a hug from Joyce, and the spare set of car keys, Buffy was off on a treasure hunt.
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Spike woke to see Drusilla leaning over him. “And so it has begun. You are starting to swim in the sunshine. Bad doggie. Grrrr.” Dru bared her teeth and used her hands like claws, growling as if she were about to attack him. “The stars told me, but some part of me refused to believe it until now. I am taking your plate away from the table. No tea and cake for my prince ever again.”
Spike remained still, looking at his Sire with astonishment. He didn’t understand what she was saying, and he was a little worried that she was going to attack him. He wouldn’t hurt his wicked plum, even to defend himself.
Instead of scratching him, Drusilla slowly trailed a nail down his cheek. Spike was really beginning to feel ill at ease. He sat up, sheet crumpling around his hips. Dru refused to remove her finger, instead trailing her nail down his chest, over his abs, and along the treasure trail that disappeared under the sheet. Suddenly, she straightened up, gave his erection a pat, and then turned to glide out of the room.
Pausing for a moment at the doorway, Drusilla turned her head, looking at Spike over her shoulder. “You were always destined for the Light, my Childe. The pixies told me to turn you, so that you could fulfill your destiny and finally meet the sunshine.”
Face to Face.
Thank you to Maria and Flight Of Fancy for betaing.
The next few days passed without any more trouble or drama. Buffy was out of the house early each day, working on her secret project and coming home, covered in dirt and dust, just before sundown.
After a quick shower, Buffy spent her evenings talking with Kendra, bonding over movies and ice cream. Often, Merrick and Joyce would join them, and Buffy was struck by how very much the group felt like a family.
Buffy went to a lot of effort to draw Kendra out, and to learn what situations the Jamaican Slayer had been forced to deal with since her arrival in Sunnydale. At first, Kendra thought that Buffy was just really curious about the strange things that went on in the sleepy little town, but when Buffy pulled out a weathered journal, Kendra suddenly began to understand. Buffy had experienced many of the things that were happening to Kendra, during her original lifetime on the Hellmouth. Now, she wanted to make sure that her sister Slayer wasn’t as unprepared as she herself had been.
Finally, after three long days, Buffy came home from her secret mission a little later than usual. Kendra met her at the door, as the dark Slayer left to do her nightly patrol. The two women agreed to meet up at the Bronze later, after Buffy had enjoyed a long, hot soak in the bathtub.
As expected, quality time in the tub was just what the Light needed, and she emerged from the bathroom feeling relaxed and sensual. Returning to her room to select clothing for a night out, Buffy was distracted when she felt tingles on her neck and butterflies in her stomach.
Buffy frowned, and tried taking a few deep breaths in an effort to calm down. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her vampire. In truth, she could hardly wait for another opportunity to see Spike and reassure herself that he was in good health and spirits. It was the other vampire in her life that was getting on her nerves. She knew Angel was close, and guessed he was just right outside her window at the moment, not saying anything to let her know that he was there. Ugh. Buffy wasn’t in the mood to put up with a voyeuristic vampire, especially one that had clearly been told his attentions were unwelcome.
Buffy thought back to when she had first lived in Sunnydale. Her ability to feel vampires wasn’t anywhere near as developed as it was now. Back then, she wouldn’t have felt like this. How many times has he spied on me like this, while I was changing, or maybe sleeping? She remembered many hot summer nights where she had slept in her birthday suit, and shuddered. Buffy tightened the sash on her bathrobe, before turning to the window. As she had guessed, Angel was sitting right outside, watching her and not making a sound.
Silently, Buffy cursed. She realized that Angel currently had an invite to her house. Definitely something to take care of tomorrow.
For now, Buffy needed to get Angel to leave, so she could get dressed without an audience. Trying to keep things light, she poked her head out the window to address the lurking vampire. “Hey there, Peeping Tom. Off you go, or I’ll have to help you on your way.”
“I...I wasn’t...” Angel tried to talk to her.
“Don’t.” Buffy held up her right hand. “I don’t want to hear it. Just leave and we can talk about it tomorrow.” Instead of moving away, Angel looked like he was planning to move into Buffy’s bedroom. “You were warned, Angel,” she told him, a bit of steel coming through in her voice. With a sigh, the Light took a step back from her window, and reached into the right pocket of her robe.
Angel clearly wasn’t picking up on Buffy’s mood, because he moved towards the window again, lifting his foot to cross the sill. “Buffy, we have...AHHHHHH.” Suddenly, the vampire was screaming.
Leaning out the window, Buffy giggled when she saw Angel on the ground, hands held out from his sides. He was trying to get up off the grass without touching his coat. With a smile, Buffy placed the cork back in the bottle that had recently held the water that now dripped from Angel’s coat.
Angel looked up, rage in his eyes. “Why did you do that, Buffy?”
“I warned you. Next time, listen.” The Light wasn’t pulling any punches with the souled vampire this time around.
“What’s wrong with you? Do you plan to attack everyone who wants to talk with you?” Angel had finally made it to his feet, and was trying to wiggle his way out of his coat without touching it with his hands.
“I don’t have any trouble talking to people who come to the door and knock. Peeping Toms, though, well, they’re a little different. They get special treatment.” Buffy reached up to close her curtains. “Good night, Angel.”
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Somewhere, not far from Joyce’s house, Spike was leaning over and roaring with laughter, tears running down his face. Clinging to a tree, the vampire howled until he was gasping for air, a unique feeling for a creature that didn’t need to breathe. It had been decades since he’d had such a good laugh.
Spike was going to have to find Buffy Summers again soon. For now, he had to get away before his hysterical laughter revealed his presence to his Grandsire.
Spike couldn’t help it, he already liked this Slayer. She was giving him a great run for his money, and was so much fun, that Spike started thinking it might be a good idea to let her live a bit longer. After that performance, and the way she cut Angel off at the knees, Spike knew this tiny blonde was special.
He continued on to Willy’s, in need of a drink, and chuckling as he walked. The vampire kept seeing Angel’s face as she tossed holy water at him. It was almost as funny as the actual moment when his Grandsire plummeted off the roof, trying to stop his fall by flapping his arms like a soggy chicken.
Spike didn’t stay at Willy’s for long. He couldn’t stop laughing and chuckling, and the other demons in the bar kept giving him strange looks because of it. If he stayed, he risked being jumped by more trouble than he could handle. Sure, Spike liked a good bar brawl as much as the next guy, but there was a limit to what he would call fun, and he knew when he had reached it. It was one of the reasons why, after over 120 years, he was still alive.
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Buffy knew there would be repercussions for the stunt she just pulled with Angel. Just wait until the vampire hears that it was only regular tap water in the bottle.
She kept chuckling while she dressed in a pair of tight black jeans and a red top. An hour later, she was ready to leave for a night of dancing with Kendra. Her makeup was applied with a light hand, and her hair was loose and thoroughly brushed, spilling down her shoulders and bouncing whenever she moved. For a bit of extra luck, she made sure she used the right shampoo; the one with the scent that Spike loved. Buffy was hopeful that she’d be able to draw her vampire in again tonight.
Before tossing her new leather coat on, she hid a couple of stakes and a small knife in her pockets.
Waving goodbye to her mom and Merrick as she left, she wished them a good night.
Leaving the house, Buffy stretched out her senses. It was clear that Spike wasn’t around anymore. He must have left earlier, after her altercation with Angel. Remembering how much Spike had always loved a good joke at Angel’s expense, she hoped he’d enjoyed the show earlier.
Of course, Fate, not able to care less about Buffy’s perfect hair, insisted that she stop on her way to the Bronze to kill something. A group of young teens had been hanging out in the park, trying to prove how cool and fearless they were. Unfortunately, an even larger group of hungry vampires managed to sneak up and surround them, just as the Light was walking past. With a sigh, and a firm wish that she could keep vampire dust out of her hair and off of her outfit, Buffy leapt into the fray.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?” she quipped. A few seconds later, the three vamps closest to her were dust. A few more quick kicks and a thrust or two with Mr. Pointy, and the rest of the vampire group decided to look for dinner elsewhere.
After sending the sheepish teens on their way home with a few sharp words, Buffy turned to the sound of slow applause. Though it was difficult, she managed to restrain the smile that was fighting to make it to her face.
“Nice work, Luv.” Spike lit a cigarette, while giving Buffy a head-to-toe once over. After a brief pause when he reached her breasts, the vampire licked his lips, and then looked the Light in the eye.
“Why, thank you, kind sir.” Buffy returned the look, raising the temperature in the area by at least a few degrees. “I’m having a hard time imagining you as my fan club though. What can I do for you?”
“Well, you’re a Slayer, aren’t you?” Spike started to walk to the right. “I’m a vampire, Luv.” He smirked at her, continuing to pace around the small blonde.
Buffy slowly turned as Spike circled her, never allowing the master vampire to get behind her. She was trying to remember that, at this point in time, Spike was evil, and would kill her if he had the chance. “Really? Is that all there is to it? What a shame, to waste such a fine example of a man.” She couldn’t help but smirk back at him. “Maybe I don’t have to dust you. Surely there’s something else I could do with such a handsome guy?”
Spike began to feel a little uneasy. “What are you talking about? I’m pretty sure the Slayer Handbook doesn’t say anything about not killing good looking vamps, even if it is a capital idea.” He finally stopped trying to circle the petite blonde, and instead tossed his cigarette to the ground, where he used a boot to stomp it out. Then, sure he had Buffy’s full attention, he ran his hands down his chest, stopping only when his thumbs were in his belt loops, and his long fingers framed his crotch.
“Hmm.” Buffy couldn’t help licking her lips, her gaze caught between Spike’s strong hands. With a painful effort, she managed to raise her eyes, until she was looking directly into the vampire’s baby blues. “I’m not a Slayer anymore. I’ve retired.”
“You can’t retire as a Slayer.” Spike dropped his hands, and seemed almost offended at the thought. “And I’ve seen you kill my kind.” He started to fidget and bounce up and down.
“Yeah.” She nodded, lost in her thoughts. Returning her focus to the antsy vampire in front of her, she took a half-step back into a defensible fighting position. “Somebody once told me I needed a spot of violence before bed. The vampires around here have all been light-weights, pretty dull to fight. What do you say, Blondie? Want to have a go yourself?”
Spike’s face lit up. “Hell, yeah. Let’s dance.” Buffy had just enough time to notice the unholy sparkle in his eyes, before he jabbed her twice on the chin. From that moment, the fight was on.
Buffy was having the time of her life, but after an hour of sparring back and forth, she knew it was time to end the fight. Kendra would be looking for her, if she didn’t show up soon. Spike was good, but fighting two Slayers wouldn’t end well, even if one of the Slayers was only playing. Having to explain to Kendra, why she didn’t want Spike hurt, it was more than the Light dared attempt right now. The Slayer could take the information straight to the Scoobies, and then where would Buffy be? Her credibility would be questioned, at the very least.
Spike jumped to his feet for the umpteenth time, laughing out loud and really enjoying himself. This Slayer was a superb vision to watch when she fought, but it was the fight itself that drew Spike in. Buffy was giving him the best fight ever, hands down.
Holding up a hand to pause Spike’s next attack, Buffy quickly tossed the vampire a smile. “We’re going to have to continue this another time. I’ve got to meet someone and I can’t be late.” She noticed that she and Spike were both breathing heavily, and that Spike seemed disappointed that she was calling the fight. “I’m Buffy, by the way.” She sent him a bright smile, and turned to leave.
“The Poofter?” Spike asked, as he searched his pockets for his smokes.
“Angel? No,” she said with a little laugh. “I have no plans to see Angel again tonight.” Buffy continued to walk away.
“The name’s Spike.”
“I know.” Buffy waved over her shoulder, without turning.
Spike lit his smoke, watching the little blonde walk away, and wondering if it was true. Was she really from the future? She knew him, or knew his name, at least, and she knew that Spike was talking about Angel when he mentioned the Poofter.
Buffy hurried to the Bronze, to meet up with Kendra. The Slayer was happy to see her, and gave the Light an extra hug when she turned up. Buffy apologized for her lateness, and explained how she had been delayed by the group of vampires in the park. After that, Buffy went to the bar and grabbed two bottles of water, and then the girls hit the dance floor.
When Buffy wasn’t talking to Kendra or dancing, she let herself get lost in memories of her meeting with Spike. It wasn’t just the fighting, or the witty repartee, that brought a smile to her face. To her delight, after about an hour in the club, Buffy could feel Spike enter the Bronze. He didn’t approach her, but she knew that her vampire was out there, and that he was healthy and whole, and interested in her. Spike stayed somewhere in the back of the club, watching Buffy, until the girls finally headed home around midnight.
When Kendra and Buffy arrived back at Revello Drive, they found a full-scale intervention waiting in the living room. All of the Scoobies, including Giles, began to harangue the former Slayer as soon as she entered the home. Xander was yelling, Willow was crying, and Giles was polishing his glasses, as the group accused her of attacking a valuable ally. Standing at the back of the room, out of the chaos, Angel leaned against the wall, a smug grin on his face. Buffy could read him like a book, and she knew he was pleased with himself, thinking that the others would make her see reason and bring her back into line.
Tired of the verbal attack, Buffy placed her fingers in her mouth and let loose a shrill whistle. She saw Angel bend over and cover his ears, and smiled in response. She knew full well how a whistle like that would affect a vampire. Holding her hands out, Buffy demanded, “Quiet.” She waited patiently for them to quiet down. “You should know by now that it’s impossible to hear your questions when you’re all talking at the same time.” She shook her head. “If you want to take this any further, I expect each and every one of you to go sit down and be quiet. If you want to talk to me, I’m willing to listen, but only if you speak one at a time.”
Kendra stepped back, watching the show and providing support for Buffy. The older girl had filled her in on the confrontation with the older vampire that had happened earlier, and the Slayer was curious to see how this played out.
“Really, Buffy. You can’t expect us to just do what you say.” Giles continued to polish his glasses. Beside the Watcher, Buffy caught the little self-satisfied smile that Angel was doing his best to hide by bowing his head.
Hearing a sound from behind her, Buffy turned and saw her mother and Merrick at the bottom of the stairs. Joyce looked mad, and Merrick looked disappointed. It was clear though, that those emotions were directed at the Scoobies. When the couple met Buffy’s eyes, the only thing she saw was love and support.
“Where do you guys get off treating me like this? And in my own home. I mean, I know I’m moving out, but it’s still my home right now.” Buffy looked at her mother, who nodded her head vigorously, before walking over to stand beside her daughter.
“This will always be your home, Buffy, and I hope you know you’ll always be welcome here.” Joyce gave her daughter a hug, and then pulled back, framing Buffy’s face with her hands. Dropping a kiss on her forehead, Joyce then gave her a smile, and returned to her place beside Merrick. What the Scoobies didn’t hear, was Joyce whispering that Buffy had Merrick and her mother’s complete support. It warmed her from the inside to know that she wouldn’t be alone in the upcoming skirmish with the Scoobies.
“I really expected more from you, Giles. I would have thought that it would be considered common courtesy to take turns when speaking, if only to ensure that I have a chance of understanding what you’re saying.” Buffy crossed her arms, waiting for a reply from the Watcher.
Joyce had to turn around for a moment, and hide her laughter with a cough. Merrick had a bit more self-control and managed to limit his reaction to a twitch in the corner of his mouth.
Giles blushed a deep, red colour. He even forgot about his glasses. “I...I must apologize, Buffy. You are absolutely right.”
“But....” There was a snarl from across the room.
“Oh, do shut up, Xander,” exclaimed Giles, finally remembering to put on his glasses. “I suggest we do as Buffy says and limit our questions to one at a time.” Giles pointed at a chair, and clearly expected the youth to sit down.
Xander hesitated, but then grudgingly did at Giles said. Willow’s face had started to change colour, as she started to see their behaviour from Buffy’s point of view.
With everyone finally seated, Buffy decided it was time to try again. “Thank you. Now, I’m willing to listen to what you have to say. Who would like to start?” Buffy approached the group, and sat down at the end of the coffee table. Nobody spoke up, so Buffy asked, “Since there are no volunteers, why don’t you start, Giles?” She nodded in the Watcher’s direction. Buffy could tell that Xander and Willow were still angry, but she decided to just ignore them and listen to Giles for the moment.
“Angel has told us that you threw a bottle of holy water at him, when he came over to speak with you earlier this evening.” Giles looked at Buffy’s bowed head, thinking it was a sign that she was sorry for what she had done. He just didn’t understand her anymore.
Rather than the shame that Giles thought he was seeing, Buffy had bowed her head to hide the smile she couldn’t keep of her face. Not wanting to upset the Scoobies even more, she counted to ten and collected herself before lifting her head and looking at the group again.
“Well now, here were have a perfect example of how having a soul doesn’t automatically make somebody a good guy.” Buffy looked Angel square in the eye.
“What does any of this have to do with your earlier behaviour? That is not how you should treat a Warrior for the Powers That Be, Buffy,” Giles chided her.
“Your amazing Warrior over there lied,” Buffy stated. “He might have come over to talk to me, but he didn’t tell me he was here. Instead, he was lurking at my bedroom window, while I wandered around in my housecoat and slippers, preparing to get dressed. If I weren’t the Light, I might not have sensed him there before I was naked. With that thought in mind, and thinking of all the times in the past when I’ve gone to bed in nothing at all, I got mad. Angel is nothing but a voyeur. A creepy perv that was peeking in my window.” At that, she looked directly at each of the people gathered in the room. “Oh, and by the way, Angel was splashed with tap water, not holy water,” she said with a suspiciously Spike-like smirk.
Angel looked at Buffy, hurt written all over his face. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“I don’t like having an uninvited audience when I’m nude in my bedroom. If you want to talk with me, next time, try knocking on the front door.” She turned to Giles. “Any other problems we need to discuss tonight?”
The front door banged shut, but nobody bothered to look in that direction. Everyone knew it was Angel, slamming the door on his way out.
“No, I’m sorry, Buffy.” He began to polish his glasses again. “I should have known that you have a good reason for doing as you did.”
“What about you two? Anything more to add?” Buffy looked at Willow and Xander.
Willow shook her head, blushing. Xander looked as if he wanted to say something, but changed his mind at the last minute.
“Fine, then if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a long day tomorrow.” Buffy nodded to Kendra, and then headed up the stairs to her room.
It wasn’t long after that, when she heard her mom directing everyone out the front door. Lying in her bed, she closed her eyes and thought about her encounter with Spike. She relived every single touch before sleep finally claimed her, a soft smile on her lips.
The next few days passed without any more trouble or drama. Buffy was out of the house early each day, working on her secret project and coming home, covered in dirt and dust, just before sundown.
After a quick shower, Buffy spent her evenings talking with Kendra, bonding over movies and ice cream. Often, Merrick and Joyce would join them, and Buffy was struck by how very much the group felt like a family.
Buffy went to a lot of effort to draw Kendra out, and to learn what situations the Jamaican Slayer had been forced to deal with since her arrival in Sunnydale. At first, Kendra thought that Buffy was just really curious about the strange things that went on in the sleepy little town, but when Buffy pulled out a weathered journal, Kendra suddenly began to understand. Buffy had experienced many of the things that were happening to Kendra, during her original lifetime on the Hellmouth. Now, she wanted to make sure that her sister Slayer wasn’t as unprepared as she herself had been.
Finally, after three long days, Buffy came home from her secret mission a little later than usual. Kendra met her at the door, as the dark Slayer left to do her nightly patrol. The two women agreed to meet up at the Bronze later, after Buffy had enjoyed a long, hot soak in the bathtub.
As expected, quality time in the tub was just what the Light needed, and she emerged from the bathroom feeling relaxed and sensual. Returning to her room to select clothing for a night out, Buffy was distracted when she felt tingles on her neck and butterflies in her stomach.
Buffy frowned, and tried taking a few deep breaths in an effort to calm down. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her vampire. In truth, she could hardly wait for another opportunity to see Spike and reassure herself that he was in good health and spirits. It was the other vampire in her life that was getting on her nerves. She knew Angel was close, and guessed he was just right outside her window at the moment, not saying anything to let her know that he was there. Ugh. Buffy wasn’t in the mood to put up with a voyeuristic vampire, especially one that had clearly been told his attentions were unwelcome.
Buffy thought back to when she had first lived in Sunnydale. Her ability to feel vampires wasn’t anywhere near as developed as it was now. Back then, she wouldn’t have felt like this. How many times has he spied on me like this, while I was changing, or maybe sleeping? She remembered many hot summer nights where she had slept in her birthday suit, and shuddered. Buffy tightened the sash on her bathrobe, before turning to the window. As she had guessed, Angel was sitting right outside, watching her and not making a sound.
Silently, Buffy cursed. She realized that Angel currently had an invite to her house. Definitely something to take care of tomorrow.
For now, Buffy needed to get Angel to leave, so she could get dressed without an audience. Trying to keep things light, she poked her head out the window to address the lurking vampire. “Hey there, Peeping Tom. Off you go, or I’ll have to help you on your way.”
“I...I wasn’t...” Angel tried to talk to her.
“Don’t.” Buffy held up her right hand. “I don’t want to hear it. Just leave and we can talk about it tomorrow.” Instead of moving away, Angel looked like he was planning to move into Buffy’s bedroom. “You were warned, Angel,” she told him, a bit of steel coming through in her voice. With a sigh, the Light took a step back from her window, and reached into the right pocket of her robe.
Angel clearly wasn’t picking up on Buffy’s mood, because he moved towards the window again, lifting his foot to cross the sill. “Buffy, we have...AHHHHHH.” Suddenly, the vampire was screaming.
Leaning out the window, Buffy giggled when she saw Angel on the ground, hands held out from his sides. He was trying to get up off the grass without touching his coat. With a smile, Buffy placed the cork back in the bottle that had recently held the water that now dripped from Angel’s coat.
Angel looked up, rage in his eyes. “Why did you do that, Buffy?”
“I warned you. Next time, listen.” The Light wasn’t pulling any punches with the souled vampire this time around.
“What’s wrong with you? Do you plan to attack everyone who wants to talk with you?” Angel had finally made it to his feet, and was trying to wiggle his way out of his coat without touching it with his hands.
“I don’t have any trouble talking to people who come to the door and knock. Peeping Toms, though, well, they’re a little different. They get special treatment.” Buffy reached up to close her curtains. “Good night, Angel.”
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Somewhere, not far from Joyce’s house, Spike was leaning over and roaring with laughter, tears running down his face. Clinging to a tree, the vampire howled until he was gasping for air, a unique feeling for a creature that didn’t need to breathe. It had been decades since he’d had such a good laugh.
Spike was going to have to find Buffy Summers again soon. For now, he had to get away before his hysterical laughter revealed his presence to his Grandsire.
Spike couldn’t help it, he already liked this Slayer. She was giving him a great run for his money, and was so much fun, that Spike started thinking it might be a good idea to let her live a bit longer. After that performance, and the way she cut Angel off at the knees, Spike knew this tiny blonde was special.
He continued on to Willy’s, in need of a drink, and chuckling as he walked. The vampire kept seeing Angel’s face as she tossed holy water at him. It was almost as funny as the actual moment when his Grandsire plummeted off the roof, trying to stop his fall by flapping his arms like a soggy chicken.
Spike didn’t stay at Willy’s for long. He couldn’t stop laughing and chuckling, and the other demons in the bar kept giving him strange looks because of it. If he stayed, he risked being jumped by more trouble than he could handle. Sure, Spike liked a good bar brawl as much as the next guy, but there was a limit to what he would call fun, and he knew when he had reached it. It was one of the reasons why, after over 120 years, he was still alive.
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Buffy knew there would be repercussions for the stunt she just pulled with Angel. Just wait until the vampire hears that it was only regular tap water in the bottle.
She kept chuckling while she dressed in a pair of tight black jeans and a red top. An hour later, she was ready to leave for a night of dancing with Kendra. Her makeup was applied with a light hand, and her hair was loose and thoroughly brushed, spilling down her shoulders and bouncing whenever she moved. For a bit of extra luck, she made sure she used the right shampoo; the one with the scent that Spike loved. Buffy was hopeful that she’d be able to draw her vampire in again tonight.
Before tossing her new leather coat on, she hid a couple of stakes and a small knife in her pockets.
Waving goodbye to her mom and Merrick as she left, she wished them a good night.
Leaving the house, Buffy stretched out her senses. It was clear that Spike wasn’t around anymore. He must have left earlier, after her altercation with Angel. Remembering how much Spike had always loved a good joke at Angel’s expense, she hoped he’d enjoyed the show earlier.
Of course, Fate, not able to care less about Buffy’s perfect hair, insisted that she stop on her way to the Bronze to kill something. A group of young teens had been hanging out in the park, trying to prove how cool and fearless they were. Unfortunately, an even larger group of hungry vampires managed to sneak up and surround them, just as the Light was walking past. With a sigh, and a firm wish that she could keep vampire dust out of her hair and off of her outfit, Buffy leapt into the fray.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?” she quipped. A few seconds later, the three vamps closest to her were dust. A few more quick kicks and a thrust or two with Mr. Pointy, and the rest of the vampire group decided to look for dinner elsewhere.
After sending the sheepish teens on their way home with a few sharp words, Buffy turned to the sound of slow applause. Though it was difficult, she managed to restrain the smile that was fighting to make it to her face.
“Nice work, Luv.” Spike lit a cigarette, while giving Buffy a head-to-toe once over. After a brief pause when he reached her breasts, the vampire licked his lips, and then looked the Light in the eye.
“Why, thank you, kind sir.” Buffy returned the look, raising the temperature in the area by at least a few degrees. “I’m having a hard time imagining you as my fan club though. What can I do for you?”
“Well, you’re a Slayer, aren’t you?” Spike started to walk to the right. “I’m a vampire, Luv.” He smirked at her, continuing to pace around the small blonde.
Buffy slowly turned as Spike circled her, never allowing the master vampire to get behind her. She was trying to remember that, at this point in time, Spike was evil, and would kill her if he had the chance. “Really? Is that all there is to it? What a shame, to waste such a fine example of a man.” She couldn’t help but smirk back at him. “Maybe I don’t have to dust you. Surely there’s something else I could do with such a handsome guy?”
Spike began to feel a little uneasy. “What are you talking about? I’m pretty sure the Slayer Handbook doesn’t say anything about not killing good looking vamps, even if it is a capital idea.” He finally stopped trying to circle the petite blonde, and instead tossed his cigarette to the ground, where he used a boot to stomp it out. Then, sure he had Buffy’s full attention, he ran his hands down his chest, stopping only when his thumbs were in his belt loops, and his long fingers framed his crotch.
“Hmm.” Buffy couldn’t help licking her lips, her gaze caught between Spike’s strong hands. With a painful effort, she managed to raise her eyes, until she was looking directly into the vampire’s baby blues. “I’m not a Slayer anymore. I’ve retired.”
“You can’t retire as a Slayer.” Spike dropped his hands, and seemed almost offended at the thought. “And I’ve seen you kill my kind.” He started to fidget and bounce up and down.
“Yeah.” She nodded, lost in her thoughts. Returning her focus to the antsy vampire in front of her, she took a half-step back into a defensible fighting position. “Somebody once told me I needed a spot of violence before bed. The vampires around here have all been light-weights, pretty dull to fight. What do you say, Blondie? Want to have a go yourself?”
Spike’s face lit up. “Hell, yeah. Let’s dance.” Buffy had just enough time to notice the unholy sparkle in his eyes, before he jabbed her twice on the chin. From that moment, the fight was on.
Buffy was having the time of her life, but after an hour of sparring back and forth, she knew it was time to end the fight. Kendra would be looking for her, if she didn’t show up soon. Spike was good, but fighting two Slayers wouldn’t end well, even if one of the Slayers was only playing. Having to explain to Kendra, why she didn’t want Spike hurt, it was more than the Light dared attempt right now. The Slayer could take the information straight to the Scoobies, and then where would Buffy be? Her credibility would be questioned, at the very least.
Spike jumped to his feet for the umpteenth time, laughing out loud and really enjoying himself. This Slayer was a superb vision to watch when she fought, but it was the fight itself that drew Spike in. Buffy was giving him the best fight ever, hands down.
Holding up a hand to pause Spike’s next attack, Buffy quickly tossed the vampire a smile. “We’re going to have to continue this another time. I’ve got to meet someone and I can’t be late.” She noticed that she and Spike were both breathing heavily, and that Spike seemed disappointed that she was calling the fight. “I’m Buffy, by the way.” She sent him a bright smile, and turned to leave.
“The Poofter?” Spike asked, as he searched his pockets for his smokes.
“Angel? No,” she said with a little laugh. “I have no plans to see Angel again tonight.” Buffy continued to walk away.
“The name’s Spike.”
“I know.” Buffy waved over her shoulder, without turning.
Spike lit his smoke, watching the little blonde walk away, and wondering if it was true. Was she really from the future? She knew him, or knew his name, at least, and she knew that Spike was talking about Angel when he mentioned the Poofter.
Buffy hurried to the Bronze, to meet up with Kendra. The Slayer was happy to see her, and gave the Light an extra hug when she turned up. Buffy apologized for her lateness, and explained how she had been delayed by the group of vampires in the park. After that, Buffy went to the bar and grabbed two bottles of water, and then the girls hit the dance floor.
When Buffy wasn’t talking to Kendra or dancing, she let herself get lost in memories of her meeting with Spike. It wasn’t just the fighting, or the witty repartee, that brought a smile to her face. To her delight, after about an hour in the club, Buffy could feel Spike enter the Bronze. He didn’t approach her, but she knew that her vampire was out there, and that he was healthy and whole, and interested in her. Spike stayed somewhere in the back of the club, watching Buffy, until the girls finally headed home around midnight.
When Kendra and Buffy arrived back at Revello Drive, they found a full-scale intervention waiting in the living room. All of the Scoobies, including Giles, began to harangue the former Slayer as soon as she entered the home. Xander was yelling, Willow was crying, and Giles was polishing his glasses, as the group accused her of attacking a valuable ally. Standing at the back of the room, out of the chaos, Angel leaned against the wall, a smug grin on his face. Buffy could read him like a book, and she knew he was pleased with himself, thinking that the others would make her see reason and bring her back into line.
Tired of the verbal attack, Buffy placed her fingers in her mouth and let loose a shrill whistle. She saw Angel bend over and cover his ears, and smiled in response. She knew full well how a whistle like that would affect a vampire. Holding her hands out, Buffy demanded, “Quiet.” She waited patiently for them to quiet down. “You should know by now that it’s impossible to hear your questions when you’re all talking at the same time.” She shook her head. “If you want to take this any further, I expect each and every one of you to go sit down and be quiet. If you want to talk to me, I’m willing to listen, but only if you speak one at a time.”
Kendra stepped back, watching the show and providing support for Buffy. The older girl had filled her in on the confrontation with the older vampire that had happened earlier, and the Slayer was curious to see how this played out.
“Really, Buffy. You can’t expect us to just do what you say.” Giles continued to polish his glasses. Beside the Watcher, Buffy caught the little self-satisfied smile that Angel was doing his best to hide by bowing his head.
Hearing a sound from behind her, Buffy turned and saw her mother and Merrick at the bottom of the stairs. Joyce looked mad, and Merrick looked disappointed. It was clear though, that those emotions were directed at the Scoobies. When the couple met Buffy’s eyes, the only thing she saw was love and support.
“Where do you guys get off treating me like this? And in my own home. I mean, I know I’m moving out, but it’s still my home right now.” Buffy looked at her mother, who nodded her head vigorously, before walking over to stand beside her daughter.
“This will always be your home, Buffy, and I hope you know you’ll always be welcome here.” Joyce gave her daughter a hug, and then pulled back, framing Buffy’s face with her hands. Dropping a kiss on her forehead, Joyce then gave her a smile, and returned to her place beside Merrick. What the Scoobies didn’t hear, was Joyce whispering that Buffy had Merrick and her mother’s complete support. It warmed her from the inside to know that she wouldn’t be alone in the upcoming skirmish with the Scoobies.
“I really expected more from you, Giles. I would have thought that it would be considered common courtesy to take turns when speaking, if only to ensure that I have a chance of understanding what you’re saying.” Buffy crossed her arms, waiting for a reply from the Watcher.
Joyce had to turn around for a moment, and hide her laughter with a cough. Merrick had a bit more self-control and managed to limit his reaction to a twitch in the corner of his mouth.
Giles blushed a deep, red colour. He even forgot about his glasses. “I...I must apologize, Buffy. You are absolutely right.”
“But....” There was a snarl from across the room.
“Oh, do shut up, Xander,” exclaimed Giles, finally remembering to put on his glasses. “I suggest we do as Buffy says and limit our questions to one at a time.” Giles pointed at a chair, and clearly expected the youth to sit down.
Xander hesitated, but then grudgingly did at Giles said. Willow’s face had started to change colour, as she started to see their behaviour from Buffy’s point of view.
With everyone finally seated, Buffy decided it was time to try again. “Thank you. Now, I’m willing to listen to what you have to say. Who would like to start?” Buffy approached the group, and sat down at the end of the coffee table. Nobody spoke up, so Buffy asked, “Since there are no volunteers, why don’t you start, Giles?” She nodded in the Watcher’s direction. Buffy could tell that Xander and Willow were still angry, but she decided to just ignore them and listen to Giles for the moment.
“Angel has told us that you threw a bottle of holy water at him, when he came over to speak with you earlier this evening.” Giles looked at Buffy’s bowed head, thinking it was a sign that she was sorry for what she had done. He just didn’t understand her anymore.
Rather than the shame that Giles thought he was seeing, Buffy had bowed her head to hide the smile she couldn’t keep of her face. Not wanting to upset the Scoobies even more, she counted to ten and collected herself before lifting her head and looking at the group again.
“Well now, here were have a perfect example of how having a soul doesn’t automatically make somebody a good guy.” Buffy looked Angel square in the eye.
“What does any of this have to do with your earlier behaviour? That is not how you should treat a Warrior for the Powers That Be, Buffy,” Giles chided her.
“Your amazing Warrior over there lied,” Buffy stated. “He might have come over to talk to me, but he didn’t tell me he was here. Instead, he was lurking at my bedroom window, while I wandered around in my housecoat and slippers, preparing to get dressed. If I weren’t the Light, I might not have sensed him there before I was naked. With that thought in mind, and thinking of all the times in the past when I’ve gone to bed in nothing at all, I got mad. Angel is nothing but a voyeur. A creepy perv that was peeking in my window.” At that, she looked directly at each of the people gathered in the room. “Oh, and by the way, Angel was splashed with tap water, not holy water,” she said with a suspiciously Spike-like smirk.
Angel looked at Buffy, hurt written all over his face. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“I don’t like having an uninvited audience when I’m nude in my bedroom. If you want to talk with me, next time, try knocking on the front door.” She turned to Giles. “Any other problems we need to discuss tonight?”
The front door banged shut, but nobody bothered to look in that direction. Everyone knew it was Angel, slamming the door on his way out.
“No, I’m sorry, Buffy.” He began to polish his glasses again. “I should have known that you have a good reason for doing as you did.”
“What about you two? Anything more to add?” Buffy looked at Willow and Xander.
Willow shook her head, blushing. Xander looked as if he wanted to say something, but changed his mind at the last minute.
“Fine, then if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a long day tomorrow.” Buffy nodded to Kendra, and then headed up the stairs to her room.
It wasn’t long after that, when she heard her mom directing everyone out the front door. Lying in her bed, she closed her eyes and thought about her encounter with Spike. She relived every single touch before sleep finally claimed her, a soft smile on her lips.
A Stitch in Time....
Thanks to my beta Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
The next day, around noon, Buffy finally moved the last piece of stone out of the way. In front of her lay the treasure she had been hunting, including a ring known as the Gem of Amara. Once she located it, she took a minute to admire the stone, before securing the ring in her pocket and closing the zipper securely.
Buffy swept her flashlight over the room. She realised she was going to need both sports bags she had with her, and probably a few shopping bags from her mom’s trunk, too, if she was going to get all this stuff home.
Once loaded, the bags of treasure were heavier than Buffy had counted on. The Light was forced to carry them, one bag at a time, up the ladder, out of the sewer, and into the back of her mom’s car. The whole process took a lot longer than expected.
The cache of treasure contained lots of jewellery, some uncut gems, sceptres, paintings, and an assortment of weapons. One item in particular, a beautiful sword, had been too long to fit into any of Buffy’s bags. Her only option was to take a chance that nobody would notice her as she carried it to the car. Once there, she wrapped the blade in an old blanket that her mother had left in the back seat, and carefully placed it in the trunk.
Arriving at Revello Drive, Buffy found she had the house to herself. Her mom was working at the gallery, and Kendra was at school. Merrick, fortunately, had made arrangements to meet Joyce for lunch, and had already left to pick her up. Buffy managed to get all of her bags into the house, without garnering too much attention from the neighbours. Mrs. Murphy, two doors down and across the street, was out trimming her roses, but once she recognized Buffy, she contented herself with a wave, and then went back to her flowers.
Alone in her room, Buffy shoved most of the bags against the wall, under her bed. After a short break to catch her breath, Buffy went to the smaller satchel she had carried back from her future life. Rummaging around, she found some spell supplies and a small volume filled with tiny writing done in purple ink.
Ten minutes later, a casual look under the bed revealed nothing but a few dust bunnies. For all intents and purposes, the bags had disappeared. Buffy smiled, satisfied that the spell she had cast would protect the treasure from prying eyes.
The hiding spell would work perfectly well for the bulk of the treasure, but Buffy knew something special was needed for the Ring of Amara. After a little more chanting, and some different herbs, Buffy cast a small spell on the ring, before hiding it in a secret place, behind a loose board in the wall.
Now, with all the treasure safely hidden, Buffy felt that she could relax a bit, maybe even head to LA for a few days. She stretched out on her bed, running through the list she had made in her mind, checking to make sure most of the tasks had been completed before she headed out of town.
A few hours later, Buffy woke with a start. She’d fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion, and had slipped into a Slayer dream. Angelus had been entering her bedroom through the window, looking for the Light. He searched the house, and when he couldn’t find the blonde, he decided to visit her mother instead. The dream ended with Angelus, in full game face, leaning over Joyce. She was screaming and crying, as the soulless vampire threw himself upon her, holding her wrists above her head with one hand, and viciously mauling her breast with the other. “It’s so much more fun when they scream,” Buffy heard him say, just before she opened her eyes.
Buffy had delayed the disinvite spell, because she had been so busy lately, but the dream had made it clear that time was running out. She needed to cast the spell and, thanks to her dream, she knew she needed to give it a little extra kick. The Light sighed. She would have to speak with Giles again, in an effort to make sure he kept a close watch on Angel and Cordelia while she was in LA. It was guaranteed to be an awkward chat, and Buffy became more frustrated each time she gave it, knowing that the Watcher really wasn’t taking her seriously. They’re all too stubborn for their own good.
Buffy knew she had the needed ingredients for the disinvite spell in one of her bags; it was something that she always travelled with, never knowing when she might need it. She gathered the ingredients, as well as a mortar and pestle, a small chalice, and a silver Zippo lighter that she’d carried for years, because it had reminded her of Spike. Fortunately, the house would be empty for the next few hours, and she should be able to work uninterrupted. Kendra would be training with Giles after school, and her mom was working a full day at the gallery today. The only one who could possibly intrude was Merrick, and Buffy knew he would understand that she was busy and leave her alone until her spell casting was complete.
Half an hour later, right in the middle of her spell, Merrick came in through the unlocked front door. He opened his mouth to greet the Light, but closed it promptly again without making a sound, when he realized that she was in the process of casting a spell of some kind. He just quietly backed up and locked the front door, and then went and did the same to the back door, before returning to the living room, where he sat on the sofa and watched Buffy at work.
After fifteen minutes, Merrick realized this wasn’t a run-of-the-mill spell Buffy was casting, and that he was probably in for a long wait. With as little noise as possible, he went into the kitchen and started to make a plate filled with sandwiches. Another, smaller plate, held sliced fruits and little squares of chocolate. The Watcher transported the plates, along with a large glass of cold juice, to the coffee table in the living room, and then he returned to the kitchen to fetch a pot of tea. Once everything was ready, he poured himself a cuppa and settled down, waiting for Buffy to finish.
One final incantation, and then Buffy sighed heavily and slumped a bit, allowing her body to relax for the first time in over an hour. She stretched her neck from side to side, and then untangled her legs, gasping at the pins and needles that rushed to her toes after sitting cross-legged for so long.
Turning to look at Merrick, Buffy stretched out her shoulders, and reached down to her toes a few more times. “How was lunch?” she asked, as she smiled her thanks for his silence while she was busy.
“Lunch went well. Your mother is a lovely woman.” Merrick got up from the couch, and went into the kitchen to grab the garbage can from under the sink. Returning to the living room, he began to gather up the trash created by Buffy’s afternoon activities. “I take it you were performing the disinvite spell we spoke of earlier? There was something different about it though.”
Buffy slowly stood. “Well, I think I had a Slayer dream...maybe.” She frowned. “Can I have Slayer dreams if I’m not a Slayer anymore?”
“If it’s important enough, I would think the Powers could send a prophetic dream to just about anyone. It probably doesn’t matter who you are.” Merrick took the garbage can back to the kitchen, and then returned to sit on the couch. “Come now, Buffy. Have a seat and help yourself to a sandwich and some fruit. I’ve brought you juice but, if you’d prefer, I don’t mind sharing my tea.”
“Ohhh...a sandwich sounds yummy, and fruit is totally of the good. I forgot to get lunch today. I was tired, and ended up falling asleep for a bit.” Buffy dove into the plate of sandwiches, pulling a ham and cheddar out of the stack with one hand, and a turkey and Swiss with the other. “I’ve been working hard for the past few days.” Buffy continued to demolish the food on the plates, until all the sandwiches and most of the fruit were a thing of the past. “What I really need now, is a vacation.”
Concerned, and well aware of Buffy’s ability to avoid things she found unpleasant, Merrick had to ask, “Don’t you think you should tell me about this dream that had you casting spells in the middle of the afternoon?”
Buffy turned so she was sitting sideways, facing Merrick, on the couch. “The dream doesn’t really matter now. I’ve taken care of things, so there’s no way it can happen,” Buffy said with confidence. “I should probably still mention it to Giles though.”
“Buffy, please, just tell me,” Merrick insisted.
Knowing she would give in eventually, Buffy decided to just quickly fill Merrick in on the high points of her afternoon dream, and the steps she had taken to keep her mother safe.
The Watcher frowned. “You’re right, Buffy. I think we must warn Giles immediately.”
“I’ve warned him already, Merrick, but I’ll tell him again if you think it would do any good. Maybe if you come with me? Right now, he just thinks I’m jealous of Cordelia.” Buffy shook her head in frustration.
“I have nothing else planned for today. Would you like to go see Giles now?” Merrick emptied his tea cup, and then placed it on the tray he had used earlier.
“Sounds like a plan. Just let me grab a shower and change my clothes, and I’ll be ready to roll.”
Merrick gathered the rest of the plates and kitchenware on his tray, while Buffy finished off her tea. “I’ll be waiting, Buffy. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”
“Don’t worry,” she smiled. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.” With that, Buffy sprinted up the stairs, heading for the bathroom and a nice, hot shower.
Not wanting to leave a mess for Joyce to deal with when she got home from the gallery, Merrick washed the dishes while he waited for Buffy to make herself presentable.
--------------------------------------
“Buffy. Merrick. Come in, won’t you, please?” Giles opened the door for his unexpected guests. “Sit down. Where ever you’re comfortable is fine.” He showed them to the living room. “Can I offer either of you a cup of tea?”
“No, thank you, Giles. We just finished a pot before we headed this way.” Merrick sent the other Watcher a reassuring smile. “Have you spoken with Cordelia or Angel recently?”
“Not recently, no. I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough with the book, and I’ve been focusing my attention there.” Giles looked at his watch. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was this late.” Moving a pile of books from a nearby chair, he seated himself across from his visitors. “Was there something important you needed to speak with me about?”
“Something important? That IS the something important, Giles. If Angel becomes too happy, he’ll lose his soul and turn back into the murdering rapist that he was a hundred years ago. Believe me, it’s not something you’d want to witness firsthand.” Buffy was frustrated by Giles’ complete unwillingness to consider Angel a potential threat to the group.
“The last time I did this, we didn’t know about the happiness clause, and people died. Our people died.” Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength. “Look, Giles. Even the Powers recognize how much bad Angelus could do. They sent me a Slayer dream, to show me what needed to be done to protect my mother from him.”
“Buffy is telling you the truth, Rupert,” Merrick confirmed.
Merrick’s serious expression piqued Giles’ curiosity, and made him finally start to ask questions. “Why would Angel’s curse have a loophole like that? It’s ridiculous.” He frowned. “I’m sorry, but it does make your story seem somewhat unlikely.”
“Fine. Don’t believe me. Go find Miss Calendar and ask her why they did it.” Buffy’s patience was officially exhausted.
“Jenny Calendar? The computer science instructor at the high school? What does she have to do with Angelus and his curse?” Giles was having difficulty concealing his anger. He liked Miss Calendar, and had recently joined her in the teacher’s lounge for a cup of tea and a nice chat. She’d also sought him out in the library, and he had tentative plans to share a table with her, at lunch on Tuesday.
Buffy leaned forward at that. “Ask her who she is. Why she’s here on the Hellmouth. Ask her if she knows Angelus, who he is, what he is. If she says she doesn’t know what you’re talking about, ask her if she’ll give her permission for you to perform a truth spell.”
Giles was fiercely polishing his glasses. “Now you’re being ridiculous. I can’t just start talking about magic and monsters in the dark. She’ll think I’ve gone completely mad.”
“She’s not going to think you’re mad, Giles,” Buffy said with a smile. “She knows about the things that go bump in the night. Knows a lot more than even I know she knows, I’ll bet.”
“The idea is preposterous. If it’s true, then why hasn’t she mentioned something to me before now?” Giles asked. He was starting to wonder if he hadn’t been mistaken about the teacher, and didn’t like the uncertainty, recognizing that he was really starting to care about her.
“Tell me, Giles. Have you been up front and honest about yourself with her? Have you told her that working in the library is just your clever cover job, and that your real vocation is taking teenage girls from their families and teaching them how to go out at night and kill monsters?” Buffy asked, with a sardonically lifted brow.
Giles didn’t know what to say. He attempted to reply several times, but nothing intelligible left his mouth. Finally, he sighed and leaned back, brushing a hand over his hair in defeat. “I’m afraid you are quite right, Buffy. I should not expect openness if I am not willing to give it myself. We are both to blame.”
Buffy quickly hid a smile. Giles hadn’t noticed, but his response showed that he was finally starting to believe her.
Giles looked at Buffy. “So, to clarify, you have information which makes you believe that sexual intercourse will make Angel happy enough to lose his soul?”
“I’m going to go with a great, big, Y...E...S... on that one.” Buffy gave a vigorous nod.
“Of course, I would like to see your reference materials, just to complete my documentation properly.” Giles seems perfectly willing to accept Buffy’s assessment, but his Watcher instincts insisted there be some kind of paper trail to defend his decision.
“Oh, I see. You need proof? Fine. Pull out your pen and get ready to report on yet another painful part of my life. The last time I was here, I thought I loved him. He thought he loved me. We held hands, we kissed, we flirted, and then one night, things went a little further. No, they went a lot further. In fact, they went all the way, if you catch my drift. I’m going to assume you don’t need all the gory details, right?” The look Buffy sent Giles made it clear she was asking a rhetorical question.
“Oh, ah...no. Carry on, please.” Giles’ cheeks were stained red at the thought of hearing personal information like that.
“Fine. The morning after, I woke up alone. Later, when he was busy trying to kill off my friends and family, we found out that he had lost his soul at some point during the night. Eventually, we got more details about the curse, and learned that a moment of pure happiness would release him from his soul. Apparently, I made him very, very happy.” Buffy cocked a brow at Giles, amused to see him so uncomfortable.
Once again, the Watcher had been reduced to stuttering, while trying to respond to her tale. His cheeks were now flaming red, and his glasses were receiving the polishing of their life. “Yes, well. That was almost too detailed.” He cleared his throat. “Would you please tell me what, exactly, it is that Jenny has to do with all of this?”
“Actually, no. It’ll be better if you hear it from the horse’s mouth, instead of from me,” Buffy said with a smile. “Plus, it’s a good opportunity for you two to learn to communicate with each other. Just, please, make sure you’re keeping an eye on Angel and Cordelia. We don’t want any surprises of the nasty variety.”
“I shall seek Miss. Calendar out tomorrow, and will arrange a time to have a frank and honest discussion with her before the day is out. As for Cordelia and Angel, I believe our best chance of keeping them apart would be for me to speak with Cordelia directly, and impress upon her the risk she would be taking, if she chooses to become intimate with the vampire.” Giles believed that Cordelia saw him as an authority figure, perhaps even a father figure, and that she would trust that he was speaking the truth, and understand that the Watcher had no ulterior motives.
“Just try to deal with the problem as soon as you can.” Buffy turned slightly, so she could make eye contact with Merrick. “Are you heading out of town with me?” Buffy had told her Watcher earlier, that she intended to leave town, pick up her car from the dealership in LA, and buy some magic supplies she couldn’t get in Sunnydale. If everything went according to plan, she’d spend a few days with Lorne, shopping and getting her hair done, before heading back to the Hellmouth. The time away would do her good, she thought. A few days of relaxation before the next big crazy came to town.
Watching Buffy, Merrick could see how badly she just needed to get away for a few days. She’d been busy since she arrived, other than the day of forced inactivity when she’d switched bodies and had been confined to her hospital bed. She’d been losing weight, and had been disappearing off on her own for long periods of time during the past week.
“Sorry, Buffy, but I’ve promised to help your mother at the gallery. She’s expecting a new shipment, and there are some heavy pieces she won’t be able to manage on her own.” Merrick felt bad for missing the trip with his charge but, at the same time, he knew Lorne would treat her like a princess while she was in LA.
“But, I thought that was George’s job?” Buffy pouted. She knew it wouldn’t work on Merrick, but it was good to stay in practice, and was still somewhat effective on Giles.
“George is in Sweden for the next few weeks. Sorry, Kiddo.”
At that point, Giles chose to speak up. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are you going, Buffy?”
“I’ve got to head to LA for a few days.”
“Do you think that wise? It’s not unreasonable to assume you might be needed here, if not for this issue with Angel’s soul, then at least to patrol and do your duty each night,” Giles said.
Buffy looked at Merrick in despair. Giles still didn’t get it. Her attention shifted to her old Watcher, and knew she couldn’t let this continue. “We’ve gone over this, Giles. I don’t know if you’ve pickled your brain in Scotch, or if you’re just becoming senile, but this is the last time I’m going to lay this out for you. I...AM...NOT...THE...SLAYER. I will never be the Slayer again.” She paused briefly to let her words sink in. “Kendra is the Slayer. I have offered my help to her, should she need it. I have given her, and you, all the information I have on potentially world-ending events that happened over the next few years, the first time I was here. She can handle things. There is no reason for me to stay put, and every reason for me to head to LA for a few days.”
“What is so important in LA? You tell me that Angel could lose his soul and become Angelus, and yet, in the same breath, you say that you plan to go swanning off to LA for a few days. How can you justify that level of disregard for the safety of the people in this community?” he asked, his voice laced with incredulity.
“Giles, you don’t understand...” Buffy tried.
The Watcher interrupted her, his anger and disappointment obvious to anyone listening. “And now you‘re trying to make excuses for your behaviour? I don’t want to hear how you’re going to try to justify running away when you are clearly needed. I had thought better of you, Buffy.”
Buffy appeared stunned. She just didn’t understand Giles anymore, and had no idea how to communicate with him. “I’m not running away from anything. I’ve done what I can here, and now I need to get to LA. It’s the only place where I can get what I need to anchor Angel’s soul.” Buffy got up and headed for the door. On the way out, she paused, keeping her back to the room. “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, Giles, but frankly, that’s not my problem. If Kendra needs me, you can reach me through Merrick or my mother.” And then she was gone.
Suddenly realizing that things had gone off-track, Giles stared as the door closed quietly after Buffy’s departure.
“You unmitigated, idiotic, narrow-minded, miserable excuse of a Watcher,” Merrick yelled. “How could you do that to her? She has given up everything to come back to a time that was Hell on Earth for her, she’s doing her best to help, though she’s not obligated to lift a finger, and you...you...” Merrick shook his head. “I’m so angry, there just aren’t words to express what I’m feeling. Why are we trying to help you at all? Tell me, please. You don’t want our help. Not really. You’ve already decided that you’re the only one that knows what’s right, and that anything we tell you that stretches your teeny little view of the world, must be wrong. That’s how you’re thinking, man. You’re right, and everyone else is wrong. You don’t have all the answers. Just deal with it, because, until you do, you’re of no use to anyone.” Unlike Buffy’s departure, there was no silent exit for Merrick. Instead, he slammed the door behind him as he left.
An hour later, when the phone rang, Giles was still staring at the door in stunned dismay, wondering how things had possibly gone so wrong, yet again.
The next day, around noon, Buffy finally moved the last piece of stone out of the way. In front of her lay the treasure she had been hunting, including a ring known as the Gem of Amara. Once she located it, she took a minute to admire the stone, before securing the ring in her pocket and closing the zipper securely.
Buffy swept her flashlight over the room. She realised she was going to need both sports bags she had with her, and probably a few shopping bags from her mom’s trunk, too, if she was going to get all this stuff home.
Once loaded, the bags of treasure were heavier than Buffy had counted on. The Light was forced to carry them, one bag at a time, up the ladder, out of the sewer, and into the back of her mom’s car. The whole process took a lot longer than expected.
The cache of treasure contained lots of jewellery, some uncut gems, sceptres, paintings, and an assortment of weapons. One item in particular, a beautiful sword, had been too long to fit into any of Buffy’s bags. Her only option was to take a chance that nobody would notice her as she carried it to the car. Once there, she wrapped the blade in an old blanket that her mother had left in the back seat, and carefully placed it in the trunk.
Arriving at Revello Drive, Buffy found she had the house to herself. Her mom was working at the gallery, and Kendra was at school. Merrick, fortunately, had made arrangements to meet Joyce for lunch, and had already left to pick her up. Buffy managed to get all of her bags into the house, without garnering too much attention from the neighbours. Mrs. Murphy, two doors down and across the street, was out trimming her roses, but once she recognized Buffy, she contented herself with a wave, and then went back to her flowers.
Alone in her room, Buffy shoved most of the bags against the wall, under her bed. After a short break to catch her breath, Buffy went to the smaller satchel she had carried back from her future life. Rummaging around, she found some spell supplies and a small volume filled with tiny writing done in purple ink.
Ten minutes later, a casual look under the bed revealed nothing but a few dust bunnies. For all intents and purposes, the bags had disappeared. Buffy smiled, satisfied that the spell she had cast would protect the treasure from prying eyes.
The hiding spell would work perfectly well for the bulk of the treasure, but Buffy knew something special was needed for the Ring of Amara. After a little more chanting, and some different herbs, Buffy cast a small spell on the ring, before hiding it in a secret place, behind a loose board in the wall.
Now, with all the treasure safely hidden, Buffy felt that she could relax a bit, maybe even head to LA for a few days. She stretched out on her bed, running through the list she had made in her mind, checking to make sure most of the tasks had been completed before she headed out of town.
A few hours later, Buffy woke with a start. She’d fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion, and had slipped into a Slayer dream. Angelus had been entering her bedroom through the window, looking for the Light. He searched the house, and when he couldn’t find the blonde, he decided to visit her mother instead. The dream ended with Angelus, in full game face, leaning over Joyce. She was screaming and crying, as the soulless vampire threw himself upon her, holding her wrists above her head with one hand, and viciously mauling her breast with the other. “It’s so much more fun when they scream,” Buffy heard him say, just before she opened her eyes.
Buffy had delayed the disinvite spell, because she had been so busy lately, but the dream had made it clear that time was running out. She needed to cast the spell and, thanks to her dream, she knew she needed to give it a little extra kick. The Light sighed. She would have to speak with Giles again, in an effort to make sure he kept a close watch on Angel and Cordelia while she was in LA. It was guaranteed to be an awkward chat, and Buffy became more frustrated each time she gave it, knowing that the Watcher really wasn’t taking her seriously. They’re all too stubborn for their own good.
Buffy knew she had the needed ingredients for the disinvite spell in one of her bags; it was something that she always travelled with, never knowing when she might need it. She gathered the ingredients, as well as a mortar and pestle, a small chalice, and a silver Zippo lighter that she’d carried for years, because it had reminded her of Spike. Fortunately, the house would be empty for the next few hours, and she should be able to work uninterrupted. Kendra would be training with Giles after school, and her mom was working a full day at the gallery today. The only one who could possibly intrude was Merrick, and Buffy knew he would understand that she was busy and leave her alone until her spell casting was complete.
Half an hour later, right in the middle of her spell, Merrick came in through the unlocked front door. He opened his mouth to greet the Light, but closed it promptly again without making a sound, when he realized that she was in the process of casting a spell of some kind. He just quietly backed up and locked the front door, and then went and did the same to the back door, before returning to the living room, where he sat on the sofa and watched Buffy at work.
After fifteen minutes, Merrick realized this wasn’t a run-of-the-mill spell Buffy was casting, and that he was probably in for a long wait. With as little noise as possible, he went into the kitchen and started to make a plate filled with sandwiches. Another, smaller plate, held sliced fruits and little squares of chocolate. The Watcher transported the plates, along with a large glass of cold juice, to the coffee table in the living room, and then he returned to the kitchen to fetch a pot of tea. Once everything was ready, he poured himself a cuppa and settled down, waiting for Buffy to finish.
One final incantation, and then Buffy sighed heavily and slumped a bit, allowing her body to relax for the first time in over an hour. She stretched her neck from side to side, and then untangled her legs, gasping at the pins and needles that rushed to her toes after sitting cross-legged for so long.
Turning to look at Merrick, Buffy stretched out her shoulders, and reached down to her toes a few more times. “How was lunch?” she asked, as she smiled her thanks for his silence while she was busy.
“Lunch went well. Your mother is a lovely woman.” Merrick got up from the couch, and went into the kitchen to grab the garbage can from under the sink. Returning to the living room, he began to gather up the trash created by Buffy’s afternoon activities. “I take it you were performing the disinvite spell we spoke of earlier? There was something different about it though.”
Buffy slowly stood. “Well, I think I had a Slayer dream...maybe.” She frowned. “Can I have Slayer dreams if I’m not a Slayer anymore?”
“If it’s important enough, I would think the Powers could send a prophetic dream to just about anyone. It probably doesn’t matter who you are.” Merrick took the garbage can back to the kitchen, and then returned to sit on the couch. “Come now, Buffy. Have a seat and help yourself to a sandwich and some fruit. I’ve brought you juice but, if you’d prefer, I don’t mind sharing my tea.”
“Ohhh...a sandwich sounds yummy, and fruit is totally of the good. I forgot to get lunch today. I was tired, and ended up falling asleep for a bit.” Buffy dove into the plate of sandwiches, pulling a ham and cheddar out of the stack with one hand, and a turkey and Swiss with the other. “I’ve been working hard for the past few days.” Buffy continued to demolish the food on the plates, until all the sandwiches and most of the fruit were a thing of the past. “What I really need now, is a vacation.”
Concerned, and well aware of Buffy’s ability to avoid things she found unpleasant, Merrick had to ask, “Don’t you think you should tell me about this dream that had you casting spells in the middle of the afternoon?”
Buffy turned so she was sitting sideways, facing Merrick, on the couch. “The dream doesn’t really matter now. I’ve taken care of things, so there’s no way it can happen,” Buffy said with confidence. “I should probably still mention it to Giles though.”
“Buffy, please, just tell me,” Merrick insisted.
Knowing she would give in eventually, Buffy decided to just quickly fill Merrick in on the high points of her afternoon dream, and the steps she had taken to keep her mother safe.
The Watcher frowned. “You’re right, Buffy. I think we must warn Giles immediately.”
“I’ve warned him already, Merrick, but I’ll tell him again if you think it would do any good. Maybe if you come with me? Right now, he just thinks I’m jealous of Cordelia.” Buffy shook her head in frustration.
“I have nothing else planned for today. Would you like to go see Giles now?” Merrick emptied his tea cup, and then placed it on the tray he had used earlier.
“Sounds like a plan. Just let me grab a shower and change my clothes, and I’ll be ready to roll.”
Merrick gathered the rest of the plates and kitchenware on his tray, while Buffy finished off her tea. “I’ll be waiting, Buffy. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”
“Don’t worry,” she smiled. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.” With that, Buffy sprinted up the stairs, heading for the bathroom and a nice, hot shower.
Not wanting to leave a mess for Joyce to deal with when she got home from the gallery, Merrick washed the dishes while he waited for Buffy to make herself presentable.
--------------------------------------
“Buffy. Merrick. Come in, won’t you, please?” Giles opened the door for his unexpected guests. “Sit down. Where ever you’re comfortable is fine.” He showed them to the living room. “Can I offer either of you a cup of tea?”
“No, thank you, Giles. We just finished a pot before we headed this way.” Merrick sent the other Watcher a reassuring smile. “Have you spoken with Cordelia or Angel recently?”
“Not recently, no. I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough with the book, and I’ve been focusing my attention there.” Giles looked at his watch. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was this late.” Moving a pile of books from a nearby chair, he seated himself across from his visitors. “Was there something important you needed to speak with me about?”
“Something important? That IS the something important, Giles. If Angel becomes too happy, he’ll lose his soul and turn back into the murdering rapist that he was a hundred years ago. Believe me, it’s not something you’d want to witness firsthand.” Buffy was frustrated by Giles’ complete unwillingness to consider Angel a potential threat to the group.
“The last time I did this, we didn’t know about the happiness clause, and people died. Our people died.” Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength. “Look, Giles. Even the Powers recognize how much bad Angelus could do. They sent me a Slayer dream, to show me what needed to be done to protect my mother from him.”
“Buffy is telling you the truth, Rupert,” Merrick confirmed.
Merrick’s serious expression piqued Giles’ curiosity, and made him finally start to ask questions. “Why would Angel’s curse have a loophole like that? It’s ridiculous.” He frowned. “I’m sorry, but it does make your story seem somewhat unlikely.”
“Fine. Don’t believe me. Go find Miss Calendar and ask her why they did it.” Buffy’s patience was officially exhausted.
“Jenny Calendar? The computer science instructor at the high school? What does she have to do with Angelus and his curse?” Giles was having difficulty concealing his anger. He liked Miss Calendar, and had recently joined her in the teacher’s lounge for a cup of tea and a nice chat. She’d also sought him out in the library, and he had tentative plans to share a table with her, at lunch on Tuesday.
Buffy leaned forward at that. “Ask her who she is. Why she’s here on the Hellmouth. Ask her if she knows Angelus, who he is, what he is. If she says she doesn’t know what you’re talking about, ask her if she’ll give her permission for you to perform a truth spell.”
Giles was fiercely polishing his glasses. “Now you’re being ridiculous. I can’t just start talking about magic and monsters in the dark. She’ll think I’ve gone completely mad.”
“She’s not going to think you’re mad, Giles,” Buffy said with a smile. “She knows about the things that go bump in the night. Knows a lot more than even I know she knows, I’ll bet.”
“The idea is preposterous. If it’s true, then why hasn’t she mentioned something to me before now?” Giles asked. He was starting to wonder if he hadn’t been mistaken about the teacher, and didn’t like the uncertainty, recognizing that he was really starting to care about her.
“Tell me, Giles. Have you been up front and honest about yourself with her? Have you told her that working in the library is just your clever cover job, and that your real vocation is taking teenage girls from their families and teaching them how to go out at night and kill monsters?” Buffy asked, with a sardonically lifted brow.
Giles didn’t know what to say. He attempted to reply several times, but nothing intelligible left his mouth. Finally, he sighed and leaned back, brushing a hand over his hair in defeat. “I’m afraid you are quite right, Buffy. I should not expect openness if I am not willing to give it myself. We are both to blame.”
Buffy quickly hid a smile. Giles hadn’t noticed, but his response showed that he was finally starting to believe her.
Giles looked at Buffy. “So, to clarify, you have information which makes you believe that sexual intercourse will make Angel happy enough to lose his soul?”
“I’m going to go with a great, big, Y...E...S... on that one.” Buffy gave a vigorous nod.
“Of course, I would like to see your reference materials, just to complete my documentation properly.” Giles seems perfectly willing to accept Buffy’s assessment, but his Watcher instincts insisted there be some kind of paper trail to defend his decision.
“Oh, I see. You need proof? Fine. Pull out your pen and get ready to report on yet another painful part of my life. The last time I was here, I thought I loved him. He thought he loved me. We held hands, we kissed, we flirted, and then one night, things went a little further. No, they went a lot further. In fact, they went all the way, if you catch my drift. I’m going to assume you don’t need all the gory details, right?” The look Buffy sent Giles made it clear she was asking a rhetorical question.
“Oh, ah...no. Carry on, please.” Giles’ cheeks were stained red at the thought of hearing personal information like that.
“Fine. The morning after, I woke up alone. Later, when he was busy trying to kill off my friends and family, we found out that he had lost his soul at some point during the night. Eventually, we got more details about the curse, and learned that a moment of pure happiness would release him from his soul. Apparently, I made him very, very happy.” Buffy cocked a brow at Giles, amused to see him so uncomfortable.
Once again, the Watcher had been reduced to stuttering, while trying to respond to her tale. His cheeks were now flaming red, and his glasses were receiving the polishing of their life. “Yes, well. That was almost too detailed.” He cleared his throat. “Would you please tell me what, exactly, it is that Jenny has to do with all of this?”
“Actually, no. It’ll be better if you hear it from the horse’s mouth, instead of from me,” Buffy said with a smile. “Plus, it’s a good opportunity for you two to learn to communicate with each other. Just, please, make sure you’re keeping an eye on Angel and Cordelia. We don’t want any surprises of the nasty variety.”
“I shall seek Miss. Calendar out tomorrow, and will arrange a time to have a frank and honest discussion with her before the day is out. As for Cordelia and Angel, I believe our best chance of keeping them apart would be for me to speak with Cordelia directly, and impress upon her the risk she would be taking, if she chooses to become intimate with the vampire.” Giles believed that Cordelia saw him as an authority figure, perhaps even a father figure, and that she would trust that he was speaking the truth, and understand that the Watcher had no ulterior motives.
“Just try to deal with the problem as soon as you can.” Buffy turned slightly, so she could make eye contact with Merrick. “Are you heading out of town with me?” Buffy had told her Watcher earlier, that she intended to leave town, pick up her car from the dealership in LA, and buy some magic supplies she couldn’t get in Sunnydale. If everything went according to plan, she’d spend a few days with Lorne, shopping and getting her hair done, before heading back to the Hellmouth. The time away would do her good, she thought. A few days of relaxation before the next big crazy came to town.
Watching Buffy, Merrick could see how badly she just needed to get away for a few days. She’d been busy since she arrived, other than the day of forced inactivity when she’d switched bodies and had been confined to her hospital bed. She’d been losing weight, and had been disappearing off on her own for long periods of time during the past week.
“Sorry, Buffy, but I’ve promised to help your mother at the gallery. She’s expecting a new shipment, and there are some heavy pieces she won’t be able to manage on her own.” Merrick felt bad for missing the trip with his charge but, at the same time, he knew Lorne would treat her like a princess while she was in LA.
“But, I thought that was George’s job?” Buffy pouted. She knew it wouldn’t work on Merrick, but it was good to stay in practice, and was still somewhat effective on Giles.
“George is in Sweden for the next few weeks. Sorry, Kiddo.”
At that point, Giles chose to speak up. “If you don’t mind me asking, where are you going, Buffy?”
“I’ve got to head to LA for a few days.”
“Do you think that wise? It’s not unreasonable to assume you might be needed here, if not for this issue with Angel’s soul, then at least to patrol and do your duty each night,” Giles said.
Buffy looked at Merrick in despair. Giles still didn’t get it. Her attention shifted to her old Watcher, and knew she couldn’t let this continue. “We’ve gone over this, Giles. I don’t know if you’ve pickled your brain in Scotch, or if you’re just becoming senile, but this is the last time I’m going to lay this out for you. I...AM...NOT...THE...SLAYER. I will never be the Slayer again.” She paused briefly to let her words sink in. “Kendra is the Slayer. I have offered my help to her, should she need it. I have given her, and you, all the information I have on potentially world-ending events that happened over the next few years, the first time I was here. She can handle things. There is no reason for me to stay put, and every reason for me to head to LA for a few days.”
“What is so important in LA? You tell me that Angel could lose his soul and become Angelus, and yet, in the same breath, you say that you plan to go swanning off to LA for a few days. How can you justify that level of disregard for the safety of the people in this community?” he asked, his voice laced with incredulity.
“Giles, you don’t understand...” Buffy tried.
The Watcher interrupted her, his anger and disappointment obvious to anyone listening. “And now you‘re trying to make excuses for your behaviour? I don’t want to hear how you’re going to try to justify running away when you are clearly needed. I had thought better of you, Buffy.”
Buffy appeared stunned. She just didn’t understand Giles anymore, and had no idea how to communicate with him. “I’m not running away from anything. I’ve done what I can here, and now I need to get to LA. It’s the only place where I can get what I need to anchor Angel’s soul.” Buffy got up and headed for the door. On the way out, she paused, keeping her back to the room. “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, Giles, but frankly, that’s not my problem. If Kendra needs me, you can reach me through Merrick or my mother.” And then she was gone.
Suddenly realizing that things had gone off-track, Giles stared as the door closed quietly after Buffy’s departure.
“You unmitigated, idiotic, narrow-minded, miserable excuse of a Watcher,” Merrick yelled. “How could you do that to her? She has given up everything to come back to a time that was Hell on Earth for her, she’s doing her best to help, though she’s not obligated to lift a finger, and you...you...” Merrick shook his head. “I’m so angry, there just aren’t words to express what I’m feeling. Why are we trying to help you at all? Tell me, please. You don’t want our help. Not really. You’ve already decided that you’re the only one that knows what’s right, and that anything we tell you that stretches your teeny little view of the world, must be wrong. That’s how you’re thinking, man. You’re right, and everyone else is wrong. You don’t have all the answers. Just deal with it, because, until you do, you’re of no use to anyone.” Unlike Buffy’s departure, there was no silent exit for Merrick. Instead, he slammed the door behind him as he left.
An hour later, when the phone rang, Giles was still staring at the door in stunned dismay, wondering how things had possibly gone so wrong, yet again.
The Root of the Problem.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy. The jokes made by Lorne is the product of Flight Of Fancy’s brain.
Two days later, Buffy was once again taking a solo bus ride to LA. It was ironic that both times she’d travelled on this bus, it was directly related to the loss of Angel’s soul. This time, rather than worrying her mother with her absence, Buffy knew that Joyce and Merrick would be industriously occupied with displays at the gallery, and with starting to move furniture and sundries into Buffy’s new home.
Thanks to her mother’s brilliant plan to shop earlier, and have the purchases delivered later, Buffy knew that she’d be returning to a home that would be ready for her to move in. Sure, Clem and his crew would still have some work to complete, and the house would be minimally furnished, but it would be ready for occupancy at long last.
Buffy smiled. It wasn’t that she hadn’t enjoyed living with her mother and Kendra, it was just that she was really looking forward to having a space she could call her own. Besides, it’s not like she wouldn’t be seeing her mother ever again. Joyce had made it very clear that she and Kendra expected to be invited over for dinner no less than once a week, and that her daughter would be expected in her mother’s home at least as often.
The bus ride to LA was just over three hours long. Not really enough time to get a serious introspective groove on, but definitely enough time to replay a recent memory or two. Trying to relax into her window seat, Buffy couldn’t shake the emotions caused by her recent run-in with Giles. She might have left the Watcher’s home silently but, inside, she had been fuming.
Fortunately, Merrick and Joyce had been sensitive to her mood, and the couple had worked extra hard to get Buffy laughing again. That night, instead of giving into her instinct to beat something to a dusty pulp, the Light found herself sitting on her mother’s couch, trying to play a game of charades that was unfairly stacked against Kendra and herself. I mean, seriously! How was anyone their age supposed to know that ‘Hot Stuff’ was a disco song? Buffy had thought it was something like a pizza pocket, to the never-ending amusement of the adults in the room. By the time the lights went out on Revello Drive, Buffy was smiling again.
The next night, after a quiet meal in the Summers’ kitchen, Buffy offered to take over Kendra’s patrol for the night. The Slayer had a big biology exam the next day, and really appreciated the extra study time. The poor girl had been planning to patrol, and then return and spend the rest of the night with her nose buried in a textbook.
Buffy’s patrol had barely started when she realized she had two Aurelian vampires on her tail. One of them, she was overjoyed to see again, while the other, she didn’t want anything to do with. Fortunately for her, both vampires seemed determined to keep their distance for the moment.
It was in her third cemetery of the evening that she came upon an eight foot tall monster, dressed in a robe with a large hood. The skin she could see was scabrous and an unhealthy shade of green, while his head was completely covered by his hood. The giant monster made the mistake of trying to sneak up on Buffy and grab her from behind. The Light had sensed his presence, and managed to duck and avoid the creature’s grasp without a lot of effort. Jumping out of the way, Buffy noticed that the monster moved slowly, and in a very ungainly fashion.
“So the rumours are true. I should have known better than to count on those useless humans to finish you off,” the demon spat.
“Do I know you?” Buffy asked, as she circled her attacker. His voice seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Maybe she’d have better luck if she got his hood off?
“You should. You’ve ruined enough of my plans. Now it’s time that I ruin some of yours.” Buffy was pleased. The monster was slowly removing his hood, and she hadn’t even been forced to ask him nicely to do so.
Suddenly, Buffy started to giggle. “Carlos, alias the Immortal.” A few more giggles escaped. “What on Earth happened to you? Not only are you green as a shamrock shake, but you’re all splotchy. Where did the uber-suave Italian playboy I used to know go?”
The Immortal let out a shriek of rage. “It’s your fault, you bitch! Why didn’t you just keep your nose out of my business?” He could hardly speak, he was so filled with hatred for the powerful blonde.
Staying well out of his reach, Buffy watched as slimy green spittle continued to project from the Immortal’s mouth every time he started another rant about how she had ruined him. “Do you honestly think I could have looked the other way, while you sucked the life-force out of every woman you took to bed?” Surely, he wasn’t that stupid? “And what’s your plan of attack now? You figure I’m going to laugh so hard, I’ll run out of air and drop dead? Because, seriously, that’s probably your best bet, if you’re trying to actually beat me.”
Enraged beyond containment, the Immortal threw himself at the Light. Well prepared for his attack, Buffy jumped back to avoid the initial impact of his long arms while, at the same time, gracefully lifting her back leg and nailing him in the head with a spin kick. She should have landed gracefully on her feet, ready to follow up with a double-punch, but instead, something slammed into her side, sending her crashing head-first into a nearby headstone. Stunned, and slightly dizzy, Buffy turned to see Angel engaging her quarry in an attempt to ‘protect’ her. That’s it! If the Immortal doesn’t knock him stupid, then I’m definitely going to. Who does he think he is? Trying to steal my fun and fight my battles! Struggling to her feet, Buffy leaned back against a tombstone, watching the fight until the dizziness wore off. Conveniently, that just happened to be about the time that the Immortal knocked Angel out of the game.
Carlos had height and strength on his side, and Angel didn’t have Buffy’s speed and grace, so he was unable to dodge when the Immortal took a powerful swing at his head. The dark vampire went sailing through the air to land, crumpled, at the bottom of a tree.
Just like that, Buffy was back in the fight. They fought silently for a few minutes, but witty banter was Buffy’s trademark, and she didn’t hold back for long. “What’s with the creature feature look? Kind of a change from the last time I saw you, isn’t it?”
“That’s your fault, too. If you hadn’t revealed to the world how I stayed young, people would still be trying to curse me with no effect. I’m going to have my revenge though. If I kill you now, when you’re still weak, the future will be wiped clean of your presence and I will be free to hunt again.” The Immortal was so overcome with lust at the thought of the beautiful women he would seduce and murder, that he lost his focus for a moment.
A few seconds of distraction were all that Buffy needed, and it wasn’t long before she was standing beside the Immortal’s corpse, his severed head in her hands. Not for the first time, Buffy was thankful that she always carried a wickedly sharp knife in a sheath on her body. The weapon had saved her life more than once, and she never left home without it.
The hard work done, Buffy looked over at Angel. He was still out cold, slumped at the base of the tree.
She decided to take a bit of a risk, and turned to address the thick foliage to her left. “Spike, I know you’re there. Come out, please,” Buffy called out.
There was a brief rustling of dead leaves, and then Spike popped out from behind some bushes. “I don’t want to fight you, Luv. You’re probably a bit run down after that battle, and I wouldn’t want to take advantage.”
Buffy smiled. “Thanks, Spike. I’m not really in the mood, and I still need to take care of this guy. He’s put an enchantment on his body so, unless we burn his head, he’s just going to regenerate in a week. You wouldn’t happen to have a lighter, would you?”
In response, Spike pulled out a cigarette, and lit it with a shiny silver Zippo. He moved closer to Buffy, trying to get a good look at the head that was hanging from her fist. “Hey, isn’t that the bloody Immortal?”
“Sure is. Did you know him well?” Buffy kept the conversation polite, as if they were talking over dinner.
“Well enough. Didn’t want to know him any better. I hated the bugger.” The vampire looked around. “Shouldn’t be a problem to get enough dry wood for a fire.”
“Sounds like a plan. What do you want me to do?” Now that Spike understood what was needed, Buffy was happy to leave the process in his hands.
Spike tossed a smirk her way. “Once you’ve dropped the Immortally ugly one there, you could get busy picking up firewood. After all, it’s your party.” He laughed. “Not right that I have to do all the work.”
“Fair enough,” Buffy said, smiling back.
It wasn’t long before they had quite a respectable blaze going.
Spike was looking down at the head, and appeared to be thinking hard. “You know, it’s going to take a long time for his head to burn up, if we leave it like this. Do you mind if I try to speed the process along a bit?” When Buffy nodded her consent, Spike raised a foot and savagely stomped on the skull a few times. Bones broke, the nose was driven into the brain, and the head was left almost unrecognizable before it was tossed onto the fire.
Buffy and Spike stayed for some time after that, making a pretence of guarding against the spread of their little fire, and sneaking brief glances at each other.
“Is it true?” Spike suddenly asked, holding Buffy’s gaze. “Are you from the future?”
“You could say that. Yeah, I am.” Buffy didn’t see any point in lying to him.
“Tell me then, will she ever come back to me?” The pain in his eyes was difficult to look at, but there was an awareness there too. Spike knew what her answer would be, before she gave it.
“I’m sorry,” Buffy answered, refusing to drop her gaze.
He had suspected as much, and knew Buffy was telling the truth. There was something different about Dru’s infidelity this time. Hell, he’d known for weeks. This just confirmed it.
Hearing a noise from behind, and recognizing the sound of Angel, waking up, Buffy rose from the tombstone she had occupied, and brushed off the seat of her jeans. “I owe you one,” she said, a little smile on her lips. “I’m heading to LA for a couple of days, the day after tomorrow. When I get back, I’ll be moving into my new place. You know where it is, if you ever need me.”
Standing, Spike took a quick look at his Grandsire. “I’d best be going now.”
“Don’t be a stranger. We should get together when I get back.” Buffy’s smile was bigger now.
“Yeah, maybe I’ll take you up on that.” Unable to help himself, Spike licked his lips and gave her a heated look, before turning away. Black leather fluttered around his legs, as he disappeared between the trees.
Buffy had one last thing to do, before she left the graveyard. With a frown on her face, she turned towards Angel, who was attempting to get up. “What the Hell did you think you were doing, Angel?”
Sending his best puppy-dog look her way, the gloomy vampire responded, “I was just trying to help you. That guy was serious trouble, and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Oh, I get it, you were protecting me.” Buffy watched Angel nod vigorously. “Protecting me by smashing my head into a tombstone?” It was funny, how quickly the nodding became shaking, as he tried to defend himself.
The vampire swallowed. “That was an accident. I was trying to help you. The Immortal is very cunning, and strong as well.”
“Oh, okay. So, what you’re saying is, you thought I was too stupid and too weak to be able to win. Thanks a lot.” Buffy marched right up to Angel, and poked him in the chest a few times. “Don’t ever interfere in my fights again. If I need help, I’ll ask for it.” With that, Buffy stomped on the ashes of the fire, just to make sure they were out and the Immortal’s head was destroyed, before turning away.
Angel continued to stand by the tree, at a loss for words.
Buffy refused to look at him again, and left the cemetery without further delay.
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The day after Buffy’s encounter with the Immortal, Joyce answered a call from Giles. The Watcher asked to speak with Buffy, but she refused to come to the phone. Instead, she asked her mother to let Giles know that she didn’t see any reason for them to speak at that time.
Not to be dismissed, Giles then asked to speak with Merrick. When the other Watcher came to the phone, Giles asked Merrick to let Buffy know he was genuinely sorry for his outburst the last time they were together. Giles had spoken with Cordelia, and though she appeared more interested in her nail polish than in what he had to say, the Watcher felt he had finally made the young woman understand the importance of keeping her legs crossed, at least for now.
Buffy sincerely hoped that Giles was right, and that the couple managed to keep their relationship platonic, at least until she came back from LA. The Light knew she wouldn’t have much time in LA, so she was going to have to make the most of the time she could get.
Looking back, it seemed like there was always trouble, whenever she tried to grab some enjoyment for herself. Almost like the gang just couldn’t accept that she might need something in her life other than her sacred calling.
When coercion and guilt trips stopped working on her, there were attempts to control her with spells. The horror of being trapped in her own body, a puppet with the Scoobies pulling the strings, wasn’t something she ever wanted to experience again. Fortunately, she’d managed to fight the spells long enough to seek out some protection charms from an old witch she knew. Once she was able to resist the group’s basic control spells, she sought out stronger magic that would protect her from ever being affected by a control spell again.
The Scoobies, and the Council, eventually learned that their spells were no longer effective, so they changed tactics. Soon after that, Buffy found herself being hunted by groups of Slayers, always with a Scooby in the group to supervise their capture efforts. Fortunately, Buffy managed to escape their traps without killing anyone. After three capture attempts in less than three months, Buffy knew she needed to find another spell. This time, one that would prevent people from locating or tracking her by magical means.
There was no way to describe the sense of relief Buffy felt, the day she managed to place the last of her protection spells. Finally, she could have some peace and quiet, and get through the day without constantly looking over her shoulder for an ambush. She remembered those times like they were yesterday, because it was then that she was finally able to mourn her losses and begin to move on with her life.
This was not the grief she cried out every night, when she finally lay her head to rest in her cold and lonely bed. The grief she experienced now, was that of a woman who had seen every single support stripped from her life. Her friends became her enemies, her sister became her jailer, her Watcher was unmoved by her pleas for mercy, and her mother was lost to her. The ones she once depended on still hunted her, but with the addition of Buffy’s latest protection spells, they had to do their searching the old-fashioned way. Now, instead of being constantly on the run, Buffy was able to make a home for herself, until they managed to track her down again, and sometimes that took years.
Then came the day when the last of the Scoobies died, and she could stop looking over her shoulder for good. It was then that she thought of Sunnydale, and how her life there had begun on such a positive note. There was always a twist of sadness, when she thought of those days, but Buffy’s regret was saved for one man only, and he wasn’t a Scoobie. In fact, he was about as far from one as it was possible to get.
Things could have been different, if only her friends had accepted her destiny. They didn’t realize it, but their relentless persecution of Buffy condemned them to a life without their true mates as well. And to think, in that timeline, Spike had even retrieved his soul, just to try to be a better man and prove to the group that he was what Buffy needed. Well, that was a sacrifice she was determined he would not be making this time around. This time, when they were together, she would...
It was at that point that Buffy made a conscious effort to stop thinking about her future. For now, she would work on her home, support Kendra, celebrate the time with her mother, and do her best to create some boundaries with the Scoobies. When the time was right, that’s when she’d let herself dream about Spike. Things had been going her way, and she wanted to make sure her lucky streak continued.
Buffy gave her head a shake. She needed to throw off this introspective and blue mood she’d fallen into on the bus ride to LA. Soon she’d be connecting with Lorne, and the next few days were going to be a whirlwind of shopping, spa treatments, and the best girl-talk Buffy had ever experienced. Buffy snickered. She was going to have to watch it, or Lorne was going to out-Diva her.
-----------------------------------
Lorne was waiting for her at the bus station, dressed in an eye-catching suit of canary yellow, with a brilliant fuchsia shirt and a startling tangerine tie. As soon as she got off the bus, he enveloped her in a tight hug. “How long do we have to shop, girlfriend of my heart?”
Feeling her spirits rise dramatically, Buffy returned the green-skinned demon’s hug with gusto. “Not as long as I’d like. There’s some stuff happening in Sunnydale that could blow up on us.” Buffy smiled sadly. “The problem is, I can’t seem to get anyone to take me seriously.”
“It’s your ravishing beauty, my little lollipop. Everyone is so overwhelmed that they forget to listen to whatever you’re saying.” Lorne was determined to tease her out of the funk she seemed to be in.
Unable to resist, Buffy gave Lorne another quick hug. “You’re the best. I need to bring you home with me. You always make me feel better. Now, there’s something critical that I need to know. Will you help me shop while I’m here? I need to get stuff for my house, pick up my new car, and definitely have a spa day while I’m here. Oh, and I have a list of books to find as well.” The pair stopped at Lorne’s car while he fished in his pockets for his keys.
“Absolutely, my little delight. Get it? The Light?” The Host giggled at his own joke, while Buffy responded with a groan. “Ah well, they can’t all be winners. What kind of books are you looking for?” He placed Buffy’s bag in the trunk.
“Copies of books I left behind when I returned here with Merrick. Generally, they’re about magic, demons, and occult history.”
Lorne pulled his door shut, before he spoke. “Watcher books.” He nodded. “I know a shop where we should be able to find most of what you’re looking for. Anything they don’t have in stock, they can usually special-order in.”
“Sounds great.” Buffy replied. “What about a good magic supply store? Do you know one in town?”
“Sure thing. You know I’d do anything for my favourite little cupcake.” Lorne steered the car onto the road. “Plus, as an added bonus, all of the shops we need are closed at night!” He pronounced with glee.
“What? How is that a good thing?” Buffy asked him.
“Oh, it just means that your boring old shopping won’t interfere with the relaxing and partying I have planned for this weekend,” Lorne grinned.
“Hey.” Buffy slapped his arm lightly. “I know I’ve got a long list of boring things to do, but I’m hoping I’ll get through them quickly with your help. Some of the places, like the bookstore, I plan to just give them a list of what I want, and then have them ship my purchases to Sunnydale. I want to put as little as possible in my car, so I’ll have lots of room for the fun shopping you and I are going to get to.” Buffy sent a wide smile Lorne’s way.
“Ah, now I see the method to your madness and, I must say, I’m impressed. Well, I’m not one to disappoint a lady. Let’s get this party started,” Lorne exclaimed as he pulled up outside of Caritas.
Two days later, Buffy was once again taking a solo bus ride to LA. It was ironic that both times she’d travelled on this bus, it was directly related to the loss of Angel’s soul. This time, rather than worrying her mother with her absence, Buffy knew that Joyce and Merrick would be industriously occupied with displays at the gallery, and with starting to move furniture and sundries into Buffy’s new home.
Thanks to her mother’s brilliant plan to shop earlier, and have the purchases delivered later, Buffy knew that she’d be returning to a home that would be ready for her to move in. Sure, Clem and his crew would still have some work to complete, and the house would be minimally furnished, but it would be ready for occupancy at long last.
Buffy smiled. It wasn’t that she hadn’t enjoyed living with her mother and Kendra, it was just that she was really looking forward to having a space she could call her own. Besides, it’s not like she wouldn’t be seeing her mother ever again. Joyce had made it very clear that she and Kendra expected to be invited over for dinner no less than once a week, and that her daughter would be expected in her mother’s home at least as often.
The bus ride to LA was just over three hours long. Not really enough time to get a serious introspective groove on, but definitely enough time to replay a recent memory or two. Trying to relax into her window seat, Buffy couldn’t shake the emotions caused by her recent run-in with Giles. She might have left the Watcher’s home silently but, inside, she had been fuming.
Fortunately, Merrick and Joyce had been sensitive to her mood, and the couple had worked extra hard to get Buffy laughing again. That night, instead of giving into her instinct to beat something to a dusty pulp, the Light found herself sitting on her mother’s couch, trying to play a game of charades that was unfairly stacked against Kendra and herself. I mean, seriously! How was anyone their age supposed to know that ‘Hot Stuff’ was a disco song? Buffy had thought it was something like a pizza pocket, to the never-ending amusement of the adults in the room. By the time the lights went out on Revello Drive, Buffy was smiling again.
The next night, after a quiet meal in the Summers’ kitchen, Buffy offered to take over Kendra’s patrol for the night. The Slayer had a big biology exam the next day, and really appreciated the extra study time. The poor girl had been planning to patrol, and then return and spend the rest of the night with her nose buried in a textbook.
Buffy’s patrol had barely started when she realized she had two Aurelian vampires on her tail. One of them, she was overjoyed to see again, while the other, she didn’t want anything to do with. Fortunately for her, both vampires seemed determined to keep their distance for the moment.
It was in her third cemetery of the evening that she came upon an eight foot tall monster, dressed in a robe with a large hood. The skin she could see was scabrous and an unhealthy shade of green, while his head was completely covered by his hood. The giant monster made the mistake of trying to sneak up on Buffy and grab her from behind. The Light had sensed his presence, and managed to duck and avoid the creature’s grasp without a lot of effort. Jumping out of the way, Buffy noticed that the monster moved slowly, and in a very ungainly fashion.
“So the rumours are true. I should have known better than to count on those useless humans to finish you off,” the demon spat.
“Do I know you?” Buffy asked, as she circled her attacker. His voice seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Maybe she’d have better luck if she got his hood off?
“You should. You’ve ruined enough of my plans. Now it’s time that I ruin some of yours.” Buffy was pleased. The monster was slowly removing his hood, and she hadn’t even been forced to ask him nicely to do so.
Suddenly, Buffy started to giggle. “Carlos, alias the Immortal.” A few more giggles escaped. “What on Earth happened to you? Not only are you green as a shamrock shake, but you’re all splotchy. Where did the uber-suave Italian playboy I used to know go?”
The Immortal let out a shriek of rage. “It’s your fault, you bitch! Why didn’t you just keep your nose out of my business?” He could hardly speak, he was so filled with hatred for the powerful blonde.
Staying well out of his reach, Buffy watched as slimy green spittle continued to project from the Immortal’s mouth every time he started another rant about how she had ruined him. “Do you honestly think I could have looked the other way, while you sucked the life-force out of every woman you took to bed?” Surely, he wasn’t that stupid? “And what’s your plan of attack now? You figure I’m going to laugh so hard, I’ll run out of air and drop dead? Because, seriously, that’s probably your best bet, if you’re trying to actually beat me.”
Enraged beyond containment, the Immortal threw himself at the Light. Well prepared for his attack, Buffy jumped back to avoid the initial impact of his long arms while, at the same time, gracefully lifting her back leg and nailing him in the head with a spin kick. She should have landed gracefully on her feet, ready to follow up with a double-punch, but instead, something slammed into her side, sending her crashing head-first into a nearby headstone. Stunned, and slightly dizzy, Buffy turned to see Angel engaging her quarry in an attempt to ‘protect’ her. That’s it! If the Immortal doesn’t knock him stupid, then I’m definitely going to. Who does he think he is? Trying to steal my fun and fight my battles! Struggling to her feet, Buffy leaned back against a tombstone, watching the fight until the dizziness wore off. Conveniently, that just happened to be about the time that the Immortal knocked Angel out of the game.
Carlos had height and strength on his side, and Angel didn’t have Buffy’s speed and grace, so he was unable to dodge when the Immortal took a powerful swing at his head. The dark vampire went sailing through the air to land, crumpled, at the bottom of a tree.
Just like that, Buffy was back in the fight. They fought silently for a few minutes, but witty banter was Buffy’s trademark, and she didn’t hold back for long. “What’s with the creature feature look? Kind of a change from the last time I saw you, isn’t it?”
“That’s your fault, too. If you hadn’t revealed to the world how I stayed young, people would still be trying to curse me with no effect. I’m going to have my revenge though. If I kill you now, when you’re still weak, the future will be wiped clean of your presence and I will be free to hunt again.” The Immortal was so overcome with lust at the thought of the beautiful women he would seduce and murder, that he lost his focus for a moment.
A few seconds of distraction were all that Buffy needed, and it wasn’t long before she was standing beside the Immortal’s corpse, his severed head in her hands. Not for the first time, Buffy was thankful that she always carried a wickedly sharp knife in a sheath on her body. The weapon had saved her life more than once, and she never left home without it.
The hard work done, Buffy looked over at Angel. He was still out cold, slumped at the base of the tree.
She decided to take a bit of a risk, and turned to address the thick foliage to her left. “Spike, I know you’re there. Come out, please,” Buffy called out.
There was a brief rustling of dead leaves, and then Spike popped out from behind some bushes. “I don’t want to fight you, Luv. You’re probably a bit run down after that battle, and I wouldn’t want to take advantage.”
Buffy smiled. “Thanks, Spike. I’m not really in the mood, and I still need to take care of this guy. He’s put an enchantment on his body so, unless we burn his head, he’s just going to regenerate in a week. You wouldn’t happen to have a lighter, would you?”
In response, Spike pulled out a cigarette, and lit it with a shiny silver Zippo. He moved closer to Buffy, trying to get a good look at the head that was hanging from her fist. “Hey, isn’t that the bloody Immortal?”
“Sure is. Did you know him well?” Buffy kept the conversation polite, as if they were talking over dinner.
“Well enough. Didn’t want to know him any better. I hated the bugger.” The vampire looked around. “Shouldn’t be a problem to get enough dry wood for a fire.”
“Sounds like a plan. What do you want me to do?” Now that Spike understood what was needed, Buffy was happy to leave the process in his hands.
Spike tossed a smirk her way. “Once you’ve dropped the Immortally ugly one there, you could get busy picking up firewood. After all, it’s your party.” He laughed. “Not right that I have to do all the work.”
“Fair enough,” Buffy said, smiling back.
It wasn’t long before they had quite a respectable blaze going.
Spike was looking down at the head, and appeared to be thinking hard. “You know, it’s going to take a long time for his head to burn up, if we leave it like this. Do you mind if I try to speed the process along a bit?” When Buffy nodded her consent, Spike raised a foot and savagely stomped on the skull a few times. Bones broke, the nose was driven into the brain, and the head was left almost unrecognizable before it was tossed onto the fire.
Buffy and Spike stayed for some time after that, making a pretence of guarding against the spread of their little fire, and sneaking brief glances at each other.
“Is it true?” Spike suddenly asked, holding Buffy’s gaze. “Are you from the future?”
“You could say that. Yeah, I am.” Buffy didn’t see any point in lying to him.
“Tell me then, will she ever come back to me?” The pain in his eyes was difficult to look at, but there was an awareness there too. Spike knew what her answer would be, before she gave it.
“I’m sorry,” Buffy answered, refusing to drop her gaze.
He had suspected as much, and knew Buffy was telling the truth. There was something different about Dru’s infidelity this time. Hell, he’d known for weeks. This just confirmed it.
Hearing a noise from behind, and recognizing the sound of Angel, waking up, Buffy rose from the tombstone she had occupied, and brushed off the seat of her jeans. “I owe you one,” she said, a little smile on her lips. “I’m heading to LA for a couple of days, the day after tomorrow. When I get back, I’ll be moving into my new place. You know where it is, if you ever need me.”
Standing, Spike took a quick look at his Grandsire. “I’d best be going now.”
“Don’t be a stranger. We should get together when I get back.” Buffy’s smile was bigger now.
“Yeah, maybe I’ll take you up on that.” Unable to help himself, Spike licked his lips and gave her a heated look, before turning away. Black leather fluttered around his legs, as he disappeared between the trees.
Buffy had one last thing to do, before she left the graveyard. With a frown on her face, she turned towards Angel, who was attempting to get up. “What the Hell did you think you were doing, Angel?”
Sending his best puppy-dog look her way, the gloomy vampire responded, “I was just trying to help you. That guy was serious trouble, and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Oh, I get it, you were protecting me.” Buffy watched Angel nod vigorously. “Protecting me by smashing my head into a tombstone?” It was funny, how quickly the nodding became shaking, as he tried to defend himself.
The vampire swallowed. “That was an accident. I was trying to help you. The Immortal is very cunning, and strong as well.”
“Oh, okay. So, what you’re saying is, you thought I was too stupid and too weak to be able to win. Thanks a lot.” Buffy marched right up to Angel, and poked him in the chest a few times. “Don’t ever interfere in my fights again. If I need help, I’ll ask for it.” With that, Buffy stomped on the ashes of the fire, just to make sure they were out and the Immortal’s head was destroyed, before turning away.
Angel continued to stand by the tree, at a loss for words.
Buffy refused to look at him again, and left the cemetery without further delay.
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The day after Buffy’s encounter with the Immortal, Joyce answered a call from Giles. The Watcher asked to speak with Buffy, but she refused to come to the phone. Instead, she asked her mother to let Giles know that she didn’t see any reason for them to speak at that time.
Not to be dismissed, Giles then asked to speak with Merrick. When the other Watcher came to the phone, Giles asked Merrick to let Buffy know he was genuinely sorry for his outburst the last time they were together. Giles had spoken with Cordelia, and though she appeared more interested in her nail polish than in what he had to say, the Watcher felt he had finally made the young woman understand the importance of keeping her legs crossed, at least for now.
Buffy sincerely hoped that Giles was right, and that the couple managed to keep their relationship platonic, at least until she came back from LA. The Light knew she wouldn’t have much time in LA, so she was going to have to make the most of the time she could get.
Looking back, it seemed like there was always trouble, whenever she tried to grab some enjoyment for herself. Almost like the gang just couldn’t accept that she might need something in her life other than her sacred calling.
When coercion and guilt trips stopped working on her, there were attempts to control her with spells. The horror of being trapped in her own body, a puppet with the Scoobies pulling the strings, wasn’t something she ever wanted to experience again. Fortunately, she’d managed to fight the spells long enough to seek out some protection charms from an old witch she knew. Once she was able to resist the group’s basic control spells, she sought out stronger magic that would protect her from ever being affected by a control spell again.
The Scoobies, and the Council, eventually learned that their spells were no longer effective, so they changed tactics. Soon after that, Buffy found herself being hunted by groups of Slayers, always with a Scooby in the group to supervise their capture efforts. Fortunately, Buffy managed to escape their traps without killing anyone. After three capture attempts in less than three months, Buffy knew she needed to find another spell. This time, one that would prevent people from locating or tracking her by magical means.
There was no way to describe the sense of relief Buffy felt, the day she managed to place the last of her protection spells. Finally, she could have some peace and quiet, and get through the day without constantly looking over her shoulder for an ambush. She remembered those times like they were yesterday, because it was then that she was finally able to mourn her losses and begin to move on with her life.
This was not the grief she cried out every night, when she finally lay her head to rest in her cold and lonely bed. The grief she experienced now, was that of a woman who had seen every single support stripped from her life. Her friends became her enemies, her sister became her jailer, her Watcher was unmoved by her pleas for mercy, and her mother was lost to her. The ones she once depended on still hunted her, but with the addition of Buffy’s latest protection spells, they had to do their searching the old-fashioned way. Now, instead of being constantly on the run, Buffy was able to make a home for herself, until they managed to track her down again, and sometimes that took years.
Then came the day when the last of the Scoobies died, and she could stop looking over her shoulder for good. It was then that she thought of Sunnydale, and how her life there had begun on such a positive note. There was always a twist of sadness, when she thought of those days, but Buffy’s regret was saved for one man only, and he wasn’t a Scoobie. In fact, he was about as far from one as it was possible to get.
Things could have been different, if only her friends had accepted her destiny. They didn’t realize it, but their relentless persecution of Buffy condemned them to a life without their true mates as well. And to think, in that timeline, Spike had even retrieved his soul, just to try to be a better man and prove to the group that he was what Buffy needed. Well, that was a sacrifice she was determined he would not be making this time around. This time, when they were together, she would...
It was at that point that Buffy made a conscious effort to stop thinking about her future. For now, she would work on her home, support Kendra, celebrate the time with her mother, and do her best to create some boundaries with the Scoobies. When the time was right, that’s when she’d let herself dream about Spike. Things had been going her way, and she wanted to make sure her lucky streak continued.
Buffy gave her head a shake. She needed to throw off this introspective and blue mood she’d fallen into on the bus ride to LA. Soon she’d be connecting with Lorne, and the next few days were going to be a whirlwind of shopping, spa treatments, and the best girl-talk Buffy had ever experienced. Buffy snickered. She was going to have to watch it, or Lorne was going to out-Diva her.
-----------------------------------
Lorne was waiting for her at the bus station, dressed in an eye-catching suit of canary yellow, with a brilliant fuchsia shirt and a startling tangerine tie. As soon as she got off the bus, he enveloped her in a tight hug. “How long do we have to shop, girlfriend of my heart?”
Feeling her spirits rise dramatically, Buffy returned the green-skinned demon’s hug with gusto. “Not as long as I’d like. There’s some stuff happening in Sunnydale that could blow up on us.” Buffy smiled sadly. “The problem is, I can’t seem to get anyone to take me seriously.”
“It’s your ravishing beauty, my little lollipop. Everyone is so overwhelmed that they forget to listen to whatever you’re saying.” Lorne was determined to tease her out of the funk she seemed to be in.
Unable to resist, Buffy gave Lorne another quick hug. “You’re the best. I need to bring you home with me. You always make me feel better. Now, there’s something critical that I need to know. Will you help me shop while I’m here? I need to get stuff for my house, pick up my new car, and definitely have a spa day while I’m here. Oh, and I have a list of books to find as well.” The pair stopped at Lorne’s car while he fished in his pockets for his keys.
“Absolutely, my little delight. Get it? The Light?” The Host giggled at his own joke, while Buffy responded with a groan. “Ah well, they can’t all be winners. What kind of books are you looking for?” He placed Buffy’s bag in the trunk.
“Copies of books I left behind when I returned here with Merrick. Generally, they’re about magic, demons, and occult history.”
Lorne pulled his door shut, before he spoke. “Watcher books.” He nodded. “I know a shop where we should be able to find most of what you’re looking for. Anything they don’t have in stock, they can usually special-order in.”
“Sounds great.” Buffy replied. “What about a good magic supply store? Do you know one in town?”
“Sure thing. You know I’d do anything for my favourite little cupcake.” Lorne steered the car onto the road. “Plus, as an added bonus, all of the shops we need are closed at night!” He pronounced with glee.
“What? How is that a good thing?” Buffy asked him.
“Oh, it just means that your boring old shopping won’t interfere with the relaxing and partying I have planned for this weekend,” Lorne grinned.
“Hey.” Buffy slapped his arm lightly. “I know I’ve got a long list of boring things to do, but I’m hoping I’ll get through them quickly with your help. Some of the places, like the bookstore, I plan to just give them a list of what I want, and then have them ship my purchases to Sunnydale. I want to put as little as possible in my car, so I’ll have lots of room for the fun shopping you and I are going to get to.” Buffy sent a wide smile Lorne’s way.
“Ah, now I see the method to your madness and, I must say, I’m impressed. Well, I’m not one to disappoint a lady. Let’s get this party started,” Lorne exclaimed as he pulled up outside of Caritas.
Daddy’s Home.
Thank you to Maria and Flight Of Fancy. A special thank you to Flight Of Fancy that almost vomited betaing this chapter, and claiming there should be an Angel-sex warning on this chapter.
Spike lay on his bed, watching the smoke from his cigarette slowly drift up to the ceiling.
His mind kept going back to the contradiction that was the former Slayer, Buffy Summers. On one hand, she was clearly a fierce warrior, graceful and lethal. Just thinking about watching the Slayer fight had Spike adjusting the hard-on in his pants. On the other hand, she seemed so soft and trusting when talking to him last night, as if she never considered for a moment that he would turn on her and attack. Spike was a vamp of his word, but that made him a very rare specimen indeed. Still, Buffy turned her back on him without a second thought. Spike wondered if maybe she knew him in the future, and that’s why she was so confident now.
The trust thing was really bothering him though. How had a Slayer come to trust the Big Bad? He wasn’t just a piddling little member of the undead population, he was the Slayer of Slayers. The Big Bad himself. He’d made it his unlife’s ambition to kill her kind, and yet, that didn’t seem to bother her at all. It didn’t make sense, and he was going to do permanent damage to his brain if he thought about it any longer.
Spike checked the alarm clock on his bedside table again, wondering, not for the first time, why a minion would have put it there in the first place. Instinct told him the sun was still an hour or so shy of dropping out of the sky. Hearing Drusilla and her toy starting up again in the next room, he knocked on the wall behind his headboard a few times, knowing the attempt was futile. Spike sighed. As soon as night fell, he was out of there. His poor ears had suffered enough abuse for one day already.
As soon as the sun set, Spike left the factory and headed to the Summers residence. When he got there, he overheard Buffy’s mother talking to someone called Merrick, who was clearly a Watcher. Joyce was making plans to meet the Watcher at Buffy’s home so they could take delivery of some beds, and then get them put together.
Hearing that, one thing became clear. Buffy Summers had been telling him the truth, and she was now in LA. Spike found himself hoping that her trip to the city was a short one.
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‘Help her and she’ll be the way to your redemption,’ was what Whistler had said. Angel remembered the words exactly, and was convinced that they meant that he and Buffy were meant to be together. The former Slayer was clearly his, a gift from the Powers That Be for his years of selfless service. Now all Angel had to do was make Buffy realize her role, but how?
Drinking coffee with Cordelia hadn’t helped, and neither had the stunt in the library. Maybe she doesn’t believe I’m serious? Maybe she’s just assuming that I’ll hang around waiting for her forever? That must be it. Angel jumped up and began to pace across the length of his apartment.
What would happen if he raised the stakes? Buffy kept telling everyone that his soul was a curse, and it could be broken by a moment of happiness caused by having sex. What if Buffy was lying, just trying to keep me dangling on a string? That wasn’t going to work for him. Not only was he not willing to dance to her tune, but he wanted to get his hands on her now, before she soiled herself by sleeping around.
An arrogant smile decorated Angel’s face. He just knew that when Buffy realized he wasn’t going to wait around for her, she’d stop all this idiocy and give in. Buffy would be his prize, his sacrificial virgin to be moulded and trained to suit his own personal desires. She’ll be mine. I’ll be her first, her only, and in the future, her every thought will revolve around pleasing me. Angel’s smile grew wider, as he formulated a plan in his mind. He felt like his heart was swelling in victory already, and his chest stung and burned. Angel briefly wondered if he might have pulled a muscle the night before, and took a moment to stretch his arms over his head to relieve the burning pain. He was only distracted for a moment though. To get Buffy, I just need to seduce Cordelia, and then make sure that Buffy finds out that she’s losing my attention. Angel relaxed. The pain in his chest was gone, and it was time to start making plans for his date with Cordelia tonight.
Thrilled to hear from the dark vampire, Cordelia happily agreed to meet Angel at the Bronze that night. She gave some thought to complaining about the short notice, but decided she’d best grab the opportunity when it presented itself. She would have time to play the Diva once she was sure of his affections.
Knowing what she did about Buffy’s dates with Angel, she expected to be waiting on her own for at least half an hour before the broody vampire showed up. She was pleased then, when she arrived and saw him waiting for her at the table they had shared before. She beamed at him as she walked over to join him.
Over the course of the evening, Angel did his best to woo the young cheerleader. He managed to convince her that he had developed deep feelings for her, and even loosened up enough to take her out on the floor for a slow dance. That evening, Angel was a perfect gentleman, leaving her at her door with a kiss on the cheek, after receiving her promise that she’d join him for a movie the next night.
The next evening, Angel didn’t leave anything to chance. Before meeting Cordelia at the cinema, he stripped the old sheets off his bed and replaced them with clean silk bedding. He also dusted his apartment, replaced the burned-down candles with new ones, and took a long shower finished off with one of those manly colognes that drove the ladies crazy. Off and on through the day, but especially when he was naked in the shower, he found himself fighting a sharp pain in his chest. It seemed to come in response to Angel’s frequent daydreams about what things would be like when Buffy was his; how she’d come crawling to him, begging forgiveness, pleading for him to possess her utterly. As he showered, his hands soaped his chest, his stomach, and then lingered on his cock. He knew he had to take care of his erection before he dressed; he didn’t want to go the whole evening with a hard-on, and his plans for seducing Cordelia meant he wouldn’t find any satisfaction with her until after the movie.
As he left his apartment, Angel chuckled. Who knew that just thinking about deflowering the virginal Miss Summers would get him harder than he’d ever been before?
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Before heading back to the factory, Spike fed from a drunken bum in a dirty alley. He returned home to find blessed peace and quiet. Dru and her toy were out, and he was spared the ongoing torture of Drusilla’s abandonment.
Unable to help himself, his thoughts returned again to Buffy Summers, Slayer Retired. There was something about her that just kept drawing him back. He didn’t know if it was her shampoo-commercial golden hair, bouncing and moving like fire when she fought, or her soft skin, like warm velvet. Maybe it was her plump red lips that, lately, just seemed to be begging for his kiss. Spike groaned. There was no point denying it. Spike was falling fast for the petite powerhouse.
Spike sighed. His reality was bleakly simple. He was alone. Drusilla didn’t want him, certainly she didn’t love him. If he was going to be honest with himself, she’d probably never really loved him. She’d turned him to be an unliving, walking, talking dolly for her amusement. Part-time toy, part-time nanny. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Spike knew it was time he faced the facts. Maybe then he could move on, if he wanted to.
Thoughts of moving on brought him quickly back to his current obsession with the blonde Slayer. Buffy Summers was alone too, from what he had seen. It was clear that Angel wanted her, but she just didn’t seem interested. Maybe she had someone else in LA? Spike wondered if that was why she had decided to head to the city for a few days.
Something just wasn’t sitting right with Spike. Buffy just didn’t seem the type to be two-timing anyone. He thought it unlikely that she would be showing so much interest in him, if she were emotionally attached to someone in LA. And I know she likes me. In fact, she more than likes me. Spike smiled in satisfaction. He had smelled her arousal when they fought. She had left their encounters as turned on as he had been, which was more turned on than he could ever remember feeling.
The whole Slayer issue was a problem though. She wouldn’t want to be with a killer, and that’s definitely what he was. I’m beneath her. The vampire mourned. Sadness crept over him, and he closed his eyes in defeat. No matter how hard I try, it’s always the same. For almost two hundred years now, all I’ve wanted was to be loved, but I’ve always fallen short. Never good enough. When he’d wanted Cecily’s love, he’d been too meek and foolish, a hopeless romantic lacking both money and social standing. With Drusilla, he questioned whether she had the capacity to love him at all, but he’d still done his best to be her knight. Buffy though, that was like reaching for the very stars in the sky. She was a Slayer, and he was her sworn enemy. Nothing but an animated corpse, walking the Earth, creating mayhem and havoc, killing and destroying everywhere he went.
But, what if I didn’t? Spike’s eyes popped open in astonishment. He lay there for the longest time, eyes unfocused, brain frozen as that one thought ricocheted around his mind. Could I stop killing? Try as he might, Spike couldn’t seem to dismiss the idea. It was a fool’s dream though, and he knew it. He couldn’t stop feeding, anymore than the Slayer could stop breathing. He needed blood to sustain his own life, and there was no way to get around it. Still, if there was a way? How far would he be willing to go to pursue his relationship with her?
Stop it, he commanded himself. He didn’t even know for sure that she liked him that way. Maybe they were only friends in the future, and not lovers. Spike groaned. Try as he might to curb his enthusiasm and take a realistic approach, even the slightest thought that they might be lovers in the future brought him right back to thinking about her warm velvety skin, kissable lips, and the sweet fragrance of her arousal when they were together.
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Angel couldn’t be happier about the way the evening was turning out. The movie had been entertaining, and Cordelia was clearly determined to keep him amused and interested. Not wanting the evening to end, Cordelia had suggested that they continue the evening with some dancing at the Bronze. As they made their way to the club, walking hand in hand, the skies had opened and a heavy rain started falling.
Of course, Cordelia wouldn’t hear of showing up at the club in her wet dress, so Angel offered his apartment as a place for her to dry off and fix her hair and makeup. It was fortunate that they were only a few blocks away from his home when the deluge hit.
Once in the basement suite, Angel gave Cordelia one of his shirts to wear as they waited for her dress to dry. While she was in the bathroom getting changed, Angel made himself busy setting up the mood lighting in the living room and decanting a bottle of wine. Preparations made, he changed out of his wet clothing and dressed in a dry pair of pants. He toyed with the idea of putting on a shirt and leaving it unbuttoned, but decided that a shirt would just be in the way when he tried to seduce his young date.
When Cordelia returned from the bathroom, Angel offered her a glass of wine. She didn’t want to appear immature, so she decided to just act like drinking wine while half-dressed and in the company of a nearly nude hunk was normal for her. Still, the apartment was cold, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
Playing the part of the concerned gentleman, Angel quickly offered Cordelia the use of his bed so she could warm up. He brought the wine bottle and a candelabrum with them into the bedroom, and insisted on taking a chair near the bed to preserve her modesty while they chatted. Of course, after half a bottle of wine, Cordelia wasn’t concerned about her modesty at all. Somehow Angel ended up sitting on the bed, and then they were kissing. After that, Angel brought all his seductive experience into play, and everything became a blur for Cordelia.
Angel might have been spending his evening with Cordelia, but in his mind he was finally having his way with Buffy, after she’d spent a reasonable amount of time on her knees, begging him to forgive her. Angel was going to make sure she paid dearly for rejecting him. Paid with her tears, and her blood, and finally, with her pain as he ripped into her sweet and untouched body. It was Buffy that filled his mind as he pumped in and out of Cordelia’s body, and it was Buffy that he thought of in that final moment, as his mind went blank and his body convulsed in orgasm. Soon, she will be mine, he thought, as he fell asleep with a wolfish grin on his face, to dream once again of taking Buffy’s virginity.
An hour or two before dawn, Angel woke with an unbearable, tearing pain in his chest. He fell out of bed and dressed himself in silence, unsure what was happening but knowing that he shouldn’t be near Cordy. Running out into the alley, he broke down, squatting in the filth and muck, beside himself with pain. Suddenly, there was a white flash, and then the pain was gone. A local streetwalker noticed the agonized vampire, and approached to see if he needed help. That was the last foolish mistake she ever made, as the enraged and now unsouled vampire ripped her throat out and fed off her before she could even scream.
Angelus laughed. Little Miss Summers had been more right than she ever could have guessed. Angel didn’t even need to fuck her to lose his soul...he just needed to think about her while he fucked someone else. The Devil knew, sex with Cordelia had been mediocre at best, and certainly wasn’t enough of an Earth-shaking event to make him lose a phone number, much less his soul.
The only thing that had allowed him to perform, in the end, was his fantasy that he was fucking Buffy instead of Cordy. Angelus was so into his little alternate reality, that it was a miracle he didn’t growl the blonde’s name when he finally came. No, there were no two ways about it. Angelus owed Buffy Summers his thanks, and he’d be more than happy to show her just how grateful he was, as soon as he could catch the little bitch. There was a smile on his face, and a bounce to his step, as he disappeared into the night.
Cordelia woke a few hours later, a little disconcerted to find herself alone in the big, silk covered bed. Forgetting that her companion was a vampire, she just assumed that Angel was in the bathroom and would be rejoining her shortly. After quickly checking her watch and seeing that she still had a few hours before she needed to get up, she snuggled back into the comfortable blankets, rolled over and let sleep take her again.
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On his way to the factory where his childer lived, Angelus was lucky enough to run into a pair of drunk teenagers on their way home for the night. Of course, now they would never make it home, and the next time their families saw them it would be in the city morgue.
The Patriarch of the family stopped just inside the factory, and waited in the shadows, listening to Dru singing some kind of nonsense. In another week, it would get on his nerves, but for now it just felt like home. Angelus noticed Spike, sitting at a desk and reading a paper. There was also a dark-haired fledge, leaning against the desk, whose eyes followed Dru around the room.
Ready to make a grand entrance, Angelus stepped further into the room, morphing into his demon face and spreading his arms open wide. “Daddy’s home.”
Everyone turned to him.
Drusilla’s eyes widened, and she whispered, “Daddy.”
Spike’s reply was a little less enthusiastic. “Angelus, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out there, saving the world from all manner of nasties?” Spike asked sarcastically.
“My Angel.” Dru was slowly dancing around him now. “My Angel has come home. No more pesky soul for my Daddy.” Her dance became seductive, arms raised high in the air, her back to Angelus as she rubbed against him.
Angelus pulled his Childe to him, and rubbed his now constant erection into her ass.
At that, the youngest vampire in the room protested. “Hey, who do you think you are? Drusilla’s mine. Get your hands off her.”
“Spike, would you please explain this?” Angelus asked, looking at his Grandchilde.
“That’s Warren, Dru’s lastest fuck toy.” Spike looked back at Angelus, curious to see how the older vampire would handle the situation.
Warren was now in front of Angelus, pulling on Dru’s arm and trying to get her away from the older vampire.
Angelus reached out and grabbed hold of Warren’s wrist, squeezing until the younger vamp let Dru go. Then he tossed Drusilla to the side, and grabbed Warren’s head with a hand on each side. “Drusilla is mine!” he growled. With a quick turn, he ripped the boy’s head off and then tossed it to the ground before he ended up with dust on his hands. Angelus looked at Spike. “She’s mine,” he snarled, feeling like he needed to assert his claim on the crazy vampiress.
Spike just shook his head and held his hands up in surrender.
Angelus’ brow furrowed, and he seemed to be brooding for a moment, as he mulled over Spike’s answer. Then, with a vicious grin, he shook his head.
Dru picked herself up from the floor, and was now snuggling up to Angelus, laying her head on his shoulder and stroking his chest with her hand.
Pleased with her show of devotion, he grabbed Drusilla’s arm and pulled her until he was able to grind her hips onto his swollen cock. With his other hand, he grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling back sharply until she was bent over backwards, forcing her hips into even closer contact with his own.
Responding to her Sire’s aggression, Drusilla let her demon out. She knew how Daddy liked to play this game, and she was happy to play her part. When Angelus drew her up so he could ravage her lips with a fang-filled kiss, she responded passionately until the blood was flowing from both their mouths. She didn’t care about her cut tongue or her savaged lips, she just wanted to make her Daddy happy.
Ripping his lips from his Childe’s flesh at last, Angelus threw a challenging look at Spike, before picking Drusilla up and tossing her over his shoulder. The insane vampiress squealed with delight as the pair vanished into Dru’s bedroom.
It was barely minutes before dawn when Angelus dressed and left Dru sleeping in her bed. He wanted to get back to his apartment and pick up a few things before making the move to the factory permanent. Sunnydale wasn’t an environment that catered to master vampires of his ilk very often. You couldn’t even buy a decent pair of leather pants in town.
Unfortunately, the sun was creeping across the sky now, forcing the older vampire to travel through the town’s sewers. Angelus hated travelling by sewer tunnel because of the strong smells. Before he’d even gone three blocks, he was wishing he’d just stayed with his Childer for the day. At that point, his thoughts went to Spike. Why hadn’t the younger vampire protested when Angelus took Dru away from him?
Spike always objected. It was one of his Grandsire’s favourite ways to get the blonde riled up. And what did he say about a fuck toy? It must be some kind of bluff. Spike wouldn’t just let Drusilla drop him for another vampire, not if he could do anything about it. Angelus would have to watch his back. Spike wasn’t a fledgling anymore, and could actually present a risk to the older vampire if Angelus was caught off guard.
Angelus smirked when he finally reached his apartment. The door was still partially open, allowing him to sneak in without making a sound. Once inside, he paused. There was one heartbeat, coming from the bathroom. Knowing that he would be undisturbed in the bedroom for at least a few minutes, Angelus went in, found his suitcase, and started packing his favourite clothes. It really bothered him when he lost garments he favoured, like that seven-layer greatcoat he had possessed about the time when Spike was turned.
“Angel, there you are. Where have you been?” Cordelia came out of the bathroom, using a towel to dry her hair. “Don’t you have a hairdryer?”
“Cordelia, Cordelia, Cordelia. Why is it that every time you open your mouth, I get the feeling your IQ drops a few points?” Angel asked, without even turning to face her.
Unaware of the danger she was in, the cheerleader stepped up next to the dark vampire and pulled on his arm, trying to get him to turn and face her. “I just asked if you had a hairdryer. What’s so stupid about that?”
“My mistake,” Angelus said, as he finally turned to face the brunette beauty. “The problem isn’t what you say, it’s that you’re talking at all.” With that, he pulled his arm back and, with all his strength, swung and hit Cordelia on the left side of her face. She flew back through the air and slammed into the wall beside the bathroom door. Angelus then turned back to his closet, and finished his packing in peace. He walked out of the apartment, heading back to the factory, and left the cheerleader unconscious on the floor.
Returning to the factory through the sewers put Angelus in a foul mood, and he was looking for a fight by the time he neared the sewer entrance to the building. His mood didn’t improve when he heard his Childe singing as he made his way into the building. Well, it wasn’t so much the fact that she was singing, as it was the actual content of her song.
“My brave knight will defeat my Daddy. My bold knight will take over the throne. My shining knight will win the princess. My golden knight will forever roam.”
Angelus knew that Drusilla had the sight and, having already thought about Spike trying to ambush him earlier, he decided to take her little tune seriously. Angelus stormed into the living room, grabbing Spike from his seat at the table. “You’re plotting against me? Think you can take me, do you?”
“Hey, let go. Dru is just rambling, like she always does,” Spike said, trying to get out of Angelus’ grip. “You know she’s always talking nonsense to the stars. It doesn’t mean anything, Angelus.”
“Ah, so you think having a soul stuffed down my throat has made me soft, eh boy? We both know that Dru’s predictions are usually right, even if we don’t understand them at first.” Angelus refused to release his grip on Spike’s shirt, and began to hit the smaller vampire repeatedly until he slumped, unconscious in the older vampire’s grasp.
Spike lay on his bed, watching the smoke from his cigarette slowly drift up to the ceiling.
His mind kept going back to the contradiction that was the former Slayer, Buffy Summers. On one hand, she was clearly a fierce warrior, graceful and lethal. Just thinking about watching the Slayer fight had Spike adjusting the hard-on in his pants. On the other hand, she seemed so soft and trusting when talking to him last night, as if she never considered for a moment that he would turn on her and attack. Spike was a vamp of his word, but that made him a very rare specimen indeed. Still, Buffy turned her back on him without a second thought. Spike wondered if maybe she knew him in the future, and that’s why she was so confident now.
The trust thing was really bothering him though. How had a Slayer come to trust the Big Bad? He wasn’t just a piddling little member of the undead population, he was the Slayer of Slayers. The Big Bad himself. He’d made it his unlife’s ambition to kill her kind, and yet, that didn’t seem to bother her at all. It didn’t make sense, and he was going to do permanent damage to his brain if he thought about it any longer.
Spike checked the alarm clock on his bedside table again, wondering, not for the first time, why a minion would have put it there in the first place. Instinct told him the sun was still an hour or so shy of dropping out of the sky. Hearing Drusilla and her toy starting up again in the next room, he knocked on the wall behind his headboard a few times, knowing the attempt was futile. Spike sighed. As soon as night fell, he was out of there. His poor ears had suffered enough abuse for one day already.
As soon as the sun set, Spike left the factory and headed to the Summers residence. When he got there, he overheard Buffy’s mother talking to someone called Merrick, who was clearly a Watcher. Joyce was making plans to meet the Watcher at Buffy’s home so they could take delivery of some beds, and then get them put together.
Hearing that, one thing became clear. Buffy Summers had been telling him the truth, and she was now in LA. Spike found himself hoping that her trip to the city was a short one.
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‘Help her and she’ll be the way to your redemption,’ was what Whistler had said. Angel remembered the words exactly, and was convinced that they meant that he and Buffy were meant to be together. The former Slayer was clearly his, a gift from the Powers That Be for his years of selfless service. Now all Angel had to do was make Buffy realize her role, but how?
Drinking coffee with Cordelia hadn’t helped, and neither had the stunt in the library. Maybe she doesn’t believe I’m serious? Maybe she’s just assuming that I’ll hang around waiting for her forever? That must be it. Angel jumped up and began to pace across the length of his apartment.
What would happen if he raised the stakes? Buffy kept telling everyone that his soul was a curse, and it could be broken by a moment of happiness caused by having sex. What if Buffy was lying, just trying to keep me dangling on a string? That wasn’t going to work for him. Not only was he not willing to dance to her tune, but he wanted to get his hands on her now, before she soiled herself by sleeping around.
An arrogant smile decorated Angel’s face. He just knew that when Buffy realized he wasn’t going to wait around for her, she’d stop all this idiocy and give in. Buffy would be his prize, his sacrificial virgin to be moulded and trained to suit his own personal desires. She’ll be mine. I’ll be her first, her only, and in the future, her every thought will revolve around pleasing me. Angel’s smile grew wider, as he formulated a plan in his mind. He felt like his heart was swelling in victory already, and his chest stung and burned. Angel briefly wondered if he might have pulled a muscle the night before, and took a moment to stretch his arms over his head to relieve the burning pain. He was only distracted for a moment though. To get Buffy, I just need to seduce Cordelia, and then make sure that Buffy finds out that she’s losing my attention. Angel relaxed. The pain in his chest was gone, and it was time to start making plans for his date with Cordelia tonight.
Thrilled to hear from the dark vampire, Cordelia happily agreed to meet Angel at the Bronze that night. She gave some thought to complaining about the short notice, but decided she’d best grab the opportunity when it presented itself. She would have time to play the Diva once she was sure of his affections.
Knowing what she did about Buffy’s dates with Angel, she expected to be waiting on her own for at least half an hour before the broody vampire showed up. She was pleased then, when she arrived and saw him waiting for her at the table they had shared before. She beamed at him as she walked over to join him.
Over the course of the evening, Angel did his best to woo the young cheerleader. He managed to convince her that he had developed deep feelings for her, and even loosened up enough to take her out on the floor for a slow dance. That evening, Angel was a perfect gentleman, leaving her at her door with a kiss on the cheek, after receiving her promise that she’d join him for a movie the next night.
The next evening, Angel didn’t leave anything to chance. Before meeting Cordelia at the cinema, he stripped the old sheets off his bed and replaced them with clean silk bedding. He also dusted his apartment, replaced the burned-down candles with new ones, and took a long shower finished off with one of those manly colognes that drove the ladies crazy. Off and on through the day, but especially when he was naked in the shower, he found himself fighting a sharp pain in his chest. It seemed to come in response to Angel’s frequent daydreams about what things would be like when Buffy was his; how she’d come crawling to him, begging forgiveness, pleading for him to possess her utterly. As he showered, his hands soaped his chest, his stomach, and then lingered on his cock. He knew he had to take care of his erection before he dressed; he didn’t want to go the whole evening with a hard-on, and his plans for seducing Cordelia meant he wouldn’t find any satisfaction with her until after the movie.
As he left his apartment, Angel chuckled. Who knew that just thinking about deflowering the virginal Miss Summers would get him harder than he’d ever been before?
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Before heading back to the factory, Spike fed from a drunken bum in a dirty alley. He returned home to find blessed peace and quiet. Dru and her toy were out, and he was spared the ongoing torture of Drusilla’s abandonment.
Unable to help himself, his thoughts returned again to Buffy Summers, Slayer Retired. There was something about her that just kept drawing him back. He didn’t know if it was her shampoo-commercial golden hair, bouncing and moving like fire when she fought, or her soft skin, like warm velvet. Maybe it was her plump red lips that, lately, just seemed to be begging for his kiss. Spike groaned. There was no point denying it. Spike was falling fast for the petite powerhouse.
Spike sighed. His reality was bleakly simple. He was alone. Drusilla didn’t want him, certainly she didn’t love him. If he was going to be honest with himself, she’d probably never really loved him. She’d turned him to be an unliving, walking, talking dolly for her amusement. Part-time toy, part-time nanny. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Spike knew it was time he faced the facts. Maybe then he could move on, if he wanted to.
Thoughts of moving on brought him quickly back to his current obsession with the blonde Slayer. Buffy Summers was alone too, from what he had seen. It was clear that Angel wanted her, but she just didn’t seem interested. Maybe she had someone else in LA? Spike wondered if that was why she had decided to head to the city for a few days.
Something just wasn’t sitting right with Spike. Buffy just didn’t seem the type to be two-timing anyone. He thought it unlikely that she would be showing so much interest in him, if she were emotionally attached to someone in LA. And I know she likes me. In fact, she more than likes me. Spike smiled in satisfaction. He had smelled her arousal when they fought. She had left their encounters as turned on as he had been, which was more turned on than he could ever remember feeling.
The whole Slayer issue was a problem though. She wouldn’t want to be with a killer, and that’s definitely what he was. I’m beneath her. The vampire mourned. Sadness crept over him, and he closed his eyes in defeat. No matter how hard I try, it’s always the same. For almost two hundred years now, all I’ve wanted was to be loved, but I’ve always fallen short. Never good enough. When he’d wanted Cecily’s love, he’d been too meek and foolish, a hopeless romantic lacking both money and social standing. With Drusilla, he questioned whether she had the capacity to love him at all, but he’d still done his best to be her knight. Buffy though, that was like reaching for the very stars in the sky. She was a Slayer, and he was her sworn enemy. Nothing but an animated corpse, walking the Earth, creating mayhem and havoc, killing and destroying everywhere he went.
But, what if I didn’t? Spike’s eyes popped open in astonishment. He lay there for the longest time, eyes unfocused, brain frozen as that one thought ricocheted around his mind. Could I stop killing? Try as he might, Spike couldn’t seem to dismiss the idea. It was a fool’s dream though, and he knew it. He couldn’t stop feeding, anymore than the Slayer could stop breathing. He needed blood to sustain his own life, and there was no way to get around it. Still, if there was a way? How far would he be willing to go to pursue his relationship with her?
Stop it, he commanded himself. He didn’t even know for sure that she liked him that way. Maybe they were only friends in the future, and not lovers. Spike groaned. Try as he might to curb his enthusiasm and take a realistic approach, even the slightest thought that they might be lovers in the future brought him right back to thinking about her warm velvety skin, kissable lips, and the sweet fragrance of her arousal when they were together.
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Angel couldn’t be happier about the way the evening was turning out. The movie had been entertaining, and Cordelia was clearly determined to keep him amused and interested. Not wanting the evening to end, Cordelia had suggested that they continue the evening with some dancing at the Bronze. As they made their way to the club, walking hand in hand, the skies had opened and a heavy rain started falling.
Of course, Cordelia wouldn’t hear of showing up at the club in her wet dress, so Angel offered his apartment as a place for her to dry off and fix her hair and makeup. It was fortunate that they were only a few blocks away from his home when the deluge hit.
Once in the basement suite, Angel gave Cordelia one of his shirts to wear as they waited for her dress to dry. While she was in the bathroom getting changed, Angel made himself busy setting up the mood lighting in the living room and decanting a bottle of wine. Preparations made, he changed out of his wet clothing and dressed in a dry pair of pants. He toyed with the idea of putting on a shirt and leaving it unbuttoned, but decided that a shirt would just be in the way when he tried to seduce his young date.
When Cordelia returned from the bathroom, Angel offered her a glass of wine. She didn’t want to appear immature, so she decided to just act like drinking wine while half-dressed and in the company of a nearly nude hunk was normal for her. Still, the apartment was cold, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
Playing the part of the concerned gentleman, Angel quickly offered Cordelia the use of his bed so she could warm up. He brought the wine bottle and a candelabrum with them into the bedroom, and insisted on taking a chair near the bed to preserve her modesty while they chatted. Of course, after half a bottle of wine, Cordelia wasn’t concerned about her modesty at all. Somehow Angel ended up sitting on the bed, and then they were kissing. After that, Angel brought all his seductive experience into play, and everything became a blur for Cordelia.
Angel might have been spending his evening with Cordelia, but in his mind he was finally having his way with Buffy, after she’d spent a reasonable amount of time on her knees, begging him to forgive her. Angel was going to make sure she paid dearly for rejecting him. Paid with her tears, and her blood, and finally, with her pain as he ripped into her sweet and untouched body. It was Buffy that filled his mind as he pumped in and out of Cordelia’s body, and it was Buffy that he thought of in that final moment, as his mind went blank and his body convulsed in orgasm. Soon, she will be mine, he thought, as he fell asleep with a wolfish grin on his face, to dream once again of taking Buffy’s virginity.
An hour or two before dawn, Angel woke with an unbearable, tearing pain in his chest. He fell out of bed and dressed himself in silence, unsure what was happening but knowing that he shouldn’t be near Cordy. Running out into the alley, he broke down, squatting in the filth and muck, beside himself with pain. Suddenly, there was a white flash, and then the pain was gone. A local streetwalker noticed the agonized vampire, and approached to see if he needed help. That was the last foolish mistake she ever made, as the enraged and now unsouled vampire ripped her throat out and fed off her before she could even scream.
Angelus laughed. Little Miss Summers had been more right than she ever could have guessed. Angel didn’t even need to fuck her to lose his soul...he just needed to think about her while he fucked someone else. The Devil knew, sex with Cordelia had been mediocre at best, and certainly wasn’t enough of an Earth-shaking event to make him lose a phone number, much less his soul.
The only thing that had allowed him to perform, in the end, was his fantasy that he was fucking Buffy instead of Cordy. Angelus was so into his little alternate reality, that it was a miracle he didn’t growl the blonde’s name when he finally came. No, there were no two ways about it. Angelus owed Buffy Summers his thanks, and he’d be more than happy to show her just how grateful he was, as soon as he could catch the little bitch. There was a smile on his face, and a bounce to his step, as he disappeared into the night.
Cordelia woke a few hours later, a little disconcerted to find herself alone in the big, silk covered bed. Forgetting that her companion was a vampire, she just assumed that Angel was in the bathroom and would be rejoining her shortly. After quickly checking her watch and seeing that she still had a few hours before she needed to get up, she snuggled back into the comfortable blankets, rolled over and let sleep take her again.
-----------------------------------
On his way to the factory where his childer lived, Angelus was lucky enough to run into a pair of drunk teenagers on their way home for the night. Of course, now they would never make it home, and the next time their families saw them it would be in the city morgue.
The Patriarch of the family stopped just inside the factory, and waited in the shadows, listening to Dru singing some kind of nonsense. In another week, it would get on his nerves, but for now it just felt like home. Angelus noticed Spike, sitting at a desk and reading a paper. There was also a dark-haired fledge, leaning against the desk, whose eyes followed Dru around the room.
Ready to make a grand entrance, Angelus stepped further into the room, morphing into his demon face and spreading his arms open wide. “Daddy’s home.”
Everyone turned to him.
Drusilla’s eyes widened, and she whispered, “Daddy.”
Spike’s reply was a little less enthusiastic. “Angelus, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be out there, saving the world from all manner of nasties?” Spike asked sarcastically.
“My Angel.” Dru was slowly dancing around him now. “My Angel has come home. No more pesky soul for my Daddy.” Her dance became seductive, arms raised high in the air, her back to Angelus as she rubbed against him.
Angelus pulled his Childe to him, and rubbed his now constant erection into her ass.
At that, the youngest vampire in the room protested. “Hey, who do you think you are? Drusilla’s mine. Get your hands off her.”
“Spike, would you please explain this?” Angelus asked, looking at his Grandchilde.
“That’s Warren, Dru’s lastest fuck toy.” Spike looked back at Angelus, curious to see how the older vampire would handle the situation.
Warren was now in front of Angelus, pulling on Dru’s arm and trying to get her away from the older vampire.
Angelus reached out and grabbed hold of Warren’s wrist, squeezing until the younger vamp let Dru go. Then he tossed Drusilla to the side, and grabbed Warren’s head with a hand on each side. “Drusilla is mine!” he growled. With a quick turn, he ripped the boy’s head off and then tossed it to the ground before he ended up with dust on his hands. Angelus looked at Spike. “She’s mine,” he snarled, feeling like he needed to assert his claim on the crazy vampiress.
Spike just shook his head and held his hands up in surrender.
Angelus’ brow furrowed, and he seemed to be brooding for a moment, as he mulled over Spike’s answer. Then, with a vicious grin, he shook his head.
Dru picked herself up from the floor, and was now snuggling up to Angelus, laying her head on his shoulder and stroking his chest with her hand.
Pleased with her show of devotion, he grabbed Drusilla’s arm and pulled her until he was able to grind her hips onto his swollen cock. With his other hand, he grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling back sharply until she was bent over backwards, forcing her hips into even closer contact with his own.
Responding to her Sire’s aggression, Drusilla let her demon out. She knew how Daddy liked to play this game, and she was happy to play her part. When Angelus drew her up so he could ravage her lips with a fang-filled kiss, she responded passionately until the blood was flowing from both their mouths. She didn’t care about her cut tongue or her savaged lips, she just wanted to make her Daddy happy.
Ripping his lips from his Childe’s flesh at last, Angelus threw a challenging look at Spike, before picking Drusilla up and tossing her over his shoulder. The insane vampiress squealed with delight as the pair vanished into Dru’s bedroom.
It was barely minutes before dawn when Angelus dressed and left Dru sleeping in her bed. He wanted to get back to his apartment and pick up a few things before making the move to the factory permanent. Sunnydale wasn’t an environment that catered to master vampires of his ilk very often. You couldn’t even buy a decent pair of leather pants in town.
Unfortunately, the sun was creeping across the sky now, forcing the older vampire to travel through the town’s sewers. Angelus hated travelling by sewer tunnel because of the strong smells. Before he’d even gone three blocks, he was wishing he’d just stayed with his Childer for the day. At that point, his thoughts went to Spike. Why hadn’t the younger vampire protested when Angelus took Dru away from him?
Spike always objected. It was one of his Grandsire’s favourite ways to get the blonde riled up. And what did he say about a fuck toy? It must be some kind of bluff. Spike wouldn’t just let Drusilla drop him for another vampire, not if he could do anything about it. Angelus would have to watch his back. Spike wasn’t a fledgling anymore, and could actually present a risk to the older vampire if Angelus was caught off guard.
Angelus smirked when he finally reached his apartment. The door was still partially open, allowing him to sneak in without making a sound. Once inside, he paused. There was one heartbeat, coming from the bathroom. Knowing that he would be undisturbed in the bedroom for at least a few minutes, Angelus went in, found his suitcase, and started packing his favourite clothes. It really bothered him when he lost garments he favoured, like that seven-layer greatcoat he had possessed about the time when Spike was turned.
“Angel, there you are. Where have you been?” Cordelia came out of the bathroom, using a towel to dry her hair. “Don’t you have a hairdryer?”
“Cordelia, Cordelia, Cordelia. Why is it that every time you open your mouth, I get the feeling your IQ drops a few points?” Angel asked, without even turning to face her.
Unaware of the danger she was in, the cheerleader stepped up next to the dark vampire and pulled on his arm, trying to get him to turn and face her. “I just asked if you had a hairdryer. What’s so stupid about that?”
“My mistake,” Angelus said, as he finally turned to face the brunette beauty. “The problem isn’t what you say, it’s that you’re talking at all.” With that, he pulled his arm back and, with all his strength, swung and hit Cordelia on the left side of her face. She flew back through the air and slammed into the wall beside the bathroom door. Angelus then turned back to his closet, and finished his packing in peace. He walked out of the apartment, heading back to the factory, and left the cheerleader unconscious on the floor.
Returning to the factory through the sewers put Angelus in a foul mood, and he was looking for a fight by the time he neared the sewer entrance to the building. His mood didn’t improve when he heard his Childe singing as he made his way into the building. Well, it wasn’t so much the fact that she was singing, as it was the actual content of her song.
“My brave knight will defeat my Daddy. My bold knight will take over the throne. My shining knight will win the princess. My golden knight will forever roam.”
Angelus knew that Drusilla had the sight and, having already thought about Spike trying to ambush him earlier, he decided to take her little tune seriously. Angelus stormed into the living room, grabbing Spike from his seat at the table. “You’re plotting against me? Think you can take me, do you?”
“Hey, let go. Dru is just rambling, like she always does,” Spike said, trying to get out of Angelus’ grip. “You know she’s always talking nonsense to the stars. It doesn’t mean anything, Angelus.”
“Ah, so you think having a soul stuffed down my throat has made me soft, eh boy? We both know that Dru’s predictions are usually right, even if we don’t understand them at first.” Angelus refused to release his grip on Spike’s shirt, and began to hit the smaller vampire repeatedly until he slumped, unconscious in the older vampire’s grasp.
Playing With the Big Boys Now.
Thank you to Maria and Flight Of Fancy for betaing.
Spike let out a groan. His shoulders were burning, but when he tried to move them to ease the pressure on his joints, he wasn’t able to. He opened his swollen eyes, but all he could tell was that he was in some kind of storage room. “What the bloody Hell is going on here?”
Hearing chains rattle, Spike noticed that there was a thick metal cuff around each of his wrists, and that each cuff was chained to the wall. No wonder his shoulders were aching, he was hanging by his arms. Now that he was awake, he realized that the position he was hanging in just barely let him touch the ground with his toes. Doing his best to support his weight on his legs, he was able to twist and get a grip on the chains. He tried with all his strength to pull them from the wall, but it was no use. The chains were magically enhanced, like the ones he used when his Sire got completely out of control.
A door to Spike’s left opened, and Angelus walked into the small room. “William. I see you’ve finally decided to join us,” the brunette vampire gloated.
“What the Hell is going on, you tosser?”
Angelus shifted to game face. “I won’t suffer a traitor in my house, especially when he’s a useless little pissant like you, Spike. I guess you didn’t think I’d pay attention to Dru’s babbling. Thought you’d be able to just sneak up behind me and take what isn’t yours, eh boy?” The enraged vampire got closer to Spike with every word spoken.
Finally, Spike could feel his Grandsire’s breath on his face. He looked Angelus right in the eye, refusing to cower or beg. “I haven’t betrayed you.”
“Only because I got you before you could get me.” Angelus turned away from him. “You remember how this works, right? I’m the one that gets to have the fun here, and you’re the one that gets to scream.” The older vampire’s smile was vicious as he turned back to his captive.
“Bloody Hell, Angelus. I haven’t betrayed you. Don’t have any intention of doing that.”
“Too bad I don’t believe you. And do you know why?” Angelus sneered.
“I don’t have a fucking clue.” Spike stood up on his toes, trying to relieve the strain in his shoulders.
Angelus grinned. “I trust Dru. When you think about it, the song was very straightforward this time. No riddles to puzzle out, for a change. ‘My brave knight will defeat my Daddy.’ Pretty hard to argue your way out of that one, boy. She’s been calling you her knight since she pulled you out of the ground, and everyone knows that I’m her Daddy.” At that, the vampire walked over to a cart that was arranged off to Spike’s right. “Now, without further delay, time for the fun,” Angelus crowed. With a great flourish, he removed the black velvet cloth that covered the cart, and then adjusted its location to make sure Spike had a good view.
Spike couldn’t help but tense. Bugger me. I’m in big trouble now.
Angelus rubbed his hands together. “Now, where to start? Where to start? It’s such a big decision and I don’t want to rush things and miss something important.”
“Okay, so, here’s the thing, Angelus. Before you do something you might regret later, why don’t you go find Dru and ask her what she was thinking about when she sang her little ditty,” Spike asked nervously.
“Sorry. Our Dru is a little tied up at the moment. No, that was a lie. MY Dru is a LOT tied up at the moment. I believe I even used some chains.” The angered vampire walked back and forth in front of the table, before picking up a truly vicious looking knife. “I didn’t want to risk her interfering with our fun. Sometimes girls can be so silly when it comes to blood, don’t you agree?” With that, Angelus straightened his shoulders and appeared to reach some kind of internal decision.
Spike watched as his Grandsire slowly approached, flicking the knife back and forth in front of him, knowing that the blonde vampire was probably just about crawling out of his skin because of the delay.
Spike knew exactly what was coming. There had been times when he had been forced to watch Angelus torture others, when his Grandsire had been in the mood to lecture and wanted Spike to learn the art. At other times, Spike had been on the receiving end of the torture himself, having managed to irritate Angelus to the point where he thought the younger vampire needed to be taken down a notch or two. Torture was never Spike’s thing, and Dru wasn’t able to remain focused on one thing long enough to really be good at it. Angelus though, he was a master, and loved to drag things out for as long as possible. It was his favourite way to entertain humans, followed closely by violent rapes. Ideally, the older vampire tried to work out situations where he got to indulge in both, whether it was torturing a father and raping his daughters in front of him, or torturing a priest and raping all the nuns in his parish, one after the other.
Spike’s thing, on the other hand, was a fair fight. If there was no risk, there was just no point fighting. Sometimes, when he was really bored and at loose ends, he would go to a rough bar, human or demon — didn’t matter to him, and deliberately start a fight with an entire group of opponents. Five or six at a time wasn’t unheard of for the tough blonde vampire. When Spike won a fight, he wanted to know that he had cheated his final death once again.
When Angelus reached Spike, he used the knife to cut the younger vampire’s shirt off, nicking him frequently in the process. By the time Spike’s chest and shoulders were bare, he was covered in at least twenty small cuts.
Spike was starting to worry about what was going to happen next. Angelus had been trapped by a soul for over a hundred years, and he had a lot of repressed mean and nasty to get out of his system.
Angelus took the remnants of Spike’s shirt, and used it to light a fire in a round metal cauldron that was resting on the floor beside his tool cart. Once the fire died down a bit, he placed a fire poker in the cauldron, letting it rest on the glowing red coals inside. He didn’t say a word, just watched Spike and smiled. What he wanted to do was break the younger vampire, as he had done when Spike was a fledgling.
Spike vowed that, this time, Angelus would have a long wait. Spike was a Master in his own right now, and he wouldn’t be so easy to break. He also knew that giving in to Angelus would only bring more pain, not the relief the older vampire promised. As long as Spike showed a reaction, his Grandsire would continue to torture him. Finally, the session would end when Spike collapsed, unconscious. Without the screaming and begging, it just wasn’t fun for Angelus.
Spike planned to avoid the screaming and begging altogether, and hoped that Angelus would quickly become bored with his games and go looking for someone new to play with.
Throwing one last smile at his Grandchilde, Angelus exited the room, leaving the poker still in the cauldron of hot coals, and Spike still hanging from the wall.
-----------------------------------
At some point during the day, Cordelia finally woke. She tried to lift her head from the ground, but the pain and dizziness were so intense that she ended up vomiting on herself. Slowly, breathing deeply, she managed to move until she was sitting upright against the wall, all the while trying to remember what had happened to her. She carefully used her hands to feel her head and face, and discovered that she had a big lump on the right side of her head that had been bleeding profusely at some point, and that the left side of her face was swollen and very painful. Her left eye was completely closed, and she wasn’t certain, but it felt like she was missing several teeth from the left side of her mouth.
A few more deep breaths, and then Cordelia was ready to stand up. Unfortunately, someone forgot to send that message to both her legs and her head. She was so dizzy that she barely made it to her knees again before slumping down, face first, onto the floor. The cold floor might have provided some relief for her headache, had her face not been so swollen. Still, Cordy knew that she had to get out of the apartment. Bits and pieces of her memory were starting to come back now, and two things were certain in her mind. Angel had hurt her, swatting at her like a kitten swatting a fly, and she didn’t want to be around if he decided he wanted to play with her again. The cheerleader was determined, and slowly managed to drag herself across the floor to the apartment door. Fortunately for her, Angel hadn’t bothered to close it when he left, so she was able to pull herself over the sill and part-way into the hall. At that point, she was no longer able to overcome the pain and dizziness, and lost consciousness again.
It wasn’t long before a neighbour, returning home from his early morning shift at work, stumbled across the young girl in the hall. He was a decent man, but at first he didn’t want to get involved. Given the grotesque swelling of her face and the blood in her hair, he thought it likely that he had stumbled across another of the town’s many random gang killings. Then, just by chance, Cordelia moaned. Immediately, the neighbour rushed to his apartment and called for the police and an ambulance. Then he went back into the hallway with a light blanket, and covered Cordelia until emergency crews arrived. She was only wearing a bathrobe and he didn’t want to leave her so scandalously exposed to anyone passing by.
The police and the ambulance arrived quickly. It wasn’t often that someone attacked in their community actually survived to tell the tale, and so they were both motivated to respond quickly. The police became even more motivated when they looked in the apartment and found Cordelia’s purse. The fact that she was Cordelia Chase of The Chase Family, a family of huge wealth and influence in the community, meant they would be expected to find answers, and find them quickly.
A team of detectives and forensic investigators started to search the apartment that Cordelia had clearly crawled from. In the bathroom, they found evidence of a shower, but the stall was dry, so it wasn’t recent. There was a dress hanging on the back of the door, and it seemed to be in Cordelia’s size. In the bedroom, they found a rumpled bed, with two indentations in the pillows, so they knew that two people had slept in the bed at some point. There was also a pair of men’s pant on the floor, as well as a shirt. They also found an empty bottle of wine, with two glasses, leading them to believe that Cordelia might have been drugged and taken advantage of. Given the clothing in the closet, and the general look of the apartment, they assumed it belonged to a man, and that he was likely involved in the attack on the young lady.
The police tried canvassing the building, trying to get more information about the occupant of the basement apartment. Unfortunately, Angel had kept to himself, preferring a solitary life spent in the shadows, and so they were unable to gather much information. Their only hope was that Miss Chase knew her attacker, and would be able to provide them with a name and a description once she was seen to at the hospital.
In the meantime, Cordelia had been rushed to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital as soon as the paramedics were able to safely transfer her onto a stretcher. They were very concerned about a possible neck fracture, given the visible head trauma. Police dispatch managed to contact her parents, as Cordelia was arriving at the hospital, and they dropped what they were doing to rush to their daughter.
An MRI showed that Cordelia had a fractured jaw, as well as a small skull fracture and a concussion. The emergency room staff did their best to stabilize the traumatized young woman, and then they prepped her for surgery. The skull fracture would heal with time, but the damage to her jaw was severe. Cordelia’s jaws would be wired shut to allow her jaw bone to heal correctly. She would also require plastic surgery to reconstruct her left cheekbone, which had been shattered by Angel’s blow to her face.
Cordelia would be unconscious for several hours yet.
----------------------------------
Spike thought it was about an hour later, when Angelus came back into the room.
“Ready to tell the truth yet, boy?” he asked Spike.
“Damn it, Angelus. I’m not bloody lying to you!” But it was clear that his Grandsire wasn’t in the mood to listen.
“Alright then, let the fun begin.” Angelus walked over to the cauldron and picked up the fireplace poker. It smoked, and shone a dull red. “Last chance, Spike. If you admit you had planned to take over my place as the Master of the Order of Aurelius and head of our clan, then I might go easy on you. I can admire ambition in my own childer.”
They both knew it was a lie. The only ambition Angelus admired was his own. He also loved to give hope and then brutally crush it, especially when it led to begging. Yes, for the larger vampire, the begging was definitely the best part of torturing someone.
Angelus admired the hot poker, allowing it to cool slightly as he walked over to Spike. He even touched the point with a thumb he had licked, just to raise Spike’s apprehension when he heard the telltale sizzle. Holding the poker, now a dark red, over Spike’s shoulder, Angelus asked, “Any last requests before we start?” with a sadistic smile on his face.
Spike clenched his jaw and glared at his Grandsire, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer.
Angelus laughed with glee. “Not going to fall for that one, eh Willy Boy? Aren’t you the clever one then.”
Without any warning, the hot poker was suddenly laid against Spike’s cheek for a few seconds. The blonde vampire closed his eyes, his entire body clenched in agony. Smoke rose from his blackened cheek, and the smell of the burned flesh was horrible.
“Oops. Sorry about that Spikey. The poker slipped when I wasn’t looking.”
It took a few minutes, but the scalding pain was starting to fade. Spike opened his eyes, and looked straight into Angelus’ golden ones.
“This is what I was planning to do.” With a nasty smile on his face, Angelus pressed the point of the poker into Spike’s chest, burning through his flesh and right down to his heart.
For some reason, vampires seem to gain additional benefits from their demon when they’re in game face. Very early on in his unlife, Spike had learned that bringing his demon to the fore would also help him deal with extreme pain. Having a hot poker shoved through his chest and into his heart brought Spike’s demon out without conscious effort on the blonde vampire’s part.
Angelus slowly pulled the poker out of Spike’s flesh. “Too bad it’s not wood, but then, I don’t want you to die too quickly now, do I? Where would the fun be in that? Plus, I want you to serve as an example to anyone else who might be thinking about trying to step into my shoes. The minions will be talking about you for a long time after I’m finished with you.” It was easy to see that his Grandsire was looking forward to hearing the stories the minions would tell. “You know, I think it’s getting cold,” he said, waving the poker in the air. Angelus touched the hot poker to the Spike’s ribs, on the side and just above his waist. “Nope, still nice and warm,” the older vampire laughed. “Here, let’s give you one on the other side to match.” And with that, Angelus pressed the hot iron to the other side of Spike’s chest.
Spike’s demon was enraged at the treatment it was receiving from Angelus, and the blonde vampire had tracks of blood running down his chin from where he’d bit his lips to avoid giving his Grandsire the satisfaction of hearing him scream.
The poker clanged against the side of the cauldron when Angelus returned it to the coals. “Definitely not warm enough now.” The older vampire turned to the other implements on his cart instead. “What to choose? What to choose?” His hands briefly touched on a tool, before moving on to the next, until he stopped at an ordinary looking knife. He held it up for Spike to see. “What do you think of this one, Spikey? Ready to play a new game?”
Spike knew the knife wasn’t as ordinary as it looked. The blade was sharp, razor sharp. As if seeking confirmation, Angelus pulled a strand of hair out of Spike’s scalp, and then proceeded to cut the hair in two with the knife. “Hmmm...Not quite sharp enough for what I’ve got in mind, I’m afraid.”
Angelus placed the knife back on the cart, and then went over to Spike and pulled the smaller vampire’s thick leather belt off. Flipping the belt up over his shoulder, Angelus briefly left the room, returning after only a few minutes carrying a chair, which he placed next to the cart.
Sitting down in the chair, he placed the buckle of the belt on the floor, and placed a boot heel on it, while wrapping the other end of the belt around his fist and pulling it taut. Holding the blade tightly, he drew the blade down the leather, carefully sharpening one side of the knife. After five or six minutes, Angelus switched direction, and drew the other side of the blade up the leather, sharpening the other side for several minutes. Then, for ten or fifteen minutes, he switched back and forth between each side of the blade. By the time he was done, Spike knew that the ordinary looking knife would be able to cut spider webs, never mind hair.
“There we are. I think it’s ready now. How about a quick test though?” he asked as he got up from his chair and moved toward his captive Grandchilde. Angelus reached up and yanked out a chunk of hair, and then held it at eye level so Spike could watch the knife cut through it with ease. “Just right,” Angelus said, with another vicious smile.
Angelus spent the next few hours playing with his knife. He started at Spike’s shoulders and worked his way down to the younger vampire’s waist, using mostly small cuts, but throwing the odd deep or long cut in, just for variety. He seemed to take a lot of enjoyment from apologizing after each deep cut.
By the time Angelus was done, Spike’s whole upper body was covered in cuts, and he had bled so much that it almost looked like he was wearing a red shirt. He’d long since stopped reacting, even to the deeper cuts his Grandsire made, and had instead retreated into his mind, leaving his demon to deal with the pain.
“This is boring,” Angelus complained with a pout. “Let’s take a break while I decide what I want to do next.” He tossed the blood covered knife back onto the cart, and then headed for the door. “Don’t wander off now,” he laughed, as he headed off to find Drusilla.
Ha, ha. That was so funny, I forgot to bloody laugh. Now, how the Hell am I going to get out of here? If the Poof keeps this up, I’ll be out of blood soon, and then I won’t stand a chance against him. Spike could feel the weight of his lost blood, pulling on his hips as it was absorbed into the fabric of his jeans. He tugged on the chains around his wrists again, as well as the ones holding his ankles, but it was no use. He was weaker now than the first time he’d tried to break free, and it was only going to get worse. His best chance was that Angelus would forget about him, or that Dru would finally come to her senses, defy her Sire, and release him. Bugger, I’m never getting out of here.
Angelus entertained himself with Drusilla for a time, but it wasn’t nearly as long as Spike was hoping for. It seemed like hardly any time had passed before he could hear Angelus making his way back down the hall to where Spike was still helpless and chained to the wall.
“A nice break, that was. My Dru always was a Daddy’s girl. At the rate we’re going, she’s going to forget all about you, just like that.” Angelus snapped his fingers in Spike’s face, before turning and heading to the cart of torture implements again. This time, he moved his body so Spike couldn’t see what he was picking up. “What I want to know now, is why you don’t seem to care about Dru. You’ve been chasing her like a lovesick puppy dog for over a hundred years, and now, what? You’ve changed your mind? You don’t want her anymore? You don’t care what happens to her?” He moved to stand in front of Spike.
“I do care about her. She’s my Sire,” Spike protested. He wasn’t sure what Angelus was up to now, but he knew it wouldn’t be something he’d enjoy.
“So you say. Is that part of the plan? Trying to make me think you don’t care? That you’re just going to passively let her stray from you?” Angelus held out a little bottle full of clear liquid.
“What the Hell are you talking about? I care! I just told you I care!”
Angelus pulled the cork, careful not to get any of the liquid on his hands. “You haven’t complained even once about me taking Dru from you.” With a sadistic smile, he slowly raised the bottle over Spike and began to tip it.
Knowing that it wouldn’t do any good, Spike still desperately tried to pull the chains loose, so he could escape from Angelus. It was clear to him now, that there would be no reasoning with the deranged vampire. “You were right. You were. She doesn’t love me. I know it. Doesn’t love me, probably never has. She only wants you.” His voice cut off as the Holy water started streaming across his chest and shoulders. His skin smoked, and his screams were agonizing. Then, there was only darkness.
Angelus came back to check on his Grandchilde as the sun went down, but Spike was still unconscious. Since he couldn’t play with the blonde vampire, Angelus decided it was time to pay a visit to a little blonde Slayer he knew.
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It was almost a full day later, before Cordelia was out of surgery and able to see her parents. She did her best to reassure them, all the while wanting to break down and cry herself. The pain and the fear she experienced were almost overwhelming, but she knew she needed to get in touch with Giles before it would be safe to fall apart. She had a nurse provide her with a pencil and a piece of paper, and then wrote a note asking the nurse to call the number on the paper and advise Mr. Giles that she was in the hospital and needed him to visit immediately. Once the nurse and her parents left the room, Cordelia rolled onto her side and curled into a small ball, using her pillow to muffle the sobs she could no longer hold at bay.
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Early in the afternoon, with Lorne’s help, Buffy finished packing her cute little car. She’d done her best to have most of her purchases shipped directly to Sunnydale, but still had so much to fit in the car that she’d ended up leaving a few things behind for Lorne to send on the bus. She hated leaving the green skinned demon with extra work, but for some reason her leftover Slayer senses had been screaming at her all night, and she knew she had to get on the road right away. Buffy planned to leave the city before the commuters, in an effort to cut an hour off her trip. It might be a cute little car, but it had some pep as well.
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Angelus rang the doorbell, and smiled politely when the door opened. “Hello, Mrs. Summers. By any chance, is Buffy home?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry, Angel. Buffy left for LA a few days ago. She should be back tonight or tomorrow though.”
“This is kind of a sensitive matter. Would I be able to come in and write her a note?” the vampire asked, thinking to gain access to the house while Joyce was vulnerable.
“Sure,” Joyce replied, opening the door to let him through.
A smile of anticipation on his face, Angelus started forward. “Thanks, Mrs. Sum...” Angelus had walked to the door, and bounced off the barrier spell. “What’s going on? When did you take my invitation away?” he demanded.
Beginning to sense that something wasn’t right, Joyce took a step back from the door. “I haven’t, as far as I know.”
Angelus tried to get his anger under control. It wouldn’t do to scare her away now. “It’s probably some kind of mistake. Don’t worry about it, Joyce. You can just invite me in, and I’ll write that note and be out of your hair. It’s just really important that Buffy get this information as soon as she gets home.”
Joyce was a little uncomfortable with the thought of inviting the vampire in. He seemed to be on the verge of having a temper tantrum, but the gang had repeatedly told her that Angel was one of the good guys. “Okay,” she nodded. “Come in, Angel.”
Really ready to kill the Slayer’s mother now, Angel quickly stepped forward, only to be rebuffed again. “What the Hell is going on?” he demanded, as he vamped out. “What the fuck have you done, you stupid bitch? Let me in now or I’ll rip your damn throat out,” he growled.
Horrified, Joyce quickly pulled back and slammed the door shut, locking both the knob and the deadbolt. Then she ran to the kitchen door and made sure it was locked as well. Hearing the angry vampire shouting obscenities at her from outside, she grabbed the cordless phone and started dialling Merrick’s number while she ran from room to room, checking the window locks. The phone rang several times, but Buffy’s friend couldn’t be reached. Her mind raced for a moment, but then she decided to give Giles a call. They might not be on the best of terms at the moment, but she knew the Watcher would come to her aid in this situation. Unfortunately, Giles wasn’t answering his phone either. After another moment of panicked thought, Joyce realized that Merrick was probably pretty new to cell phones, and might have just missed the call. She tried his number again, and was rewarded for her persistence when Buffy’s Watcher picked up after the first ring.
“Hello. Merrick here.”
Just hearing his voice made Joyce feel a little safer already. “Oh, thank God. There’s something wrong, Merrick. Angel just came to the door, and asked if he could come in and leave a note for Buffy. For some reason he couldn’t get in the house, even after I tried inviting him in. He got so angry, he vamped out, and was yelling and threatening to rip my throat out. I don’t know what to do.”
Joyce heard a deep sigh over the phone.
“Buffy was afraid something like this would happen. Just stay inside, Joyce. You’re perfectly safe there. I’m on my way over now.” After disconnecting his call with Joyce, Merrick quickly dialled the number for a local taxi company and arranged to meet them on the corner of the main street a block away. If Angelus was loose, Merrick didn’t want to waste time jogging over to Joyce’s home.
Spike let out a groan. His shoulders were burning, but when he tried to move them to ease the pressure on his joints, he wasn’t able to. He opened his swollen eyes, but all he could tell was that he was in some kind of storage room. “What the bloody Hell is going on here?”
Hearing chains rattle, Spike noticed that there was a thick metal cuff around each of his wrists, and that each cuff was chained to the wall. No wonder his shoulders were aching, he was hanging by his arms. Now that he was awake, he realized that the position he was hanging in just barely let him touch the ground with his toes. Doing his best to support his weight on his legs, he was able to twist and get a grip on the chains. He tried with all his strength to pull them from the wall, but it was no use. The chains were magically enhanced, like the ones he used when his Sire got completely out of control.
A door to Spike’s left opened, and Angelus walked into the small room. “William. I see you’ve finally decided to join us,” the brunette vampire gloated.
“What the Hell is going on, you tosser?”
Angelus shifted to game face. “I won’t suffer a traitor in my house, especially when he’s a useless little pissant like you, Spike. I guess you didn’t think I’d pay attention to Dru’s babbling. Thought you’d be able to just sneak up behind me and take what isn’t yours, eh boy?” The enraged vampire got closer to Spike with every word spoken.
Finally, Spike could feel his Grandsire’s breath on his face. He looked Angelus right in the eye, refusing to cower or beg. “I haven’t betrayed you.”
“Only because I got you before you could get me.” Angelus turned away from him. “You remember how this works, right? I’m the one that gets to have the fun here, and you’re the one that gets to scream.” The older vampire’s smile was vicious as he turned back to his captive.
“Bloody Hell, Angelus. I haven’t betrayed you. Don’t have any intention of doing that.”
“Too bad I don’t believe you. And do you know why?” Angelus sneered.
“I don’t have a fucking clue.” Spike stood up on his toes, trying to relieve the strain in his shoulders.
Angelus grinned. “I trust Dru. When you think about it, the song was very straightforward this time. No riddles to puzzle out, for a change. ‘My brave knight will defeat my Daddy.’ Pretty hard to argue your way out of that one, boy. She’s been calling you her knight since she pulled you out of the ground, and everyone knows that I’m her Daddy.” At that, the vampire walked over to a cart that was arranged off to Spike’s right. “Now, without further delay, time for the fun,” Angelus crowed. With a great flourish, he removed the black velvet cloth that covered the cart, and then adjusted its location to make sure Spike had a good view.
Spike couldn’t help but tense. Bugger me. I’m in big trouble now.
Angelus rubbed his hands together. “Now, where to start? Where to start? It’s such a big decision and I don’t want to rush things and miss something important.”
“Okay, so, here’s the thing, Angelus. Before you do something you might regret later, why don’t you go find Dru and ask her what she was thinking about when she sang her little ditty,” Spike asked nervously.
“Sorry. Our Dru is a little tied up at the moment. No, that was a lie. MY Dru is a LOT tied up at the moment. I believe I even used some chains.” The angered vampire walked back and forth in front of the table, before picking up a truly vicious looking knife. “I didn’t want to risk her interfering with our fun. Sometimes girls can be so silly when it comes to blood, don’t you agree?” With that, Angelus straightened his shoulders and appeared to reach some kind of internal decision.
Spike watched as his Grandsire slowly approached, flicking the knife back and forth in front of him, knowing that the blonde vampire was probably just about crawling out of his skin because of the delay.
Spike knew exactly what was coming. There had been times when he had been forced to watch Angelus torture others, when his Grandsire had been in the mood to lecture and wanted Spike to learn the art. At other times, Spike had been on the receiving end of the torture himself, having managed to irritate Angelus to the point where he thought the younger vampire needed to be taken down a notch or two. Torture was never Spike’s thing, and Dru wasn’t able to remain focused on one thing long enough to really be good at it. Angelus though, he was a master, and loved to drag things out for as long as possible. It was his favourite way to entertain humans, followed closely by violent rapes. Ideally, the older vampire tried to work out situations where he got to indulge in both, whether it was torturing a father and raping his daughters in front of him, or torturing a priest and raping all the nuns in his parish, one after the other.
Spike’s thing, on the other hand, was a fair fight. If there was no risk, there was just no point fighting. Sometimes, when he was really bored and at loose ends, he would go to a rough bar, human or demon — didn’t matter to him, and deliberately start a fight with an entire group of opponents. Five or six at a time wasn’t unheard of for the tough blonde vampire. When Spike won a fight, he wanted to know that he had cheated his final death once again.
When Angelus reached Spike, he used the knife to cut the younger vampire’s shirt off, nicking him frequently in the process. By the time Spike’s chest and shoulders were bare, he was covered in at least twenty small cuts.
Spike was starting to worry about what was going to happen next. Angelus had been trapped by a soul for over a hundred years, and he had a lot of repressed mean and nasty to get out of his system.
Angelus took the remnants of Spike’s shirt, and used it to light a fire in a round metal cauldron that was resting on the floor beside his tool cart. Once the fire died down a bit, he placed a fire poker in the cauldron, letting it rest on the glowing red coals inside. He didn’t say a word, just watched Spike and smiled. What he wanted to do was break the younger vampire, as he had done when Spike was a fledgling.
Spike vowed that, this time, Angelus would have a long wait. Spike was a Master in his own right now, and he wouldn’t be so easy to break. He also knew that giving in to Angelus would only bring more pain, not the relief the older vampire promised. As long as Spike showed a reaction, his Grandsire would continue to torture him. Finally, the session would end when Spike collapsed, unconscious. Without the screaming and begging, it just wasn’t fun for Angelus.
Spike planned to avoid the screaming and begging altogether, and hoped that Angelus would quickly become bored with his games and go looking for someone new to play with.
Throwing one last smile at his Grandchilde, Angelus exited the room, leaving the poker still in the cauldron of hot coals, and Spike still hanging from the wall.
-----------------------------------
At some point during the day, Cordelia finally woke. She tried to lift her head from the ground, but the pain and dizziness were so intense that she ended up vomiting on herself. Slowly, breathing deeply, she managed to move until she was sitting upright against the wall, all the while trying to remember what had happened to her. She carefully used her hands to feel her head and face, and discovered that she had a big lump on the right side of her head that had been bleeding profusely at some point, and that the left side of her face was swollen and very painful. Her left eye was completely closed, and she wasn’t certain, but it felt like she was missing several teeth from the left side of her mouth.
A few more deep breaths, and then Cordelia was ready to stand up. Unfortunately, someone forgot to send that message to both her legs and her head. She was so dizzy that she barely made it to her knees again before slumping down, face first, onto the floor. The cold floor might have provided some relief for her headache, had her face not been so swollen. Still, Cordy knew that she had to get out of the apartment. Bits and pieces of her memory were starting to come back now, and two things were certain in her mind. Angel had hurt her, swatting at her like a kitten swatting a fly, and she didn’t want to be around if he decided he wanted to play with her again. The cheerleader was determined, and slowly managed to drag herself across the floor to the apartment door. Fortunately for her, Angel hadn’t bothered to close it when he left, so she was able to pull herself over the sill and part-way into the hall. At that point, she was no longer able to overcome the pain and dizziness, and lost consciousness again.
It wasn’t long before a neighbour, returning home from his early morning shift at work, stumbled across the young girl in the hall. He was a decent man, but at first he didn’t want to get involved. Given the grotesque swelling of her face and the blood in her hair, he thought it likely that he had stumbled across another of the town’s many random gang killings. Then, just by chance, Cordelia moaned. Immediately, the neighbour rushed to his apartment and called for the police and an ambulance. Then he went back into the hallway with a light blanket, and covered Cordelia until emergency crews arrived. She was only wearing a bathrobe and he didn’t want to leave her so scandalously exposed to anyone passing by.
The police and the ambulance arrived quickly. It wasn’t often that someone attacked in their community actually survived to tell the tale, and so they were both motivated to respond quickly. The police became even more motivated when they looked in the apartment and found Cordelia’s purse. The fact that she was Cordelia Chase of The Chase Family, a family of huge wealth and influence in the community, meant they would be expected to find answers, and find them quickly.
A team of detectives and forensic investigators started to search the apartment that Cordelia had clearly crawled from. In the bathroom, they found evidence of a shower, but the stall was dry, so it wasn’t recent. There was a dress hanging on the back of the door, and it seemed to be in Cordelia’s size. In the bedroom, they found a rumpled bed, with two indentations in the pillows, so they knew that two people had slept in the bed at some point. There was also a pair of men’s pant on the floor, as well as a shirt. They also found an empty bottle of wine, with two glasses, leading them to believe that Cordelia might have been drugged and taken advantage of. Given the clothing in the closet, and the general look of the apartment, they assumed it belonged to a man, and that he was likely involved in the attack on the young lady.
The police tried canvassing the building, trying to get more information about the occupant of the basement apartment. Unfortunately, Angel had kept to himself, preferring a solitary life spent in the shadows, and so they were unable to gather much information. Their only hope was that Miss Chase knew her attacker, and would be able to provide them with a name and a description once she was seen to at the hospital.
In the meantime, Cordelia had been rushed to Sunnydale Memorial Hospital as soon as the paramedics were able to safely transfer her onto a stretcher. They were very concerned about a possible neck fracture, given the visible head trauma. Police dispatch managed to contact her parents, as Cordelia was arriving at the hospital, and they dropped what they were doing to rush to their daughter.
An MRI showed that Cordelia had a fractured jaw, as well as a small skull fracture and a concussion. The emergency room staff did their best to stabilize the traumatized young woman, and then they prepped her for surgery. The skull fracture would heal with time, but the damage to her jaw was severe. Cordelia’s jaws would be wired shut to allow her jaw bone to heal correctly. She would also require plastic surgery to reconstruct her left cheekbone, which had been shattered by Angel’s blow to her face.
Cordelia would be unconscious for several hours yet.
----------------------------------
Spike thought it was about an hour later, when Angelus came back into the room.
“Ready to tell the truth yet, boy?” he asked Spike.
“Damn it, Angelus. I’m not bloody lying to you!” But it was clear that his Grandsire wasn’t in the mood to listen.
“Alright then, let the fun begin.” Angelus walked over to the cauldron and picked up the fireplace poker. It smoked, and shone a dull red. “Last chance, Spike. If you admit you had planned to take over my place as the Master of the Order of Aurelius and head of our clan, then I might go easy on you. I can admire ambition in my own childer.”
They both knew it was a lie. The only ambition Angelus admired was his own. He also loved to give hope and then brutally crush it, especially when it led to begging. Yes, for the larger vampire, the begging was definitely the best part of torturing someone.
Angelus admired the hot poker, allowing it to cool slightly as he walked over to Spike. He even touched the point with a thumb he had licked, just to raise Spike’s apprehension when he heard the telltale sizzle. Holding the poker, now a dark red, over Spike’s shoulder, Angelus asked, “Any last requests before we start?” with a sadistic smile on his face.
Spike clenched his jaw and glared at his Grandsire, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer.
Angelus laughed with glee. “Not going to fall for that one, eh Willy Boy? Aren’t you the clever one then.”
Without any warning, the hot poker was suddenly laid against Spike’s cheek for a few seconds. The blonde vampire closed his eyes, his entire body clenched in agony. Smoke rose from his blackened cheek, and the smell of the burned flesh was horrible.
“Oops. Sorry about that Spikey. The poker slipped when I wasn’t looking.”
It took a few minutes, but the scalding pain was starting to fade. Spike opened his eyes, and looked straight into Angelus’ golden ones.
“This is what I was planning to do.” With a nasty smile on his face, Angelus pressed the point of the poker into Spike’s chest, burning through his flesh and right down to his heart.
For some reason, vampires seem to gain additional benefits from their demon when they’re in game face. Very early on in his unlife, Spike had learned that bringing his demon to the fore would also help him deal with extreme pain. Having a hot poker shoved through his chest and into his heart brought Spike’s demon out without conscious effort on the blonde vampire’s part.
Angelus slowly pulled the poker out of Spike’s flesh. “Too bad it’s not wood, but then, I don’t want you to die too quickly now, do I? Where would the fun be in that? Plus, I want you to serve as an example to anyone else who might be thinking about trying to step into my shoes. The minions will be talking about you for a long time after I’m finished with you.” It was easy to see that his Grandsire was looking forward to hearing the stories the minions would tell. “You know, I think it’s getting cold,” he said, waving the poker in the air. Angelus touched the hot poker to the Spike’s ribs, on the side and just above his waist. “Nope, still nice and warm,” the older vampire laughed. “Here, let’s give you one on the other side to match.” And with that, Angelus pressed the hot iron to the other side of Spike’s chest.
Spike’s demon was enraged at the treatment it was receiving from Angelus, and the blonde vampire had tracks of blood running down his chin from where he’d bit his lips to avoid giving his Grandsire the satisfaction of hearing him scream.
The poker clanged against the side of the cauldron when Angelus returned it to the coals. “Definitely not warm enough now.” The older vampire turned to the other implements on his cart instead. “What to choose? What to choose?” His hands briefly touched on a tool, before moving on to the next, until he stopped at an ordinary looking knife. He held it up for Spike to see. “What do you think of this one, Spikey? Ready to play a new game?”
Spike knew the knife wasn’t as ordinary as it looked. The blade was sharp, razor sharp. As if seeking confirmation, Angelus pulled a strand of hair out of Spike’s scalp, and then proceeded to cut the hair in two with the knife. “Hmmm...Not quite sharp enough for what I’ve got in mind, I’m afraid.”
Angelus placed the knife back on the cart, and then went over to Spike and pulled the smaller vampire’s thick leather belt off. Flipping the belt up over his shoulder, Angelus briefly left the room, returning after only a few minutes carrying a chair, which he placed next to the cart.
Sitting down in the chair, he placed the buckle of the belt on the floor, and placed a boot heel on it, while wrapping the other end of the belt around his fist and pulling it taut. Holding the blade tightly, he drew the blade down the leather, carefully sharpening one side of the knife. After five or six minutes, Angelus switched direction, and drew the other side of the blade up the leather, sharpening the other side for several minutes. Then, for ten or fifteen minutes, he switched back and forth between each side of the blade. By the time he was done, Spike knew that the ordinary looking knife would be able to cut spider webs, never mind hair.
“There we are. I think it’s ready now. How about a quick test though?” he asked as he got up from his chair and moved toward his captive Grandchilde. Angelus reached up and yanked out a chunk of hair, and then held it at eye level so Spike could watch the knife cut through it with ease. “Just right,” Angelus said, with another vicious smile.
Angelus spent the next few hours playing with his knife. He started at Spike’s shoulders and worked his way down to the younger vampire’s waist, using mostly small cuts, but throwing the odd deep or long cut in, just for variety. He seemed to take a lot of enjoyment from apologizing after each deep cut.
By the time Angelus was done, Spike’s whole upper body was covered in cuts, and he had bled so much that it almost looked like he was wearing a red shirt. He’d long since stopped reacting, even to the deeper cuts his Grandsire made, and had instead retreated into his mind, leaving his demon to deal with the pain.
“This is boring,” Angelus complained with a pout. “Let’s take a break while I decide what I want to do next.” He tossed the blood covered knife back onto the cart, and then headed for the door. “Don’t wander off now,” he laughed, as he headed off to find Drusilla.
Ha, ha. That was so funny, I forgot to bloody laugh. Now, how the Hell am I going to get out of here? If the Poof keeps this up, I’ll be out of blood soon, and then I won’t stand a chance against him. Spike could feel the weight of his lost blood, pulling on his hips as it was absorbed into the fabric of his jeans. He tugged on the chains around his wrists again, as well as the ones holding his ankles, but it was no use. He was weaker now than the first time he’d tried to break free, and it was only going to get worse. His best chance was that Angelus would forget about him, or that Dru would finally come to her senses, defy her Sire, and release him. Bugger, I’m never getting out of here.
Angelus entertained himself with Drusilla for a time, but it wasn’t nearly as long as Spike was hoping for. It seemed like hardly any time had passed before he could hear Angelus making his way back down the hall to where Spike was still helpless and chained to the wall.
“A nice break, that was. My Dru always was a Daddy’s girl. At the rate we’re going, she’s going to forget all about you, just like that.” Angelus snapped his fingers in Spike’s face, before turning and heading to the cart of torture implements again. This time, he moved his body so Spike couldn’t see what he was picking up. “What I want to know now, is why you don’t seem to care about Dru. You’ve been chasing her like a lovesick puppy dog for over a hundred years, and now, what? You’ve changed your mind? You don’t want her anymore? You don’t care what happens to her?” He moved to stand in front of Spike.
“I do care about her. She’s my Sire,” Spike protested. He wasn’t sure what Angelus was up to now, but he knew it wouldn’t be something he’d enjoy.
“So you say. Is that part of the plan? Trying to make me think you don’t care? That you’re just going to passively let her stray from you?” Angelus held out a little bottle full of clear liquid.
“What the Hell are you talking about? I care! I just told you I care!”
Angelus pulled the cork, careful not to get any of the liquid on his hands. “You haven’t complained even once about me taking Dru from you.” With a sadistic smile, he slowly raised the bottle over Spike and began to tip it.
Knowing that it wouldn’t do any good, Spike still desperately tried to pull the chains loose, so he could escape from Angelus. It was clear to him now, that there would be no reasoning with the deranged vampire. “You were right. You were. She doesn’t love me. I know it. Doesn’t love me, probably never has. She only wants you.” His voice cut off as the Holy water started streaming across his chest and shoulders. His skin smoked, and his screams were agonizing. Then, there was only darkness.
Angelus came back to check on his Grandchilde as the sun went down, but Spike was still unconscious. Since he couldn’t play with the blonde vampire, Angelus decided it was time to pay a visit to a little blonde Slayer he knew.
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It was almost a full day later, before Cordelia was out of surgery and able to see her parents. She did her best to reassure them, all the while wanting to break down and cry herself. The pain and the fear she experienced were almost overwhelming, but she knew she needed to get in touch with Giles before it would be safe to fall apart. She had a nurse provide her with a pencil and a piece of paper, and then wrote a note asking the nurse to call the number on the paper and advise Mr. Giles that she was in the hospital and needed him to visit immediately. Once the nurse and her parents left the room, Cordelia rolled onto her side and curled into a small ball, using her pillow to muffle the sobs she could no longer hold at bay.
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Early in the afternoon, with Lorne’s help, Buffy finished packing her cute little car. She’d done her best to have most of her purchases shipped directly to Sunnydale, but still had so much to fit in the car that she’d ended up leaving a few things behind for Lorne to send on the bus. She hated leaving the green skinned demon with extra work, but for some reason her leftover Slayer senses had been screaming at her all night, and she knew she had to get on the road right away. Buffy planned to leave the city before the commuters, in an effort to cut an hour off her trip. It might be a cute little car, but it had some pep as well.
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Angelus rang the doorbell, and smiled politely when the door opened. “Hello, Mrs. Summers. By any chance, is Buffy home?”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry, Angel. Buffy left for LA a few days ago. She should be back tonight or tomorrow though.”
“This is kind of a sensitive matter. Would I be able to come in and write her a note?” the vampire asked, thinking to gain access to the house while Joyce was vulnerable.
“Sure,” Joyce replied, opening the door to let him through.
A smile of anticipation on his face, Angelus started forward. “Thanks, Mrs. Sum...” Angelus had walked to the door, and bounced off the barrier spell. “What’s going on? When did you take my invitation away?” he demanded.
Beginning to sense that something wasn’t right, Joyce took a step back from the door. “I haven’t, as far as I know.”
Angelus tried to get his anger under control. It wouldn’t do to scare her away now. “It’s probably some kind of mistake. Don’t worry about it, Joyce. You can just invite me in, and I’ll write that note and be out of your hair. It’s just really important that Buffy get this information as soon as she gets home.”
Joyce was a little uncomfortable with the thought of inviting the vampire in. He seemed to be on the verge of having a temper tantrum, but the gang had repeatedly told her that Angel was one of the good guys. “Okay,” she nodded. “Come in, Angel.”
Really ready to kill the Slayer’s mother now, Angel quickly stepped forward, only to be rebuffed again. “What the Hell is going on?” he demanded, as he vamped out. “What the fuck have you done, you stupid bitch? Let me in now or I’ll rip your damn throat out,” he growled.
Horrified, Joyce quickly pulled back and slammed the door shut, locking both the knob and the deadbolt. Then she ran to the kitchen door and made sure it was locked as well. Hearing the angry vampire shouting obscenities at her from outside, she grabbed the cordless phone and started dialling Merrick’s number while she ran from room to room, checking the window locks. The phone rang several times, but Buffy’s friend couldn’t be reached. Her mind raced for a moment, but then she decided to give Giles a call. They might not be on the best of terms at the moment, but she knew the Watcher would come to her aid in this situation. Unfortunately, Giles wasn’t answering his phone either. After another moment of panicked thought, Joyce realized that Merrick was probably pretty new to cell phones, and might have just missed the call. She tried his number again, and was rewarded for her persistence when Buffy’s Watcher picked up after the first ring.
“Hello. Merrick here.”
Just hearing his voice made Joyce feel a little safer already. “Oh, thank God. There’s something wrong, Merrick. Angel just came to the door, and asked if he could come in and leave a note for Buffy. For some reason he couldn’t get in the house, even after I tried inviting him in. He got so angry, he vamped out, and was yelling and threatening to rip my throat out. I don’t know what to do.”
Joyce heard a deep sigh over the phone.
“Buffy was afraid something like this would happen. Just stay inside, Joyce. You’re perfectly safe there. I’m on my way over now.” After disconnecting his call with Joyce, Merrick quickly dialled the number for a local taxi company and arranged to meet them on the corner of the main street a block away. If Angelus was loose, Merrick didn’t want to waste time jogging over to Joyce’s home.
Repercussions
Thank you to Maria and Flight Of Fancy for betaing.
The sound of the phone ringing echoed in Giles’ empty apartment. Joyce was calling to get help with Angelus, but Giles had already left his home, and was making his way to the hospital in response to the summons from Cordelia.
When Giles finally was allowed to see the young cheerleader in the hospital, he was horrified. He had to swallow a few times before he was able to speak. “Good Heavens. What happened to you, Cordelia?” He gently took one of her hands in his own.
Though heavily medicated to help with the pain, Cordelia was alert enough to communicate with Giles. She groaned, her eyes showing her distress, and her need to communicate with Giles. She gestured to a pad of paper and a pen, resting on the bedside table along with a glass of ice water with a straw, a towel-wrapped ice-pack, and a box of Kleenex.
“I’m sorry, Cordelia. What is it that you want? The pen and paper?” Giles asked.
She nodded carefully, not wanting to aggravate her concussion and increase her headache.
Giles picked up the paper and pen, and passed them to the injured girl. “Here you go.”
Cordelia put the pad of paper on her lap, and began to write in a very weak and shaky script. After a minute, she pushed the paper back into Giles’ hands.
The Watcher turned the pad, so he could read Cordelia’s message. ‘Broken jaw wired together. I think Buffy was right after all.’
Giles looked up at Cordelia, confused.
She was gazing back at him, tears on her cheeks and a haunted expression in her eyes.
“Buffy was right? In what way? And what happened to you?” Giles gave the pad of paper and pen back to Cordelia.
This time, Cordy only wrote a single sentence. ‘I slept with Angel.’
Giles looked at her, understanding dawning in his eyes.
Exhausted, Cordelia leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes.
Giles gently touched her bruised cheek. “Angel did this to you?” he questioned.
Overcome by her emotions again, Cordelia simply nodded. Her eyes had filled with tears, and they hung on her lashes for fragile moments before slipping off and making silvery trails down her cheeks.
Giles took Cordy’s hand again, doing his best to offer her his support. “Do you want me to call someone for you?”
The young brunette shook her head, refusing to open her eyes.
“I need to go make some calls. I must make sure everyone is aware that Angelus is in our midst again. I’ll be back in just a few minutes.” He went to use the phone in the hallway.
The first call Giles made was to Willow. The next to Xander. The Watcher asked them both if Angel had ever been in their homes. Xander, not surprisingly, had never entertained the broody vampire. Willow, unfortunately, had.
Giles asked the young witch to find a beginner’s level magic book that he had loaned her recently. Once she had the book, she was to find a standard disinvite spell and perform it on her own home. After that, she should wait for Giles to pick her up and take her, and the magic book, to Joyce’s home. Giles felt it would be particularly important to do the disinvite spell at the Summers’ home as soon as possible, given the Light’s previous relationship with the dark vampire.
The next call Giles made was to Joyce. When the call rang through, it was Merrick who finally answered.
“Oh, hello. Yes, this is Giles calling. I’m at the hospital with Cordelia right now, but it’s imperative that you know not to let Angel into your home if you should see him. Lock all the doors and windows. Willow and I are both on our way over there now, and we will do a spell to disinvite him as soon as we arrive.” Then, without giving Merrick a chance to respond, Giles hung up the phone.
Telephone calls complete for the moment, Giles made his way back to Cordelia. “Do you know when the doctors are planning to release you?”
Cordy just shrugged.
After thinking for a moment, Giles nodded. “I believe you’ll be safe enough here, Cordelia. Though Angelus could enter the building if he wanted to, it is my opinion that if he wanted you dead he would have killed you yesterday morning when he did all of this.” The Watcher gestured to her face and body.
Cordelia nodded, both in understanding and in agreement.
“Have someone telephone me if you need anything, anything at all. I’ll let you know what happens as soon as I can. For now though, I must make my way to Joyce’s home without further delay. I need to pick up Willow on the way to Buffy’s home, so we can try to disinvite Angel.” Once more, Giles took one of Cordy’s hands and gave it a gentle squeeze before he laid it back on the bed and left the room.
------------------------------------
Merrick opened the door for Giles and Willow when they arrived at Joyce’s home. The two had been prepared for trouble, and each was clutching a stake in one hand, and a crucifix in the other.
“Where is Joyce?” Giles asked, as Merrick locked the door behind them.
“In the kitchen.” Merrick gestured towards the other room. “She wanted to make sure she had snacks and hot chocolate for everyone. I think it helps her to have something to do, and to be taking care of us all.”
As Merrick had predicted, when Giles and Willow entered the kitchen, Joyce immediately bustled over to them, getting them each settled at the table with a plate of sandwiches and cookies, and a mug of hot chocolate.
Once everyone was taken care of, Joyce fetched a mug of cocoa for herself and joined the others at the table. “Angel was here not too long ago. He said he wanted to leave a message for Buffy, but he couldn’t get in the house, even when I invited him. He went kind of crazy then. I was terrified until Merrick arrived.”
“I’m afraid that we’re not dealing with Angel anymore. I believe instead that it was Angelus that was here recently, Joyce. Earlier today, I received a phone call from a nurse at the hospital. Cordelia had given her my number and asked that the nurse contact me immediately. The poor girl has been badly injured, either by Angel or Angelus. She wasn’t able to provide a lot of information, but that much was clear.” Giles had removed his glasses, using them to gesture as he spoke, and now he returned them to his nose.
“Is there anything else that suggests we’re dealing with Angelus, other than Cordelia’s condition?” Merrick inquired. “It would be nice if we had a bit more corroborating information.”
“Cordelia indicated that she’d slept with Angel, and then he hit her, almost killing her with one blow. Buffy told us that Angel would lose his soul if he slept with Cordelia, so, if she was right, we’re dealing with Angelus.” The Watcher was uncomfortable talking about Cordelia’s sex life, and a pink glow had crept onto his cheeks.
“Buffy’s prediction was correct,” Merrick stated. “She warned us that the same thing happened when she was here before, and that we must do everything we could to prevent Angel from having sex.”
“He was very angry when he couldn’t get in. His face changed, and he started growling and threatening me.” Joyce’s voice shook a little as she remembered her menacing visitor.
Giles was shaken as well, thinking of how things might have turned out very differently had Joyce’s invitation allowed the sadistic vampire access to her home. “Joyce, you said that you invited Angel into your home, but that he still could not enter. Do you know why?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. At first, he appeared normal, but there was something different about his eyes. Then, when he was so insistent that I invite him in, I started to feel very uncomfortable. I knew that he had been helping though, and I put it down to just being alone with a vampire, so I tried to invite him in. When he still couldn’t come in, that’s when he seemed to go crazy. I didn’t do anything different though. I invited him in, but it just didn’t work.”
“I think I know why.” There was a hint of smugness in Merrick’s smile. “I walked in on Buffy doing a disinvite spell a few days ago. The casting seemed to take longer than usual. I think she somehow added something to the spell, so that Angel couldn’t enter, even if Joyce invited him.”
“I know she did the spell to expel the Changelings, but that was with Kendra’s help and it was part of the prophecy.” Giles was fascinated with the prospect of his former Slayer doing magic. “I wasn’t aware that Buffy was capable of doing other magic.”
Willow wasn’t happy to hear that Buffy now was able to do magic. It just wasn’t fair. I’m the one that does the magic, not her. Why does Buffy get everything? Buffy gets a prophecy. Buffy gets a new body. Buffy is the Slayer, then the Eternal Light. Now Buffy gets to do magic too. Willow was upset. She wanted something for herself, something that made her special and necessary to the group.
“Is there any way to get in touch with Buffy in LA? She probably knows the spell that was used to ensoul him.” Giles looked to Joyce, hoping that Buffy would have an easy answer for their latest crisis.
“Why would you think she would know something like that?” Joyce appeared puzzled.
Giles cleared his throat, hoping to find a way to answer Joyce without betraying her daughter’s confidences. “Buffy told me that after she came back from LA, it wouldn’t matter if Cordelia slept with Angel. That must mean that she either knows the spell, or she knows how to find the spell.”
Giles looked down into his mug of hot chocolate, too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye. “I’m afraid I must apologize to you all.” He pushed his mug away. “I received another call this morning, prior to the one from the hospital.” The Watcher sighed. “The call was from Lorne.”
“Lorne, the club owner from LA?” Joyce smiled in fond remembrance of the green demon.
Giles closed his eyes, ashamed to admit his mistake to the group. “It would appear that we haven’t been as trusting of the Light as the Powers expected. Lorne made it clear that our reluctance to accept the information Buffy can provide will lead to chaos and the destruction of life as we know it, and that we must change our ways.”
Joyce and Merrick both had satisfied looks on their faces. “We’ve had no trouble believing what Buffy has shared with us. Why are you having such a hard time with it? She hasn’t made a mistake yet, has she?” Merrick asked. “You need to trust her, Giles.”
“Yes, well. I will certainly do my best from this point on,” Giles promised. The blush that coloured his cheeks when he’d been talking about Cordelia had now spread down his neck and was blazing red. He’d removed his glasses when Merrick began to chastise him, and they were now being polished with his necktie.
Willow looked at the adults at the table. “Well, it’s not like Buffy got everything right. I mean, sure, she got some stuff right, but not all of it. Remember, she said we’re controlling? That’s not right, is it?” The redhead appeared in complete denial.
Giles rubbed his forehead. “Willow, much as it pains me to admit it, I believe Buffy has been nothing but honest with us.”
“But she said that we’re controlling. We’re not controlling, Giles. We’re her friends.” Clearly, the little witch just didn’t see her actions as potentially having a negative effect.
“Willow, we do tend to tell Buffy what to do, and we expect her to listen to us,” the Watcher told her gently.
Joyce went to the phone. “I’m going to give her a call. She should have left LA by now.”
After a few minutes, Joyce hung up the telephone. “She’s not answering. My guess is that she’s probably driving, and has her music blasting and her cell phone tucked into a bag somewhere. When I spoke with her earlier, she said she wanted to be back in Sunnydale tonight, and I know she’d planned to spend the night here. We’re just going to have to wait for her. For whatever reason, Angel can’t get in here, so we should be safe.”
Suddenly, Willow seemed to jump to attention. “What about the others? Xander, Oz, Cordelia, and Kendra?”
“What do you mean, Willow?” Giles asked.
Willow squirmed a bit on her chair, excited to have everyone’s attention. “If this is the safest place to be, then shouldn’t they all be here, too? What if Angelus decides to go after one of them? You all know he doesn’t like Xander much. I don’t want him to kill any of my friends.”
Giles sighed. “Unfortunately, if Angel really is Angelus now, then he’s more likely to wreak havoc at this point than he is to kill one of us. I’d like to remind you that if he’d wanted Cordelia dead, she would have died yesterday. Perhaps you should call Oz and Xander, just to check on them. You could always ask if Oz will pick Xander up and the boys can come here.”
Willow made a face. “I don’t think that’s really a good idea, Giles.”
“Of course, some awkwardness is to be expected, under the circumstances. It’s probably best that they stay where they are. As long as they stay indoors, they should be safe.” Giles tried to reassure the teen, without making her indiscretion public. He then turned to Joyce. “Where’s Kendra?”
“She went patrolling before Angelus showed up. We should go find her and make sure that she’s safe.” Joyce started to get up.
Giles placed a hand on hers, halting her departure from the table. “Kendra is the Slayer, Joyce. She will be okay. It’s her job to fight vampires, including Angelus.”
Joyce sat down again, but couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Willow had been sitting at the table, head bowed and face almost as red as her hair. She really hoped that Joyce didn’t know what had happened between her and Xander. She knew Buffy’s mom would be very disappointed by her behaviour.
Everyone focused on their hot chocolate for the next few minutes. There wasn’t much that could be done until Buffy arrived.
Willow peeked at Joyce, her cheeks still burning. With one glance from the older woman, it was clear that Joyce knew exactly what had transpired between Willow and her boy-shaped best friend, and she didn’t approve at all. Willow’s cheeks began to burn even more fiercely at the increased censure from Buffy’s mom.
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Enraged by the reception he received at the Summers’ home, Angelus stormed back to the factory, planning to take his anger out on Spike. His mood didn’t improve when he found the younger vampire still hanging from his chains, unmoving and unconscious.
He could make this work, Angelus thought, with a grim smile on his face. If he moved Spike now, there would be no resistance and no danger of escape. The larger vampire found his keys and opened the chains, moving the smaller vampire around until he was where his Grandsire wanted him. Angelus congratulated himself on a job well done, and then headed upstairs to have a bath and wash away Spike’s blood. When Angelus was finished with Spike, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind who the leader of this family was.
Why should he limit himself though? Maybe when he was finished with Spike, Angelus would go hunt down the Master and drive a piece of wood through his chest. Remembering back to the few face-to-face meetings he’d had with Darla’s Sire, Angelus thought it would be more fun to stake the old bat-faced ancient a few extra times, before getting serious and aiming for his heart. It still rankled that Darla would return to her Sire whenever he called, and it just wasn’t in the dark and brooding vampire to forgive and forget.
Spike was confused when he woke. His eyes were still closed, but he could feel wood under his cheek. Was he lying on the floor? Had Drusilla defied her Sire and released her Childe? It took another moment for him to realize that he was still upright, but this time he was facing the wall. His arms were still chained, stretched out to each side, almost as if he were being crucified. At least this time he was able to support his weight with his legs and stand solidly on the floor.
Spike groaned. He knew Angelus had turned him to face the wall and, having watched Angelus’ torture methods more than once, he knew what to expect when Angelus returned. He toyed with the idea of pretending to be unconscious, but knew it wouldn’t work and would likely only anger his Grandsire even more. Back when he was a fledge, Spike had tried to fake out Angelus once and had been whipped within an inch of dusting for it. No, this time he’d have to take it like a man.
Someone was approaching the room, but Spike couldn’t turn around to see who it was. He knew he wasn’t in a position to ask God for anything, but the bit of William that remained within prayed that it wasn’t Angelus. Of course, Spike didn’t have that kind of luck.
Angelus walked up behind the chained up vampire, physically pinning him against the wall, and moving his mouth close to Spike’s ear. “Willy, my boy, it’s nice to see you awake. I’ve been powerfully bored waiting for you. Had to amuse myself with Drusilla and quite wore her out. I even went to play with the Slayer, but couldn’t find her.” With a final press into the wall, Angelus stepped back from Spike, but remained behind him so the younger vampire couldn’t see him.
Spike’s head twisted from one side to the other but, try as he might, he wasn’t able to see what his Grandsire was up to. Past experience told him it wouldn’t be fun, but at this point he really wanted specifics. He couldn’t help himself; he wanted to know what was coming.
Though he couldn’t see what was happening behind him, there was nothing wrong with Spike’s ears, and he couldn’t help but flinch when he heard the whistle and crack of a whip being warmed up. Spike cursed himself for that telltale action, knowing that his Grandsire had seen it.
“Hang on a minute, Spike. I’ll be right back.” The whip was placed on the cart of torture implements, and Angelus left the room.
Spike sighed, wondering what Angelus was up to, and wishing that, whatever it was, it would be over quickly.
This time, more than one set of footsteps entered the room. “Now, Princess, you just sit in this chair, and watch Daddy. Your boy needs to be punished for trying to betray me. You would never betray me, would you, Dru?”
“No, Daddy. I’m a good girl.” She giggled.
Spike closed his eyes, broken before Angelus ever touched him with the whip. He knew his Sire didn’t love him, probably never had, but it was heartbreaking to hear that she didn’t seem to care about him at all. He was her Childe, if nothing else. He pressed his eyes together, trying to prevent his tears from falling.
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Buffy parked her car just outside the warehouse, and then spent a few minutes sifting through the contents of her handbag before she found her house keys. Entering the converted warehouse, she felt carefully down the wall inside the door, trying to find a light switch. The building was silent, which meant that either it was finished, or that Clem was working on the finishing touches and had gone home to get a good night’s sleep. Then, with a flick of a switch, the light was on and her new home was revealed.
She was standing in the entryway, which had room for a few sofas along the walls, but was currently unfinished. In the centre of the floor, there was a cardboard box. On the box were two garage door openers, and a note from Clem that said he had tried to connect with Buffy earlier that day, but hadn’t been able to get through. The saggy-skinned demon also wrote that his teams had finished the last of the remodelling work earlier that morning, and that he just had a few more finishing things to do before the job was completely finished.
Picking up one of the remote controls, Buffy let out a squeal of excitement and immediately rushed for a garage door, just so she could push the button and actually watch the door run up and down. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Buffy ducked out the garage doors and brought her car into the parking area for the first time.
Exploring her new home further, Buffy discovered that Merrick and her mom had been there recently. Her bed was assembled, and the red bedding was on, waiting for her to use tomorrow night. That reminded her, she’d promised to spend the night with her mother, and time was marching on.
After one last look around at her future, Buffy turned off the lights and locked the door.
The drive from LA had taken a few hours, so Buffy decided to get a bit of exercise and walk to her mother’s house. Setting off down the road at a brisk pace, she paused briefly at the end of the street, while she checked to make sure Mr. Pointy was safely tucked in the back of her jeans. It wouldn’t do to wander Sunnydale without some form of protection. Just because she didn’t have a sacred calling to hunt vampires any longer, didn’t mean that they wouldn’t be hunting her if the opportunity arose.
-----------------------------------
Spike could feel the blood, running down his back, soaking into his jeans, collecting in his boots, and dripping onto the floor. The blonde vampire knew that he was becoming dangerously weak, and couldn’t afford to lose any more of the vital red fluid. Though his Grandsire had grown tired of the whip, and had wandered off for now, Spike knew he would return eventually.
Suddenly, someone lightly touched his shoulder. He couldn’t help but scream in agony once again. Though the touch was gentle, his body was so stressed and over-stimulated that he was unable to differentiate between what he was experiencing now, and the whip when Angelus used it to rend the flesh from his body.
“Shhhh. The sunshine is coming and soon my special knight will dance away with the golden light. The moon in the daylight, and the sun with the stars. The swimming fishies told me when I made you that this day would come and you would leave me. Never fear, I’ll make sure Daddy is busy, and leave you free to fly away my baby bird,” Dru whispered in his ear.
“Help me, Dru, please. Just, undo the chain. Cut me down and I’ll get out on my own,” Spike begged his Sire.
“Silly boy. Goodbye, my Spike. Don’t be sad for Daddy’s Princess. She was meant to find her pleasures elsewhere. Be happy that you’re going to join the sunshine. It was for her that I made you, all those many years ago. The stars knew that one day the time would be right.” It was clear that Drusilla had no intention of cutting Spike free.
Realizing that help would not be coming, Spike bowed his head in defeat and let himself slide into oblivion once again.
The sound of the phone ringing echoed in Giles’ empty apartment. Joyce was calling to get help with Angelus, but Giles had already left his home, and was making his way to the hospital in response to the summons from Cordelia.
When Giles finally was allowed to see the young cheerleader in the hospital, he was horrified. He had to swallow a few times before he was able to speak. “Good Heavens. What happened to you, Cordelia?” He gently took one of her hands in his own.
Though heavily medicated to help with the pain, Cordelia was alert enough to communicate with Giles. She groaned, her eyes showing her distress, and her need to communicate with Giles. She gestured to a pad of paper and a pen, resting on the bedside table along with a glass of ice water with a straw, a towel-wrapped ice-pack, and a box of Kleenex.
“I’m sorry, Cordelia. What is it that you want? The pen and paper?” Giles asked.
She nodded carefully, not wanting to aggravate her concussion and increase her headache.
Giles picked up the paper and pen, and passed them to the injured girl. “Here you go.”
Cordelia put the pad of paper on her lap, and began to write in a very weak and shaky script. After a minute, she pushed the paper back into Giles’ hands.
The Watcher turned the pad, so he could read Cordelia’s message. ‘Broken jaw wired together. I think Buffy was right after all.’
Giles looked up at Cordelia, confused.
She was gazing back at him, tears on her cheeks and a haunted expression in her eyes.
“Buffy was right? In what way? And what happened to you?” Giles gave the pad of paper and pen back to Cordelia.
This time, Cordy only wrote a single sentence. ‘I slept with Angel.’
Giles looked at her, understanding dawning in his eyes.
Exhausted, Cordelia leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes.
Giles gently touched her bruised cheek. “Angel did this to you?” he questioned.
Overcome by her emotions again, Cordelia simply nodded. Her eyes had filled with tears, and they hung on her lashes for fragile moments before slipping off and making silvery trails down her cheeks.
Giles took Cordy’s hand again, doing his best to offer her his support. “Do you want me to call someone for you?”
The young brunette shook her head, refusing to open her eyes.
“I need to go make some calls. I must make sure everyone is aware that Angelus is in our midst again. I’ll be back in just a few minutes.” He went to use the phone in the hallway.
The first call Giles made was to Willow. The next to Xander. The Watcher asked them both if Angel had ever been in their homes. Xander, not surprisingly, had never entertained the broody vampire. Willow, unfortunately, had.
Giles asked the young witch to find a beginner’s level magic book that he had loaned her recently. Once she had the book, she was to find a standard disinvite spell and perform it on her own home. After that, she should wait for Giles to pick her up and take her, and the magic book, to Joyce’s home. Giles felt it would be particularly important to do the disinvite spell at the Summers’ home as soon as possible, given the Light’s previous relationship with the dark vampire.
The next call Giles made was to Joyce. When the call rang through, it was Merrick who finally answered.
“Oh, hello. Yes, this is Giles calling. I’m at the hospital with Cordelia right now, but it’s imperative that you know not to let Angel into your home if you should see him. Lock all the doors and windows. Willow and I are both on our way over there now, and we will do a spell to disinvite him as soon as we arrive.” Then, without giving Merrick a chance to respond, Giles hung up the phone.
Telephone calls complete for the moment, Giles made his way back to Cordelia. “Do you know when the doctors are planning to release you?”
Cordy just shrugged.
After thinking for a moment, Giles nodded. “I believe you’ll be safe enough here, Cordelia. Though Angelus could enter the building if he wanted to, it is my opinion that if he wanted you dead he would have killed you yesterday morning when he did all of this.” The Watcher gestured to her face and body.
Cordelia nodded, both in understanding and in agreement.
“Have someone telephone me if you need anything, anything at all. I’ll let you know what happens as soon as I can. For now though, I must make my way to Joyce’s home without further delay. I need to pick up Willow on the way to Buffy’s home, so we can try to disinvite Angel.” Once more, Giles took one of Cordy’s hands and gave it a gentle squeeze before he laid it back on the bed and left the room.
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Merrick opened the door for Giles and Willow when they arrived at Joyce’s home. The two had been prepared for trouble, and each was clutching a stake in one hand, and a crucifix in the other.
“Where is Joyce?” Giles asked, as Merrick locked the door behind them.
“In the kitchen.” Merrick gestured towards the other room. “She wanted to make sure she had snacks and hot chocolate for everyone. I think it helps her to have something to do, and to be taking care of us all.”
As Merrick had predicted, when Giles and Willow entered the kitchen, Joyce immediately bustled over to them, getting them each settled at the table with a plate of sandwiches and cookies, and a mug of hot chocolate.
Once everyone was taken care of, Joyce fetched a mug of cocoa for herself and joined the others at the table. “Angel was here not too long ago. He said he wanted to leave a message for Buffy, but he couldn’t get in the house, even when I invited him. He went kind of crazy then. I was terrified until Merrick arrived.”
“I’m afraid that we’re not dealing with Angel anymore. I believe instead that it was Angelus that was here recently, Joyce. Earlier today, I received a phone call from a nurse at the hospital. Cordelia had given her my number and asked that the nurse contact me immediately. The poor girl has been badly injured, either by Angel or Angelus. She wasn’t able to provide a lot of information, but that much was clear.” Giles had removed his glasses, using them to gesture as he spoke, and now he returned them to his nose.
“Is there anything else that suggests we’re dealing with Angelus, other than Cordelia’s condition?” Merrick inquired. “It would be nice if we had a bit more corroborating information.”
“Cordelia indicated that she’d slept with Angel, and then he hit her, almost killing her with one blow. Buffy told us that Angel would lose his soul if he slept with Cordelia, so, if she was right, we’re dealing with Angelus.” The Watcher was uncomfortable talking about Cordelia’s sex life, and a pink glow had crept onto his cheeks.
“Buffy’s prediction was correct,” Merrick stated. “She warned us that the same thing happened when she was here before, and that we must do everything we could to prevent Angel from having sex.”
“He was very angry when he couldn’t get in. His face changed, and he started growling and threatening me.” Joyce’s voice shook a little as she remembered her menacing visitor.
Giles was shaken as well, thinking of how things might have turned out very differently had Joyce’s invitation allowed the sadistic vampire access to her home. “Joyce, you said that you invited Angel into your home, but that he still could not enter. Do you know why?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. At first, he appeared normal, but there was something different about his eyes. Then, when he was so insistent that I invite him in, I started to feel very uncomfortable. I knew that he had been helping though, and I put it down to just being alone with a vampire, so I tried to invite him in. When he still couldn’t come in, that’s when he seemed to go crazy. I didn’t do anything different though. I invited him in, but it just didn’t work.”
“I think I know why.” There was a hint of smugness in Merrick’s smile. “I walked in on Buffy doing a disinvite spell a few days ago. The casting seemed to take longer than usual. I think she somehow added something to the spell, so that Angel couldn’t enter, even if Joyce invited him.”
“I know she did the spell to expel the Changelings, but that was with Kendra’s help and it was part of the prophecy.” Giles was fascinated with the prospect of his former Slayer doing magic. “I wasn’t aware that Buffy was capable of doing other magic.”
Willow wasn’t happy to hear that Buffy now was able to do magic. It just wasn’t fair. I’m the one that does the magic, not her. Why does Buffy get everything? Buffy gets a prophecy. Buffy gets a new body. Buffy is the Slayer, then the Eternal Light. Now Buffy gets to do magic too. Willow was upset. She wanted something for herself, something that made her special and necessary to the group.
“Is there any way to get in touch with Buffy in LA? She probably knows the spell that was used to ensoul him.” Giles looked to Joyce, hoping that Buffy would have an easy answer for their latest crisis.
“Why would you think she would know something like that?” Joyce appeared puzzled.
Giles cleared his throat, hoping to find a way to answer Joyce without betraying her daughter’s confidences. “Buffy told me that after she came back from LA, it wouldn’t matter if Cordelia slept with Angel. That must mean that she either knows the spell, or she knows how to find the spell.”
Giles looked down into his mug of hot chocolate, too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye. “I’m afraid I must apologize to you all.” He pushed his mug away. “I received another call this morning, prior to the one from the hospital.” The Watcher sighed. “The call was from Lorne.”
“Lorne, the club owner from LA?” Joyce smiled in fond remembrance of the green demon.
Giles closed his eyes, ashamed to admit his mistake to the group. “It would appear that we haven’t been as trusting of the Light as the Powers expected. Lorne made it clear that our reluctance to accept the information Buffy can provide will lead to chaos and the destruction of life as we know it, and that we must change our ways.”
Joyce and Merrick both had satisfied looks on their faces. “We’ve had no trouble believing what Buffy has shared with us. Why are you having such a hard time with it? She hasn’t made a mistake yet, has she?” Merrick asked. “You need to trust her, Giles.”
“Yes, well. I will certainly do my best from this point on,” Giles promised. The blush that coloured his cheeks when he’d been talking about Cordelia had now spread down his neck and was blazing red. He’d removed his glasses when Merrick began to chastise him, and they were now being polished with his necktie.
Willow looked at the adults at the table. “Well, it’s not like Buffy got everything right. I mean, sure, she got some stuff right, but not all of it. Remember, she said we’re controlling? That’s not right, is it?” The redhead appeared in complete denial.
Giles rubbed his forehead. “Willow, much as it pains me to admit it, I believe Buffy has been nothing but honest with us.”
“But she said that we’re controlling. We’re not controlling, Giles. We’re her friends.” Clearly, the little witch just didn’t see her actions as potentially having a negative effect.
“Willow, we do tend to tell Buffy what to do, and we expect her to listen to us,” the Watcher told her gently.
Joyce went to the phone. “I’m going to give her a call. She should have left LA by now.”
After a few minutes, Joyce hung up the telephone. “She’s not answering. My guess is that she’s probably driving, and has her music blasting and her cell phone tucked into a bag somewhere. When I spoke with her earlier, she said she wanted to be back in Sunnydale tonight, and I know she’d planned to spend the night here. We’re just going to have to wait for her. For whatever reason, Angel can’t get in here, so we should be safe.”
Suddenly, Willow seemed to jump to attention. “What about the others? Xander, Oz, Cordelia, and Kendra?”
“What do you mean, Willow?” Giles asked.
Willow squirmed a bit on her chair, excited to have everyone’s attention. “If this is the safest place to be, then shouldn’t they all be here, too? What if Angelus decides to go after one of them? You all know he doesn’t like Xander much. I don’t want him to kill any of my friends.”
Giles sighed. “Unfortunately, if Angel really is Angelus now, then he’s more likely to wreak havoc at this point than he is to kill one of us. I’d like to remind you that if he’d wanted Cordelia dead, she would have died yesterday. Perhaps you should call Oz and Xander, just to check on them. You could always ask if Oz will pick Xander up and the boys can come here.”
Willow made a face. “I don’t think that’s really a good idea, Giles.”
“Of course, some awkwardness is to be expected, under the circumstances. It’s probably best that they stay where they are. As long as they stay indoors, they should be safe.” Giles tried to reassure the teen, without making her indiscretion public. He then turned to Joyce. “Where’s Kendra?”
“She went patrolling before Angelus showed up. We should go find her and make sure that she’s safe.” Joyce started to get up.
Giles placed a hand on hers, halting her departure from the table. “Kendra is the Slayer, Joyce. She will be okay. It’s her job to fight vampires, including Angelus.”
Joyce sat down again, but couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Willow had been sitting at the table, head bowed and face almost as red as her hair. She really hoped that Joyce didn’t know what had happened between her and Xander. She knew Buffy’s mom would be very disappointed by her behaviour.
Everyone focused on their hot chocolate for the next few minutes. There wasn’t much that could be done until Buffy arrived.
Willow peeked at Joyce, her cheeks still burning. With one glance from the older woman, it was clear that Joyce knew exactly what had transpired between Willow and her boy-shaped best friend, and she didn’t approve at all. Willow’s cheeks began to burn even more fiercely at the increased censure from Buffy’s mom.
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Enraged by the reception he received at the Summers’ home, Angelus stormed back to the factory, planning to take his anger out on Spike. His mood didn’t improve when he found the younger vampire still hanging from his chains, unmoving and unconscious.
He could make this work, Angelus thought, with a grim smile on his face. If he moved Spike now, there would be no resistance and no danger of escape. The larger vampire found his keys and opened the chains, moving the smaller vampire around until he was where his Grandsire wanted him. Angelus congratulated himself on a job well done, and then headed upstairs to have a bath and wash away Spike’s blood. When Angelus was finished with Spike, there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind who the leader of this family was.
Why should he limit himself though? Maybe when he was finished with Spike, Angelus would go hunt down the Master and drive a piece of wood through his chest. Remembering back to the few face-to-face meetings he’d had with Darla’s Sire, Angelus thought it would be more fun to stake the old bat-faced ancient a few extra times, before getting serious and aiming for his heart. It still rankled that Darla would return to her Sire whenever he called, and it just wasn’t in the dark and brooding vampire to forgive and forget.
Spike was confused when he woke. His eyes were still closed, but he could feel wood under his cheek. Was he lying on the floor? Had Drusilla defied her Sire and released her Childe? It took another moment for him to realize that he was still upright, but this time he was facing the wall. His arms were still chained, stretched out to each side, almost as if he were being crucified. At least this time he was able to support his weight with his legs and stand solidly on the floor.
Spike groaned. He knew Angelus had turned him to face the wall and, having watched Angelus’ torture methods more than once, he knew what to expect when Angelus returned. He toyed with the idea of pretending to be unconscious, but knew it wouldn’t work and would likely only anger his Grandsire even more. Back when he was a fledge, Spike had tried to fake out Angelus once and had been whipped within an inch of dusting for it. No, this time he’d have to take it like a man.
Someone was approaching the room, but Spike couldn’t turn around to see who it was. He knew he wasn’t in a position to ask God for anything, but the bit of William that remained within prayed that it wasn’t Angelus. Of course, Spike didn’t have that kind of luck.
Angelus walked up behind the chained up vampire, physically pinning him against the wall, and moving his mouth close to Spike’s ear. “Willy, my boy, it’s nice to see you awake. I’ve been powerfully bored waiting for you. Had to amuse myself with Drusilla and quite wore her out. I even went to play with the Slayer, but couldn’t find her.” With a final press into the wall, Angelus stepped back from Spike, but remained behind him so the younger vampire couldn’t see him.
Spike’s head twisted from one side to the other but, try as he might, he wasn’t able to see what his Grandsire was up to. Past experience told him it wouldn’t be fun, but at this point he really wanted specifics. He couldn’t help himself; he wanted to know what was coming.
Though he couldn’t see what was happening behind him, there was nothing wrong with Spike’s ears, and he couldn’t help but flinch when he heard the whistle and crack of a whip being warmed up. Spike cursed himself for that telltale action, knowing that his Grandsire had seen it.
“Hang on a minute, Spike. I’ll be right back.” The whip was placed on the cart of torture implements, and Angelus left the room.
Spike sighed, wondering what Angelus was up to, and wishing that, whatever it was, it would be over quickly.
This time, more than one set of footsteps entered the room. “Now, Princess, you just sit in this chair, and watch Daddy. Your boy needs to be punished for trying to betray me. You would never betray me, would you, Dru?”
“No, Daddy. I’m a good girl.” She giggled.
Spike closed his eyes, broken before Angelus ever touched him with the whip. He knew his Sire didn’t love him, probably never had, but it was heartbreaking to hear that she didn’t seem to care about him at all. He was her Childe, if nothing else. He pressed his eyes together, trying to prevent his tears from falling.
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Buffy parked her car just outside the warehouse, and then spent a few minutes sifting through the contents of her handbag before she found her house keys. Entering the converted warehouse, she felt carefully down the wall inside the door, trying to find a light switch. The building was silent, which meant that either it was finished, or that Clem was working on the finishing touches and had gone home to get a good night’s sleep. Then, with a flick of a switch, the light was on and her new home was revealed.
She was standing in the entryway, which had room for a few sofas along the walls, but was currently unfinished. In the centre of the floor, there was a cardboard box. On the box were two garage door openers, and a note from Clem that said he had tried to connect with Buffy earlier that day, but hadn’t been able to get through. The saggy-skinned demon also wrote that his teams had finished the last of the remodelling work earlier that morning, and that he just had a few more finishing things to do before the job was completely finished.
Picking up one of the remote controls, Buffy let out a squeal of excitement and immediately rushed for a garage door, just so she could push the button and actually watch the door run up and down. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Buffy ducked out the garage doors and brought her car into the parking area for the first time.
Exploring her new home further, Buffy discovered that Merrick and her mom had been there recently. Her bed was assembled, and the red bedding was on, waiting for her to use tomorrow night. That reminded her, she’d promised to spend the night with her mother, and time was marching on.
After one last look around at her future, Buffy turned off the lights and locked the door.
The drive from LA had taken a few hours, so Buffy decided to get a bit of exercise and walk to her mother’s house. Setting off down the road at a brisk pace, she paused briefly at the end of the street, while she checked to make sure Mr. Pointy was safely tucked in the back of her jeans. It wouldn’t do to wander Sunnydale without some form of protection. Just because she didn’t have a sacred calling to hunt vampires any longer, didn’t mean that they wouldn’t be hunting her if the opportunity arose.
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Spike could feel the blood, running down his back, soaking into his jeans, collecting in his boots, and dripping onto the floor. The blonde vampire knew that he was becoming dangerously weak, and couldn’t afford to lose any more of the vital red fluid. Though his Grandsire had grown tired of the whip, and had wandered off for now, Spike knew he would return eventually.
Suddenly, someone lightly touched his shoulder. He couldn’t help but scream in agony once again. Though the touch was gentle, his body was so stressed and over-stimulated that he was unable to differentiate between what he was experiencing now, and the whip when Angelus used it to rend the flesh from his body.
“Shhhh. The sunshine is coming and soon my special knight will dance away with the golden light. The moon in the daylight, and the sun with the stars. The swimming fishies told me when I made you that this day would come and you would leave me. Never fear, I’ll make sure Daddy is busy, and leave you free to fly away my baby bird,” Dru whispered in his ear.
“Help me, Dru, please. Just, undo the chain. Cut me down and I’ll get out on my own,” Spike begged his Sire.
“Silly boy. Goodbye, my Spike. Don’t be sad for Daddy’s Princess. She was meant to find her pleasures elsewhere. Be happy that you’re going to join the sunshine. It was for her that I made you, all those many years ago. The stars knew that one day the time would be right.” It was clear that Drusilla had no intention of cutting Spike free.
Realizing that help would not be coming, Spike bowed his head in defeat and let himself slide into oblivion once again.
In and Out.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Arriving at her mother’s home, Buffy tried to let herself in, but ended up almost knocking her head into the door when it wouldn’t open. She began to frantically knock at the door, worried that something had happened to her mother. “Mom, are you in there?” Buffy’s thoughts were scrambling. Had the Scoobies ignored what she’d told them about Angel? Did the brooding vampire manage to lose his soul and attack her mother? Did the spell she’d cast to protect the home fail? Suddenly, the door opened and an impatient Buffy fell into Merrick’s arms.
“Your mom is okay, Buffy. Whichever spell you cast, it kept her safe and him out of the house, even with a fresh invite.” Buffy spotted Joyce, waiting patiently behind Merrick. Pushing the Watcher out of the way, the women embraced.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Buffy pulled away a little, and attempted to look her mother over while still holding her close.
“I’m okay, Buffy. Angel was here, but he couldn’t get in, even when I invited him. He lost it then, and started screaming and threatening to rip my throat out. I won’t lie to you, Honey, I was terrified.” Joyce leaned back a little and cupped Buffy’s cheek in her hand so she could look directly into her daughter’s eyes. “Merrick told me it was your spell that kept me safe. Thank you, Buffy.”
Buffy couldn’t resist hugging her mother close again. “I had to keep you safe, just in case the others didn’t listen.”
Merrick moved behind the women to relock the front door, and then followed them as they walked to the kitchen, still arm in arm. Buffy nodded a greeting to Giles and to Willow, but stayed by her mother, instead of joining them at the table.
Taking matters into her own hands, Joyce said, “Let me make you a cocoa, Buffy. Go have a seat.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Buffy took a seat beside Merrick, placing herself across the table from her former Watcher and her school mate. “What’s going on? The front door was locked, and you guys are here, so I know something is up.” Buffy looked at the people around the table. Merrick was looking satisfied, but Giles and Willow wouldn’t look at her directly. Narrowing her gaze, Buffy decided she wasn’t in the mood to pussyfoot around their latest problem. “Giles, it’s pretty obvious you know what’s happened, so why don’t you just tell me.”
“Oh, yes, well. Oh dear. It would seem that I was not as successful as I had hoped, when I was conveying your concerns to Cordelia. A..a..about the possibility of Angel losing his soul, I mean. It would appear that at some point, night before last, Angel and Cordelia, well, they...they were intimate,” Giles got out, as his face turned an unflattering shade of red and he focused his eyes on his necktie, as he tried to straighten out a few imaginary creases.
“Are you serious? Angelus is loose out there?” For some reason, the Light wasn’t the least bit surprised at the information.
“I’m afraid that is so,” Giles confirmed.
Buffy sighed. “Is Cordelia alive?”
For the first time, Willow spoke up. “She’s alive. Cordy’s in the hospital now, and we don’t know when she’s going to be released.”
“She’s lucky he didn’t kill her, just for fun. How bad is it?” Buffy got up from her seat.
“I’m afraid that Angelus struck her, quite severely, in the face. Her jaw has been wired together, she’s lost some teeth, and she’s had facial reconstruction surgery to repair a crushed cheekbone. Physically, she’ll recover in time. Mentally, I’m afraid this will leave long-lasting scars.” Giles followed Buffy, as she left the kitchen and headed towards the hall closet, where she kept a bag of stakes and other weapons. Without fussing, the Light concealed several stakes in her clothing.
“Sorry, Mom, but it looks like I’m not going to be able to stay, after all.” Buffy turned to look at Giles and Willow. “It would probably be best if you both spent the night here.” Then she turned to Merrick. “Will you meet me at my place in about twenty minutes?” Finally, she turned to Giles again. “Where is Kendra?”
“Well, you see, I don’t know, exactly. She left to patrol earlier today, before Angelus stopped by, and she hasn’t returned yet.” He pulled his glasses off again.
Buffy nodded. “I’ll go have a look for her.”
Merrick gathered his things, and joined Buffy at the door. “Do you have a stake for me?”
“Sure,” the Light replied. “Grab one from the duffel bag in the closet.”
Merrick took one for each coat pocket, and one to hold in his hand.
Ignoring Giles and Willow, Buffy gave Joyce a hug and then headed out.
“Promise me you’ll be careful, Buffy,” Joyce called after her.
“I promise.” Buffy ran back and gave her mother another quick hug, before disappearing into the dark night.
Buffy and Merrick split up at the end of the road. Merrick headed to Buffy’s warehouse home, and the Light paused in the quiet, trying to sense where Kendra might be, without success. Either Kendra was too far away for Buffy to sense, or she was already dead.
Knowing that she wasn’t likely to find Kendra on a public street, Buffy set out for the nearest cemetery. A quick check through the tombstones, and it was obvious that Kendra wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the second or third cemetery that Buffy went to, either. Tired of wasting time looking for the Slayer, the Light decided to change her tactics. Before leaving the third cemetery, she found a peaceful vantage point on top of a mausoleum. Sitting quietly, she closed her eyes and focused her attention on one outstretched palm, while silently casting a spell in her head.
After a few moments, she opened her eyes and was rewarded by the sight of a small, white, flickering flame, bouncing on the palm of her hand. Happy with the success of her spell, Buffy whispered to the little light, “Show me the way to the Slayer, Kendra.”
The flame immediately turned a deep red, indicating that Kendra was alive and healthy. It flickered again, and then appeared to lean to the right, while still remaining on Buffy’s palm.
Buffy jumped from the mausoleum, and began to follow the little flame like a compass tuned to Kendra. She started to jog, moving along at a quick pace, and it wasn’t long before she heard the sound of fighting up ahead. Speeding up, Buffy began to jump over tombstones, anxious to find the young Slayer and provide what assistance she could. Coming around a small copse of trees, Buffy found Kendra battling a Chaos demon. She knew that Kendra would have no trouble with the slimy monster, so the Light blew out the little flame on her palm, and then focused her attention on the surrounding area. The last thing the Slayer needed was to be jumped by Angelus while in the middle of another fight.
After she decapitated the Chaos demon, Kendra turned to Buffy with a smile. She indicated the large corpse with a gesture and asked, “Hey, Buffy. Don’t suppose you want to help a sister Slayer out?”
“Sure,” Buffy said, as she reached for the dead demon’s legs, while continuing to monitor the area.
Kendra was quick to pick up on Buffy’s excessive alertness. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing we can’t fix. Angel is Angelus right now, and he’s on the loose. I don’t want him sneaking up on us, and I didn’t want you to have to fight him alone.”
Kendra instantly pulled her stake out, holding it at the ready and doing her own scan of the cemetery. “What happened? How did he lose his soul?”
“Apparently nobody took my warning seriously. They all thought I was just being jealous,” Buffy explained calmly. “Let’s get this guy into the trees, and then get you home. It’s not safe out here right now.”
“I’m not going home. It’s my duty to find and kill Angelus.” Kendra pulled at the Chaos demon’s arms, dragging him further into the trees.
“You can’t fight him right now, Kendra. He’s very strong, and completely vicious. He’d kill you and, if he didn’t, Drusilla would,” Buffy told her. “Come on, Mom is worried. Let’s get you home.”
“But, I’m the Slayer. It’s my duty to go after him.”
“You’re right. You’re the Slayer, and it’s your duty to kill him, not to let him kill you. Don’t be foolish.” Buffy placed her hands on Kendra’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Trust me when I tell you, you can’t take them. There are some things that I know for sure.” Buffy was dead serious.
“You know for sure? But...oh. That’s...how I died? In your time?” Kendra had tears in her eyes. “Who...?” Her voice trailed off, and it was easy to see the horror in her eyes.
“It doesn’t matter, Kendra, because I’m not going to let the same thing happen again. Come on, mom’s waiting.” With that, the two girls set out at a quick pace for the house on Revello Drive.
Walking Kendra to the front porch, Buffy told her, “I’m going to see if I can find out what Angelus is up to. Unless he’s come up with something new, tomorrow we’re going to have to find and destroy a statue. Might want to tell Giles to read up on a guy named Acathla.” With that, Buffy turned to head off again, pausing for a moment on the bottom stair. “Kendra? Take care of them, please.”
Before Kendra could answer, Buffy was gone.
Arriving at the factory where she knew Spike and Drusilla had made their home, Buffy took a moment to clear her head and calm herself, before moving closer to the ramshackle building.
Buffy couldn’t help but wonder what she was going to find inside. At least this time she knew that Spike wouldn’t be trapped in a wheelchair, being neglected by his Sire and slowly starving to death. This time, Spike may very well still be with Drusilla. Buffy hadn’t seen the insane vampiress out and about, but Spike could be bringing home take-out for her. It was going to be difficult for Buffy to see Spike with his Sire, knowing that he was utterly devoted to the beautiful vampiress right now. She had to have faith that things would change, and that Spike would come to love her once more. This time, she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way. Buffy loved Spike, and she would shout it from the rooftops once she knew he returned her feelings. Buffy shook her head to clear it, and wiped away the bittersweet tears that had formed in her eyes.
Silently, Buffy crept closer to the building. She could see two burly vampires standing guard at the front door and, thanks to a minion who was late leaving to catch his supper, she saw at least two more vamp security guards stationed down the main hall from the doorway. Buffy didn’t know if Angelus had put on extra guards because he was expecting some kind of attack from Kendra or herself, or if he just liked to come home to his very own honour guard of vamps. Either way, it wasn’t the entrance that Buffy wanted to use to gain access to the building.
Buffy slowly made her way around the building, looking for an unlocked window, a piece of loose siding, an open fire door, or some other way in. She’d never been around the back of this particular factory before, and she smiled when she saw a fire escape mounted to the exterior of the building. She’d have to be careful, because the rusted metal was likely to be very noisy, but it was a good way in, and would even give her access to the upper floors without having to fight her way through all the vampires on the lower level.
Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Buffy took a quick peek through the dirty windows she passed on her way to the ladder. The first room she saw was crowded with minions playing cards, watching TV, and sleeping. She definitely didn’t want to announce her presence to them. Starting up the ladder, she reached the first floor and carefully wiped some of the grime off the window closest to the fire escape.
A quick peek in the window confirmed a few things for her. First off, Drusilla was apparently healthy and whole. Second, Angelus was in the factory, and was currently very busy. Unfortunately for Buffy’s eyes, the two vampires were rutting like animals. The Light could have gone her whole life without seeing that and wouldn’t have felt like she’d missed anything important. Buffy made a face of distaste, and then continued up the fire escape ladder.
She moved without making a sound, not wanting to alert Angelus and his minions. Reaching the next floor, Buffy again looked through the window, but this time she found what looked like an empty store room on the other side of the glass. Using all the stealth she possessed, she carefully slipped the lock on the window, and then gently pushed the rusted frame until the window finally opened. Listening intently for rushing feet and cries of alarm, Buffy let herself into the factory.
The room she was in had long been neglected. There were old sheets on the pieces of furniture that remained, and there were boxes and crates stacked on one side of the room. Walking as lightly as she could, very conscious of the two Master vampires in the room below her, Buffy made her way to the door of the room.
She pressed her ear to the wood, listening for signs of activity before she exposed herself. When she heard nothing but silence, she decided to move further into the factory, leaving the door to the store room open so she would have a clearer escape route, if discovered. Buffy had been filled with a sense of foreboding before she’d approached the building, and that feeling was steadily getting worse. She didn’t think it was coming from Angelus or Drusilla, though they were certainly a threat to her safety. She didn’t think her subconscious fear stemmed from the collection of minions on the main floor either. Something was wrong though, very wrong, and the only person unaccounted for was Spike.
Slowly, Buffy made her way down the hall, hugging the wall and walking silently. There were only a few doors on that floor, and she stopped and listened intently for movement at each one. The whole floor appeared deserted, and it was making her edgy. She tightened the grip she had on her stake, and continued on until she came to the stairs.
Buffy stopped at the top of the stairs, pausing to carefully listen for vampires before she began to descend. She hugged the wall, hoping that the stairs wouldn’t betray her presence by creaking. She made it to the landing, and it was only then that she realized that Drusilla and Angelus were making enough noise to muffle the sounds of her approach. In fact, they were making so much noise, they probably wouldn’t have heard her, even if she’d been clumsy enough to trip and fall down the stairs.
Clearly, the two vampires had claimed the upper floor of the factory as their own territory. Buffy took a quick look down each of the hallways, but didn’t sense that any of the other rooms were occupied. Knowing that now was not the time to take on Angelus, she decided to continue her explorations and head to the ground floor.
Travelling silently down the stairs, she kept her eyes and ears open, alert to the possibility of discovery. She knew the minions were on this floor, and there was a much greater chance of running into someone by accident. Finally at the bottom of the stairs, she knelt down, back against the wall. Another quick check to make sure she was alone, and then Buffy peeked through the large doorway and into the next room.
The bloody footprints on the floor were the first thing that registered. She followed the trail backwards, as the footprints led across the room to the far wall where they ended near a pair of black boots. Buffy’s heart started racing so fast, she was sure every vampire in the building must be able to hear it.
Her eyes trailed upwards. Black jeans, below a back that looked like nothing more than a chewed up piece of raw meat. Tears flooded her eyes when she saw the platinum blonde hair.
Buffy stared at the viciously beaten vampire, for a moment so overwhelmed that she was unable to move. Her survival instinct ended the paralysis, when she registered footsteps on the stairs behind her. Quickly ducking into a storage cupboard, Buffy held her breath and hoped that nobody would find her hiding place.
Staying silent, Buffy heard a rattling sound from in the room. When she dared to crack open the cupboard and look, she saw Angelus unhooking one of Spike’s arms, and moving the chain to another hook, turning the captive vampire so he faced into the room. Though barely conscious moments before, Spike couldn’t help but scream when his ravaged back was slammed against the wall.
“It’s time to end this charade, Willy boy.” Angelus whipped out a stake, and slammed it through Spike’s chest before Buffy could react.
It was all Buffy could do to contain her screams. As it was, she was fortunate that her own agonized moan was lost in Spike’s pained howl. She couldn’t move, frozen in the cupboard with her eye to the gap in the door.
Buffy barely registered Angelus leaving the room, a truly evil laugh trailing behind him. Her eyes were glued to the unconscious vampire now pinned to the wall like a broken butterfly.
Not dust, not dust, not dust, she chanted to herself, as she moved closer, one ear open in case Angelus should return.
Trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, Buffy finally reached Spike. Gently, she reached up and cupped one of his bruised and swollen cheeks with her hand. Though she could spend days looking at his face, her gaze was drawn inexorably down to the stake that was protruding from his chest.
Buffy couldn’t help herself. She touched the stake, and then touched in again, sure that her eyes were deceiving her. Plastic. The stake in Spike’s chest was plastic wood grain, made to look authentic.
One look at Spike’s face confirmed that he was still unconscious so, after a quick check to see if she could hear anyone nearby, Buffy wrapped her hand around the stake, said a short prayer to the Powers, and pulled the cruel weapon out of the vampire’s chest.
Though Spike couldn’t help a low moan when the stake was removed, he hadn’t regained consciousness and nobody had overheard his cry. Quietly dropping the stake to the ground, Buffy removed her own blouse and used the fabric to create a makeshift bandage for the gaping wound in Spike’s chest.
She held the fabric in place for a few minutes, putting pressure on the injury in an attempt to slow the bleeding. She knew, however, that a bandage wouldn’t save Spike if they were discovered by one of the other vampires in the factory. Leaving Spike hanging in the cuffs, she explored the cart that held Angelus’ toys, and was overjoyed when she found the key to the manacles right on top.
With the iron key in hand, she rushed back to Spike. First, she unlocked the chains on his feet, and tried to manipulate his legs into a position where he might be able to take some of his own weight when the other cuffs were released. Then, she wrapped an arm around Spike’s chest, and managed to undo his left arm. With that arm draped around her shoulders, Buffy released the final restraint.
Spike slumped into Buffy’s arms, his pain so intense that it roused him to consciousness. In agony, he opened his mouth to scream out in pain.
Trying not to drop the blonde vampire, Buffy quickly threw a hand up to cover his mouth, fangs and all. “Shhh.”
Spike’s golden eyes blinked in surprise, as he realized who had finally come to help him. He shook his head, but was unable to shift from his demon face.
Hyper-vigilant for sounds of discovery, Buffy got Spike to his feet, with one of his arms over her shoulders. She held tightly to that wrist, and then looped her other arm around his waist, grabbing a blood-soaked belt loop on his jeans in an attempt to keep him upright.
Spike had given up his efforts to retract his demon face, and was now just trying to remain awake. He was in so much pain, even that was almost more than he could handle.
Taking stock of their situation, Buffy realized that there was almost no chance she would be able to get Spike up the stairs unnoticed. There was even less of a chance that she would be able to get him down the fire escape without discovery, and if Angelus caught them fleeing, she knew that death would be a merciful release if and when he finally chose to grant it.
There was no other option; they had to use the front door. Using that door meant they avoided stairs, which would have been very difficult with Buffy trying to support most of Spike’s weight. It also meant they wouldn’t be getting any closer to Angelus and Drusilla than they were now, a definite bonus in Buffy’s eyes. The trick would be to deal with the guards in the front hall without alerting the whole factory.
Buffy propped Spike up against the wall, near the doorway to the room he had recently been tortured in. She whispered to him that she needed him to be silent, then brushed a gentle kiss over his brow before moving to take out the guards.
The first guard was just outside the room. The second, half-way down the hall, and the third and fourth were standing just inside the front door. Apparently they had moved inside, instead of remaining outside where they had been when Buffy first scoped out the building.
The two guards at the door were talking together, with the third guard trying hard to follow the conversation. The fourth guard, too far away to hear what was happening, was leaning against the wall and looking bored.
Buffy took a silver dollar out of her pocket, and silently rolled it across the doorway of the room she and Spike were in. As hoped, the fourth guard couldn’t resist jumping through the door to pick up the coin. When he did, Buffy quickly covered his mouth with one hand, and staked him with her other.
The lighting in the hallway wasn’t the best, the torches leaving some areas in darkness. Now that the guard closest to them was gone, she could make use of the darkness to get closer to the next guard.
When the conversation between the two vamps at the door became heated, Buffy made her move. The guard on his own didn’t even realize what had happened; one minute he was laughing at the others, and the next he was in Hell, only his dust left to litter the floor of the hallway.
There was no way to get around the two vampires left at the door. Buffy would have to take them out at the same time, and she would have to do it without raising an alarm which would bring Angelus and Drusilla crashing down on them. Rather than stealth, Buffy chose to be brazen this time. She walked right up to the vampires, who were completely stunned by her appearance inside the factory. They had been expecting an attack from outside, not within. A moment of confusion was all that Buffy needed, and soon they had joined their hall-mates in Hell.
Arriving at her mother’s home, Buffy tried to let herself in, but ended up almost knocking her head into the door when it wouldn’t open. She began to frantically knock at the door, worried that something had happened to her mother. “Mom, are you in there?” Buffy’s thoughts were scrambling. Had the Scoobies ignored what she’d told them about Angel? Did the brooding vampire manage to lose his soul and attack her mother? Did the spell she’d cast to protect the home fail? Suddenly, the door opened and an impatient Buffy fell into Merrick’s arms.
“Your mom is okay, Buffy. Whichever spell you cast, it kept her safe and him out of the house, even with a fresh invite.” Buffy spotted Joyce, waiting patiently behind Merrick. Pushing the Watcher out of the way, the women embraced.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Buffy pulled away a little, and attempted to look her mother over while still holding her close.
“I’m okay, Buffy. Angel was here, but he couldn’t get in, even when I invited him. He lost it then, and started screaming and threatening to rip my throat out. I won’t lie to you, Honey, I was terrified.” Joyce leaned back a little and cupped Buffy’s cheek in her hand so she could look directly into her daughter’s eyes. “Merrick told me it was your spell that kept me safe. Thank you, Buffy.”
Buffy couldn’t resist hugging her mother close again. “I had to keep you safe, just in case the others didn’t listen.”
Merrick moved behind the women to relock the front door, and then followed them as they walked to the kitchen, still arm in arm. Buffy nodded a greeting to Giles and to Willow, but stayed by her mother, instead of joining them at the table.
Taking matters into her own hands, Joyce said, “Let me make you a cocoa, Buffy. Go have a seat.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Buffy took a seat beside Merrick, placing herself across the table from her former Watcher and her school mate. “What’s going on? The front door was locked, and you guys are here, so I know something is up.” Buffy looked at the people around the table. Merrick was looking satisfied, but Giles and Willow wouldn’t look at her directly. Narrowing her gaze, Buffy decided she wasn’t in the mood to pussyfoot around their latest problem. “Giles, it’s pretty obvious you know what’s happened, so why don’t you just tell me.”
“Oh, yes, well. Oh dear. It would seem that I was not as successful as I had hoped, when I was conveying your concerns to Cordelia. A..a..about the possibility of Angel losing his soul, I mean. It would appear that at some point, night before last, Angel and Cordelia, well, they...they were intimate,” Giles got out, as his face turned an unflattering shade of red and he focused his eyes on his necktie, as he tried to straighten out a few imaginary creases.
“Are you serious? Angelus is loose out there?” For some reason, the Light wasn’t the least bit surprised at the information.
“I’m afraid that is so,” Giles confirmed.
Buffy sighed. “Is Cordelia alive?”
For the first time, Willow spoke up. “She’s alive. Cordy’s in the hospital now, and we don’t know when she’s going to be released.”
“She’s lucky he didn’t kill her, just for fun. How bad is it?” Buffy got up from her seat.
“I’m afraid that Angelus struck her, quite severely, in the face. Her jaw has been wired together, she’s lost some teeth, and she’s had facial reconstruction surgery to repair a crushed cheekbone. Physically, she’ll recover in time. Mentally, I’m afraid this will leave long-lasting scars.” Giles followed Buffy, as she left the kitchen and headed towards the hall closet, where she kept a bag of stakes and other weapons. Without fussing, the Light concealed several stakes in her clothing.
“Sorry, Mom, but it looks like I’m not going to be able to stay, after all.” Buffy turned to look at Giles and Willow. “It would probably be best if you both spent the night here.” Then she turned to Merrick. “Will you meet me at my place in about twenty minutes?” Finally, she turned to Giles again. “Where is Kendra?”
“Well, you see, I don’t know, exactly. She left to patrol earlier today, before Angelus stopped by, and she hasn’t returned yet.” He pulled his glasses off again.
Buffy nodded. “I’ll go have a look for her.”
Merrick gathered his things, and joined Buffy at the door. “Do you have a stake for me?”
“Sure,” the Light replied. “Grab one from the duffel bag in the closet.”
Merrick took one for each coat pocket, and one to hold in his hand.
Ignoring Giles and Willow, Buffy gave Joyce a hug and then headed out.
“Promise me you’ll be careful, Buffy,” Joyce called after her.
“I promise.” Buffy ran back and gave her mother another quick hug, before disappearing into the dark night.
Buffy and Merrick split up at the end of the road. Merrick headed to Buffy’s warehouse home, and the Light paused in the quiet, trying to sense where Kendra might be, without success. Either Kendra was too far away for Buffy to sense, or she was already dead.
Knowing that she wasn’t likely to find Kendra on a public street, Buffy set out for the nearest cemetery. A quick check through the tombstones, and it was obvious that Kendra wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the second or third cemetery that Buffy went to, either. Tired of wasting time looking for the Slayer, the Light decided to change her tactics. Before leaving the third cemetery, she found a peaceful vantage point on top of a mausoleum. Sitting quietly, she closed her eyes and focused her attention on one outstretched palm, while silently casting a spell in her head.
After a few moments, she opened her eyes and was rewarded by the sight of a small, white, flickering flame, bouncing on the palm of her hand. Happy with the success of her spell, Buffy whispered to the little light, “Show me the way to the Slayer, Kendra.”
The flame immediately turned a deep red, indicating that Kendra was alive and healthy. It flickered again, and then appeared to lean to the right, while still remaining on Buffy’s palm.
Buffy jumped from the mausoleum, and began to follow the little flame like a compass tuned to Kendra. She started to jog, moving along at a quick pace, and it wasn’t long before she heard the sound of fighting up ahead. Speeding up, Buffy began to jump over tombstones, anxious to find the young Slayer and provide what assistance she could. Coming around a small copse of trees, Buffy found Kendra battling a Chaos demon. She knew that Kendra would have no trouble with the slimy monster, so the Light blew out the little flame on her palm, and then focused her attention on the surrounding area. The last thing the Slayer needed was to be jumped by Angelus while in the middle of another fight.
After she decapitated the Chaos demon, Kendra turned to Buffy with a smile. She indicated the large corpse with a gesture and asked, “Hey, Buffy. Don’t suppose you want to help a sister Slayer out?”
“Sure,” Buffy said, as she reached for the dead demon’s legs, while continuing to monitor the area.
Kendra was quick to pick up on Buffy’s excessive alertness. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing we can’t fix. Angel is Angelus right now, and he’s on the loose. I don’t want him sneaking up on us, and I didn’t want you to have to fight him alone.”
Kendra instantly pulled her stake out, holding it at the ready and doing her own scan of the cemetery. “What happened? How did he lose his soul?”
“Apparently nobody took my warning seriously. They all thought I was just being jealous,” Buffy explained calmly. “Let’s get this guy into the trees, and then get you home. It’s not safe out here right now.”
“I’m not going home. It’s my duty to find and kill Angelus.” Kendra pulled at the Chaos demon’s arms, dragging him further into the trees.
“You can’t fight him right now, Kendra. He’s very strong, and completely vicious. He’d kill you and, if he didn’t, Drusilla would,” Buffy told her. “Come on, Mom is worried. Let’s get you home.”
“But, I’m the Slayer. It’s my duty to go after him.”
“You’re right. You’re the Slayer, and it’s your duty to kill him, not to let him kill you. Don’t be foolish.” Buffy placed her hands on Kendra’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Trust me when I tell you, you can’t take them. There are some things that I know for sure.” Buffy was dead serious.
“You know for sure? But...oh. That’s...how I died? In your time?” Kendra had tears in her eyes. “Who...?” Her voice trailed off, and it was easy to see the horror in her eyes.
“It doesn’t matter, Kendra, because I’m not going to let the same thing happen again. Come on, mom’s waiting.” With that, the two girls set out at a quick pace for the house on Revello Drive.
Walking Kendra to the front porch, Buffy told her, “I’m going to see if I can find out what Angelus is up to. Unless he’s come up with something new, tomorrow we’re going to have to find and destroy a statue. Might want to tell Giles to read up on a guy named Acathla.” With that, Buffy turned to head off again, pausing for a moment on the bottom stair. “Kendra? Take care of them, please.”
Before Kendra could answer, Buffy was gone.
Arriving at the factory where she knew Spike and Drusilla had made their home, Buffy took a moment to clear her head and calm herself, before moving closer to the ramshackle building.
Buffy couldn’t help but wonder what she was going to find inside. At least this time she knew that Spike wouldn’t be trapped in a wheelchair, being neglected by his Sire and slowly starving to death. This time, Spike may very well still be with Drusilla. Buffy hadn’t seen the insane vampiress out and about, but Spike could be bringing home take-out for her. It was going to be difficult for Buffy to see Spike with his Sire, knowing that he was utterly devoted to the beautiful vampiress right now. She had to have faith that things would change, and that Spike would come to love her once more. This time, she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way. Buffy loved Spike, and she would shout it from the rooftops once she knew he returned her feelings. Buffy shook her head to clear it, and wiped away the bittersweet tears that had formed in her eyes.
Silently, Buffy crept closer to the building. She could see two burly vampires standing guard at the front door and, thanks to a minion who was late leaving to catch his supper, she saw at least two more vamp security guards stationed down the main hall from the doorway. Buffy didn’t know if Angelus had put on extra guards because he was expecting some kind of attack from Kendra or herself, or if he just liked to come home to his very own honour guard of vamps. Either way, it wasn’t the entrance that Buffy wanted to use to gain access to the building.
Buffy slowly made her way around the building, looking for an unlocked window, a piece of loose siding, an open fire door, or some other way in. She’d never been around the back of this particular factory before, and she smiled when she saw a fire escape mounted to the exterior of the building. She’d have to be careful, because the rusted metal was likely to be very noisy, but it was a good way in, and would even give her access to the upper floors without having to fight her way through all the vampires on the lower level.
Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Buffy took a quick peek through the dirty windows she passed on her way to the ladder. The first room she saw was crowded with minions playing cards, watching TV, and sleeping. She definitely didn’t want to announce her presence to them. Starting up the ladder, she reached the first floor and carefully wiped some of the grime off the window closest to the fire escape.
A quick peek in the window confirmed a few things for her. First off, Drusilla was apparently healthy and whole. Second, Angelus was in the factory, and was currently very busy. Unfortunately for Buffy’s eyes, the two vampires were rutting like animals. The Light could have gone her whole life without seeing that and wouldn’t have felt like she’d missed anything important. Buffy made a face of distaste, and then continued up the fire escape ladder.
She moved without making a sound, not wanting to alert Angelus and his minions. Reaching the next floor, Buffy again looked through the window, but this time she found what looked like an empty store room on the other side of the glass. Using all the stealth she possessed, she carefully slipped the lock on the window, and then gently pushed the rusted frame until the window finally opened. Listening intently for rushing feet and cries of alarm, Buffy let herself into the factory.
The room she was in had long been neglected. There were old sheets on the pieces of furniture that remained, and there were boxes and crates stacked on one side of the room. Walking as lightly as she could, very conscious of the two Master vampires in the room below her, Buffy made her way to the door of the room.
She pressed her ear to the wood, listening for signs of activity before she exposed herself. When she heard nothing but silence, she decided to move further into the factory, leaving the door to the store room open so she would have a clearer escape route, if discovered. Buffy had been filled with a sense of foreboding before she’d approached the building, and that feeling was steadily getting worse. She didn’t think it was coming from Angelus or Drusilla, though they were certainly a threat to her safety. She didn’t think her subconscious fear stemmed from the collection of minions on the main floor either. Something was wrong though, very wrong, and the only person unaccounted for was Spike.
Slowly, Buffy made her way down the hall, hugging the wall and walking silently. There were only a few doors on that floor, and she stopped and listened intently for movement at each one. The whole floor appeared deserted, and it was making her edgy. She tightened the grip she had on her stake, and continued on until she came to the stairs.
Buffy stopped at the top of the stairs, pausing to carefully listen for vampires before she began to descend. She hugged the wall, hoping that the stairs wouldn’t betray her presence by creaking. She made it to the landing, and it was only then that she realized that Drusilla and Angelus were making enough noise to muffle the sounds of her approach. In fact, they were making so much noise, they probably wouldn’t have heard her, even if she’d been clumsy enough to trip and fall down the stairs.
Clearly, the two vampires had claimed the upper floor of the factory as their own territory. Buffy took a quick look down each of the hallways, but didn’t sense that any of the other rooms were occupied. Knowing that now was not the time to take on Angelus, she decided to continue her explorations and head to the ground floor.
Travelling silently down the stairs, she kept her eyes and ears open, alert to the possibility of discovery. She knew the minions were on this floor, and there was a much greater chance of running into someone by accident. Finally at the bottom of the stairs, she knelt down, back against the wall. Another quick check to make sure she was alone, and then Buffy peeked through the large doorway and into the next room.
The bloody footprints on the floor were the first thing that registered. She followed the trail backwards, as the footprints led across the room to the far wall where they ended near a pair of black boots. Buffy’s heart started racing so fast, she was sure every vampire in the building must be able to hear it.
Her eyes trailed upwards. Black jeans, below a back that looked like nothing more than a chewed up piece of raw meat. Tears flooded her eyes when she saw the platinum blonde hair.
Buffy stared at the viciously beaten vampire, for a moment so overwhelmed that she was unable to move. Her survival instinct ended the paralysis, when she registered footsteps on the stairs behind her. Quickly ducking into a storage cupboard, Buffy held her breath and hoped that nobody would find her hiding place.
Staying silent, Buffy heard a rattling sound from in the room. When she dared to crack open the cupboard and look, she saw Angelus unhooking one of Spike’s arms, and moving the chain to another hook, turning the captive vampire so he faced into the room. Though barely conscious moments before, Spike couldn’t help but scream when his ravaged back was slammed against the wall.
“It’s time to end this charade, Willy boy.” Angelus whipped out a stake, and slammed it through Spike’s chest before Buffy could react.
It was all Buffy could do to contain her screams. As it was, she was fortunate that her own agonized moan was lost in Spike’s pained howl. She couldn’t move, frozen in the cupboard with her eye to the gap in the door.
Buffy barely registered Angelus leaving the room, a truly evil laugh trailing behind him. Her eyes were glued to the unconscious vampire now pinned to the wall like a broken butterfly.
Not dust, not dust, not dust, she chanted to herself, as she moved closer, one ear open in case Angelus should return.
Trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, Buffy finally reached Spike. Gently, she reached up and cupped one of his bruised and swollen cheeks with her hand. Though she could spend days looking at his face, her gaze was drawn inexorably down to the stake that was protruding from his chest.
Buffy couldn’t help herself. She touched the stake, and then touched in again, sure that her eyes were deceiving her. Plastic. The stake in Spike’s chest was plastic wood grain, made to look authentic.
One look at Spike’s face confirmed that he was still unconscious so, after a quick check to see if she could hear anyone nearby, Buffy wrapped her hand around the stake, said a short prayer to the Powers, and pulled the cruel weapon out of the vampire’s chest.
Though Spike couldn’t help a low moan when the stake was removed, he hadn’t regained consciousness and nobody had overheard his cry. Quietly dropping the stake to the ground, Buffy removed her own blouse and used the fabric to create a makeshift bandage for the gaping wound in Spike’s chest.
She held the fabric in place for a few minutes, putting pressure on the injury in an attempt to slow the bleeding. She knew, however, that a bandage wouldn’t save Spike if they were discovered by one of the other vampires in the factory. Leaving Spike hanging in the cuffs, she explored the cart that held Angelus’ toys, and was overjoyed when she found the key to the manacles right on top.
With the iron key in hand, she rushed back to Spike. First, she unlocked the chains on his feet, and tried to manipulate his legs into a position where he might be able to take some of his own weight when the other cuffs were released. Then, she wrapped an arm around Spike’s chest, and managed to undo his left arm. With that arm draped around her shoulders, Buffy released the final restraint.
Spike slumped into Buffy’s arms, his pain so intense that it roused him to consciousness. In agony, he opened his mouth to scream out in pain.
Trying not to drop the blonde vampire, Buffy quickly threw a hand up to cover his mouth, fangs and all. “Shhh.”
Spike’s golden eyes blinked in surprise, as he realized who had finally come to help him. He shook his head, but was unable to shift from his demon face.
Hyper-vigilant for sounds of discovery, Buffy got Spike to his feet, with one of his arms over her shoulders. She held tightly to that wrist, and then looped her other arm around his waist, grabbing a blood-soaked belt loop on his jeans in an attempt to keep him upright.
Spike had given up his efforts to retract his demon face, and was now just trying to remain awake. He was in so much pain, even that was almost more than he could handle.
Taking stock of their situation, Buffy realized that there was almost no chance she would be able to get Spike up the stairs unnoticed. There was even less of a chance that she would be able to get him down the fire escape without discovery, and if Angelus caught them fleeing, she knew that death would be a merciful release if and when he finally chose to grant it.
There was no other option; they had to use the front door. Using that door meant they avoided stairs, which would have been very difficult with Buffy trying to support most of Spike’s weight. It also meant they wouldn’t be getting any closer to Angelus and Drusilla than they were now, a definite bonus in Buffy’s eyes. The trick would be to deal with the guards in the front hall without alerting the whole factory.
Buffy propped Spike up against the wall, near the doorway to the room he had recently been tortured in. She whispered to him that she needed him to be silent, then brushed a gentle kiss over his brow before moving to take out the guards.
The first guard was just outside the room. The second, half-way down the hall, and the third and fourth were standing just inside the front door. Apparently they had moved inside, instead of remaining outside where they had been when Buffy first scoped out the building.
The two guards at the door were talking together, with the third guard trying hard to follow the conversation. The fourth guard, too far away to hear what was happening, was leaning against the wall and looking bored.
Buffy took a silver dollar out of her pocket, and silently rolled it across the doorway of the room she and Spike were in. As hoped, the fourth guard couldn’t resist jumping through the door to pick up the coin. When he did, Buffy quickly covered his mouth with one hand, and staked him with her other.
The lighting in the hallway wasn’t the best, the torches leaving some areas in darkness. Now that the guard closest to them was gone, she could make use of the darkness to get closer to the next guard.
When the conversation between the two vamps at the door became heated, Buffy made her move. The guard on his own didn’t even realize what had happened; one minute he was laughing at the others, and the next he was in Hell, only his dust left to litter the floor of the hallway.
There was no way to get around the two vampires left at the door. Buffy would have to take them out at the same time, and she would have to do it without raising an alarm which would bring Angelus and Drusilla crashing down on them. Rather than stealth, Buffy chose to be brazen this time. She walked right up to the vampires, who were completely stunned by her appearance inside the factory. They had been expecting an attack from outside, not within. A moment of confusion was all that Buffy needed, and soon they had joined their hall-mates in Hell.
Safe as Houses.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
After dusting the two vampire guards at the front door, Buffy poked her head out to make sure there were no more guards outside the factory. She’d been gone no more than a few minutes, but by the time she returned to Spike, he was unconscious again. The badly injured vampire had collapsed against the wall, leaving a gory portrait of his back to remain once Buffy got him to his feet again.
Buffy swayed under Spike’s dead weight for a moment, before deciding that the simplest way to get her vampire out of the factory was to throw him over her shoulder. Certainly, the technique lacked a bit of finesse, but it had the added benefit of preventing anything from touching Spike’s badly damaged back. Hoisting him to her shoulders, Buffy sent a silent thank you to the Powers That Be, for allowing her to keep her super-strength when she became the Eternal Light.
Buffy hurried out of the factory as quickly as she could with her precious burden. It was a long walk to the warehouse and she wasn’t able to sprint the whole way. At least twice, she stopped to catch her breath, leaning against a building and listening intently for sounds of pursuit. Buffy didn’t dare put Spike down, thinking that it would hurt him to be jostled around, and it might also reopen the wounds on his back that were trying to close. Buffy really hoped that Merrick was at the warehouse. She’d asked him to meet her there, but that was over an hour ago, and not the twenty minutes she’d told him to expect.
Hoisting Spike a little higher on her shoulders, Buffy turned the last corner and approached the warehouse. She drew in a deep sigh of relief when she saw the lights burning in the windows on the lower floor.
Once she made it to the warehouse doors, Buffy used her foot to kick the door a few times, and then stepped to the side, to lean against the building while she waited for Merrick to answer her knock. Spike wasn’t the biggest guy around, and Buffy certainly had a lot of extra strength, but carrying her vampire across town had depleted the Light’s energy reserves, and she found her knees were starting to tremble.
Merrick answered the door, but was confused when he didn’t see anyone right away. At first he thought he was the victim of a practical joke, but then he heard Buffy groan as she hitched Spike higher on her shoulders, before pushing herself away from the wall and moving into the doorway. Merrick rushed to help the tiny blonde, but quickly backed away again when she growled at his approach.
Rather than react with fear or anger, Merrick deliberately took a calming breath, and took an extra step away from the new arrivals, palms out and arms extended, as if to show he meant no harm. It was clear to him that Buffy was acting on instinct now. “Hey, Buffy, glad to see you made it home. What happened to Spike?”
“Angelus happened,” Buffy answered, as her tears began to flow. She stood in the middle of the entryway, looking lost and overwhelmed, Spike still on her shoulders.
“It’s good that you’ve brought him here then, where you can care for him and keep him safe. What can I do to help him, Buffy?” Merrick had seen the feral protectiveness that Buffy displayed when she first came in the warehouse door, and was being very careful now to ensure he wasn’t acting in a way that could be perceived as threatening or aggressive. He spoke with a soothing tone, and tried to get Buffy to focus on helping Spike. Merrick was relieved that his tactics were working, when Buffy finally looked at him, and sent a grateful smile his way.
She knew she could count on Merrick to help her. “Blood. He needs human blood, Merrick. Steal it from the hospital, or from the blood bank...I don’t care. Just get him some blood so he can start to heal.”
“You want me to steal blood?” Merrick clarified.
“Well, no...but he needs human blood, and lots of it. Can you buy blood? I don’t care how you get it, Merrick. Just get him some blood quickly.” Buffy headed for the stairs that lead to her personal quarters. “Take my car. The keys are in my purse, on the box in the entryway. I’ve got cash too, to pay for the blood. Take whatever you think you’ll need.” Buffy paused on the stairs, and turned back to Merrick. “Hurry, please.”
Merrick could see she was scared, but she seemed rational again. “I’ll do my best,” he promised, before grabbing her purse. Deciding that time was the most pressing factor, he upended her bag on the floor, and grabbed her keys and wallet, before running to the car. He had to take out a few bags and boxes, so he could slide the seat back far enough to be able to drive, and then he jumped in the car and took off.
Meanwhile, Buffy had carried Spike into the bathroom, and had now eased him off her shoulders and down onto the floor, careful to place him on his side. She left him there briefly, while she went to look for some first-aid supplies.
Buffy spent too many minutes looking for a first-aid kit without success. Deciding that she was going to have to make do for now, she found her linen closet and pulled out a new white sheet. In the kitchen, she found a pair of scissors, and rushed to the bathroom with her limited supplies.
Once back at Spike’s side, she started the bath running, filling the tub with almost-hot water. Then she pulled off his boots and used the scissors to cut off his pants and the shirt she had used to bandage his chest with. Seeing Spike lying there, naked on her floor, the shredded flesh of his back so very red against the white tiles, Buffy almost broke down. I don’t have time to fall apart now. Later, when he’s been taken care of. That’s when I’ll cry.
As carefully as she could, Buffy raised the wounded vampire and placed him in the warm water. The tub wasn’t quite half-full yet, so she reached up and grabbed the hand-held shower head, using it to carefully rinse the blood and sweat from his body. It was bad enough when his body was covered in blood and grime, but now that the water was rinsing the filth away, she was able to really see the damage that had been done. Buffy couldn’t help but cry, as each cut, burn, welt, and wound was revealed. At least the stake wound had almost stopped bleeding, though, given the severity of the injury, it was going to take a long time to heal.
Determined to finish the job and do what she could to help Spike recover, Buffy placed an arm under his head, and slowly rolled him to his side, facing away from her. At the sight of his back, she started crying again, thinking about how much pain he must have experienced. She quickly stopped her tears though, when she realized that they were falling onto Spike’s back, and that the salt water would cause him even more pain.
Buffy did her best to thoroughly clean Spike’s wounds, without doing any more damage. It was hard, because the whip had made deep gashes and removed chunks of flesh from the vampire’s back. Buffy was so upset by the time she was finished bathing Spike, that all she wanted to do was run back to the factory and stake Angelus good and proper. For that matter, she’d be willing to stake Drusilla too, if the loony vampiress had anything to do with the pain Spike had endured. Just fix his soul, and then you’ll never have to see him again. You know the PTBs have some grand plan for him, and they’d never let you stake him anyway, Buffy thought to herself.
Deeply immersed in her work with Spike, Buffy was startled when she heard Merrick’s voice calling from the upper level kitchen. “Buffy, are you still in the bathroom?”
Even knowing that the voice belonged to Merrick, and that he presented no risk to her vampire, Buffy’s first instinct was to cover Spike and defend him while he was helpless. Unfortunately, she moved too quickly, and ended up hurting Spike in the process. The unconscious vamp had cried out, and was now whimpering. Leaning down and trying to soothe him with her voice, Buffy told him he was safe, and that everything would be okay. Whatever she said must have worked, because Spike immediately seemed to settle back into the warm water, and drifted deeper into unconsciousness again.
Buffy sighed, and rolled Spike to his back, so he could float gently in the water. Then, when she was certain he’d be okay for a few minutes, she headed for the kitchen. “Merrick, I’m here. Did you manage to find some human blood?”
Merrick smiled triumphantly at the Light. “Here. Nothing but the best for Spike.” The Watcher indicated a paper grocery sack on the table behind him.
Buffy was surprised and pleased to see at least half a dozen bags of human blood in the grocery bag. She took two pints out, and carefully stored the rest of the blood in one of the crisper drawers in her new fridge. “Will you please stick these in the microwave and warm them up when I call?”
“No problem, Buffy. Do you think two bags will be enough? It looks like Spike’s in pretty rough shape.”
“He is. I don’t want to give him so much blood that he gets sick though. Who knows how he’s going to be feeling when he comes to.” Then, with a nod towards Merrick, she headed back into the bathroom. Once there, she laid two thick towels on the floor, and then pulled Spike out of the tub and put him gently on the towels. Using a third towel, she started to carefully pat him dry. With its coating of blood now washed away, Buffy was happy to see that his lower body was relatively unharmed. It looked like Angelus wanted all the damage to be visible while Spike was chained to the wall.
Once Spike was dry, Buffy draped the third towel across his groin and legs to preserve his modesty, and then called for Merrick’s help. When her Watcher arrived in the bathroom, Buffy was ripping the new sheet that she had fetched earlier into strips. “Give me a hand, please.”
“Of course.” Merrick took off his coat and laid it on a chair in the bedroom, before entering the bathroom again. “What would you like me to do?”
“I need your help getting him bandaged. I’m going to hold him upright, and I’d like you to wrap the sheeting around his chest.” Buffy pointed the torn sheets out to Merrick, and then moved in front of Spike, carefully pulling him up, until she was able to rest his head on her shoulder. Then she had Merrick help her lift his arms up, until they were wrapped around her shoulders too, so they would be out of the way of the bandages.
Merrick took the linen that Buffy had prepared earlier and started wrapping the vampire’s exposed torso.
“We need to get a first aid kit. A big one,” Buffy said, without looking up.
“Don’t worry, Buffy. I’ll get one when the stores open,” Merrick offered.
With the bandaging done, Buffy asked Merrick to pull down the sheets and blankets so she could get Spike into her bed, and then go warm up the two bags of blood she had picked out earlier. “Don’t forget, ninety-eight point six, Merrick.”
Buffy took her time, and carefully placed Spike in her bed so that he was lying on his side. She didn’t want to make the pain in his back worse when he finally woke up. Once he was all tucked in under the blankets, she sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully holding one of his hands, needing that connection with him to reassure her that he was undead and would be okay.
Merrick came into the bedroom, carrying two mugs filled with warm blood. Buffy was so focused on Spike, that she didn’t even hear the Watcher until he cleared his throat behind her. She jumped a bit, startled that he was so close and she’d missed his approach, but then shrugged it off, aware that Merrick was one of only a very few people in the world that she trusted completely.
Buffy smiled, apologizing for her jumpiness, and then accepted the mugs and placed them on the bedside table. “Do we have any straws?”
“Sorry, Buffy, but the place is still pretty empty. If you haven’t bought it yourself, it’s not here. Is there anything else I can do to help?” Merrick asked.
“Would you give my mom a call, and let her know that I’m okay? I kind of ran out of there without a whole lot of explanation. Oh, and let her know that I’m going to stay here tonight. Ask her to please stay inside until one of us has called to say it’s safe to go out. Angelus is still out there, and when he sees that Spike is gone, he’s going to be furious.” Having given Merrick her instructions, Buffy got up from the bed for a moment, and gave the Watcher a hug.
This time, when she sat down, she placed herself upright, with her back against the headboard. “Let me feed Spike, and then I’ll need you to sit with him while I’m busy with the spell for Angelus. Fortunately, I’ve got all the supplies I need now. I just happened to bring them back in the car, instead of shipping them back from LA with my other purchases.” Buffy pulled Spike’s unresisting body up, until he was seated between her legs, with his back against her chest and his head resting on her shoulder.
“Are you able to resoul Angelus on your own?” Merrick asked, concerned about the amount of power required for the spell.
“I can and I will. There’s no way I’m going to let Willow have anything to do with this spell. In my other life, I think it was this spell that started her downward spiral into dark magic and her lust for power.” Buffy reached for a mug of blood.
“I’d be happy to help you,” Merrick said eagerly.
“Thanks, Merrick.” Buffy smiled. “Okay, let me try to feed Spike now. Why don’t you go give my mom that call?”
Merrick nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. He had a feeling that whatever was going to happen in that bedroom, it was going to be something that required privacy.
Buffy moved the mug of warm blood to Spike’s mouth, hoping that the smell under his nose would wake him up. While there was no sign of consciousness, Spike’s demon did emerge. Buffy thought that was progress, and moved the mug until it was touching the demon’s lips. When she tilted it, Spike’s lips automatically parted, and she was able to pour the warm blood into his mouth. He swallowed greedily, eyes still closed. The first mug was drained very quickly, and Buffy exchanged it for the second mug, continuing to feed her starving vampire until that mug was empty as well.
Thinking that she was going to need another bag of blood, Buffy started to move Spike back down to the bed. “Slayer,” he said, in a raspy voice that betrayed his confusion.
“Shhh. It’s okay. You’re safe here, Spike.” Buffy gently let her hand rest on his unburned cheek.
“Where am I?” he asked, as he tried to sit up. Though he had just fed, Spike didn’t have any energy, and his demon face disappeared.
“Easy...just relax. You’re in my house. Angelus doesn’t have an invite. You’re safe here.” Buffy encouraged Spike to rest his head on her pillow. “Sleep now. I’ll bring you some more blood in a little while.”
Unable to resist the exhaustion he was feeling, Spike was sound asleep before Buffy made it out the bedroom door.
Gathering her supplies, Buffy met Merrick in the downstairs kitchen. She knew that Spike was very leery of magic, and wanted to do her spell casting far away from him, so that she didn’t disturb his rest. This time, when Buffy restored Angel’s soul, she made sure there was no happiness clause, in fact, there was no clause of any kind. This time, his soul was permanent.
Later, after the spell components had been cleaned up, and Buffy had phoned to reassure her mother that she was safe, and that Angelus was no longer a threat, Merrick cornered the Light in her own kitchen. The Watcher could tell that his charge was running on empty, and he insisted that she eat a sandwich and have a bowl of soup and a glass of milk, before he sent her back to her room to check on Spike and get a bit of sleep. Before leaving the kitchen, Buffy groggily offered Merrick the only other bed in the warehouse, in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
------------------------------------
In the factory, Angel awoke in a strange bed, beside Drusilla. He moved away from her quickly, as if burned, and ended up in a heap on the floor. He was confused, and couldn’t remember how he ended up with his Childe.
“Daddy, what are you doing on the floor?” Drusilla peeked over the side of the bed. “No, not Daddy anymore.” She pushed herself back on the bed, and took Miss Edith from the nightstand. Then she sat in the middle of the bed, rocking and singing to her doll, treating it as if Miss Edith were her baby. “I’m all alone now, all alone. My prince has met the sunshine, and Daddy is gone, gone, gone. Now there will be tea for two, just me and you, Miss Edith.”
Angel untangled himself from the bed linen as quickly as he could, searching for his clothes and dressing as fast as possible. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew he didn’t belong where he was. He was just fastening his leather pants around his hips when the memories of the past three days returned to him. A scream escaped his throat, and he sank down on his knees, curling into a ball with his arms around his head, as if to protect himself from the knowledge of what he had done.
No, no, no. Why didn’t they tell me? Why didn’t they make me believe that my soul was in danger? Now I’ll have to start my path to redemption all over again from the beginning. Angel swayed back and forth, distressed by how much damage the foolish humans had done. Years of his hard work were down the drain. He needed to get out of the factory and away from Dru, before she tempted him and made things even worse.
While Angel had his little break-down, Dru sat quietly on the bed, just watching. She felt so sad for him, this vampire that wasn’t her Daddy any longer. He just didn’t understand. There was no chance that Angel would be forgiven for all the murders, raping, and torture that he had committed since he was turned so many years ago. For one thing, as long as Angel let Drusilla live, he was in no small way responsible for the death she continued to inflict without prejudice on the human population. Also, by insisting that Angel and Angelus were completely separate entities, Angel was unable to atone for the crimes committed by Angelus. Finally, how could he claim that he wanted to be redeemed, when it was so very clear that, without that pesky soul, her Daddy was quite happy to return to his old ways? No, Drusilla sighed, the creature before her was never going to be her Daddy again. At that thought, Drusilla gave in to her misery, and let her eyes fill with tears of sorrow.
As dressed as it was possible to be, given that he had no idea where his left sock had gone, Angel took one last look at the quietly weeping Drusilla, and then left the bedroom. On his way out of the factory, he noticed that Spike was no longer in his chains, and the guards were missing from the front hall. The already brooding vampire kicked a pile of dust by the door.
He guessed that the factory had been visited by a Slayer sometime in the past night, and that the Slayer either didn’t want to, or just couldn’t kill him. It looked like sleeping with Cordelia was a good move, even if he had lost his soul for a short while. If nothing else, it would appear that his brief sojourn on the dark side was going to successfully bring Buffy to heel. He smiled, satisfied once again.
Angel didn’t believe that it was Kendra who had visited his home in the dark of night. The Slayer would have made some noise, and would have been captured by his minions. The only one strong enough and skilled enough to get in and out through the front door was Buffy. She was the only one experienced enough to kill the minions and Spike without alerting the other occupants of the factory.
Back in his apartment, Angel took a long shower in an effort to get the stench of the factory off his skin. He could smell the lingering odour of the building itself, as well as Spike’s blood and the scent of sex with Drusilla. He found that, even with his soul restored, the last two scents were making him hard. Knowing he wouldn’t find any release, other than his own right hand, Angel finished his shower and then grabbed a pint of blood from his fridge. The first sip had his lip curling in distaste. Pig. He hated it even more, now that he’d recently had the good stuff again.
Angel turned on a table lamp and sat in his big armchair. Tired, he slouched down and rested his head on the back of the chair. He knew that it was going to be difficult, trying to reconnect with the Scoobies the next day. It was their own damn fault for not explaining the curse properly, but Angel just knew they were going to blame everything on him. That group was just completely biased against vampires, regardless of how good he tried to be. It wasn’t long before Angel fell asleep in his chair, his thoughts once again drifting to Buffy and how pretty she’d look when she begged for his forgiveness.
----------------------------------
Hours before the sun came out to play, Drusilla was out wandering the street of Sunnydale. First she fed, and then she made her way to Buffy’s new home, where she stood outside, quietly waiting.
The Light could feel the vampire, just outside her home. She got out of bed, pausing for a moment to feel Spike’s forehead and make sure he was still sleeping. Buffy laughed at herself, and at how she automatically felt Spike’s forehead, as if he were human. She shook her head at her own silliness, and then wrapped herself in her robe.
With Spike sleeping so soundly, Buffy knew it would be okay to leave him for a little while. Closing the door to her bedroom behind her, she went down the stairs and out the front door to meet Drusilla on the street.
The first thing Buffy noticed was the suitcase by Drusilla’s feet. As her eyes rose, she noted that Miss Edith was dressed for travelling, and was held securely in the insane vampiress’ arms. Buffy made sure that her eyes went no higher than Drusilla’s chin. This Dru wasn’t the one that Buffy knew so well, and she didn’t want to risk Dru’s thrall.
With everything Buffy wanted so close now, she didn’t want to gamble everything in a fight with Drusilla. She wasn’t going to attack the vampiress first, but she also wasn’t going to let down her guard.
“Sunshine,” Drusilla spoke, her voice betraying her sadness.
“Drusilla,” Buffy acknowledged.
Drusilla sighed deeply. “Daddy is gone.”
“I know, Dru. I had to do it.” Buffy wanted to show Dru the sincerity in her eyes, but was wary of eye contact. In the end, she just settled for simply saying, “I’m sorry.”
“I know...but a girl can’t help but hope, right? It doesn’t matter now. I’m all alone. I’ve decided that I’m leaving. Taking the train tonight.”
“That’s probably for the best. The Slayer is here and she’d hunt you down if you were killing in Sunnydale. Where are you going?” Buffy had to ask.
“I feel that South would be a good choice. The stars and Miss Edith have all agreed, and so South we shall go.”
Buffy nodded. There wasn’t much else to be said.
“Will you take good care of him, Sunshine? Give him this, when he’s strong enough to read it. Tell him his Mummy will always love him, just not the way he wanted her to.” Dru held out an envelope.
Buffy accepted the letter and smiled. “I will. Thank you for coming to say goodbye.”
Dru picked up her suitcase and turned away. “Goodbye, Sunshine.”
“Goodbye, Drusilla.”
After dusting the two vampire guards at the front door, Buffy poked her head out to make sure there were no more guards outside the factory. She’d been gone no more than a few minutes, but by the time she returned to Spike, he was unconscious again. The badly injured vampire had collapsed against the wall, leaving a gory portrait of his back to remain once Buffy got him to his feet again.
Buffy swayed under Spike’s dead weight for a moment, before deciding that the simplest way to get her vampire out of the factory was to throw him over her shoulder. Certainly, the technique lacked a bit of finesse, but it had the added benefit of preventing anything from touching Spike’s badly damaged back. Hoisting him to her shoulders, Buffy sent a silent thank you to the Powers That Be, for allowing her to keep her super-strength when she became the Eternal Light.
Buffy hurried out of the factory as quickly as she could with her precious burden. It was a long walk to the warehouse and she wasn’t able to sprint the whole way. At least twice, she stopped to catch her breath, leaning against a building and listening intently for sounds of pursuit. Buffy didn’t dare put Spike down, thinking that it would hurt him to be jostled around, and it might also reopen the wounds on his back that were trying to close. Buffy really hoped that Merrick was at the warehouse. She’d asked him to meet her there, but that was over an hour ago, and not the twenty minutes she’d told him to expect.
Hoisting Spike a little higher on her shoulders, Buffy turned the last corner and approached the warehouse. She drew in a deep sigh of relief when she saw the lights burning in the windows on the lower floor.
Once she made it to the warehouse doors, Buffy used her foot to kick the door a few times, and then stepped to the side, to lean against the building while she waited for Merrick to answer her knock. Spike wasn’t the biggest guy around, and Buffy certainly had a lot of extra strength, but carrying her vampire across town had depleted the Light’s energy reserves, and she found her knees were starting to tremble.
Merrick answered the door, but was confused when he didn’t see anyone right away. At first he thought he was the victim of a practical joke, but then he heard Buffy groan as she hitched Spike higher on her shoulders, before pushing herself away from the wall and moving into the doorway. Merrick rushed to help the tiny blonde, but quickly backed away again when she growled at his approach.
Rather than react with fear or anger, Merrick deliberately took a calming breath, and took an extra step away from the new arrivals, palms out and arms extended, as if to show he meant no harm. It was clear to him that Buffy was acting on instinct now. “Hey, Buffy, glad to see you made it home. What happened to Spike?”
“Angelus happened,” Buffy answered, as her tears began to flow. She stood in the middle of the entryway, looking lost and overwhelmed, Spike still on her shoulders.
“It’s good that you’ve brought him here then, where you can care for him and keep him safe. What can I do to help him, Buffy?” Merrick had seen the feral protectiveness that Buffy displayed when she first came in the warehouse door, and was being very careful now to ensure he wasn’t acting in a way that could be perceived as threatening or aggressive. He spoke with a soothing tone, and tried to get Buffy to focus on helping Spike. Merrick was relieved that his tactics were working, when Buffy finally looked at him, and sent a grateful smile his way.
She knew she could count on Merrick to help her. “Blood. He needs human blood, Merrick. Steal it from the hospital, or from the blood bank...I don’t care. Just get him some blood so he can start to heal.”
“You want me to steal blood?” Merrick clarified.
“Well, no...but he needs human blood, and lots of it. Can you buy blood? I don’t care how you get it, Merrick. Just get him some blood quickly.” Buffy headed for the stairs that lead to her personal quarters. “Take my car. The keys are in my purse, on the box in the entryway. I’ve got cash too, to pay for the blood. Take whatever you think you’ll need.” Buffy paused on the stairs, and turned back to Merrick. “Hurry, please.”
Merrick could see she was scared, but she seemed rational again. “I’ll do my best,” he promised, before grabbing her purse. Deciding that time was the most pressing factor, he upended her bag on the floor, and grabbed her keys and wallet, before running to the car. He had to take out a few bags and boxes, so he could slide the seat back far enough to be able to drive, and then he jumped in the car and took off.
Meanwhile, Buffy had carried Spike into the bathroom, and had now eased him off her shoulders and down onto the floor, careful to place him on his side. She left him there briefly, while she went to look for some first-aid supplies.
Buffy spent too many minutes looking for a first-aid kit without success. Deciding that she was going to have to make do for now, she found her linen closet and pulled out a new white sheet. In the kitchen, she found a pair of scissors, and rushed to the bathroom with her limited supplies.
Once back at Spike’s side, she started the bath running, filling the tub with almost-hot water. Then she pulled off his boots and used the scissors to cut off his pants and the shirt she had used to bandage his chest with. Seeing Spike lying there, naked on her floor, the shredded flesh of his back so very red against the white tiles, Buffy almost broke down. I don’t have time to fall apart now. Later, when he’s been taken care of. That’s when I’ll cry.
As carefully as she could, Buffy raised the wounded vampire and placed him in the warm water. The tub wasn’t quite half-full yet, so she reached up and grabbed the hand-held shower head, using it to carefully rinse the blood and sweat from his body. It was bad enough when his body was covered in blood and grime, but now that the water was rinsing the filth away, she was able to really see the damage that had been done. Buffy couldn’t help but cry, as each cut, burn, welt, and wound was revealed. At least the stake wound had almost stopped bleeding, though, given the severity of the injury, it was going to take a long time to heal.
Determined to finish the job and do what she could to help Spike recover, Buffy placed an arm under his head, and slowly rolled him to his side, facing away from her. At the sight of his back, she started crying again, thinking about how much pain he must have experienced. She quickly stopped her tears though, when she realized that they were falling onto Spike’s back, and that the salt water would cause him even more pain.
Buffy did her best to thoroughly clean Spike’s wounds, without doing any more damage. It was hard, because the whip had made deep gashes and removed chunks of flesh from the vampire’s back. Buffy was so upset by the time she was finished bathing Spike, that all she wanted to do was run back to the factory and stake Angelus good and proper. For that matter, she’d be willing to stake Drusilla too, if the loony vampiress had anything to do with the pain Spike had endured. Just fix his soul, and then you’ll never have to see him again. You know the PTBs have some grand plan for him, and they’d never let you stake him anyway, Buffy thought to herself.
Deeply immersed in her work with Spike, Buffy was startled when she heard Merrick’s voice calling from the upper level kitchen. “Buffy, are you still in the bathroom?”
Even knowing that the voice belonged to Merrick, and that he presented no risk to her vampire, Buffy’s first instinct was to cover Spike and defend him while he was helpless. Unfortunately, she moved too quickly, and ended up hurting Spike in the process. The unconscious vamp had cried out, and was now whimpering. Leaning down and trying to soothe him with her voice, Buffy told him he was safe, and that everything would be okay. Whatever she said must have worked, because Spike immediately seemed to settle back into the warm water, and drifted deeper into unconsciousness again.
Buffy sighed, and rolled Spike to his back, so he could float gently in the water. Then, when she was certain he’d be okay for a few minutes, she headed for the kitchen. “Merrick, I’m here. Did you manage to find some human blood?”
Merrick smiled triumphantly at the Light. “Here. Nothing but the best for Spike.” The Watcher indicated a paper grocery sack on the table behind him.
Buffy was surprised and pleased to see at least half a dozen bags of human blood in the grocery bag. She took two pints out, and carefully stored the rest of the blood in one of the crisper drawers in her new fridge. “Will you please stick these in the microwave and warm them up when I call?”
“No problem, Buffy. Do you think two bags will be enough? It looks like Spike’s in pretty rough shape.”
“He is. I don’t want to give him so much blood that he gets sick though. Who knows how he’s going to be feeling when he comes to.” Then, with a nod towards Merrick, she headed back into the bathroom. Once there, she laid two thick towels on the floor, and then pulled Spike out of the tub and put him gently on the towels. Using a third towel, she started to carefully pat him dry. With its coating of blood now washed away, Buffy was happy to see that his lower body was relatively unharmed. It looked like Angelus wanted all the damage to be visible while Spike was chained to the wall.
Once Spike was dry, Buffy draped the third towel across his groin and legs to preserve his modesty, and then called for Merrick’s help. When her Watcher arrived in the bathroom, Buffy was ripping the new sheet that she had fetched earlier into strips. “Give me a hand, please.”
“Of course.” Merrick took off his coat and laid it on a chair in the bedroom, before entering the bathroom again. “What would you like me to do?”
“I need your help getting him bandaged. I’m going to hold him upright, and I’d like you to wrap the sheeting around his chest.” Buffy pointed the torn sheets out to Merrick, and then moved in front of Spike, carefully pulling him up, until she was able to rest his head on her shoulder. Then she had Merrick help her lift his arms up, until they were wrapped around her shoulders too, so they would be out of the way of the bandages.
Merrick took the linen that Buffy had prepared earlier and started wrapping the vampire’s exposed torso.
“We need to get a first aid kit. A big one,” Buffy said, without looking up.
“Don’t worry, Buffy. I’ll get one when the stores open,” Merrick offered.
With the bandaging done, Buffy asked Merrick to pull down the sheets and blankets so she could get Spike into her bed, and then go warm up the two bags of blood she had picked out earlier. “Don’t forget, ninety-eight point six, Merrick.”
Buffy took her time, and carefully placed Spike in her bed so that he was lying on his side. She didn’t want to make the pain in his back worse when he finally woke up. Once he was all tucked in under the blankets, she sat down on the edge of the bed, carefully holding one of his hands, needing that connection with him to reassure her that he was undead and would be okay.
Merrick came into the bedroom, carrying two mugs filled with warm blood. Buffy was so focused on Spike, that she didn’t even hear the Watcher until he cleared his throat behind her. She jumped a bit, startled that he was so close and she’d missed his approach, but then shrugged it off, aware that Merrick was one of only a very few people in the world that she trusted completely.
Buffy smiled, apologizing for her jumpiness, and then accepted the mugs and placed them on the bedside table. “Do we have any straws?”
“Sorry, Buffy, but the place is still pretty empty. If you haven’t bought it yourself, it’s not here. Is there anything else I can do to help?” Merrick asked.
“Would you give my mom a call, and let her know that I’m okay? I kind of ran out of there without a whole lot of explanation. Oh, and let her know that I’m going to stay here tonight. Ask her to please stay inside until one of us has called to say it’s safe to go out. Angelus is still out there, and when he sees that Spike is gone, he’s going to be furious.” Having given Merrick her instructions, Buffy got up from the bed for a moment, and gave the Watcher a hug.
This time, when she sat down, she placed herself upright, with her back against the headboard. “Let me feed Spike, and then I’ll need you to sit with him while I’m busy with the spell for Angelus. Fortunately, I’ve got all the supplies I need now. I just happened to bring them back in the car, instead of shipping them back from LA with my other purchases.” Buffy pulled Spike’s unresisting body up, until he was seated between her legs, with his back against her chest and his head resting on her shoulder.
“Are you able to resoul Angelus on your own?” Merrick asked, concerned about the amount of power required for the spell.
“I can and I will. There’s no way I’m going to let Willow have anything to do with this spell. In my other life, I think it was this spell that started her downward spiral into dark magic and her lust for power.” Buffy reached for a mug of blood.
“I’d be happy to help you,” Merrick said eagerly.
“Thanks, Merrick.” Buffy smiled. “Okay, let me try to feed Spike now. Why don’t you go give my mom that call?”
Merrick nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. He had a feeling that whatever was going to happen in that bedroom, it was going to be something that required privacy.
Buffy moved the mug of warm blood to Spike’s mouth, hoping that the smell under his nose would wake him up. While there was no sign of consciousness, Spike’s demon did emerge. Buffy thought that was progress, and moved the mug until it was touching the demon’s lips. When she tilted it, Spike’s lips automatically parted, and she was able to pour the warm blood into his mouth. He swallowed greedily, eyes still closed. The first mug was drained very quickly, and Buffy exchanged it for the second mug, continuing to feed her starving vampire until that mug was empty as well.
Thinking that she was going to need another bag of blood, Buffy started to move Spike back down to the bed. “Slayer,” he said, in a raspy voice that betrayed his confusion.
“Shhh. It’s okay. You’re safe here, Spike.” Buffy gently let her hand rest on his unburned cheek.
“Where am I?” he asked, as he tried to sit up. Though he had just fed, Spike didn’t have any energy, and his demon face disappeared.
“Easy...just relax. You’re in my house. Angelus doesn’t have an invite. You’re safe here.” Buffy encouraged Spike to rest his head on her pillow. “Sleep now. I’ll bring you some more blood in a little while.”
Unable to resist the exhaustion he was feeling, Spike was sound asleep before Buffy made it out the bedroom door.
Gathering her supplies, Buffy met Merrick in the downstairs kitchen. She knew that Spike was very leery of magic, and wanted to do her spell casting far away from him, so that she didn’t disturb his rest. This time, when Buffy restored Angel’s soul, she made sure there was no happiness clause, in fact, there was no clause of any kind. This time, his soul was permanent.
Later, after the spell components had been cleaned up, and Buffy had phoned to reassure her mother that she was safe, and that Angelus was no longer a threat, Merrick cornered the Light in her own kitchen. The Watcher could tell that his charge was running on empty, and he insisted that she eat a sandwich and have a bowl of soup and a glass of milk, before he sent her back to her room to check on Spike and get a bit of sleep. Before leaving the kitchen, Buffy groggily offered Merrick the only other bed in the warehouse, in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
------------------------------------
In the factory, Angel awoke in a strange bed, beside Drusilla. He moved away from her quickly, as if burned, and ended up in a heap on the floor. He was confused, and couldn’t remember how he ended up with his Childe.
“Daddy, what are you doing on the floor?” Drusilla peeked over the side of the bed. “No, not Daddy anymore.” She pushed herself back on the bed, and took Miss Edith from the nightstand. Then she sat in the middle of the bed, rocking and singing to her doll, treating it as if Miss Edith were her baby. “I’m all alone now, all alone. My prince has met the sunshine, and Daddy is gone, gone, gone. Now there will be tea for two, just me and you, Miss Edith.”
Angel untangled himself from the bed linen as quickly as he could, searching for his clothes and dressing as fast as possible. He didn’t know what had happened, but he knew he didn’t belong where he was. He was just fastening his leather pants around his hips when the memories of the past three days returned to him. A scream escaped his throat, and he sank down on his knees, curling into a ball with his arms around his head, as if to protect himself from the knowledge of what he had done.
No, no, no. Why didn’t they tell me? Why didn’t they make me believe that my soul was in danger? Now I’ll have to start my path to redemption all over again from the beginning. Angel swayed back and forth, distressed by how much damage the foolish humans had done. Years of his hard work were down the drain. He needed to get out of the factory and away from Dru, before she tempted him and made things even worse.
While Angel had his little break-down, Dru sat quietly on the bed, just watching. She felt so sad for him, this vampire that wasn’t her Daddy any longer. He just didn’t understand. There was no chance that Angel would be forgiven for all the murders, raping, and torture that he had committed since he was turned so many years ago. For one thing, as long as Angel let Drusilla live, he was in no small way responsible for the death she continued to inflict without prejudice on the human population. Also, by insisting that Angel and Angelus were completely separate entities, Angel was unable to atone for the crimes committed by Angelus. Finally, how could he claim that he wanted to be redeemed, when it was so very clear that, without that pesky soul, her Daddy was quite happy to return to his old ways? No, Drusilla sighed, the creature before her was never going to be her Daddy again. At that thought, Drusilla gave in to her misery, and let her eyes fill with tears of sorrow.
As dressed as it was possible to be, given that he had no idea where his left sock had gone, Angel took one last look at the quietly weeping Drusilla, and then left the bedroom. On his way out of the factory, he noticed that Spike was no longer in his chains, and the guards were missing from the front hall. The already brooding vampire kicked a pile of dust by the door.
He guessed that the factory had been visited by a Slayer sometime in the past night, and that the Slayer either didn’t want to, or just couldn’t kill him. It looked like sleeping with Cordelia was a good move, even if he had lost his soul for a short while. If nothing else, it would appear that his brief sojourn on the dark side was going to successfully bring Buffy to heel. He smiled, satisfied once again.
Angel didn’t believe that it was Kendra who had visited his home in the dark of night. The Slayer would have made some noise, and would have been captured by his minions. The only one strong enough and skilled enough to get in and out through the front door was Buffy. She was the only one experienced enough to kill the minions and Spike without alerting the other occupants of the factory.
Back in his apartment, Angel took a long shower in an effort to get the stench of the factory off his skin. He could smell the lingering odour of the building itself, as well as Spike’s blood and the scent of sex with Drusilla. He found that, even with his soul restored, the last two scents were making him hard. Knowing he wouldn’t find any release, other than his own right hand, Angel finished his shower and then grabbed a pint of blood from his fridge. The first sip had his lip curling in distaste. Pig. He hated it even more, now that he’d recently had the good stuff again.
Angel turned on a table lamp and sat in his big armchair. Tired, he slouched down and rested his head on the back of the chair. He knew that it was going to be difficult, trying to reconnect with the Scoobies the next day. It was their own damn fault for not explaining the curse properly, but Angel just knew they were going to blame everything on him. That group was just completely biased against vampires, regardless of how good he tried to be. It wasn’t long before Angel fell asleep in his chair, his thoughts once again drifting to Buffy and how pretty she’d look when she begged for his forgiveness.
----------------------------------
Hours before the sun came out to play, Drusilla was out wandering the street of Sunnydale. First she fed, and then she made her way to Buffy’s new home, where she stood outside, quietly waiting.
The Light could feel the vampire, just outside her home. She got out of bed, pausing for a moment to feel Spike’s forehead and make sure he was still sleeping. Buffy laughed at herself, and at how she automatically felt Spike’s forehead, as if he were human. She shook her head at her own silliness, and then wrapped herself in her robe.
With Spike sleeping so soundly, Buffy knew it would be okay to leave him for a little while. Closing the door to her bedroom behind her, she went down the stairs and out the front door to meet Drusilla on the street.
The first thing Buffy noticed was the suitcase by Drusilla’s feet. As her eyes rose, she noted that Miss Edith was dressed for travelling, and was held securely in the insane vampiress’ arms. Buffy made sure that her eyes went no higher than Drusilla’s chin. This Dru wasn’t the one that Buffy knew so well, and she didn’t want to risk Dru’s thrall.
With everything Buffy wanted so close now, she didn’t want to gamble everything in a fight with Drusilla. She wasn’t going to attack the vampiress first, but she also wasn’t going to let down her guard.
“Sunshine,” Drusilla spoke, her voice betraying her sadness.
“Drusilla,” Buffy acknowledged.
Drusilla sighed deeply. “Daddy is gone.”
“I know, Dru. I had to do it.” Buffy wanted to show Dru the sincerity in her eyes, but was wary of eye contact. In the end, she just settled for simply saying, “I’m sorry.”
“I know...but a girl can’t help but hope, right? It doesn’t matter now. I’m all alone. I’ve decided that I’m leaving. Taking the train tonight.”
“That’s probably for the best. The Slayer is here and she’d hunt you down if you were killing in Sunnydale. Where are you going?” Buffy had to ask.
“I feel that South would be a good choice. The stars and Miss Edith have all agreed, and so South we shall go.”
Buffy nodded. There wasn’t much else to be said.
“Will you take good care of him, Sunshine? Give him this, when he’s strong enough to read it. Tell him his Mummy will always love him, just not the way he wanted her to.” Dru held out an envelope.
Buffy accepted the letter and smiled. “I will. Thank you for coming to say goodbye.”
Dru picked up her suitcase and turned away. “Goodbye, Sunshine.”
“Goodbye, Drusilla.”
I Must Be Dreaming
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Spike woke to the sensation of being snuggled in a soft, fluffy, warm cloud. It took a few moments for his scattered thoughts to collect and interpret his cloud to be someone’s bed. He wiggled his toes, trying to gather more information without opening his eyes and risking the dissolution of this lovely dream world. Hmmmm...silk sheets? Wherever Spike was, it felt good, but he knew there weren‘t any silk sheets at the factory.
His toes stopped wiggling, but his eyes stayed closed. Spike knew he was in a nice bed and, after trying to take a deep breath, he knew that his torso had been wrapped with bandages. Someone had taken care of him. Guess that took Dru off the list of possible rescuers. Spike had always taken care of his Sire in the past, but she had never returned the courtesy. There was something else niggling at the corner of his consciousness...warmth? Not just the warmth he felt from being under blankets, but a specific warmth. On his hand? That was it. One of his hands was definitely warmer than the other.
Suddenly, Spike’s eyes popped open. He remembered Angelus, and pain, and Dru telling him she wasn’t going to save him, and more pain, and then...Buffy Summers? Surely his mind was playing tricks on him now, but he was almost positive that it had been the Slayer that had saved him, releasing him from his chains and bringing him to her home. She’d fed him through the night, and looked after his injuries. It was the only explanation for the situation he found himself in now.
Spike wanted a bit more information about his new location. He forced himself to quiet and focus, and was able to pick up two human heartbeats. One was quite close by, and one was in another room. Thinking of heartbeats got him thinking of body heat, and that reminded him that he had a hand that was considerably warmer than the rest of his body. He looked down, and realized that his left hand was lying on his stomach, but his right hand was pulled away from his body and was securely held by none other than the Slayer, Buffy Summers.
The former Slayer was sitting on the floor beside the bed, and appeared to be sound asleep, with her head on top of his blankets, and his hand securely wrapped in one of her own. Spike couldn’t get his head around the level of trust that she displayed, believing in her own safety, as well as that of the other human in the building.
Spike’s eyes sparkled with suppressed tears. He’d never had anyone place that much trust in him, except perhaps his mother, so very many years ago. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this woman was safe with him, and he promised that he would never harm the little blonde or those she called hers.
Spike knew he had been on the verge of falling in love with Buffy before Angel lost his soul. She may be the Slayer...well, former Slayer...but Spike was falling fast. It didn’t matter how wrong their relationship was. He was used to colouring outside of the lines, and he delighted in choosing to make his own way, free of the constraints of society, both demon and human. Knowing that the former Slayer had rescued him, Spike considered his complete and utter devotion to the blonde just a matter of time. One kind word, one soft caress, and he would be hers forever.
With considerable effort, Spike raised his left hand until he could gently caress a strand of Buffy’s golden hair. It hurt like Hell, and brought tears to his eyes, but he just had to touch her. The soft glide of her hair as it ran through his fingers brought him comfort and confirmed that he wasn’t just dreaming. It wasn’t long before Spike drifted into a healing sleep, Buffy’s hair still wrapped around his fingers.
When Buffy woke, she tried to stretch her stiff body, stopping abruptly when she felt the tug on her scalp. Curious, she smiled at the sight when she discovered Spike’s fingers tangled in her hair. Carefully, not wanting to wake him, she lifted his hand and removed her hair, before placing a gentle kiss on his palm and returning his hand to the blanket.
What Buffy didn’t know, was that Spike had been awake when she stirred. He didn’t have enough time to get his hand untangled from her hair, and was holding his breath, hoping that she wouldn’t stake him for touching her. He was hoping that she’d think he’d done it in his sleep, and wouldn’t be angry with him.
As the door clicked shut behind Buffy, Spike was unable to control himself any longer, and tears began to leak from under his lashes. No one but his mother had ever touched him so tenderly. Emotionally exhausted, Spike fell back to sleep, the memory of Buffy’s touch forever in his heart. He didn’t know it, but the future he longed for, but considered unreachable, might actually be within his grasp.
Hours later, Spike woke again, this time to an empty room. Looking around, he decided there really wasn’t much to see. To the right of the bed was a large fireplace, and he could see a sliding door that led out to a balcony. To the left was a closed door that he guessed led to an en-suite bathroom. The wall directly in front of the bed also had a door, and Spike thought that door must lead out to the rest of the house. The wall to the left and the wall in front of the bed were covered with floor to ceiling wood panelling, and the floor was done in a similar wood, with some kind of rug under the bed. There wasn’t much evidence of Buffy in the room, just a faint, lingering trace of her scent, almost overpowered by the smell of fresh paint and carpet. It was then that Spike remembered Buffy telling him that she was renovating her home, and that he would always be welcome and safe there.
The door in front of the bed opened slowly. Feeling a little vulnerable, Spike pulled the blankets up over his chest, and looked suspiciously at the door, prepared to move at the first sign of danger.
Moving slowly and quietly, just in case the vampire in her bed was still asleep, Buffy pushed the door open, a mug of warm blood in her hand. “You’re awake! How are you doing?”
“I...um, thank you. I’m feeling better.” It wasn’t normal for Spike to feel shy, but something about this girl brought out that side of his personality. He had a hard time looking her in the eye, and instead focused on the mug she was holding.
Seeing where his attention lay, Buffy handed him the mug with a big smile. “I hope it’s warm enough. I had to answer the phone, and Merrick is in the shower, so it had to sit for a minute in the microwave.”
“Didn’t mean to be such a bother.” Spike’s fragile smile faded as he bent his head over the mug. Of course she isn’t free, you git. She’s got a live-in boyfriend. He should have known better than to think a woman like Buffy would be unclaimed. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Buffy quickly noticed the change in Spike’s demeanour. His smile faded, and his shoulders began to slump. She wondered what had happened. Had she already done or said something wrong? She felt like running away and hiding somewhere so she could cry her eyes out. Why did she always do the wrong thing around Spike? “I’ll get Merrick to look in on you in a little while. I’ve got some things I have to do now.”
“It’s okay. Don’t bother your boyfriend. I’ll be out of your hair as soon as it’s dark. Angelus may not be happy about it, but I’m sure Dru will take care of me.”’
Buffy was confused by the look in his eyes when he briefly glanced at her. “Boyfriend?” she asked him. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Spike’s head snapped up and suddenly he was all about the eye contact. “What about that guy you just mentioned? Merrick?”
“He’s not my boyfriend, Spike, but he is a very close friend. He lives here with me.” Buffy looked down, trying to decide how much she should tell him. The decision was an easy one; she couldn’t lie to him. If they were going to have a relationship in this time, she wanted openness and honesty right from the start. “The Powers That Be knew that I cared for him and that he had never betrayed me, so when they needed someone to talk me into coming back and taking care of something important, they sent him.” Buffy was nervous, wondering how Spike as going to react to what she had to share with him.
Spike cleared his throat, drawing Buffy’s attention back to his face. “Did you come back to take care of Angelus? Preferably by staking his perfectly coiffed self?” Spike couldn’t’ help the hopeful look he sent Buffy’s way.
“I’ve already taken care of Angelus,” Buffy said with a smile. “He won’t bother anyone, ever again.”
The smile Spike immediately sent her started to fade. “Dru?”
Buffy took his hand, as she hurried to reassure him. “Dru is safe. She’s undead and well. Angelus is Angel again, and this time his soul is permanent.” Buffy’s thumb was gently rubbing Spike’s wrist to reassure him. She didn’t seem to notice, but Spike did.
“Drusilla stopped by while you were sleeping. She left a letter here for you, whenever you feel strong enough to read it. It’s on the bedside table.” She nodded to the small table beside the bed.
Spike glanced at the letter on the table, but didn’t reach for it. He was enjoying Buffy’s unconscious touch too much to pull away. “How did you get the letter from Dru?” he asked, instead.
“She was waiting outside, not long before dawn. I could sense her there, and went out to talk with her. That’s when she gave it to me. She wanted you to know that she loved you, as much as she was capable of.”
“It’s strange,” Spike mused. “I’ve never received a letter from Dru before.”
Buffy smiled softly. “I have to go. Do you need anything before I leave?”
“No, thanks, Luv. I’m good.” He removed his hand from hers with a wistful look, and reached for the letter. “Arrgg.” Spike immediately dropped his arm to the bed. It hurt like Hell to stretch his body.
Almost before he cried out, Buffy’s hands were on him, helping him recline back on the bed. “Can I check your wounds before I go?” Buffy’s bottom lip was trembling. Her eyes were locked on his chest, where there was a spreading stain of blood on his bandage.
Spike gave his permission with a nod.
“Just let me go get the bandages that Merrick bought today. I’ll be right back.” Buffy left the room in a hurry.
“Here we go.” It wasn’t long before Buffy was back with a bag from a pharmacy. “Can you sit up on your own? I can get Merrick to hold you, if you need help to stay up,” she offered.
“I’ll give it a try on my own,” Spike said, moaning as he moved too quickly, trying to sit up on his own.
In an instant, Buffy was at his side, helping him to sit up. With one hand, she supported the weakened vampire. With the other, she emptied the pharmacy bag out on the bed.
Spike did his best to stay upright, not wanting to appear any weaker in front of Buffy. Working slowly and carefully, she unwrapped the bandages and managed to get most of them off without much trouble. A few had stuck to the wounds, and now, despite Buffy’s best efforts, a few sluggish trails of blood were running down Spike’s torso. “Here. Hold this,” she commanded, getting Spike to put pressure on a bundle of bandages she held against his chest. Buffy was trying to get the bandage off the stake hole in her vampire, but the bandage was firmly stuck to the wound. “I’ll be right back.”
When she returned, she was holding a bowl of warm water and washcloth. As quickly as she could, she wiped down the seeping wounds on his back. Then, very carefully, she dampened the strip of cloth on his chest until she could remove it. The sheeting finally removed, she did her best to clean the injuries before wrapping Spike carefully with sterile surgical pads and gauze. Once his new bandages were in place, Buffy helped Spike to lie down again.
It was easy to see the strain on Spike’s face, though he was doing his best to hide it. Changing his bandages had taken a lot out of the vampire, and Buffy knew he needed rest if he was going to recover. “You should get some more sleep,” Buffy suggested, watching him struggle to stay awake.
Blue eyes opened and studied Buffy’s face. “What about you, Luv? You can’t be rested, spending the night sitting on the floor like that.”
“Um, my place is pretty new. I haven’t even really moved in yet.” Buffy hid her eyes and bit her bottom lip, a slight flush on her cheeks. “I’ve only got two beds, and Merrick is using the other one.”
“I never meant to kick you out of your own bed, Slayer.” Spike gaped at her. “You’re more than welcome to crawl in here with me, Pet.”
“Former Slayer, remember? And I haven’t had a chance to sleep in it yet, so it’s not really my bed,” Buffy admitted. “Are you sure you don’t mind sharing? It should be big enough for the both of us.” Her cheeks grew redder.
“Don’t you worry about me, Miss Former Slayer. There’s definitely room enough for both of us, and if it’s a little tight, that’ll just give us an excuse to snuggle a bit.” Spike tilted his head and nodded, sending a naughty smirk her way.
Obviously flustered now, Buffy picked up the letter from Drusilla. “Maybe you should read this while I’m in the shower.” She handed him the letter, and then headed towards the bathroom.
“Buffy?” She paused for a moment and turned back to Spike. “Thank you.” He couldn’t help the tears in his eyes, even though they made him feel like a ponce. It had been so long since anyone had been so nice and gentle with him, and his emotions were getting the better of him.
She gave him a gentle smile, and then slipped away into the bathroom as Spike tore the envelope open.
Buffy lingered in the shower, to make sure Spike had enough time to read the letter from his Sire. She brushed her teeth, dried her hair, and dressed in silky red pyjamas, before nervously opening the door and heading for the bed. She took a quick look at Spike before lifting the covers. The vampire looked as if he’d had a good cry, and was now sleeping.
Buffy lay down on her side of the bed. She was tempted to move closer to Spike, but didn’t think he’d appreciate her company now, right after reading a farewell letter from Dru. Buffy would love to know exactly what his Sire had written, and she hoped that one day Spike would share the letter with her.
Spike’s eyes were red and a little swollen. He and his Sire had been together for over a hundred years, and Dru had just left town without him. It was completely understandable that he was feeling sad. Buffy wished that she and Spike were closer, so she could comfort him and help him through his loss. As it was, the only thing she could do was give him space and hope that everything would eventually turn out right.
Spike was lying on his back, which gave Buffy a good view of his face. She fell asleep with her hands under her chin, her face turned to look at him.
Spike was awake when Buffy returned to the bedroom after her shower. He’d pretended to sleep, trying to avoid any conversation with his host. He just wasn’t up to answering any questions about Dru’s letter right now. He’d been relieved when she bought his ruse, and hoped that she had other things on her mind when she woke up. She was young, and young people were curious, but he really didn’t think he’d be ready to talk about his letter from Dru anytime soon.
Dru had left town, left him. It was final. They were over...just like that. What was he supposed to do now? He had his whole unlife in front of him, but he felt like a lost child.
Spike knew he wouldn’t last long, just drifting along. He needed to find a purpose for his existence, a reason to get up in the evening and a goal to work for. He turned his head, studying the petite blonde lying on the pillow beside him. She was a cute little thing, with her golden hair and her bee-stung lips. Unconsciously, he licked his lips, but then immediately chastised himself. She was so young. Way too young for him.
Recognizing the tingling in his lower extremities, Spike groaned and turned his eyes to the ceiling, determined to ignore the tenting blankets. It was a good thing that Buffy was asleep. She didn’t need to be exposed to his lust, not at her age. It was bad enough that Angelus was after her, she didn’t need to contend with Spike’s inappropriate feelings as well.
Spike sighed deeply. He had no idea what to do with his life now, and no clue where to go when he was healed well enough to be on his way. What he really wanted was to stay right where he was, in Buffy’s bed, with the Slayer snuggled up next to him. In truth, it was the only plan that really held any appeal for him.
Spike fell asleep finally, dreams of a future with Buffy drifting through his mind. They would live together in her home, and Spike would spend his time loving the petite blonde powerhouse and helping her perform her sacred duty. He wouldn’t even mind living off bagged blood, if that’s what it took to make the relationship work. Already, in the short time he’d been with Buffy, he’d realized that bagged blood wasn’t that bad, as long as it was human and served at the right temperature.
It was only a dream, an impossible dream, but it was such a nice one. Spike continued to sleep, a contented smile on his face.
Spike woke to the sensation of being snuggled in a soft, fluffy, warm cloud. It took a few moments for his scattered thoughts to collect and interpret his cloud to be someone’s bed. He wiggled his toes, trying to gather more information without opening his eyes and risking the dissolution of this lovely dream world. Hmmmm...silk sheets? Wherever Spike was, it felt good, but he knew there weren‘t any silk sheets at the factory.
His toes stopped wiggling, but his eyes stayed closed. Spike knew he was in a nice bed and, after trying to take a deep breath, he knew that his torso had been wrapped with bandages. Someone had taken care of him. Guess that took Dru off the list of possible rescuers. Spike had always taken care of his Sire in the past, but she had never returned the courtesy. There was something else niggling at the corner of his consciousness...warmth? Not just the warmth he felt from being under blankets, but a specific warmth. On his hand? That was it. One of his hands was definitely warmer than the other.
Suddenly, Spike’s eyes popped open. He remembered Angelus, and pain, and Dru telling him she wasn’t going to save him, and more pain, and then...Buffy Summers? Surely his mind was playing tricks on him now, but he was almost positive that it had been the Slayer that had saved him, releasing him from his chains and bringing him to her home. She’d fed him through the night, and looked after his injuries. It was the only explanation for the situation he found himself in now.
Spike wanted a bit more information about his new location. He forced himself to quiet and focus, and was able to pick up two human heartbeats. One was quite close by, and one was in another room. Thinking of heartbeats got him thinking of body heat, and that reminded him that he had a hand that was considerably warmer than the rest of his body. He looked down, and realized that his left hand was lying on his stomach, but his right hand was pulled away from his body and was securely held by none other than the Slayer, Buffy Summers.
The former Slayer was sitting on the floor beside the bed, and appeared to be sound asleep, with her head on top of his blankets, and his hand securely wrapped in one of her own. Spike couldn’t get his head around the level of trust that she displayed, believing in her own safety, as well as that of the other human in the building.
Spike’s eyes sparkled with suppressed tears. He’d never had anyone place that much trust in him, except perhaps his mother, so very many years ago. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this woman was safe with him, and he promised that he would never harm the little blonde or those she called hers.
Spike knew he had been on the verge of falling in love with Buffy before Angel lost his soul. She may be the Slayer...well, former Slayer...but Spike was falling fast. It didn’t matter how wrong their relationship was. He was used to colouring outside of the lines, and he delighted in choosing to make his own way, free of the constraints of society, both demon and human. Knowing that the former Slayer had rescued him, Spike considered his complete and utter devotion to the blonde just a matter of time. One kind word, one soft caress, and he would be hers forever.
With considerable effort, Spike raised his left hand until he could gently caress a strand of Buffy’s golden hair. It hurt like Hell, and brought tears to his eyes, but he just had to touch her. The soft glide of her hair as it ran through his fingers brought him comfort and confirmed that he wasn’t just dreaming. It wasn’t long before Spike drifted into a healing sleep, Buffy’s hair still wrapped around his fingers.
When Buffy woke, she tried to stretch her stiff body, stopping abruptly when she felt the tug on her scalp. Curious, she smiled at the sight when she discovered Spike’s fingers tangled in her hair. Carefully, not wanting to wake him, she lifted his hand and removed her hair, before placing a gentle kiss on his palm and returning his hand to the blanket.
What Buffy didn’t know, was that Spike had been awake when she stirred. He didn’t have enough time to get his hand untangled from her hair, and was holding his breath, hoping that she wouldn’t stake him for touching her. He was hoping that she’d think he’d done it in his sleep, and wouldn’t be angry with him.
As the door clicked shut behind Buffy, Spike was unable to control himself any longer, and tears began to leak from under his lashes. No one but his mother had ever touched him so tenderly. Emotionally exhausted, Spike fell back to sleep, the memory of Buffy’s touch forever in his heart. He didn’t know it, but the future he longed for, but considered unreachable, might actually be within his grasp.
Hours later, Spike woke again, this time to an empty room. Looking around, he decided there really wasn’t much to see. To the right of the bed was a large fireplace, and he could see a sliding door that led out to a balcony. To the left was a closed door that he guessed led to an en-suite bathroom. The wall directly in front of the bed also had a door, and Spike thought that door must lead out to the rest of the house. The wall to the left and the wall in front of the bed were covered with floor to ceiling wood panelling, and the floor was done in a similar wood, with some kind of rug under the bed. There wasn’t much evidence of Buffy in the room, just a faint, lingering trace of her scent, almost overpowered by the smell of fresh paint and carpet. It was then that Spike remembered Buffy telling him that she was renovating her home, and that he would always be welcome and safe there.
The door in front of the bed opened slowly. Feeling a little vulnerable, Spike pulled the blankets up over his chest, and looked suspiciously at the door, prepared to move at the first sign of danger.
Moving slowly and quietly, just in case the vampire in her bed was still asleep, Buffy pushed the door open, a mug of warm blood in her hand. “You’re awake! How are you doing?”
“I...um, thank you. I’m feeling better.” It wasn’t normal for Spike to feel shy, but something about this girl brought out that side of his personality. He had a hard time looking her in the eye, and instead focused on the mug she was holding.
Seeing where his attention lay, Buffy handed him the mug with a big smile. “I hope it’s warm enough. I had to answer the phone, and Merrick is in the shower, so it had to sit for a minute in the microwave.”
“Didn’t mean to be such a bother.” Spike’s fragile smile faded as he bent his head over the mug. Of course she isn’t free, you git. She’s got a live-in boyfriend. He should have known better than to think a woman like Buffy would be unclaimed. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
Buffy quickly noticed the change in Spike’s demeanour. His smile faded, and his shoulders began to slump. She wondered what had happened. Had she already done or said something wrong? She felt like running away and hiding somewhere so she could cry her eyes out. Why did she always do the wrong thing around Spike? “I’ll get Merrick to look in on you in a little while. I’ve got some things I have to do now.”
“It’s okay. Don’t bother your boyfriend. I’ll be out of your hair as soon as it’s dark. Angelus may not be happy about it, but I’m sure Dru will take care of me.”’
Buffy was confused by the look in his eyes when he briefly glanced at her. “Boyfriend?” she asked him. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Spike’s head snapped up and suddenly he was all about the eye contact. “What about that guy you just mentioned? Merrick?”
“He’s not my boyfriend, Spike, but he is a very close friend. He lives here with me.” Buffy looked down, trying to decide how much she should tell him. The decision was an easy one; she couldn’t lie to him. If they were going to have a relationship in this time, she wanted openness and honesty right from the start. “The Powers That Be knew that I cared for him and that he had never betrayed me, so when they needed someone to talk me into coming back and taking care of something important, they sent him.” Buffy was nervous, wondering how Spike as going to react to what she had to share with him.
Spike cleared his throat, drawing Buffy’s attention back to his face. “Did you come back to take care of Angelus? Preferably by staking his perfectly coiffed self?” Spike couldn’t’ help the hopeful look he sent Buffy’s way.
“I’ve already taken care of Angelus,” Buffy said with a smile. “He won’t bother anyone, ever again.”
The smile Spike immediately sent her started to fade. “Dru?”
Buffy took his hand, as she hurried to reassure him. “Dru is safe. She’s undead and well. Angelus is Angel again, and this time his soul is permanent.” Buffy’s thumb was gently rubbing Spike’s wrist to reassure him. She didn’t seem to notice, but Spike did.
“Drusilla stopped by while you were sleeping. She left a letter here for you, whenever you feel strong enough to read it. It’s on the bedside table.” She nodded to the small table beside the bed.
Spike glanced at the letter on the table, but didn’t reach for it. He was enjoying Buffy’s unconscious touch too much to pull away. “How did you get the letter from Dru?” he asked, instead.
“She was waiting outside, not long before dawn. I could sense her there, and went out to talk with her. That’s when she gave it to me. She wanted you to know that she loved you, as much as she was capable of.”
“It’s strange,” Spike mused. “I’ve never received a letter from Dru before.”
Buffy smiled softly. “I have to go. Do you need anything before I leave?”
“No, thanks, Luv. I’m good.” He removed his hand from hers with a wistful look, and reached for the letter. “Arrgg.” Spike immediately dropped his arm to the bed. It hurt like Hell to stretch his body.
Almost before he cried out, Buffy’s hands were on him, helping him recline back on the bed. “Can I check your wounds before I go?” Buffy’s bottom lip was trembling. Her eyes were locked on his chest, where there was a spreading stain of blood on his bandage.
Spike gave his permission with a nod.
“Just let me go get the bandages that Merrick bought today. I’ll be right back.” Buffy left the room in a hurry.
“Here we go.” It wasn’t long before Buffy was back with a bag from a pharmacy. “Can you sit up on your own? I can get Merrick to hold you, if you need help to stay up,” she offered.
“I’ll give it a try on my own,” Spike said, moaning as he moved too quickly, trying to sit up on his own.
In an instant, Buffy was at his side, helping him to sit up. With one hand, she supported the weakened vampire. With the other, she emptied the pharmacy bag out on the bed.
Spike did his best to stay upright, not wanting to appear any weaker in front of Buffy. Working slowly and carefully, she unwrapped the bandages and managed to get most of them off without much trouble. A few had stuck to the wounds, and now, despite Buffy’s best efforts, a few sluggish trails of blood were running down Spike’s torso. “Here. Hold this,” she commanded, getting Spike to put pressure on a bundle of bandages she held against his chest. Buffy was trying to get the bandage off the stake hole in her vampire, but the bandage was firmly stuck to the wound. “I’ll be right back.”
When she returned, she was holding a bowl of warm water and washcloth. As quickly as she could, she wiped down the seeping wounds on his back. Then, very carefully, she dampened the strip of cloth on his chest until she could remove it. The sheeting finally removed, she did her best to clean the injuries before wrapping Spike carefully with sterile surgical pads and gauze. Once his new bandages were in place, Buffy helped Spike to lie down again.
It was easy to see the strain on Spike’s face, though he was doing his best to hide it. Changing his bandages had taken a lot out of the vampire, and Buffy knew he needed rest if he was going to recover. “You should get some more sleep,” Buffy suggested, watching him struggle to stay awake.
Blue eyes opened and studied Buffy’s face. “What about you, Luv? You can’t be rested, spending the night sitting on the floor like that.”
“Um, my place is pretty new. I haven’t even really moved in yet.” Buffy hid her eyes and bit her bottom lip, a slight flush on her cheeks. “I’ve only got two beds, and Merrick is using the other one.”
“I never meant to kick you out of your own bed, Slayer.” Spike gaped at her. “You’re more than welcome to crawl in here with me, Pet.”
“Former Slayer, remember? And I haven’t had a chance to sleep in it yet, so it’s not really my bed,” Buffy admitted. “Are you sure you don’t mind sharing? It should be big enough for the both of us.” Her cheeks grew redder.
“Don’t you worry about me, Miss Former Slayer. There’s definitely room enough for both of us, and if it’s a little tight, that’ll just give us an excuse to snuggle a bit.” Spike tilted his head and nodded, sending a naughty smirk her way.
Obviously flustered now, Buffy picked up the letter from Drusilla. “Maybe you should read this while I’m in the shower.” She handed him the letter, and then headed towards the bathroom.
“Buffy?” She paused for a moment and turned back to Spike. “Thank you.” He couldn’t help the tears in his eyes, even though they made him feel like a ponce. It had been so long since anyone had been so nice and gentle with him, and his emotions were getting the better of him.
She gave him a gentle smile, and then slipped away into the bathroom as Spike tore the envelope open.
Buffy lingered in the shower, to make sure Spike had enough time to read the letter from his Sire. She brushed her teeth, dried her hair, and dressed in silky red pyjamas, before nervously opening the door and heading for the bed. She took a quick look at Spike before lifting the covers. The vampire looked as if he’d had a good cry, and was now sleeping.
Buffy lay down on her side of the bed. She was tempted to move closer to Spike, but didn’t think he’d appreciate her company now, right after reading a farewell letter from Dru. Buffy would love to know exactly what his Sire had written, and she hoped that one day Spike would share the letter with her.
Spike’s eyes were red and a little swollen. He and his Sire had been together for over a hundred years, and Dru had just left town without him. It was completely understandable that he was feeling sad. Buffy wished that she and Spike were closer, so she could comfort him and help him through his loss. As it was, the only thing she could do was give him space and hope that everything would eventually turn out right.
Spike was lying on his back, which gave Buffy a good view of his face. She fell asleep with her hands under her chin, her face turned to look at him.
Spike was awake when Buffy returned to the bedroom after her shower. He’d pretended to sleep, trying to avoid any conversation with his host. He just wasn’t up to answering any questions about Dru’s letter right now. He’d been relieved when she bought his ruse, and hoped that she had other things on her mind when she woke up. She was young, and young people were curious, but he really didn’t think he’d be ready to talk about his letter from Dru anytime soon.
Dru had left town, left him. It was final. They were over...just like that. What was he supposed to do now? He had his whole unlife in front of him, but he felt like a lost child.
Spike knew he wouldn’t last long, just drifting along. He needed to find a purpose for his existence, a reason to get up in the evening and a goal to work for. He turned his head, studying the petite blonde lying on the pillow beside him. She was a cute little thing, with her golden hair and her bee-stung lips. Unconsciously, he licked his lips, but then immediately chastised himself. She was so young. Way too young for him.
Recognizing the tingling in his lower extremities, Spike groaned and turned his eyes to the ceiling, determined to ignore the tenting blankets. It was a good thing that Buffy was asleep. She didn’t need to be exposed to his lust, not at her age. It was bad enough that Angelus was after her, she didn’t need to contend with Spike’s inappropriate feelings as well.
Spike sighed deeply. He had no idea what to do with his life now, and no clue where to go when he was healed well enough to be on his way. What he really wanted was to stay right where he was, in Buffy’s bed, with the Slayer snuggled up next to him. In truth, it was the only plan that really held any appeal for him.
Spike fell asleep finally, dreams of a future with Buffy drifting through his mind. They would live together in her home, and Spike would spend his time loving the petite blonde powerhouse and helping her perform her sacred duty. He wouldn’t even mind living off bagged blood, if that’s what it took to make the relationship work. Already, in the short time he’d been with Buffy, he’d realized that bagged blood wasn’t that bad, as long as it was human and served at the right temperature.
It was only a dream, an impossible dream, but it was such a nice one. Spike continued to sleep, a contented smile on his face.
Time to Get Cleaned Up
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
When Spike woke up, he was alone in the bed. He could hear the shower running, and it wasn’t long before Buffy came out of the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a white top.
“Morning, Spike,” she smiled brightly. “How are you today?”
“Better, I think. I haven’t really tried moving much.” Spike grimaced as he shifted on the bed. “Maybe not quite ready to wrestle a Fyarl yet, but better.” The vampire’s eyes followed Buffy as she disappeared into a walk-in closet he hadn’t noticed before. It had sliding doors that were almost invisible in the panelling, and he knew anyone not aware of its location would easily miss it.
Buffy stood in the doorway, brushing her hair. “Do you want me to change your bandages now, or can they wait for later?”
Spike looked down at his body. There was no fresh blood that he could see, but one sniff told him that the smell of old blood was still strong. Surprisingly, there was nothing but the barest lingering scent of his Grandsire. “I think it can wait, but I’d really like to take a shower and put some clothes on.”
Buffy smiled. “You don’t smell bad, so no hurry. I can go to the factory while I’m out, and I’ll grab all your stuff.” She disappeared into the closet.
“It’s not about how I smell, really. I haven’t had a shower since before Angelus decided to entertain himself by carving me up,” he said a little louder, making sure that she heard him.
Buffy came back into the bedroom, closing the hidden door behind her. She busied herself with her shoes, and avoided looking directly at the vampire in her bed. “Well, you...yeah. Um...I gave you a bath before I bandaged you up the first time. You were kind of out of it then, so you probably don’t remember.” She still didn’t look up at him.
Spike choked, and his eyes opened wide. That was something he hadn’t expected. “Couldn’t you have had that guy do it? Merrick...Wasn’t that what you called him?”
At that, Buffy did look up with a slight pout. “He was out getting blood for you, and I didn’t really mind.”
“I...It’s just...I don’t think it was really appropriate. You’re far too young to be alone with a naked man, even if he is wounded and out cold.”
At that, Buffy couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not as young as you think I am,” she choked out, before finally calming down. “Besides, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” she added with a smirk reminiscent of a certain blonde vampire.
Meanwhile, feeling unsettled by her laughter, Spike had pulled the blankets up all the way to his chin. “Seen before?” He raised an eyebrow at the young woman brave enough to tease him.
Buffy couldn’t control the blush that coloured her cheeks.
Now, instead of being bashful, Spike’s whole demeanour had changed. He patted the bed beside his hip as he purred at her, “Hmmm. I think you need to come over here and tell me more about that.”
“Don’t worry, I will. I just thought you’d appreciate some clothes first, so you can get out of bed and check out the rest of the house. I hope you’re not mad, but I had to cut your pants off. They were stuck to you, and I didn’t know if there was more damage that I just couldn’t see, or if it was dried blood that had dripped down from your back.” Buffy smiled as she apologized, hoping that Spike would understand. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll stop by the factory today and grab whatever clothes look like yours. You’ll have to let me know if there’s anything else you want me to bring back.”
“Sure, Pet. I can play nice for now, but I expect your promise that, when I’m feeling a little better, you’re going to fill me in on just how it is that you’ve seen my private parts before.”
Buffy nodded. “When you’re up and about again, we’ll sit down and have a nice, long chat.” One more trip to the closet, and then Buffy was back with a hair band that matched her shirt. “I’m going to be out for a while. Most of the work is done here, but the place wasn’t set up to live in yet. I need to do some shopping. Should I ask Merrick to bring you another mug of blood?” Buffy wrapped the band around her hair, until she had a flirty ponytail that bounced whenever she moved.
“That would be good, Pet. See you when you get back.”
“That you will.” She smiled softly at him, before leaving the room.
There was something in her eyes when she looked at him. Something he’d never seen before. He couldn’t define it, but he knew he wanted to see that look directed his way again. There was definitely something about this former Slayer, something that drew him in and snared him. Spike was still thinking of Buffy and that look in her eye, long after she’d passed through the door of the warehouse and headed off to shop.
The vampire’s musing was interrupted a short time later by someone knocking on the bedroom door. Merrick opened the door slightly. “Can I come in? Buffy said you needed some more blood, so I’ve got a mug here for you.”
“Gotta love room service. Come on in?” Not without some pain, Spike pulled his body up to lean against the headboard.
Merrick came into the room, carrying a tray with a teapot, teacups, a mug, and all the fixings for tea. “I thought you might enjoy a cup of tea, after you’ve eaten.”
“That’d be nice. It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent cuppa. Don’t suppose you’ve got any Weetabix, do you?” Spike asked Merrick, with a hopeful look in his eyes.
“Sorry. I’ve only got tea, cream, and sugar in the kitchen, and that’s because Clem or one of his guys left them there.” Merrick placed the tray on the floor near the bed.
“Clem?” Spike took the mug that Merrick offered him, and raised it to his nose for a sniff.
Merrick bent down to pour himself a cup of tea. “He’s the demon that Buffy hired to oversee the remodelling. Would you like me to pour your tea now, or wait for a bit?”
“No time like the present. My mug is already empty,” laughed Spike.
“Do you need more?” Merrick asked, as he passed Spike a full teacup in exchange for the vampire’s dirty mug.
“Not right now. Thanks, but I could probably use some in an hour or so. My body is a bit more needy than usual, probably because it’s trying to heal. Where did you get the blood, anyway?” Spike asked. “You’re aware that it’s human, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. Buffy specifically asked me to get human when she told me to go buy blood for you.” The Watcher met Spike’s eyes calmly.
“Well, well...Did she now?” Spike wasn’t sure what to make of Merrick’s response.
Merrick smiled. “In fact, she told me to go rob the blood bank, if I had to.”
“That’s just not right,” Spike mused.
“What’s not right?” Merrick seated himself at the end of the bed, taking care not to spill his tea.
“A Slayer feeding a vampire anything but a stake is crazy enough, but I’ve got one that sets me up with human blood. I don’t get it.” Spike held his tea cup in one hand, pinkie finger politely extended, and held the saucer underneath in his other hand.
Merrick laughed, and then mysteriously said to Spike, “She’s not a Slayer.”
“Yeah, I don’t get that either,” Spike scowled, quite frustrated. “She isn’t even afraid of me, the Big Bad, Mr Slayer of Slayers.” He shook his head.
“She’s had quite a history, but that’s for her to share with you. I can tell you though, that she has her reasons for acting the way she does. Being allowed to retire as Slayer, that’s a reward from the Powers for all that she’s endured. A reward, and an apology, of sorts, I think.”
“What does that mean?” Spike demanded.
Merrick just looked at Spike, smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.
“You won’t tell me anything?”
“Sorry. It’s not my story, and I know Buffy wants to tell you herself.” Merrick gathered Spike’s cup, and prepared to stand up.
“You don’t have to leave yet, do you? Why don’t you tell me something about yourself, instead?”
Merrick couldn’t resist the unspoken plea in the vampire’s eyes, and sat back on the bed, prepared to share with the lonely vampire. By the time Buffy returned an hour later, the two men were well on their way to becoming friends.
“Hi.” Buffy looked from Merrick to Spike, and smiled.
Spike smiled back, and nodded a greeting.
“Hey, Buffy. You took your time in town. Was there a shoe sale at the mall?” Merrick teased the blushing blonde.
“The stores were busy, and it took ages to get my stuff and pay. Plus, I had to go to the factory for Spike’s stuff.” Buffy leaned against the door frame.
“How did that go, Pet? Any trouble?” Spike arched a brow.
“It was fine. There were a few minions at the factory, but they scattered when I walked in. I didn’t bother chasing them.” She shrugged a shoulder.
Spike and Merrick kept staring at her.
“What? They didn’t bother me. I thought it was only fair to let Kendra finish them off.” With a smile, she left the doorway for a few seconds. “Here.” She was back, and placing a shopping bag at the end of the bed. “I grabbed all the clothes I could find in your room,” she told Spike.
“How did you know it was my room?” Spike was curious and asked as he poked around in the bag.
“One sec...” Buffy said, before she darted out of the room again. When she came back, she was wearing Spike’s coat. “I found this on a chair in one of the rooms. That, and a closet full of nothing but black, and I figured I was in the right place.”
“Looks good on you, Luv.” In truth, seeing the little blonde as a vision in black leather had Spike’s inner bad boy standing at attention.
Buffy smiled brightly at the compliment. “It suits you too. Very sexy.”
“Is that right?” Spike asked, as he looked at Buffy from under his lashes and ran his tongue over his teeth.
Buffy returned Spike’s flirty look with one of his own, before she took the coat off and tossed it on the bed. “I’d better have a look at your wounds now.”
“Piss off. I can do it myself. Don’t need a nursemaid...I’m not a child,” Spike said harshly. He didn’t want the ex-Slayer to think he was a wuss. The rules in the real world were simple: The strong survive, and the weak don’t.
It would seem that Buffy really had grown wiser. This time, instead of reacting with anger and hurt feelings, she was able to take a deep breath and then respond in a soft voice. “Are you flexible enough to check your own back?” she asked. She didn’t want to embarrass him, but she was determined that her vampire would receive the best of care.
Spike opened his mouth a couple of times, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to admit she was right and he’d overreacted. Finally, he settled for a teasing, “You just want an excuse to ogle my sexy body,” smirk firmly in place.
“You wish,” Buffy laughed, as she walked closer to the bed.
“Okay, I think that’s my cue to leave the two of you alone,” Merrick said, with a smirk of his own. He collected the tray of teacups and then left, closing the door behind himself.
Buffy checked Spike’s bandages, looking for fresh blood. She could see some older stains over the stake wound, and in a few places on his back, but nothing new. “Do you still want to take a shower?”
“A shower would be great. I may be dead, but I’ve got standards. I’ll need that bag of clothes though...I’m not running around here starkers, even if it is just a trip to the bathroom.”
“You might as well use the sheet. I’m going to change them anyway.” She grabbed Spike’s bag of clothing and headed to the bathroom with it.
Spike raised his voice, so she could hear him over the sound of the shower she had started. “You know we have to talk, Buffy!”
“I know. Don’t worry; I’m not going to forget. Let’s just save it for later, when you’re feeling better.” Buffy wished she could stop time right then, before anything could go wrong.
Spike was standing just inside the bathroom, and was watching Buffy. Suddenly, she’d looked so sad, though Spike couldn’t see a reason for it. “Any specific reason why we’re not talking about it now?” he asked, with a tilt of his head.
Buffy’s hair hid her face. “Well, part of it is that I’m afraid of how you’re going to react to what I have to tell you. I also want to make sure you’re all healed up, so that you can leave, if you decide you want to. For now, you still need someone to take care of you and, if you’ll let me, I’d like to be that person.”
“It can’t be that bad.” Spike slowly sat down on the side of the bath tub. He took a quick look around before commenting, “Nice bathroom.”
“Thanks. I’d planned to do a bit of decorating in here, but I think the basics are nice. Now, can you lift your arms a bit?” Buffy tried to ease off the bandages, but they were stuck to the vampire’s flesh in some spots. She used a pair of hair scissors to trim as much of the cloth off as possible. “Okay, put your arms down. You’re stuck in a few spots. I know you asked for a shower, but how about a soak in the tub instead? That way, we can let the last of the bandages soak off.”
“Sounds good, Pet. I could use a good soak.”
Buffy carefully removed the gauze pad on his chest. The hole made by the plastic stake was starting to heal, but still looked painful. She swallowed, and then sent a brave smile to Spike. “It doesn’t look that bad anymore.”
Spike bowed his head as much as possible, trying to get a good look at the wound. “A couple more days and I’ll be right as rain. Don’t fret about it, Luv.”
Buffy gently touched the red edge with her fingertips. “Can you get into the tub on your own, or do you need a hand?”
Spike tilted his chin, lifted a brow, and just glared at her.
“Right...you think I’m too young to cope with the sight of someone as manly as yourself. Forgot about that.” She chuckled. “Fine. Get yourself into the tub, and I’ll go grab you some towels.” Buffy left the room, still chuckling.
Spike carefully removed the sheet that was protecting his dignity, after making sure that Buffy had left the bedroom and wouldn’t be popping her head back into the bathroom anytime soon. His wounds had stopped bleeding, and now he needed to move slowly and carefully, to make sure he didn’t rip anything open again. He sighed when he could finally lie back in the tub and relax in the bubble bath that Buffy had prepared for him. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he could smell Buffy’s soap. Vanilla...it was now one of his favourite scents.
He was almost asleep when Buffy lightly stroked his cheek. Her touch came as a shock, and he immediately sat up, cracking his forehead onto her chin. The both cried out in surprise.
As they sat there, Buffy rubbing her chin, and Spike rubbing his forehead, they couldn’t help but laugh. Spike reached out a hand, and tucked a strand of Buffy’s hair behind her ear, and they smiled shyly at each other.
“I brought you a cup of hot chocolate.” Buffy took a small tray from the bathroom counter and placed it on the edge of the tub.
“And you even brought little marshmallows for me,” Spike said with a tender smile. “You must know me very well. My fondness for them is a closely guarded secret.”
“I try.” Buffy used a hand to gently cup Spike’s cheek, looking deeply into his eyes.
To Spike, it felt as if she was trying to look right down into his soul. The soul he didn’t have. “You know I’m an evil, soulless, monster...right, Pet?”
“Don’t worry, Spike. I know exactly what you are.”
“You do, do you? I’m not changing for you. Not getting a soul, like Peaches.” Though he was protesting, the vampire leaned into Buffy’s touch, like a cat being stroked.
“I would never ask you to get one. You don’t need it.” Buffy leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Spike’s lips. Before he could react, she stood up. “Drink your cocoa while it’s still warm.”
Spike’s eyes followed her as she turned and left the room. There was something about this young slip of a girl that he couldn’t ignore. Once Buffy had retreated down the hallway, Spike sank back into the warm water and sipped at his hot chocolate.
Spike might be a ‘spur of the moment’ kind of guy, but he recognized that something big was changing in his life. Where or what he was going to be by this time next week, the vampire didn’t know. One thing was for sure, though. Buffy was willing to be right there with him.
She’s shown him that much with the kiss she’d given him.
Thinking of that quick kiss had Spike licking his lips and then groaning. Her flavour was still on them. He tipped his head back, and closed his eyes in frustration. The taste of the sexy little ex-Slayer made him hard. Hell, just the thought of her was almost more than he could stand, and he knew he was going to have to take himself in hand if he was going to make it back to the bedroom without embarrassing himself.
When Spike woke up, he was alone in the bed. He could hear the shower running, and it wasn’t long before Buffy came out of the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a white top.
“Morning, Spike,” she smiled brightly. “How are you today?”
“Better, I think. I haven’t really tried moving much.” Spike grimaced as he shifted on the bed. “Maybe not quite ready to wrestle a Fyarl yet, but better.” The vampire’s eyes followed Buffy as she disappeared into a walk-in closet he hadn’t noticed before. It had sliding doors that were almost invisible in the panelling, and he knew anyone not aware of its location would easily miss it.
Buffy stood in the doorway, brushing her hair. “Do you want me to change your bandages now, or can they wait for later?”
Spike looked down at his body. There was no fresh blood that he could see, but one sniff told him that the smell of old blood was still strong. Surprisingly, there was nothing but the barest lingering scent of his Grandsire. “I think it can wait, but I’d really like to take a shower and put some clothes on.”
Buffy smiled. “You don’t smell bad, so no hurry. I can go to the factory while I’m out, and I’ll grab all your stuff.” She disappeared into the closet.
“It’s not about how I smell, really. I haven’t had a shower since before Angelus decided to entertain himself by carving me up,” he said a little louder, making sure that she heard him.
Buffy came back into the bedroom, closing the hidden door behind her. She busied herself with her shoes, and avoided looking directly at the vampire in her bed. “Well, you...yeah. Um...I gave you a bath before I bandaged you up the first time. You were kind of out of it then, so you probably don’t remember.” She still didn’t look up at him.
Spike choked, and his eyes opened wide. That was something he hadn’t expected. “Couldn’t you have had that guy do it? Merrick...Wasn’t that what you called him?”
At that, Buffy did look up with a slight pout. “He was out getting blood for you, and I didn’t really mind.”
“I...It’s just...I don’t think it was really appropriate. You’re far too young to be alone with a naked man, even if he is wounded and out cold.”
At that, Buffy couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not as young as you think I am,” she choked out, before finally calming down. “Besides, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” she added with a smirk reminiscent of a certain blonde vampire.
Meanwhile, feeling unsettled by her laughter, Spike had pulled the blankets up all the way to his chin. “Seen before?” He raised an eyebrow at the young woman brave enough to tease him.
Buffy couldn’t control the blush that coloured her cheeks.
Now, instead of being bashful, Spike’s whole demeanour had changed. He patted the bed beside his hip as he purred at her, “Hmmm. I think you need to come over here and tell me more about that.”
“Don’t worry, I will. I just thought you’d appreciate some clothes first, so you can get out of bed and check out the rest of the house. I hope you’re not mad, but I had to cut your pants off. They were stuck to you, and I didn’t know if there was more damage that I just couldn’t see, or if it was dried blood that had dripped down from your back.” Buffy smiled as she apologized, hoping that Spike would understand. “If it’s okay with you, I’ll stop by the factory today and grab whatever clothes look like yours. You’ll have to let me know if there’s anything else you want me to bring back.”
“Sure, Pet. I can play nice for now, but I expect your promise that, when I’m feeling a little better, you’re going to fill me in on just how it is that you’ve seen my private parts before.”
Buffy nodded. “When you’re up and about again, we’ll sit down and have a nice, long chat.” One more trip to the closet, and then Buffy was back with a hair band that matched her shirt. “I’m going to be out for a while. Most of the work is done here, but the place wasn’t set up to live in yet. I need to do some shopping. Should I ask Merrick to bring you another mug of blood?” Buffy wrapped the band around her hair, until she had a flirty ponytail that bounced whenever she moved.
“That would be good, Pet. See you when you get back.”
“That you will.” She smiled softly at him, before leaving the room.
There was something in her eyes when she looked at him. Something he’d never seen before. He couldn’t define it, but he knew he wanted to see that look directed his way again. There was definitely something about this former Slayer, something that drew him in and snared him. Spike was still thinking of Buffy and that look in her eye, long after she’d passed through the door of the warehouse and headed off to shop.
The vampire’s musing was interrupted a short time later by someone knocking on the bedroom door. Merrick opened the door slightly. “Can I come in? Buffy said you needed some more blood, so I’ve got a mug here for you.”
“Gotta love room service. Come on in?” Not without some pain, Spike pulled his body up to lean against the headboard.
Merrick came into the room, carrying a tray with a teapot, teacups, a mug, and all the fixings for tea. “I thought you might enjoy a cup of tea, after you’ve eaten.”
“That’d be nice. It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent cuppa. Don’t suppose you’ve got any Weetabix, do you?” Spike asked Merrick, with a hopeful look in his eyes.
“Sorry. I’ve only got tea, cream, and sugar in the kitchen, and that’s because Clem or one of his guys left them there.” Merrick placed the tray on the floor near the bed.
“Clem?” Spike took the mug that Merrick offered him, and raised it to his nose for a sniff.
Merrick bent down to pour himself a cup of tea. “He’s the demon that Buffy hired to oversee the remodelling. Would you like me to pour your tea now, or wait for a bit?”
“No time like the present. My mug is already empty,” laughed Spike.
“Do you need more?” Merrick asked, as he passed Spike a full teacup in exchange for the vampire’s dirty mug.
“Not right now. Thanks, but I could probably use some in an hour or so. My body is a bit more needy than usual, probably because it’s trying to heal. Where did you get the blood, anyway?” Spike asked. “You’re aware that it’s human, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. Buffy specifically asked me to get human when she told me to go buy blood for you.” The Watcher met Spike’s eyes calmly.
“Well, well...Did she now?” Spike wasn’t sure what to make of Merrick’s response.
Merrick smiled. “In fact, she told me to go rob the blood bank, if I had to.”
“That’s just not right,” Spike mused.
“What’s not right?” Merrick seated himself at the end of the bed, taking care not to spill his tea.
“A Slayer feeding a vampire anything but a stake is crazy enough, but I’ve got one that sets me up with human blood. I don’t get it.” Spike held his tea cup in one hand, pinkie finger politely extended, and held the saucer underneath in his other hand.
Merrick laughed, and then mysteriously said to Spike, “She’s not a Slayer.”
“Yeah, I don’t get that either,” Spike scowled, quite frustrated. “She isn’t even afraid of me, the Big Bad, Mr Slayer of Slayers.” He shook his head.
“She’s had quite a history, but that’s for her to share with you. I can tell you though, that she has her reasons for acting the way she does. Being allowed to retire as Slayer, that’s a reward from the Powers for all that she’s endured. A reward, and an apology, of sorts, I think.”
“What does that mean?” Spike demanded.
Merrick just looked at Spike, smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.
“You won’t tell me anything?”
“Sorry. It’s not my story, and I know Buffy wants to tell you herself.” Merrick gathered Spike’s cup, and prepared to stand up.
“You don’t have to leave yet, do you? Why don’t you tell me something about yourself, instead?”
Merrick couldn’t resist the unspoken plea in the vampire’s eyes, and sat back on the bed, prepared to share with the lonely vampire. By the time Buffy returned an hour later, the two men were well on their way to becoming friends.
“Hi.” Buffy looked from Merrick to Spike, and smiled.
Spike smiled back, and nodded a greeting.
“Hey, Buffy. You took your time in town. Was there a shoe sale at the mall?” Merrick teased the blushing blonde.
“The stores were busy, and it took ages to get my stuff and pay. Plus, I had to go to the factory for Spike’s stuff.” Buffy leaned against the door frame.
“How did that go, Pet? Any trouble?” Spike arched a brow.
“It was fine. There were a few minions at the factory, but they scattered when I walked in. I didn’t bother chasing them.” She shrugged a shoulder.
Spike and Merrick kept staring at her.
“What? They didn’t bother me. I thought it was only fair to let Kendra finish them off.” With a smile, she left the doorway for a few seconds. “Here.” She was back, and placing a shopping bag at the end of the bed. “I grabbed all the clothes I could find in your room,” she told Spike.
“How did you know it was my room?” Spike was curious and asked as he poked around in the bag.
“One sec...” Buffy said, before she darted out of the room again. When she came back, she was wearing Spike’s coat. “I found this on a chair in one of the rooms. That, and a closet full of nothing but black, and I figured I was in the right place.”
“Looks good on you, Luv.” In truth, seeing the little blonde as a vision in black leather had Spike’s inner bad boy standing at attention.
Buffy smiled brightly at the compliment. “It suits you too. Very sexy.”
“Is that right?” Spike asked, as he looked at Buffy from under his lashes and ran his tongue over his teeth.
Buffy returned Spike’s flirty look with one of his own, before she took the coat off and tossed it on the bed. “I’d better have a look at your wounds now.”
“Piss off. I can do it myself. Don’t need a nursemaid...I’m not a child,” Spike said harshly. He didn’t want the ex-Slayer to think he was a wuss. The rules in the real world were simple: The strong survive, and the weak don’t.
It would seem that Buffy really had grown wiser. This time, instead of reacting with anger and hurt feelings, she was able to take a deep breath and then respond in a soft voice. “Are you flexible enough to check your own back?” she asked. She didn’t want to embarrass him, but she was determined that her vampire would receive the best of care.
Spike opened his mouth a couple of times, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to admit she was right and he’d overreacted. Finally, he settled for a teasing, “You just want an excuse to ogle my sexy body,” smirk firmly in place.
“You wish,” Buffy laughed, as she walked closer to the bed.
“Okay, I think that’s my cue to leave the two of you alone,” Merrick said, with a smirk of his own. He collected the tray of teacups and then left, closing the door behind himself.
Buffy checked Spike’s bandages, looking for fresh blood. She could see some older stains over the stake wound, and in a few places on his back, but nothing new. “Do you still want to take a shower?”
“A shower would be great. I may be dead, but I’ve got standards. I’ll need that bag of clothes though...I’m not running around here starkers, even if it is just a trip to the bathroom.”
“You might as well use the sheet. I’m going to change them anyway.” She grabbed Spike’s bag of clothing and headed to the bathroom with it.
Spike raised his voice, so she could hear him over the sound of the shower she had started. “You know we have to talk, Buffy!”
“I know. Don’t worry; I’m not going to forget. Let’s just save it for later, when you’re feeling better.” Buffy wished she could stop time right then, before anything could go wrong.
Spike was standing just inside the bathroom, and was watching Buffy. Suddenly, she’d looked so sad, though Spike couldn’t see a reason for it. “Any specific reason why we’re not talking about it now?” he asked, with a tilt of his head.
Buffy’s hair hid her face. “Well, part of it is that I’m afraid of how you’re going to react to what I have to tell you. I also want to make sure you’re all healed up, so that you can leave, if you decide you want to. For now, you still need someone to take care of you and, if you’ll let me, I’d like to be that person.”
“It can’t be that bad.” Spike slowly sat down on the side of the bath tub. He took a quick look around before commenting, “Nice bathroom.”
“Thanks. I’d planned to do a bit of decorating in here, but I think the basics are nice. Now, can you lift your arms a bit?” Buffy tried to ease off the bandages, but they were stuck to the vampire’s flesh in some spots. She used a pair of hair scissors to trim as much of the cloth off as possible. “Okay, put your arms down. You’re stuck in a few spots. I know you asked for a shower, but how about a soak in the tub instead? That way, we can let the last of the bandages soak off.”
“Sounds good, Pet. I could use a good soak.”
Buffy carefully removed the gauze pad on his chest. The hole made by the plastic stake was starting to heal, but still looked painful. She swallowed, and then sent a brave smile to Spike. “It doesn’t look that bad anymore.”
Spike bowed his head as much as possible, trying to get a good look at the wound. “A couple more days and I’ll be right as rain. Don’t fret about it, Luv.”
Buffy gently touched the red edge with her fingertips. “Can you get into the tub on your own, or do you need a hand?”
Spike tilted his chin, lifted a brow, and just glared at her.
“Right...you think I’m too young to cope with the sight of someone as manly as yourself. Forgot about that.” She chuckled. “Fine. Get yourself into the tub, and I’ll go grab you some towels.” Buffy left the room, still chuckling.
Spike carefully removed the sheet that was protecting his dignity, after making sure that Buffy had left the bedroom and wouldn’t be popping her head back into the bathroom anytime soon. His wounds had stopped bleeding, and now he needed to move slowly and carefully, to make sure he didn’t rip anything open again. He sighed when he could finally lie back in the tub and relax in the bubble bath that Buffy had prepared for him. Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he could smell Buffy’s soap. Vanilla...it was now one of his favourite scents.
He was almost asleep when Buffy lightly stroked his cheek. Her touch came as a shock, and he immediately sat up, cracking his forehead onto her chin. The both cried out in surprise.
As they sat there, Buffy rubbing her chin, and Spike rubbing his forehead, they couldn’t help but laugh. Spike reached out a hand, and tucked a strand of Buffy’s hair behind her ear, and they smiled shyly at each other.
“I brought you a cup of hot chocolate.” Buffy took a small tray from the bathroom counter and placed it on the edge of the tub.
“And you even brought little marshmallows for me,” Spike said with a tender smile. “You must know me very well. My fondness for them is a closely guarded secret.”
“I try.” Buffy used a hand to gently cup Spike’s cheek, looking deeply into his eyes.
To Spike, it felt as if she was trying to look right down into his soul. The soul he didn’t have. “You know I’m an evil, soulless, monster...right, Pet?”
“Don’t worry, Spike. I know exactly what you are.”
“You do, do you? I’m not changing for you. Not getting a soul, like Peaches.” Though he was protesting, the vampire leaned into Buffy’s touch, like a cat being stroked.
“I would never ask you to get one. You don’t need it.” Buffy leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Spike’s lips. Before he could react, she stood up. “Drink your cocoa while it’s still warm.”
Spike’s eyes followed her as she turned and left the room. There was something about this young slip of a girl that he couldn’t ignore. Once Buffy had retreated down the hallway, Spike sank back into the warm water and sipped at his hot chocolate.
Spike might be a ‘spur of the moment’ kind of guy, but he recognized that something big was changing in his life. Where or what he was going to be by this time next week, the vampire didn’t know. One thing was for sure, though. Buffy was willing to be right there with him.
She’s shown him that much with the kiss she’d given him.
Thinking of that quick kiss had Spike licking his lips and then groaning. Her flavour was still on them. He tipped his head back, and closed his eyes in frustration. The taste of the sexy little ex-Slayer made him hard. Hell, just the thought of her was almost more than he could stand, and he knew he was going to have to take himself in hand if he was going to make it back to the bedroom without embarrassing himself.
Making Amends
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Spike had a hard time hauling himself out of the tub and pulling on an old pair of jeans. By the time he made it back to the bedroom, he was exhausted. He dropped down onto the freshly made bed with a groan, and waited patiently for Buffy to apply new bandages.
After holding his arms up so his petite nurse could wrap his chest, Spike was really only able to give a token protest before collapsing under the blankets for a nap. It was all he could do to stay awake long enough to drink the mug of blood that Buffy had prepared for him.
His hostess stayed with him while he emptied his mug. Human blood again. Spike looked at her though his demon’s eyes while he was drinking, daring Buffy to say anything negative. She just smiled that same little smile that she always seemed to be wearing when she looked at him.
One of these days, Spike was going to figure out exactly what that little smile meant. For now though, sleep was calling.
Buffy joined Merrick downstairs, once Spike was sleeping again.
The Watcher was signing packing slips for crates and boxes of different sizes. “What is all this, Buffy?”
“Oh, this is just some of the stuff I ordered when I was in LA. I thought it would be easier to just have everything delivered here, instead of trying to fit it all into my car. Has the furniture store delivery arrived yet?” she asked, as she looked out over the room. There were parcels and boxes scattered all over.
“Let me think...oh, yes! There was some furniture delivered earlier today. I moved the boxes over to the far side of the room. They’re quite large.” Merrick pointed the boxes out.
Buffy crossed the room to investigate, but returned to her Watcher after a few minutes. “Nope. That’s some of my work-out equipment.”
“My goodness, Buffy. Just how much stuff did you order?” Merrick returned a clipboard to the delivery driver that was standing at the door. “And what is this stuff?” The Watcher gave Buffy a copy of the latest waybill.
Buffy looked at the waybill, and then smiled. “This delivery is all electronic stuff. I bought televisions, computers, and stuff like that. You’ll see. Just make sure the boxes go somewhere safe.”
“Why don’t we just set it up now? Put everything where it’s supposed to go, and then we won’t have to move all these boxes around.” Merrick was tired of boxes and delivery drivers already.
“We can’t do that. Most of this stuff needs to be set up on furniture. That’s why I was asking you if it was here yet.” Buffy smiled sweetly at the older man. “Just relax, Merrick. Neither of us is getting any older,” she teased.
“Look around you, Buffy.” Merrick’s arms swept out to encompass the room. “This place is a mess!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll sort through it. We’ve got four empty rooms down here, so we can use them to store anything that doesn’t belong in this room. Okay?” Buffy asked with a raised brow. “It’s only temporary, and it won’t be long before the mess is a thing of the past.”
Merrick looked curiously at his charge for a moment. “Is something wrong, Buffy?”
Buffy closed her eyes, before bowing her head, giving it a little shake, and taking a deep breath. “How can you read me so easily?” She wiggled her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, before looking at her Watcher. “I have to tell him about the future. I can’t keep it a secret and I won’t lie to him, even for his own protection.”
“How much do you intend to tell him?” It was easy for Merrick to see how much stress Buffy was feeling at that moment.
She couldn’t meet his gaze. “Whatever he wants to know. About me, or about him. Or, me and him together,” she said, adding the last in a whisper and looking at some invisible spot on the floor.
Merrick placed two fingers under Buffy’s chin, and gently pulled her head up until he could look into her eyes. “It’ll be okay,” he reassured the terrified young woman.
“You really think so?” Buffy couldn’t’ help the tears that gathered in her eyes. She desperately wanted to believe that everything would be okay in the end. “What about the Powers?”
Merrick gathered his young charge up in his arms for a hug. “Remember, you have the ability to make your own choices now, and I’ve seen the way that Spike looks at you when he thinks nobody is watching. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” He wiped her tears away, and pushed her further into the crowded room. “Now, go and take care of this mess.”
Buffy sent him a grateful smile, before wiping her eyes with the back of her hands and then starting in on the room full of boxes.
There really wasn’t as much as there seemed to be at first, it’s just that what was there covered a lot of space. Buffy carried the television for her bedroom upstairs, but left it outside the room, in the hallway, because she didn’t want to wake Spike up.
The TV for the workout room was going to go on a wall-mounted arm, and it was only when Buffy had all the pieces out of the box that she realized she’d forgotten to get a screwdriver and a drill. She was hoping Merrick had a basic toolbox with him, but if he didn’t, she could always try Clem.
The friendly demon was only a call away, and Buffy knew he’d be happy for any chance to visit.
“Merrick,” she called, as she bounced down the stairs. “Any chance you’ve got a toolbox here? I need a screwdriver and a drill.”
“What have you broken now?” The Watcher’s voice was resigned.
“Why would you automatically assume I broke something?” she asked. Merrick’s mood was deteriorating, ant Buffy wasn’t going to let him bring her down. “And what’s with the bad-moodyness? You were fine an hour ago.”
“I’m sorry, Buffy.” Merrick sighed. “I was planning to drop in and see your mother this afternoon, but every time I try to leave, there’s another delivery at the door.” The Watcher was clearly frustrated.
Buffy giggled. “That would be my fault. I guess I shouldn’t have requested that everything be delivered today. I just thought it would be easier to get it all over with. Here, give me the pen and I’ll take over. You head out and go see my Mom, or do whatever else you want to do,” she said, as she practically pushed him out the door. “Don’t forget to give Mom a hug from me, if you see her.”
Merrick nodded, a blush rising in his cheeks. “I’ve got my phone on, if you need me.
Another delivery truck was pulling up as the Watcher escaped down the driveway. Of course, that was the furniture van, and the sun was going down before Buffy and the two delivery guys had finished unloading all the furniture.
It was getting late, and Buffy was hungry. Tonight she was going to treat herself to Chinese take-out. After picking up her order from the restaurant around the corner, Buffy found a tray and filled it with plates, two soft drinks, a mug of blood, chopsticks, and napkins. Then, take-out bag hanging from one wrist, she carried the tray to her bedroom and nudged open the door. “Knock, knock...time to wake up, Sleepyhead,” she whispered at the lump in her bed. “Time to get up and stuff your stomach. I’ve got a warm mug of O-neg and some spicy wings for you.” She watched as Spike sat up against the headboard and rubbed his eyes.
“What time is it? My internal clock has gone bloody haywire.”
“It’s just a little after sundown. How are you feeling now?” Buffy placed the tray on the bed, and watched Spike test his body by gently stretching and bending at the waist.
“Feels better. Thanks, Kitten. It’s going to take some time though, especially the great big hole in my chest where Angelus staked me.” The vampire touched the spot with his fingertips. “What have you got there?” Spike gestured to the bag Buffy had carefully placed beside the tray.
Moving around until she could sit with her back against the headboard, Buffy replied, “Chinese food. I bought spicy wings for you, but first you need to drink your blood.” She passed the mug of thick, red liquid to Spike.
“Thanks.” Spike took a mouthful, tilting his head to look at Buffy while she laid out their dinner. “You know an awful lot about me. Stuff like what I like to eat and drink, and even that I’d like a hot bath when I got up. Makes me wonder what else you know, and how you know it.” He watched Buffy empty the take-out bag, placing all the little boxes on the bed. He noted that the spicy food was all placed where he could reach it without stretching his back too much. “It bothers me that you know so much about me, and I know so little about you. You won’t’ tell me anything, not even how it is that you know me.” He traded his empty mug for the can of 7-UP that Buffy extended to him.
Buffy smile sadly. She’d always thought it was so ironic, that everyone expected her to be fearless, when really, she was terrified and just hiding it well. “The thought of telling you my story scares me. It’s not pretty, and I’m terrified that you’re going to run for the door once you hear what I’ve got to say. I’m going to be completely honest with you, and I’m going to tell you everything. No lies, no skating over things to make myself look better.” She turned her attention to the tray, and moved a plate closer to Spike. “It’s only right that you have the option of leaving once you’ve heard me out, but I want to make sure you’re completely healed before you do.”
“See? That’s what I’m talking about. That doesn’t make any sense. You know I’m going to leave here and start snacking on the local populace, don’t you? Why didn’t you just stake me when you found me hanging on Angelus’ wall like a bloody piece of art?” Spike was staring intently at Buffy, trying to figure out why he was still alive.
Buffy sighed. Spike wasn’t going to drop this; he really wanted an answer from her. She stopped piling food on her plate, instead turning to the vampire that was currently sharing the bed with her. She placed a gentle hand on his cheek, and looked at him with her heart in her eyes. “Don’t you know why?” Her thumb ran over his delicate cheekbone, and a soft smile played on her lips.
Spike had a hard time believing what he was seeing. This tiny girl had been hiding such tender feelings for him, and now that she was sharing them with him, he felt like he as drowning in her. This couldn’t be real. Nobody had ever felt that kind of acceptance and love for him, not since his long-dead mother.
It had to be real, though. Even if he tried to ignore what was right before his eyes, the message was there in her every touch as well. Everything this tiny blonde did confirmed again and again that he meant the world to her. Spike swallowed audibly, his brain spinning with questions. “How? When? Why?”
“When the time is right, you’ll know everything.” Buffy leaned forward and gently rubbed his nose with her own. “Now, come on. I need you to eat some of this dinner. If I have to finish it off all by myself, I’ll get fat,” she pouted with a smile.
Spike agreed with a shy smile and a nod. He knew he wouldn’t get anything more out of Buffy until she felt the time was right. When that time came though, Spike was going to make sure she answered all of his questions.
---------------------------
Giles had spent the night on Joyce’s couch, having lost the coin toss that put Willow in the comfort of Buffy’s bed.
Though they had tried to sleep, both of them looked tired when Giles drove the young witch home in the morning.
Willow was happy to be in her own home, grabbing a shower and a fresh change of clothing before school, but she was even happier to know that she would be sleeping in her own bed that night. For some reason, staying in Buffy’s bed had made her uneasy, and she’d had dreams that had stopped her from resting properly. She’s been unable to remember them clearly in the morning light, but knew that they were somehow important. Unfortunately, her dreams were soon completely forgotten in the rush to get to school.
Giles spent the day in the library, trying to translate the book of prophecy. It was late in the afternoon, close to sunset, when a noise startled him out of his efforts. He scrambled behind the counter and quickly grabbed the crossbow he’d stored there for emergencies. “Who’s there?” The Watcher kept his eyes firmly on the stacks, where the noise had come from.
Angel came carefully and slowly out of the shadows, holding his hands up in surrender. “Careful now, Giles. You don’t want to shoot me.”
In response, Giles adjusted his aim, so the crossbow was pointed directly at the big vampire’s heart.
“Giles, just...don’t do that. I’ve got my soul back. I’m Angel again. I won’t hurt you, or anyone else, for that matter.”
Giles relaxed his shoulders a bit, but didn’t put down the crossbow. “What do you want?”
Angel was taken aback by the Watcher’s harsh tone. “I wanted to apologize for the past few days, and thank you for returning my soul. I thought I might be able to help with translating the book. With two Slayers out patrolling, I figured you could use the help here.” The vampire was slowly moving further into the room, keeping a watchful eye on Giles’ trigger finger and the crossbow.
“You don’t have to thank me. I didn’t have anything to do with returning your soul. I think that you need to thank Buffy for that.” As an afterthought, Giles added, “At least, I would expect that she had some involvement.”
Angel squinted up at Giles. “You don’t know how I got my soul back?”
Giles placed the crossbow under the counter, and Angle finally relaxed a bit. At least, until Giles proceeded to arm himself with a big cross, a stake, and an atomizer of holy water. The holy water looked like mouth freshener, and it was a Council secret that was shared with Watchers upon their graduation from their studies.
Giles cleared his throat and walked at his most dignified pace, as he returned to the table where he had been working on the prophecy. “We tried to get a message to Buffy, and when she arrived home she told us that she would take care of your problem. Truthfully, we weren’t certain whether she was going to ensoul you, or just stake you. After what you did to Cordelia, either one would have sufficed. As it was, Merrick phoned last night to let us know that you were no longer a threat, and that you’d been given your soul back.” Giles placed the stake within easy reach, but kept the cross in his left hand, turning pages with his right.
“I guess if you don’t know more than that, I’ll have to ask her myself. Where can I find her?”
Though his face remained grim and brooding, inside Angel was full of glee. The late-night visitor to the factory had been Buffy, and she’d killed Spike, but hadn’t been able to face killing him.
Giles paused for a brief moment, but kept his eyes firmly locked on the book in front of him. “She hasn’t informed me of her new address.”
Angel watched at Giles’ ears turned red. “That’s not right. As her Watcher, you should know where she is all the time. Who else would know her address?”
“She’s likely given the information to Merrick, as well as to her mother.” Giles was getting
irritated. How dare the vampire lecture him on his responsibilities as a Watcher?
“I came straight here once my soul had been restored. Do you know where either of them are?” Angel was starting to feel frustrated. For some reason, Giles seemed to be doing his best to avoid being helpful to the ensouled vampire.
“I believe Merrick is likely to be with Buffy, as I understand he is living in her home. Joyce is probably at home, but I believe there is a very good chance she would stake you if you showed up on her doorstep. You scared her when you showed up as Angelus, and I doubt she would open her door for you now.”
“Okay, no Joyce or Merrick, then. What about Willow? She’s Buffy’s best friend. She’s got to know where Buffy’s living now. Or maybe Xander? Somebody’s got to know where Buffy’s new place is.” Angel was getting worked up, and had unthinkingly approached the table where Giles was seated.
Giles still had the large cross in his left hand, and now he calmly reached across the table for his stake. Angel was really too close for the Watcher’s liking, even if he did have his soul back. “Clearly, things have changed. You’d best accept that right off, if you expect to have any hope of a relationship with Buffy now.” Giles looked up at Angel. “Whatever happened to Buffy in the past, whatever we did to her, it isn’t something she’s going to just forget about overnight. I’ve noticed that she avoids looking at us directly, or for any length of time. Upon occasion, I believe I might even have seen hatred in her eyes, when she didn’t know she was being observed.”
At that, Angel seemed to deflate. He pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. “Well, I guess for now, there’s no way to figure out how I got my soul back. I might as well stay here and help you, if I can. Have you had any more success with the translation? I’d like to know more about this other half that is mentioned. And exactly what it’s got to do with Buffy.”
Giles looked at the broody vampire for a moment, and then sighed. “Try this part. It might give us something about the other half.” Giles showed Angel a section of the prophecy, and then passed another book over to him.
Spike had a hard time hauling himself out of the tub and pulling on an old pair of jeans. By the time he made it back to the bedroom, he was exhausted. He dropped down onto the freshly made bed with a groan, and waited patiently for Buffy to apply new bandages.
After holding his arms up so his petite nurse could wrap his chest, Spike was really only able to give a token protest before collapsing under the blankets for a nap. It was all he could do to stay awake long enough to drink the mug of blood that Buffy had prepared for him.
His hostess stayed with him while he emptied his mug. Human blood again. Spike looked at her though his demon’s eyes while he was drinking, daring Buffy to say anything negative. She just smiled that same little smile that she always seemed to be wearing when she looked at him.
One of these days, Spike was going to figure out exactly what that little smile meant. For now though, sleep was calling.
Buffy joined Merrick downstairs, once Spike was sleeping again.
The Watcher was signing packing slips for crates and boxes of different sizes. “What is all this, Buffy?”
“Oh, this is just some of the stuff I ordered when I was in LA. I thought it would be easier to just have everything delivered here, instead of trying to fit it all into my car. Has the furniture store delivery arrived yet?” she asked, as she looked out over the room. There were parcels and boxes scattered all over.
“Let me think...oh, yes! There was some furniture delivered earlier today. I moved the boxes over to the far side of the room. They’re quite large.” Merrick pointed the boxes out.
Buffy crossed the room to investigate, but returned to her Watcher after a few minutes. “Nope. That’s some of my work-out equipment.”
“My goodness, Buffy. Just how much stuff did you order?” Merrick returned a clipboard to the delivery driver that was standing at the door. “And what is this stuff?” The Watcher gave Buffy a copy of the latest waybill.
Buffy looked at the waybill, and then smiled. “This delivery is all electronic stuff. I bought televisions, computers, and stuff like that. You’ll see. Just make sure the boxes go somewhere safe.”
“Why don’t we just set it up now? Put everything where it’s supposed to go, and then we won’t have to move all these boxes around.” Merrick was tired of boxes and delivery drivers already.
“We can’t do that. Most of this stuff needs to be set up on furniture. That’s why I was asking you if it was here yet.” Buffy smiled sweetly at the older man. “Just relax, Merrick. Neither of us is getting any older,” she teased.
“Look around you, Buffy.” Merrick’s arms swept out to encompass the room. “This place is a mess!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll sort through it. We’ve got four empty rooms down here, so we can use them to store anything that doesn’t belong in this room. Okay?” Buffy asked with a raised brow. “It’s only temporary, and it won’t be long before the mess is a thing of the past.”
Merrick looked curiously at his charge for a moment. “Is something wrong, Buffy?”
Buffy closed her eyes, before bowing her head, giving it a little shake, and taking a deep breath. “How can you read me so easily?” She wiggled her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, before looking at her Watcher. “I have to tell him about the future. I can’t keep it a secret and I won’t lie to him, even for his own protection.”
“How much do you intend to tell him?” It was easy for Merrick to see how much stress Buffy was feeling at that moment.
She couldn’t meet his gaze. “Whatever he wants to know. About me, or about him. Or, me and him together,” she said, adding the last in a whisper and looking at some invisible spot on the floor.
Merrick placed two fingers under Buffy’s chin, and gently pulled her head up until he could look into her eyes. “It’ll be okay,” he reassured the terrified young woman.
“You really think so?” Buffy couldn’t’ help the tears that gathered in her eyes. She desperately wanted to believe that everything would be okay in the end. “What about the Powers?”
Merrick gathered his young charge up in his arms for a hug. “Remember, you have the ability to make your own choices now, and I’ve seen the way that Spike looks at you when he thinks nobody is watching. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” He wiped her tears away, and pushed her further into the crowded room. “Now, go and take care of this mess.”
Buffy sent him a grateful smile, before wiping her eyes with the back of her hands and then starting in on the room full of boxes.
There really wasn’t as much as there seemed to be at first, it’s just that what was there covered a lot of space. Buffy carried the television for her bedroom upstairs, but left it outside the room, in the hallway, because she didn’t want to wake Spike up.
The TV for the workout room was going to go on a wall-mounted arm, and it was only when Buffy had all the pieces out of the box that she realized she’d forgotten to get a screwdriver and a drill. She was hoping Merrick had a basic toolbox with him, but if he didn’t, she could always try Clem.
The friendly demon was only a call away, and Buffy knew he’d be happy for any chance to visit.
“Merrick,” she called, as she bounced down the stairs. “Any chance you’ve got a toolbox here? I need a screwdriver and a drill.”
“What have you broken now?” The Watcher’s voice was resigned.
“Why would you automatically assume I broke something?” she asked. Merrick’s mood was deteriorating, ant Buffy wasn’t going to let him bring her down. “And what’s with the bad-moodyness? You were fine an hour ago.”
“I’m sorry, Buffy.” Merrick sighed. “I was planning to drop in and see your mother this afternoon, but every time I try to leave, there’s another delivery at the door.” The Watcher was clearly frustrated.
Buffy giggled. “That would be my fault. I guess I shouldn’t have requested that everything be delivered today. I just thought it would be easier to get it all over with. Here, give me the pen and I’ll take over. You head out and go see my Mom, or do whatever else you want to do,” she said, as she practically pushed him out the door. “Don’t forget to give Mom a hug from me, if you see her.”
Merrick nodded, a blush rising in his cheeks. “I’ve got my phone on, if you need me.
Another delivery truck was pulling up as the Watcher escaped down the driveway. Of course, that was the furniture van, and the sun was going down before Buffy and the two delivery guys had finished unloading all the furniture.
It was getting late, and Buffy was hungry. Tonight she was going to treat herself to Chinese take-out. After picking up her order from the restaurant around the corner, Buffy found a tray and filled it with plates, two soft drinks, a mug of blood, chopsticks, and napkins. Then, take-out bag hanging from one wrist, she carried the tray to her bedroom and nudged open the door. “Knock, knock...time to wake up, Sleepyhead,” she whispered at the lump in her bed. “Time to get up and stuff your stomach. I’ve got a warm mug of O-neg and some spicy wings for you.” She watched as Spike sat up against the headboard and rubbed his eyes.
“What time is it? My internal clock has gone bloody haywire.”
“It’s just a little after sundown. How are you feeling now?” Buffy placed the tray on the bed, and watched Spike test his body by gently stretching and bending at the waist.
“Feels better. Thanks, Kitten. It’s going to take some time though, especially the great big hole in my chest where Angelus staked me.” The vampire touched the spot with his fingertips. “What have you got there?” Spike gestured to the bag Buffy had carefully placed beside the tray.
Moving around until she could sit with her back against the headboard, Buffy replied, “Chinese food. I bought spicy wings for you, but first you need to drink your blood.” She passed the mug of thick, red liquid to Spike.
“Thanks.” Spike took a mouthful, tilting his head to look at Buffy while she laid out their dinner. “You know an awful lot about me. Stuff like what I like to eat and drink, and even that I’d like a hot bath when I got up. Makes me wonder what else you know, and how you know it.” He watched Buffy empty the take-out bag, placing all the little boxes on the bed. He noted that the spicy food was all placed where he could reach it without stretching his back too much. “It bothers me that you know so much about me, and I know so little about you. You won’t’ tell me anything, not even how it is that you know me.” He traded his empty mug for the can of 7-UP that Buffy extended to him.
Buffy smile sadly. She’d always thought it was so ironic, that everyone expected her to be fearless, when really, she was terrified and just hiding it well. “The thought of telling you my story scares me. It’s not pretty, and I’m terrified that you’re going to run for the door once you hear what I’ve got to say. I’m going to be completely honest with you, and I’m going to tell you everything. No lies, no skating over things to make myself look better.” She turned her attention to the tray, and moved a plate closer to Spike. “It’s only right that you have the option of leaving once you’ve heard me out, but I want to make sure you’re completely healed before you do.”
“See? That’s what I’m talking about. That doesn’t make any sense. You know I’m going to leave here and start snacking on the local populace, don’t you? Why didn’t you just stake me when you found me hanging on Angelus’ wall like a bloody piece of art?” Spike was staring intently at Buffy, trying to figure out why he was still alive.
Buffy sighed. Spike wasn’t going to drop this; he really wanted an answer from her. She stopped piling food on her plate, instead turning to the vampire that was currently sharing the bed with her. She placed a gentle hand on his cheek, and looked at him with her heart in her eyes. “Don’t you know why?” Her thumb ran over his delicate cheekbone, and a soft smile played on her lips.
Spike had a hard time believing what he was seeing. This tiny girl had been hiding such tender feelings for him, and now that she was sharing them with him, he felt like he as drowning in her. This couldn’t be real. Nobody had ever felt that kind of acceptance and love for him, not since his long-dead mother.
It had to be real, though. Even if he tried to ignore what was right before his eyes, the message was there in her every touch as well. Everything this tiny blonde did confirmed again and again that he meant the world to her. Spike swallowed audibly, his brain spinning with questions. “How? When? Why?”
“When the time is right, you’ll know everything.” Buffy leaned forward and gently rubbed his nose with her own. “Now, come on. I need you to eat some of this dinner. If I have to finish it off all by myself, I’ll get fat,” she pouted with a smile.
Spike agreed with a shy smile and a nod. He knew he wouldn’t get anything more out of Buffy until she felt the time was right. When that time came though, Spike was going to make sure she answered all of his questions.
---------------------------
Giles had spent the night on Joyce’s couch, having lost the coin toss that put Willow in the comfort of Buffy’s bed.
Though they had tried to sleep, both of them looked tired when Giles drove the young witch home in the morning.
Willow was happy to be in her own home, grabbing a shower and a fresh change of clothing before school, but she was even happier to know that she would be sleeping in her own bed that night. For some reason, staying in Buffy’s bed had made her uneasy, and she’d had dreams that had stopped her from resting properly. She’s been unable to remember them clearly in the morning light, but knew that they were somehow important. Unfortunately, her dreams were soon completely forgotten in the rush to get to school.
Giles spent the day in the library, trying to translate the book of prophecy. It was late in the afternoon, close to sunset, when a noise startled him out of his efforts. He scrambled behind the counter and quickly grabbed the crossbow he’d stored there for emergencies. “Who’s there?” The Watcher kept his eyes firmly on the stacks, where the noise had come from.
Angel came carefully and slowly out of the shadows, holding his hands up in surrender. “Careful now, Giles. You don’t want to shoot me.”
In response, Giles adjusted his aim, so the crossbow was pointed directly at the big vampire’s heart.
“Giles, just...don’t do that. I’ve got my soul back. I’m Angel again. I won’t hurt you, or anyone else, for that matter.”
Giles relaxed his shoulders a bit, but didn’t put down the crossbow. “What do you want?”
Angel was taken aback by the Watcher’s harsh tone. “I wanted to apologize for the past few days, and thank you for returning my soul. I thought I might be able to help with translating the book. With two Slayers out patrolling, I figured you could use the help here.” The vampire was slowly moving further into the room, keeping a watchful eye on Giles’ trigger finger and the crossbow.
“You don’t have to thank me. I didn’t have anything to do with returning your soul. I think that you need to thank Buffy for that.” As an afterthought, Giles added, “At least, I would expect that she had some involvement.”
Angel squinted up at Giles. “You don’t know how I got my soul back?”
Giles placed the crossbow under the counter, and Angle finally relaxed a bit. At least, until Giles proceeded to arm himself with a big cross, a stake, and an atomizer of holy water. The holy water looked like mouth freshener, and it was a Council secret that was shared with Watchers upon their graduation from their studies.
Giles cleared his throat and walked at his most dignified pace, as he returned to the table where he had been working on the prophecy. “We tried to get a message to Buffy, and when she arrived home she told us that she would take care of your problem. Truthfully, we weren’t certain whether she was going to ensoul you, or just stake you. After what you did to Cordelia, either one would have sufficed. As it was, Merrick phoned last night to let us know that you were no longer a threat, and that you’d been given your soul back.” Giles placed the stake within easy reach, but kept the cross in his left hand, turning pages with his right.
“I guess if you don’t know more than that, I’ll have to ask her myself. Where can I find her?”
Though his face remained grim and brooding, inside Angel was full of glee. The late-night visitor to the factory had been Buffy, and she’d killed Spike, but hadn’t been able to face killing him.
Giles paused for a brief moment, but kept his eyes firmly locked on the book in front of him. “She hasn’t informed me of her new address.”
Angel watched at Giles’ ears turned red. “That’s not right. As her Watcher, you should know where she is all the time. Who else would know her address?”
“She’s likely given the information to Merrick, as well as to her mother.” Giles was getting
irritated. How dare the vampire lecture him on his responsibilities as a Watcher?
“I came straight here once my soul had been restored. Do you know where either of them are?” Angel was starting to feel frustrated. For some reason, Giles seemed to be doing his best to avoid being helpful to the ensouled vampire.
“I believe Merrick is likely to be with Buffy, as I understand he is living in her home. Joyce is probably at home, but I believe there is a very good chance she would stake you if you showed up on her doorstep. You scared her when you showed up as Angelus, and I doubt she would open her door for you now.”
“Okay, no Joyce or Merrick, then. What about Willow? She’s Buffy’s best friend. She’s got to know where Buffy’s living now. Or maybe Xander? Somebody’s got to know where Buffy’s new place is.” Angel was getting worked up, and had unthinkingly approached the table where Giles was seated.
Giles still had the large cross in his left hand, and now he calmly reached across the table for his stake. Angel was really too close for the Watcher’s liking, even if he did have his soul back. “Clearly, things have changed. You’d best accept that right off, if you expect to have any hope of a relationship with Buffy now.” Giles looked up at Angel. “Whatever happened to Buffy in the past, whatever we did to her, it isn’t something she’s going to just forget about overnight. I’ve noticed that she avoids looking at us directly, or for any length of time. Upon occasion, I believe I might even have seen hatred in her eyes, when she didn’t know she was being observed.”
At that, Angel seemed to deflate. He pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. “Well, I guess for now, there’s no way to figure out how I got my soul back. I might as well stay here and help you, if I can. Have you had any more success with the translation? I’d like to know more about this other half that is mentioned. And exactly what it’s got to do with Buffy.”
Giles looked at the broody vampire for a moment, and then sighed. “Try this part. It might give us something about the other half.” Giles showed Angel a section of the prophecy, and then passed another book over to him.
Choosing your Team
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Over the course of the next week, Angel continued to show up at the library shortly after dusk each night. He wanted to help Giles uncover the mystery of the prophecy, but, even more than that, he wanted to find proof that he was the one, the other half of the little blonde ex-Slayer. He wanted something clear and inarguable, that he could take to Buffy, and use to make her understand that she was meant to belong to him.
Buffy, meanwhile, had been spending her days with Spike, tending to his injuries, sitting with him, and chatting when he was awake. When he slept, she cleaned her house, arranged furniture, and dealt with all the small issues that arise when someone moves into a new home.
She was so focused on her vampire and setting up house that she had only gone to her mother’s home once, and that was for a visit that was much shorter than Joyce was hoping for. Fortunately for Buffy, this time around her mother was willing to listen to Buffy’s wishes and support her decisions.
Buffy was afraid that when Spike heard the details of the prophecy, he’d be out of the apartment like a shot. It wasn’t like he loved her, in this timeline. There was no reason for him to stay with her, and Buffy lived in fear of the day when she would tell him everything and he would leave her. As time went on, she became quieter and more introspective. It was like she was trying to save up memories to comfort her when he was gone. She often watched him as he slept, and would touch him whenever she got a chance.
Today Merrick had received a phone call from Giles, who’d shared that an important part of the prophecy book had been translated. The entire Scooby group was gathering in the library, and Buffy had specifically been asked to attend, so that she could respond to the translation and possibly provide some insight into the interpretation.
Spike was an observant kind of guy, and he had noticed the gradual change in Buffy’s behaviour over the week. He often felt her watching him when she thought he was sleeping, and had come to enjoy her gentle touches as they laughed and talked. He knew though, that the little ex-Slayer was terrified that he would listen to her story and then turn her away. At least once a day, he would ask her to trust him and share the history she was trying to keep secret, but each time she would shy away, claiming that his health was too fragile and he wasn’t strong enough for the information. Spike’s heart ached for her, and he wished he could assure her that he wouldn’t go anywhere, but he didn’t dare.
Lying in bed, Spike had a lot of time to ponder just what Buffy might have to share with him that could possibly be so terrible. He hated watching the woman he loved suffer from so much fear and stress. He sat up straight. The woman he loved? That was ridiculous. He was in love with his Black Goddess... wasn’t he? Could his devotion possibly be misplaced? Surely this was too fast a switch, but he had to acknowledge that he was Love’s Bitch, so anything was possible.
Spike thought back to the night when he was reborn as a vampire. That night, he’d sworn his undying devotion to the woman who had saved him from mediocrity, and not once in the next 120 years had he ever strayed. Now though, his Sire had deserted him. Cast him aside, not only for anyone that caught her fancy, but also for his Grandsire. She’d witnessed his suffering, as her deranged lover sought to teach him a lesson, and hadn’t done anything to alleviate his pain.
The feelings Spike had for Buffy already eclipsed anything he felt for his Sire, even in the early days when she’d returned his affection. Cecily, the woman who had unknowingly sent William to his death, didn’t even rate an honourable mention. Thinking back to what William had imagined love to be, Spike was filled with equal parts derision and amazement. He’d been such a naive and gullible twit back then, and had honestly believed that a woman’s physical beauty was an extension of her inner beauty and grace. How wrong he’d been.
Spike knew he still loved Drusilla, and that was never going to change. She would always be his Sire, and he would always be grateful that she chose to take him as her own on that night, so many years ago. Looking to the future now, Spike realized that Drusilla had served her purpose. She had brought him to this time and place, and to the tiny little blonde who made him feel loved for the first time since his mother had died. He would always love his Sire, but he was no longer IN love with her. Buffy had wiggled her way into his heart, and had completely taken over. They hadn’t even kissed...not really. That little peck on the lips the other day had only whet his appetite, and he was growing impatient for another taste.
Since Merrick would be joining Buffy at the Scooby meeting, Spike would be left alone in the warehouse for the first time. Buffy wasn’t worried about his health or safety though. She knew he was feeling better every day, and it wouldn’t be long before he was completely healed. Time was running out for the ex-Slayer and her secrets.
Buffy hadn’t slept well the night before. Whenever she’d start to doze off, she’d remember what life without Spike was really like. Those memories, warped and exaggerated to nightmare proportions, had repeatedly jolted her out of whatever rest she’d managed to find.
When the Scooby meeting had been called, Merrick’s name hadn’t been on the guest list. Buffy had decided to use her poor sleep as an excuse to invite her Watcher, and had told Giles that she was too tired to walk to the school. Merrick quickly agreed to drive Buffy to the library, and the pair stopped off at the gallery along the way, to pick up Joyce for additional moral support.
The threesome walked into the school together, with Buffy in the center of the group and just a step ahead of the others. Merrick was on her right, prepared to offer counsel if requested, and Joyce was on her left, ready to provide unquestioning support and a shoulder to cry on, if needed. They marched through the halls of the school to the library, where Buffy stepped up and pushed both library doors open at the same time. Joyce and Merrick each caught a door behind her, so they all walked in together as a single formidable unit.
All the Scoobies were present and accounted for, except for Cordelia, who refused to be seen in public with her jaw wired shut. Not only did she believe she looked hideous, but she was unable to defend herself with her weapon of choice...her vicious tongue. With her jaw not yet mended, Cordelia was forced to communicate though a bizarre combination of charades and hastily scribbled notes, and she found the process both frustrating and exhausting.
Angel had chosen to locate himself at the top of the stairs to the stacks, and stood with his legs braced and his arms crossed, like some lord of old looking out over his kingdom. Xander, Willow, and Oz were sitting at the big table usually reserved for research, and it was easy to see that their relationship issues were still fresh and painful. Willow was clinging to Oz’s side, and had moved her chair to within inches of his. Oz was his usual stoic self, and Xander was seated as far away from the couple as he could get and still be at the same table. The normally happy and goofy teen was clearly in a volatile mod, and seemed to be switching from anger, to disgust, to fear, and sadness as well, at the drop of a hat.
Giles was standing behind the counter, and looked up when the group entered. “Thank you for coming, Buffy. Joyce, Merrick, good to see you as well.”
Buffy sent Giles a quick nod, before sitting down at the table. Merrick and Joyce nodded to the Watcher as well, before each taking a chair beside Buffy, so they were framing her like defensive bookends. Buffy had a hard time keeping her face straight at that move. The couple was so obvious in their support of her that it was cute.
Giles stepped over to the table, and pulled out a chair for himself. “First off, I must say it wasn’t my idea to ask you to join us, Buffy. Sadly, the rest of the group didn’t believe me when I told them that you were familiar with the contents of the book.”
Buffy sent a curious look around the room, first at Angel, and then at the rest of the group seated at the table. Everyone was waiting for her response. “Giles is right, guys. I know the book by heart.”
“You don’t know anything about the book. We have proof.” Xander was agitated. “You said you weren’t getting together with Evil Dead over there.”
“Why did you lie to us?” Willow added in complaint. “I thought we were your friends, but friends don’t lie to each other like that.”
“Okay, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I never lied to you.” Buffy’s fists were clenched tight under the table. She didn’t want the Scoobies to know how hurt and angry their accusations were making her.
“The other night, you told us that your other half wasn’t a vampire.” Angel decided it was time to take over the conversation. He approached the table, lecturing to Buffy, as well as the Scoobies. “You claimed that I wasn’t the one for you, yet the book tells us clearly that your other half is a demon.” He pointed at the book in front of Giles, raising one brow in derision. “How can you claim to have read the book, when you can’t even get the simplest facts right? The Slayer is supposed to be a shining light in the darkness of evil and, instead, you’re just a sad little liar.” The loathing in the large vampire’s voice was easy for all to hear. “I need to put myself first right now, and focus on my redemption. Associating with someone like you won’t help my cause at all.”
“That suits me just fine, Angel.” Buffy’s lip curled when she spoke. She should have known better than to think she’d get any support from this group. She looked from face to face, and most looked at her like she was something the cat dragged in. Only Giles and Oz were different.
Oz was clearly thinking, but he sent Buffy a reassuring wink.
“What about you, Giles? Do you believe what Angel is saying?” Buffy asked bluntly, eyes wide, waiting for Giles to answer.
“No,” Giles sighed. “I tried to convince them that you likely had a good explanation for your behaviour, but they weren’t interested in what I had to say. Since you’ve taken over this body, I’ve learned that I need to put my faith and trust in you, for everyone’s good.” An apologetic smile crossed the Watcher’s face. “I may not understand your reasons, but I have faith in you, Buffy.”
Buffy smiled at Giles, and gave him a nod of thanks. Giles’ smile widened, now that they understood each other’s position.
Buffy’s gaze hardened again, as she look around the room once more. “So, now you’ve all written me off as a liar. Is that working for you?” Buffy leaned back in her chair, as if she were relaxing. “I didn’t lie. I didn’t lie about this, and I haven’t lied about anything else, either. I might not have told you everything, but I haven’t lied.” She held up a hand, to stop the sputtering that Xander and Willow were already doing. “I said that Angel wasn’t my other half, and that’s true. I’ve never once said that my true partner wasn’t a demon though. You guys just automatically assumed that if he wasn’t Angel, then he had to be human.” She smiled sweetly at the stunned faces across the table.
Giles’ only reaction was to take off his glasses and begin his polishing ritual.
The room was silent for a few seconds, and then it erupted. As usual, when Buffy didn’t do as expected, the Scoobies started yelling and trying to control her. While nobody laid a hand on the feisty blonde, the words they sent her way were beating her bloody. It was evident that the Scoobies believed they knew what was best for her, and they weren’t shy about telling her she was making a mistake. The only one who seemed to respect her decision was Oz, and he sat silently at the table, looking at her with sympathy in his eyes.
Xander was leaning across the table, invading Buffy’s personal space and screaming in her face. He was so angry that spittle was flying from his mouth and splattering across the wide oak surface.
Willow was trying to reason with Buffy, at first. She reminded her friend that Buffy was a representative for the Powers, and that she, as the Slayer, represented the Light. When Buffy didn’t respond, Willow switched to guilt, and started wringing her hands and asking Buffy how the world would survive if the Slayer neglected her duty. Eventually, she just let Xander take over, and spent her time nodding at what he was saying. He kept repeating himself, as if Buffy would finally give in and do what he told her to do, if he said it often enough.
Over top of the teens, Angel’s voice was loud and domineering. He claimed that he was the only demon who could be with a Slayer without giving in to the natural urge to kill her. According to Angel’s rant, all demons are inherently evil, and consumed with thoughts of their next kill. It wasn’t something that could be controlled; it was instinct. The vampire didn’t understand why the little Slayer just wasn’t getting it. In his mind, the math was simple: her other half was a demon, he was the only demon that wouldn’t try to kill her on sight, and therefore, he was her other half.
Buffy’s face had lost all expression, and her eyes were filled with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. Merrick placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a little shake to get her attention, and then smiled encouragingly at her as he took one of her hands in his own.
Joyce was furious. “How dare you speak to my daughter like that?” she demanded. “She’s done nothing but put herself on the line to save the world time and time again, and this is how you think she deserves to be treated? To be bullied and badgered like she has no mind of her own?” Joyce placed an arm around Buffy’s shoulders, as if trying to protect her from her so-called friends.
“Don’t be foolish, Joyce. Buffy needs to understand...” The brooding vampire didn’t get any further than that, before Joyce stood up and smacked him across the face hard enough to leave a clear impression of her hand on his cheek.
Angel was stunned. Instinctively, he pulled back his arm to retaliate and knock Joyce back into line, but his arm was halted before he could connect with his target. Joyce had automatically closed her eyes when she’d seen Angel’s hand coming, and now she opened them again to see her daughter’s small hand clasped tightly around the large vampire’s wrist. Before she could process what she was seeing, Buffy’s other hand connected with Angel’s chin, and the towering brunette was gone. Buffy’s punch had sent him flying backwards to land on the stairs, his head cracking on the edge of the top step. He looked up, dazed, and met the furious green eyes of the ex-Slayer.
“Don’t you even think of touching my mother, Angel! Soul or no, I’m perfectly willing to send you to Hell again.” Buffy started to walk towards the library door, while the large vampire appeared puzzled by her remark. “Giles, I’m sorry, but I think it’s best that we leave now.” She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a small card, and then darted back to her former Watcher and pressed it into his hand. “For your eyes only,” she whispered in his hear, before joining Joyce and Merrick at the doorway.
Giles quickly glanced at the paper, and then sent Buffy a pleased smile. “Thank you, Buffy.” He tucked the card in his wallet, and then retreated to his office.
Once in the car, Joyce asked Buffy what she had given Giles.
“A card with my address and phone number,” Buffy answered with a smile. “He earned it today.”
Arriving at Joyce’s house, Buffy and Merrick were invited in for dinner.
“Sorry, Mom, but I’ve got to get home. There’s a vampire waiting for me and I’ve been avoiding his questions long enough. Another day, maybe?” Buffy and Merrick exchanged a meaningful glance, and then Merrick smiled at the little blonde and accepted her mother’s invitation.
Once out of the car, Merrick turned to have a quick word with Buffy though the window. “Call me if you need me. I’ll keep my phone close by.”
“Thanks, Merrick. Cross your fingers for me.” With a final smile, she drove off.
Back at the school, for the first time ever, Xander and Angel were in complete agreement. The book was wrong. It had to be that, or a mistake had been made during the translation. They quickly gathered the stack of books that had been used to translate the prophecy, and starting working on the translation again from scratch.
Willow was at a loss. She was supposed to be Buffy’s best friend, but she hardly knew the blonde anymore. The witch didn’t understand what was going on. First Buffy was the Slayer, and now she was the Eternal Light instead. To make matters worse, now Buffy was supposed to be the soul mate of a demon? What happened to ‘demons are bad’? And if demons don’t have souls, how could one be Buffy’s soul mate?
And Giles...now something was going on with him too. He obviously wasn’t worried about any of the information they’d received that night. Willow watched him as he stood behind the counter, checking in books, as if nothing was wrong. He should be upset, maybe even panicking, but instead he looked almost pleased with himself. The redhead couldn’t take it any longer. “Giles, why are you so calm? Shouldn’t you be cleaning your glasses and worrying about Buffy hooking up with some kind of evil demon?”
Giles looked up at the girl before him, suddenly realizing just how very young she was. He gave her a soft, reassuring smile and said, “Everything is as it should be, Willow. There’s no cause for alarm.”
“What’s wrong with you, Giles? Have the rules suddenly changed? Slayer good, demon evil. That’s what you’ve always told us.” Willow’s voice was becoming increasingly shrill, drawing the attention of Xander and Angel.
“What’s going on, Wills?” Xander joined them at the counter, wanting to know why his schoolmate was getting so upset. Angel didn’t bother. With his vamp hearing, he could follow their conversation from where he was.
“Giles said that there’s nothing wrong with Buffy becoming the soul mate of a demon. He’s not worried about it at all.” The redhead was getting herself worked up into a fine state.
Xander leaned over the counter to get a better look at the Watcher. “No way. You can’t be serious, Giles. Buffy shouldn’t be with a demon. She’s supposed to be working for the Powers. She should have the chance at a normal family, and there are a lot of human guys out there that would love to give it to her.”
Angel came out of the stacks with another pile of reference books. “The prophecy can’t be right, Giles.” He placed the books on the table. “As much as I hate to admit it, Xander’s making sense. Something must have gone wrong when Buffy came back from the future, and now she’s trying to change the prophecy for some reason. I don’t like the idea of Buffy with another guy, but if she’s going to ignore what was meant to be, she should at least be with a regular human. I don’t know if she’s telling the truth about not being the Slayer anymore, but if she is, it would make sense that the Powers let her retire so that she could finally have a normal life.”
The Scoobies standing at the counter voiced their agreement.
Giles walked over to the research table, and placed his book on one of the stacks of reference materials. “That’s where you’re all wrong. You’re assuming that Buffy is normal, and she isn’t. She’ll never be normal. Her calling changed her in a profound way.”
“I know she won’t ever be completely normal. She’s got Slayer strength, and the ability to sense vampires, but she can control herself, Giles. With a little effort, she’d be able to fit in with regular humans.” Angel sat down, and started to go through the prophecy again, believing that the conversation was over.
“I’m not talking about her Slayer powers.” Giles looked at the gang, now seated at the table again. “Buffy is immortal.”
Everyone looked up at him, mouths hanging open.
“She would be unable to conceive a child with a normal human. The only way for her to have this normal family you keep talking about would be for her to adopt.” The silence in the room was absolute. Giles couldn’t help but think of an old saying...something about being able to hear a pin drop.
Over the course of the next week, Angel continued to show up at the library shortly after dusk each night. He wanted to help Giles uncover the mystery of the prophecy, but, even more than that, he wanted to find proof that he was the one, the other half of the little blonde ex-Slayer. He wanted something clear and inarguable, that he could take to Buffy, and use to make her understand that she was meant to belong to him.
Buffy, meanwhile, had been spending her days with Spike, tending to his injuries, sitting with him, and chatting when he was awake. When he slept, she cleaned her house, arranged furniture, and dealt with all the small issues that arise when someone moves into a new home.
She was so focused on her vampire and setting up house that she had only gone to her mother’s home once, and that was for a visit that was much shorter than Joyce was hoping for. Fortunately for Buffy, this time around her mother was willing to listen to Buffy’s wishes and support her decisions.
Buffy was afraid that when Spike heard the details of the prophecy, he’d be out of the apartment like a shot. It wasn’t like he loved her, in this timeline. There was no reason for him to stay with her, and Buffy lived in fear of the day when she would tell him everything and he would leave her. As time went on, she became quieter and more introspective. It was like she was trying to save up memories to comfort her when he was gone. She often watched him as he slept, and would touch him whenever she got a chance.
Today Merrick had received a phone call from Giles, who’d shared that an important part of the prophecy book had been translated. The entire Scooby group was gathering in the library, and Buffy had specifically been asked to attend, so that she could respond to the translation and possibly provide some insight into the interpretation.
Spike was an observant kind of guy, and he had noticed the gradual change in Buffy’s behaviour over the week. He often felt her watching him when she thought he was sleeping, and had come to enjoy her gentle touches as they laughed and talked. He knew though, that the little ex-Slayer was terrified that he would listen to her story and then turn her away. At least once a day, he would ask her to trust him and share the history she was trying to keep secret, but each time she would shy away, claiming that his health was too fragile and he wasn’t strong enough for the information. Spike’s heart ached for her, and he wished he could assure her that he wouldn’t go anywhere, but he didn’t dare.
Lying in bed, Spike had a lot of time to ponder just what Buffy might have to share with him that could possibly be so terrible. He hated watching the woman he loved suffer from so much fear and stress. He sat up straight. The woman he loved? That was ridiculous. He was in love with his Black Goddess... wasn’t he? Could his devotion possibly be misplaced? Surely this was too fast a switch, but he had to acknowledge that he was Love’s Bitch, so anything was possible.
Spike thought back to the night when he was reborn as a vampire. That night, he’d sworn his undying devotion to the woman who had saved him from mediocrity, and not once in the next 120 years had he ever strayed. Now though, his Sire had deserted him. Cast him aside, not only for anyone that caught her fancy, but also for his Grandsire. She’d witnessed his suffering, as her deranged lover sought to teach him a lesson, and hadn’t done anything to alleviate his pain.
The feelings Spike had for Buffy already eclipsed anything he felt for his Sire, even in the early days when she’d returned his affection. Cecily, the woman who had unknowingly sent William to his death, didn’t even rate an honourable mention. Thinking back to what William had imagined love to be, Spike was filled with equal parts derision and amazement. He’d been such a naive and gullible twit back then, and had honestly believed that a woman’s physical beauty was an extension of her inner beauty and grace. How wrong he’d been.
Spike knew he still loved Drusilla, and that was never going to change. She would always be his Sire, and he would always be grateful that she chose to take him as her own on that night, so many years ago. Looking to the future now, Spike realized that Drusilla had served her purpose. She had brought him to this time and place, and to the tiny little blonde who made him feel loved for the first time since his mother had died. He would always love his Sire, but he was no longer IN love with her. Buffy had wiggled her way into his heart, and had completely taken over. They hadn’t even kissed...not really. That little peck on the lips the other day had only whet his appetite, and he was growing impatient for another taste.
Since Merrick would be joining Buffy at the Scooby meeting, Spike would be left alone in the warehouse for the first time. Buffy wasn’t worried about his health or safety though. She knew he was feeling better every day, and it wouldn’t be long before he was completely healed. Time was running out for the ex-Slayer and her secrets.
Buffy hadn’t slept well the night before. Whenever she’d start to doze off, she’d remember what life without Spike was really like. Those memories, warped and exaggerated to nightmare proportions, had repeatedly jolted her out of whatever rest she’d managed to find.
When the Scooby meeting had been called, Merrick’s name hadn’t been on the guest list. Buffy had decided to use her poor sleep as an excuse to invite her Watcher, and had told Giles that she was too tired to walk to the school. Merrick quickly agreed to drive Buffy to the library, and the pair stopped off at the gallery along the way, to pick up Joyce for additional moral support.
The threesome walked into the school together, with Buffy in the center of the group and just a step ahead of the others. Merrick was on her right, prepared to offer counsel if requested, and Joyce was on her left, ready to provide unquestioning support and a shoulder to cry on, if needed. They marched through the halls of the school to the library, where Buffy stepped up and pushed both library doors open at the same time. Joyce and Merrick each caught a door behind her, so they all walked in together as a single formidable unit.
All the Scoobies were present and accounted for, except for Cordelia, who refused to be seen in public with her jaw wired shut. Not only did she believe she looked hideous, but she was unable to defend herself with her weapon of choice...her vicious tongue. With her jaw not yet mended, Cordelia was forced to communicate though a bizarre combination of charades and hastily scribbled notes, and she found the process both frustrating and exhausting.
Angel had chosen to locate himself at the top of the stairs to the stacks, and stood with his legs braced and his arms crossed, like some lord of old looking out over his kingdom. Xander, Willow, and Oz were sitting at the big table usually reserved for research, and it was easy to see that their relationship issues were still fresh and painful. Willow was clinging to Oz’s side, and had moved her chair to within inches of his. Oz was his usual stoic self, and Xander was seated as far away from the couple as he could get and still be at the same table. The normally happy and goofy teen was clearly in a volatile mod, and seemed to be switching from anger, to disgust, to fear, and sadness as well, at the drop of a hat.
Giles was standing behind the counter, and looked up when the group entered. “Thank you for coming, Buffy. Joyce, Merrick, good to see you as well.”
Buffy sent Giles a quick nod, before sitting down at the table. Merrick and Joyce nodded to the Watcher as well, before each taking a chair beside Buffy, so they were framing her like defensive bookends. Buffy had a hard time keeping her face straight at that move. The couple was so obvious in their support of her that it was cute.
Giles stepped over to the table, and pulled out a chair for himself. “First off, I must say it wasn’t my idea to ask you to join us, Buffy. Sadly, the rest of the group didn’t believe me when I told them that you were familiar with the contents of the book.”
Buffy sent a curious look around the room, first at Angel, and then at the rest of the group seated at the table. Everyone was waiting for her response. “Giles is right, guys. I know the book by heart.”
“You don’t know anything about the book. We have proof.” Xander was agitated. “You said you weren’t getting together with Evil Dead over there.”
“Why did you lie to us?” Willow added in complaint. “I thought we were your friends, but friends don’t lie to each other like that.”
“Okay, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I never lied to you.” Buffy’s fists were clenched tight under the table. She didn’t want the Scoobies to know how hurt and angry their accusations were making her.
“The other night, you told us that your other half wasn’t a vampire.” Angel decided it was time to take over the conversation. He approached the table, lecturing to Buffy, as well as the Scoobies. “You claimed that I wasn’t the one for you, yet the book tells us clearly that your other half is a demon.” He pointed at the book in front of Giles, raising one brow in derision. “How can you claim to have read the book, when you can’t even get the simplest facts right? The Slayer is supposed to be a shining light in the darkness of evil and, instead, you’re just a sad little liar.” The loathing in the large vampire’s voice was easy for all to hear. “I need to put myself first right now, and focus on my redemption. Associating with someone like you won’t help my cause at all.”
“That suits me just fine, Angel.” Buffy’s lip curled when she spoke. She should have known better than to think she’d get any support from this group. She looked from face to face, and most looked at her like she was something the cat dragged in. Only Giles and Oz were different.
Oz was clearly thinking, but he sent Buffy a reassuring wink.
“What about you, Giles? Do you believe what Angel is saying?” Buffy asked bluntly, eyes wide, waiting for Giles to answer.
“No,” Giles sighed. “I tried to convince them that you likely had a good explanation for your behaviour, but they weren’t interested in what I had to say. Since you’ve taken over this body, I’ve learned that I need to put my faith and trust in you, for everyone’s good.” An apologetic smile crossed the Watcher’s face. “I may not understand your reasons, but I have faith in you, Buffy.”
Buffy smiled at Giles, and gave him a nod of thanks. Giles’ smile widened, now that they understood each other’s position.
Buffy’s gaze hardened again, as she look around the room once more. “So, now you’ve all written me off as a liar. Is that working for you?” Buffy leaned back in her chair, as if she were relaxing. “I didn’t lie. I didn’t lie about this, and I haven’t lied about anything else, either. I might not have told you everything, but I haven’t lied.” She held up a hand, to stop the sputtering that Xander and Willow were already doing. “I said that Angel wasn’t my other half, and that’s true. I’ve never once said that my true partner wasn’t a demon though. You guys just automatically assumed that if he wasn’t Angel, then he had to be human.” She smiled sweetly at the stunned faces across the table.
Giles’ only reaction was to take off his glasses and begin his polishing ritual.
The room was silent for a few seconds, and then it erupted. As usual, when Buffy didn’t do as expected, the Scoobies started yelling and trying to control her. While nobody laid a hand on the feisty blonde, the words they sent her way were beating her bloody. It was evident that the Scoobies believed they knew what was best for her, and they weren’t shy about telling her she was making a mistake. The only one who seemed to respect her decision was Oz, and he sat silently at the table, looking at her with sympathy in his eyes.
Xander was leaning across the table, invading Buffy’s personal space and screaming in her face. He was so angry that spittle was flying from his mouth and splattering across the wide oak surface.
Willow was trying to reason with Buffy, at first. She reminded her friend that Buffy was a representative for the Powers, and that she, as the Slayer, represented the Light. When Buffy didn’t respond, Willow switched to guilt, and started wringing her hands and asking Buffy how the world would survive if the Slayer neglected her duty. Eventually, she just let Xander take over, and spent her time nodding at what he was saying. He kept repeating himself, as if Buffy would finally give in and do what he told her to do, if he said it often enough.
Over top of the teens, Angel’s voice was loud and domineering. He claimed that he was the only demon who could be with a Slayer without giving in to the natural urge to kill her. According to Angel’s rant, all demons are inherently evil, and consumed with thoughts of their next kill. It wasn’t something that could be controlled; it was instinct. The vampire didn’t understand why the little Slayer just wasn’t getting it. In his mind, the math was simple: her other half was a demon, he was the only demon that wouldn’t try to kill her on sight, and therefore, he was her other half.
Buffy’s face had lost all expression, and her eyes were filled with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. Merrick placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a little shake to get her attention, and then smiled encouragingly at her as he took one of her hands in his own.
Joyce was furious. “How dare you speak to my daughter like that?” she demanded. “She’s done nothing but put herself on the line to save the world time and time again, and this is how you think she deserves to be treated? To be bullied and badgered like she has no mind of her own?” Joyce placed an arm around Buffy’s shoulders, as if trying to protect her from her so-called friends.
“Don’t be foolish, Joyce. Buffy needs to understand...” The brooding vampire didn’t get any further than that, before Joyce stood up and smacked him across the face hard enough to leave a clear impression of her hand on his cheek.
Angel was stunned. Instinctively, he pulled back his arm to retaliate and knock Joyce back into line, but his arm was halted before he could connect with his target. Joyce had automatically closed her eyes when she’d seen Angel’s hand coming, and now she opened them again to see her daughter’s small hand clasped tightly around the large vampire’s wrist. Before she could process what she was seeing, Buffy’s other hand connected with Angel’s chin, and the towering brunette was gone. Buffy’s punch had sent him flying backwards to land on the stairs, his head cracking on the edge of the top step. He looked up, dazed, and met the furious green eyes of the ex-Slayer.
“Don’t you even think of touching my mother, Angel! Soul or no, I’m perfectly willing to send you to Hell again.” Buffy started to walk towards the library door, while the large vampire appeared puzzled by her remark. “Giles, I’m sorry, but I think it’s best that we leave now.” She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a small card, and then darted back to her former Watcher and pressed it into his hand. “For your eyes only,” she whispered in his hear, before joining Joyce and Merrick at the doorway.
Giles quickly glanced at the paper, and then sent Buffy a pleased smile. “Thank you, Buffy.” He tucked the card in his wallet, and then retreated to his office.
Once in the car, Joyce asked Buffy what she had given Giles.
“A card with my address and phone number,” Buffy answered with a smile. “He earned it today.”
Arriving at Joyce’s house, Buffy and Merrick were invited in for dinner.
“Sorry, Mom, but I’ve got to get home. There’s a vampire waiting for me and I’ve been avoiding his questions long enough. Another day, maybe?” Buffy and Merrick exchanged a meaningful glance, and then Merrick smiled at the little blonde and accepted her mother’s invitation.
Once out of the car, Merrick turned to have a quick word with Buffy though the window. “Call me if you need me. I’ll keep my phone close by.”
“Thanks, Merrick. Cross your fingers for me.” With a final smile, she drove off.
Back at the school, for the first time ever, Xander and Angel were in complete agreement. The book was wrong. It had to be that, or a mistake had been made during the translation. They quickly gathered the stack of books that had been used to translate the prophecy, and starting working on the translation again from scratch.
Willow was at a loss. She was supposed to be Buffy’s best friend, but she hardly knew the blonde anymore. The witch didn’t understand what was going on. First Buffy was the Slayer, and now she was the Eternal Light instead. To make matters worse, now Buffy was supposed to be the soul mate of a demon? What happened to ‘demons are bad’? And if demons don’t have souls, how could one be Buffy’s soul mate?
And Giles...now something was going on with him too. He obviously wasn’t worried about any of the information they’d received that night. Willow watched him as he stood behind the counter, checking in books, as if nothing was wrong. He should be upset, maybe even panicking, but instead he looked almost pleased with himself. The redhead couldn’t take it any longer. “Giles, why are you so calm? Shouldn’t you be cleaning your glasses and worrying about Buffy hooking up with some kind of evil demon?”
Giles looked up at the girl before him, suddenly realizing just how very young she was. He gave her a soft, reassuring smile and said, “Everything is as it should be, Willow. There’s no cause for alarm.”
“What’s wrong with you, Giles? Have the rules suddenly changed? Slayer good, demon evil. That’s what you’ve always told us.” Willow’s voice was becoming increasingly shrill, drawing the attention of Xander and Angel.
“What’s going on, Wills?” Xander joined them at the counter, wanting to know why his schoolmate was getting so upset. Angel didn’t bother. With his vamp hearing, he could follow their conversation from where he was.
“Giles said that there’s nothing wrong with Buffy becoming the soul mate of a demon. He’s not worried about it at all.” The redhead was getting herself worked up into a fine state.
Xander leaned over the counter to get a better look at the Watcher. “No way. You can’t be serious, Giles. Buffy shouldn’t be with a demon. She’s supposed to be working for the Powers. She should have the chance at a normal family, and there are a lot of human guys out there that would love to give it to her.”
Angel came out of the stacks with another pile of reference books. “The prophecy can’t be right, Giles.” He placed the books on the table. “As much as I hate to admit it, Xander’s making sense. Something must have gone wrong when Buffy came back from the future, and now she’s trying to change the prophecy for some reason. I don’t like the idea of Buffy with another guy, but if she’s going to ignore what was meant to be, she should at least be with a regular human. I don’t know if she’s telling the truth about not being the Slayer anymore, but if she is, it would make sense that the Powers let her retire so that she could finally have a normal life.”
The Scoobies standing at the counter voiced their agreement.
Giles walked over to the research table, and placed his book on one of the stacks of reference materials. “That’s where you’re all wrong. You’re assuming that Buffy is normal, and she isn’t. She’ll never be normal. Her calling changed her in a profound way.”
“I know she won’t ever be completely normal. She’s got Slayer strength, and the ability to sense vampires, but she can control herself, Giles. With a little effort, she’d be able to fit in with regular humans.” Angel sat down, and started to go through the prophecy again, believing that the conversation was over.
“I’m not talking about her Slayer powers.” Giles looked at the gang, now seated at the table again. “Buffy is immortal.”
Everyone looked up at him, mouths hanging open.
“She would be unable to conceive a child with a normal human. The only way for her to have this normal family you keep talking about would be for her to adopt.” The silence in the room was absolute. Giles couldn’t help but think of an old saying...something about being able to hear a pin drop.
The Truth Will Out
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Buffy drove her little compact back to the warehouse, turned the engine off, and then sat outside in the parked car for a few minutes. She desperately wanted to be honest with Spike, but she was so afraid that he would choose to walk away from her once he’d heard her story. For the first time in a very long time, Buffy prayed that things would turn out right.
Spike had been patient with her, and had respected her desire to save her story for the right time. She knew though, that her vampire was felling better every day, and was growing tired of her excuses. She’d claimed she was waiting for him to heal but, in reality, she was just scared. All that would end tonight. No more excuses.
A few deep breaths, and then Buffy slowly got out of her car and made her way upstairs.
“Hey, Luv. How was your meeting?” Spike came out of her bedroom. He’d been resting on the bed they shared. Neither one had ever mentioned the empty bed in the room next door. Merrick had moved downstairs as soon as the rest of the furniture had arrived.
Most mornings they woke up in each other’s arms, or spooning. It wasn’t something that they’d ever talked about, but they hadn’t avoided the conversation either. It was just comfortable, and they accepted that for what it was.
Buffy grimaced. “There was a lot of yelling.” She shrugged her shoulders. “As usual.” Buffy watched Spike come closer, dressed in his trademark black and smelling fresh from the shower. The scent reminded her of the day he had wrinkled his nose at her bath products, declaring them fine for a girl, but refusing to take a shower that would leave him smelling like vanilla or flowers. In the end, Merrick had felt sorry for the vampire, and had gone out to purchase some manly soap, whatever that was. Actually, Buffy still didn’t know what it was exactly, but she knew she liked it on Spike...a lot.
Spike had been intently watching Buffy from the moment she arrived upstairs, and tonight he saw something in her eyes that he had never seen before. He had a feeling that tonight his questions would finally be answered. “So, Pet. Is tonight the night you finally explain how it is you’ve seen my manly bits before?” Spike couldn’t help but tease a little.
Buffy blushed, but responded, “Yeah, it’s finally time I filled you in, I guess. We could talk over dinner, if you’re okay with that? Maybe we could order something in?”
“It’s a date, then. Be sure to dress up for me.” Spike tilted his head to the side, and sent a flirty smile Buffy’s way, as he gazed at her from under his lashes.
Buffy’s blush grew darker. “Um, I’ll order us something when I get out of the shower, okay?”
“No point in putting it off. Why don’t you pass me your phone, and I’ll order us some food.”
“Thanks, Spike. That would be nice.” Buffy took her phone out of her pocket, and held it out to Spike. Instead of just plucking the phone from her hand, Spike used one hand to pick up the phone, while he used his other hand to gently grasp her hand and raise it to his lips. Buffy didn’t know what to expect, but Spike merely placed a soft kiss on the palm of her hand, and then set her free again.
“Go on, Luv. Best get in that shower now,” Spike urged her, his voice sounding hoarse.
Buffy quickly turned to leave the room.
Heading to the kitchen, Spike paused for a moment. “What do you want? Pizza, Chinese, or something else?” he called back.
“Chinese,” she responded, without turning back to the vampire.
Once out of the shower, Buffy dried her hair and brushed it until it shone. Remembering Spike’s teasing direction to dress nice, Buffy want to her closet and pulled out a little black lace dress. She pulled her hair up at the sides, and added a touch of perfume behind her ears. She didn’t have any jewellery, so she just added a little lip gloss, and then she was done.
When Buffy made her way to the living room, she found the lights had been turned off. The coffee table was covered by a creamy white piece of linen, and there was a smattering of lit candles at the centre of the table. The room was beautiful, and the only thing that appeared to be missing was her date.
When the blonde vampire still hadn’t returned after a few minutes, Buffy started to worry that maybe he’d decided to leave before they had a chance to talk. Before her worry could escalate into panic, she heard him coming up the stairs.
Spike’s arms were full of Chinese food, clearly meant for the coffee table he had set. He stopped though, once he caught sight of Buffy, unable to move forward for a moment. “Beautiful,” he breathed.
Buffy couldn’t help the blush that rushed to her cheeks. She looked down at the ground, feeling young and shy around Spike. She didn’t know if it was the seventeen year old body, or just something special about her houseguest, but everything felt new and fresh to her.
Deciding to try to lighten the atmosphere a bit, Spike solemnly intoned, “The food has arrived. Will guests please take their seats?” Buffy and Spike then sat down on cushions that the enterprising vampire had taken off the couch and placed on the floor on either side of the coffee table.
Moving carefully, Spike took the boxes of Chinese food out of the bag, one by one. He opened each container, before placing them near the centre of the table. Finally, he pulled out a final item from the bag: a bottle of wine.
I was then that Buffy noticed the wineglasses on the coffee table. She’s been too busy looking for Spike when she first entered the room, and then too busy watching Spike once he had arrived, to pay them any mind earlier.
It wasn’t long before Spike was holding up the opened bottle and asking, “Can I pour you a glass, Pet?”
“Yes, please.” She watched him pour, wanting to remember every single thing about this night, knowing that it might very well be the last night she would ever spend in his company.
“A toast for a happy future,” Spike said, holding his glass out to gently touch with Buffy’s.
“A happy future sounds perfect,” Buffy responded.
Spike picked up one of the food cartons and began to fill his plate with spicy chicken wings. Once he’d added enough to his plate, he offered the box to Buffy, who had just loaded egg rolls onto her plate and was extending her box across the table to her guest. “So, Luv, what’s your perfect happy future look like?” Spike had decided that a little conversation over dinner would be a good thing.
Almost too quietly for Spike to hear, Buffy responded, “My perfect future is one where you don’t leave me.”
If Spike hadn’t had vampire hearing, he wouldn’t have heard Buffy’s comment. Suddenly, playtime was over. Buffy looked at Spike, and Spike looked back at Buffy. Neither said anything, because there really wasn’t anything to say.
Finally, Buffy seemed to rouse herself. “Yours?” she almost whispered.
“Well, now...mine? If you’d asked me a month or so ago, my happy future would have been full of Dru.” Spike took a sip of his wine, and sat quietly, pondering things only he could see.
“Spike...William...Tell me,” a soft voice encouraged.
Suddenly, startlingly blue eyes met soft, forest green ones. “Are you sure you really want to know?” Spike had to ask. He didn’t want to hurt her again. He knew how she felt about him...she’d told him so without words, the love she felt shining clearly from her eyes.
Buffy nodded. She has a pretty good idea about what was coming, and she owed it to Spike. A lifetime ago, he’d listened to her claim Angel as her only one. Turnabout was fair play, and now it would be her turn to listen to Spike talk about Drusilla, his Sire, and his love for her.
He looked down at his hands, the long, agile fingers playing with the stem of his wine glass. “In a happy future, I would have claimed Dru as my mate, and she would have claimed me back. I’d have her for my own, and Angelus would never be able to take her away from me.” Suddenly, Spike looked up at Buffy again. “That would have been my version of a happy future, if you’d asked me a month or two ago.”
“And what about if someone asked you now?” Buffy didn’t dare breathe while she waited for his answer. So much was riding on what Spike said next.
The blonde vampire frowned. “Now, I don’t know. I think if someone asked me now, I’d say that in my happy future I would have found someone to love...someone who was able to love me back.” Spike didn’t consider himself a coward, but he found he just wasn’t ready to be completely vulnerable in front of the Slayer again. He knew his heart was probably in his eyes though.
Buffy’s breath caught in her throat. She held Spike’s gaze, hoping that the love shining at her was real and not just some figment of her desperation. She understood why Spike was steering clear of emotional confessions. There were just too many unknowns in this equation right now, and Spike was waiting for Buffy to share a few of the answers she already had.
Finally, Buffy cleared her throat and returned her gaze to the dinner spread on the table. Spike followed her lead, and the couple ate in silence, the only sounds in the room the occasional scrape of a knife or fork across a plate. Though they focused their attention on their dinner, their eyes frequently made contact, and both were wearing smiles on their faces. Once the food was finished, together they cleared the table, refilled their wine glasses, and then returned to the living room. Buffy and Spike each took a seat at either end of the comfortable sofa, and then turned so they were facing each other.
This was it...no more stalling. Buffy held Spike’s bluer than blue gaze, took a steadying sip of her wine, and then started. “First off, I want you to know that you will always have a place in my home, if you want it. I don’t expect you to stay in the same room with me. That will be up to you and what you want. I just have one request...please don’t kill in my town. I refuse to kill you myself, but there will be others who won’t hesitate if you’re killing.”
“Of course. I understand, Buffy,” Spike replied.
There was nothing left but to start with the story that Spike had been waiting to hear. Buffy’s gaze dropped to the fabric of the sofa as she told Spike the story of her life...both lives. For the most part, she kept the story to the bigger moments, unless Spike asked for specific details. The night was quickly disappearing, as the ex-Slayer bared her soul to the vampire that had come to mean more than life to her. Spike sat and listened, doing his best to let Buffy get everything off her chest. The only time he appeared confused was when Buffy was talking about her friends, the Scoobies. He couldn’t believe the things that they had done to his Slayer for her own good, and didn’t understand why Buffy hadn’t cut ties and walked away from them long ago.
That was a hard one to explain, especially when Buffy was asking herself the same question. Still, she told Spike about the prophecy, and about the part her friends played. Then it was time to tell him that the two of them were meant to be, and that there was a book that explained it all.
“You and I are meant to be?” he asked, sceptically. “Don’t you think you’re confusing me with Peaches?”
Smiling, Buffy shook her head. “No, Spike. There’s no confusion about this at all. You’re the one.”
“How can it be me? That just doesn’t make sense. I’m evil. You’re a Slayer...a good guy.” Spike abruptly drained his glass, and then picked up the bottle and offered it to Buffy. “Do you want to share the rest of the bottle?” When Buffy shook her head, Spike filled his own glass. It was a nice white wine, but right then Spike was wishing for a bottle of something a lot stronger.
Visibly bracing his shoulders, Spike looked at Buffy again. “Alright then, what’s this book you’re talking about? What does it say about us?”
“It’s a book of prophecy, written several hundred years ago. The book talks about what will happen to us, and to the world, if we agree to be bound to each other in the way the Powers That Be want.”
“Not good enough. I want details.” Spike was grinding his teeth, the muscles in his jaw clearly flexing and twitching. His brain was working overtime, as he realized that his life was mapped out already, and he had no say in what was going to happen. He was a vampire...an agent of chaos...but now it seemed that Buffy was telling him he had no free will at all, and Spike wasn’t happy about being a puppet on someone’s string.
“The details don’t matter, Spike. None of it does.” This was the important part, the part that Buffy needed to get right.
“What? We’re in a damned prophecy, Buffy. How can you say the details don’t matter?” Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“This isn’t about the prophecy, Spike. This is about you and me. Please...you’ve always been so good at understanding me, and I’ve always had a terrible time saying the words.” Buffy moved closer, eyes locked with Spike’s and cheeks flushed. “You probably know how I feel about you already.”
Then it was Spike who looked away. “I think...maybe. I’ve got an idea, but I just don’t get it. Nobody has ever really cared about me, except for my mum.”
“I more than care about you, Spike. To me, you’re the one...the only one, and because of that, I want what’s best for you, and what’s going to make you happy. If you want to go and find Drusilla, you can do that and I’ll support you in any way I can. The choice is up to you this time, and I’ll make sure that everyone else understands that too. My perspective here is clear. I want you, and nobody else, but if that’s not what you want, then I’ll understand.” Buffy reached out a hand to gently touch Spike’s cheek. “I love you, Spike.” Her gaze was open and honest, as she met his startled glance. “I want whatever will make you happy.”
Spike was lost in Buffy’s gentle smile, and immediately missed her hand on his face when she stood up and turned to leave the room. She paused briefly at the door to her bedroom...their bedroom, if he wanted it to be, and then she was gone.
What now? This is going to make me completely barmy. I know I feel something for Buffy, but is it love? I don’t want to be mated to some chit just because someone was crazy enough to write down some lunatic’s babbling before I was even born. Mating is about love, not prophecy. It should be an overwhelming love, like I can’t live without her. Can I really say that I love her like that?
Feeling tied up in knots, Spike finally rose from the sofa and carried the dirty wine glasses into the kitchen. He rinsed them out and then placed them in the dishwasher before being drawn to gaze out the window at the night sky. He didn’t know what to do and, for once, he was determined to take his time with a decision, instead of just impulsively leaping in where angels would fear to tread.
While Spike gazed out the window, Buffy was standing in the shower, letting the hot water pound her muscles as she tried to recover from a crying jag. Really, things went better than she had been expecting. For some reason, between her mother’s place and the warehouse, she’d managed to convince herself that Spike would simply storm out at the first mention of a prophecy. She knew how much it meant to him that he was a self-made master in so many ways, just as she knew that hearing his past and future were beyond his control would send him into a rage. It was a horrible feeling, to know that your life wasn’t your own...as she had discovered when she’d stumbled upon Giles and Angel when they had been talking about the prophecy that said the Master would kill her. The shock of the discovery had led her to attempt to reject her calling...though it hadn’t done her any good in the long run.
Buffy turned the water off, and started to slowly dry herself. There was no need to hurry. From this point on, she was playing a waiting game, and everything depended on Spike. All she had to do was wait for him, and continue to nurture the love she carried for him in her heart, hoping that some day he would feel the same way about her.
The sleep she had hoped would allow her to escape her whirling thoughts just wouldn’t come that night. Thought she tried her best to relax, she was still wide-eyed in the dark, hours later when her bedroom door opened.
Spike slipped into the room, stripped off his clothes, and lay down on the other half of the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Buffy could no more prevent herself from turning to face him, than she could stop herself from needing air. Spike noticed the dip of the mattress, and felt her eyes on him. “I need time, Buffy, and I can’t tell you how much. I do know that I have feelings for you...strong ones. I’d like to stay in Sunnydale and maybe get to know you a bit better, if that’s okay with you?”
Almost overwhelmed with relief, Buffy wiggled closer to Spike and placed a kiss on his bare shoulder. “There’s an extra house key on the table beside you. I’ll keep the freezer stocked with blood. I’d like to get to know you better, too.” The ex-Slayer’s voice was soft in the darkness, as if she was speaking to a particularly skittish wild animal, and didn’t want to scare him away.
“Thanks, Kitten.” He raised his arm and placed it around Buffy, pulling her even closer to his side.
Her head found a place on his shoulder that just seemed made for her.
“I’m sorry,” the vampire suddenly said.
“Huh?” Buffy raised her head, trying to look at him in the darkness.
“Well, you told me how you feel.” Spike hugged her close for a minute. “And I can only tell you that I care. I’m sorry for that. It just doesn’t seem right. Doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”
Gradually, the silence filled the room again, but this time, it was a comfortable and thoughtful silence. Buffy was almost asleep when Spike spoke up again.
“I know how much it hurts, to love someone and to not have that love returned. I don’t ever want to make you feel that way, Buffy.”
Then it was Buffy’s turn to give Spike a hug, holding him close for a moment with her arm around his waist. They stayed together like that, as they gradually drifted off to sleep.
****************
Giles stood behind his counter, and calmly watched as his library hummed with activity. At first the Scoobies wouldn’t accept that Buffy was anything less than a superhero, and now they seemed determined to prove that she was simply a normal girl that would grow up and have a normal life with a husband, 2.3 kids, a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, a family dog, and a minivan.
Giles knew that Buffy was firm in her resolve to have her relationship decisions treated with respect, and wasn’t likely to react well to the latest plans being made by her friends. The ageing Watcher hoped that eventually the Scoobies would come to accept Buffy’s right to choose, but feared that it would be far too late to save their friendship when it finally happened.
Buffy wasn’t going to let anyone or anything push her from her chosen path this time. She demanded acceptance on her own terms. Sadly, Giles was starting to see her friends through the ex-Slayer’s lens now, and he realized that controlling didn’t even begin to cover their actions.
Letting out a sigh of frustration, Giles found himself making eye contact with Oz. For some reason, the young werewolf was the only other person in the group that seemed to understand. The shy guitarist had even tried earlier, to convince Willow to just leave things be, but the red-headed Wiccan would have none of it. Whether she liked it or not, Buffy needed to be saved.
Buffy drove her little compact back to the warehouse, turned the engine off, and then sat outside in the parked car for a few minutes. She desperately wanted to be honest with Spike, but she was so afraid that he would choose to walk away from her once he’d heard her story. For the first time in a very long time, Buffy prayed that things would turn out right.
Spike had been patient with her, and had respected her desire to save her story for the right time. She knew though, that her vampire was felling better every day, and was growing tired of her excuses. She’d claimed she was waiting for him to heal but, in reality, she was just scared. All that would end tonight. No more excuses.
A few deep breaths, and then Buffy slowly got out of her car and made her way upstairs.
“Hey, Luv. How was your meeting?” Spike came out of her bedroom. He’d been resting on the bed they shared. Neither one had ever mentioned the empty bed in the room next door. Merrick had moved downstairs as soon as the rest of the furniture had arrived.
Most mornings they woke up in each other’s arms, or spooning. It wasn’t something that they’d ever talked about, but they hadn’t avoided the conversation either. It was just comfortable, and they accepted that for what it was.
Buffy grimaced. “There was a lot of yelling.” She shrugged her shoulders. “As usual.” Buffy watched Spike come closer, dressed in his trademark black and smelling fresh from the shower. The scent reminded her of the day he had wrinkled his nose at her bath products, declaring them fine for a girl, but refusing to take a shower that would leave him smelling like vanilla or flowers. In the end, Merrick had felt sorry for the vampire, and had gone out to purchase some manly soap, whatever that was. Actually, Buffy still didn’t know what it was exactly, but she knew she liked it on Spike...a lot.
Spike had been intently watching Buffy from the moment she arrived upstairs, and tonight he saw something in her eyes that he had never seen before. He had a feeling that tonight his questions would finally be answered. “So, Pet. Is tonight the night you finally explain how it is you’ve seen my manly bits before?” Spike couldn’t help but tease a little.
Buffy blushed, but responded, “Yeah, it’s finally time I filled you in, I guess. We could talk over dinner, if you’re okay with that? Maybe we could order something in?”
“It’s a date, then. Be sure to dress up for me.” Spike tilted his head to the side, and sent a flirty smile Buffy’s way, as he gazed at her from under his lashes.
Buffy’s blush grew darker. “Um, I’ll order us something when I get out of the shower, okay?”
“No point in putting it off. Why don’t you pass me your phone, and I’ll order us some food.”
“Thanks, Spike. That would be nice.” Buffy took her phone out of her pocket, and held it out to Spike. Instead of just plucking the phone from her hand, Spike used one hand to pick up the phone, while he used his other hand to gently grasp her hand and raise it to his lips. Buffy didn’t know what to expect, but Spike merely placed a soft kiss on the palm of her hand, and then set her free again.
“Go on, Luv. Best get in that shower now,” Spike urged her, his voice sounding hoarse.
Buffy quickly turned to leave the room.
Heading to the kitchen, Spike paused for a moment. “What do you want? Pizza, Chinese, or something else?” he called back.
“Chinese,” she responded, without turning back to the vampire.
Once out of the shower, Buffy dried her hair and brushed it until it shone. Remembering Spike’s teasing direction to dress nice, Buffy want to her closet and pulled out a little black lace dress. She pulled her hair up at the sides, and added a touch of perfume behind her ears. She didn’t have any jewellery, so she just added a little lip gloss, and then she was done.
When Buffy made her way to the living room, she found the lights had been turned off. The coffee table was covered by a creamy white piece of linen, and there was a smattering of lit candles at the centre of the table. The room was beautiful, and the only thing that appeared to be missing was her date.
When the blonde vampire still hadn’t returned after a few minutes, Buffy started to worry that maybe he’d decided to leave before they had a chance to talk. Before her worry could escalate into panic, she heard him coming up the stairs.
Spike’s arms were full of Chinese food, clearly meant for the coffee table he had set. He stopped though, once he caught sight of Buffy, unable to move forward for a moment. “Beautiful,” he breathed.
Buffy couldn’t help the blush that rushed to her cheeks. She looked down at the ground, feeling young and shy around Spike. She didn’t know if it was the seventeen year old body, or just something special about her houseguest, but everything felt new and fresh to her.
Deciding to try to lighten the atmosphere a bit, Spike solemnly intoned, “The food has arrived. Will guests please take their seats?” Buffy and Spike then sat down on cushions that the enterprising vampire had taken off the couch and placed on the floor on either side of the coffee table.
Moving carefully, Spike took the boxes of Chinese food out of the bag, one by one. He opened each container, before placing them near the centre of the table. Finally, he pulled out a final item from the bag: a bottle of wine.
I was then that Buffy noticed the wineglasses on the coffee table. She’s been too busy looking for Spike when she first entered the room, and then too busy watching Spike once he had arrived, to pay them any mind earlier.
It wasn’t long before Spike was holding up the opened bottle and asking, “Can I pour you a glass, Pet?”
“Yes, please.” She watched him pour, wanting to remember every single thing about this night, knowing that it might very well be the last night she would ever spend in his company.
“A toast for a happy future,” Spike said, holding his glass out to gently touch with Buffy’s.
“A happy future sounds perfect,” Buffy responded.
Spike picked up one of the food cartons and began to fill his plate with spicy chicken wings. Once he’d added enough to his plate, he offered the box to Buffy, who had just loaded egg rolls onto her plate and was extending her box across the table to her guest. “So, Luv, what’s your perfect happy future look like?” Spike had decided that a little conversation over dinner would be a good thing.
Almost too quietly for Spike to hear, Buffy responded, “My perfect future is one where you don’t leave me.”
If Spike hadn’t had vampire hearing, he wouldn’t have heard Buffy’s comment. Suddenly, playtime was over. Buffy looked at Spike, and Spike looked back at Buffy. Neither said anything, because there really wasn’t anything to say.
Finally, Buffy seemed to rouse herself. “Yours?” she almost whispered.
“Well, now...mine? If you’d asked me a month or so ago, my happy future would have been full of Dru.” Spike took a sip of his wine, and sat quietly, pondering things only he could see.
“Spike...William...Tell me,” a soft voice encouraged.
Suddenly, startlingly blue eyes met soft, forest green ones. “Are you sure you really want to know?” Spike had to ask. He didn’t want to hurt her again. He knew how she felt about him...she’d told him so without words, the love she felt shining clearly from her eyes.
Buffy nodded. She has a pretty good idea about what was coming, and she owed it to Spike. A lifetime ago, he’d listened to her claim Angel as her only one. Turnabout was fair play, and now it would be her turn to listen to Spike talk about Drusilla, his Sire, and his love for her.
He looked down at his hands, the long, agile fingers playing with the stem of his wine glass. “In a happy future, I would have claimed Dru as my mate, and she would have claimed me back. I’d have her for my own, and Angelus would never be able to take her away from me.” Suddenly, Spike looked up at Buffy again. “That would have been my version of a happy future, if you’d asked me a month or two ago.”
“And what about if someone asked you now?” Buffy didn’t dare breathe while she waited for his answer. So much was riding on what Spike said next.
The blonde vampire frowned. “Now, I don’t know. I think if someone asked me now, I’d say that in my happy future I would have found someone to love...someone who was able to love me back.” Spike didn’t consider himself a coward, but he found he just wasn’t ready to be completely vulnerable in front of the Slayer again. He knew his heart was probably in his eyes though.
Buffy’s breath caught in her throat. She held Spike’s gaze, hoping that the love shining at her was real and not just some figment of her desperation. She understood why Spike was steering clear of emotional confessions. There were just too many unknowns in this equation right now, and Spike was waiting for Buffy to share a few of the answers she already had.
Finally, Buffy cleared her throat and returned her gaze to the dinner spread on the table. Spike followed her lead, and the couple ate in silence, the only sounds in the room the occasional scrape of a knife or fork across a plate. Though they focused their attention on their dinner, their eyes frequently made contact, and both were wearing smiles on their faces. Once the food was finished, together they cleared the table, refilled their wine glasses, and then returned to the living room. Buffy and Spike each took a seat at either end of the comfortable sofa, and then turned so they were facing each other.
This was it...no more stalling. Buffy held Spike’s bluer than blue gaze, took a steadying sip of her wine, and then started. “First off, I want you to know that you will always have a place in my home, if you want it. I don’t expect you to stay in the same room with me. That will be up to you and what you want. I just have one request...please don’t kill in my town. I refuse to kill you myself, but there will be others who won’t hesitate if you’re killing.”
“Of course. I understand, Buffy,” Spike replied.
There was nothing left but to start with the story that Spike had been waiting to hear. Buffy’s gaze dropped to the fabric of the sofa as she told Spike the story of her life...both lives. For the most part, she kept the story to the bigger moments, unless Spike asked for specific details. The night was quickly disappearing, as the ex-Slayer bared her soul to the vampire that had come to mean more than life to her. Spike sat and listened, doing his best to let Buffy get everything off her chest. The only time he appeared confused was when Buffy was talking about her friends, the Scoobies. He couldn’t believe the things that they had done to his Slayer for her own good, and didn’t understand why Buffy hadn’t cut ties and walked away from them long ago.
That was a hard one to explain, especially when Buffy was asking herself the same question. Still, she told Spike about the prophecy, and about the part her friends played. Then it was time to tell him that the two of them were meant to be, and that there was a book that explained it all.
“You and I are meant to be?” he asked, sceptically. “Don’t you think you’re confusing me with Peaches?”
Smiling, Buffy shook her head. “No, Spike. There’s no confusion about this at all. You’re the one.”
“How can it be me? That just doesn’t make sense. I’m evil. You’re a Slayer...a good guy.” Spike abruptly drained his glass, and then picked up the bottle and offered it to Buffy. “Do you want to share the rest of the bottle?” When Buffy shook her head, Spike filled his own glass. It was a nice white wine, but right then Spike was wishing for a bottle of something a lot stronger.
Visibly bracing his shoulders, Spike looked at Buffy again. “Alright then, what’s this book you’re talking about? What does it say about us?”
“It’s a book of prophecy, written several hundred years ago. The book talks about what will happen to us, and to the world, if we agree to be bound to each other in the way the Powers That Be want.”
“Not good enough. I want details.” Spike was grinding his teeth, the muscles in his jaw clearly flexing and twitching. His brain was working overtime, as he realized that his life was mapped out already, and he had no say in what was going to happen. He was a vampire...an agent of chaos...but now it seemed that Buffy was telling him he had no free will at all, and Spike wasn’t happy about being a puppet on someone’s string.
“The details don’t matter, Spike. None of it does.” This was the important part, the part that Buffy needed to get right.
“What? We’re in a damned prophecy, Buffy. How can you say the details don’t matter?” Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“This isn’t about the prophecy, Spike. This is about you and me. Please...you’ve always been so good at understanding me, and I’ve always had a terrible time saying the words.” Buffy moved closer, eyes locked with Spike’s and cheeks flushed. “You probably know how I feel about you already.”
Then it was Spike who looked away. “I think...maybe. I’ve got an idea, but I just don’t get it. Nobody has ever really cared about me, except for my mum.”
“I more than care about you, Spike. To me, you’re the one...the only one, and because of that, I want what’s best for you, and what’s going to make you happy. If you want to go and find Drusilla, you can do that and I’ll support you in any way I can. The choice is up to you this time, and I’ll make sure that everyone else understands that too. My perspective here is clear. I want you, and nobody else, but if that’s not what you want, then I’ll understand.” Buffy reached out a hand to gently touch Spike’s cheek. “I love you, Spike.” Her gaze was open and honest, as she met his startled glance. “I want whatever will make you happy.”
Spike was lost in Buffy’s gentle smile, and immediately missed her hand on his face when she stood up and turned to leave the room. She paused briefly at the door to her bedroom...their bedroom, if he wanted it to be, and then she was gone.
What now? This is going to make me completely barmy. I know I feel something for Buffy, but is it love? I don’t want to be mated to some chit just because someone was crazy enough to write down some lunatic’s babbling before I was even born. Mating is about love, not prophecy. It should be an overwhelming love, like I can’t live without her. Can I really say that I love her like that?
Feeling tied up in knots, Spike finally rose from the sofa and carried the dirty wine glasses into the kitchen. He rinsed them out and then placed them in the dishwasher before being drawn to gaze out the window at the night sky. He didn’t know what to do and, for once, he was determined to take his time with a decision, instead of just impulsively leaping in where angels would fear to tread.
While Spike gazed out the window, Buffy was standing in the shower, letting the hot water pound her muscles as she tried to recover from a crying jag. Really, things went better than she had been expecting. For some reason, between her mother’s place and the warehouse, she’d managed to convince herself that Spike would simply storm out at the first mention of a prophecy. She knew how much it meant to him that he was a self-made master in so many ways, just as she knew that hearing his past and future were beyond his control would send him into a rage. It was a horrible feeling, to know that your life wasn’t your own...as she had discovered when she’d stumbled upon Giles and Angel when they had been talking about the prophecy that said the Master would kill her. The shock of the discovery had led her to attempt to reject her calling...though it hadn’t done her any good in the long run.
Buffy turned the water off, and started to slowly dry herself. There was no need to hurry. From this point on, she was playing a waiting game, and everything depended on Spike. All she had to do was wait for him, and continue to nurture the love she carried for him in her heart, hoping that some day he would feel the same way about her.
The sleep she had hoped would allow her to escape her whirling thoughts just wouldn’t come that night. Thought she tried her best to relax, she was still wide-eyed in the dark, hours later when her bedroom door opened.
Spike slipped into the room, stripped off his clothes, and lay down on the other half of the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Buffy could no more prevent herself from turning to face him, than she could stop herself from needing air. Spike noticed the dip of the mattress, and felt her eyes on him. “I need time, Buffy, and I can’t tell you how much. I do know that I have feelings for you...strong ones. I’d like to stay in Sunnydale and maybe get to know you a bit better, if that’s okay with you?”
Almost overwhelmed with relief, Buffy wiggled closer to Spike and placed a kiss on his bare shoulder. “There’s an extra house key on the table beside you. I’ll keep the freezer stocked with blood. I’d like to get to know you better, too.” The ex-Slayer’s voice was soft in the darkness, as if she was speaking to a particularly skittish wild animal, and didn’t want to scare him away.
“Thanks, Kitten.” He raised his arm and placed it around Buffy, pulling her even closer to his side.
Her head found a place on his shoulder that just seemed made for her.
“I’m sorry,” the vampire suddenly said.
“Huh?” Buffy raised her head, trying to look at him in the darkness.
“Well, you told me how you feel.” Spike hugged her close for a minute. “And I can only tell you that I care. I’m sorry for that. It just doesn’t seem right. Doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”
Gradually, the silence filled the room again, but this time, it was a comfortable and thoughtful silence. Buffy was almost asleep when Spike spoke up again.
“I know how much it hurts, to love someone and to not have that love returned. I don’t ever want to make you feel that way, Buffy.”
Then it was Buffy’s turn to give Spike a hug, holding him close for a moment with her arm around his waist. They stayed together like that, as they gradually drifted off to sleep.
****************
Giles stood behind his counter, and calmly watched as his library hummed with activity. At first the Scoobies wouldn’t accept that Buffy was anything less than a superhero, and now they seemed determined to prove that she was simply a normal girl that would grow up and have a normal life with a husband, 2.3 kids, a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence, a family dog, and a minivan.
Giles knew that Buffy was firm in her resolve to have her relationship decisions treated with respect, and wasn’t likely to react well to the latest plans being made by her friends. The ageing Watcher hoped that eventually the Scoobies would come to accept Buffy’s right to choose, but feared that it would be far too late to save their friendship when it finally happened.
Buffy wasn’t going to let anyone or anything push her from her chosen path this time. She demanded acceptance on her own terms. Sadly, Giles was starting to see her friends through the ex-Slayer’s lens now, and he realized that controlling didn’t even begin to cover their actions.
Letting out a sigh of frustration, Giles found himself making eye contact with Oz. For some reason, the young werewolf was the only other person in the group that seemed to understand. The shy guitarist had even tried earlier, to convince Willow to just leave things be, but the red-headed Wiccan would have none of it. Whether she liked it or not, Buffy needed to be saved.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Spike was the first one awake the next day. Dreams had plagued him throughout the night. Well, maybe it was more accurate to call them nightmares instead. He didn’t know if his imagination was creating memories for him, based on Buffy’s story, or if they were sent by the Powers, to show him what his life could have been like if Buffy hadn’t been attacked the night before the dance. Either way, his dreams gave him something to think about. They had been very vivid, and had filled in a lot of the gaps that Buffy had skimmed over the night before.
Like a compass pointing North, Spike had turned to face Buffy in the night. Waking first gave him a unique opportunity to study the ex-Slayer as she slept on in his arms. So much strength in such a tiny package...not something you could see just by looking on the surface. Maybe she wasn’t conventionally beautiful, but she was certainly pretty. Her face held character though, even in sleep, and a hidden layer of steel that was there if you knew what to look for.
The little blonde was using one of Spike’s arms as a pillow, and was holding his other arm wrapped around her waist, as if trying to convince the vampire to hold her close. Spike could tell that she was close to waking. Her nose was wrinkling, as it was tickled by a stray strand of her golden hair.
Spike smiled, and removed the mischievous hair, letting his bed mate return to her sleep. While he watched her, his mind was working in high gear. Spike didn’t know what to do. Buffy had made it clear that he was free to leave, whenever he wanted. He just wasn’t certain that, after spending the last few weeks in her home, he’d be able to live without her. How could he sleep without having her wrapped in his arms? More importantly, why should he have to try?
He could leave, or he could stay. Nothing was written in stone, and Buffy had been honest about their past in the other timeline. It didn’t take much thinking before Spike was forced to acknowledge that he couldn’t leave the petite ex-Slayer. That much was simple and impossible to argue. What he wasn’t certain of, was whether he loved her enough to claim her, to stay with her forever and never be with another woman for the rest of his unlife. She said she loved him like that, but did she really understand what she was asking of him? Did she understand what would be expected of her? Spike wasn’t interested in another one-way relationship.
Spike was so distracted by his thoughts that he was unaware that Buffy was awake and was watching him. Though completely absorbed with the tiny blonde in his arms, his mind was miles away.
Content to be wrapped in her vampire’s arms, Buffy closed her eyes again and snuggled deeper into his embrace, her nose buried in his throat.
Absently, Spike tightened the arm wrapped around the ex-Slayer’s waist. He was still pondering their relationship and his own feelings, but he already knew that having Buffy in his arms was a blessing.
The couple was so absorbed with each other that they didn’t hear Merrick answering the door and letting Joyce into the warehouse an hour later, or the pair leaving again not long after.
It was late morning when Buffy woke again, stretching like a kitten that had been sleeping in the sun.
“Morning, Luv,” Spike drawled.
“Did you get any sleep?” she asked, with a little yawn.
“Some.”
They locked eyes. Slowly, without thought, their heads moved closer. Spike looked down at her lips for a moment, and then back to her eyes.
Buffy moved her hand up Spike’s back, and licked her lips as she moved closer to him.
Spike moved in and nibbled at her lips. He gently pulled her to his chest, giving her an opportunity to pull away.
Instead of moving away, she repaid his nibble with one of her own. Soon they were sharing a soft kiss, that gradually developed into an exploration of each other’s mouths.
Spike had started the first kiss; Buffy the second. After that, there was no way of telling who started the numerous kisses they shared. It didn’t seem as if they could get enough of each other.
Finally, they broke apart, both panting, brows touching.
“I...I don’t want this to go any further, until you know in your mind and heart that this is what you want,” she said, breathlessly. “I want this more than anything, but I want you to want it too, and not just because of sexual attraction.” She swallowed visibly. “Do you understand?” she asked almost pleading, cupping his cheek with her hand.
Spike sighed, “I do, and thank you for keeping a clear head.” He placed a kiss on her nose. “I think I’m falling in love with you, but I want to be sure. A claiming is forever, not something you can revoke the day after.”
The happiness Buffy felt at Spike’s declaration was almost overwhelming. She felt as if her heart would beat out of her chest, and she knew if she stayed in her bed any longer, the temptation to start kissing her vampire would be impossible to resist. “Take as long as you need,” she said, as she rolled onto her back. “I need a shower.” Buffy glanced once more at Spike, and then smiled shyly as she rolled off the bed.
Spike had given her more than the crumb he had asked for, once upon a time. Buffy had hope, that he would be hers, as she was his. She had all the time in the world to wait for him. Alone in the shower, Buffy let tears of happiness run down her face to mingle with the warm spray from the showerhead.
Spending the day quietly relaxing, Spike and Buffy passed the time in quiet conversation, getting to know each other. They watched a movie, and sparred for a short time, before they parted ways for the evening. Spike went to Willy’s, and Buffy went to her mother’s home on Revello Drive.
************
In the school library, research had begun again as soon as the bell signalled that school was over for the day.
Angel, however, wasn’t restricted by the demands of a modern education. He had been at the books both night and day. He wouldn’t accept what Giles said, or what he read in the prophecy.
Angel believed that if the prophecy was true, there had to be another way to interpret it. Either that, or fix it, and turn Buffy back into the normal girl she was before she became the Slayer.
When Willow and Xander entered the library, Angel was pacing back and forth across the length of the room. He had a book in one hand, and was running his other hand through his hair.
In contrast to Angel’s agitation, Oz was sitting on the stairs to the upper level, calmly watching the show. He had a study period last block, and had arrived an hour earlier. Giles had caught him on his way out of his last class, and had convinced him to come and keep an eye on the Scoobies. The Watcher was worried they were going to do something stupid, but was too exhausted to supervise them any longer. He had hardly slept since Kendra had found the book, and he needed to go home and get some rest. Oz wished he was home as well. He had a bad feeling about what was to come.
Still, he had agreed to help the Watcher, and that was how Oz came to be reluctantly seated in the library, occasionally turning a page of the book in his lap and pretending to read.
“What’s up, Dead Boy?” Xander let the barb fly without thought when he saw Angel. Noticing the vampire’s normally impeccable hair, he let out a snicker and asked, “What’s got your hair in such a twist?”
Angel turned and growled at him, eyes flashing golden in the shadowed room. “Quit it, boy.”
Xander took a step back. That wasn’t the reaction he was used to, and he decided that it might not be the best time to irritate the recently-evil vampire. When he saw Angel take a seat at the research table, he carefully inched his way to a chair as far away from the vampire as he could get.
Angel inhaled deeply. Even from fifteen feet away, he was enjoying the intoxicating scent of fear that was rolling off Xander.
“What did you find?” Willow asked, pulling out a chair and taking her place as the buffer zone between Angel and Xander.
“Everything I’ve found just seems to confirm what Giles has told us.” Angel slammed the book closed.
Xander jumped in his seat when Angel closed the book he had been reading. To cover his girly jumpiness, he quickly asked in a sarcastic voice, “Have you read all the books? Every last one of them?” as he gestured to the stacks of books piled high on the table.
Angel looked at Xander through yellow demon eyes, unable to disguise the contempt he felt toward the weak and whiney teenager. The vampire’s eyes were their normal puppy-dog brown though, when he turned back to Willow. “We have to do something. Buffy thinks she’s looking for someone fated to be her soul mate, but instead she’s going to end up with someone who will kill her when she turns her back on him.” Again, he ran his hand through his hair, causing even more damage to his hairstyle.
Knowing that hysterical laughter was NOT the right path to take in front of the homicidally irritated vampire, Xander quickly stuck his head in a book and tried to control his reaction to Angel’s out of control hair.
“What about a temporary solution?” Willow was wringing her hands.
“What are you talking about?” Xander asked, his good mood gone.
Angel and Xander were both looking hopefully at Willow, Oz forgotten.
“Well, I might be able to do a spell. Kind of like a ‘time out’ until we find out where everything went wrong,” she said nervously. “Then we can fix the problem and remove the spell.”
“Yeah, she’ll be so grateful to us. We’ll be saving her from having to be with a demon,” Xander said dreamily. He was convinced that Buffy would be so thankful that she would fall into his arms, and he’d finally get what he wanted from the petite blonde.
“Willow, can I talk with you for a minute?” Oz was standing at his girlfriend’s side. “In private, please.”
Willow looked up, startled. She had forgotten that Oz was even in the room. “Now? But...”
“Yes, now. In the hallway, please.” He walked out the door, positive that Willow would follow.
It only took a moment for her to join him outside the library, but it was clear she found his request annoying. “What is it?” she asked impatiently. “I don’t have time to hang around, Oz. I’ve got to find the right spell to help Buffy.”
Oz stared at her, his face carefully blank. “Willow, please think about this. You’re crossing some boundaries here, and I don’t think you’ve really thought this out.”
“Wh...what?” She started to wring her hands. “What do you mean?”
“It scares me that this isn’t obviously wrong to you...that you think she’s going to be grateful to you if you do this.”
“It’s for her own good,” Willow said, pleading for his understanding. “We can’t let her make a mistake and get hurt.”
“Please, Willow. Don’t do this.” Oz placed his hands on her arms and drew her closer, trying to convince her with the comfort of his touch.
“You don’t understand. I have to help her.”
“Are you really going to place a spell on your friend, without her knowledge or permission?” Oz asked her. “Do you really think she’ll be happy when she finds out that you’ve taken control of her life?”
Willow was clearly overwhelmed, tears trickling down her face as she tried to make up her mind what was best. “I have to, Oz. I have to look out for her. She doesn’t understand what she’s doing!” Willow claimed.
Oz could see that there was no reaching her. His hands fell from her arms and he stepped back. “I can’t be a part of that, Willow. I won’t help you take control of Buffy’s life, just because you don’t like how she’s choosing to live it. If you can’t see how wrong this is, then you’re not the person I thought you were. I’m sorry, Willow, but we’re through.” Oz turned and walked away, leaving the redhead standing in the hall.
Willow called out, desperate to have him come back, to fix things between them. Oz didn’t react to her calls, though she knew he heard her. When he reached the end of the hall and turned the corner, she looked at the doors to the library, torn between chasing him and returning to the Scooby meeting. In the end, she wrapped her arms around herself and returned to the library, tears running down her cheeks.
Oz hurried to his van. A short drive later, he was knocking at Giles’ door.
A dishevelled Giles opened the door, and Oz walked into the Watcher’s home, not waiting for an invitation. Unable to relax, he began to pace back and forth across the living room.
Giles had never seen Oz this agitated before. Normally, he was the most collected young man the Watcher had ever met. “What happened, Oz?” Giles gestured for him to sit on the couch.
Oz sat down, but couldn’t help his leg from bouncing. “I just broke up with Willow.”
“I’m sorry, Oz.” Giles patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. He was surprised that Oz would bring such emotional news to him, and wasn’t certain what kind of response the young teen was looking for. “Can I get you a cup of tea?” Tea fixed things like this, didn’t it?
Oz ignored Giles’ attempts to make him feel better. “They want to place a spell on her, to stop her from making any decisions they don’t agree with.”
“I beg your pardon? What are you talking about?”
“I came straight over to let you know. It’s Buffy.” He looked up from his hands. “That’s why I broke up with Willow. I just couldn’t...” He looked down again.
Giles got up, realization dawning on his face. “I’ll call Buffy.”
****************
In the meantime, Angel, Xander, and Willow had located a spell that they thought would do the job nicely. If it worked properly, Buffy would forget everything about the prophecy all the craziness of the past few months. Instead, she would believe that she was just a normal girl, complete with friends and family, and a calling to save others.
It was important that the components of the spell were correct, so the trio took a few minutes to figure out exactly which day would be the last one that Buffy remembered. They settled on the day before she was to go meet the Master. The spell components would be easy to find at the Magic Shop, and so the last question to be answered was just who would be doing the spell on Buffy?
******************’’
Buffy’s response to Giles’ warning phone call was a simple, “Not again.”
“Again? Have they done this before?” he asked, pulling off his glasses.
“You, Willow, Xander, and Angel have all done this to me before, at one time or another.”
“Oh, Dear Lord. I...I don’t know what to say, Buffy. Would ‘I’m sorry’ be appropriate?”
Buffy sighed. “It’s okay, Giles. It helps that you’re on my side this time. How do we make them understand though? Why can’t they just have faith that everything is as it should be?”
“I don’t know, Buffy, but I would think putting a stop to the spell they’re planning right now should be our top priority.” Giles rubbed his brow.
Buffy closed her eyes, leaning against the wall. It was too similar to her memories of the other timeline. It hurt to think that nothing had changed. The pain was almost physical, as if someone had slammed a fist into her chest and was squeezing her heart. “It won’t be a problem, Giles.”
“How can you say that? You can’t just lie down and let them have their way.” Giles was getting angry.
“Oh, I won’t. What I mean is, their spell won’t work. It’s impossible to place a spell on me without my consent.”
Giles could hear the sadness in her voice. “I confess, I don’t understand, Buffy. You sound sad, but I would think that would be a cause for celebration?”
Buffy sighed. She’d just been through the emotional upheaval of sharing her life story with Spike, and now this. “It reminds me of why I had to get the protection spell in the first place, Giles. Not something that makes me all smiley-faced.”
Giles cringed. “That bad?”
“I don’t think you really want to hear any details, since you were part of the ‘let’s mess with Buffy’ party that time.”
“I’m sorry.”
Buffy could hear the sincerity in his voice, and did her best to remember that Giles was different this time.
“What would you suggest we do then, Buffy? Should we be trying to stop them from casting the spell?”
“There’s no point, Giles. If you stop them now, they’ll just do it later. Kendra and I are going to the Bronze tonight. I’m going to just stick to that plan, and I bet the Scoobies will show up there later. It’s kind of the only place in town to celebrate, and they’ll think they’ve scored a major victory with this spell.”
“Yes, I suppose you are quite right. In that case, might I join you tonight?”
“At the Bronze?” Buffy asked, astonished.
“Yes, at the Bronze. Surely I don’t appear as stuffy as all that? I’ll even provide you and Kendra with a ride to the club, if you’d like.”
“Um, okay. I was going to ask who you were, and what you’ve done with Giles, but I think I’ll just ask you why you want to go, instead.”
“I confess, I want to see their faces, when they realize that the spell they cast didn’t work.” The Watcher was desperately trying to polish his glasses, without dropping the phone. At the moment, he had the receiver pressed between his shoulder and jaw. “What time would you like me to pick you up?”
“Come over whenever you want. Maybe I’ll be able to talk Mom into making you a cup of tea before we go.” Buffy looked over at her mother, who nodded. “We could have a bit of a chat before we go Bronzing?”
“I would be delighted.”
Plans made, Buffy hung up the phone and turned to her mother. “Wow...bronzing with Giles...I never would have believed that one.”
Spike was the first one awake the next day. Dreams had plagued him throughout the night. Well, maybe it was more accurate to call them nightmares instead. He didn’t know if his imagination was creating memories for him, based on Buffy’s story, or if they were sent by the Powers, to show him what his life could have been like if Buffy hadn’t been attacked the night before the dance. Either way, his dreams gave him something to think about. They had been very vivid, and had filled in a lot of the gaps that Buffy had skimmed over the night before.
Like a compass pointing North, Spike had turned to face Buffy in the night. Waking first gave him a unique opportunity to study the ex-Slayer as she slept on in his arms. So much strength in such a tiny package...not something you could see just by looking on the surface. Maybe she wasn’t conventionally beautiful, but she was certainly pretty. Her face held character though, even in sleep, and a hidden layer of steel that was there if you knew what to look for.
The little blonde was using one of Spike’s arms as a pillow, and was holding his other arm wrapped around her waist, as if trying to convince the vampire to hold her close. Spike could tell that she was close to waking. Her nose was wrinkling, as it was tickled by a stray strand of her golden hair.
Spike smiled, and removed the mischievous hair, letting his bed mate return to her sleep. While he watched her, his mind was working in high gear. Spike didn’t know what to do. Buffy had made it clear that he was free to leave, whenever he wanted. He just wasn’t certain that, after spending the last few weeks in her home, he’d be able to live without her. How could he sleep without having her wrapped in his arms? More importantly, why should he have to try?
He could leave, or he could stay. Nothing was written in stone, and Buffy had been honest about their past in the other timeline. It didn’t take much thinking before Spike was forced to acknowledge that he couldn’t leave the petite ex-Slayer. That much was simple and impossible to argue. What he wasn’t certain of, was whether he loved her enough to claim her, to stay with her forever and never be with another woman for the rest of his unlife. She said she loved him like that, but did she really understand what she was asking of him? Did she understand what would be expected of her? Spike wasn’t interested in another one-way relationship.
Spike was so distracted by his thoughts that he was unaware that Buffy was awake and was watching him. Though completely absorbed with the tiny blonde in his arms, his mind was miles away.
Content to be wrapped in her vampire’s arms, Buffy closed her eyes again and snuggled deeper into his embrace, her nose buried in his throat.
Absently, Spike tightened the arm wrapped around the ex-Slayer’s waist. He was still pondering their relationship and his own feelings, but he already knew that having Buffy in his arms was a blessing.
The couple was so absorbed with each other that they didn’t hear Merrick answering the door and letting Joyce into the warehouse an hour later, or the pair leaving again not long after.
It was late morning when Buffy woke again, stretching like a kitten that had been sleeping in the sun.
“Morning, Luv,” Spike drawled.
“Did you get any sleep?” she asked, with a little yawn.
“Some.”
They locked eyes. Slowly, without thought, their heads moved closer. Spike looked down at her lips for a moment, and then back to her eyes.
Buffy moved her hand up Spike’s back, and licked her lips as she moved closer to him.
Spike moved in and nibbled at her lips. He gently pulled her to his chest, giving her an opportunity to pull away.
Instead of moving away, she repaid his nibble with one of her own. Soon they were sharing a soft kiss, that gradually developed into an exploration of each other’s mouths.
Spike had started the first kiss; Buffy the second. After that, there was no way of telling who started the numerous kisses they shared. It didn’t seem as if they could get enough of each other.
Finally, they broke apart, both panting, brows touching.
“I...I don’t want this to go any further, until you know in your mind and heart that this is what you want,” she said, breathlessly. “I want this more than anything, but I want you to want it too, and not just because of sexual attraction.” She swallowed visibly. “Do you understand?” she asked almost pleading, cupping his cheek with her hand.
Spike sighed, “I do, and thank you for keeping a clear head.” He placed a kiss on her nose. “I think I’m falling in love with you, but I want to be sure. A claiming is forever, not something you can revoke the day after.”
The happiness Buffy felt at Spike’s declaration was almost overwhelming. She felt as if her heart would beat out of her chest, and she knew if she stayed in her bed any longer, the temptation to start kissing her vampire would be impossible to resist. “Take as long as you need,” she said, as she rolled onto her back. “I need a shower.” Buffy glanced once more at Spike, and then smiled shyly as she rolled off the bed.
Spike had given her more than the crumb he had asked for, once upon a time. Buffy had hope, that he would be hers, as she was his. She had all the time in the world to wait for him. Alone in the shower, Buffy let tears of happiness run down her face to mingle with the warm spray from the showerhead.
Spending the day quietly relaxing, Spike and Buffy passed the time in quiet conversation, getting to know each other. They watched a movie, and sparred for a short time, before they parted ways for the evening. Spike went to Willy’s, and Buffy went to her mother’s home on Revello Drive.
************
In the school library, research had begun again as soon as the bell signalled that school was over for the day.
Angel, however, wasn’t restricted by the demands of a modern education. He had been at the books both night and day. He wouldn’t accept what Giles said, or what he read in the prophecy.
Angel believed that if the prophecy was true, there had to be another way to interpret it. Either that, or fix it, and turn Buffy back into the normal girl she was before she became the Slayer.
When Willow and Xander entered the library, Angel was pacing back and forth across the length of the room. He had a book in one hand, and was running his other hand through his hair.
In contrast to Angel’s agitation, Oz was sitting on the stairs to the upper level, calmly watching the show. He had a study period last block, and had arrived an hour earlier. Giles had caught him on his way out of his last class, and had convinced him to come and keep an eye on the Scoobies. The Watcher was worried they were going to do something stupid, but was too exhausted to supervise them any longer. He had hardly slept since Kendra had found the book, and he needed to go home and get some rest. Oz wished he was home as well. He had a bad feeling about what was to come.
Still, he had agreed to help the Watcher, and that was how Oz came to be reluctantly seated in the library, occasionally turning a page of the book in his lap and pretending to read.
“What’s up, Dead Boy?” Xander let the barb fly without thought when he saw Angel. Noticing the vampire’s normally impeccable hair, he let out a snicker and asked, “What’s got your hair in such a twist?”
Angel turned and growled at him, eyes flashing golden in the shadowed room. “Quit it, boy.”
Xander took a step back. That wasn’t the reaction he was used to, and he decided that it might not be the best time to irritate the recently-evil vampire. When he saw Angel take a seat at the research table, he carefully inched his way to a chair as far away from the vampire as he could get.
Angel inhaled deeply. Even from fifteen feet away, he was enjoying the intoxicating scent of fear that was rolling off Xander.
“What did you find?” Willow asked, pulling out a chair and taking her place as the buffer zone between Angel and Xander.
“Everything I’ve found just seems to confirm what Giles has told us.” Angel slammed the book closed.
Xander jumped in his seat when Angel closed the book he had been reading. To cover his girly jumpiness, he quickly asked in a sarcastic voice, “Have you read all the books? Every last one of them?” as he gestured to the stacks of books piled high on the table.
Angel looked at Xander through yellow demon eyes, unable to disguise the contempt he felt toward the weak and whiney teenager. The vampire’s eyes were their normal puppy-dog brown though, when he turned back to Willow. “We have to do something. Buffy thinks she’s looking for someone fated to be her soul mate, but instead she’s going to end up with someone who will kill her when she turns her back on him.” Again, he ran his hand through his hair, causing even more damage to his hairstyle.
Knowing that hysterical laughter was NOT the right path to take in front of the homicidally irritated vampire, Xander quickly stuck his head in a book and tried to control his reaction to Angel’s out of control hair.
“What about a temporary solution?” Willow was wringing her hands.
“What are you talking about?” Xander asked, his good mood gone.
Angel and Xander were both looking hopefully at Willow, Oz forgotten.
“Well, I might be able to do a spell. Kind of like a ‘time out’ until we find out where everything went wrong,” she said nervously. “Then we can fix the problem and remove the spell.”
“Yeah, she’ll be so grateful to us. We’ll be saving her from having to be with a demon,” Xander said dreamily. He was convinced that Buffy would be so thankful that she would fall into his arms, and he’d finally get what he wanted from the petite blonde.
“Willow, can I talk with you for a minute?” Oz was standing at his girlfriend’s side. “In private, please.”
Willow looked up, startled. She had forgotten that Oz was even in the room. “Now? But...”
“Yes, now. In the hallway, please.” He walked out the door, positive that Willow would follow.
It only took a moment for her to join him outside the library, but it was clear she found his request annoying. “What is it?” she asked impatiently. “I don’t have time to hang around, Oz. I’ve got to find the right spell to help Buffy.”
Oz stared at her, his face carefully blank. “Willow, please think about this. You’re crossing some boundaries here, and I don’t think you’ve really thought this out.”
“Wh...what?” She started to wring her hands. “What do you mean?”
“It scares me that this isn’t obviously wrong to you...that you think she’s going to be grateful to you if you do this.”
“It’s for her own good,” Willow said, pleading for his understanding. “We can’t let her make a mistake and get hurt.”
“Please, Willow. Don’t do this.” Oz placed his hands on her arms and drew her closer, trying to convince her with the comfort of his touch.
“You don’t understand. I have to help her.”
“Are you really going to place a spell on your friend, without her knowledge or permission?” Oz asked her. “Do you really think she’ll be happy when she finds out that you’ve taken control of her life?”
Willow was clearly overwhelmed, tears trickling down her face as she tried to make up her mind what was best. “I have to, Oz. I have to look out for her. She doesn’t understand what she’s doing!” Willow claimed.
Oz could see that there was no reaching her. His hands fell from her arms and he stepped back. “I can’t be a part of that, Willow. I won’t help you take control of Buffy’s life, just because you don’t like how she’s choosing to live it. If you can’t see how wrong this is, then you’re not the person I thought you were. I’m sorry, Willow, but we’re through.” Oz turned and walked away, leaving the redhead standing in the hall.
Willow called out, desperate to have him come back, to fix things between them. Oz didn’t react to her calls, though she knew he heard her. When he reached the end of the hall and turned the corner, she looked at the doors to the library, torn between chasing him and returning to the Scooby meeting. In the end, she wrapped her arms around herself and returned to the library, tears running down her cheeks.
Oz hurried to his van. A short drive later, he was knocking at Giles’ door.
A dishevelled Giles opened the door, and Oz walked into the Watcher’s home, not waiting for an invitation. Unable to relax, he began to pace back and forth across the living room.
Giles had never seen Oz this agitated before. Normally, he was the most collected young man the Watcher had ever met. “What happened, Oz?” Giles gestured for him to sit on the couch.
Oz sat down, but couldn’t help his leg from bouncing. “I just broke up with Willow.”
“I’m sorry, Oz.” Giles patted him awkwardly on the shoulder. He was surprised that Oz would bring such emotional news to him, and wasn’t certain what kind of response the young teen was looking for. “Can I get you a cup of tea?” Tea fixed things like this, didn’t it?
Oz ignored Giles’ attempts to make him feel better. “They want to place a spell on her, to stop her from making any decisions they don’t agree with.”
“I beg your pardon? What are you talking about?”
“I came straight over to let you know. It’s Buffy.” He looked up from his hands. “That’s why I broke up with Willow. I just couldn’t...” He looked down again.
Giles got up, realization dawning on his face. “I’ll call Buffy.”
****************
In the meantime, Angel, Xander, and Willow had located a spell that they thought would do the job nicely. If it worked properly, Buffy would forget everything about the prophecy all the craziness of the past few months. Instead, she would believe that she was just a normal girl, complete with friends and family, and a calling to save others.
It was important that the components of the spell were correct, so the trio took a few minutes to figure out exactly which day would be the last one that Buffy remembered. They settled on the day before she was to go meet the Master. The spell components would be easy to find at the Magic Shop, and so the last question to be answered was just who would be doing the spell on Buffy?
******************’’
Buffy’s response to Giles’ warning phone call was a simple, “Not again.”
“Again? Have they done this before?” he asked, pulling off his glasses.
“You, Willow, Xander, and Angel have all done this to me before, at one time or another.”
“Oh, Dear Lord. I...I don’t know what to say, Buffy. Would ‘I’m sorry’ be appropriate?”
Buffy sighed. “It’s okay, Giles. It helps that you’re on my side this time. How do we make them understand though? Why can’t they just have faith that everything is as it should be?”
“I don’t know, Buffy, but I would think putting a stop to the spell they’re planning right now should be our top priority.” Giles rubbed his brow.
Buffy closed her eyes, leaning against the wall. It was too similar to her memories of the other timeline. It hurt to think that nothing had changed. The pain was almost physical, as if someone had slammed a fist into her chest and was squeezing her heart. “It won’t be a problem, Giles.”
“How can you say that? You can’t just lie down and let them have their way.” Giles was getting angry.
“Oh, I won’t. What I mean is, their spell won’t work. It’s impossible to place a spell on me without my consent.”
Giles could hear the sadness in her voice. “I confess, I don’t understand, Buffy. You sound sad, but I would think that would be a cause for celebration?”
Buffy sighed. She’d just been through the emotional upheaval of sharing her life story with Spike, and now this. “It reminds me of why I had to get the protection spell in the first place, Giles. Not something that makes me all smiley-faced.”
Giles cringed. “That bad?”
“I don’t think you really want to hear any details, since you were part of the ‘let’s mess with Buffy’ party that time.”
“I’m sorry.”
Buffy could hear the sincerity in his voice, and did her best to remember that Giles was different this time.
“What would you suggest we do then, Buffy? Should we be trying to stop them from casting the spell?”
“There’s no point, Giles. If you stop them now, they’ll just do it later. Kendra and I are going to the Bronze tonight. I’m going to just stick to that plan, and I bet the Scoobies will show up there later. It’s kind of the only place in town to celebrate, and they’ll think they’ve scored a major victory with this spell.”
“Yes, I suppose you are quite right. In that case, might I join you tonight?”
“At the Bronze?” Buffy asked, astonished.
“Yes, at the Bronze. Surely I don’t appear as stuffy as all that? I’ll even provide you and Kendra with a ride to the club, if you’d like.”
“Um, okay. I was going to ask who you were, and what you’ve done with Giles, but I think I’ll just ask you why you want to go, instead.”
“I confess, I want to see their faces, when they realize that the spell they cast didn’t work.” The Watcher was desperately trying to polish his glasses, without dropping the phone. At the moment, he had the receiver pressed between his shoulder and jaw. “What time would you like me to pick you up?”
“Come over whenever you want. Maybe I’ll be able to talk Mom into making you a cup of tea before we go.” Buffy looked over at her mother, who nodded. “We could have a bit of a chat before we go Bronzing?”
“I would be delighted.”
Plans made, Buffy hung up the phone and turned to her mother. “Wow...bronzing with Giles...I never would have believed that one.”
Did it Work?
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
The first hour after Giles entered Joyce’s home was somewhat embarrassing. Giles used the time to apologize to Buffy, Joyce, Merrick, and Kendra for his bad behaviour. After that, they all relaxed with a cup of tea, though it took some time for Giles’ rosy cheeks to fade.
It was after the first pot of tea, that Giles got a phone call from Oz. The Watcher had asked him to check on the others at the library, if he could. Giles thought it was important to know when they intended to cast the spell on Buffy.
Oz asked Giles why he didn’t simply go to the library and stop the Scoobies from casting the spell.
Giles had explained that for now he knew what they were trying to do, and from where they would probably do their spell. From what Buffy had told him, he was convinced that if they were stopped, they would find another place to do the spell, maybe even on another plane. They wouldn’t give up that quickly. As Buffy had said, they were rather controlling.
The news Oz had called to share was a bit disturbing. When he’d arrived at the school, it was already too late to interfere. He’d watched as Willow cast the spell, with the help of Xander and Angel. Oz told Giles that the group had left the school after the spell casting, heading for the Bronze. They were going to celebrate and buy Willow a pick-me-up after she refused to go home and rest. He’d also observed that Willow was so drained that she couldn’t walk on her own, and that Angel and Xander had to support her, each one holding one of her arms to keep her upright.
After Giles told Buffy, Kendra, Joyce and Merrick what Oz had related to him, they sat in silence for some time.
Buffy couldn’t stop her mind from going to times she would rather forget. They all looked up when she hurriedly left the room, a hand covering her mouth and tears in her eyes.
Joyce followed her, and knocked on the bathroom door. "Buffy, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute."
She could hear Buffy's sniffling behind the door. Joyce sighed and returned to the living room. When the men looked up at her expectantly, she shrugged her shoulders.
It took some time before Buffy returned from the bathroom. Her eyes were still slightly puffy and red as she sat down beside her mother, who instantly hugged her.
Giles sat on the edge of his chair, fiddling with his glasses. "What do you want to do now?"
Buffy pulled completely away from Joyce. "I’m going to stick with what we have planned. Kendra and I are going to go dancing and have some fun." Buffy sent Giles a tiny smile.
"Is that wise?"
“Why shouldn’t we go? What more could happen if we do? Their spell hasn’t affected me. I remember everything that happened after I walked out of the library to meet the Master. The attack, the other timeline, even furnishing the warehouse. I’m all memory-girl.” Buffy raised an eyebrow.
“Quite right. I’m wondering, would it still be alright if I were to accompany you?” Giles was energetically polishing his glasses.
"Sure, you can come with, but you'd better stop polishing those." Buffy nodded towards his glasses, with a smile. "Before you break them."
He blushed and smiled, embarrassed that he had been caught cleaning his glasses again.
"I’ll like to come too. I want to see their faces when they discover that the spell didn’t work," Joyce said with vindictiveness. "I wish they could feel what it's like to have someone else take control of their life."
"Don’t say the W-word." Buffy jumped up.
"What?"
"Don’t ever say I wish. You might get your wish, but it hardly ever ends well." Buffy looked at her mother. "Promise me."
"Sure, but I don’t understand."
"Let’s go. Giles can explain on the way. Are you coming, Merrick?" Buffy asked, as she opened the front door.
"Sure thing, Buffy, I’m going wherever you're going."
Buffy smiled in relief. She could always count on Merrick’s support whenever she needed him. She needed someone that was wholeheartedly on her side, at least until she wasn’t alone anymore. If Spike had been there, Buffy knew it would have been him that she would have been counting on.
As a close group, they walked briskly to the Bronze. Buffy and Joyce had an arm around each other. Joyce had tugged Kendra’s arm into hers, as Buffy grabbed Merrick’s arm. Kendra smiled shyly at Giles, when she took hold of his elbow.
It was a good thing there wasn’t much traffic on the streets of Sunnydale at night, or they would have stopped it by walking up the middle of the road. As it was, more than one or two pedestrians stopped to stare at the cheerful group on their way to the Bronze.
Buffy looked from one end of the line they formed, to the other. She was reminded of the time that Sweet visited the town. The only thing missing was a song, she thought with a grin.
Buffy smiled brightly to each and every person they met on their way to the club. She had a good feeling inside, a feeling that told her everything was going to work out just fine.
**************
After some lucky rounds of kitten poker, Spike found himself feeling bored. He noticed Clem in the crowd, recognizing him as the demon that had been working on Buffy’s home, and traded his feline profits for some of the floppy-skinned demon’s hard earned cash.
Spike decided to head to the Bronze for two reasons. First, Buffy had told him that she was going there with Kendra tonight. Spike wanted to see if he could catch a glimpse of her. Even though he’d seen her a few hours ago, he longed to see her again. Spike didn’t understand how he could feel this much for a human girl. He hadn’t felt even half as much for Dru in their time together, and that was part of his problem and something he was having a hard time accepting.
Spike’s second reason for heading to the popular night spot was to test his demon’s reaction to the sea of humanity there. Would he want to tear into them? Gulp down the warm blood, spiced with fear and throw away what Buffy was offering him?
To his astonishment, his demon was calm, and ignored the happy meals on legs. Spike wondered what was going on. His demon had always been a bit odd, but it had never ignored fresh food before.
Spike forced his way through the crowd. It was packed tonight and he wasn’t able to find a seat. After he picked up a beer at the bar, he headed for the stairs, figuring that he would have a better chance of spotting Buffy from the balcony.
Spike scanned the dance floor, searching for his girl. Instead, the person he eventually spotted first was Merrick, sitting at a table with the other Watcher and Buffy’s mother.
Their frustration was clear to anyone who cared to look, as they tried to hold a conversation over the pounding beat of the dance music. Spike shook his head and chuckled. They were clearly not used to the club environment, and he wondered why they were there in the first place.
The vampire caught Merrick’s eye for a moment, before Merrick glanced off to the side and then back to Spike. When he turned to follow Merrick’s gaze, he found himself looking at the short hallway that led to the bathrooms. Unconsciously sighing with relief, Spike realized he had forgotten to factor in the frequent group trips to the bathroom that young ladies seemed to make when clubbing.
After a thank you nod to Merrick, he kept an eye on who left the loo.
It wasn’t long before Buffy appeared in the entryway, looking beautiful in one of her short skirts and a sparkly little top. She was dressed in Spike’s colours, and red and black looked good on her. Spike sighed wistfully as he looked at the little blonde, barely even noticing the Slayer following behind her.
Spike leaned over the balcony railing, trying to keep Buffy in his line of sight as she walked back to her table. Half-way back to her party, Buffy was stopped when a big, well-muscled guy caught her arm. At first, Buffy looked a bit startled when she turned around, but she smiled warmly at the young man. The guy was definitely the type that most girls would go for. He was tall and broad shouldered, but had an aura of wholesomeness about him that Spike just didn’t trust.
The enormous hall-monitor said something to her, and gestured to the dance floor. Buffy shook her head, then turned to move away from him. She clearly wanted to return to her table, but the boy wouldn’t let go of her arm.
Spike leaned further over the railing. The glass in his hand cracked, and his eyes narrowed.
Buffy looked down at the hand still holding her, following the arm up to the face of her ex in another life. This time the warmth was gone. "Let go of me!" It came out harshly.
"Maybe later?" he asked, still holding her.
"No," Buffy answered abruptly, and removed his hand using a bit of strength. She hurriedly moved away from him, rubbing her arm where he had gripped her tightly.
On the balcony, Spike suddenly realized why his demon was so calm when he walked into the crowd. The demon already saw Buffy as his, and loved her as much as his William side did.
Buffy soon forgot the episode with her stubborn ex, and chatted happily with Kendra and her mom.
"Buffy, there you are. We've been looking for you."
Everyone was looking behind Buffy, and nobody looked happy to see the newcomers. Buffy closed her eyes briefly, before slowly turning in her seat.
The time had come for her to face them. "What do you want?" she asked, as she looked them over.
Willow seemed weak, and was leaning heavily on Xander.
Xander sent a goofy smile in Buffy's direction. "We wanted to spend some time with you, have some fun together."
Willow nodded encouragingly at Buffy.
Angel was standing behind them with a smug look on his face. He was positive everything would soon be going his way. He would have to wait a little while to make his move, but not too long.
"What you want and what I want are two different things." She turned around and continued her conversation with Kendra and Joyce, ignoring the small group standing behind her.
With tears in her eyes, Willow turned to Xander. They whispered together for a few minutes before finally turning away and moving to the other side of the dance floor, Angel in tow.
Buffy didn’t have to turn to know that Angel was brooding and Xander was mad at Willow for the unsuccessful spell. She knew it was kind of mean to not tell them why the spell hadn’t worked, but Buffy wanted to watch them stew in their own juices.
Still, it wasn’t practical to let them think they could be successful if they threw another spell at her, so before Buffy and Kendra headed out to the dance floor, the ex-Slayer asked the two Watchers to go talk with the Scoobies. She wanted them to understand why the spell hadn’t worked, but even more importantly, she wanted them warned that if any of them tried to ambush someone with a spell ever again, the next time their powers would be stripped away.
Spike kept on watching Buffy from his spot on the balcony. He admired her in the crowd, unable to take his eyes off her graceful movements as she danced with her counterpart, the dark Slayer. He had to remind himself several times a day that Buffy wasn’t a Slayer herself anymore. She still moved like one though, graceful and strong.
He raised his head to keep an eye on the two watchers as they made their way across the room to talk with Buffy’s friends and Angel. They seemed to be arguing, but the loud music made it impossible for Spike to hear them. He soon lost interest, and moved to find Buffy again.
This time when his eyes found her on the dance floor, she and the Slayer were surrounded by a group of eager young men. The air in the Bronze was thick with the smell of arousal, both male and female, and the strongest scents were coming from the group around his girl.
The guys occasionally danced close to the girls. One in particular stood out when he danced just behind Buffy. Spike observed how Buffy moved out of his reach, but he kept on following her. It was the muscle bound boy that had stopped her earlier.
A growl escaped from deep inside Spike when he saw the Angel look-alike place a hand on Buffy’s hip. She sent the boy a head shake, and moved away.
Spike felt like doing some damage to the overgrown boy-scout, but realized that giving in to that side of his nature would ruin his chance at everything he now knew he wanted, for both demon and man.
With both hands on the railing, he leaned as far over as he could. Spike caught Buffy’s eyes, and they stared at each other for a while.
Smiling, Buffy gestured for him to join her on the dance floor.
Spike raised a brow, thinking of the backlash the little blonde would likely experience when her friends, Watchers, and mother caught her dancing with the Big Bad. “Are you sure?” he mouthed.
She smiled brightly at him, as she nodded.
The vampire looked at the group of Scoobies, where everyone was scowling at Buffy, and then turned to the table that held the Watchers and Buffy’s mother. Finally, he turned his gaze to Kendra, moving beside Buffy on the dance floor, before coming to rest once more on the little blonde that fascinated him so. He hoped she knew what she was doing.
Buffy noticed him looking around the room, but she had decided from the start that there would be no secrecy this time. She nodded again and made a come-hither motion.
The first hour after Giles entered Joyce’s home was somewhat embarrassing. Giles used the time to apologize to Buffy, Joyce, Merrick, and Kendra for his bad behaviour. After that, they all relaxed with a cup of tea, though it took some time for Giles’ rosy cheeks to fade.
It was after the first pot of tea, that Giles got a phone call from Oz. The Watcher had asked him to check on the others at the library, if he could. Giles thought it was important to know when they intended to cast the spell on Buffy.
Oz asked Giles why he didn’t simply go to the library and stop the Scoobies from casting the spell.
Giles had explained that for now he knew what they were trying to do, and from where they would probably do their spell. From what Buffy had told him, he was convinced that if they were stopped, they would find another place to do the spell, maybe even on another plane. They wouldn’t give up that quickly. As Buffy had said, they were rather controlling.
The news Oz had called to share was a bit disturbing. When he’d arrived at the school, it was already too late to interfere. He’d watched as Willow cast the spell, with the help of Xander and Angel. Oz told Giles that the group had left the school after the spell casting, heading for the Bronze. They were going to celebrate and buy Willow a pick-me-up after she refused to go home and rest. He’d also observed that Willow was so drained that she couldn’t walk on her own, and that Angel and Xander had to support her, each one holding one of her arms to keep her upright.
After Giles told Buffy, Kendra, Joyce and Merrick what Oz had related to him, they sat in silence for some time.
Buffy couldn’t stop her mind from going to times she would rather forget. They all looked up when she hurriedly left the room, a hand covering her mouth and tears in her eyes.
Joyce followed her, and knocked on the bathroom door. "Buffy, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute."
She could hear Buffy's sniffling behind the door. Joyce sighed and returned to the living room. When the men looked up at her expectantly, she shrugged her shoulders.
It took some time before Buffy returned from the bathroom. Her eyes were still slightly puffy and red as she sat down beside her mother, who instantly hugged her.
Giles sat on the edge of his chair, fiddling with his glasses. "What do you want to do now?"
Buffy pulled completely away from Joyce. "I’m going to stick with what we have planned. Kendra and I are going to go dancing and have some fun." Buffy sent Giles a tiny smile.
"Is that wise?"
“Why shouldn’t we go? What more could happen if we do? Their spell hasn’t affected me. I remember everything that happened after I walked out of the library to meet the Master. The attack, the other timeline, even furnishing the warehouse. I’m all memory-girl.” Buffy raised an eyebrow.
“Quite right. I’m wondering, would it still be alright if I were to accompany you?” Giles was energetically polishing his glasses.
"Sure, you can come with, but you'd better stop polishing those." Buffy nodded towards his glasses, with a smile. "Before you break them."
He blushed and smiled, embarrassed that he had been caught cleaning his glasses again.
"I’ll like to come too. I want to see their faces when they discover that the spell didn’t work," Joyce said with vindictiveness. "I wish they could feel what it's like to have someone else take control of their life."
"Don’t say the W-word." Buffy jumped up.
"What?"
"Don’t ever say I wish. You might get your wish, but it hardly ever ends well." Buffy looked at her mother. "Promise me."
"Sure, but I don’t understand."
"Let’s go. Giles can explain on the way. Are you coming, Merrick?" Buffy asked, as she opened the front door.
"Sure thing, Buffy, I’m going wherever you're going."
Buffy smiled in relief. She could always count on Merrick’s support whenever she needed him. She needed someone that was wholeheartedly on her side, at least until she wasn’t alone anymore. If Spike had been there, Buffy knew it would have been him that she would have been counting on.
As a close group, they walked briskly to the Bronze. Buffy and Joyce had an arm around each other. Joyce had tugged Kendra’s arm into hers, as Buffy grabbed Merrick’s arm. Kendra smiled shyly at Giles, when she took hold of his elbow.
It was a good thing there wasn’t much traffic on the streets of Sunnydale at night, or they would have stopped it by walking up the middle of the road. As it was, more than one or two pedestrians stopped to stare at the cheerful group on their way to the Bronze.
Buffy looked from one end of the line they formed, to the other. She was reminded of the time that Sweet visited the town. The only thing missing was a song, she thought with a grin.
Buffy smiled brightly to each and every person they met on their way to the club. She had a good feeling inside, a feeling that told her everything was going to work out just fine.
**************
After some lucky rounds of kitten poker, Spike found himself feeling bored. He noticed Clem in the crowd, recognizing him as the demon that had been working on Buffy’s home, and traded his feline profits for some of the floppy-skinned demon’s hard earned cash.
Spike decided to head to the Bronze for two reasons. First, Buffy had told him that she was going there with Kendra tonight. Spike wanted to see if he could catch a glimpse of her. Even though he’d seen her a few hours ago, he longed to see her again. Spike didn’t understand how he could feel this much for a human girl. He hadn’t felt even half as much for Dru in their time together, and that was part of his problem and something he was having a hard time accepting.
Spike’s second reason for heading to the popular night spot was to test his demon’s reaction to the sea of humanity there. Would he want to tear into them? Gulp down the warm blood, spiced with fear and throw away what Buffy was offering him?
To his astonishment, his demon was calm, and ignored the happy meals on legs. Spike wondered what was going on. His demon had always been a bit odd, but it had never ignored fresh food before.
Spike forced his way through the crowd. It was packed tonight and he wasn’t able to find a seat. After he picked up a beer at the bar, he headed for the stairs, figuring that he would have a better chance of spotting Buffy from the balcony.
Spike scanned the dance floor, searching for his girl. Instead, the person he eventually spotted first was Merrick, sitting at a table with the other Watcher and Buffy’s mother.
Their frustration was clear to anyone who cared to look, as they tried to hold a conversation over the pounding beat of the dance music. Spike shook his head and chuckled. They were clearly not used to the club environment, and he wondered why they were there in the first place.
The vampire caught Merrick’s eye for a moment, before Merrick glanced off to the side and then back to Spike. When he turned to follow Merrick’s gaze, he found himself looking at the short hallway that led to the bathrooms. Unconsciously sighing with relief, Spike realized he had forgotten to factor in the frequent group trips to the bathroom that young ladies seemed to make when clubbing.
After a thank you nod to Merrick, he kept an eye on who left the loo.
It wasn’t long before Buffy appeared in the entryway, looking beautiful in one of her short skirts and a sparkly little top. She was dressed in Spike’s colours, and red and black looked good on her. Spike sighed wistfully as he looked at the little blonde, barely even noticing the Slayer following behind her.
Spike leaned over the balcony railing, trying to keep Buffy in his line of sight as she walked back to her table. Half-way back to her party, Buffy was stopped when a big, well-muscled guy caught her arm. At first, Buffy looked a bit startled when she turned around, but she smiled warmly at the young man. The guy was definitely the type that most girls would go for. He was tall and broad shouldered, but had an aura of wholesomeness about him that Spike just didn’t trust.
The enormous hall-monitor said something to her, and gestured to the dance floor. Buffy shook her head, then turned to move away from him. She clearly wanted to return to her table, but the boy wouldn’t let go of her arm.
Spike leaned further over the railing. The glass in his hand cracked, and his eyes narrowed.
Buffy looked down at the hand still holding her, following the arm up to the face of her ex in another life. This time the warmth was gone. "Let go of me!" It came out harshly.
"Maybe later?" he asked, still holding her.
"No," Buffy answered abruptly, and removed his hand using a bit of strength. She hurriedly moved away from him, rubbing her arm where he had gripped her tightly.
On the balcony, Spike suddenly realized why his demon was so calm when he walked into the crowd. The demon already saw Buffy as his, and loved her as much as his William side did.
Buffy soon forgot the episode with her stubborn ex, and chatted happily with Kendra and her mom.
"Buffy, there you are. We've been looking for you."
Everyone was looking behind Buffy, and nobody looked happy to see the newcomers. Buffy closed her eyes briefly, before slowly turning in her seat.
The time had come for her to face them. "What do you want?" she asked, as she looked them over.
Willow seemed weak, and was leaning heavily on Xander.
Xander sent a goofy smile in Buffy's direction. "We wanted to spend some time with you, have some fun together."
Willow nodded encouragingly at Buffy.
Angel was standing behind them with a smug look on his face. He was positive everything would soon be going his way. He would have to wait a little while to make his move, but not too long.
"What you want and what I want are two different things." She turned around and continued her conversation with Kendra and Joyce, ignoring the small group standing behind her.
With tears in her eyes, Willow turned to Xander. They whispered together for a few minutes before finally turning away and moving to the other side of the dance floor, Angel in tow.
Buffy didn’t have to turn to know that Angel was brooding and Xander was mad at Willow for the unsuccessful spell. She knew it was kind of mean to not tell them why the spell hadn’t worked, but Buffy wanted to watch them stew in their own juices.
Still, it wasn’t practical to let them think they could be successful if they threw another spell at her, so before Buffy and Kendra headed out to the dance floor, the ex-Slayer asked the two Watchers to go talk with the Scoobies. She wanted them to understand why the spell hadn’t worked, but even more importantly, she wanted them warned that if any of them tried to ambush someone with a spell ever again, the next time their powers would be stripped away.
Spike kept on watching Buffy from his spot on the balcony. He admired her in the crowd, unable to take his eyes off her graceful movements as she danced with her counterpart, the dark Slayer. He had to remind himself several times a day that Buffy wasn’t a Slayer herself anymore. She still moved like one though, graceful and strong.
He raised his head to keep an eye on the two watchers as they made their way across the room to talk with Buffy’s friends and Angel. They seemed to be arguing, but the loud music made it impossible for Spike to hear them. He soon lost interest, and moved to find Buffy again.
This time when his eyes found her on the dance floor, she and the Slayer were surrounded by a group of eager young men. The air in the Bronze was thick with the smell of arousal, both male and female, and the strongest scents were coming from the group around his girl.
The guys occasionally danced close to the girls. One in particular stood out when he danced just behind Buffy. Spike observed how Buffy moved out of his reach, but he kept on following her. It was the muscle bound boy that had stopped her earlier.
A growl escaped from deep inside Spike when he saw the Angel look-alike place a hand on Buffy’s hip. She sent the boy a head shake, and moved away.
Spike felt like doing some damage to the overgrown boy-scout, but realized that giving in to that side of his nature would ruin his chance at everything he now knew he wanted, for both demon and man.
With both hands on the railing, he leaned as far over as he could. Spike caught Buffy’s eyes, and they stared at each other for a while.
Smiling, Buffy gestured for him to join her on the dance floor.
Spike raised a brow, thinking of the backlash the little blonde would likely experience when her friends, Watchers, and mother caught her dancing with the Big Bad. “Are you sure?” he mouthed.
She smiled brightly at him, as she nodded.
The vampire looked at the group of Scoobies, where everyone was scowling at Buffy, and then turned to the table that held the Watchers and Buffy’s mother. Finally, he turned his gaze to Kendra, moving beside Buffy on the dance floor, before coming to rest once more on the little blonde that fascinated him so. He hoped she knew what she was doing.
Buffy noticed him looking around the room, but she had decided from the start that there would be no secrecy this time. She nodded again and made a come-hither motion.
Let Them See Us
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Spike was excited. Buffy wanted to dance with him in front of her friends and Angel. He briefly thought about teasing Angel, because this time a woman they both liked was choosing him, but rejected the idea almost immediately.
While Spike prowled down the stairs, he considered the odds of Angel or one of the others attacking. Not that he was scared. Spike knew he could take Angel and would enjoy himself doing it, but was it worth the possible trouble?
Buffy lost track of Spike when he moved away from the railing. She leaned closer to Kendra, so the Slayer could hear her voice. The action had the added bonus of moving her away from the boys who were gathered close by. "Don’t do anything. Whatever happens, you need to trust me."
Kendra looked confused, but nodded her understanding. Though Buffy had tried to hide it, Kendra had often seen a dark shadow of sorrow in her eyes. There was no evidence of it now though. Happiness and excitement were radiating from the blonde.
Somewhere behind Buffy, Spike was making his way through the throng. When Kendra stared with wide eyes at someone behind her, Buffy knew Spike was closing in. Buffy caught Kendra’s hand, and whispered, "Trust me." Buffy gave her hand a short squeeze, before she released it.
Buffy knew when Spike was right behind her. She slowly moved backwards, swaying to the music. Finally, her back met his firm chest. Spike moved with her, a hand placed on her hip. The other arm went around her stomach, pulling her closer.
When Giles saw Spike move up behind Buffy, he was ready to rush to the dance floor and pass her a stake. Merrick held him back with a hand on Giles' arm, shaking his head but not giving him any explanation. Giles reluctantly sat down again, but kept his eyes on the mortal enemies as they danced.
The Scoobies had also noticed what was going on, and Angel was currently trying to force his way through the dancing crowd to get to Buffy. Xander and Willow decided the Watchers would make a better target. "Why aren’t you helping Buffy?" Xander glared accusingly at Giles and Merrick.
"She doesn’t need help," Merrick answered, still watching the couple with soft eyes.
Giles looked suspiciously at Merrick. He didn’t like Merrick’s reaction to the dancing couple.
After considerable effort, Angel managed to work his way across the dance floor to the swaying couple. "What the Hell are you doing, Buffy?" Angel’s hand shot out to grab hold of Spike.
Spike sent Angel a smirk, as he stepped to the side, evading Angel's grip. He didn’t move far, as Buffy had her hand placed over the arm he had around her stomach. She used her other hand to keep Angel at a distance with a firm grip on his upper arm.
"I’m dancing. What the Hell are you doing?" She pushed Angel away from her as she let him go.
Buffy moved back against Spike. She searched for his hand and placed it back on her hip, where it had been before Angel interrupted them.
"You're a Slayer. You're supposed to kill vampires, not dance with them," Angel growled into her face.
"Haven’t you got the news yet? Or did you just not understand it? Maybe you don’t want to. I don’t care what your malfunction is, but I’m not a Slayer anymore." Buffy moved forward until they were standing toe to toe. "Don’t try to control me, or you’ll be cut out of my life for good. Your decision." She turned around and placed one hand on Spike’s neck, the other on his chest.
Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy's back, pulling her closer.
Buffy smiled softly at Spike's look of awe. Buffy knew why he was wearing that expression. She had chosen him over Angel, making it clear to the world whose arms she wanted to be in.
Buffy and Spike swayed to the music, gazes locked, the world around them forgotten.
Angel was frozen to the spot, staring at Buffy in Spike’s arms. He looked like a fool, standing there in the middle of the dance floor, mouth hanging open. He woke from his stupor when he was jostled from behind. At once he went to confront Giles. "What’s going on? And how come Spike is alive? I don’t get it."
"Yeah, I agree with Dead Boy. Why isn’t Spike a pile of dust?" Xander was in Giles' face. "Why is Buffy dancing with him?" The teen was so upset that he was almost frothing at the mouth.
Giles found his handkerchief and wiped his face. "Please get out of my space, Xander, and stop talking. I’ve already had a shower today."
Xander looked confused for a moment, then his face flamed with embarrassment as he stepped back. "Sorry," he muttered.
"Sit down. We are drawing attention." Giles moved closer to Joyce, making room for all.
"Will somebody please tell me what the trouble is? I can’t see anything wrong with Buffy dancing with that young man. He might be a bit older and look like a punk, but he seems to be a nice guy." Joyce looked around at the stunned faces.
They had all forgotten Joyce.
"That," Xander leaned over the table and pointed to the dance floor. “Is an evil, bloodsucking fiend.”
Joyce leaned back in her seat to get away from the spit-shower. "Huh?" The Light’s mother looked at Giles, who nodded. Then she turned to Merrick.
"Xander is right, Joyce. He's a vampire, but it’s okay," he said, ignoring the objections from around the table.
"But, shouldn’t we warn her?" Joyce was getting scared. She had just got Buffy back. To lose her again wasn’t an option.
"She knows." Merrick took one of her hands in his, and reassuringly placed his other on top of hers. "Remember the conversation we had in the hospital?" He waited patiently, with a soft smile playing in his eyes.
"Oh, is that..?"
Merrick raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the couple still swaying to the music, lost in each other.
"Is that all? Aren’t you gonna do something?" Willow looked at Joyce and Merrick.
Merrick looked at Joyce, who was about to speak. He gently squeezed her hand. "No, Buffy can take care of herself."
Joyce closed her mouth. Merrick’s actions had made her think of how Buffy wouldn’t reveal who had her heart, out of fear of what her supposed friends would do.
The hard beat that now poured out of the speakers woke the couple on the dance floor, rousing them from their fascination with each other.
"We have to speak, Buffy."
Buffy felt Spike’s cool breath on her cheek and shivered. "Please don’t say you're leaving." She cupped his cheek.
Sighing Spike leaned into her touch. "No, I want to know more about what will happen if we fulfill the prophecy."
"Are you..." Buffy closed her eyes briefly. "Are you considering it?" Her thumb was moving back and forth over his cheekbone.
"How can I not think about it? It’ll be the culmination of my life. I've always wanted to be loved. That was the only weakness I kept after I was turned, the only thing..." He looked over her head. "Let's move this to someplace else." He looked up. "The balcony is quiet enough for a chat."
Spike took her hand and intertwined their fingers. She allowed him to lead her up the stairs to a secluded table in the corner. Spike saw her comfortably seated, and then took the chair opposite her, but continued to hold her hand across the small table.
"What do you want to know?" Buffy asked.
Before he answered, Spike looked around. "For starters, I want to know if it’s an ordinary claim that’s meant to bond us? Or some fancy magic?"
"A little more than normal, but not something I’d call fancy. Why do you want to know? And why now? You could have asked that question last night, or before we left the house this afternoon."
"I..." Spike looked embarrassed. "When I came here tonight, my demon didn’t care about all the Happy Meals running about, free for the taking. I didn't understand it then, but when that boy tried to get lucky..." He looked down for a moment.
Buffy clasped his other hand in a show of support, and sent him a soft smile when he looked up.
"At that point I knew that my demon saw you as his." He smiled shyly.
"And what about William?" Without thinking about it, she held her breath while she waited for his answer.
"William." A smile that held an overwhelming tenderness appeared. "He's loved you from the first time he saw you."
Spike was rubbing small circles on her pulse point, and it was starting to affect Buffy. She marvelled that such a simple gesture could turn her into a cat in heat. Buffy saw his nostrils flare before he took a deep breath. She knew he could smell her arousal.
When she looked to the side in an attempt to hide her flushed cheeks, Buffy’s excitement disappeared. A bucket of cold water couldn’t have worked better than the sight of Angel and Xander glaring at them from the top of the stairs.
"What do you say to taking this home?" Buffy nodded to the stairs. "I don’t like the audience."
Spike turned in his seat and sighed before he turned back to Buffy. "If we take this to a more private place, I don’t think we’ll be spending much time talking." He smirked as he bit his bottom lip.
"I have a sneaking suspicion you’re right about that. You know, there’s a bonus if we bond the first time we're together," she said with a twinkle in her eyes, a slight flush on her cheeks.
"Is that right?" he whispered.
"Yeah." She swallowed and then mentally gave her head a little shake. It was hard to believe she was sitting there, flushing and acting like a virgin. Of course, her body was unused but her mind wasn’t, and there were some things you just didn’t forget, no matter how many lifetimes had gone by. That was Spike for you; thoughts of him could always bring color to her cheeks.
"Tell me about it?" he urged her, as he moved his chair over beside hers, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"First, tell me if they can hear us from there?" She nodded to the stairs, where Xander and Angel seemed to have rooted, shooting them evil glances.
"Not if we keep it low." He smirked at his Grandsire. Spike could almost see the smoke coming out of Angel's ears.
Buffy poked him lightly in his side with her elbow. "Don’t tease him," she whispered, with laughter in her voice. "It could mean more trouble."
"Have you told them about me?"
"No. My mom knows there is someone who owns my heart, and Merrick of course."
"Can I be there when you tell them?" he asked, as he leaned into her neck and breathed in her scent, memorizing it.
"Ahh..." Buffy had tilted her head to the side to give him better access. He was kissing his way up her neck, when she looked over to the stairs. Merrick was there trying to keep Angel and Xander from interfering.
From their loud argument, Buffy deduced that the pair wanted to dust Spike. She raised a hand and grabbed his hair, pulling softly.
"Huh, what's the matter?" he asked with a confused look, as he let her earlobe go with a plop.
She gestured to the stairs. "Maybe you should move back to where you were before?"
"If I promise to behave? Then can I stay?" He removed his arm from around her, but stayed with his hip against hers, thigh to thigh.
"Are you sure you can behave?" she asked suspiciously.
He placed his hands on the table."I give you my word of honour."
"Okay, I’ll trust you." She had to use a lot of self control to break eye contact with Spike and look back over to the stairs. "Maybe I should try and get them to leave us alone?"
"I doubt they’d listen," Spike stated. There was still an argument going on between them, and Spike did his best to listen in. "Merrick is trying to get them to leave us alone, but they insist on staying. They're convinced that I’ll kill you when you let your guard down."
Buffy sighed. "I’ll probably make it worse if I join in."
"Might." Spike shrugged. He liked a good fight. "Let the Watcher take care of it. He’s an okay bloke. It’s time for you to fess up." He twisted in his seat, so he could look at her, his feet parted and her knees between his own.
The time she had hoped and prayed for was close. Why was she this nervous? Buffy wiped her hands on her skirt. "So, you probably want to know about the bonus I mentioned before, right?"
Spike nodded and smirked. He could smell her nervousness, it floated around her like a cloud. "Ah, well, the book says we’ll get a stronger connection from the start if we bond right away. If we wait, we'll achieve the same level over time." She glanced at him.
A raised brow and a smile was all she got.
Buffy groaned. She knew what he wanted, and he had probably guessed the answer. "My blood will flow twice for you." She couldn’t look him in the eye, embarrassed that she felt so shy talking about something she had wanted for so long.
"It’s always about the blood." Spike raised her head with a finger under her chin. "Don’t. You can talk to me about anything."
"I know. Do you want to bond with me?" She had to know for sure.
From experience Buffy knew that every love was different. People could leave even when they claimed to love you. Some kinds of love she didn’t understand, probably never would. Xander, Willow and Giles claimed to love her, but shouldn’t the people that loved you want you to be happy?
Buffy had contemplated that question many times in the lonely years spent in her other lifetime. Spike wasn’t like that, he couldn’t be. Angel hadn’t had time to influence him yet, to make Spike believe that she deserved better than what he had to offer her.
Spike was excited. Buffy wanted to dance with him in front of her friends and Angel. He briefly thought about teasing Angel, because this time a woman they both liked was choosing him, but rejected the idea almost immediately.
While Spike prowled down the stairs, he considered the odds of Angel or one of the others attacking. Not that he was scared. Spike knew he could take Angel and would enjoy himself doing it, but was it worth the possible trouble?
Buffy lost track of Spike when he moved away from the railing. She leaned closer to Kendra, so the Slayer could hear her voice. The action had the added bonus of moving her away from the boys who were gathered close by. "Don’t do anything. Whatever happens, you need to trust me."
Kendra looked confused, but nodded her understanding. Though Buffy had tried to hide it, Kendra had often seen a dark shadow of sorrow in her eyes. There was no evidence of it now though. Happiness and excitement were radiating from the blonde.
Somewhere behind Buffy, Spike was making his way through the throng. When Kendra stared with wide eyes at someone behind her, Buffy knew Spike was closing in. Buffy caught Kendra’s hand, and whispered, "Trust me." Buffy gave her hand a short squeeze, before she released it.
Buffy knew when Spike was right behind her. She slowly moved backwards, swaying to the music. Finally, her back met his firm chest. Spike moved with her, a hand placed on her hip. The other arm went around her stomach, pulling her closer.
When Giles saw Spike move up behind Buffy, he was ready to rush to the dance floor and pass her a stake. Merrick held him back with a hand on Giles' arm, shaking his head but not giving him any explanation. Giles reluctantly sat down again, but kept his eyes on the mortal enemies as they danced.
The Scoobies had also noticed what was going on, and Angel was currently trying to force his way through the dancing crowd to get to Buffy. Xander and Willow decided the Watchers would make a better target. "Why aren’t you helping Buffy?" Xander glared accusingly at Giles and Merrick.
"She doesn’t need help," Merrick answered, still watching the couple with soft eyes.
Giles looked suspiciously at Merrick. He didn’t like Merrick’s reaction to the dancing couple.
After considerable effort, Angel managed to work his way across the dance floor to the swaying couple. "What the Hell are you doing, Buffy?" Angel’s hand shot out to grab hold of Spike.
Spike sent Angel a smirk, as he stepped to the side, evading Angel's grip. He didn’t move far, as Buffy had her hand placed over the arm he had around her stomach. She used her other hand to keep Angel at a distance with a firm grip on his upper arm.
"I’m dancing. What the Hell are you doing?" She pushed Angel away from her as she let him go.
Buffy moved back against Spike. She searched for his hand and placed it back on her hip, where it had been before Angel interrupted them.
"You're a Slayer. You're supposed to kill vampires, not dance with them," Angel growled into her face.
"Haven’t you got the news yet? Or did you just not understand it? Maybe you don’t want to. I don’t care what your malfunction is, but I’m not a Slayer anymore." Buffy moved forward until they were standing toe to toe. "Don’t try to control me, or you’ll be cut out of my life for good. Your decision." She turned around and placed one hand on Spike’s neck, the other on his chest.
Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy's back, pulling her closer.
Buffy smiled softly at Spike's look of awe. Buffy knew why he was wearing that expression. She had chosen him over Angel, making it clear to the world whose arms she wanted to be in.
Buffy and Spike swayed to the music, gazes locked, the world around them forgotten.
Angel was frozen to the spot, staring at Buffy in Spike’s arms. He looked like a fool, standing there in the middle of the dance floor, mouth hanging open. He woke from his stupor when he was jostled from behind. At once he went to confront Giles. "What’s going on? And how come Spike is alive? I don’t get it."
"Yeah, I agree with Dead Boy. Why isn’t Spike a pile of dust?" Xander was in Giles' face. "Why is Buffy dancing with him?" The teen was so upset that he was almost frothing at the mouth.
Giles found his handkerchief and wiped his face. "Please get out of my space, Xander, and stop talking. I’ve already had a shower today."
Xander looked confused for a moment, then his face flamed with embarrassment as he stepped back. "Sorry," he muttered.
"Sit down. We are drawing attention." Giles moved closer to Joyce, making room for all.
"Will somebody please tell me what the trouble is? I can’t see anything wrong with Buffy dancing with that young man. He might be a bit older and look like a punk, but he seems to be a nice guy." Joyce looked around at the stunned faces.
They had all forgotten Joyce.
"That," Xander leaned over the table and pointed to the dance floor. “Is an evil, bloodsucking fiend.”
Joyce leaned back in her seat to get away from the spit-shower. "Huh?" The Light’s mother looked at Giles, who nodded. Then she turned to Merrick.
"Xander is right, Joyce. He's a vampire, but it’s okay," he said, ignoring the objections from around the table.
"But, shouldn’t we warn her?" Joyce was getting scared. She had just got Buffy back. To lose her again wasn’t an option.
"She knows." Merrick took one of her hands in his, and reassuringly placed his other on top of hers. "Remember the conversation we had in the hospital?" He waited patiently, with a soft smile playing in his eyes.
"Oh, is that..?"
Merrick raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the couple still swaying to the music, lost in each other.
"Is that all? Aren’t you gonna do something?" Willow looked at Joyce and Merrick.
Merrick looked at Joyce, who was about to speak. He gently squeezed her hand. "No, Buffy can take care of herself."
Joyce closed her mouth. Merrick’s actions had made her think of how Buffy wouldn’t reveal who had her heart, out of fear of what her supposed friends would do.
The hard beat that now poured out of the speakers woke the couple on the dance floor, rousing them from their fascination with each other.
"We have to speak, Buffy."
Buffy felt Spike’s cool breath on her cheek and shivered. "Please don’t say you're leaving." She cupped his cheek.
Sighing Spike leaned into her touch. "No, I want to know more about what will happen if we fulfill the prophecy."
"Are you..." Buffy closed her eyes briefly. "Are you considering it?" Her thumb was moving back and forth over his cheekbone.
"How can I not think about it? It’ll be the culmination of my life. I've always wanted to be loved. That was the only weakness I kept after I was turned, the only thing..." He looked over her head. "Let's move this to someplace else." He looked up. "The balcony is quiet enough for a chat."
Spike took her hand and intertwined their fingers. She allowed him to lead her up the stairs to a secluded table in the corner. Spike saw her comfortably seated, and then took the chair opposite her, but continued to hold her hand across the small table.
"What do you want to know?" Buffy asked.
Before he answered, Spike looked around. "For starters, I want to know if it’s an ordinary claim that’s meant to bond us? Or some fancy magic?"
"A little more than normal, but not something I’d call fancy. Why do you want to know? And why now? You could have asked that question last night, or before we left the house this afternoon."
"I..." Spike looked embarrassed. "When I came here tonight, my demon didn’t care about all the Happy Meals running about, free for the taking. I didn't understand it then, but when that boy tried to get lucky..." He looked down for a moment.
Buffy clasped his other hand in a show of support, and sent him a soft smile when he looked up.
"At that point I knew that my demon saw you as his." He smiled shyly.
"And what about William?" Without thinking about it, she held her breath while she waited for his answer.
"William." A smile that held an overwhelming tenderness appeared. "He's loved you from the first time he saw you."
Spike was rubbing small circles on her pulse point, and it was starting to affect Buffy. She marvelled that such a simple gesture could turn her into a cat in heat. Buffy saw his nostrils flare before he took a deep breath. She knew he could smell her arousal.
When she looked to the side in an attempt to hide her flushed cheeks, Buffy’s excitement disappeared. A bucket of cold water couldn’t have worked better than the sight of Angel and Xander glaring at them from the top of the stairs.
"What do you say to taking this home?" Buffy nodded to the stairs. "I don’t like the audience."
Spike turned in his seat and sighed before he turned back to Buffy. "If we take this to a more private place, I don’t think we’ll be spending much time talking." He smirked as he bit his bottom lip.
"I have a sneaking suspicion you’re right about that. You know, there’s a bonus if we bond the first time we're together," she said with a twinkle in her eyes, a slight flush on her cheeks.
"Is that right?" he whispered.
"Yeah." She swallowed and then mentally gave her head a little shake. It was hard to believe she was sitting there, flushing and acting like a virgin. Of course, her body was unused but her mind wasn’t, and there were some things you just didn’t forget, no matter how many lifetimes had gone by. That was Spike for you; thoughts of him could always bring color to her cheeks.
"Tell me about it?" he urged her, as he moved his chair over beside hers, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"First, tell me if they can hear us from there?" She nodded to the stairs, where Xander and Angel seemed to have rooted, shooting them evil glances.
"Not if we keep it low." He smirked at his Grandsire. Spike could almost see the smoke coming out of Angel's ears.
Buffy poked him lightly in his side with her elbow. "Don’t tease him," she whispered, with laughter in her voice. "It could mean more trouble."
"Have you told them about me?"
"No. My mom knows there is someone who owns my heart, and Merrick of course."
"Can I be there when you tell them?" he asked, as he leaned into her neck and breathed in her scent, memorizing it.
"Ahh..." Buffy had tilted her head to the side to give him better access. He was kissing his way up her neck, when she looked over to the stairs. Merrick was there trying to keep Angel and Xander from interfering.
From their loud argument, Buffy deduced that the pair wanted to dust Spike. She raised a hand and grabbed his hair, pulling softly.
"Huh, what's the matter?" he asked with a confused look, as he let her earlobe go with a plop.
She gestured to the stairs. "Maybe you should move back to where you were before?"
"If I promise to behave? Then can I stay?" He removed his arm from around her, but stayed with his hip against hers, thigh to thigh.
"Are you sure you can behave?" she asked suspiciously.
He placed his hands on the table."I give you my word of honour."
"Okay, I’ll trust you." She had to use a lot of self control to break eye contact with Spike and look back over to the stairs. "Maybe I should try and get them to leave us alone?"
"I doubt they’d listen," Spike stated. There was still an argument going on between them, and Spike did his best to listen in. "Merrick is trying to get them to leave us alone, but they insist on staying. They're convinced that I’ll kill you when you let your guard down."
Buffy sighed. "I’ll probably make it worse if I join in."
"Might." Spike shrugged. He liked a good fight. "Let the Watcher take care of it. He’s an okay bloke. It’s time for you to fess up." He twisted in his seat, so he could look at her, his feet parted and her knees between his own.
The time she had hoped and prayed for was close. Why was she this nervous? Buffy wiped her hands on her skirt. "So, you probably want to know about the bonus I mentioned before, right?"
Spike nodded and smirked. He could smell her nervousness, it floated around her like a cloud. "Ah, well, the book says we’ll get a stronger connection from the start if we bond right away. If we wait, we'll achieve the same level over time." She glanced at him.
A raised brow and a smile was all she got.
Buffy groaned. She knew what he wanted, and he had probably guessed the answer. "My blood will flow twice for you." She couldn’t look him in the eye, embarrassed that she felt so shy talking about something she had wanted for so long.
"It’s always about the blood." Spike raised her head with a finger under her chin. "Don’t. You can talk to me about anything."
"I know. Do you want to bond with me?" She had to know for sure.
From experience Buffy knew that every love was different. People could leave even when they claimed to love you. Some kinds of love she didn’t understand, probably never would. Xander, Willow and Giles claimed to love her, but shouldn’t the people that loved you want you to be happy?
Buffy had contemplated that question many times in the lonely years spent in her other lifetime. Spike wasn’t like that, he couldn’t be. Angel hadn’t had time to influence him yet, to make Spike believe that she deserved better than what he had to offer her.
Making Sure
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Spike was holding both of her hands in his, as he looked at her with a soft smile. "It’ll make me the happiest man on Earth to accept your proposal. I love you, man and demon, equally." He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
There was yelling from the stairs. Both ignored the commotion.
"I would like to get more information through. What about the bonding itself? And what we can expect from it? Whatever you can tell me." Spike continued to hold her hands while they spoke. It seemed to calm her.
"The bonding itself is pretty normal. There are just a few things that will be different."
Spike could hear Buffy's confidence coming back. He nodded to encourage to her.
"We’ll have to pull the bed out from the wall, so we can make a circle around the bed with a special mixture of herbs and some candles. That's where the actual bonding will take place." It wasn’t just her confidence that had returned, she was also filled with excitement when she thought about the bonding she had dreamed of so long. "As for us...don’t get that look," Buffy scolded Spike, "it’s nothing bad. We take a bath with some of the same herbs we'll use to make the circle. That’s all there is to it."
"What’s with the herbs?"
Buffy looked down, her cheeks flushed again. She wondered how she could explain it without upsetting him or hurting his feelings. "Bathing in the herbs will cleanse us and free us from our past." Buffy held up her hands when he opened his mouth to speak. "Not in a redeeming way, but more like cleaning away the shadows of others who had an influence in our lives until now, from our bodies and our bed.”
"I see. How will the bond affect us? I've never heard of a Slayer bonding with a vampire before." Spike's mood had become very serious while Buffy spoke.
It was clear that Buffy felt very emotional about the bonding. "The effects of the bond will be about the same as when vampires mate, lots of things are possible. Some of the effects we'll see with time, and others may or may not ever happen. I know though, that anything that does happen will be all of the good."
"That would depend on what the person thinks is good." Spike was grinding his teeth. "Not everyone wants the same thing out of life. For instance, I like being a vamp.... I wouldn't trade the power and freedom for anything."
Buffy’s expression had changed to something Spike couldn’t read. Her lips had formed into a soft smile. Love was shining clearly from Buffy's eyes, but there was also something else that Spike couldn’t put into words.
"I know, and it’s one of the things I love about you." Buffy gently cupped his cheek with her hand. "I promise on my mother's life that you won't become human. Is that good enough? Cause I can’t tell you anything more. You have to choose this way on your own, without influence from anybody."
"Don’t you have to choose, too?" Spike released her other hand and leaned back. He needed room to think. "How come you know what the future might have in store for us?"
"I chose you a long time ago. When you died, I didn’t move on. I loved you too much to let anyone else hold me in their arms. Later, I found out from Lorne that you came back and about the betrayal from my friends. They knew how I felt and still they kept us apart. They weren't just my friends, they were my family. I saw Giles as my father, Willow and Xander as my brother and sister. They couldn't put my happiness first though. It was always about what they wanted and what they thought was best for me."
There was so much sadness in her eyes, that Spike couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to hold her hands again, giving her a bit of comfort.
"After I learned about their betrayal, I left them. The Powers said that, by doing that, I chose you, and I did it again and again, each time after that when I sent them packing." She sniffled a few times as tears welled up in her eyes.
"How do you know the Powers see it like that?"
"Dreams! Even though I’m not the Slayer, I'm still getting the dreams," she said, breathing out and letting her body relax.
"When will I get to know what the future holds in store for us?"
"I think you’ll have to wait until they give you the knowledge. The Powers guided me to the book, after I had made my choice," she said sadly, looking down at their hands, holding on to each other.
They both looked to the stairs when the noise intensified. Now everyone was standing there, even Joyce. The two groups were struggling against each other. Spike drew her attention to the bouncers that were circling in on the arguing crowd.
Angel’s eyes turned gold when he looked over at Spike and Buffy for the last time before he was pushed towards the stairs with the others and eventually escorted right out of the Bronze.
Spike’s laugh was contagious, and Buffy was soon giggling too.
"I need a drink. Back in a moment."
"Didn’t you go for a drink?" Buffy asked, when he came back empty handed.
"They’ll bring it." He lit a smoke and sprawled back in his chair.
Buffy admired his body from top to toe. She had missed his relaxed ways.
"See something you like, Luv?" Spike smirked at her smugly.
"Oh, yes." Buffy licked her lips and leaned back to copy Spike's pose.
He groaned and closed his eyes. "Don’t do that if you don’t want me to jump you right here."
A sparkling giggle was Buffy’s response. When she focused again, a waiter was at the table. A blooming onion and a plate of chicken wings were served and, as the cherry on the top, champagne for two.
Tears filled Buffy's eyes. "Thank you."
If a vampire could blush, Spike's cheeks would be red. "I figure we’re sort of engaged now. Let’s celebrate." He poured them both a glass of cool champagne.
They toasted to the future and nibbled on the food in silence, their eyes seeking each other. When most of the food was gone, Spike wiped his fingers clean and refilled their glasses.
"When can we do it?" Spike asked suddenly. A faint smile played around the vampire’s lips. He could see how Buffy struggled to answer without appearing too eager.
"As soon as you're sure. I can have the herbs ready in no time," Buffy breathed out.
"In no time you say? As in... tonight?" His eyes had turned dark.
A brilliant smile was slowly blooming on her face, as she nodded. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "I’ve never been more sure of anything. I can’t live without you."
Buffy's eyes showed her insecurity. The damage her friends had done with their repeated betrayals was clear for all to see.
"We both love you, demon and man. I won't spend any more time without you if I can help it." Spike moved to Buffy's side and picked her up, placing the blond beauty on his lap and kissing the breath out of his soon-to-be-mate.
Willingly, Buffy moved as close to his body as she could get, feeling Spike's desire for her.
"Can we go now?" Spike asked with a smirk, as he held her firmly against his body, "Need to go mix some herbs."
"I’d love to." Buffy placed a light kiss on his lips, before she started to stand with his help. Her legs were a bit wobbly. "Can you feel where Angel is? I don’t want to deal with him right now."
Spike stood still beside her, closing his eyes for a moment. "Just outside the door. I’ll bet your mates aren’t far away either."
"You’re probably right." Buffy sighed, lifted her shoulders and letting them fall down again. Buffy interlaced her fingers with Spike's. "Do you know of another way out of here?"
A mischievous smile lit up his face. "We can avoid them if we go over the building. Are you up for a little jump to the neighbouring roof?"
“You bet. Lead the way,” Buffy responded. Spike’s plan might help the couple avoid any further unpleasant confrontations for the moment, but Buffy knew that when the Scoobies discovered that Spike was her other half, their reaction was going to give a whole new meaning to the term ‘shit storm’. There would be no way for anyone to interfere once they were mated though.
Spike's hand reached through the small window to help Buffy get out onto the roof. The cool night air that hit her was refreshing after the air in the Bronze, where there had been too many humans together in one place, smoking and sweating on the dance floor.
Together they walked to the edge of the roof and looked down on the street. After a moment, they noticed Xander standing in an alcove, watching the back door of the club, his arms hugging his body. The weather forecast had promised a cold night.
Changing direction, Spike led Buffy to the side of the roof that was closest to the neighbouring building. The jump was made together, holding hands. Spike had to steady Buffy as they landed, because her short, tight skirt limited her movements.
A few light kisses were shared, along with the smiles they sent each other, before they moved to get off the roof. The walk back to the converted warehouse was made at a good pace, interrupted every few minutes by a quick stop to share a kiss or two.
Once inside, Buffy locked the door and turned around. Immediately, she was pressed up against the unyielding surface. Spike had one hand on each side of her head, and quickly dropped his head to catch her mouth, which he immediately plundered. Buffy's hands found Spike's broad shoulders, where she took a firm grip and lifted her body up, wrapping her legs around his hips.
One of Spike's hands quickly moved down and took a firm grip on Buffy's buttocks, lifting her body up against his. An arm was twined around Buffy's waist to keep her close.
At some point, Buffy needed to breathe. She pulled away panting, head leaning back against the door, eyes closed. Spike's breathing was also ragged, his forehead resting against her neck.
As she caught her breath, Buffy let her legs fall, wriggling a bit to be let down.
A deep groan was pulled from Spike. "Don’t." He breathed in deeply to get control over his demon. "Sorry, my demon wants me to take you as mine, on the spot." He lifted his head and leaned his forehead against hers. "He’s scared. Afraid you’ll change your mind. It wasn’t just me Dru rejected, she also refused my demon." Spike opened his eyes when he felt a warm hand on his cheek.
"I love you. There is no chance that I’ll change my mind. This..." Buffy kissed him on his nose. "Is the one thing I have dreamed about for years. You’re not getting rid of me, no way in Hell."
Spike's face lit up with the biggest smile Buffy had ever seen, showing all of his teeth. "Okay. I'd better let you down so we can get mated, right and proper."
Buffy returned Spike's smile, as he let her slide down his body. "You can help by moving the bed into the middle of the room."
"Anything else, Love?"
"Not at this point." She pulled him up the stairs to their bedroom, where Buffy disappeared into her dressing-room. She pushed some of her hanging clothes to the side and mumbled a few words as she held her hands out to the wall. A part of it vanished.
The room Buffy stepped into was covered in shelves from ceiling to floor. Books were stacked on most of the shelves, though some shelves were packed with boxes that added a strong herbal odour to the room. Buffy grabbed a long pole with a hook on the end from the corner of the room, and she used it to get bunches of dried herbs down from the ceiling, where they had been hung to dry.
Several bunches were pulled down and placed on the table in the center of the room. From the fragrant boxes, Buffy gathered more herbs.
"Hmm, hmm."
Buffy turned around and saw Spike standing in the doorway between her hangers, leaning on the invisible barrier.
"Sorry, an extra precaution. Come in."
Spike stumbled into the room, getting his balance just before he would have knocked over a chair. "What is this?"
"It’s like my secret place, with my most valuable books and my magic stuff." Buffy made a gesture. "Look around."
Spike walked around the room. Read a title here and there. Smelled the herbs.
In the meantime, Buffy had gathered what she needed. She climbed up the ladder to get a mortar and pestle from the top shelf.
Spike watched how Buffy mixed and crushed the herbs, then divided them into three bowls.
"Could you get the box with tea lights from the cupboard next to the kitchen sink and meet me in the bedroom?" Buffy gathered the bowls in her arms.
"Be right there." He rushed out.
Buffy slowly followed Spike out of the room, shaking her head at the speed he was moving. When Buffy left the room, the secret opening disappeared, leaving only the back wall of the closet in its place.
Spike hadn't just moved the bed into the middle of the room, he had also changed the bedding to fresh red silk sheets.
"Where do you want them?" Spike was back and standing in the doorway, holding a small box of tea lights.
"Just hold them for a second." Buffy sat a bowl down on the floor, before she moved to the bathroom and placed the two other bowls on the counter.
Back in the room she took the bowl from the floor. "Come over here, please."
Spike leaned against the bathroom door frame, watching as Buffy walked around the bed, pouring the crushed herbs out into a small belt on the floor.
"Don’t break the circle." The empty bowl was put out of the way. "Now for the candles. Place a candle on the belt of herbs at the top of the bed." She took a handful of candles, and placed one at the end of the bed. They then placed one more candle on each side of the bed, and another one in each gap between the original four.
Buffy smiled over at Spike, who stood on the other side of the bed. "Your lighter... put it down on the nightstand." Buffy turned to take a box of matches from the fireplace and placed it on her side of the bed.
Carefully, she stepped out of the circle and took in the room. "Ok, we're done here." She nodded to herself.
"Could we set fire to the logs?"
"Huh?" Puzzled, she wrinkled her forehead.
Spike gestured with his head to the fireplace.
She looked from the bed to the fireplace and smiled softly. "Why not? Just don’t touch the herbs."
Spike just needed to set a match to the paper, and soon the flames started to throw shadows around the room. An arm crept around Spike's waist, under his coat. He smiled down at Buffy and pulled her closer.
"What now, Love?" Spike asked after some time, waking Buffy from her dream about her romantic William and the life they would have together.
Spike was holding both of her hands in his, as he looked at her with a soft smile. "It’ll make me the happiest man on Earth to accept your proposal. I love you, man and demon, equally." He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
There was yelling from the stairs. Both ignored the commotion.
"I would like to get more information through. What about the bonding itself? And what we can expect from it? Whatever you can tell me." Spike continued to hold her hands while they spoke. It seemed to calm her.
"The bonding itself is pretty normal. There are just a few things that will be different."
Spike could hear Buffy's confidence coming back. He nodded to encourage to her.
"We’ll have to pull the bed out from the wall, so we can make a circle around the bed with a special mixture of herbs and some candles. That's where the actual bonding will take place." It wasn’t just her confidence that had returned, she was also filled with excitement when she thought about the bonding she had dreamed of so long. "As for us...don’t get that look," Buffy scolded Spike, "it’s nothing bad. We take a bath with some of the same herbs we'll use to make the circle. That’s all there is to it."
"What’s with the herbs?"
Buffy looked down, her cheeks flushed again. She wondered how she could explain it without upsetting him or hurting his feelings. "Bathing in the herbs will cleanse us and free us from our past." Buffy held up her hands when he opened his mouth to speak. "Not in a redeeming way, but more like cleaning away the shadows of others who had an influence in our lives until now, from our bodies and our bed.”
"I see. How will the bond affect us? I've never heard of a Slayer bonding with a vampire before." Spike's mood had become very serious while Buffy spoke.
It was clear that Buffy felt very emotional about the bonding. "The effects of the bond will be about the same as when vampires mate, lots of things are possible. Some of the effects we'll see with time, and others may or may not ever happen. I know though, that anything that does happen will be all of the good."
"That would depend on what the person thinks is good." Spike was grinding his teeth. "Not everyone wants the same thing out of life. For instance, I like being a vamp.... I wouldn't trade the power and freedom for anything."
Buffy’s expression had changed to something Spike couldn’t read. Her lips had formed into a soft smile. Love was shining clearly from Buffy's eyes, but there was also something else that Spike couldn’t put into words.
"I know, and it’s one of the things I love about you." Buffy gently cupped his cheek with her hand. "I promise on my mother's life that you won't become human. Is that good enough? Cause I can’t tell you anything more. You have to choose this way on your own, without influence from anybody."
"Don’t you have to choose, too?" Spike released her other hand and leaned back. He needed room to think. "How come you know what the future might have in store for us?"
"I chose you a long time ago. When you died, I didn’t move on. I loved you too much to let anyone else hold me in their arms. Later, I found out from Lorne that you came back and about the betrayal from my friends. They knew how I felt and still they kept us apart. They weren't just my friends, they were my family. I saw Giles as my father, Willow and Xander as my brother and sister. They couldn't put my happiness first though. It was always about what they wanted and what they thought was best for me."
There was so much sadness in her eyes, that Spike couldn’t stop himself from reaching out to hold her hands again, giving her a bit of comfort.
"After I learned about their betrayal, I left them. The Powers said that, by doing that, I chose you, and I did it again and again, each time after that when I sent them packing." She sniffled a few times as tears welled up in her eyes.
"How do you know the Powers see it like that?"
"Dreams! Even though I’m not the Slayer, I'm still getting the dreams," she said, breathing out and letting her body relax.
"When will I get to know what the future holds in store for us?"
"I think you’ll have to wait until they give you the knowledge. The Powers guided me to the book, after I had made my choice," she said sadly, looking down at their hands, holding on to each other.
They both looked to the stairs when the noise intensified. Now everyone was standing there, even Joyce. The two groups were struggling against each other. Spike drew her attention to the bouncers that were circling in on the arguing crowd.
Angel’s eyes turned gold when he looked over at Spike and Buffy for the last time before he was pushed towards the stairs with the others and eventually escorted right out of the Bronze.
Spike’s laugh was contagious, and Buffy was soon giggling too.
"I need a drink. Back in a moment."
"Didn’t you go for a drink?" Buffy asked, when he came back empty handed.
"They’ll bring it." He lit a smoke and sprawled back in his chair.
Buffy admired his body from top to toe. She had missed his relaxed ways.
"See something you like, Luv?" Spike smirked at her smugly.
"Oh, yes." Buffy licked her lips and leaned back to copy Spike's pose.
He groaned and closed his eyes. "Don’t do that if you don’t want me to jump you right here."
A sparkling giggle was Buffy’s response. When she focused again, a waiter was at the table. A blooming onion and a plate of chicken wings were served and, as the cherry on the top, champagne for two.
Tears filled Buffy's eyes. "Thank you."
If a vampire could blush, Spike's cheeks would be red. "I figure we’re sort of engaged now. Let’s celebrate." He poured them both a glass of cool champagne.
They toasted to the future and nibbled on the food in silence, their eyes seeking each other. When most of the food was gone, Spike wiped his fingers clean and refilled their glasses.
"When can we do it?" Spike asked suddenly. A faint smile played around the vampire’s lips. He could see how Buffy struggled to answer without appearing too eager.
"As soon as you're sure. I can have the herbs ready in no time," Buffy breathed out.
"In no time you say? As in... tonight?" His eyes had turned dark.
A brilliant smile was slowly blooming on her face, as she nodded. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "I’ve never been more sure of anything. I can’t live without you."
Buffy's eyes showed her insecurity. The damage her friends had done with their repeated betrayals was clear for all to see.
"We both love you, demon and man. I won't spend any more time without you if I can help it." Spike moved to Buffy's side and picked her up, placing the blond beauty on his lap and kissing the breath out of his soon-to-be-mate.
Willingly, Buffy moved as close to his body as she could get, feeling Spike's desire for her.
"Can we go now?" Spike asked with a smirk, as he held her firmly against his body, "Need to go mix some herbs."
"I’d love to." Buffy placed a light kiss on his lips, before she started to stand with his help. Her legs were a bit wobbly. "Can you feel where Angel is? I don’t want to deal with him right now."
Spike stood still beside her, closing his eyes for a moment. "Just outside the door. I’ll bet your mates aren’t far away either."
"You’re probably right." Buffy sighed, lifted her shoulders and letting them fall down again. Buffy interlaced her fingers with Spike's. "Do you know of another way out of here?"
A mischievous smile lit up his face. "We can avoid them if we go over the building. Are you up for a little jump to the neighbouring roof?"
“You bet. Lead the way,” Buffy responded. Spike’s plan might help the couple avoid any further unpleasant confrontations for the moment, but Buffy knew that when the Scoobies discovered that Spike was her other half, their reaction was going to give a whole new meaning to the term ‘shit storm’. There would be no way for anyone to interfere once they were mated though.
Spike's hand reached through the small window to help Buffy get out onto the roof. The cool night air that hit her was refreshing after the air in the Bronze, where there had been too many humans together in one place, smoking and sweating on the dance floor.
Together they walked to the edge of the roof and looked down on the street. After a moment, they noticed Xander standing in an alcove, watching the back door of the club, his arms hugging his body. The weather forecast had promised a cold night.
Changing direction, Spike led Buffy to the side of the roof that was closest to the neighbouring building. The jump was made together, holding hands. Spike had to steady Buffy as they landed, because her short, tight skirt limited her movements.
A few light kisses were shared, along with the smiles they sent each other, before they moved to get off the roof. The walk back to the converted warehouse was made at a good pace, interrupted every few minutes by a quick stop to share a kiss or two.
Once inside, Buffy locked the door and turned around. Immediately, she was pressed up against the unyielding surface. Spike had one hand on each side of her head, and quickly dropped his head to catch her mouth, which he immediately plundered. Buffy's hands found Spike's broad shoulders, where she took a firm grip and lifted her body up, wrapping her legs around his hips.
One of Spike's hands quickly moved down and took a firm grip on Buffy's buttocks, lifting her body up against his. An arm was twined around Buffy's waist to keep her close.
At some point, Buffy needed to breathe. She pulled away panting, head leaning back against the door, eyes closed. Spike's breathing was also ragged, his forehead resting against her neck.
As she caught her breath, Buffy let her legs fall, wriggling a bit to be let down.
A deep groan was pulled from Spike. "Don’t." He breathed in deeply to get control over his demon. "Sorry, my demon wants me to take you as mine, on the spot." He lifted his head and leaned his forehead against hers. "He’s scared. Afraid you’ll change your mind. It wasn’t just me Dru rejected, she also refused my demon." Spike opened his eyes when he felt a warm hand on his cheek.
"I love you. There is no chance that I’ll change my mind. This..." Buffy kissed him on his nose. "Is the one thing I have dreamed about for years. You’re not getting rid of me, no way in Hell."
Spike's face lit up with the biggest smile Buffy had ever seen, showing all of his teeth. "Okay. I'd better let you down so we can get mated, right and proper."
Buffy returned Spike's smile, as he let her slide down his body. "You can help by moving the bed into the middle of the room."
"Anything else, Love?"
"Not at this point." She pulled him up the stairs to their bedroom, where Buffy disappeared into her dressing-room. She pushed some of her hanging clothes to the side and mumbled a few words as she held her hands out to the wall. A part of it vanished.
The room Buffy stepped into was covered in shelves from ceiling to floor. Books were stacked on most of the shelves, though some shelves were packed with boxes that added a strong herbal odour to the room. Buffy grabbed a long pole with a hook on the end from the corner of the room, and she used it to get bunches of dried herbs down from the ceiling, where they had been hung to dry.
Several bunches were pulled down and placed on the table in the center of the room. From the fragrant boxes, Buffy gathered more herbs.
"Hmm, hmm."
Buffy turned around and saw Spike standing in the doorway between her hangers, leaning on the invisible barrier.
"Sorry, an extra precaution. Come in."
Spike stumbled into the room, getting his balance just before he would have knocked over a chair. "What is this?"
"It’s like my secret place, with my most valuable books and my magic stuff." Buffy made a gesture. "Look around."
Spike walked around the room. Read a title here and there. Smelled the herbs.
In the meantime, Buffy had gathered what she needed. She climbed up the ladder to get a mortar and pestle from the top shelf.
Spike watched how Buffy mixed and crushed the herbs, then divided them into three bowls.
"Could you get the box with tea lights from the cupboard next to the kitchen sink and meet me in the bedroom?" Buffy gathered the bowls in her arms.
"Be right there." He rushed out.
Buffy slowly followed Spike out of the room, shaking her head at the speed he was moving. When Buffy left the room, the secret opening disappeared, leaving only the back wall of the closet in its place.
Spike hadn't just moved the bed into the middle of the room, he had also changed the bedding to fresh red silk sheets.
"Where do you want them?" Spike was back and standing in the doorway, holding a small box of tea lights.
"Just hold them for a second." Buffy sat a bowl down on the floor, before she moved to the bathroom and placed the two other bowls on the counter.
Back in the room she took the bowl from the floor. "Come over here, please."
Spike leaned against the bathroom door frame, watching as Buffy walked around the bed, pouring the crushed herbs out into a small belt on the floor.
"Don’t break the circle." The empty bowl was put out of the way. "Now for the candles. Place a candle on the belt of herbs at the top of the bed." She took a handful of candles, and placed one at the end of the bed. They then placed one more candle on each side of the bed, and another one in each gap between the original four.
Buffy smiled over at Spike, who stood on the other side of the bed. "Your lighter... put it down on the nightstand." Buffy turned to take a box of matches from the fireplace and placed it on her side of the bed.
Carefully, she stepped out of the circle and took in the room. "Ok, we're done here." She nodded to herself.
"Could we set fire to the logs?"
"Huh?" Puzzled, she wrinkled her forehead.
Spike gestured with his head to the fireplace.
She looked from the bed to the fireplace and smiled softly. "Why not? Just don’t touch the herbs."
Spike just needed to set a match to the paper, and soon the flames started to throw shadows around the room. An arm crept around Spike's waist, under his coat. He smiled down at Buffy and pulled her closer.
"What now, Love?" Spike asked after some time, waking Buffy from her dream about her romantic William and the life they would have together.
Complete
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
“Come.” Buffy took Spike’s hand and pulled him to the only chair in the room, where she raised her hands to his shoulders and pushed his coat down his arms. She folded the garment neatly, and placed it over the back of the chair. Then she bent her knees to crouch down in front of him, helping him with his boots.
After the laces had been dealt with and Spike had kicked off his boots, it was his turn to kneel down and help Buffy take off her shoes. Down on the floor, kneeling on one knee, Spike just had to look up at her and couldn’t help basking in the love shining from her eyes. He knew she saw the same look of wonder and devotion in his gaze, too.
Spike took Buffy’s hands in his, and stood. Their eyes were locked for a moment, wrapping them in their feelings, almost like they were being covered by a warm blanket. Hand in hand, they turned as one and entered the bathroom.
Spike pulled Buffy’s top over her head. He crumpled it in one hand, as the other lightly touched her breast, teasingly circling a nipple.
Buffy could feel moisture forming between her folds. When Spike moved his hand from her breast, she lifted hers to Spike’s shoulders and pushed off his red dress shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Then her hands reached for the hem of his black t-shirt, pulling it over his head.
Spike’s arms went around her, and found the zipper at the back of her skirt. He tugged sharply downwards, letting the swirl of fabric join his shirt on the floor. The buttons of Spike’s jeans took a bit of effort for Buffy, before she could push them down his legs. After she had removed them from his feet, and was on her way back up, Buffy couldn’t resist the temptation, and placed a soft kiss on the tip of his erection.
A hiss escaped through the vampire’s clenched teeth. Buffy’s hot breath on his cock had caused him to swell even more. The kiss had taken him completely by surprise, his body taut and shaking with the desire to grab her. Spike used all the control he had gained over his years as a master vampire to overcome his impulse to jump her.
Spike opened his eyes when Buffy cupped his cheek, looking worried. Smiling softly, he turned his head and kissed her palm. Buffy let her hand fall down, as Spike raised his own to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Then he leaned in and stole a kiss before he bent his knees to pull off her red thong, the last thing left on her body.
Standing up, Spike let his eyes roam over Buffy. He opened his mouth to speak, but then changed his mind. They hadn’t yet spoken a word while undressing each other. This pocket of time seemed holy to them. Their silence was appropriate.
Again together, hands entwined, they turned to the shower.
Buffy took the sponge, while Spike turned the water on. With the soaped up sponge, Buffy started to wash her vampire down, beginning with his shoulders and moving slowly down over his abs.
Spike twisted a bit when the sponge touched his sides. It tickled, something that Buffy didn’t know about him, and definitely something she decided to remember for a rainy day.
Down on her knees, she gestured for him to lift his foot, and proceeded to wash it, toe by toe. His other foot got the same treatment.
Still on her knees, Buffy stretched up and took the body wash, squishing a large dollop out onto her hand. After she had lathered the soap up, she took a firm grip on Spike’s erection with one hand, her small fingers not quite able to reach around it. Her other hand cradled his scrotum.
Her soap covered hand on his erection moved up and down, while the other played with his balls, taking extra care that he was clean.
The way Buffy was scrubbing him had Spike whimpering in need but, after just a few more strokes, she released him. Buffy stood up and pushed his shoulders to make him turn, washing his back when he cooperated.
Thinking she was finished, Spike started to turn around, but she stopped him again with a hand on his back. Gently, Buffy pulled him under the water, and then reached for the shampoo. He moaned in bliss as she massaged the lather into his scalp.
After he had rinsed the soap out of his hair, Spike reached for her special brand of body wash, the one that smelled like vanilla.
He poured a large portion out onto his palm, rubbing his hands together. When his hands were completely covered in foam, Spike reached for Buffy. She moaned in bliss when he was finally touching her naked skin.
Spike washed Buffy with his bare hands. He started at her shoulders, massaging them lightly, getting the tension out of them. A long time was spent at her breasts. They had never been this thoroughly washed before, her nipples standing at attention in response to his caress.
Buffy was sure this was his evil revenge: torture by petting. Leaning back in the shower, she pushed her breasts into his hands.
Spike’s hands moved over Buffy’s stomach, with short trips back to her breasts and the sides of her torso. On his knees, he concentrated on Buffy’s sex, parting her lips in his quest for cleanliness.
Stroking her hip with one hand, the thumb of his other hand circled her clit. As Spike finally moved his hand down her thigh, the other left her sex and moved up to Buffy’s neglected hip.
One leg at a time, Spike used both of his hands to slowly cover Buffy in a thin layer of soap. Up and down he went. He occasionally brushed lightly against her sex, teasing her.
Spike washed her feet and found that he wasn’t the only one who was ticklish. He stood and pulled her under the water.
First he washed her hair with shampoo. After rinsing that out, he worked conditioner through her long blonde tresses. From experience, Spike knew that the conditioner needed to stay in her hair for a while, so he piled it up on top of her head with a butterfly clip. That done, her hair was out of the way so he could wash her back.
Leaning against the wall, Buffy’s hands supported her body, relaxing under Spike’s attention. His fingers were digging into her flesh, kneading her muscles.
Buffy felt boneless when Spike pulled her under the tepid water to rinse. He had to support her, or she would have collapsed like a rag doll.
Chest to chest, Spike was getting the last of the conditioner out of her hair, while she nuzzled his throat. He straightened her up, looked her over, and made sure she was free of any soap, before he took another dive under the water himself.
Buffy’s legs had steadied again after Spike had released her. She reached for the bowls that were still sitting on the counter, turning back to Spike with one in each hand.
Spike shook his head like a dog coming in from the rain, a hand reaching up to run through his hair. When he saw Buffy watching him, he stood still and looked at her, tilting his head.
She handed one of the bowls to Spike.
Their eyes locked for a moment, before Buffy held her hand under the shower and collected a little water, carefully mixing it into the herbs to form a paste.
Spike did the same, and then turned off the shower. Buffy started to spread the herbs over his body, and he copied her, taking advantage of the opportunity to caress her soft skin once again.
When they were both covered in the fragrant paste, Buffy took Spike’s hands in hers and chanted for a few minutes.
When she was done, Spike wanted to start the water running again and step under the shower to get the herbs off his skin, but Buffy kept hold of his hands, stopping him. When she had his attention, she released one of his hands and ran hers over his chest, causing him to catch it and look down. The herbs were gone. He looked up and raised an eyebrow.
The only answer he got was a smile and a shrug, as she turned to lead him out of the bathroom. Slightly damp, they stepped into the circle around the bed, careful not to disturb the herbs that Buffy had poured on the floor earlier.
Buffy passed Spike the lighter that he had placed on his nightstand and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before she moved to the other side of the bed.
She took the matches that were on her bedside table, and started to light the tea lights. A glance at Spike showed that he was doing the same on his side of the bed. By the time all the lights were burning with a steady flame, both the ex-Slayer and her vampire were dry.
When Buffy and Spike met in the middle of the bed, the only illumination in the room came from the tea lights and the softly burning flames in the fireplace. Gentle, tentative kisses were shared, hands caressed with soft touches, until their desire flared and took over.
Their tongues met in a duel, hands roaming over skin, their bodies tight together. They were both ready to explode. Their break to light the candles had done nothing to diminish the desire they had built up while in the shower.
Buffy tore herself away from Spike’s mouth, gasping for breath. Spike nibbled and licked down her throat, pushing Buffy onto her back as he moved down to her breasts. Slowly, he licked around one areola, his hands moving up and down her torso.
It had been so long since Buffy had felt Spike’s weight on her, and to finally experience it again was Heaven. Buffy tangled her hands in Spike’s hair, and held him to her, gasping for breath and arching her back.
Finally, after he had teased her for a couple of minutes, Spike sucked her right nipple into his mouth. Not wanting her other breast to feel left out, he soon changed sides and began to tug on that neglected peak.
Spike felt as if he were in a dreamland. Never had he felt loved like this. This was his soon-to-be mate, a living, breathing being. She was so warm. Touching her was indescribable. Even when he had fed from them, other women had never been this warm. Were all women like this in bed? He had no idea. Drusilla liked to stray, not him. He was Love’s Bitch, faithful as a dog. A real one-woman man.
A growl erupted from Spike’s chest, and his eyes turned yellow. He immediately let go of the nipple he had been suckling on and hid his face.
An insistent tug on his hair forced Spike to look up, eyes blue again, but moist. He opened his mouth, feeling guilty and needing to apologize for his lack of self-control.
Buffy placed a finger on his lips and smiled softly, her love for him clear to see.
She pulled at his shoulders, and made him move up to face her, and then she kissed him with passion, paying special attention to the skin that hid his canines.
Another growl escaped, this time deeper, as his eyes turned colour and his canines dropped. Spike looked into her eyes then, and realized that everything was okay. Buffy loved his demon as much as she loved the man.
Letting his control go, Spike changed completely. Ridges broke across the surface of his skin, and his canines grew even longer. Buffy’s hands lovingly trekked across the ridges on Spike’s forehead, before she moved to those over his nose.
Through golden eyes, Spike watched his ex-Slayer express her love for his demon. The vampire was confused. His demon was shaking, and Spike didn’t understand why. The only other time the demon had reacted this way was when he was helpless at the hands of Angelus. This time, though, William knew his demon had nothing to fear.
Buffy moved forward and dropped a kiss on Spike’s nose, just under his ridges.
Suddenly, Spike’s vision became hazy, and shaking his head didn’t help. It wasn’t until he felt moisture on his cheeks that he understood. Spike’s demon was completely overwhelmed by the emotion he was feeling.
Nobody had ever loved them both, not even Drusilla. His Sire had been more interested in William’s caring side, wanting him to play the role of nursemaid and take care of her.
Buffy brushed his tears away and kissed his cheek one more time, before finding his mouth. Her hands roamed over Spike’s back, cupping his bottom and pulling him close. Spike clung to her and tried to burrow even closer to the warmth and acceptance she offered.
The vampire’s erection hit her clit, and she moaned into his mouth. Her tongue ran over one of his razor sharp teeth, making a little cut that started to bleed. Spike moaned in bliss as he suckled on her tongue. He was sure this had to be Heaven.
The pulling of her blood made Buffy’s arousal skyrocket. It was time to move on. She couldn’t wait any longer. Buffy wiggled under Spike and parted her legs even more, causing Spike to come into full contact with her pussy.
Spike slid himself up and down several times to coat his cock in her secretions. He knew it was her first time. Fingers moved between them, testing how ready she was. Spike kissed her deeply as he inserted a finger, thrusting with it a few times before adding a second finger to her channel.
By the third finger, Buffy was wriggling and moaning loudly. Pouting, Buffy tried to follow his fingers when he removed them. Taking his cock in hand, Spike rubbed the head against her slit. Buffy tried to get him to enter her each time he touched her most secret opening.
Finally, both of her hands grabbed his head, one on each cheek, and they locked eyes as she arched her body up to his. Spike understood her message loud and clear. He lined his cock up at her entrance, keeping eye contact with this woman that seemed to see right into his heart. Slowly, he forced his way into her body. She was so hot and tight that Spike had to stop for a moment, afraid that things would be over before they really got started.
Buffy felt like something was about to break inside of her. She had forgotten how large he was, not only in length, but also in girth. However, she wanted him, all of him, and she wanted him now. Buffy didn’t want to wait one second more.
Moaning in dissatisfaction, Buffy bucked against Spike, forcing him further into her body. Her actions quickly jolted her lover from his self-imposed time-out and got him moving again.
Spike stopped when he reached the thin membrane that marked Buffy as a virgin. Nobody had ever been where he was, and now nobody else ever would experience the incredible warmth and sense of home that was Buffy’s body. Spike caught her mouth in a heated kiss. Buffy gasped when he broke through her maidenhead, and then they smiled at each other, taking a moment to catch their breath.
It wasn’t long before their bodies demanded that they move again. They came together in an age-old dance, and before long they were prisoners of their passion. Time lost all meaning as the two writhed on the bed in the dimly lit room.
Moments before she felt her orgasm start to take over, Buffy moved her head to the side, giving Spike permission to make her his own.
Moving down to nibble and lick at her throat, Spike bent his neck as well, giving Buffy room to find Drusilla’s old mark. At the exact same time, they bit into each other, sucking out three long mouthfuls of blood, and then pulling back to gaze into each other’s eyes.
“MINE,” they both claimed.
“YOURS,” they both agreed, before turning to lovingly lick the wounds they had made.
Neither noticed the light that flared up from the circle of herbs around the bed, or that it’s soft glow matched the radiance beaming from their bodies.
They were too wrapped up in each other, shaking in the aftermath of their spent passion, to care when the light widened out to include the whole building.
“Come.” Buffy took Spike’s hand and pulled him to the only chair in the room, where she raised her hands to his shoulders and pushed his coat down his arms. She folded the garment neatly, and placed it over the back of the chair. Then she bent her knees to crouch down in front of him, helping him with his boots.
After the laces had been dealt with and Spike had kicked off his boots, it was his turn to kneel down and help Buffy take off her shoes. Down on the floor, kneeling on one knee, Spike just had to look up at her and couldn’t help basking in the love shining from her eyes. He knew she saw the same look of wonder and devotion in his gaze, too.
Spike took Buffy’s hands in his, and stood. Their eyes were locked for a moment, wrapping them in their feelings, almost like they were being covered by a warm blanket. Hand in hand, they turned as one and entered the bathroom.
Spike pulled Buffy’s top over her head. He crumpled it in one hand, as the other lightly touched her breast, teasingly circling a nipple.
Buffy could feel moisture forming between her folds. When Spike moved his hand from her breast, she lifted hers to Spike’s shoulders and pushed off his red dress shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Then her hands reached for the hem of his black t-shirt, pulling it over his head.
Spike’s arms went around her, and found the zipper at the back of her skirt. He tugged sharply downwards, letting the swirl of fabric join his shirt on the floor. The buttons of Spike’s jeans took a bit of effort for Buffy, before she could push them down his legs. After she had removed them from his feet, and was on her way back up, Buffy couldn’t resist the temptation, and placed a soft kiss on the tip of his erection.
A hiss escaped through the vampire’s clenched teeth. Buffy’s hot breath on his cock had caused him to swell even more. The kiss had taken him completely by surprise, his body taut and shaking with the desire to grab her. Spike used all the control he had gained over his years as a master vampire to overcome his impulse to jump her.
Spike opened his eyes when Buffy cupped his cheek, looking worried. Smiling softly, he turned his head and kissed her palm. Buffy let her hand fall down, as Spike raised his own to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Then he leaned in and stole a kiss before he bent his knees to pull off her red thong, the last thing left on her body.
Standing up, Spike let his eyes roam over Buffy. He opened his mouth to speak, but then changed his mind. They hadn’t yet spoken a word while undressing each other. This pocket of time seemed holy to them. Their silence was appropriate.
Again together, hands entwined, they turned to the shower.
Buffy took the sponge, while Spike turned the water on. With the soaped up sponge, Buffy started to wash her vampire down, beginning with his shoulders and moving slowly down over his abs.
Spike twisted a bit when the sponge touched his sides. It tickled, something that Buffy didn’t know about him, and definitely something she decided to remember for a rainy day.
Down on her knees, she gestured for him to lift his foot, and proceeded to wash it, toe by toe. His other foot got the same treatment.
Still on her knees, Buffy stretched up and took the body wash, squishing a large dollop out onto her hand. After she had lathered the soap up, she took a firm grip on Spike’s erection with one hand, her small fingers not quite able to reach around it. Her other hand cradled his scrotum.
Her soap covered hand on his erection moved up and down, while the other played with his balls, taking extra care that he was clean.
The way Buffy was scrubbing him had Spike whimpering in need but, after just a few more strokes, she released him. Buffy stood up and pushed his shoulders to make him turn, washing his back when he cooperated.
Thinking she was finished, Spike started to turn around, but she stopped him again with a hand on his back. Gently, Buffy pulled him under the water, and then reached for the shampoo. He moaned in bliss as she massaged the lather into his scalp.
After he had rinsed the soap out of his hair, Spike reached for her special brand of body wash, the one that smelled like vanilla.
He poured a large portion out onto his palm, rubbing his hands together. When his hands were completely covered in foam, Spike reached for Buffy. She moaned in bliss when he was finally touching her naked skin.
Spike washed Buffy with his bare hands. He started at her shoulders, massaging them lightly, getting the tension out of them. A long time was spent at her breasts. They had never been this thoroughly washed before, her nipples standing at attention in response to his caress.
Buffy was sure this was his evil revenge: torture by petting. Leaning back in the shower, she pushed her breasts into his hands.
Spike’s hands moved over Buffy’s stomach, with short trips back to her breasts and the sides of her torso. On his knees, he concentrated on Buffy’s sex, parting her lips in his quest for cleanliness.
Stroking her hip with one hand, the thumb of his other hand circled her clit. As Spike finally moved his hand down her thigh, the other left her sex and moved up to Buffy’s neglected hip.
One leg at a time, Spike used both of his hands to slowly cover Buffy in a thin layer of soap. Up and down he went. He occasionally brushed lightly against her sex, teasing her.
Spike washed her feet and found that he wasn’t the only one who was ticklish. He stood and pulled her under the water.
First he washed her hair with shampoo. After rinsing that out, he worked conditioner through her long blonde tresses. From experience, Spike knew that the conditioner needed to stay in her hair for a while, so he piled it up on top of her head with a butterfly clip. That done, her hair was out of the way so he could wash her back.
Leaning against the wall, Buffy’s hands supported her body, relaxing under Spike’s attention. His fingers were digging into her flesh, kneading her muscles.
Buffy felt boneless when Spike pulled her under the tepid water to rinse. He had to support her, or she would have collapsed like a rag doll.
Chest to chest, Spike was getting the last of the conditioner out of her hair, while she nuzzled his throat. He straightened her up, looked her over, and made sure she was free of any soap, before he took another dive under the water himself.
Buffy’s legs had steadied again after Spike had released her. She reached for the bowls that were still sitting on the counter, turning back to Spike with one in each hand.
Spike shook his head like a dog coming in from the rain, a hand reaching up to run through his hair. When he saw Buffy watching him, he stood still and looked at her, tilting his head.
She handed one of the bowls to Spike.
Their eyes locked for a moment, before Buffy held her hand under the shower and collected a little water, carefully mixing it into the herbs to form a paste.
Spike did the same, and then turned off the shower. Buffy started to spread the herbs over his body, and he copied her, taking advantage of the opportunity to caress her soft skin once again.
When they were both covered in the fragrant paste, Buffy took Spike’s hands in hers and chanted for a few minutes.
When she was done, Spike wanted to start the water running again and step under the shower to get the herbs off his skin, but Buffy kept hold of his hands, stopping him. When she had his attention, she released one of his hands and ran hers over his chest, causing him to catch it and look down. The herbs were gone. He looked up and raised an eyebrow.
The only answer he got was a smile and a shrug, as she turned to lead him out of the bathroom. Slightly damp, they stepped into the circle around the bed, careful not to disturb the herbs that Buffy had poured on the floor earlier.
Buffy passed Spike the lighter that he had placed on his nightstand and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before she moved to the other side of the bed.
She took the matches that were on her bedside table, and started to light the tea lights. A glance at Spike showed that he was doing the same on his side of the bed. By the time all the lights were burning with a steady flame, both the ex-Slayer and her vampire were dry.
When Buffy and Spike met in the middle of the bed, the only illumination in the room came from the tea lights and the softly burning flames in the fireplace. Gentle, tentative kisses were shared, hands caressed with soft touches, until their desire flared and took over.
Their tongues met in a duel, hands roaming over skin, their bodies tight together. They were both ready to explode. Their break to light the candles had done nothing to diminish the desire they had built up while in the shower.
Buffy tore herself away from Spike’s mouth, gasping for breath. Spike nibbled and licked down her throat, pushing Buffy onto her back as he moved down to her breasts. Slowly, he licked around one areola, his hands moving up and down her torso.
It had been so long since Buffy had felt Spike’s weight on her, and to finally experience it again was Heaven. Buffy tangled her hands in Spike’s hair, and held him to her, gasping for breath and arching her back.
Finally, after he had teased her for a couple of minutes, Spike sucked her right nipple into his mouth. Not wanting her other breast to feel left out, he soon changed sides and began to tug on that neglected peak.
Spike felt as if he were in a dreamland. Never had he felt loved like this. This was his soon-to-be mate, a living, breathing being. She was so warm. Touching her was indescribable. Even when he had fed from them, other women had never been this warm. Were all women like this in bed? He had no idea. Drusilla liked to stray, not him. He was Love’s Bitch, faithful as a dog. A real one-woman man.
A growl erupted from Spike’s chest, and his eyes turned yellow. He immediately let go of the nipple he had been suckling on and hid his face.
An insistent tug on his hair forced Spike to look up, eyes blue again, but moist. He opened his mouth, feeling guilty and needing to apologize for his lack of self-control.
Buffy placed a finger on his lips and smiled softly, her love for him clear to see.
She pulled at his shoulders, and made him move up to face her, and then she kissed him with passion, paying special attention to the skin that hid his canines.
Another growl escaped, this time deeper, as his eyes turned colour and his canines dropped. Spike looked into her eyes then, and realized that everything was okay. Buffy loved his demon as much as she loved the man.
Letting his control go, Spike changed completely. Ridges broke across the surface of his skin, and his canines grew even longer. Buffy’s hands lovingly trekked across the ridges on Spike’s forehead, before she moved to those over his nose.
Through golden eyes, Spike watched his ex-Slayer express her love for his demon. The vampire was confused. His demon was shaking, and Spike didn’t understand why. The only other time the demon had reacted this way was when he was helpless at the hands of Angelus. This time, though, William knew his demon had nothing to fear.
Buffy moved forward and dropped a kiss on Spike’s nose, just under his ridges.
Suddenly, Spike’s vision became hazy, and shaking his head didn’t help. It wasn’t until he felt moisture on his cheeks that he understood. Spike’s demon was completely overwhelmed by the emotion he was feeling.
Nobody had ever loved them both, not even Drusilla. His Sire had been more interested in William’s caring side, wanting him to play the role of nursemaid and take care of her.
Buffy brushed his tears away and kissed his cheek one more time, before finding his mouth. Her hands roamed over Spike’s back, cupping his bottom and pulling him close. Spike clung to her and tried to burrow even closer to the warmth and acceptance she offered.
The vampire’s erection hit her clit, and she moaned into his mouth. Her tongue ran over one of his razor sharp teeth, making a little cut that started to bleed. Spike moaned in bliss as he suckled on her tongue. He was sure this had to be Heaven.
The pulling of her blood made Buffy’s arousal skyrocket. It was time to move on. She couldn’t wait any longer. Buffy wiggled under Spike and parted her legs even more, causing Spike to come into full contact with her pussy.
Spike slid himself up and down several times to coat his cock in her secretions. He knew it was her first time. Fingers moved between them, testing how ready she was. Spike kissed her deeply as he inserted a finger, thrusting with it a few times before adding a second finger to her channel.
By the third finger, Buffy was wriggling and moaning loudly. Pouting, Buffy tried to follow his fingers when he removed them. Taking his cock in hand, Spike rubbed the head against her slit. Buffy tried to get him to enter her each time he touched her most secret opening.
Finally, both of her hands grabbed his head, one on each cheek, and they locked eyes as she arched her body up to his. Spike understood her message loud and clear. He lined his cock up at her entrance, keeping eye contact with this woman that seemed to see right into his heart. Slowly, he forced his way into her body. She was so hot and tight that Spike had to stop for a moment, afraid that things would be over before they really got started.
Buffy felt like something was about to break inside of her. She had forgotten how large he was, not only in length, but also in girth. However, she wanted him, all of him, and she wanted him now. Buffy didn’t want to wait one second more.
Moaning in dissatisfaction, Buffy bucked against Spike, forcing him further into her body. Her actions quickly jolted her lover from his self-imposed time-out and got him moving again.
Spike stopped when he reached the thin membrane that marked Buffy as a virgin. Nobody had ever been where he was, and now nobody else ever would experience the incredible warmth and sense of home that was Buffy’s body. Spike caught her mouth in a heated kiss. Buffy gasped when he broke through her maidenhead, and then they smiled at each other, taking a moment to catch their breath.
It wasn’t long before their bodies demanded that they move again. They came together in an age-old dance, and before long they were prisoners of their passion. Time lost all meaning as the two writhed on the bed in the dimly lit room.
Moments before she felt her orgasm start to take over, Buffy moved her head to the side, giving Spike permission to make her his own.
Moving down to nibble and lick at her throat, Spike bent his neck as well, giving Buffy room to find Drusilla’s old mark. At the exact same time, they bit into each other, sucking out three long mouthfuls of blood, and then pulling back to gaze into each other’s eyes.
“MINE,” they both claimed.
“YOURS,” they both agreed, before turning to lovingly lick the wounds they had made.
Neither noticed the light that flared up from the circle of herbs around the bed, or that it’s soft glow matched the radiance beaming from their bodies.
They were too wrapped up in each other, shaking in the aftermath of their spent passion, to care when the light widened out to include the whole building.
She’s More Than Okay
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
Xander, Willow, and Angel had waited for Buffy to come out of the Bronze. They were hoping to catch her alone, but if Spike was still with her, they were prepared to deal with him too.
When the manager closed and locked the doors to the club, they knew that Spike and Buffy had eluded them somehow.
The stake that Xander had been holding ready for Spike was pocketed, as he bent down and helped Willow up. She had tried to catch a little sleep while they waited for Buffy to come out. Together they went around the building to meet Angel, who was waiting at the front entrance.
“Have you seen them?” Xander asked Angel, his bad mood showing.
“They must have snuck out somehow.” Angel sadly shook his head. “He’ll kill her. That’s what he does; he kills Slayers.”
“Can’t you use that nose of yours and lead us to him?” Xander pulled out his stake, playing around with it and pretending to stake an invisible enemy.
“There’s been no sight or smell of him...nothing to follow. Spike seems to have vanished into thin air. I’ve been on the alert for him since we were escorted from the club.”
Though clearly exhausted, Willow spoke up. “We could do a locator spell.” She reached out to lean against the wall. “The books and everything else we would need are in the school library.”
“And there’s nobody to interrupt us. The school is closed now. We can get in through the tunnels.” Angel began walking in the direction of the school. Xander and Willow followed at a slower pace.
********************
“Hey, what’s happening?”
Buffy tightened her arm around Spike’s waist. “It’s okay, Honey. I know where we are.” She squinted her eyes and looked into the fog.
Spike turned his mate so she was facing him. “Mind telling me what’s going on?” He rested his hands on her shoulders.
She smiled and kissed him, both arms still around his waist. “The Powers That Be want to have a word with us.”
“If they want to talk, then why are we here in all this fog? Where the Hell are they?”
“He has spirit. I like him.” The voice came out of the mist.
“Not bad looking either. She chose well.”
Spike and Buffy both turned to where the voices seemed to originate.
“We work for the Powers That Be. We bid you welcome to this realm, Eternal Ones, Judges on Earth.” The couple in Grecian robes paused to look at each other, communicating without words. “For now.”
“Thank you. It’s been a while since I was last here.” Buffy’s voice was bland, and her facial expression was carefully neutral as she looked the blue and golden beings over.
Spike had noticed Buffy’s tone of voice. There didn’t seem to be much love lost between his mate and the two confronting them now. “What do you mean, ‘For now’?”
“That is why you have been brought here. Your life is full of possibilities, but it is up to you to choose your own path,” the glittering male said. “Would you please join me for a view of the future, Mr Pratt?”
“We get to see what the future holds for us?” Spike asked with a big grin at Buffy, as he moved towards the male, one arm wrapped around his mate. He stopped, surprised, when she didn’t move with him. “Buffy?”
“This is just for you. I’ll wait here. Go.” A quick kiss on his cheek, and then she pushed him toward the Oracle.
When the vampire was close enough, the male clasped Spike’s arm and the place they were in swiftly morphed into a big room where two large chairs could be seen, sitting on a raised platform. Then, two previously unnoticed doors across the room from the chairs opened inwards, and the room began to fill with both humans and demons, all chatting among each other.
Suddenly, an invisible wave spread through the crowd, with people bowing their heads and moving to make a path from the doors to the chairs. The crowd seemed to hold still in silence, patiently waiting for something that Spike could not see. He craned his neck above the crowd, trying to find the cause of this strange behaviour. What he saw wasn’t something he had expected. He saw his beloved Buffy, and himself, walk through the crowd and sit down on the ornate chairs.
“This is what you are: Judges.” The Oracle took Spike’s arm again, and they moved on to another place in time.
By the time they had moved through several places in time, Spike was starting to feel dizzy. He wanted them all, every future he had seen...and not just for himself, but for Buffy.
“You said it was up to me. How? What can I do to make it all come true? Please?” he asked, tears clouding his vision. Spike would do anything, even beg.
“You’ll have to feed from your mate.”
Spike was shaking his head. “No, no...I can’t do that. With time, it will kill her. Sometimes I have to drain two or three people in one night to get enough blood to calm my demon’s hunger.”
The glittering being placed a soothing hand on the vampire’s shoulder. “Her blood is magical. A few mouthfuls taken when you pleasure each other will suffice, though more would be better.”
“Are you serious? You think I can survive on two mouthfuls of blood from my mate? And what about when the blood lust overcomes me, and my demon drains her dry?”
“Your mate is special, and even if you do drain her, she will live on. Just remember, her blood and none other for survival.”
“She’d never allow it.” Spike’s shoulders slumped.
“You will be surprised at what your mate is prepared to do for you.” With that, Spike’s surroundings blurred again, and then he was back in the first room, where he had started his journey.
Buffy and the blue female were sitting at a small table, drinking cups of tea. When Spike entered the room, Buffy got up and moved to take him in her arms, carefully checking him over for any signs of harm or distress. “Are you okay, Spike?”
The vampire’s arms enfolded her, holding her tight. With his face in her throat, he inhaled deeply. “Yeah, I’m fine. You?”
“I’m good, now that you’re back.” She tightened her arms around his waist. A human would have found her affection painful, but Spike enjoyed it.
“Will you do it?” Buffy asked, whispering softly while rubbing her cheek against his chest.
Spike pulled his mate out a bit from his body, wanting to see her eyes. “Do you know what they showed me?”
She nodded.
He swallowed, and then he asked, “Do you want it?”
“All of it,” Buffy said, nodding her head again, wanting to make sure that Spike understood what she was saying.
“You’ll let me feed off you?”
Again, she nodded. “I will. As much and as often as you want to.”
Spike looked at her with astonishment.
Buffy moved her hands up and down his back. “I enjoy your bite,” she confessed, blushing heavily.
“Is that right now,” the vampire teased, tongue curled behind his teeth, eyes darkening.
******************
Entering the library the next day, Giles was met by a tired group that hadn’t closed an eye all night. “What’s going on here?”
“We’re trying to find Buffy. She disappeared from the Bronze last night. Spike’s taken her.” Willow returned to her book.
“She’s probably dead,” Xander commented, as he shoved a donut into his mouth.
“I hate to say it, but it’s her own fault. I did warn her,” Angel grumbled.
“She’s probably safely asleep in her bed at home.” Giles was dismayed by the sheer bull-headedness displayed by the Scoobies.
“I’ve checked.” Angel kept his nose in the book he was currently scanning. “Her room was empty, the bed untouched.”
“You ass! How dare you upset Joyce by going back to her home?” Giles was furious.
“Relax Giles. Joyce didn’t know I was there. I just looked in through Buffy’s window.” If vampires could blush, Angel would have been red. Instead, he continued to hide his face in the book he was holding.
“I see,” the Watcher ground out from between clenched teeth. “Playing Peeping Tom again, were you?”
“Does it matter how he knows? Buffy isn’t at home, and my spells haven’t been able to find her.” Willow was getting agitated. She needed sleep, badly. “You could do the spell this time, Giles. I think I’m just too tired to get it to work for me.” She turned pleading eyes his way.
Giles walked across the floor in a swift motion, took the book out of Willow’s hands, and closed it with a loud bang. “I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear, Willow. You were to do no further unsupervised magic.”
Willow jumped up from her seat and looked up into Giles’ cold blue eyes. “I have to save her. Spike might torture Buffy, or even turn her.”
“Let me make a call.” Giles took the book with him when he walked into his office, and closed the door behind him so the Scoobies couldn’t listen to his phone conversation. A few minutes later, he reappeared. “Buffy is fine. Clean up this mess and then leave my library. Go home.” He gave the book back to Willow. “Do not for one minute think that we are finished here, Willow. There will be consequences for your untrained use of magic,” Giles informed the young witch. “Be on time for your classes.” Without another word, the Watcher turned his back on them, walked into his office, and closed the door, ignoring their questions.
***********************
When Buffy and Spike woke up, they were still intimately connected. As their eyes met, it was easy to see their desire leap from slow-burning embers, to roaring flames that demanded immediate action on their part. There was no hesitation as their lips met in a passionate kiss.
Slowly, Spike moved his pelvis around in subtle circles, causing them both to groan at the feeling. The stimulation of Buffy’s clit was rapidly building her up to an incredible orgasm.
Spike ground his teeth, feeling like a schoolboy, struggling to hold back his load.
It didn’t take long before they were pounding into each other. Buffy’s legs were slung over Spike’s back, her fingers twisted into his hair. She was relentless, searching for Spike’s mouth as if he were her sole source of oxygen.
Spike kissed her back with the same craving. They couldn’t get enough of each other, couldn’t get close to enough. They would never have enough.
The pair renewed their claim as they finally came together. After licking his mark closed, Spike rolled onto his back, pulling Buffy over with him. He refused to leave the comfort of her body, her blood keeping him erect inside her warmth.
Buffy wiggled slightly on top of her mate, trying to get into a more comfortable position. She really had to relax and just let her legs fall open, trusting that her body would stretch to accommodate Spike’s generous proportions. She could have simply moved off him, or let him slip from her body, but she wanted to be as close to him as possible.
The morning came. For a moment, Buffy thought it had all been a dream, but then she felt Spike, still securely held within her body. She smiled blissfully. After a long, loving gaze at her mate, Buffy closed her eyes and just enjoyed being close to her other half. She snuggled into him and breathed in his scent.
It was then that she noticed that Spike’s chest was vibrating under her. When Buffy felt the small shaking, she became confused and shifted herself until she could look up at her vampire’s face. Spike seemed to be asleep. A watery smile graced her face, as she lay her head down again. Spike’s demon was purring. In his sleep, the content vampire tightened his arms around her.
Sometime later, it could have been five minutes, or five hours, Buffy woke again. Her body was on the brink of an orgasm. In her dream, Spike had been going down on her, pushing her around the bend and back again. Lonely for him, she reached out, only to discover that her mate wasn’t beside her. Confused, she opened her eyes.
Buffy shrieked as she felt a rough tongue slowly teasing her clit. With her upper body resting on her elbows, she looked down between her thighs. There he was, her mate, lips glistening with her juices. With a mischievous smile, Spike leaned down and gave Buffy’s clit another lick, keeping his laughing blue eyes on her.
He kept on teasing her with light strokes, not giving Buffy what she wanted. She was thrusting her pelvis into his face, trying to force him to put pressure on her clit and push her over the brink. Her voice rose in the quiet of the bedroom, as she begged Spike to end her torment.
The pleading didn’t get her far. When she finally took a firm grip on his hair, holding him to her pussy and demanding that he finish her, he took pity on his lust-crazed mate. It didn’t take much for Spike to bring her over. As he did, he thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t need to breathe. Her thighs were squeezing so tightly around his ears that she would have crushed his skull, had he been a mere human.
When Buffy eventually relaxed, Spike crawled up her body and sank deeply into her warm canal. The invasion made Buffy cum again, her pussy convulsing around his cock. He moaned into her neck, holding her tight, as they rode it out.
“Oh God, to have this every night...it’s Heaven.” Buffy wrapped her legs over the small of Spike’s back and crossed them.
Spike chuckled into her neck, before he started to lick the mark that showed the world that she belonged to him.
“Ohh...God...what?” Buffy closed her eyes in ecstasy once more. His licks surged along nerves that ran directly to her womb, setting off a series of mini-orgasms.
When she finally returned to Earth and was able to focus again, Buffy met Spike’s twinkling blue eyes. His knowing smirk was met by a lazy and satisfied one from her. Her hands grabbed his head, pulling him down to her so she could kiss him once again.
The movement of Spike’s hips remained slow and shallow, not changing until he neared his own end. No longer soft and easy, Spike altered his angle of penetration and pressed his pubic bone into Buffy’s clit with each move. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold off his release for long, but he was determined that Buffy would fall at least once more before he went over himself.
This time, when Buffy came, she was determined to bring Spike along for the ride. Roughly, she turned his head and then, fast as a snake, she bit him and kept on licking her mark. Buffy discovered his had the same effect on him as it had on her. After his first orgasm, he kept spurting in small eruptions, one after another, until he passed out.
Bending her head, Buffy could just reach far enough to place a kiss on his nose, before she turned them both over onto their sides. Spike’s head tumbled down onto her arm. Buffy forced a leg between his knees and placed his arm around her waist, and then smiled and closed her eyes.
Xander, Willow, and Angel had waited for Buffy to come out of the Bronze. They were hoping to catch her alone, but if Spike was still with her, they were prepared to deal with him too.
When the manager closed and locked the doors to the club, they knew that Spike and Buffy had eluded them somehow.
The stake that Xander had been holding ready for Spike was pocketed, as he bent down and helped Willow up. She had tried to catch a little sleep while they waited for Buffy to come out. Together they went around the building to meet Angel, who was waiting at the front entrance.
“Have you seen them?” Xander asked Angel, his bad mood showing.
“They must have snuck out somehow.” Angel sadly shook his head. “He’ll kill her. That’s what he does; he kills Slayers.”
“Can’t you use that nose of yours and lead us to him?” Xander pulled out his stake, playing around with it and pretending to stake an invisible enemy.
“There’s been no sight or smell of him...nothing to follow. Spike seems to have vanished into thin air. I’ve been on the alert for him since we were escorted from the club.”
Though clearly exhausted, Willow spoke up. “We could do a locator spell.” She reached out to lean against the wall. “The books and everything else we would need are in the school library.”
“And there’s nobody to interrupt us. The school is closed now. We can get in through the tunnels.” Angel began walking in the direction of the school. Xander and Willow followed at a slower pace.
********************
“Hey, what’s happening?”
Buffy tightened her arm around Spike’s waist. “It’s okay, Honey. I know where we are.” She squinted her eyes and looked into the fog.
Spike turned his mate so she was facing him. “Mind telling me what’s going on?” He rested his hands on her shoulders.
She smiled and kissed him, both arms still around his waist. “The Powers That Be want to have a word with us.”
“If they want to talk, then why are we here in all this fog? Where the Hell are they?”
“He has spirit. I like him.” The voice came out of the mist.
“Not bad looking either. She chose well.”
Spike and Buffy both turned to where the voices seemed to originate.
“We work for the Powers That Be. We bid you welcome to this realm, Eternal Ones, Judges on Earth.” The couple in Grecian robes paused to look at each other, communicating without words. “For now.”
“Thank you. It’s been a while since I was last here.” Buffy’s voice was bland, and her facial expression was carefully neutral as she looked the blue and golden beings over.
Spike had noticed Buffy’s tone of voice. There didn’t seem to be much love lost between his mate and the two confronting them now. “What do you mean, ‘For now’?”
“That is why you have been brought here. Your life is full of possibilities, but it is up to you to choose your own path,” the glittering male said. “Would you please join me for a view of the future, Mr Pratt?”
“We get to see what the future holds for us?” Spike asked with a big grin at Buffy, as he moved towards the male, one arm wrapped around his mate. He stopped, surprised, when she didn’t move with him. “Buffy?”
“This is just for you. I’ll wait here. Go.” A quick kiss on his cheek, and then she pushed him toward the Oracle.
When the vampire was close enough, the male clasped Spike’s arm and the place they were in swiftly morphed into a big room where two large chairs could be seen, sitting on a raised platform. Then, two previously unnoticed doors across the room from the chairs opened inwards, and the room began to fill with both humans and demons, all chatting among each other.
Suddenly, an invisible wave spread through the crowd, with people bowing their heads and moving to make a path from the doors to the chairs. The crowd seemed to hold still in silence, patiently waiting for something that Spike could not see. He craned his neck above the crowd, trying to find the cause of this strange behaviour. What he saw wasn’t something he had expected. He saw his beloved Buffy, and himself, walk through the crowd and sit down on the ornate chairs.
“This is what you are: Judges.” The Oracle took Spike’s arm again, and they moved on to another place in time.
By the time they had moved through several places in time, Spike was starting to feel dizzy. He wanted them all, every future he had seen...and not just for himself, but for Buffy.
“You said it was up to me. How? What can I do to make it all come true? Please?” he asked, tears clouding his vision. Spike would do anything, even beg.
“You’ll have to feed from your mate.”
Spike was shaking his head. “No, no...I can’t do that. With time, it will kill her. Sometimes I have to drain two or three people in one night to get enough blood to calm my demon’s hunger.”
The glittering being placed a soothing hand on the vampire’s shoulder. “Her blood is magical. A few mouthfuls taken when you pleasure each other will suffice, though more would be better.”
“Are you serious? You think I can survive on two mouthfuls of blood from my mate? And what about when the blood lust overcomes me, and my demon drains her dry?”
“Your mate is special, and even if you do drain her, she will live on. Just remember, her blood and none other for survival.”
“She’d never allow it.” Spike’s shoulders slumped.
“You will be surprised at what your mate is prepared to do for you.” With that, Spike’s surroundings blurred again, and then he was back in the first room, where he had started his journey.
Buffy and the blue female were sitting at a small table, drinking cups of tea. When Spike entered the room, Buffy got up and moved to take him in her arms, carefully checking him over for any signs of harm or distress. “Are you okay, Spike?”
The vampire’s arms enfolded her, holding her tight. With his face in her throat, he inhaled deeply. “Yeah, I’m fine. You?”
“I’m good, now that you’re back.” She tightened her arms around his waist. A human would have found her affection painful, but Spike enjoyed it.
“Will you do it?” Buffy asked, whispering softly while rubbing her cheek against his chest.
Spike pulled his mate out a bit from his body, wanting to see her eyes. “Do you know what they showed me?”
She nodded.
He swallowed, and then he asked, “Do you want it?”
“All of it,” Buffy said, nodding her head again, wanting to make sure that Spike understood what she was saying.
“You’ll let me feed off you?”
Again, she nodded. “I will. As much and as often as you want to.”
Spike looked at her with astonishment.
Buffy moved her hands up and down his back. “I enjoy your bite,” she confessed, blushing heavily.
“Is that right now,” the vampire teased, tongue curled behind his teeth, eyes darkening.
******************
Entering the library the next day, Giles was met by a tired group that hadn’t closed an eye all night. “What’s going on here?”
“We’re trying to find Buffy. She disappeared from the Bronze last night. Spike’s taken her.” Willow returned to her book.
“She’s probably dead,” Xander commented, as he shoved a donut into his mouth.
“I hate to say it, but it’s her own fault. I did warn her,” Angel grumbled.
“She’s probably safely asleep in her bed at home.” Giles was dismayed by the sheer bull-headedness displayed by the Scoobies.
“I’ve checked.” Angel kept his nose in the book he was currently scanning. “Her room was empty, the bed untouched.”
“You ass! How dare you upset Joyce by going back to her home?” Giles was furious.
“Relax Giles. Joyce didn’t know I was there. I just looked in through Buffy’s window.” If vampires could blush, Angel would have been red. Instead, he continued to hide his face in the book he was holding.
“I see,” the Watcher ground out from between clenched teeth. “Playing Peeping Tom again, were you?”
“Does it matter how he knows? Buffy isn’t at home, and my spells haven’t been able to find her.” Willow was getting agitated. She needed sleep, badly. “You could do the spell this time, Giles. I think I’m just too tired to get it to work for me.” She turned pleading eyes his way.
Giles walked across the floor in a swift motion, took the book out of Willow’s hands, and closed it with a loud bang. “I thought I’d made myself perfectly clear, Willow. You were to do no further unsupervised magic.”
Willow jumped up from her seat and looked up into Giles’ cold blue eyes. “I have to save her. Spike might torture Buffy, or even turn her.”
“Let me make a call.” Giles took the book with him when he walked into his office, and closed the door behind him so the Scoobies couldn’t listen to his phone conversation. A few minutes later, he reappeared. “Buffy is fine. Clean up this mess and then leave my library. Go home.” He gave the book back to Willow. “Do not for one minute think that we are finished here, Willow. There will be consequences for your untrained use of magic,” Giles informed the young witch. “Be on time for your classes.” Without another word, the Watcher turned his back on them, walked into his office, and closed the door, ignoring their questions.
***********************
When Buffy and Spike woke up, they were still intimately connected. As their eyes met, it was easy to see their desire leap from slow-burning embers, to roaring flames that demanded immediate action on their part. There was no hesitation as their lips met in a passionate kiss.
Slowly, Spike moved his pelvis around in subtle circles, causing them both to groan at the feeling. The stimulation of Buffy’s clit was rapidly building her up to an incredible orgasm.
Spike ground his teeth, feeling like a schoolboy, struggling to hold back his load.
It didn’t take long before they were pounding into each other. Buffy’s legs were slung over Spike’s back, her fingers twisted into his hair. She was relentless, searching for Spike’s mouth as if he were her sole source of oxygen.
Spike kissed her back with the same craving. They couldn’t get enough of each other, couldn’t get close to enough. They would never have enough.
The pair renewed their claim as they finally came together. After licking his mark closed, Spike rolled onto his back, pulling Buffy over with him. He refused to leave the comfort of her body, her blood keeping him erect inside her warmth.
Buffy wiggled slightly on top of her mate, trying to get into a more comfortable position. She really had to relax and just let her legs fall open, trusting that her body would stretch to accommodate Spike’s generous proportions. She could have simply moved off him, or let him slip from her body, but she wanted to be as close to him as possible.
The morning came. For a moment, Buffy thought it had all been a dream, but then she felt Spike, still securely held within her body. She smiled blissfully. After a long, loving gaze at her mate, Buffy closed her eyes and just enjoyed being close to her other half. She snuggled into him and breathed in his scent.
It was then that she noticed that Spike’s chest was vibrating under her. When Buffy felt the small shaking, she became confused and shifted herself until she could look up at her vampire’s face. Spike seemed to be asleep. A watery smile graced her face, as she lay her head down again. Spike’s demon was purring. In his sleep, the content vampire tightened his arms around her.
Sometime later, it could have been five minutes, or five hours, Buffy woke again. Her body was on the brink of an orgasm. In her dream, Spike had been going down on her, pushing her around the bend and back again. Lonely for him, she reached out, only to discover that her mate wasn’t beside her. Confused, she opened her eyes.
Buffy shrieked as she felt a rough tongue slowly teasing her clit. With her upper body resting on her elbows, she looked down between her thighs. There he was, her mate, lips glistening with her juices. With a mischievous smile, Spike leaned down and gave Buffy’s clit another lick, keeping his laughing blue eyes on her.
He kept on teasing her with light strokes, not giving Buffy what she wanted. She was thrusting her pelvis into his face, trying to force him to put pressure on her clit and push her over the brink. Her voice rose in the quiet of the bedroom, as she begged Spike to end her torment.
The pleading didn’t get her far. When she finally took a firm grip on his hair, holding him to her pussy and demanding that he finish her, he took pity on his lust-crazed mate. It didn’t take much for Spike to bring her over. As he did, he thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t need to breathe. Her thighs were squeezing so tightly around his ears that she would have crushed his skull, had he been a mere human.
When Buffy eventually relaxed, Spike crawled up her body and sank deeply into her warm canal. The invasion made Buffy cum again, her pussy convulsing around his cock. He moaned into her neck, holding her tight, as they rode it out.
“Oh God, to have this every night...it’s Heaven.” Buffy wrapped her legs over the small of Spike’s back and crossed them.
Spike chuckled into her neck, before he started to lick the mark that showed the world that she belonged to him.
“Ohh...God...what?” Buffy closed her eyes in ecstasy once more. His licks surged along nerves that ran directly to her womb, setting off a series of mini-orgasms.
When she finally returned to Earth and was able to focus again, Buffy met Spike’s twinkling blue eyes. His knowing smirk was met by a lazy and satisfied one from her. Her hands grabbed his head, pulling him down to her so she could kiss him once again.
The movement of Spike’s hips remained slow and shallow, not changing until he neared his own end. No longer soft and easy, Spike altered his angle of penetration and pressed his pubic bone into Buffy’s clit with each move. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold off his release for long, but he was determined that Buffy would fall at least once more before he went over himself.
This time, when Buffy came, she was determined to bring Spike along for the ride. Roughly, she turned his head and then, fast as a snake, she bit him and kept on licking her mark. Buffy discovered his had the same effect on him as it had on her. After his first orgasm, he kept spurting in small eruptions, one after another, until he passed out.
Bending her head, Buffy could just reach far enough to place a kiss on his nose, before she turned them both over onto their sides. Spike’s head tumbled down onto her arm. Buffy forced a leg between his knees and placed his arm around her waist, and then smiled and closed her eyes.
What to Do About Willow?
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
The next time Buffy woke, it was because someone had dropped a kiss on her nose. Spike was leaning over her, a hand on each side of her head. As her eyes fluttered open, he bent down and caught her lips in a deep kiss.
With an arm around Spike’s shoulders and a hand in his hair, Buffy held him to her as long as she could. Finally, gasping for air, she pulled away from him. “Is that coffee I smell?” Buffy asked, as she caught her breath.
“Hmm,” Spike mumbled, as he kissed her shoulder. “Thought you could use some food.”
“I’m not complaining. It’s nice to wake up to breakfast in bed.” With the hand in his hair, she pulled him up. “I love you,” Buffy told him, before pulling him in for a soft kiss.
“Love you too, so much.” Spike leaned down and kissed Buffy with passion, pulling back only when he heard her stomach growl. “Better get you fed,” he said with a smile. With a light peck on her lips, Spike sat up and reached for the tray he had placed on the floor.
Buffy moved over to give Spike some room to sit beside her, leaning back against the headboard.
He gently placed the tray on Buffy’s lap, where she held it in place as Spike started to carefully crawl under the covers with her.
“God, he’s so sexy...and all mine.” The Light’s eyes darkened with desire.
Spike stopped in the middle of climbing into the bed, tilting his head and watching Buffy intently. “That’s right, Luv...and you’re mine.”
His hand shot out to steady the tray when she jumped in surprise. “What was that?”
“I think we’re already starting to see some of the effects of the claim,” Spike said with a smirk, continuing his crawl until he was seated beside Buffy.
“Do you know what it means? That we have this power so soon, I mean?” Buffy asked as she smeared strawberry jam on her toast.
“No.” He watched her take a bite out of her bread. “Does it have anything to do with the Powers meddling in our lives again?”
“Nope. It’s a side-effect of the claim, and it means that our love is strong.” They smiled at each other, awe in their eyes, and then leaned in to share a quick kiss.
“Eat up, Luv. You’re going to need to keep up your strength,” Spike said with a leer.
“Pour me some coffee?” Blushing, Buffy held out her cup. “And stop teasing me!”
Spike laughed, and did as she requested. The couple continued joking, teasing, and laughing through breakfast. As they happily squabbled over the last of the coffee, they were interrupted by a tinny melody.
“What’s that?” Spike tilted his head, listening.
“My phone! It’s in my dressing room.” She grabbed the tray on her lap.
“Stay. I’ll grab it for you.” Since the phone kept on ringing, it was easy for Spike to find it and toss it to her on his way back to their nice, warm bed.
“Yes? Buffy here.” Listening for a while, she ended the call with a quick, “I’ll call you back.” Keeping the phone in her hand, she turned to Spike and twisted an arm around his waist, holding him close.
Worried, he pulled her snugly against his side, with an arm around her shoulders, and then cupped her cheek and raised her head. “What was that about?”
“They’re up to their old tricks,” she almost whispered.
Frowning, he asked, “Who?”
“The Scoobies. My so-called friends.” Buffy snuggled into Spike. “Angel, Willow, and Xander. Merrick said they were at the Bronze until it closed, and then they started trying to find us by searching with magic. This is how it always starts. They claim they’re trying to protect me, for my own good.”
Spike moved the tray off the bed and pulled her into his arms, comforting her as she began to cry.
He continued to hold his troubled mate after she stopped crying, letting her tears dry on his chest. Eventually, she stirred and looked up at him. “Thank you. For being here, and being you, and knowing that I just needed to be held,” she said, caressing his cheek with one hand.
He leaned affectionately into her soft touch, kissing her palm. They rested against each other, foreheads touching. “I think I mentioned, that was Merrick on the phone. He had an early morning call from Giles, asking if I was okay. Merrick told me that he’d come back late last night, after spending some time reassuring my mom I’d be fine with you.” Buffy smiled a little bashfully, her cheeks flushing. She lay down on the bed, and pulled her mate down with her, hiding her face in his throat.
“Merrick said he saw what he called a ‘light show’, and felt a protective shield around the house, so he guessed what we were doing. He said he was on his way back to Mom’s when he received a message from the Powers, telling him that the Prophecy had been fulfilled.” She sighed and cuddled into his embrace.
“How does he get messages from the Powers?” The arm under her head played with her hair, while the other ran over her back.
“Didn’t ask, but I remember him telling me that anyone can get a message from the Powers if it’s important enough. We’re getting off-topic though, and we have to stay on track and deal with this. Giles knows I can’t be controlled by her magic, but he’s worried about Willow...especially after Lorne’s warning. I think he’s right to be. We need to do something about her.”
“Why us? Why not let the Watcher take care of things? It’s our honeymoon.” Spike’s pout was lethal.
“Cute,” Buffy said, as she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth.
“Hey! I’m not cute!”
A laugh erupted from deep within her. “Sorry.” Buffy dried her eyes. “You just looked so offended. It was funny.” With her right leg over his hip, she pulled him closer. Kisses were shared. Buffy pulled back a bit. “We have to talk. Before we go any further, and get distracted, and forget what we were talking about.”
Gasping for breath he didn’t need, Spike lay his head back on the bed and nodded.
“Unfortunately, handling Willow is in our job description.”
“Huh?” Pulling back, Spike’s attention was completely on Buffy.
“It’s part of being the Judges on Earth. It’s like this...When Giles called Merrick and asked him to tell me about his concerns about Willow, he indirectly sought help from the Judges. And, since that’s us, we have to decide what to do with her now. I vote that we bind her powers. She’s hurt me so much in the past, and I’m scared that she’ll find a way to do it again, either by finding a way around my protection spells, or by going after you instead. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened.”
Spike stroked Buffy’s hair, all the while mumbling comforting words. Holding her close, he let Buffy just cry out her pain. When she calmed down, Spike tipped her head up with a couple of fingers under her chin. “Magic is a part of the person who has it. If you take it away, it’s like losing an arm or a leg.”
Buffy closed her eyes, tears starting to fall again.
“Hey now, none of that. I have an idea. How about we bind her powers and get her a teacher, so that she learns to use them responsibly? To use them for good?”
“The last time I went through this, we didn’t bind her powers, but she went to England with Giles and learned to control herself. She still came home and misused her powers though. I don’t know what to do.” Buffy shook her head, nudging Spike’s jaw up and snuggling up to his throat.
Almost an hour went by before Spike spoke again. “I wonder if there’s a way to place a spell on her that she can’t remove herself. Maybe something that would automatically bind her powers if she uses her magic to hurt people or do something bad?
“Bad or hurt?” Buffy looked at him, arching a brow. “That would depend on the perspective of the person doing the spell, wouldn’t it?” Buffy kept looking at Spike, as she began to rub her hot core against his erection.
“Good point,” he agreed, tongue behind his teeth, leering.
“What about binding her powers and linking them to one or two other people?” Buffy stopped moving and looked thoughtful for a moment. “That way, she’d have to get their approval before she could use her powers. What do you think?”
Spike thrust up once, before responding, “If we toss in some teaching, and really put some thought into who get the job of holding Red’s leash, it could work.”
“I promise we’ll work together to find the right people for the job. Oh...one more thing.” Buffy stopped moving again, and this time Spike growled. Buffy couldn’t look him in the eye, and began to watch as her fingers delicately traced his collar bones. “I told you that when Merrick couldn’t get into the warehouse, he went back to Mom’s. He...um...Merrick had to explain to her why he was back on her doorstep. He kind of told her that we completed the bonding last night, so now she wants to meet her son-in-law.” Blushing heavily, Buffy closed her eyes.
“Did he give her any details?”
“What?” Buffy’s horrified gaze flew up to meet his, and it took a moment for her to see the mischief in his eyes. “Eww,” Buffy exclaimed, slapping Spike’s chest when she saw his smirk. “I thought maybe we could invite Mom, Merrick, and Giles over for dinner tonight?” Suddenly, she looked shy and fragile.
“Why not? Doesn’t mean we have to get up now though, does it?” Spike caught Buffy’s lips, gently nibbling at them.
“Mmmm...Nope. We’ve still got a couple of hours,” Buffy agreed, as she surrendered to Spike’s gifted hands and mouth.
Spike and Buffy eventually made it out of bed and into the shower. As it turned out though, the shower just presented the couple with several new ways to get dirty. It wasn’t until almost an hour later, after their second shower, that Buffy was able to phone Joyce and invite her to dinner. The next invitation went out to Giles, who didn’t realize he would be introduced to Buffy’s mate. He agreed to join them for dinner, and offered to bring a bottle of wine.
Then it was time to call Merrick, who laughingly asked if it was safe to come back to the warehouse. Buffy giggled and told him to come home. The happy couple was waiting for him as he came through the door. “Congratulations,” Merrick said, giving Buffy a big hug and swinging her in a circle. “Are you happy?” He put her down so she could stand on her own feet.
Buffy nodded, her hair bouncing. Spike’s arms circled her waist from behind and she leaned into his body, loving the feel of his arms around her.
Merrick shook hands with Spike, congratulating him on the mating.
“Since it’s daylight, I guess I’m going to have to shop for tonight’s dinner without Spike. Want to keep me company, Merrick?” Buffy silently pleaded with her Watcher.
“Why not?” He shrugged. “I can always sleep afterwards.”
Buffy turned in Spike’s arms, kissing him deeply. “See you in a bit.”
Eyes closed, he held her tight and inhaled her scent before releasing her to go with Merrick. “Hurry back,” he yelled from the shadows, before closing the door behind them.
Several times over the hour Buffy and Merrick used to shop, Spike used his connection with Buffy to make sure she was okay. One time Spike asked Buffy to bring back smokes, making Buffy laugh and shake her head.
Merrick looked at her with concern, brow raised.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going mad,” Buffy assured him, as she looked over the meat at the grocery store. “It’s just Spike.”
“Yeah? What about Spike? Did he do something funny?” Merrick pushed the cart forward.
“It’s just nice to have someone concerned about me.” Buffy blushed. “And to know that he isn’t going anywhere.” She leaned over a pile of apples. “And now he just asked me to buy him a carton of smokes,” she said with amusement.
“How did he...” Merrick looked at Buffy with amazement. “The claim is already that strong?”
Smiling brightly, she nodded.
“I always knew you were something special, Buffy. Now, let’s get this done. There’s more to dinner than shopping.”
“I’ve learned a lot over the years, ya know.”
Looking back at her and arching a brow, Merrick got in line to pay.
“I know how to cook,” she pouted. “You’ll see for yourself tonight.”
Buffy didn’t see his smile.
********************’
Spike came out from behind the door, once it was closed behind the shoppers. He kissed Buffy immediately, and then relieved her of her bags. “What have you bought?” Spike asked as he tried to peek into the bags.
“Food. But the most exciting thing you’re carrying is ice cream. Merrick has all the liquor.”
He looked up from his attempts to see into the bags at that. “Did you say liquor?”
“Yes, I did,” Buffy giggled.
“Merrick, my friend...Want to keep me company over a glass?” Spike looked over his shoulder at Merrick, who was following them up the stairs.
“Hey.” Buffy stopped Merrick from answering. “First, we need to get ready for our guests, and there is that little thing about Willow. After that, we can all have a drink. We’ll probably need it by then.”
“What’s this about Willow?” Merrick asked, placing his bags down on the table, and steadying them before he released them.
“We’ve decided to bind Willow’s powers, at least until she learns to handle them better. We’ll place a bond on her that will connect her to two or three other people, and she’ll need the approval of at least two of those people before she can perform magic. If she tries it without their consent, we’ll be notified, and her spell will fail.”
There was complete silence.
Buffy looked up from the bag she was emptying. She looked from Spike to Merrick, and then back in confusion. “What...?” She was cut off when Spike grabbed her, kissing the breath out of her.
“You’re so sexy when you let your intelligence show. I love you, woman of mine.” He leaned in, ready to continue the kissing.
They forgot all about Merrick, until he cleared his throat rather loudly. With an embarrassed smile and a blush, Buffy straightened her rumpled clothing and returned to unpacking the bags.
Spike just smirked, not the least ashamed about being caught making out with his mate.
Folding the last bag, Buffy looked at the time. “I think we have enough time to settle the matter about Willow, and take a little break before we start dinner.”
“Have you decided who you’re going to pick to face the wrath of Willow? Giles is turning around, but a little too slowly for me. Joyce doesn’t know enough about our world. So, who?” Merrick looked inquiringly at Buffy.
Buffy started to fidget, not looking at Merrick or Spike. “I was thinking, you, Spike, and me...but just temporarily,” she hurried to add.
Spike and Merrick groaned simultaneously.
“Sorry, but I don’t see any other choice.” She threw her hands out in a helpless gesture.
“I know, Sweetheart.” Spike pulled her into his arms, stroking her back and comforting her. “How are we going to bind her powers?”
Buffy pulled back a little to look into his eyes. “Now that we’re mated, there’s a spell we can do together. We’re not just the Judges. Sometimes we have to carry out the sentences, like with Willow. We’re the Judges, the jury and, in a way, the executioners. You game?”
The next time Buffy woke, it was because someone had dropped a kiss on her nose. Spike was leaning over her, a hand on each side of her head. As her eyes fluttered open, he bent down and caught her lips in a deep kiss.
With an arm around Spike’s shoulders and a hand in his hair, Buffy held him to her as long as she could. Finally, gasping for air, she pulled away from him. “Is that coffee I smell?” Buffy asked, as she caught her breath.
“Hmm,” Spike mumbled, as he kissed her shoulder. “Thought you could use some food.”
“I’m not complaining. It’s nice to wake up to breakfast in bed.” With the hand in his hair, she pulled him up. “I love you,” Buffy told him, before pulling him in for a soft kiss.
“Love you too, so much.” Spike leaned down and kissed Buffy with passion, pulling back only when he heard her stomach growl. “Better get you fed,” he said with a smile. With a light peck on her lips, Spike sat up and reached for the tray he had placed on the floor.
Buffy moved over to give Spike some room to sit beside her, leaning back against the headboard.
He gently placed the tray on Buffy’s lap, where she held it in place as Spike started to carefully crawl under the covers with her.
“God, he’s so sexy...and all mine.” The Light’s eyes darkened with desire.
Spike stopped in the middle of climbing into the bed, tilting his head and watching Buffy intently. “That’s right, Luv...and you’re mine.”
His hand shot out to steady the tray when she jumped in surprise. “What was that?”
“I think we’re already starting to see some of the effects of the claim,” Spike said with a smirk, continuing his crawl until he was seated beside Buffy.
“Do you know what it means? That we have this power so soon, I mean?” Buffy asked as she smeared strawberry jam on her toast.
“No.” He watched her take a bite out of her bread. “Does it have anything to do with the Powers meddling in our lives again?”
“Nope. It’s a side-effect of the claim, and it means that our love is strong.” They smiled at each other, awe in their eyes, and then leaned in to share a quick kiss.
“Eat up, Luv. You’re going to need to keep up your strength,” Spike said with a leer.
“Pour me some coffee?” Blushing, Buffy held out her cup. “And stop teasing me!”
Spike laughed, and did as she requested. The couple continued joking, teasing, and laughing through breakfast. As they happily squabbled over the last of the coffee, they were interrupted by a tinny melody.
“What’s that?” Spike tilted his head, listening.
“My phone! It’s in my dressing room.” She grabbed the tray on her lap.
“Stay. I’ll grab it for you.” Since the phone kept on ringing, it was easy for Spike to find it and toss it to her on his way back to their nice, warm bed.
“Yes? Buffy here.” Listening for a while, she ended the call with a quick, “I’ll call you back.” Keeping the phone in her hand, she turned to Spike and twisted an arm around his waist, holding him close.
Worried, he pulled her snugly against his side, with an arm around her shoulders, and then cupped her cheek and raised her head. “What was that about?”
“They’re up to their old tricks,” she almost whispered.
Frowning, he asked, “Who?”
“The Scoobies. My so-called friends.” Buffy snuggled into Spike. “Angel, Willow, and Xander. Merrick said they were at the Bronze until it closed, and then they started trying to find us by searching with magic. This is how it always starts. They claim they’re trying to protect me, for my own good.”
Spike moved the tray off the bed and pulled her into his arms, comforting her as she began to cry.
He continued to hold his troubled mate after she stopped crying, letting her tears dry on his chest. Eventually, she stirred and looked up at him. “Thank you. For being here, and being you, and knowing that I just needed to be held,” she said, caressing his cheek with one hand.
He leaned affectionately into her soft touch, kissing her palm. They rested against each other, foreheads touching. “I think I mentioned, that was Merrick on the phone. He had an early morning call from Giles, asking if I was okay. Merrick told me that he’d come back late last night, after spending some time reassuring my mom I’d be fine with you.” Buffy smiled a little bashfully, her cheeks flushing. She lay down on the bed, and pulled her mate down with her, hiding her face in his throat.
“Merrick said he saw what he called a ‘light show’, and felt a protective shield around the house, so he guessed what we were doing. He said he was on his way back to Mom’s when he received a message from the Powers, telling him that the Prophecy had been fulfilled.” She sighed and cuddled into his embrace.
“How does he get messages from the Powers?” The arm under her head played with her hair, while the other ran over her back.
“Didn’t ask, but I remember him telling me that anyone can get a message from the Powers if it’s important enough. We’re getting off-topic though, and we have to stay on track and deal with this. Giles knows I can’t be controlled by her magic, but he’s worried about Willow...especially after Lorne’s warning. I think he’s right to be. We need to do something about her.”
“Why us? Why not let the Watcher take care of things? It’s our honeymoon.” Spike’s pout was lethal.
“Cute,” Buffy said, as she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth.
“Hey! I’m not cute!”
A laugh erupted from deep within her. “Sorry.” Buffy dried her eyes. “You just looked so offended. It was funny.” With her right leg over his hip, she pulled him closer. Kisses were shared. Buffy pulled back a bit. “We have to talk. Before we go any further, and get distracted, and forget what we were talking about.”
Gasping for breath he didn’t need, Spike lay his head back on the bed and nodded.
“Unfortunately, handling Willow is in our job description.”
“Huh?” Pulling back, Spike’s attention was completely on Buffy.
“It’s part of being the Judges on Earth. It’s like this...When Giles called Merrick and asked him to tell me about his concerns about Willow, he indirectly sought help from the Judges. And, since that’s us, we have to decide what to do with her now. I vote that we bind her powers. She’s hurt me so much in the past, and I’m scared that she’ll find a way to do it again, either by finding a way around my protection spells, or by going after you instead. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened.”
Spike stroked Buffy’s hair, all the while mumbling comforting words. Holding her close, he let Buffy just cry out her pain. When she calmed down, Spike tipped her head up with a couple of fingers under her chin. “Magic is a part of the person who has it. If you take it away, it’s like losing an arm or a leg.”
Buffy closed her eyes, tears starting to fall again.
“Hey now, none of that. I have an idea. How about we bind her powers and get her a teacher, so that she learns to use them responsibly? To use them for good?”
“The last time I went through this, we didn’t bind her powers, but she went to England with Giles and learned to control herself. She still came home and misused her powers though. I don’t know what to do.” Buffy shook her head, nudging Spike’s jaw up and snuggling up to his throat.
Almost an hour went by before Spike spoke again. “I wonder if there’s a way to place a spell on her that she can’t remove herself. Maybe something that would automatically bind her powers if she uses her magic to hurt people or do something bad?
“Bad or hurt?” Buffy looked at him, arching a brow. “That would depend on the perspective of the person doing the spell, wouldn’t it?” Buffy kept looking at Spike, as she began to rub her hot core against his erection.
“Good point,” he agreed, tongue behind his teeth, leering.
“What about binding her powers and linking them to one or two other people?” Buffy stopped moving and looked thoughtful for a moment. “That way, she’d have to get their approval before she could use her powers. What do you think?”
Spike thrust up once, before responding, “If we toss in some teaching, and really put some thought into who get the job of holding Red’s leash, it could work.”
“I promise we’ll work together to find the right people for the job. Oh...one more thing.” Buffy stopped moving again, and this time Spike growled. Buffy couldn’t look him in the eye, and began to watch as her fingers delicately traced his collar bones. “I told you that when Merrick couldn’t get into the warehouse, he went back to Mom’s. He...um...Merrick had to explain to her why he was back on her doorstep. He kind of told her that we completed the bonding last night, so now she wants to meet her son-in-law.” Blushing heavily, Buffy closed her eyes.
“Did he give her any details?”
“What?” Buffy’s horrified gaze flew up to meet his, and it took a moment for her to see the mischief in his eyes. “Eww,” Buffy exclaimed, slapping Spike’s chest when she saw his smirk. “I thought maybe we could invite Mom, Merrick, and Giles over for dinner tonight?” Suddenly, she looked shy and fragile.
“Why not? Doesn’t mean we have to get up now though, does it?” Spike caught Buffy’s lips, gently nibbling at them.
“Mmmm...Nope. We’ve still got a couple of hours,” Buffy agreed, as she surrendered to Spike’s gifted hands and mouth.
Spike and Buffy eventually made it out of bed and into the shower. As it turned out though, the shower just presented the couple with several new ways to get dirty. It wasn’t until almost an hour later, after their second shower, that Buffy was able to phone Joyce and invite her to dinner. The next invitation went out to Giles, who didn’t realize he would be introduced to Buffy’s mate. He agreed to join them for dinner, and offered to bring a bottle of wine.
Then it was time to call Merrick, who laughingly asked if it was safe to come back to the warehouse. Buffy giggled and told him to come home. The happy couple was waiting for him as he came through the door. “Congratulations,” Merrick said, giving Buffy a big hug and swinging her in a circle. “Are you happy?” He put her down so she could stand on her own feet.
Buffy nodded, her hair bouncing. Spike’s arms circled her waist from behind and she leaned into his body, loving the feel of his arms around her.
Merrick shook hands with Spike, congratulating him on the mating.
“Since it’s daylight, I guess I’m going to have to shop for tonight’s dinner without Spike. Want to keep me company, Merrick?” Buffy silently pleaded with her Watcher.
“Why not?” He shrugged. “I can always sleep afterwards.”
Buffy turned in Spike’s arms, kissing him deeply. “See you in a bit.”
Eyes closed, he held her tight and inhaled her scent before releasing her to go with Merrick. “Hurry back,” he yelled from the shadows, before closing the door behind them.
Several times over the hour Buffy and Merrick used to shop, Spike used his connection with Buffy to make sure she was okay. One time Spike asked Buffy to bring back smokes, making Buffy laugh and shake her head.
Merrick looked at her with concern, brow raised.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going mad,” Buffy assured him, as she looked over the meat at the grocery store. “It’s just Spike.”
“Yeah? What about Spike? Did he do something funny?” Merrick pushed the cart forward.
“It’s just nice to have someone concerned about me.” Buffy blushed. “And to know that he isn’t going anywhere.” She leaned over a pile of apples. “And now he just asked me to buy him a carton of smokes,” she said with amusement.
“How did he...” Merrick looked at Buffy with amazement. “The claim is already that strong?”
Smiling brightly, she nodded.
“I always knew you were something special, Buffy. Now, let’s get this done. There’s more to dinner than shopping.”
“I’ve learned a lot over the years, ya know.”
Looking back at her and arching a brow, Merrick got in line to pay.
“I know how to cook,” she pouted. “You’ll see for yourself tonight.”
Buffy didn’t see his smile.
********************’
Spike came out from behind the door, once it was closed behind the shoppers. He kissed Buffy immediately, and then relieved her of her bags. “What have you bought?” Spike asked as he tried to peek into the bags.
“Food. But the most exciting thing you’re carrying is ice cream. Merrick has all the liquor.”
He looked up from his attempts to see into the bags at that. “Did you say liquor?”
“Yes, I did,” Buffy giggled.
“Merrick, my friend...Want to keep me company over a glass?” Spike looked over his shoulder at Merrick, who was following them up the stairs.
“Hey.” Buffy stopped Merrick from answering. “First, we need to get ready for our guests, and there is that little thing about Willow. After that, we can all have a drink. We’ll probably need it by then.”
“What’s this about Willow?” Merrick asked, placing his bags down on the table, and steadying them before he released them.
“We’ve decided to bind Willow’s powers, at least until she learns to handle them better. We’ll place a bond on her that will connect her to two or three other people, and she’ll need the approval of at least two of those people before she can perform magic. If she tries it without their consent, we’ll be notified, and her spell will fail.”
There was complete silence.
Buffy looked up from the bag she was emptying. She looked from Spike to Merrick, and then back in confusion. “What...?” She was cut off when Spike grabbed her, kissing the breath out of her.
“You’re so sexy when you let your intelligence show. I love you, woman of mine.” He leaned in, ready to continue the kissing.
They forgot all about Merrick, until he cleared his throat rather loudly. With an embarrassed smile and a blush, Buffy straightened her rumpled clothing and returned to unpacking the bags.
Spike just smirked, not the least ashamed about being caught making out with his mate.
Folding the last bag, Buffy looked at the time. “I think we have enough time to settle the matter about Willow, and take a little break before we start dinner.”
“Have you decided who you’re going to pick to face the wrath of Willow? Giles is turning around, but a little too slowly for me. Joyce doesn’t know enough about our world. So, who?” Merrick looked inquiringly at Buffy.
Buffy started to fidget, not looking at Merrick or Spike. “I was thinking, you, Spike, and me...but just temporarily,” she hurried to add.
Spike and Merrick groaned simultaneously.
“Sorry, but I don’t see any other choice.” She threw her hands out in a helpless gesture.
“I know, Sweetheart.” Spike pulled her into his arms, stroking her back and comforting her. “How are we going to bind her powers?”
Buffy pulled back a little to look into his eyes. “Now that we’re mated, there’s a spell we can do together. We’re not just the Judges. Sometimes we have to carry out the sentences, like with Willow. We’re the Judges, the jury and, in a way, the executioners. You game?”
Meeting the Mother-in-law
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
All the preparations for dinner were done. Buffy followed the metaphorical golden string inside of herself, curious about where Spike was and what he was doing. Huh, what’s up with him? Buffy made her way to their bedroom to find out what had her vampire in such a tizzy.
She paused in the doorway, and watched as Spike paced back and forth across the length of the room. When Spike heard the door being pushed open completely, he froze and just looked at Buffy for a moment.
The blonde vampire swallowed and rubbed his hands on his thighs. Before Buffy could react, he prowled over to her, took her hands in his, and pulled Buffy into the room, nudging the door closed with his foot.
With a smile, Buffy allowed Spike to guide her over to the bed. She could still feel his nervousness, and she sensed a bit of fear through their bond.
Holding Buffy’s hands in his, Spike knelt down in front of her.
“You don’t regret mating with me, do you?” Spike’s stress was starting to rub off on Buffy, and she just had to ask.
“No, nothing like that. Don’t ever think something like that. I’ll never regret loving you.” Spike kissed her knuckles. “I’ve been thinking though.”
That pushed the worry from Buffy’s face, and replaced it with a teasing smile.
He scowled at the sight, but didn’t comment. Spike had more important things on his mind. “You’re human, and so is your mom.” He paused for a moment, head bowed. “Our mating doesn’t mean the same thing to humans as it does to demons.”
“I’ll explain it to her. I know she already had a conversation with Merrick on the topic. It’ll be okay.” Buffy didn’t understand where this was going. Her connection to him was strong, but not that strong.
“I have a way to help her understand right away, if you’ll agree.”
Puzzled, Buffy waited for Spike to go on.
As he looked at her, the love he felt for her shone clearly from his eyes. “Will you marry me?”
Buffy immediately teared up. “Yes.” She threw her arms around his neck, landing on his lap. “I’ll marry you.” After that, it was only Buffy’s need for oxygen that eventually stopped their kiss.
Spike worked his hand into his pocket, and then pulled out an old, worn box. His hands shook as he opened it and showed the ring inside to his mate. “This belonged to my mother.”
“It’s beautiful.” Buffy ran a finger over the green stones. “Will you put it on me?”
With a satisfied smile, Spike took the ring out of the box. “It’s not much, but my father gave this to my mother as her Morning gift.”
“Her Morning gift? I’ve never heard of that before.” Buffy held her hand out. “What are the stones?”
“Jade.” Slowly, Spike placed the ring on her finger. “Back when I was a child, it was a tradition for a groom to give his bride a gift in the morning after the marriage. My father gave this ring to my mother, to thank her for remaining true to him until their marriage was consummated. It was my mother’s favourite ring, and I always meant to give it to my own bride one day. Well, until I became a vampire. Somehow I could never bring myself to give it to Drusilla. I think, deep down inside, I knew that she wasn’t really the one for me. I’m glad I waited, because what I felt for her doesn’t even begin to compare to the love I feel for you. I know it’s traditional to have diamonds in an engagement ring, but it just feels right to offer you my mother’s ring instead.”
They spent a few minutes snuggling before Buffy turned to Spike with a smile.
Taking Spike’s head between her hands, she kissed him. “I have something for you, too. Wait here.” Buffy got up and went into her dressing room.
Spike moved to sit on the bed, waiting for Buffy with a silly grin on his face. She said yes. I’m getting married to Buffy. My mate.
In the doorway, Buffy stood for a minute, watching Spike and his goofy smile. She sighed. It was good to see him happy, and it felt wonderful to be happy herself.
Buffy moved to sit beside him on the bed, taking hold of the hand closest to her. “Will you wear this?” She opened her palm, revealing a gold ring with a green gem set into it, which was clearly made to be worn by a man.
He took the ring and held it up.
“It’s a special ring. Remember the night I didn’t get home until after the sun was up?”
“Hmmm....yeah. Was that the morning we had that big discussion about not worrying people who care about you, and how you have a cell phone for a reason?”
Buffy blushed a bit, remembering the scolding she’d received. “Yes, that one. I was out testing the ring. Made a few changes and wanted to make sure it would still work.” She took the ring from him. “May I?”
Spike held out his hand, and Buffy placed the ring where it belonged. “Most importantly, it’ll show that you’re taken. I want every woman who sees you to know that you’re all mine.” Standing up and tugging Spike with her, Buffy pulled the curtains wide, opened the French doors, and stepped out onto the small balcony that extended from the bedroom.
“What are you doing, you crazy bint? Are you already tired of me? Trying to fry me?” he asked from the shadows, uncertainty colouring his voice.
Buffy turned around. “The night I was late, I was testing the ring that’s on your hand right now. I chained a newly risen vamp to the side of a crypt, and placed it on his hand as the sun rose.” She paused for a dramatic moment. “He didn’t burn. Well, at least, he didn’t burn until I pulled the ring off again,” she said with a shrug. She held her hands out for him to take, as he walked into the sunshine.
Arms around Buffy, Spike tilted his face up to feel the warmth of the sun.
Buffy’s happiness was almost overwhelming, as she watched Spike warm himself in the gentle rays of the afternoon sun after so many years lost in the dark.
Finally, Spike opened his eyes and looked from Buffy, to the ring on his hand, and back again. “You made this?”
“No, jewel crafting really isn’t my thing. I just found it and changed it a bit. I wanted to modernize it, so it wouldn’t look suspicious. It’s the Gem of Amara.”
“I thought that gem was just a myth.” Spike cupped Buffy’s cheek and kissed her. “Thank you, my love, but I can’t wear it. It’s just too dangerous. If word gets out, I’ll be a target for every vamp out there. What if somebody takes it from me? We’d both die, and I’m not willing to risk your life like that.” He moved to take the ring off his finger.
“Wait! Repeat after me...Essere uno con me.” Buffy placed her hand over his, and together they repeated the words.
“Now, try to take it off.” As Buffy watched, Spike attempted to remove the ring. She smiled as he twisted and tugged at the band, to no avail.
Spike arched his brow at her, a question in his expressive blue eyes.
“It’s a part of you now. The only way you can remove it is by whispering the counter-spell.” She leaned in and whispered the words to Spike.
The look on his face was priceless. “Those are words I never plan to say.”
“That’s what I thought,” Buffy said with a grin. “I have to get dressed. Do you want to stay out here for a bit?”
“If you don’t mind, Luv.” Spike looked down shyly, playing with something in his pocket. “I’m just going to have a smoke, and then I’ll be in.”
Bending her knees, Buffy wiggled around until she could look her mate in the eye. “You know, you can smoke inside if you want to.”
With one arm still securely wrapped around Buffy, Spike nervously moved his feet around. “Wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that.”
“It’s okay, Spike.” Buffy wrapped both her arms around his waist. “I love you, and I always will. I’ll never let you go, no matter what you do.” She stroked his cheek with a thumb. “Ask me if you’re in doubt. You’ll make mistakes, and I probably will too. Doesn’t matter though. We’re together and that’s not changing, no matter what. I’m not letting you go.”
“Right back at you, Kitten,” Spike promised. His emotions were running high, and it was hard for him to speak.
Locking eyes for a moment, reading a lifetime of unspoken promises in each other’s eyes, they kissed deeply. With a sigh, Buffy leaned into Spike, holding him close as she breathed in his scent. Then she released him without a word, and went back into the house.
Spike watched her until she was out of his line of sight, and then turned back to look down the street, fishing his smokes and lighter out of his pocket. It didn’t take him long to finish his cigarette, but the nicotine was just what he needed to settle his nerves for dinner with his ‘mother-in-law’. As Spike made his way into the bedroom, he met Buffy, freshly showered and dressed for the night. He caught her around the waist. “Beautiful, that’s what you are, Luv.”
Standing on tip-toe, Buffy reached just high enough to place a kiss on Spike’s lips. “Join me in the kitchen when you’re dressed.”
“Will do.” Spike pulled her in for another quick kiss, before moving on to take his turn in the shower.
Buffy couldn’t help staring after him as he went, admiring his ass. She wanted to take a bite out of it, but knew she would have to wait. Her mother could be at the door any minute, and there just wasn’t enough time to enjoy herself properly.
With a sigh, she turned around and headed for the kitchen.
Merrick had already set the table. Everything was prepared, except the flowers. Buffy hurried to find a vase. Too soon, she heard a knock on the door of the warehouse. Buffy briefly closed her eyes, wondering if it was going to be her mom or Giles waiting for her on the other side of the door.
“Hi, Mom! Come in.” Buffy closed the door after Joyce. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, Honey,” Joyce said, handing her coat to Buffy. “So, what have you been up to?” Joyce’s raised brow and flushed cheeks seemed to indicate that she had a pretty good idea how her daughter had been spending the past twenty-four hours.
“Merrick hasn’t told you?” She looked around for her Watcher. Buffy had known that he wouldn’t tell Giles, but she was having a hard time believing he’d kept her mom in the dark. The two of them seemed so close lately. Merrick had even spent the night at Joyce’s when he couldn’t get into his own bed. Not in her mother’s room, but still. And Buffy knew the two of them could talk for hours when they had a topic they were both interested in.
Merrick’s face split into a grin.
“Don’t tease me,” Buffy begged as, arm in arm, she let her mother upstairs.
“So, that gorgeous vampire you were dancing with? The one that made Angel and Xander blow steam out of their ears?”
Blushing, Buffy nodded, her eyes scanning the room for support from her mate.
“Just a second, Mom. I’ll go see what’s taking him so long.” In a rush, Buffy ran into the bedroom, searching for Spike. Not seeing him in the main room, she walked over to the bathroom door. It was kind of cute, actually. Spike couldn’t see his reflection, but still stood in front of the mirror to comb his hair.
“I heard that,” he pouted. “I’m not cute.”
Buffy couldn’t help giggling. “Want me to help?”
“Just tell me how it looks.”
“Give me that.” She took the comb he had been working with, and straightened his hair, flattening it just the way he liked it. “There, Handsome. Now, it’s time for you to meet your mother-in-law.” Buffy smiled, as she watched him get a slightly panicked look in his eyes.
“Don’t worry...she won’t eat you,” Buffy promised. “She might whack you upside the head with an axe though.” Still smiling, she pulled a lightly struggling Spike after her.
Joyce turned away from Merrick. “Buffy, I wouldn’t hit anyone with an axe. What kind of silliness is this?” At first Joyce hadn’t noticed the bleached blonde that Buffy had in tow. It was the older man from the club...no, the vampire from the club, Joyce corrected herself. She was finally able to get a good look at him, and she liked what she saw. Clear blue eyes, cheekbones to die for, although, he was a bit on the skinny side. He was dressed in a red shirt that was open over a black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, and he seemed a bit nervous.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but it’s the truth,” Buffy pouted.
Spike swallowed and held out his hand. “I’m Spike, and you must be Mrs Summers. I’m sorry, but I have no recollection of meeting you before.”
They both turned to look at Buffy, waiting for an explanation.
Buffy smiled and looked at Spike. “You’re forgetting what would have happened, if this Buffy hadn’t been attacked.” She intertwined her fingers with Spike’s, a soft smile playing on her face as she watched everyone finally realize what she meant.
“Mom.” Buffy took her mother’s hand. She licked her lips before speaking, mouth gone dry in a sudden attack of nerves. “Spike is the one that I told you about. He’s the man I love.” Buffy paused, until she saw understanding light up her mother’s eyes. “Last night, Spike and I became mates. So now, we’re kind married, in the demon way.”
Joyce’s eyes flew open.
For a second, Buffy was afraid her mom wouldn’t understand. She sighed in relief when she felt her mother’s arms around her, and heard her whispered congratulations.
Startled, Spike stepped back when Joyce turned to him, throwing her arms around his neck and congratulating him. She then proceeded to tell him to take care of her baby girl, or he would have to deal with the elder Summers woman.
Buffy couldn’t help but laugh at Spike’s expression, as he leaned down and listened attentively to his new mother-in-law.
When Spike finally got a word in, he promised he would take care of his mate until the end of the world. “In fact, I’d like your permission to marry Buffy.” Spike’s voice was a little shaky.
It was then that Joyce noticed the ring that Buffy was wearing.
With tears running freely down her face, Joyce hugged Buffy and Spike both, one in each arm.
“I’m so happy for you!” With a smile, she took the hanky that Merrick offered. “Have you set a date yet?”
“Not yet. With an arm around Joyce, and her vampire close behind, Buffy led her mother to the couch. “Spike just asked me to marry him today, and we haven’t had any time to talk, or to make any specific plans yet.”
Buffy dropped down beside her mother, pulling Spike down onto the armrest next to her own seat.
Spike’s arm rested on the back of the couch, wrapping around Buffy’s shoulders as if he just couldn’t bear to have her gone from his arms.
Chatting with her mother, Buffy turned slightly towards Joyce, leaning into Spike as her hand lay on his knee. It was clear that Buffy enjoyed the contact with Spike.
Out of the blue, a tray with glasses and a bottle of wine appeared. Buffy looked up to see Merrick remove the cork and begin to pour.
The foursome spent the next few minutes talking while they waited for Giles to make an appearance. Joyce was very interested in where Spike had travelled and what he had seen during his lifetime. Spike did his best to answer her questions, although his stories were sometimes disjointed and sometimes seemed to end in the middle of a sentence. It took Buffy a few minutes to catch on to what he was doing but, once she did, she pulled him aside for a moment and told him it was okay to mention Drusilla. After all, he had loved her for over a hundred years, and she would always be his Sire.
Spike could feel through their bond that Buffy was telling him the truth, and that she respected his relationship with his Sire. From that point on, Spike was able to relax and focus on sharing his adventures, instead of worrying about offending his mate. Joyce was fascinated with life in the early part of the century, and Spike’s stories had them all laughing before long.
The doorbell interrupted their entertainment. Silence spread through the room. No one spoke as Buffy went downstairs to let Giles in.
All the preparations for dinner were done. Buffy followed the metaphorical golden string inside of herself, curious about where Spike was and what he was doing. Huh, what’s up with him? Buffy made her way to their bedroom to find out what had her vampire in such a tizzy.
She paused in the doorway, and watched as Spike paced back and forth across the length of the room. When Spike heard the door being pushed open completely, he froze and just looked at Buffy for a moment.
The blonde vampire swallowed and rubbed his hands on his thighs. Before Buffy could react, he prowled over to her, took her hands in his, and pulled Buffy into the room, nudging the door closed with his foot.
With a smile, Buffy allowed Spike to guide her over to the bed. She could still feel his nervousness, and she sensed a bit of fear through their bond.
Holding Buffy’s hands in his, Spike knelt down in front of her.
“You don’t regret mating with me, do you?” Spike’s stress was starting to rub off on Buffy, and she just had to ask.
“No, nothing like that. Don’t ever think something like that. I’ll never regret loving you.” Spike kissed her knuckles. “I’ve been thinking though.”
That pushed the worry from Buffy’s face, and replaced it with a teasing smile.
He scowled at the sight, but didn’t comment. Spike had more important things on his mind. “You’re human, and so is your mom.” He paused for a moment, head bowed. “Our mating doesn’t mean the same thing to humans as it does to demons.”
“I’ll explain it to her. I know she already had a conversation with Merrick on the topic. It’ll be okay.” Buffy didn’t understand where this was going. Her connection to him was strong, but not that strong.
“I have a way to help her understand right away, if you’ll agree.”
Puzzled, Buffy waited for Spike to go on.
As he looked at her, the love he felt for her shone clearly from his eyes. “Will you marry me?”
Buffy immediately teared up. “Yes.” She threw her arms around his neck, landing on his lap. “I’ll marry you.” After that, it was only Buffy’s need for oxygen that eventually stopped their kiss.
Spike worked his hand into his pocket, and then pulled out an old, worn box. His hands shook as he opened it and showed the ring inside to his mate. “This belonged to my mother.”
“It’s beautiful.” Buffy ran a finger over the green stones. “Will you put it on me?”
With a satisfied smile, Spike took the ring out of the box. “It’s not much, but my father gave this to my mother as her Morning gift.”
“Her Morning gift? I’ve never heard of that before.” Buffy held her hand out. “What are the stones?”
“Jade.” Slowly, Spike placed the ring on her finger. “Back when I was a child, it was a tradition for a groom to give his bride a gift in the morning after the marriage. My father gave this ring to my mother, to thank her for remaining true to him until their marriage was consummated. It was my mother’s favourite ring, and I always meant to give it to my own bride one day. Well, until I became a vampire. Somehow I could never bring myself to give it to Drusilla. I think, deep down inside, I knew that she wasn’t really the one for me. I’m glad I waited, because what I felt for her doesn’t even begin to compare to the love I feel for you. I know it’s traditional to have diamonds in an engagement ring, but it just feels right to offer you my mother’s ring instead.”
They spent a few minutes snuggling before Buffy turned to Spike with a smile.
Taking Spike’s head between her hands, she kissed him. “I have something for you, too. Wait here.” Buffy got up and went into her dressing room.
Spike moved to sit on the bed, waiting for Buffy with a silly grin on his face. She said yes. I’m getting married to Buffy. My mate.
In the doorway, Buffy stood for a minute, watching Spike and his goofy smile. She sighed. It was good to see him happy, and it felt wonderful to be happy herself.
Buffy moved to sit beside him on the bed, taking hold of the hand closest to her. “Will you wear this?” She opened her palm, revealing a gold ring with a green gem set into it, which was clearly made to be worn by a man.
He took the ring and held it up.
“It’s a special ring. Remember the night I didn’t get home until after the sun was up?”
“Hmmm....yeah. Was that the morning we had that big discussion about not worrying people who care about you, and how you have a cell phone for a reason?”
Buffy blushed a bit, remembering the scolding she’d received. “Yes, that one. I was out testing the ring. Made a few changes and wanted to make sure it would still work.” She took the ring from him. “May I?”
Spike held out his hand, and Buffy placed the ring where it belonged. “Most importantly, it’ll show that you’re taken. I want every woman who sees you to know that you’re all mine.” Standing up and tugging Spike with her, Buffy pulled the curtains wide, opened the French doors, and stepped out onto the small balcony that extended from the bedroom.
“What are you doing, you crazy bint? Are you already tired of me? Trying to fry me?” he asked from the shadows, uncertainty colouring his voice.
Buffy turned around. “The night I was late, I was testing the ring that’s on your hand right now. I chained a newly risen vamp to the side of a crypt, and placed it on his hand as the sun rose.” She paused for a dramatic moment. “He didn’t burn. Well, at least, he didn’t burn until I pulled the ring off again,” she said with a shrug. She held her hands out for him to take, as he walked into the sunshine.
Arms around Buffy, Spike tilted his face up to feel the warmth of the sun.
Buffy’s happiness was almost overwhelming, as she watched Spike warm himself in the gentle rays of the afternoon sun after so many years lost in the dark.
Finally, Spike opened his eyes and looked from Buffy, to the ring on his hand, and back again. “You made this?”
“No, jewel crafting really isn’t my thing. I just found it and changed it a bit. I wanted to modernize it, so it wouldn’t look suspicious. It’s the Gem of Amara.”
“I thought that gem was just a myth.” Spike cupped Buffy’s cheek and kissed her. “Thank you, my love, but I can’t wear it. It’s just too dangerous. If word gets out, I’ll be a target for every vamp out there. What if somebody takes it from me? We’d both die, and I’m not willing to risk your life like that.” He moved to take the ring off his finger.
“Wait! Repeat after me...Essere uno con me.” Buffy placed her hand over his, and together they repeated the words.
“Now, try to take it off.” As Buffy watched, Spike attempted to remove the ring. She smiled as he twisted and tugged at the band, to no avail.
Spike arched his brow at her, a question in his expressive blue eyes.
“It’s a part of you now. The only way you can remove it is by whispering the counter-spell.” She leaned in and whispered the words to Spike.
The look on his face was priceless. “Those are words I never plan to say.”
“That’s what I thought,” Buffy said with a grin. “I have to get dressed. Do you want to stay out here for a bit?”
“If you don’t mind, Luv.” Spike looked down shyly, playing with something in his pocket. “I’m just going to have a smoke, and then I’ll be in.”
Bending her knees, Buffy wiggled around until she could look her mate in the eye. “You know, you can smoke inside if you want to.”
With one arm still securely wrapped around Buffy, Spike nervously moved his feet around. “Wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that.”
“It’s okay, Spike.” Buffy wrapped both her arms around his waist. “I love you, and I always will. I’ll never let you go, no matter what you do.” She stroked his cheek with a thumb. “Ask me if you’re in doubt. You’ll make mistakes, and I probably will too. Doesn’t matter though. We’re together and that’s not changing, no matter what. I’m not letting you go.”
“Right back at you, Kitten,” Spike promised. His emotions were running high, and it was hard for him to speak.
Locking eyes for a moment, reading a lifetime of unspoken promises in each other’s eyes, they kissed deeply. With a sigh, Buffy leaned into Spike, holding him close as she breathed in his scent. Then she released him without a word, and went back into the house.
Spike watched her until she was out of his line of sight, and then turned back to look down the street, fishing his smokes and lighter out of his pocket. It didn’t take him long to finish his cigarette, but the nicotine was just what he needed to settle his nerves for dinner with his ‘mother-in-law’. As Spike made his way into the bedroom, he met Buffy, freshly showered and dressed for the night. He caught her around the waist. “Beautiful, that’s what you are, Luv.”
Standing on tip-toe, Buffy reached just high enough to place a kiss on Spike’s lips. “Join me in the kitchen when you’re dressed.”
“Will do.” Spike pulled her in for another quick kiss, before moving on to take his turn in the shower.
Buffy couldn’t help staring after him as he went, admiring his ass. She wanted to take a bite out of it, but knew she would have to wait. Her mother could be at the door any minute, and there just wasn’t enough time to enjoy herself properly.
With a sigh, she turned around and headed for the kitchen.
Merrick had already set the table. Everything was prepared, except the flowers. Buffy hurried to find a vase. Too soon, she heard a knock on the door of the warehouse. Buffy briefly closed her eyes, wondering if it was going to be her mom or Giles waiting for her on the other side of the door.
“Hi, Mom! Come in.” Buffy closed the door after Joyce. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, Honey,” Joyce said, handing her coat to Buffy. “So, what have you been up to?” Joyce’s raised brow and flushed cheeks seemed to indicate that she had a pretty good idea how her daughter had been spending the past twenty-four hours.
“Merrick hasn’t told you?” She looked around for her Watcher. Buffy had known that he wouldn’t tell Giles, but she was having a hard time believing he’d kept her mom in the dark. The two of them seemed so close lately. Merrick had even spent the night at Joyce’s when he couldn’t get into his own bed. Not in her mother’s room, but still. And Buffy knew the two of them could talk for hours when they had a topic they were both interested in.
Merrick’s face split into a grin.
“Don’t tease me,” Buffy begged as, arm in arm, she let her mother upstairs.
“So, that gorgeous vampire you were dancing with? The one that made Angel and Xander blow steam out of their ears?”
Blushing, Buffy nodded, her eyes scanning the room for support from her mate.
“Just a second, Mom. I’ll go see what’s taking him so long.” In a rush, Buffy ran into the bedroom, searching for Spike. Not seeing him in the main room, she walked over to the bathroom door. It was kind of cute, actually. Spike couldn’t see his reflection, but still stood in front of the mirror to comb his hair.
“I heard that,” he pouted. “I’m not cute.”
Buffy couldn’t help giggling. “Want me to help?”
“Just tell me how it looks.”
“Give me that.” She took the comb he had been working with, and straightened his hair, flattening it just the way he liked it. “There, Handsome. Now, it’s time for you to meet your mother-in-law.” Buffy smiled, as she watched him get a slightly panicked look in his eyes.
“Don’t worry...she won’t eat you,” Buffy promised. “She might whack you upside the head with an axe though.” Still smiling, she pulled a lightly struggling Spike after her.
Joyce turned away from Merrick. “Buffy, I wouldn’t hit anyone with an axe. What kind of silliness is this?” At first Joyce hadn’t noticed the bleached blonde that Buffy had in tow. It was the older man from the club...no, the vampire from the club, Joyce corrected herself. She was finally able to get a good look at him, and she liked what she saw. Clear blue eyes, cheekbones to die for, although, he was a bit on the skinny side. He was dressed in a red shirt that was open over a black t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, and he seemed a bit nervous.
“I’m sorry, Mom, but it’s the truth,” Buffy pouted.
Spike swallowed and held out his hand. “I’m Spike, and you must be Mrs Summers. I’m sorry, but I have no recollection of meeting you before.”
They both turned to look at Buffy, waiting for an explanation.
Buffy smiled and looked at Spike. “You’re forgetting what would have happened, if this Buffy hadn’t been attacked.” She intertwined her fingers with Spike’s, a soft smile playing on her face as she watched everyone finally realize what she meant.
“Mom.” Buffy took her mother’s hand. She licked her lips before speaking, mouth gone dry in a sudden attack of nerves. “Spike is the one that I told you about. He’s the man I love.” Buffy paused, until she saw understanding light up her mother’s eyes. “Last night, Spike and I became mates. So now, we’re kind married, in the demon way.”
Joyce’s eyes flew open.
For a second, Buffy was afraid her mom wouldn’t understand. She sighed in relief when she felt her mother’s arms around her, and heard her whispered congratulations.
Startled, Spike stepped back when Joyce turned to him, throwing her arms around his neck and congratulating him. She then proceeded to tell him to take care of her baby girl, or he would have to deal with the elder Summers woman.
Buffy couldn’t help but laugh at Spike’s expression, as he leaned down and listened attentively to his new mother-in-law.
When Spike finally got a word in, he promised he would take care of his mate until the end of the world. “In fact, I’d like your permission to marry Buffy.” Spike’s voice was a little shaky.
It was then that Joyce noticed the ring that Buffy was wearing.
With tears running freely down her face, Joyce hugged Buffy and Spike both, one in each arm.
“I’m so happy for you!” With a smile, she took the hanky that Merrick offered. “Have you set a date yet?”
“Not yet. With an arm around Joyce, and her vampire close behind, Buffy led her mother to the couch. “Spike just asked me to marry him today, and we haven’t had any time to talk, or to make any specific plans yet.”
Buffy dropped down beside her mother, pulling Spike down onto the armrest next to her own seat.
Spike’s arm rested on the back of the couch, wrapping around Buffy’s shoulders as if he just couldn’t bear to have her gone from his arms.
Chatting with her mother, Buffy turned slightly towards Joyce, leaning into Spike as her hand lay on his knee. It was clear that Buffy enjoyed the contact with Spike.
Out of the blue, a tray with glasses and a bottle of wine appeared. Buffy looked up to see Merrick remove the cork and begin to pour.
The foursome spent the next few minutes talking while they waited for Giles to make an appearance. Joyce was very interested in where Spike had travelled and what he had seen during his lifetime. Spike did his best to answer her questions, although his stories were sometimes disjointed and sometimes seemed to end in the middle of a sentence. It took Buffy a few minutes to catch on to what he was doing but, once she did, she pulled him aside for a moment and told him it was okay to mention Drusilla. After all, he had loved her for over a hundred years, and she would always be his Sire.
Spike could feel through their bond that Buffy was telling him the truth, and that she respected his relationship with his Sire. From that point on, Spike was able to relax and focus on sharing his adventures, instead of worrying about offending his mate. Joyce was fascinated with life in the early part of the century, and Spike’s stories had them all laughing before long.
The doorbell interrupted their entertainment. Silence spread through the room. No one spoke as Buffy went downstairs to let Giles in.
Giles is Coming for Dinner.
As always, Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
“Giles.” Buffy moved away from the doorway. “Welcome.”
“Thank you.” Giles looked around, taking it all in. “It’s a big place you have here.” He passed two bottles to his nervous hostess. “I hope these are alright. I bought two when I heard Merrick and Joyce would be here as well.”
“Thank you. They’re already here. This way.” Buffy moved ahead with a bottle in each hand, leading Giles up the stairs.
Buffy was several feet ahead of him, and halfway across the living room, when she heard her former Watcher stutter something. “What did you say, Giles?” Turning around she saw Giles thrusting a cross towards her, a panicked look on his face.
“What's wrong with you?” Buffy tucked one of the bottles under her arm, and then used her free hand to push the cross away from her face.
“You...you...that's Spike...William the Bloody.” Giles turned his body until the wall was against his back, the cross held out in an attempt to protect himself from the notorious vampire.
“I know who he is...Ah, I get it. You think that Spike has turned me. Well, he hasn't and he won't," Buffy stated, placing the bottles on a side table and walking to stand behind the seated Spike. With her hands on her mate's shoulders, Buffy kept steady eye contact with Giles. “Yes, this is Spike, William the Bloody, Slayer of Slayers, but he's also my mate. My other half. He's the reason I'm here.”
A dull thud was heard. Giles had fainted.
The former Slayer sighed. Oh well, at least the worst is over and they both know now. Mom took it pretty well, too. That's a 50% success rate...or 50% failure, I suppose. Buffy quickly came to the conclusion that it didn't matter in the end. Spike was her mate and he had the Gem of Amara now. A satisfied smile flashed briefly on her face, before she went to help her mother and Merrick get Giles off the floor.
Spike was snickering, as he watched Merrick grab Giles around his chest, and Buffy grab the Watcher's feet. They carried him over to the couch, Joyce hurrying ahead to make sure a corner was cleared to receive the unconscious gentleman.
Merrick was better than Spike at keeping his feelings under wrap, but when his eyes did meet Spike's a rueful smile was exchanged.
Buffy and Joyce got Giles settled at the end of the leather corner-couch furthest from Spike. Half lying down, Giles almost slid to the floor again as he started to wake, but Buffy caught him under his arms and heaved him up onto his seat once more, before leaving him to the care of her mother.
Joyce sat down beside Giles, and Merrick passed her a glass containing three fingers of neat scotch for the overwhelmed man. She placed the glass in Giles' hand, and then wrapped his fingers around it when he didn't seem to understand what the glass was for. Giles was shaking so hard that Joyce had to steady his hand, and help him take his first sip of the bracing spirits.
On the opposite end of the couch, Buffy had placed herself on her mate's lap, an arm around Spike's neck. With a smile on her lips, Buffy watched Giles sip his drink.
Spike watched Buffy watching Giles. The look in her eyes contradicted how she had behaved when Giles fainted. Buffy seemed pleased with herself. Spike opened his mind and reached out for Buffy's thoughts.
As she felt Spike's gentle probing, she straightened up and turned to look at him.
A quick lift of Spike's questioning eyebrow seemed to be enough for Buffy to understand what Spike wanted, and she opened her mind to him without further hesitation.
In the past, Spike had been made privy to some of Buffy’s happy memories, but she had deliberately avoided sharing some of her more painful ones because she didn’t want to influence him before he had a chance to make his own decision about her social circle. Her earlier memories of the Scooby Gang might have been positive, but the later ones…especially after his final passing in her previous life…were not.
Buffy's memories were a jumble, but Spike was able to clearly understand the reason for her resentment and distrust of Giles. More importantly, he understood that the feelings Buffy had experienced were still running through her body, just as powerful today as they were when she first felt them.
Gaining knowledge of Buffy's history through her memories caused Spike to tighten his arms around her, as if to protect her from further pain. Fucking bastard. Spike wanted to hurt Giles, to rip the Watcher's fucking head off in an effort to pay him back for all the anguish Buffy had suffered. It was only Buffy's soothing hand, stroking his neck, that kept Spike from losing his temper.
When Giles became aware of his surroundings again, the first thing he saw was Buffy sitting on the lap of her mortal enemy.... Correction, her mate. The Light's other half.
Giles cleared his throat while he took off his glasses and started to polish them on his shirttail. “I gather from this, that Hell on Earth has been prevented?”
“As long as we're able to do our job.”
“Your job?” Giles looked confused. “I thought that if you were with your mate, the prophecy was fulfilled?”
“Mostly, but now it becomes our responsibility to take care of trouble that could potentially end the world, if left unnoticed.” Buffy licked her lips nervously. “In fact, we already have a case that we need to deal with.”
“May I inquire what situation demands your attention so soon after your mating?” Giles emptied his glass, leaning forward to put it on the table. “I don't know of any impending apocalypse.”
Buffy got up from Spike's lap. “It's Willow,” she muttered very abruptly. “Excuse me. I have to check on the food.” With that, Buffy fled into the kitchen.
“I'll go give her a hand.” Spike got up and followed Buffy from the room, responding to the sadness he could sense coming from his love. As soon as Spike entered the kitchen, Buffy ran to him and he wrapped her in his arms as she started to sob.
“Giles didn't even congratulate us. He doesn't seem to care that I'm happy.” Buffy cried silently into Spike's neck.
“Shh, it's okay, Baby. He's just overwhelmed. His brain can't keep up with everything that's happing; it's going too fast for him. He's probably getting too old for this job. Another year or two and we’ll have to ship him off to a Watcher retirement home where he’ll spend his days wandering around in his slippers, searching the comics in the paper for hints of the next apocalypse and polishing his glasses.” Spike sighed in relief when he heard her giggle.
Pressing her mouth into Spike's neck, Buffy tried desperately to stop both her mirth and her tears.
At last Spike forced her head up and kissed her passionately.
It wasn't long before her giggling had stopped and she was moaning instead. “I'll have to thank you properly for that one later,” Buffy said, as she leaned her forehead on his and breathed deeply to fill her lungs.
“That'll get me through this evening,” Spike answered with a leer.
Blushing, Buffy pulled back. “Why don't you open the bottles of wine Giles brought, while I check on the food.”
“Sure.” Spike kissed her, before reluctantly releasing his hold on her hips so he could go find the corkscrew.
After Buffy had checked on dinner and closed the oven, she turned to see Spike peeling the wrapping away from the cork on one of the bottles of wine. Buffy circled her arms around him from behind and leaned into him, resting her cheek on his shoulder blade. His muscles rippled against her body, and she sighed in contentment. Buffy moved her chin up until it rested on his shoulder, her mouth close to his ear. “I love you.”
The last bottle opened, Spike placed it on the table and turned in Buffy's arms. He placed a hand on each side of her head, thumbs softly stroking her cheekbones. “Thank you for loving me.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “No one but my mum has ever really loved me. I love you too.” His eyes shone with unshed tears. After another kiss, he pulled her into his arms and hid his face in her neck, refusing to let go until Merrick interrupted, asking when they could eat.
Buffy pressed a quick kiss to Spike's lips before she answered, “In a few minutes.”
“A question, love. Am I allowed to eat human food, or is that against the rules? It doesn't do anything to keep me undead, I just like the taste of it sometimes.”
“It's okay. When The Powers were talking about food, they meant blood. From now on, only my blood will be nourishing your body.” Spike was trying hard to avoid mistakes, and Buffy loved him even more because of it. Unable to resist, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a bruising kiss.
Buffy, with Spike's help, was placing the food on the table as their guests came into the kitchen and sat down. Giles was careful to stay as far away from Spike as possible.
When Buffy walked past Spike, she gave him a poke in his ribs, silently asking him to stop glaring menacingly at Giles.
“Taking all my fun away,” Spike mumbled and ignored Giles, instead offering Joyce her choice of wines.
Giles was silent throughout the meal, eating with one hand hidden under the table. Everyone did their best to get the Watcher to join in the conversation, but they only managed to get a nod here and there.
Finally, Buffy could stand it no longer. As everyone else rose to clear the table before dessert, she pulled Giles aside.
Breathing deeply, she closed in on him. “What the heck is the matter with you? You were invited here to share in our happiness and to have a serious talk about Willow. All through the meal you just sat there and moped. I thought we had Angel for that.” The more Buffy spoke, the louder she got. Now she stood with folded arms and waited for Giles to answer her.
Giles had stepped back when Buffy invaded his space, ripping off his glasses. He was still polishing the lenses when she stopped talking.
“I...I...,” Giles sighed and placed his glasses on his nose. “Frankly, I don't know what to say.” He went over to the couch and sat down. “I would never have guessed that Spike would be your other half. Never in a million years.”
Slowly, Buffy sat down on the coffee table in front of him, hands between her knees.
“I thought it would be one of the Warriors for Good. Maybe one we don't know about yet. Not Spike, William the Bloody, the Slayer of Slayers, the Biggest Bad.” Giles leaned back, defeated. “Why him?”
“I love him. When he died, I was so sad that it nearly broke me. He died twice to save the world.” Buffy was looking at something only she could see. “I held his hand the first time, saw him incinerate... But he came back. The Powers brought him back.” Silent tears ran down her cheeks. “I didn't know... and when I found out, it was too late. He had already given his life for the world again in a battle Angel started....one that could easily have been avoided.”
“That's enough.” Spike came rushing in. Before Giles could react, Spike had gathered Buffy in his arms, carried her over to the other end of the couch and sat down with her in his lap, holding her close as he whispered comforting words for her ears only.
“Why can't you just be happy for Buffy and Spike?”
Even Giles could see Joyce's anger. Standing slightly behind her was Merrick, and he didn't look pleased either.
Merrick shook his head. “It couldn't be anyone else.” He guided Joyce to the couch between Spike and Giles. “I could get in trouble for telling you this, but you'll find out eventually anyway because it's in the book.”
Merrick walked between the kitchen and the couch several times, fetching wine glasses from the table. “First of all, they were made for each other from the start. One good and one evil; white and black. They complement each other perfectly, and that's what this world needs.... balance. ” He filled their glasses.
“The Light and her mate have a task. Now that they're here and mated, they've already prevented the presence of the First Evil from entering this realm. From now on, they'll act as judges, and occasionally as executioners, in order to keep the peace in this realm. They’re responsible for the world of demons, interactions between the demon and human communities, and for humans who become involved in the supernatural.” Merrick sat between Joyce and Giles.
“If the Judges become aware of a threat to humans, demons, or the world in general, they'll either find someone to take care of it, or deal with it themselves. That's all I can share with you. If that isn't enough, then I don't think you have a place in this circle.” Merrick turned away from Giles, lifting his glass towards the couple still snuggling on the couch. “Congratulations and best wishes for the future, Buffy and Spike .”
“I second that.”
Buffy looked up from Spike's throat, and saw the smiling faces of her mother and her first Watcher. “Thank you.” She reached out to hold her mother's hand, as she took the glass that Spike gave her.
Briefly, Giles closed his eyes. “I...I'm sorry. So truly sorry, Buffy and ...Spike. It's just the last thing I would have expected. Give me some time, and I'll get use to the two of you together. For now, allow me to offer my sincerest congratulations, and my hope that you’ll share a long and happy future.” He raised his glass with the others.
Giles’ attempt to be civil and repair bridges within the group seemed to be a turning point in the evening. He and Merrick remained in the living room and spoke of old acquaintances and enemies while Joyce helped Spike serve the dessert. Buffy took a few minutes while everyone else was busy, and retreated to the bathroom to remove the evidence of her tears and fix her makeup.
Once again reunited in the living room, everyone settled down to enjoy their dessert. Buffy and Spike played around, leaving ice cream on noses or other places, as they fed each other. Spike whispered things into Buffy’s ear that made her blush and squirm in her seat, and her whispers back to him had him licking his lips and leering at his mate.
Giles didn't want to know what the whispering was about, though he thought he could guess. He did notice, however, that Buffy and Spike were clearly devoted to each other, and their childish play managed to soften his heart when their words of reason had failed.
As the dessert was disposed of, either into happy tummies, or into the waste disposal as the plates were cleared, Buffy stood to refresh everyone’s drink. Returning to the couch and relaxing against Spike's side, Buffy told Giles about what they, in their role as the Judges, had done in an effort to restrain Willow‘s powers.
“She won't like it, but she'll eventually accept it. Xander and Angel are another matter. They'll be mad as Hell.” Giles sighed. “And I'll be the one caught in the crossfire at first.... then it'll be you and Spike. Likely, mostly Spike. He'll be their scapegoat.”
“What makes you think that?” Joyce leaned forward and placed her glass on the table.
“They'll say something about Buffy being in Spike's thrall. That Spike has ordered her to do it. Bad influence and all.”
“Then we'll just tell them the truth.” Joyce shrugged. “Inform them about the mating.”
Giles actually laughed out loud.
It was such a strange sound. At first, everyone just stared at him, but soon they all joined him as they saw the humour of the situation and began to image the faces of the others as they were told about Buffy and Spike, and how the couple would be together forever.
The group finally stopped laughing when their stomach muscles ached too much for them to continue. Clutching their midsections, they slowly sipped their drinks, occasionally letting out an odd giggle or choked off laugh when they made eye contact with someone else.
“Will they ever understand?” Merrick asked. He was the one that knew the Scoobies and Angel the least.
Like a bright candle left out in the rain, the smiles and laughter faded away.
“I can only hope.” Buffy sought comfort in Spike's arms.
“So, if I understand this correctly, if I bring information to you and you believe it to pose a threat to the welfare of the people or demons occupying this planet, then you will take steps to prevent such potential disasters from occurring?” Giles had leaned forward, glass between his hands. “Even though you're not the Slayer.”
“Pretty much, but it has nothing to do with whether I'm a Slayer or not. We,” Buffy took a firm grip on Spike's hand before she turned to face Giles again, “are the Judges. Some call us the Judges for Peace. We assess any given threat, and then if there isn't anyone who can execute our judgments, we'll take action ourselves.”
Spike tightened his arm around her shoulders, groaning as he hid his face in her neck. “God, watch it or I'll jump you. Sod the company.”
Buffy quickly turned to look at him, responding to his quietly growled comment. “What did I do?”
“You're letting that brain of yours show again. I've told you before, I think that's incredibly hot.” Pink coloured her cheeks, and she squeezed his hand.
Whatever she was going to say was lost, as Giles’ voice distracted her. “So if I ask you about the Master, you'll do something about him?” The clink of a wine bottle connecting with the rim of a glass was loud in the sudden silence.
“Giles.” Buffy moved away from the doorway. “Welcome.”
“Thank you.” Giles looked around, taking it all in. “It’s a big place you have here.” He passed two bottles to his nervous hostess. “I hope these are alright. I bought two when I heard Merrick and Joyce would be here as well.”
“Thank you. They’re already here. This way.” Buffy moved ahead with a bottle in each hand, leading Giles up the stairs.
Buffy was several feet ahead of him, and halfway across the living room, when she heard her former Watcher stutter something. “What did you say, Giles?” Turning around she saw Giles thrusting a cross towards her, a panicked look on his face.
“What's wrong with you?” Buffy tucked one of the bottles under her arm, and then used her free hand to push the cross away from her face.
“You...you...that's Spike...William the Bloody.” Giles turned his body until the wall was against his back, the cross held out in an attempt to protect himself from the notorious vampire.
“I know who he is...Ah, I get it. You think that Spike has turned me. Well, he hasn't and he won't," Buffy stated, placing the bottles on a side table and walking to stand behind the seated Spike. With her hands on her mate's shoulders, Buffy kept steady eye contact with Giles. “Yes, this is Spike, William the Bloody, Slayer of Slayers, but he's also my mate. My other half. He's the reason I'm here.”
A dull thud was heard. Giles had fainted.
The former Slayer sighed. Oh well, at least the worst is over and they both know now. Mom took it pretty well, too. That's a 50% success rate...or 50% failure, I suppose. Buffy quickly came to the conclusion that it didn't matter in the end. Spike was her mate and he had the Gem of Amara now. A satisfied smile flashed briefly on her face, before she went to help her mother and Merrick get Giles off the floor.
Spike was snickering, as he watched Merrick grab Giles around his chest, and Buffy grab the Watcher's feet. They carried him over to the couch, Joyce hurrying ahead to make sure a corner was cleared to receive the unconscious gentleman.
Merrick was better than Spike at keeping his feelings under wrap, but when his eyes did meet Spike's a rueful smile was exchanged.
Buffy and Joyce got Giles settled at the end of the leather corner-couch furthest from Spike. Half lying down, Giles almost slid to the floor again as he started to wake, but Buffy caught him under his arms and heaved him up onto his seat once more, before leaving him to the care of her mother.
Joyce sat down beside Giles, and Merrick passed her a glass containing three fingers of neat scotch for the overwhelmed man. She placed the glass in Giles' hand, and then wrapped his fingers around it when he didn't seem to understand what the glass was for. Giles was shaking so hard that Joyce had to steady his hand, and help him take his first sip of the bracing spirits.
On the opposite end of the couch, Buffy had placed herself on her mate's lap, an arm around Spike's neck. With a smile on her lips, Buffy watched Giles sip his drink.
Spike watched Buffy watching Giles. The look in her eyes contradicted how she had behaved when Giles fainted. Buffy seemed pleased with herself. Spike opened his mind and reached out for Buffy's thoughts.
As she felt Spike's gentle probing, she straightened up and turned to look at him.
A quick lift of Spike's questioning eyebrow seemed to be enough for Buffy to understand what Spike wanted, and she opened her mind to him without further hesitation.
In the past, Spike had been made privy to some of Buffy’s happy memories, but she had deliberately avoided sharing some of her more painful ones because she didn’t want to influence him before he had a chance to make his own decision about her social circle. Her earlier memories of the Scooby Gang might have been positive, but the later ones…especially after his final passing in her previous life…were not.
Buffy's memories were a jumble, but Spike was able to clearly understand the reason for her resentment and distrust of Giles. More importantly, he understood that the feelings Buffy had experienced were still running through her body, just as powerful today as they were when she first felt them.
Gaining knowledge of Buffy's history through her memories caused Spike to tighten his arms around her, as if to protect her from further pain. Fucking bastard. Spike wanted to hurt Giles, to rip the Watcher's fucking head off in an effort to pay him back for all the anguish Buffy had suffered. It was only Buffy's soothing hand, stroking his neck, that kept Spike from losing his temper.
When Giles became aware of his surroundings again, the first thing he saw was Buffy sitting on the lap of her mortal enemy.... Correction, her mate. The Light's other half.
Giles cleared his throat while he took off his glasses and started to polish them on his shirttail. “I gather from this, that Hell on Earth has been prevented?”
“As long as we're able to do our job.”
“Your job?” Giles looked confused. “I thought that if you were with your mate, the prophecy was fulfilled?”
“Mostly, but now it becomes our responsibility to take care of trouble that could potentially end the world, if left unnoticed.” Buffy licked her lips nervously. “In fact, we already have a case that we need to deal with.”
“May I inquire what situation demands your attention so soon after your mating?” Giles emptied his glass, leaning forward to put it on the table. “I don't know of any impending apocalypse.”
Buffy got up from Spike's lap. “It's Willow,” she muttered very abruptly. “Excuse me. I have to check on the food.” With that, Buffy fled into the kitchen.
“I'll go give her a hand.” Spike got up and followed Buffy from the room, responding to the sadness he could sense coming from his love. As soon as Spike entered the kitchen, Buffy ran to him and he wrapped her in his arms as she started to sob.
“Giles didn't even congratulate us. He doesn't seem to care that I'm happy.” Buffy cried silently into Spike's neck.
“Shh, it's okay, Baby. He's just overwhelmed. His brain can't keep up with everything that's happing; it's going too fast for him. He's probably getting too old for this job. Another year or two and we’ll have to ship him off to a Watcher retirement home where he’ll spend his days wandering around in his slippers, searching the comics in the paper for hints of the next apocalypse and polishing his glasses.” Spike sighed in relief when he heard her giggle.
Pressing her mouth into Spike's neck, Buffy tried desperately to stop both her mirth and her tears.
At last Spike forced her head up and kissed her passionately.
It wasn't long before her giggling had stopped and she was moaning instead. “I'll have to thank you properly for that one later,” Buffy said, as she leaned her forehead on his and breathed deeply to fill her lungs.
“That'll get me through this evening,” Spike answered with a leer.
Blushing, Buffy pulled back. “Why don't you open the bottles of wine Giles brought, while I check on the food.”
“Sure.” Spike kissed her, before reluctantly releasing his hold on her hips so he could go find the corkscrew.
After Buffy had checked on dinner and closed the oven, she turned to see Spike peeling the wrapping away from the cork on one of the bottles of wine. Buffy circled her arms around him from behind and leaned into him, resting her cheek on his shoulder blade. His muscles rippled against her body, and she sighed in contentment. Buffy moved her chin up until it rested on his shoulder, her mouth close to his ear. “I love you.”
The last bottle opened, Spike placed it on the table and turned in Buffy's arms. He placed a hand on each side of her head, thumbs softly stroking her cheekbones. “Thank you for loving me.” He placed a soft kiss on her lips. “No one but my mum has ever really loved me. I love you too.” His eyes shone with unshed tears. After another kiss, he pulled her into his arms and hid his face in her neck, refusing to let go until Merrick interrupted, asking when they could eat.
Buffy pressed a quick kiss to Spike's lips before she answered, “In a few minutes.”
“A question, love. Am I allowed to eat human food, or is that against the rules? It doesn't do anything to keep me undead, I just like the taste of it sometimes.”
“It's okay. When The Powers were talking about food, they meant blood. From now on, only my blood will be nourishing your body.” Spike was trying hard to avoid mistakes, and Buffy loved him even more because of it. Unable to resist, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a bruising kiss.
Buffy, with Spike's help, was placing the food on the table as their guests came into the kitchen and sat down. Giles was careful to stay as far away from Spike as possible.
When Buffy walked past Spike, she gave him a poke in his ribs, silently asking him to stop glaring menacingly at Giles.
“Taking all my fun away,” Spike mumbled and ignored Giles, instead offering Joyce her choice of wines.
Giles was silent throughout the meal, eating with one hand hidden under the table. Everyone did their best to get the Watcher to join in the conversation, but they only managed to get a nod here and there.
Finally, Buffy could stand it no longer. As everyone else rose to clear the table before dessert, she pulled Giles aside.
Breathing deeply, she closed in on him. “What the heck is the matter with you? You were invited here to share in our happiness and to have a serious talk about Willow. All through the meal you just sat there and moped. I thought we had Angel for that.” The more Buffy spoke, the louder she got. Now she stood with folded arms and waited for Giles to answer her.
Giles had stepped back when Buffy invaded his space, ripping off his glasses. He was still polishing the lenses when she stopped talking.
“I...I...,” Giles sighed and placed his glasses on his nose. “Frankly, I don't know what to say.” He went over to the couch and sat down. “I would never have guessed that Spike would be your other half. Never in a million years.”
Slowly, Buffy sat down on the coffee table in front of him, hands between her knees.
“I thought it would be one of the Warriors for Good. Maybe one we don't know about yet. Not Spike, William the Bloody, the Slayer of Slayers, the Biggest Bad.” Giles leaned back, defeated. “Why him?”
“I love him. When he died, I was so sad that it nearly broke me. He died twice to save the world.” Buffy was looking at something only she could see. “I held his hand the first time, saw him incinerate... But he came back. The Powers brought him back.” Silent tears ran down her cheeks. “I didn't know... and when I found out, it was too late. He had already given his life for the world again in a battle Angel started....one that could easily have been avoided.”
“That's enough.” Spike came rushing in. Before Giles could react, Spike had gathered Buffy in his arms, carried her over to the other end of the couch and sat down with her in his lap, holding her close as he whispered comforting words for her ears only.
“Why can't you just be happy for Buffy and Spike?”
Even Giles could see Joyce's anger. Standing slightly behind her was Merrick, and he didn't look pleased either.
Merrick shook his head. “It couldn't be anyone else.” He guided Joyce to the couch between Spike and Giles. “I could get in trouble for telling you this, but you'll find out eventually anyway because it's in the book.”
Merrick walked between the kitchen and the couch several times, fetching wine glasses from the table. “First of all, they were made for each other from the start. One good and one evil; white and black. They complement each other perfectly, and that's what this world needs.... balance. ” He filled their glasses.
“The Light and her mate have a task. Now that they're here and mated, they've already prevented the presence of the First Evil from entering this realm. From now on, they'll act as judges, and occasionally as executioners, in order to keep the peace in this realm. They’re responsible for the world of demons, interactions between the demon and human communities, and for humans who become involved in the supernatural.” Merrick sat between Joyce and Giles.
“If the Judges become aware of a threat to humans, demons, or the world in general, they'll either find someone to take care of it, or deal with it themselves. That's all I can share with you. If that isn't enough, then I don't think you have a place in this circle.” Merrick turned away from Giles, lifting his glass towards the couple still snuggling on the couch. “Congratulations and best wishes for the future, Buffy and Spike .”
“I second that.”
Buffy looked up from Spike's throat, and saw the smiling faces of her mother and her first Watcher. “Thank you.” She reached out to hold her mother's hand, as she took the glass that Spike gave her.
Briefly, Giles closed his eyes. “I...I'm sorry. So truly sorry, Buffy and ...Spike. It's just the last thing I would have expected. Give me some time, and I'll get use to the two of you together. For now, allow me to offer my sincerest congratulations, and my hope that you’ll share a long and happy future.” He raised his glass with the others.
Giles’ attempt to be civil and repair bridges within the group seemed to be a turning point in the evening. He and Merrick remained in the living room and spoke of old acquaintances and enemies while Joyce helped Spike serve the dessert. Buffy took a few minutes while everyone else was busy, and retreated to the bathroom to remove the evidence of her tears and fix her makeup.
Once again reunited in the living room, everyone settled down to enjoy their dessert. Buffy and Spike played around, leaving ice cream on noses or other places, as they fed each other. Spike whispered things into Buffy’s ear that made her blush and squirm in her seat, and her whispers back to him had him licking his lips and leering at his mate.
Giles didn't want to know what the whispering was about, though he thought he could guess. He did notice, however, that Buffy and Spike were clearly devoted to each other, and their childish play managed to soften his heart when their words of reason had failed.
As the dessert was disposed of, either into happy tummies, or into the waste disposal as the plates were cleared, Buffy stood to refresh everyone’s drink. Returning to the couch and relaxing against Spike's side, Buffy told Giles about what they, in their role as the Judges, had done in an effort to restrain Willow‘s powers.
“She won't like it, but she'll eventually accept it. Xander and Angel are another matter. They'll be mad as Hell.” Giles sighed. “And I'll be the one caught in the crossfire at first.... then it'll be you and Spike. Likely, mostly Spike. He'll be their scapegoat.”
“What makes you think that?” Joyce leaned forward and placed her glass on the table.
“They'll say something about Buffy being in Spike's thrall. That Spike has ordered her to do it. Bad influence and all.”
“Then we'll just tell them the truth.” Joyce shrugged. “Inform them about the mating.”
Giles actually laughed out loud.
It was such a strange sound. At first, everyone just stared at him, but soon they all joined him as they saw the humour of the situation and began to image the faces of the others as they were told about Buffy and Spike, and how the couple would be together forever.
The group finally stopped laughing when their stomach muscles ached too much for them to continue. Clutching their midsections, they slowly sipped their drinks, occasionally letting out an odd giggle or choked off laugh when they made eye contact with someone else.
“Will they ever understand?” Merrick asked. He was the one that knew the Scoobies and Angel the least.
Like a bright candle left out in the rain, the smiles and laughter faded away.
“I can only hope.” Buffy sought comfort in Spike's arms.
“So, if I understand this correctly, if I bring information to you and you believe it to pose a threat to the welfare of the people or demons occupying this planet, then you will take steps to prevent such potential disasters from occurring?” Giles had leaned forward, glass between his hands. “Even though you're not the Slayer.”
“Pretty much, but it has nothing to do with whether I'm a Slayer or not. We,” Buffy took a firm grip on Spike's hand before she turned to face Giles again, “are the Judges. Some call us the Judges for Peace. We assess any given threat, and then if there isn't anyone who can execute our judgments, we'll take action ourselves.”
Spike tightened his arm around her shoulders, groaning as he hid his face in her neck. “God, watch it or I'll jump you. Sod the company.”
Buffy quickly turned to look at him, responding to his quietly growled comment. “What did I do?”
“You're letting that brain of yours show again. I've told you before, I think that's incredibly hot.” Pink coloured her cheeks, and she squeezed his hand.
Whatever she was going to say was lost, as Giles’ voice distracted her. “So if I ask you about the Master, you'll do something about him?” The clink of a wine bottle connecting with the rim of a glass was loud in the sudden silence.
The Master.
Betaed by Maria and Flight Of Fancy.
“So if I ask you about the Master, you'll do something about him?” The clink of a wine bottle connecting with the rim of a glass was loud in the sudden silence.
Buffy's face had paled. Spike looked up, surprised, as he suddenly sensed her fear.
“You're telling me that Angel didn't kill him when he went looking for me?....um.... I mean, the other Buffy?” She shrugged her shoulders as she sent her mother a little smile.
Joyce reached out, and squeezed Buffy's arm lightly. “To make it easier, let's just say it was you. In a way it was.”
Leaning forward, Buffy hugged her mom, keeping one of Joyce's hands firmly in her grasp when she leaned back into Spike. She looked over at Giles again.
Giles had placed his glass on the table so that he could have his hands free to polish his glasses. “Eh, hmm... Not from what he told me. Angel said he and the Master had a conversation about you, then Angel left him there, trapped.”
“Trapped or not, he can still get minions to bring him food, and by that I'm not talking about pizza. He's probably still working on a way to free himself.” Buffy sighed and turned to look at Spike.
“We'll take care of it tonight, Kitten. I could use a bit of rough and tumble before I turn in.”
Buffy smiled thankfully, letting go of her mom's hand as she grasped Spike's head and showed him just how pleased she was with his answer.
When the couple came up for air some time later, the room was empty. Giles, Joyce, and Merrick had retreated to the kitchen to give Spike and Buffy a little privacy. It wasn't that any of the three were opposed to the mating, it was just that there were some things they didn't needed to see, and the kitchen provided them with a wall they could hide behind until the lovers separated again.
Blushing, Buffy hid her face when she realized why everyone else had left the room.
Spike just pulled her closer, smirking. “You can come out now,” he yelled, making Buffy blush even more.
Slowly, the adults filling the parental roles in Buffy’s life made their way back to the couch. While they were sequestered in the kitchen, they had talked back and forth about how to present all of the changes in the status quo to the Scooby Gang. With Spike and Buffy now included in the conversation, it was decided that it would be best to just call a Scooby meeting to inform the others about how life, as they knew it, was over.
Buffy was afraid that the misguided trio would continue to harass Spike. Though the ring made him nearly invincible, it would be no defence if they managed to cut his head off. Decapitation was the one thing that would kill Spike and consequently Buffy. The Scoobies needed to know about the claim and understand what it meant for the couple
After a last drink and some enjoyable conversation, Joyce and Giles left the house.
It had taken some persuasion, but Joyce had agreed to drive home and wait for a phone call from Buffy. Giles was to follow her home in his own car, and wait with Joyce until the couple checked in.
Merrick had decided to go with Spike and Buffy and give them a hand with the Master.
Buffy and Spike strolled through Sunnydale, hand in hand. Anyone that saw them would assume they were a normal couple with no worries, out for an evening walk.
Behind them came an elderly man carrying a sports bag.
“Why are there no demons out to play tonight? It's boring.” Buffy kicked the ground.
“Don't worry. You'll have your fun when we dust the old fart.”
“Old fart,” Buffy giggled the rest of the way to the tunnels that led underground, and was even heard to snicker a time or two once she was under Sunnydale and making her way to the Master’s lair.
Side by side Buffy and Spike stepped into a cavernous room, where they found the Master waiting for them.
“You're late, Slayer, but we can still make it work.” The Master was already gloating as he leapt to attack Buffy. The Master was fast, but not as fast as Spike, who was now the other half of the Light.
Spike played around, showing off his new strength. Finally he gripped the Master around his throat. The Master’s neck was too thick to be broken, and strangulation wasn’t possible, but that was ok. Spike only needed to stop him from getting his hands on Buffy. He knew his mate would take care of the rest. The Master snarled and tried to break out of Spike’s grip, to no avail.
“I don't think so.” Buffy appeared behind the Master, holding a meter long pole that was shaped like a stake. Too thick for Buffy to hold in one hand, she had to use both her hands to thrust it through the Master’s heart.
For a moment the Master seemed to be frozen in time with an amazed look on his face. As the couple watched though, the elder vampire began to quickly crumble away before their eyes.
“Merrick, you can come out,” Buffy yelled into the tunnel, once all that remained of the Master was a pile of dust and bones.
“I'm on my way. You don't have to scream the place down around our ears.” He placed the bag on the floor beside Buffy. “What now?”
“Now we have to destroy the bones.” She opened the bag, tossed a sledge hammer to Spike and took one out for herself. They pulverized the bones, and then Buffy poured several bottles of Holy water over the remains, making them smoke.
“All done. Let's head home, Honey.” Buffy grabbed Spike's hand, letting Merrick trail after them with the bag again. “We have to remember to give Clem his tools back, too.”
“Will do,” Spike promised, as he pulled her closer.
On the way home, the couple managed to stake a few fledglings, as well as a demon that looked like a giant snake and required a particularly messy death.
“Yuck, I need a shower. “ The look on Buffy’s face was priceless.
Spike laughed. “If you weren't so slimy, I'd kiss you.”
Buffy's hands were on her hips, as she pouted. “I'll go take that shower. Could you at least call my mom? Her number is in my cell, in my pocket.” Buffy lifted her arm to give him access to her coat pocket.
“I'm not touching you.” Spike laughed again, as he backed away.
“You're just a big baby.” Buffy smiled and shook her head. “Merrick has her number,” Buffy said as she turned around, heading for the shower.
Buffy had just finished her shower and returned to the bedroom when Spike walked in.
“Your mom was relieved when she heard we'd come out of that ordeal alive.” His coat was thrown on the only chair in the room. “You all done?”
“Yup, do you want a shower?” Buffy got up on her toes and kissed him lightly, before she continued to dry her hair.
“Yeah.” Spike looked longing after Buffy, before he closed the door to the bathroom.
When he re-entered the bedroom, it was illuminated by a dozen fat candles. Spike looked around to find Buffy, who was standing in the doorway of her dressing room.
She was dressed in a see-through black nightie, it’s very short length trimmed with lace. Underneath Spike could just see a little, barely-there, lace thong that completed the outfit.
Instantly, Spike felt his body respond. Breathing in, in an effort to calm himself, Spike willed his body to obey him. He didn’t want to just jump Buffy...well, he did...but she had started this, and he wanted to see where she planned to take things. “Beautiful.” He couldn’t help but whisper, as he scented her heavy arousal perfuming the air.
Moving at a slow and sensuous pace, Buffy closed the distance between them. She dragged a single finger down his chest, licking her lips as she looked into his eyes. Spike's hands moved to her hips, where he could feel her warm skin through the thin fabric that barely covered her.
Buffy's finger moved further down his chest until it reached the towel around his waist. Once there, it moved from side to side, lightly scratching his skin. Her other hand gently cupped his erection before she slowly tugged the towel from his body. “Get on the bed, Lover.”
Spike raised an eyebrow in surprise and removed his hands from her hips, doing as she asked without protest. His erection was twitching in response, as Buffy crawled over his body to straddle his chest. Not a word was said. She took his hands and moved them to the headboard, telling him to hold on.
Arms over his head, Spike watched Buffy get off the bed and leave the room, going into her dressing room.
“What..?”
She poked her head back into the room and whispered, “Shh, patience. I'll be right back.” In just a few minutes, Buffy returned carrying a tray. “I promised you a reward, remember?”
Spike nodded, moving restlessly at her words, and eying the tray.
“I have champagne,” she placed the tray on the nightstand, “and strawberries. Mmmm, and I also have whipped cream and warm chocolate sauce.”
Biting her lips, Buffy took the bottle of chocolate in one hand, and the can with whipped cream in the other. “Before the champagne, I really should give you your reward.”
Buffy looked at his body, licking her lips. “I'm hoping you'll enjoy it as much as I will.” Apparently coming to some kind of decision, Buffy nodded her head and returned the chocolate sauce to the tray.
Spike moved to touch Buffy.
“Bad boy.” She waved a finger in the air. “Hands on the headboard and hold still.”
It turned him on even more. He groaned and took a hold of the headboard again.
She started at his feet, drawing a thin trail of whipped cream from each foot up to the corresponding hipbone on the same side of his body. A dollop decorated his belly-button, with a line of whipping cream stretching from that dollop up to each of his nipples. As a final touch, Buffy filled the hollow of Spike’s throat with whipping cream, and then drew a gooey line across each collarbone.
Switching to the bottle of warmed chocolate sauce, Buffy gave it a shake while she looked over her work. An evil smirk, reminiscent of a certain vampire, graced her lips as she nudged Spike’s legs apart. With the tip of her tongue peeking out from the corner of her lips, she took aim and covered his cock and balls with the warm liquid chocolate.
Spike cried out in surprise, his breathing rapid and heavy. His cock jumped a few times in shock, before it settled heavily on his stomach.
When Spike finally got his breathing under control, he opened his eyes and watched as Buffy admired her work.
“Something is missing.” She pouted for a few seconds. Suddenly her eyes opened wide and she started to grin. “I know just what it is.”
The bottle of chocolate in her hand was replaced with the bowl from the tray.
Buffy picked a strawberry from the bowl and took a bite. Closing her eyes she moaned. “So sweet.” Then she took what was left of the berry in her fingers and placed it gently in the chocolate on the tip of Spike's cock. The sweet treat was almost dislodged, as Spike’s cock jumped in response to the sudden cold.
A second strawberry received a kiss from Buffy’s swollen lips, and then was put into the aroused vampire’s belly-button. Buffy giggled as she finished with the fruit by placing two more berries in the whipping cream that covered Spike’s nipples.
Spike gave a growl, not happy with the way his mate seemed to be enjoying his suffering. Buffy quickly leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, but backed away before he could bring his arms down to grab her.
Moving to the nightstand, Buffy picked up an elastic band and gathered her hair in a sloppy bun on top of her head. Once her hair was dealt with, she moved to sit at the end of the bed between Spike’s outstretched legs, and started licking at the whipping cream on his feet like a cat.
Once Spike’s legs were clean, Buffy moved up beside him on the bed. She noticed a little dab of whipping cream on his arm, and moved to lick it. Spike, his eyes glued to Buffy, squirmed and bit his lip while she worked.
“Are you ticklish there?” she asked, tilting her head.
“No.”He tried to say, let out an unmanly giggle.
“I see,” Buffy said, as she bent her head and continued to lick her lover clean. When she got to his throat, she mixed her licks with sharp little nips, causing Spike to stop laughing and start moaning instead. After his collarbones, Buffy moved her attention to Spike’s nipples. On each side she carefully nibbled at the strawberry, before scooping whipping cream up on her tongue and detouring to Spike’s mouth for a lush, creamy kiss.
Spike was barely holding on to his control, his tight grip on the headboard causing it to squeak as he tried to stop himself from lunging for Buffy.
Down she went, nipping and licking his sides as she continued her heavenly torture. When she finally made it to his belly-button, she changed tactics and left the berry alone while she again combined quick licks and sharp nips until the whipping cream was gone. Only then did she wrap her lips around the bright red berry, making eye contact with Spike as she bit in and let the sweet juice dribble down her chin. “Yummy,” Buffy commented, before bending once more to clean up the last of the whipping cream that had been hidden under the berry.
From there her interest was caught by the half-strawberry that was held fast in the sticky chocolate that covered Spike’s cock. Balanced precariously on the tip, Buffy could see pre-cum leaking from the slit underneath the berry, mixing with the chocolate sauce that had dripped onto Spike’s belly. There was no way that Buffy could resist, as she swiped her tongue through the pre-cum and chocolate sauce before sucking the berry into her mouth.
Slowly, she chewed and swallowed, while watching how Spike's cock bobbed off his stomach, begging for more attention.
“Bloody Hell, woman, please do something. Touch me before I lose my mind, please,” Spike begged. His eyes were closed tightly, the muscles in his jaw clenching rapidly.
He was extremely aroused. If Buffy didn't move soon, Spike really was going to lose control. He would end up grabbing her and fucking her into the mattress, to Hell with slow and sweet.
Just when he thought he couldn’t stand one more second, Spike felt Buffy’s hot tongue on his cock. His hips jerked off the bed, but Buffy had anticipated that. With her hands on his hips, she pushed him down onto the bed and held him steady.
Her tongue made long strokes, from the root of Spike’s cock to the head. She followed that up with little nibbles on his sack, and then a quick suck on his cockhead. He never knew where to expect her tongue next, and the waiting was making him mad.
Buffy took her time cleaning Spike’s shaft. The only time she responded directly to Spike was when she lifted her head, looked him straight in the eye, and told him that he was, under no circumstances, allowed to cum. She didn't want him to peak too soon and miss her grande finale.
Agonizing slowly Buffy licked up his shaft, listening to Spike howl and beg for permission to cum. At one point, it became clear that Spike would be unable to control himself any longer and, instead of begging to cum, he began to plead for help to stop cumming. It was then that Buffy wrapped her fingers around the base of his cock and squeezed to forestall his orgasm.
Spike’s cock was too thick at the base for the fingers of one of Buffy’s hands to wrap fully around, so she used both hands to prevent him from cumming. After a few minutes, Spike relaxed back into the bed, crisis averted. With Buffy’s hands busy serving as a cock-ring for Spike, she was forced to work around them as she attempted to lick the rest of the chocolate up.
When his shaft was clean, Buffy looked up, staring into desperate blue eyes and watching Spike as he watched her.
“Please, Baby, let me touch you.”
She gave his angry looking cock-head a lick, watching as he threw his head back and groaned once again. She removed her mouth from his shaft, and waited until he made eye contact again. “You can touch what you can reach, staying where you are.”
Spike's hands flew to her hair, removing the elastic band and burying his fingers in her tresses as he watched Buffy open her mouth and take him in. He started babbling, fighting the urge to fuck her mouth and continually reminding himself that she needed to breathe.
Buffy knew he was close. She removed her fingers from around the root of his shaft, and began to stroke up and down with one hand while she sucked as much of his cock as she could manage into her mouth. Her other hand crept lower and began to play with his balls. Buffy sucked harder, moving a hand to Spike’s stomach in an attempt to hold him down.
All at once, Spike’s control was a thing of the past. His vision swam and a white-out hit his brain as he let loose with an Earth-shattering roar and began spurting cum down Buffy’s throat. He must have blacked out for a minute or two, because the next thing he knew, he was watching Buffy as she carefully licked up the bit of his spendings that had spilled from the corner of her mouth when he came. Just watching her made him hard again and Spike decided that he’d been passive long enough.
With one hand still in her hair, and another under her arm, Spike pulled Buffy up until she was lying across his body. He took possession of her mouth, plundering her sweet lips until she was the one out of breath. Rolling Buffy under his body, Spike attacked her lips and neck like a man starved, leaving love bites everywhere he went. When Buffy was the one mewling and whimpering, he pushed himself up on his arms and looked down her body before grasping her chin in his hand and staring directly into her eyes. “If you like that little wisp of lace and tease that you’re almost wearing, you’d better get it off now. In another minute I’ll be ripping it off you myself and believe me when I say there won’t be enough pieces left for you to even think about putting it on again.”
Buffy struggled to untie the straps over her shoulders, but gave up when she became distracted by the feel of Spike’s mouth on her breast. With a quick snap, Spike took care of the ties that kept Buffy’s breasts from him, and it was only moments later that he bent his head to suck a nipple into a peak while fondling her other breast with his fingers.
Enjoying his turn in the dominant position, Spike kissed his way down Buffy’s body, stopping to dip his tongue in her belly-button. “Next time you'll be the one covered in sweets,” his deep voice informed her.
A new flood of moisture soaked Buffy’s panties, as Spike’s voice made her writhe and shiver in expectation.
The smirk on his face grew larger when he smelled her growing excitement. Spike bent his head, kissing her belly button once more before he began to kiss and lick his way lower.
Spike breathed in deeply when he reached her pussy. Buffy's smell was intoxicating and heavy. Her lacy underwear proved no barrier against his teeth, and he quickly ripped the offending garment away and dove in.
Spike parted her lips and gave her clit an experimental lick, before moving away. Buffy was moaning and shuddering now, but he wanted a little payback before she found her release.
With her hands in his hair, Spike moved his attention lower, working on cleaning her legs and netherlips of her dew. His arms went around her thighs, one hand splayed across her stomach to hold her still while the other began to play with her clit. His shoulders held her legs open as he licked and teased Buffy until she seemed insane with lust.
Spike alternated between circling her hole, sucking her clit, and deeply tongue-fucking her until Buffy thought she really would lose her mind. She was gasping for air, as she shrieked and begged him time and time again, knowing that she was teetering on the brink of a monster orgasm.
Unable to wait even a moment longer, Buffy grabbed Spike’s head and pushed him down towards her pussy. Finally getting the message, Spike stopped teasing her and began using his tongue to fuck her, while rubbing her clit quickly with his fingers.
With a shriek that threatened Spike’s hearing, Buffy reached the point of no return and began thrashing as she came. Her hands gripped Spike’s head as she pumped her hips furiously, spreading her honey all over his tongue and the three fingers he pushed into her quim in an effort to prolong her orgasm.
Spike licked up as much of Buffy’s juice as he could. When she finally quieted and released her hold on his head, Spike moved up her body as he used one hand to wipe her moisture from his face. Hovering over her on all fours, he took in her satisfied expression with a smug smile on his own lips.
Temporarily sated, Buffy raised a lazy hand to Spike’s head, this time pulling him down until his body covered her own.
Teeth nibbled and tongues duelled in open-mouthed kisses as the couple slowly began rubbing against each other.
“I need you, Baby, please.” Buffy slung a leg over Spike’s lower back, as she pressed herself closer to him, feeling that gnawing hunger starting to build in her belly again.
He groaned deep in his throat, placing himself at her entrance and smoothly pushing in. The pleasure was so intense that Spike had to stop himself before he lost control and shot his load right away. The vampire went still, and tried to distract his cock by focusing his attention on Buffy’s breasts.
Buffy, on the other hand, began wriggling, desperate for him to move. “Please,” she begged several times, before he finally began to thrust inside of her.
Before long they were lost in their own special rhythm, focused only on the feelings and sensations racing through their bodies. Time lost all meaning as they fought their way to the heavens, screaming out their pleasure and renewing their claim once more.
“So if I ask you about the Master, you'll do something about him?” The clink of a wine bottle connecting with the rim of a glass was loud in the sudden silence.
Buffy's face had paled. Spike looked up, surprised, as he suddenly sensed her fear.
“You're telling me that Angel didn't kill him when he went looking for me?....um.... I mean, the other Buffy?” She shrugged her shoulders as she sent her mother a little smile.
Joyce reached out, and squeezed Buffy's arm lightly. “To make it easier, let's just say it was you. In a way it was.”
Leaning forward, Buffy hugged her mom, keeping one of Joyce's hands firmly in her grasp when she leaned back into Spike. She looked over at Giles again.
Giles had placed his glass on the table so that he could have his hands free to polish his glasses. “Eh, hmm... Not from what he told me. Angel said he and the Master had a conversation about you, then Angel left him there, trapped.”
“Trapped or not, he can still get minions to bring him food, and by that I'm not talking about pizza. He's probably still working on a way to free himself.” Buffy sighed and turned to look at Spike.
“We'll take care of it tonight, Kitten. I could use a bit of rough and tumble before I turn in.”
Buffy smiled thankfully, letting go of her mom's hand as she grasped Spike's head and showed him just how pleased she was with his answer.
When the couple came up for air some time later, the room was empty. Giles, Joyce, and Merrick had retreated to the kitchen to give Spike and Buffy a little privacy. It wasn't that any of the three were opposed to the mating, it was just that there were some things they didn't needed to see, and the kitchen provided them with a wall they could hide behind until the lovers separated again.
Blushing, Buffy hid her face when she realized why everyone else had left the room.
Spike just pulled her closer, smirking. “You can come out now,” he yelled, making Buffy blush even more.
Slowly, the adults filling the parental roles in Buffy’s life made their way back to the couch. While they were sequestered in the kitchen, they had talked back and forth about how to present all of the changes in the status quo to the Scooby Gang. With Spike and Buffy now included in the conversation, it was decided that it would be best to just call a Scooby meeting to inform the others about how life, as they knew it, was over.
Buffy was afraid that the misguided trio would continue to harass Spike. Though the ring made him nearly invincible, it would be no defence if they managed to cut his head off. Decapitation was the one thing that would kill Spike and consequently Buffy. The Scoobies needed to know about the claim and understand what it meant for the couple
After a last drink and some enjoyable conversation, Joyce and Giles left the house.
It had taken some persuasion, but Joyce had agreed to drive home and wait for a phone call from Buffy. Giles was to follow her home in his own car, and wait with Joyce until the couple checked in.
Merrick had decided to go with Spike and Buffy and give them a hand with the Master.
Buffy and Spike strolled through Sunnydale, hand in hand. Anyone that saw them would assume they were a normal couple with no worries, out for an evening walk.
Behind them came an elderly man carrying a sports bag.
“Why are there no demons out to play tonight? It's boring.” Buffy kicked the ground.
“Don't worry. You'll have your fun when we dust the old fart.”
“Old fart,” Buffy giggled the rest of the way to the tunnels that led underground, and was even heard to snicker a time or two once she was under Sunnydale and making her way to the Master’s lair.
Side by side Buffy and Spike stepped into a cavernous room, where they found the Master waiting for them.
“You're late, Slayer, but we can still make it work.” The Master was already gloating as he leapt to attack Buffy. The Master was fast, but not as fast as Spike, who was now the other half of the Light.
Spike played around, showing off his new strength. Finally he gripped the Master around his throat. The Master’s neck was too thick to be broken, and strangulation wasn’t possible, but that was ok. Spike only needed to stop him from getting his hands on Buffy. He knew his mate would take care of the rest. The Master snarled and tried to break out of Spike’s grip, to no avail.
“I don't think so.” Buffy appeared behind the Master, holding a meter long pole that was shaped like a stake. Too thick for Buffy to hold in one hand, she had to use both her hands to thrust it through the Master’s heart.
For a moment the Master seemed to be frozen in time with an amazed look on his face. As the couple watched though, the elder vampire began to quickly crumble away before their eyes.
“Merrick, you can come out,” Buffy yelled into the tunnel, once all that remained of the Master was a pile of dust and bones.
“I'm on my way. You don't have to scream the place down around our ears.” He placed the bag on the floor beside Buffy. “What now?”
“Now we have to destroy the bones.” She opened the bag, tossed a sledge hammer to Spike and took one out for herself. They pulverized the bones, and then Buffy poured several bottles of Holy water over the remains, making them smoke.
“All done. Let's head home, Honey.” Buffy grabbed Spike's hand, letting Merrick trail after them with the bag again. “We have to remember to give Clem his tools back, too.”
“Will do,” Spike promised, as he pulled her closer.
On the way home, the couple managed to stake a few fledglings, as well as a demon that looked like a giant snake and required a particularly messy death.
“Yuck, I need a shower. “ The look on Buffy’s face was priceless.
Spike laughed. “If you weren't so slimy, I'd kiss you.”
Buffy's hands were on her hips, as she pouted. “I'll go take that shower. Could you at least call my mom? Her number is in my cell, in my pocket.” Buffy lifted her arm to give him access to her coat pocket.
“I'm not touching you.” Spike laughed again, as he backed away.
“You're just a big baby.” Buffy smiled and shook her head. “Merrick has her number,” Buffy said as she turned around, heading for the shower.
Buffy had just finished her shower and returned to the bedroom when Spike walked in.
“Your mom was relieved when she heard we'd come out of that ordeal alive.” His coat was thrown on the only chair in the room. “You all done?”
“Yup, do you want a shower?” Buffy got up on her toes and kissed him lightly, before she continued to dry her hair.
“Yeah.” Spike looked longing after Buffy, before he closed the door to the bathroom.
When he re-entered the bedroom, it was illuminated by a dozen fat candles. Spike looked around to find Buffy, who was standing in the doorway of her dressing room.
She was dressed in a see-through black nightie, it’s very short length trimmed with lace. Underneath Spike could just see a little, barely-there, lace thong that completed the outfit.
Instantly, Spike felt his body respond. Breathing in, in an effort to calm himself, Spike willed his body to obey him. He didn’t want to just jump Buffy...well, he did...but she had started this, and he wanted to see where she planned to take things. “Beautiful.” He couldn’t help but whisper, as he scented her heavy arousal perfuming the air.
Moving at a slow and sensuous pace, Buffy closed the distance between them. She dragged a single finger down his chest, licking her lips as she looked into his eyes. Spike's hands moved to her hips, where he could feel her warm skin through the thin fabric that barely covered her.
Buffy's finger moved further down his chest until it reached the towel around his waist. Once there, it moved from side to side, lightly scratching his skin. Her other hand gently cupped his erection before she slowly tugged the towel from his body. “Get on the bed, Lover.”
Spike raised an eyebrow in surprise and removed his hands from her hips, doing as she asked without protest. His erection was twitching in response, as Buffy crawled over his body to straddle his chest. Not a word was said. She took his hands and moved them to the headboard, telling him to hold on.
Arms over his head, Spike watched Buffy get off the bed and leave the room, going into her dressing room.
“What..?”
She poked her head back into the room and whispered, “Shh, patience. I'll be right back.” In just a few minutes, Buffy returned carrying a tray. “I promised you a reward, remember?”
Spike nodded, moving restlessly at her words, and eying the tray.
“I have champagne,” she placed the tray on the nightstand, “and strawberries. Mmmm, and I also have whipped cream and warm chocolate sauce.”
Biting her lips, Buffy took the bottle of chocolate in one hand, and the can with whipped cream in the other. “Before the champagne, I really should give you your reward.”
Buffy looked at his body, licking her lips. “I'm hoping you'll enjoy it as much as I will.” Apparently coming to some kind of decision, Buffy nodded her head and returned the chocolate sauce to the tray.
Spike moved to touch Buffy.
“Bad boy.” She waved a finger in the air. “Hands on the headboard and hold still.”
It turned him on even more. He groaned and took a hold of the headboard again.
She started at his feet, drawing a thin trail of whipped cream from each foot up to the corresponding hipbone on the same side of his body. A dollop decorated his belly-button, with a line of whipping cream stretching from that dollop up to each of his nipples. As a final touch, Buffy filled the hollow of Spike’s throat with whipping cream, and then drew a gooey line across each collarbone.
Switching to the bottle of warmed chocolate sauce, Buffy gave it a shake while she looked over her work. An evil smirk, reminiscent of a certain vampire, graced her lips as she nudged Spike’s legs apart. With the tip of her tongue peeking out from the corner of her lips, she took aim and covered his cock and balls with the warm liquid chocolate.
Spike cried out in surprise, his breathing rapid and heavy. His cock jumped a few times in shock, before it settled heavily on his stomach.
When Spike finally got his breathing under control, he opened his eyes and watched as Buffy admired her work.
“Something is missing.” She pouted for a few seconds. Suddenly her eyes opened wide and she started to grin. “I know just what it is.”
The bottle of chocolate in her hand was replaced with the bowl from the tray.
Buffy picked a strawberry from the bowl and took a bite. Closing her eyes she moaned. “So sweet.” Then she took what was left of the berry in her fingers and placed it gently in the chocolate on the tip of Spike's cock. The sweet treat was almost dislodged, as Spike’s cock jumped in response to the sudden cold.
A second strawberry received a kiss from Buffy’s swollen lips, and then was put into the aroused vampire’s belly-button. Buffy giggled as she finished with the fruit by placing two more berries in the whipping cream that covered Spike’s nipples.
Spike gave a growl, not happy with the way his mate seemed to be enjoying his suffering. Buffy quickly leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, but backed away before he could bring his arms down to grab her.
Moving to the nightstand, Buffy picked up an elastic band and gathered her hair in a sloppy bun on top of her head. Once her hair was dealt with, she moved to sit at the end of the bed between Spike’s outstretched legs, and started licking at the whipping cream on his feet like a cat.
Once Spike’s legs were clean, Buffy moved up beside him on the bed. She noticed a little dab of whipping cream on his arm, and moved to lick it. Spike, his eyes glued to Buffy, squirmed and bit his lip while she worked.
“Are you ticklish there?” she asked, tilting her head.
“No.”He tried to say, let out an unmanly giggle.
“I see,” Buffy said, as she bent her head and continued to lick her lover clean. When she got to his throat, she mixed her licks with sharp little nips, causing Spike to stop laughing and start moaning instead. After his collarbones, Buffy moved her attention to Spike’s nipples. On each side she carefully nibbled at the strawberry, before scooping whipping cream up on her tongue and detouring to Spike’s mouth for a lush, creamy kiss.
Spike was barely holding on to his control, his tight grip on the headboard causing it to squeak as he tried to stop himself from lunging for Buffy.
Down she went, nipping and licking his sides as she continued her heavenly torture. When she finally made it to his belly-button, she changed tactics and left the berry alone while she again combined quick licks and sharp nips until the whipping cream was gone. Only then did she wrap her lips around the bright red berry, making eye contact with Spike as she bit in and let the sweet juice dribble down her chin. “Yummy,” Buffy commented, before bending once more to clean up the last of the whipping cream that had been hidden under the berry.
From there her interest was caught by the half-strawberry that was held fast in the sticky chocolate that covered Spike’s cock. Balanced precariously on the tip, Buffy could see pre-cum leaking from the slit underneath the berry, mixing with the chocolate sauce that had dripped onto Spike’s belly. There was no way that Buffy could resist, as she swiped her tongue through the pre-cum and chocolate sauce before sucking the berry into her mouth.
Slowly, she chewed and swallowed, while watching how Spike's cock bobbed off his stomach, begging for more attention.
“Bloody Hell, woman, please do something. Touch me before I lose my mind, please,” Spike begged. His eyes were closed tightly, the muscles in his jaw clenching rapidly.
He was extremely aroused. If Buffy didn't move soon, Spike really was going to lose control. He would end up grabbing her and fucking her into the mattress, to Hell with slow and sweet.
Just when he thought he couldn’t stand one more second, Spike felt Buffy’s hot tongue on his cock. His hips jerked off the bed, but Buffy had anticipated that. With her hands on his hips, she pushed him down onto the bed and held him steady.
Her tongue made long strokes, from the root of Spike’s cock to the head. She followed that up with little nibbles on his sack, and then a quick suck on his cockhead. He never knew where to expect her tongue next, and the waiting was making him mad.
Buffy took her time cleaning Spike’s shaft. The only time she responded directly to Spike was when she lifted her head, looked him straight in the eye, and told him that he was, under no circumstances, allowed to cum. She didn't want him to peak too soon and miss her grande finale.
Agonizing slowly Buffy licked up his shaft, listening to Spike howl and beg for permission to cum. At one point, it became clear that Spike would be unable to control himself any longer and, instead of begging to cum, he began to plead for help to stop cumming. It was then that Buffy wrapped her fingers around the base of his cock and squeezed to forestall his orgasm.
Spike’s cock was too thick at the base for the fingers of one of Buffy’s hands to wrap fully around, so she used both hands to prevent him from cumming. After a few minutes, Spike relaxed back into the bed, crisis averted. With Buffy’s hands busy serving as a cock-ring for Spike, she was forced to work around them as she attempted to lick the rest of the chocolate up.
When his shaft was clean, Buffy looked up, staring into desperate blue eyes and watching Spike as he watched her.
“Please, Baby, let me touch you.”
She gave his angry looking cock-head a lick, watching as he threw his head back and groaned once again. She removed her mouth from his shaft, and waited until he made eye contact again. “You can touch what you can reach, staying where you are.”
Spike's hands flew to her hair, removing the elastic band and burying his fingers in her tresses as he watched Buffy open her mouth and take him in. He started babbling, fighting the urge to fuck her mouth and continually reminding himself that she needed to breathe.
Buffy knew he was close. She removed her fingers from around the root of his shaft, and began to stroke up and down with one hand while she sucked as much of his cock as she could manage into her mouth. Her other hand crept lower and began to play with his balls. Buffy sucked harder, moving a hand to Spike’s stomach in an attempt to hold him down.
All at once, Spike’s control was a thing of the past. His vision swam and a white-out hit his brain as he let loose with an Earth-shattering roar and began spurting cum down Buffy’s throat. He must have blacked out for a minute or two, because the next thing he knew, he was watching Buffy as she carefully licked up the bit of his spendings that had spilled from the corner of her mouth when he came. Just watching her made him hard again and Spike decided that he’d been passive long enough.
With one hand still in her hair, and another under her arm, Spike pulled Buffy up until she was lying across his body. He took possession of her mouth, plundering her sweet lips until she was the one out of breath. Rolling Buffy under his body, Spike attacked her lips and neck like a man starved, leaving love bites everywhere he went. When Buffy was the one mewling and whimpering, he pushed himself up on his arms and looked down her body before grasping her chin in his hand and staring directly into her eyes. “If you like that little wisp of lace and tease that you’re almost wearing, you’d better get it off now. In another minute I’ll be ripping it off you myself and believe me when I say there won’t be enough pieces left for you to even think about putting it on again.”
Buffy struggled to untie the straps over her shoulders, but gave up when she became distracted by the feel of Spike’s mouth on her breast. With a quick snap, Spike took care of the ties that kept Buffy’s breasts from him, and it was only moments later that he bent his head to suck a nipple into a peak while fondling her other breast with his fingers.
Enjoying his turn in the dominant position, Spike kissed his way down Buffy’s body, stopping to dip his tongue in her belly-button. “Next time you'll be the one covered in sweets,” his deep voice informed her.
A new flood of moisture soaked Buffy’s panties, as Spike’s voice made her writhe and shiver in expectation.
The smirk on his face grew larger when he smelled her growing excitement. Spike bent his head, kissing her belly button once more before he began to kiss and lick his way lower.
Spike breathed in deeply when he reached her pussy. Buffy's smell was intoxicating and heavy. Her lacy underwear proved no barrier against his teeth, and he quickly ripped the offending garment away and dove in.
Spike parted her lips and gave her clit an experimental lick, before moving away. Buffy was moaning and shuddering now, but he wanted a little payback before she found her release.
With her hands in his hair, Spike moved his attention lower, working on cleaning her legs and netherlips of her dew. His arms went around her thighs, one hand splayed across her stomach to hold her still while the other began to play with her clit. His shoulders held her legs open as he licked and teased Buffy until she seemed insane with lust.
Spike alternated between circling her hole, sucking her clit, and deeply tongue-fucking her until Buffy thought she really would lose her mind. She was gasping for air, as she shrieked and begged him time and time again, knowing that she was teetering on the brink of a monster orgasm.
Unable to wait even a moment longer, Buffy grabbed Spike’s head and pushed him down towards her pussy. Finally getting the message, Spike stopped teasing her and began using his tongue to fuck her, while rubbing her clit quickly with his fingers.
With a shriek that threatened Spike’s hearing, Buffy reached the point of no return and began thrashing as she came. Her hands gripped Spike’s head as she pumped her hips furiously, spreading her honey all over his tongue and the three fingers he pushed into her quim in an effort to prolong her orgasm.
Spike licked up as much of Buffy’s juice as he could. When she finally quieted and released her hold on his head, Spike moved up her body as he used one hand to wipe her moisture from his face. Hovering over her on all fours, he took in her satisfied expression with a smug smile on his own lips.
Temporarily sated, Buffy raised a lazy hand to Spike’s head, this time pulling him down until his body covered her own.
Teeth nibbled and tongues duelled in open-mouthed kisses as the couple slowly began rubbing against each other.
“I need you, Baby, please.” Buffy slung a leg over Spike’s lower back, as she pressed herself closer to him, feeling that gnawing hunger starting to build in her belly again.
He groaned deep in his throat, placing himself at her entrance and smoothly pushing in. The pleasure was so intense that Spike had to stop himself before he lost control and shot his load right away. The vampire went still, and tried to distract his cock by focusing his attention on Buffy’s breasts.
Buffy, on the other hand, began wriggling, desperate for him to move. “Please,” she begged several times, before he finally began to thrust inside of her.
Before long they were lost in their own special rhythm, focused only on the feelings and sensations racing through their bodies. Time lost all meaning as they fought their way to the heavens, screaming out their pleasure and renewing their claim once more.
Start as You Mean to Go On.
A big thank you to Maria and Flight Of Fancy for betaing.
When morning finally arrived, Buffy and Spike showered together, helping each other get the sticky chocolate and whipped cream off their skin. As they dried and got dressed, they talked about their plans for the day.
While Spike headed to the kitchen to make breakfast, Buffy picked up the phone and started to set their plans in motion.
First Buffy called her mom and invited her over to the warehouse at eight for a Scooby meeting. Joyce knew that tonight was the night that Buffy and Spike would tell the rest of the gang about the mating, and that Buffy wanted her mom there to show support. Both women agreed that Joyce would explain the situation to Kendra that morning, and would let Kendra know that she would also be welcome to attend. Buffy wanted the Slayer to know exactly what she was walking in to…she didn’t want Spike staked by accident.
“Two down with just one call. Mom and Kendra have been invited. Now for Giles. Which reminds me, have you seen Merrick?”
“Not today.” Spike placed a cup of coffee in front of her. “I'll go look for him and invite him for breakfast if he’s around.” He placed a kiss on her head as he walked by.
“Love you,” she said softly to his back.
Pausing at the top of the stairs, Spike sent her an air kiss before disappearing from sight.
When Giles finally answered the phone, he readily agreed to come and stand at his Slayer and her mate’s side. Buffy smiled, satisfied. Giles finally understood that things were as they should be, and that if he tried to get between the mates, he would be the one that lost.
“Morning, Buffy.” Merrick took a seat at the table. “You look happy.”
“I am. Mom, Kendra and Giles are coming tonight. They’re all firmly on our side. I really believe that Giles has finally come around.”
“About time.” Merrick took the coffee Spike handed him.
“Will you be here tonight?”
“I'll be here. Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
“Thank you, Merrick. It means a lot to us, to have your support.”
“Before you start talking on the phone again, Luv, tell me what you want in your omelette,” Spike interrupted. “And make it quick, because you’ve still got a lot of calls to make.” He pointed the spatula at Buffy.
Pouting, Buffy told him what she wanted, before grabbing the phone again and moving away from the kitchen area.
Oz was easy to get on the phone. He had just arrived home from a gig in L.A., and promised to stop by after he caught a few hours of sleep.
Xander was quick to accept Buffy’s invitation, and seemed quite excited about the visit until he realized that he wasn't the only one invited to her home.
When Buffy reached Willow, the Wiccan sounded tired and scared, and turned down the invitation to Buffy’s home. “I...I can't come. I have to go see Giles.”
“Giles will be here tonight.”
“Oh. Then I'll come, I guess. I need to talk to him.”
“Can you stop by Angel’s apartment and ask him to come along with you?”
“Sure.”
Buffy ended the conversation, giving Willow the address for the converted warehouse, as she had done with the other invited guests who didn't already have it.
Cool arms circled her waist from behind. “Does the Poofter have to come?”
“I'm hoping he'll give up harassing us once he knows we’ve mated.” Buffy relaxed against him for a few seconds. “I still need to call Cordelia.” She sighed.
“Do you think she'll come?”
“You never know with Cordelia.”
“Okay, I'll wait a bit longer before I start to make your omelette.” He kissed her brow, and left her to her phone call.
Buffy got the housekeeper at Cordelia's, who let Buffy know that Cordelia still had her jaw wired shut. With the housekeeper as a go between, Buffy invited Cordelia to join the group. Sadly, Cordelia refused to attend. She hadn't been out of her house since the Episode, as she called it.
In fact, Cordelia had done a pretty good job of cutting herself off from the rest of the world while she waited for her jaw to heal. Other than a few phone calls from Giles, she hadn’t spoken to anyone in the group. She also hadn’t spoken with Angel, or even received a “Get Well” card, for that matter. It wasn’t that Cordelia ever wanted to see him again, but an apology would have been nice.
Buffy was enraged when she heard how Cordelia had been neglected, and couldn’t stop herself from letting out a frustrated shriek after she very politely and calmly said goodbye to Cordelia and her housekeeper. In the kitchen Spike and Merrick looked up, panic in their eyes when they heard Buffy yell. They rushed around the wall to see Buffy drive her fingers into her hair and bend over, as if in pain.
Spike rushed to Buffy and embraced her. “What's wrong?” Spike was reacting instinctively to the sight of Buffy in pain, forgetting that he also had the ability to reach out to her through their bond. When he finally remembered and did a little scan, he realized that what he and Merrick had witnessed was not pain at all…it was anger. White hot, twisted, overwhelming rage. “Buffy! What is it? What’s happened now? Tell me,” Spike begged.
“Angel! That miserable son of a bitch hasn't even apologized to Cordelia. I doubt she’d let him in her house, but still! He could at least have sent her a card. He’s so full of himself and how he’s the Champion…I'm really starting to hate him.” She turned in Spike's arms and let loose another frustrated growl.
After a while Buffy calmed down, and Spike led her into the kitchen and fed her some breakfast. Later Spike packed a basket with a little of this and a bit of that, and then took Buffy out for a picnic on the beach. It was their first day together as a couple in the sun, but it would be far from their last.
Merrick left for Joyce's. He was planning to enlist her help, as he had been given a shopping list of items needed for the meeting that night.
As the day wore on, Buffy, Spike, and Merrick once again gathered at home. The men quickly realized it had been a good thing that Spike had kept Buffy busy for most of the day, because a day of watching her as she was now would have driven them nuts. It was obvious that she was under a lot of stress; when she wasn't running around doing last minute things, she was pacing the room.
Buffy had even spent some time alone in her hidden room, after which she told them that she had cast a shield spell around the upstairs area. She knew that things would probably get a bit crazy tonight, and she wouldn't have her privacy invaded by their visitors. The only ones allowed upstairs would be Spike, Merrick and herself.
Merrick and Spike looked at each other, both a bit confused by Buffy’s extreme reaction to their impending guests.
The next time Buffy whipped past Spike, he pulled her down onto his lap. “Talk to me, Sweetheart.” With his arms around her, he waited for her to say something.
Hiding her face in his neck, Buffy admitted that she was nervous and a little scared. “At least this time they can't separate us.” With a sigh, she rested her forehead against his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. To the end of the world.” Spike promised, before leaning in and kissing her softly.
The knock on their front door told them that their guests had begun to arrive.
Spike disappeared upstairs, as Buffy breathed in and dried her hands on her pants before opening the door for her mom and Giles.
Giles looked around nervously. “Where is Spike?”
“He's upstairs. We didn't want the meeting to start with a screaming contest. There are things that need to be said and stuff my friends need to hear. If Spike is down here, they won't listen.”
“You're quite right, Buffy. Wise decision.”
“Thank you, Giles. Do you want anything to drink?” Buffy led them to the big table.
“We can wait. Are we staying down here?” Joyce asked, as she placed her coat over a chair.
“Yes, I’d like to keep the upstairs private… at least for now.”
There was another knock. Buffy opened the door for Oz. He didn't say much, just looked around with interest, before greeting the others and joining them at the table.
Before Buffy could close the door, a hand reached out to keep it open. It was Xander, looking anxious and unsure. He wasn’t really confident of his welcome, after their last meeting in the library.
With Xander was a pale looking Willow. A Willow who could barely spare the time to smile a greeting at Buffy, before she rushed over to Giles. Willow started to whisper something to him while wringing her hands. After he had heard the first couple of sentences, Giles stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. “I know, Willow. You'll get an explanation later.”
“Have you taken my powers away?” Her voice became shrill. “You just can’t stand that I’ve got more power than you, can you? You had no right to take my powers. Give them back.” Willow had a hard grip on Giles' arm, and was shaking him, her face a twisted mask.
“Let go, Willow.” Buffy said, as she took hold of Willow’s wrists.
Willow turned to Buffy. “Make him give them back,” she begged Buffy.
“Sit down. We'll talk about it when we're all here. You too, Xander, sit down.”
“You're on his side now! I see how this works! You're suddenly best friends, you and Giles.” Willow was nose to nose with Buffy.
“Sit down or leave, Willow.” Buffy turned away, ignoring the frustrated red-head. Buffy asked Merrick to make tea and her mom to make coffee, before going herself to pull soft drinks from the fridge.
Willow looked wildly from one guest to the next. Not one of them would return her glance. With a sigh she sat down, moping.
Just as Buffy closed the door to the fridge, the last two guests arrived. “Sorry I'm late. Ran into a couple of demons who were up to no good.”
“I know how it is, Kendra.” Buffy leaned forward and hugged her. Behind her came Angel.
“Buffy.”
“Angel, come in.”
As Angel walked past her, he bowed his head and smirked. I’ve got her now. This is the start, an invite into her home. It won't take long and she’ll be mine.
Buffy had managed to see a glimpse of Angel's face before he moved past her. She smiled to herself, knowing that he would get the shock of his unlife that night.
After she had closed the door, Buffy returned to the table. “Have a seat, everyone.” At that Buffy looked directly at Angel, who was about to lean against a cupboard behind her. “Make yourself comfortable. Get a drink before we start.” Buffy poured herself a cup of tea.
“So, why are we here, Buffy? Are you finally going to tell us you succeeded in dusting the blond pest?” Xander joked, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
“Shut up, Xander. Actually, since you’ve so graciously decided to start the conversation, why don't we start with you?”
“Me? What about me?” he croaked out, sinking down in his chair.
“Are you finished lying to people yet?” Standing up, with her arms crossed over her chest, Buffy waited. “I refuse to have friends that think it’s ok to lie to each other and cause each other pain.”
“I'm sorry, but why are you blaming me? What about Giles?” He pointed a finger at Giles, who was sitting close by.
When Xander pointed at Giles, he pushed Giles' glasses crooked. “I apologize profoundly, Kendra. I never thought of how much our deception would hurt you,” Giles said, as he straightened his glasses.
Kendra sent Giles a faint smile, before looking away. She didn't like the attention she was getting.
Joyce reached out to hold her hand.
Grateful for Joyce’s motherly support, and forgetting her Slayer powers, Kendra almost squished her hand.
Buffy was still looking at Xander, as if expecting something.
“What?” he threw his hands up.
“Don't you have an apology of your own to make?” Buffy glanced quickly at Kendra.
“It wasn't my fault. The Changelings made me do it. I can't be blamed,” he angrily claimed.
“Did they make you lie about remembering?”
That made Xander deflate like a hot air balloon. After he had swallowed several times, Xander finally spoke up, “I'm sorry for lying, Kendra, and I'll try my best to stay away from you.”
Everyone could see how the words made Kendra relax a bit. It was no longer her word against his. Xander had admitted to the group that he had treated her badly, and it was clear that she had not been lying.
“As you all may have noticed, Giles is finally beginning to understand what’s happening around here. Am I right in assuming that you're still translating the book?”
“Yes, you are quite right. The book has confirmed that Buffy is the one. The second prophecy describes Buffy, and says that she will be surrounded by family and friends. Not just humans, but also demons. Everyone can join with the light, even soulless demons. The book is clear though, every individual, whether human or demon, can choose to be good or evil. It's up to each of us to decide which side we'll work for: Dark or Light. Finally, the book tells us that Buffy will find her mate, who will be with her for the rest of her immortal life. Since a human would die within a span of 100 years at most, that seems to suggest that Buffy’s mate will be a demon.” Slowly Giles moved his finger down the paper in his hand. “There is still more prophecy to translate, but that is all I have complete at this point in time.”
“Your translation must be wrong. Demons can't be good.”
“You mean Angelus can't be good.” Buffy looked at Angel with contempt.
“I'm a demon. I know what I'm talking about. You're just a human teenager.” Angel straightened up in his chair, trying to look down at her.
“You're forgetting that this body and my soul aren’t the same age. I'm older than I look. By the way, you're sitting in a house that was renovated by demons, and not one person or demon was harmed in the process.” She smirked.
“It can't be true. You must have been deceived.”
“No, there are harmless demons out there, living normal lives, with normal jobs.” Buffy looked around at her guests. Oz seemed interested.
Willow didn’t really seem interested in the conversation. Her body was vibrating, and it was clear that she was waiting for this topic to end so she could move on to getting her powers back. She appeared jittery, and her legs occasionally bumped against the underside of the table when she couldn’t stop her knees from bouncing.
Xander kept shaking his head in denial.
“Who do you think drives the cabs at night, or delivers the pizzas we order after dark?”
At that Angel slumped down in his chair, eyes fixed on the table.
Xander whispered, “Oh, no. Oh, no.”
“Xander?” He seemed out of it, his attention turned inward to something the group couldn’t see.
He didn’t respond until Buffy finally shook him lightly.
Xander looked up suddenly. “I didn't have to stake Jesse. He could have been good, but I didn’t even give him a chance.”
“He was about to eat you.” Buffy sighed. “For some reason, vampires are the species least likely to choose the side of the Light.” She gave his shoulder a pat, and returned to her seat.
“Before I forget, I'd better tell you that I've taken care of the creature that attacked this body.” Buffy flushed. “With all that happened, I forgot to tell you guys.”
“Who was it?” Giles leaned forwards. “Anyone we know?”
Unlike Giles, who was filled with curiosity, Joyce was finally able to relax. She didn’t need details, didn’t care who it was that had attacked Buffy such a short time ago. The important thing to her was that the threat to her daughter was gone.
“An old enemy from my past. I wonder if he'll still be in this future? That might be something you could find out, Giles. He calls himself the Immortal. I'll give you what I know about him later.”
Giles nodded.
“The next item on my list is Willow.” She looked over at the girl. Willow seemed lost in her own thoughts. “Willow?”
Giles had to touch her before she reacted. “Huh? What do you want?” Willow asked. It was clear to everyone that she was exhausted and stressed. “I don't have time for this. I have important business with Giles to take care of.” Willow turned to face the Watcher, sending him a look that made it clear she held him responsible for her troubles.
“More important than your magic?”
“What do you know about my powers?” No longer looking at Giles, Willow straightened in her chair and gave Buffy her full attention.
“They don't work, right?”
“Right. It's Giles. He knew how powerful I was becoming and he was jealous. That’s why he stole my powers.” She turned to look at Giles with contempt.
“Wrong. Giles wasn’t jealous of your powers; he was worried that you were going to do something damaging with them. We all were, and that’s why we decided to bind your powers until you could learn to use them wisely, instead of like a child.”
“You? You took my powers!” Willow threw herself at Buffy.
With her strength, Buffy easily got Willow under control and returned her to her seat. “Stay there, or leave my home.” Slowly Buffy removed her hands, waiting, to be sure Willow stayed in her seat.
There was no trace of the gentle Wiccan in the eyes that looked at Buffy with such hatred now. “Give me my powers back. They’re mine. No wonder you can do magic when you steal power from others.”
“Now you're getting nasty, Willow.” Buffy looked sad. “You still have your powers. They’re just bound, to stop you from hurting yourself or someone else with them.”
“Untie them!” Willow snarled, standing up and leaning over the table.
“It's not that simple. You'll have to earn them back.”
Buffy didn't let Willow's behaviour affect her, staying seated and looking relaxed on the outside.
“How? How do I earn them back?”
“By learning to use your magic responsibly and showing self-control. You'll get a teacher from a coven Giles knows, and they will help you find your path.”
“Who gives you the right to decide what I should do?” Willow spat.
Buffy didn't move a muscle, just looked at her with those sad eyes. Merrick reached over and placed his hand over hers, providing quiet support to the emotionally exhausted girl. Blinking for a moment, as though just waking from a dream, Buffy once again focused her attention on her schoolmate.
“It's in my job description, now that I’ve found my other half and have become complete. Together we are charged with stopping anyone who tries to end the world, or who wilfully chooses to harm the humans or demons of this realm.” Buffy watched as each person in the room realized the implications of her statement about being complete.
Angel straightened up, as did Xander, eyes opening wide. The rest of the group hardly reacted, as they knew about the mating already. Oz didn't say a thing, just lifted an eyebrow.
“Do you mind repeating that?” Angel was suddenly standing up, bracing his knuckles on the table and appearing to have difficulty understanding what he had just heard.
“Repeat what?” Buffy couldn't help it, she played dumb. In her head, she heard Spike chide her. “That ain't nice, Pet.” Buffy could also feel his pleasure at her teasing of the broody one.
“Complete? You said you're complete?”
“That I did!” She pushed her hair back over her shoulder, revealing Spike’s claiming mark to everyone.
Angel moved with lightning speed, grabbing her shoulders, and shaking her. “What have you done?”
“That’s exactly what I want to know.” Xander had materialized beside Angel.
“Let go of me, Angel.” He didn't respond, his face twisted in rage. Buffy grabbed Angel’s wrists, squeezing them until the pain was too great and he finally had to release her. With a shove, Angel ended up on the floor beside the treadmill.
Buffy turned to Xander. “Did you have something to say?”
Xander looked from her to Angel and retreated. “No, sorry.”
“As I said before, I'm complete. I've mated with my other half.”
Angel got to his feet, a wounded look on his face. “How could you?”
“I love him! He really does complete me.”
“You love me,” Angel claimed. “You were supposed to be mine.”
“I can't be given away. I'm my own woman, and I make my own choices about who I want to be with.”
Angel looked defeated when he sat down. “Is it because of the curse on my soul?”
“You don't have a curse on your soul anymore. I removed it when I returned your soul.”
“You returned my soul?”
“I did, and this time I made sure you can never lose it again!”
Angel's eyes lit up for a second, before returning to his normal sad puppy-dog look. “The curse doesn’t matter now anyway. You're the one I want, and you’ve let someone else claim you. There’s no danger of me being perfectly happy ever again.” He sighed. “Who?”
“Will you behave if I tell you?”
With a sour look, Angel nodded.
Buffy looked around at the people seated at the table. “Alright. I’ll invite my mate down to meet you all, but you need to understand one thing before you meet him. Kill him, and you kill me! Hurt him, and I will not hesitate to hurt you!” She walked over to the stairs. “Honey, will you please join us?”
Xander, Willow and Angel leaned over, trying to see who was coming down the stairs.
Buffy and Spike met at the bottom of the stairs for a quick hug and kiss, before walking to the table, arms around each other.
“You!” Angel screamed, just a moment before he lost control and attacked.
When they saw Angel flying across the room in their direction, Buffy and Spike simply parted and let the enraged vampire’s momentum carry him past the smiling couple.
When Angel finally managed to stop and turn around, he was fully vamped out and blinded by his rage. Like a bull seeing red, he charged again.
This time Buffy didn't pull away.
Angel ran directly into Buffy's fist. Dazed, he sank to the floor. While he was still knocked silly, Buffy and Spike grabbed Angel under his arms and dragged him out of the house. Angel was just picking himself up off the ground when Spike locked the door.
Back at the table, Spike sat down in Buffy’s chair and pulled his mate down to sit in his lap.
“You all know my mate, Spike.”
**********************************
In the months following Buffy and Spike’s big reveal, Giles made sure Willow was paired with a calm and experienced tutor from the local coven. With time, she learned to control herself and came to understand why Buffy had chosen to bind her powers. As she grew in wisdom, Willow began to help Buffy with necessary spells and enchantments, allowing Buffy to use her time and energy for other things.
Oz stayed a member of the group. When he wasn't traveling with his band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, he sometimes traveled to complete tasks for the Judges, helping Buffy and Spike when he could.
Not long after Buffy and Spike's mating, Xander left Sunnydale and spent a month touring North Africa. As the years went by, he got older and wiser, but something had changed and he and Buffy never really rebuilt their close friendship. He would still visit from time to time though, more frequently after he married Anya Jenkins, who was herself a former demon.
When things were busy, Giles spent so much time in Buffy and Spike’s home that it seemed like he was living there. He helped out when visitors arrived to petition the couple, or when they asked for help to settle a disagreement, or to end hostilities and violence with neighbouring groups of demons. Of course, there were also a few attempts to end the world to deal with too, and Buffy occasionally grew frustrated with the crowds populating the warehouse. Accommodations were in such demand, that the couple eventually bought and renovated another warehouse nearby. Clem was in charge of the remodelling, and when it was done the Judges had an official courtroom, with holding cells in the basement, and guest rooms on the upper floor.
Though Buffy and Spike kept him busy, Giles somehow found the time to befriend Jenny Calendar. At some point, he even summoned the courage to ask her to marry him. Buffy and Spike were invited to their wedding.
Joyce and Merrick became close over the years. It was no surprise when he asked Buffy's permission to move into Joyce’s home. It was, however, a surprise to all when Spike, ever the Victorian gentleman, insisted that Merrick make an honest woman out of her.
Cordelia left town right after high school graduation. Buffy occasionally got a postcard from her, but the girls were never close. The last Buffy heard, Cordelia had become a fashion model.
With the help of the team in Sunnydale, Kendra lived for almost ten years before an apocalypse got the better of her. She lived every day to the fullest, appreciating each one and knowing that it might be her last.
Angel stayed in his apartment for months after learning about Spike and Buffy mating. The only time he came out was to buy blood from the butcher, or to borrow the odd book from Giles’ collection.
One night, when Giles couldn't sleep, he organized his books. It was then that he discovered that Angel still had several volumes in his possession, and that most of the books he had borrowed were about vampire claims and black magic.
A warning call was immediately placed to Buffy. Extra shields were placed on the warehouses, and the homes of Scoobies new and old.
Once Buffy and Spike knew everyone they cared about was safe from attack, they went hunting for Angel. When they found him, he had barricaded himself in an underground cavern and was in the middle of a very dark spell that had drained him of most of his energy. The spell was stopped, but there was no way to heal Angel’s body. Seriously weakened, it took him several years to recover from the damage caused by the interrupted spell.
Angel used what little strength remained in his body to stalk Buffy. Every once in a while he would try to convince her that Spike was evil and couldn’t be trusted, but eventually he seemed to give up. After a few years, he left town and the group lost track of him. Nobody knew where he was, and nobody knew what he was up to.
Buffy and Spike decided to enjoy the peace and quiet, but both secretly believed that one day Angel would be back, and would try to separate them again.
The years went unnoticed by Spike and Buffy, possibly because neither of them visibly aged, though the Scooby gang was clearly growing older. Buffy was still a fresh-cheeked seventeen year old, and Spike hadn’t aged a day since Drusilla turned him all those years ago.
One day, Buffy was transported to a visit with the Powers in her dreams. She looked around for Spike, but he wasn't there. Buffy wasn't used to being without him. Being alone made her feel unsure, scared even. The bond they shared seemed to be blocked.
She turned around in the white room. “Will someone tell me what the bloody Hell is going on?” Her fear made her quick to lash out, and her years listening to Spike made English-isms common in her vocabulary.
“It's time.” A woman in a golden dress was standing before her.
“Time for what?” Buffy was ready to attack if necessary.
“Relax. There is no danger here. I'm a representative of the Powers. You have accomplished the impossible. Therefore, we have agreed to get you started on your reward early.”
“What reward?”'
“You'll have it in about nine months.”
“Nine months? What....? You mean?” Buffy's face shone with an inner light. “You're sure?”
She nodded. “It has already started.”
Buffy woke up with a start, looking over her shoulder before moving closer to Spike. She went back to sleep, after pulling his a hand protectively over her lower stomach.
The next day she went to buy a home pregnancy test. It was positive. Spike could feel Buffy was hiding something from him but, though she desperately wanted to share with him, she was determined not to say anything until she was sure.
Buffy was a human, so she considered doctors to be the ultimate authority for such things. She had to wait a week for her appointment.
Spike was going mad. He was picking up on some of Buffy’s emotions, but they were all over the place. He never knew what to expect from her…she was running the gamut from happy, to sad, to excited, to terrified and back again, so fast that he was barely able to keep up.
Finally, the day for her appointment arrived. That morning, she snuck out of the house while Spike was sleeping, not telling him where she was headed. When she finally came home from her secret outing, Spike cornered her. “Tell me. I have to know. What's going on? Please, I can't stand it.”
Buffy could feel how scared he was. She pulled him close. “I love you,” Buffy whispered in his ear. “Come upstairs and I'll tell you.” She pulled him behind her. Spike followed with a tight grip on her hand, as if he was afraid she would disappear.
Buffy led Spike to the bed, and urged him to lie down. After retrieving a small shopping bag from her purse, she lay down as well, snuggling up close to his side. With a gentle smile, she passed the bag to her lover, and waited for him to open it. Spike seemed to have other plans though, and simply looked at the bag while clutching Buffy just a little bit tighter.
“Open it, Sweetheart. It won't bite.”
Spike tossed a sceptical look at the packet. “Are you sure?”
Buffy just smiled softly.
Slowly, Spike opened the bag. “What?” He looked puzzled as he pulled out a tiny sleeper and held it up. “Sorry, Kitten, but I think it’s way too small for either of us.”
“It'll fit.” Buffy took the little sleeper and placed it on her stomach. “Baby will grow into it over the next nine months.”
When Buffy looked up, her breath caught at the sight of beautiful blue eyes, shimmering with tears. She wasn’t worried though…the love and joy coming through their bond was unmistakable, and she knew everything would be alright.
THE END
**************************
I know it’s a sudden end. I worked on this story for almost two years before posting the first chapter, almost hated it by then, but since I hate unfinished fics even more, it’s only right that I end mine. There might be a sequel at some point, have started one but when or if it'll be finished is impossible to say. Thank you for reading.
When morning finally arrived, Buffy and Spike showered together, helping each other get the sticky chocolate and whipped cream off their skin. As they dried and got dressed, they talked about their plans for the day.
While Spike headed to the kitchen to make breakfast, Buffy picked up the phone and started to set their plans in motion.
First Buffy called her mom and invited her over to the warehouse at eight for a Scooby meeting. Joyce knew that tonight was the night that Buffy and Spike would tell the rest of the gang about the mating, and that Buffy wanted her mom there to show support. Both women agreed that Joyce would explain the situation to Kendra that morning, and would let Kendra know that she would also be welcome to attend. Buffy wanted the Slayer to know exactly what she was walking in to…she didn’t want Spike staked by accident.
“Two down with just one call. Mom and Kendra have been invited. Now for Giles. Which reminds me, have you seen Merrick?”
“Not today.” Spike placed a cup of coffee in front of her. “I'll go look for him and invite him for breakfast if he’s around.” He placed a kiss on her head as he walked by.
“Love you,” she said softly to his back.
Pausing at the top of the stairs, Spike sent her an air kiss before disappearing from sight.
When Giles finally answered the phone, he readily agreed to come and stand at his Slayer and her mate’s side. Buffy smiled, satisfied. Giles finally understood that things were as they should be, and that if he tried to get between the mates, he would be the one that lost.
“Morning, Buffy.” Merrick took a seat at the table. “You look happy.”
“I am. Mom, Kendra and Giles are coming tonight. They’re all firmly on our side. I really believe that Giles has finally come around.”
“About time.” Merrick took the coffee Spike handed him.
“Will you be here tonight?”
“I'll be here. Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
“Thank you, Merrick. It means a lot to us, to have your support.”
“Before you start talking on the phone again, Luv, tell me what you want in your omelette,” Spike interrupted. “And make it quick, because you’ve still got a lot of calls to make.” He pointed the spatula at Buffy.
Pouting, Buffy told him what she wanted, before grabbing the phone again and moving away from the kitchen area.
Oz was easy to get on the phone. He had just arrived home from a gig in L.A., and promised to stop by after he caught a few hours of sleep.
Xander was quick to accept Buffy’s invitation, and seemed quite excited about the visit until he realized that he wasn't the only one invited to her home.
When Buffy reached Willow, the Wiccan sounded tired and scared, and turned down the invitation to Buffy’s home. “I...I can't come. I have to go see Giles.”
“Giles will be here tonight.”
“Oh. Then I'll come, I guess. I need to talk to him.”
“Can you stop by Angel’s apartment and ask him to come along with you?”
“Sure.”
Buffy ended the conversation, giving Willow the address for the converted warehouse, as she had done with the other invited guests who didn't already have it.
Cool arms circled her waist from behind. “Does the Poofter have to come?”
“I'm hoping he'll give up harassing us once he knows we’ve mated.” Buffy relaxed against him for a few seconds. “I still need to call Cordelia.” She sighed.
“Do you think she'll come?”
“You never know with Cordelia.”
“Okay, I'll wait a bit longer before I start to make your omelette.” He kissed her brow, and left her to her phone call.
Buffy got the housekeeper at Cordelia's, who let Buffy know that Cordelia still had her jaw wired shut. With the housekeeper as a go between, Buffy invited Cordelia to join the group. Sadly, Cordelia refused to attend. She hadn't been out of her house since the Episode, as she called it.
In fact, Cordelia had done a pretty good job of cutting herself off from the rest of the world while she waited for her jaw to heal. Other than a few phone calls from Giles, she hadn’t spoken to anyone in the group. She also hadn’t spoken with Angel, or even received a “Get Well” card, for that matter. It wasn’t that Cordelia ever wanted to see him again, but an apology would have been nice.
Buffy was enraged when she heard how Cordelia had been neglected, and couldn’t stop herself from letting out a frustrated shriek after she very politely and calmly said goodbye to Cordelia and her housekeeper. In the kitchen Spike and Merrick looked up, panic in their eyes when they heard Buffy yell. They rushed around the wall to see Buffy drive her fingers into her hair and bend over, as if in pain.
Spike rushed to Buffy and embraced her. “What's wrong?” Spike was reacting instinctively to the sight of Buffy in pain, forgetting that he also had the ability to reach out to her through their bond. When he finally remembered and did a little scan, he realized that what he and Merrick had witnessed was not pain at all…it was anger. White hot, twisted, overwhelming rage. “Buffy! What is it? What’s happened now? Tell me,” Spike begged.
“Angel! That miserable son of a bitch hasn't even apologized to Cordelia. I doubt she’d let him in her house, but still! He could at least have sent her a card. He’s so full of himself and how he’s the Champion…I'm really starting to hate him.” She turned in Spike's arms and let loose another frustrated growl.
After a while Buffy calmed down, and Spike led her into the kitchen and fed her some breakfast. Later Spike packed a basket with a little of this and a bit of that, and then took Buffy out for a picnic on the beach. It was their first day together as a couple in the sun, but it would be far from their last.
Merrick left for Joyce's. He was planning to enlist her help, as he had been given a shopping list of items needed for the meeting that night.
As the day wore on, Buffy, Spike, and Merrick once again gathered at home. The men quickly realized it had been a good thing that Spike had kept Buffy busy for most of the day, because a day of watching her as she was now would have driven them nuts. It was obvious that she was under a lot of stress; when she wasn't running around doing last minute things, she was pacing the room.
Buffy had even spent some time alone in her hidden room, after which she told them that she had cast a shield spell around the upstairs area. She knew that things would probably get a bit crazy tonight, and she wouldn't have her privacy invaded by their visitors. The only ones allowed upstairs would be Spike, Merrick and herself.
Merrick and Spike looked at each other, both a bit confused by Buffy’s extreme reaction to their impending guests.
The next time Buffy whipped past Spike, he pulled her down onto his lap. “Talk to me, Sweetheart.” With his arms around her, he waited for her to say something.
Hiding her face in his neck, Buffy admitted that she was nervous and a little scared. “At least this time they can't separate us.” With a sigh, she rested her forehead against his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. To the end of the world.” Spike promised, before leaning in and kissing her softly.
The knock on their front door told them that their guests had begun to arrive.
Spike disappeared upstairs, as Buffy breathed in and dried her hands on her pants before opening the door for her mom and Giles.
Giles looked around nervously. “Where is Spike?”
“He's upstairs. We didn't want the meeting to start with a screaming contest. There are things that need to be said and stuff my friends need to hear. If Spike is down here, they won't listen.”
“You're quite right, Buffy. Wise decision.”
“Thank you, Giles. Do you want anything to drink?” Buffy led them to the big table.
“We can wait. Are we staying down here?” Joyce asked, as she placed her coat over a chair.
“Yes, I’d like to keep the upstairs private… at least for now.”
There was another knock. Buffy opened the door for Oz. He didn't say much, just looked around with interest, before greeting the others and joining them at the table.
Before Buffy could close the door, a hand reached out to keep it open. It was Xander, looking anxious and unsure. He wasn’t really confident of his welcome, after their last meeting in the library.
With Xander was a pale looking Willow. A Willow who could barely spare the time to smile a greeting at Buffy, before she rushed over to Giles. Willow started to whisper something to him while wringing her hands. After he had heard the first couple of sentences, Giles stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. “I know, Willow. You'll get an explanation later.”
“Have you taken my powers away?” Her voice became shrill. “You just can’t stand that I’ve got more power than you, can you? You had no right to take my powers. Give them back.” Willow had a hard grip on Giles' arm, and was shaking him, her face a twisted mask.
“Let go, Willow.” Buffy said, as she took hold of Willow’s wrists.
Willow turned to Buffy. “Make him give them back,” she begged Buffy.
“Sit down. We'll talk about it when we're all here. You too, Xander, sit down.”
“You're on his side now! I see how this works! You're suddenly best friends, you and Giles.” Willow was nose to nose with Buffy.
“Sit down or leave, Willow.” Buffy turned away, ignoring the frustrated red-head. Buffy asked Merrick to make tea and her mom to make coffee, before going herself to pull soft drinks from the fridge.
Willow looked wildly from one guest to the next. Not one of them would return her glance. With a sigh she sat down, moping.
Just as Buffy closed the door to the fridge, the last two guests arrived. “Sorry I'm late. Ran into a couple of demons who were up to no good.”
“I know how it is, Kendra.” Buffy leaned forward and hugged her. Behind her came Angel.
“Buffy.”
“Angel, come in.”
As Angel walked past her, he bowed his head and smirked. I’ve got her now. This is the start, an invite into her home. It won't take long and she’ll be mine.
Buffy had managed to see a glimpse of Angel's face before he moved past her. She smiled to herself, knowing that he would get the shock of his unlife that night.
After she had closed the door, Buffy returned to the table. “Have a seat, everyone.” At that Buffy looked directly at Angel, who was about to lean against a cupboard behind her. “Make yourself comfortable. Get a drink before we start.” Buffy poured herself a cup of tea.
“So, why are we here, Buffy? Are you finally going to tell us you succeeded in dusting the blond pest?” Xander joked, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
“Shut up, Xander. Actually, since you’ve so graciously decided to start the conversation, why don't we start with you?”
“Me? What about me?” he croaked out, sinking down in his chair.
“Are you finished lying to people yet?” Standing up, with her arms crossed over her chest, Buffy waited. “I refuse to have friends that think it’s ok to lie to each other and cause each other pain.”
“I'm sorry, but why are you blaming me? What about Giles?” He pointed a finger at Giles, who was sitting close by.
When Xander pointed at Giles, he pushed Giles' glasses crooked. “I apologize profoundly, Kendra. I never thought of how much our deception would hurt you,” Giles said, as he straightened his glasses.
Kendra sent Giles a faint smile, before looking away. She didn't like the attention she was getting.
Joyce reached out to hold her hand.
Grateful for Joyce’s motherly support, and forgetting her Slayer powers, Kendra almost squished her hand.
Buffy was still looking at Xander, as if expecting something.
“What?” he threw his hands up.
“Don't you have an apology of your own to make?” Buffy glanced quickly at Kendra.
“It wasn't my fault. The Changelings made me do it. I can't be blamed,” he angrily claimed.
“Did they make you lie about remembering?”
That made Xander deflate like a hot air balloon. After he had swallowed several times, Xander finally spoke up, “I'm sorry for lying, Kendra, and I'll try my best to stay away from you.”
Everyone could see how the words made Kendra relax a bit. It was no longer her word against his. Xander had admitted to the group that he had treated her badly, and it was clear that she had not been lying.
“As you all may have noticed, Giles is finally beginning to understand what’s happening around here. Am I right in assuming that you're still translating the book?”
“Yes, you are quite right. The book has confirmed that Buffy is the one. The second prophecy describes Buffy, and says that she will be surrounded by family and friends. Not just humans, but also demons. Everyone can join with the light, even soulless demons. The book is clear though, every individual, whether human or demon, can choose to be good or evil. It's up to each of us to decide which side we'll work for: Dark or Light. Finally, the book tells us that Buffy will find her mate, who will be with her for the rest of her immortal life. Since a human would die within a span of 100 years at most, that seems to suggest that Buffy’s mate will be a demon.” Slowly Giles moved his finger down the paper in his hand. “There is still more prophecy to translate, but that is all I have complete at this point in time.”
“Your translation must be wrong. Demons can't be good.”
“You mean Angelus can't be good.” Buffy looked at Angel with contempt.
“I'm a demon. I know what I'm talking about. You're just a human teenager.” Angel straightened up in his chair, trying to look down at her.
“You're forgetting that this body and my soul aren’t the same age. I'm older than I look. By the way, you're sitting in a house that was renovated by demons, and not one person or demon was harmed in the process.” She smirked.
“It can't be true. You must have been deceived.”
“No, there are harmless demons out there, living normal lives, with normal jobs.” Buffy looked around at her guests. Oz seemed interested.
Willow didn’t really seem interested in the conversation. Her body was vibrating, and it was clear that she was waiting for this topic to end so she could move on to getting her powers back. She appeared jittery, and her legs occasionally bumped against the underside of the table when she couldn’t stop her knees from bouncing.
Xander kept shaking his head in denial.
“Who do you think drives the cabs at night, or delivers the pizzas we order after dark?”
At that Angel slumped down in his chair, eyes fixed on the table.
Xander whispered, “Oh, no. Oh, no.”
“Xander?” He seemed out of it, his attention turned inward to something the group couldn’t see.
He didn’t respond until Buffy finally shook him lightly.
Xander looked up suddenly. “I didn't have to stake Jesse. He could have been good, but I didn’t even give him a chance.”
“He was about to eat you.” Buffy sighed. “For some reason, vampires are the species least likely to choose the side of the Light.” She gave his shoulder a pat, and returned to her seat.
“Before I forget, I'd better tell you that I've taken care of the creature that attacked this body.” Buffy flushed. “With all that happened, I forgot to tell you guys.”
“Who was it?” Giles leaned forwards. “Anyone we know?”
Unlike Giles, who was filled with curiosity, Joyce was finally able to relax. She didn’t need details, didn’t care who it was that had attacked Buffy such a short time ago. The important thing to her was that the threat to her daughter was gone.
“An old enemy from my past. I wonder if he'll still be in this future? That might be something you could find out, Giles. He calls himself the Immortal. I'll give you what I know about him later.”
Giles nodded.
“The next item on my list is Willow.” She looked over at the girl. Willow seemed lost in her own thoughts. “Willow?”
Giles had to touch her before she reacted. “Huh? What do you want?” Willow asked. It was clear to everyone that she was exhausted and stressed. “I don't have time for this. I have important business with Giles to take care of.” Willow turned to face the Watcher, sending him a look that made it clear she held him responsible for her troubles.
“More important than your magic?”
“What do you know about my powers?” No longer looking at Giles, Willow straightened in her chair and gave Buffy her full attention.
“They don't work, right?”
“Right. It's Giles. He knew how powerful I was becoming and he was jealous. That’s why he stole my powers.” She turned to look at Giles with contempt.
“Wrong. Giles wasn’t jealous of your powers; he was worried that you were going to do something damaging with them. We all were, and that’s why we decided to bind your powers until you could learn to use them wisely, instead of like a child.”
“You? You took my powers!” Willow threw herself at Buffy.
With her strength, Buffy easily got Willow under control and returned her to her seat. “Stay there, or leave my home.” Slowly Buffy removed her hands, waiting, to be sure Willow stayed in her seat.
There was no trace of the gentle Wiccan in the eyes that looked at Buffy with such hatred now. “Give me my powers back. They’re mine. No wonder you can do magic when you steal power from others.”
“Now you're getting nasty, Willow.” Buffy looked sad. “You still have your powers. They’re just bound, to stop you from hurting yourself or someone else with them.”
“Untie them!” Willow snarled, standing up and leaning over the table.
“It's not that simple. You'll have to earn them back.”
Buffy didn't let Willow's behaviour affect her, staying seated and looking relaxed on the outside.
“How? How do I earn them back?”
“By learning to use your magic responsibly and showing self-control. You'll get a teacher from a coven Giles knows, and they will help you find your path.”
“Who gives you the right to decide what I should do?” Willow spat.
Buffy didn't move a muscle, just looked at her with those sad eyes. Merrick reached over and placed his hand over hers, providing quiet support to the emotionally exhausted girl. Blinking for a moment, as though just waking from a dream, Buffy once again focused her attention on her schoolmate.
“It's in my job description, now that I’ve found my other half and have become complete. Together we are charged with stopping anyone who tries to end the world, or who wilfully chooses to harm the humans or demons of this realm.” Buffy watched as each person in the room realized the implications of her statement about being complete.
Angel straightened up, as did Xander, eyes opening wide. The rest of the group hardly reacted, as they knew about the mating already. Oz didn't say a thing, just lifted an eyebrow.
“Do you mind repeating that?” Angel was suddenly standing up, bracing his knuckles on the table and appearing to have difficulty understanding what he had just heard.
“Repeat what?” Buffy couldn't help it, she played dumb. In her head, she heard Spike chide her. “That ain't nice, Pet.” Buffy could also feel his pleasure at her teasing of the broody one.
“Complete? You said you're complete?”
“That I did!” She pushed her hair back over her shoulder, revealing Spike’s claiming mark to everyone.
Angel moved with lightning speed, grabbing her shoulders, and shaking her. “What have you done?”
“That’s exactly what I want to know.” Xander had materialized beside Angel.
“Let go of me, Angel.” He didn't respond, his face twisted in rage. Buffy grabbed Angel’s wrists, squeezing them until the pain was too great and he finally had to release her. With a shove, Angel ended up on the floor beside the treadmill.
Buffy turned to Xander. “Did you have something to say?”
Xander looked from her to Angel and retreated. “No, sorry.”
“As I said before, I'm complete. I've mated with my other half.”
Angel got to his feet, a wounded look on his face. “How could you?”
“I love him! He really does complete me.”
“You love me,” Angel claimed. “You were supposed to be mine.”
“I can't be given away. I'm my own woman, and I make my own choices about who I want to be with.”
Angel looked defeated when he sat down. “Is it because of the curse on my soul?”
“You don't have a curse on your soul anymore. I removed it when I returned your soul.”
“You returned my soul?”
“I did, and this time I made sure you can never lose it again!”
Angel's eyes lit up for a second, before returning to his normal sad puppy-dog look. “The curse doesn’t matter now anyway. You're the one I want, and you’ve let someone else claim you. There’s no danger of me being perfectly happy ever again.” He sighed. “Who?”
“Will you behave if I tell you?”
With a sour look, Angel nodded.
Buffy looked around at the people seated at the table. “Alright. I’ll invite my mate down to meet you all, but you need to understand one thing before you meet him. Kill him, and you kill me! Hurt him, and I will not hesitate to hurt you!” She walked over to the stairs. “Honey, will you please join us?”
Xander, Willow and Angel leaned over, trying to see who was coming down the stairs.
Buffy and Spike met at the bottom of the stairs for a quick hug and kiss, before walking to the table, arms around each other.
“You!” Angel screamed, just a moment before he lost control and attacked.
When they saw Angel flying across the room in their direction, Buffy and Spike simply parted and let the enraged vampire’s momentum carry him past the smiling couple.
When Angel finally managed to stop and turn around, he was fully vamped out and blinded by his rage. Like a bull seeing red, he charged again.
This time Buffy didn't pull away.
Angel ran directly into Buffy's fist. Dazed, he sank to the floor. While he was still knocked silly, Buffy and Spike grabbed Angel under his arms and dragged him out of the house. Angel was just picking himself up off the ground when Spike locked the door.
Back at the table, Spike sat down in Buffy’s chair and pulled his mate down to sit in his lap.
“You all know my mate, Spike.”
**********************************
In the months following Buffy and Spike’s big reveal, Giles made sure Willow was paired with a calm and experienced tutor from the local coven. With time, she learned to control herself and came to understand why Buffy had chosen to bind her powers. As she grew in wisdom, Willow began to help Buffy with necessary spells and enchantments, allowing Buffy to use her time and energy for other things.
Oz stayed a member of the group. When he wasn't traveling with his band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, he sometimes traveled to complete tasks for the Judges, helping Buffy and Spike when he could.
Not long after Buffy and Spike's mating, Xander left Sunnydale and spent a month touring North Africa. As the years went by, he got older and wiser, but something had changed and he and Buffy never really rebuilt their close friendship. He would still visit from time to time though, more frequently after he married Anya Jenkins, who was herself a former demon.
When things were busy, Giles spent so much time in Buffy and Spike’s home that it seemed like he was living there. He helped out when visitors arrived to petition the couple, or when they asked for help to settle a disagreement, or to end hostilities and violence with neighbouring groups of demons. Of course, there were also a few attempts to end the world to deal with too, and Buffy occasionally grew frustrated with the crowds populating the warehouse. Accommodations were in such demand, that the couple eventually bought and renovated another warehouse nearby. Clem was in charge of the remodelling, and when it was done the Judges had an official courtroom, with holding cells in the basement, and guest rooms on the upper floor.
Though Buffy and Spike kept him busy, Giles somehow found the time to befriend Jenny Calendar. At some point, he even summoned the courage to ask her to marry him. Buffy and Spike were invited to their wedding.
Joyce and Merrick became close over the years. It was no surprise when he asked Buffy's permission to move into Joyce’s home. It was, however, a surprise to all when Spike, ever the Victorian gentleman, insisted that Merrick make an honest woman out of her.
Cordelia left town right after high school graduation. Buffy occasionally got a postcard from her, but the girls were never close. The last Buffy heard, Cordelia had become a fashion model.
With the help of the team in Sunnydale, Kendra lived for almost ten years before an apocalypse got the better of her. She lived every day to the fullest, appreciating each one and knowing that it might be her last.
Angel stayed in his apartment for months after learning about Spike and Buffy mating. The only time he came out was to buy blood from the butcher, or to borrow the odd book from Giles’ collection.
One night, when Giles couldn't sleep, he organized his books. It was then that he discovered that Angel still had several volumes in his possession, and that most of the books he had borrowed were about vampire claims and black magic.
A warning call was immediately placed to Buffy. Extra shields were placed on the warehouses, and the homes of Scoobies new and old.
Once Buffy and Spike knew everyone they cared about was safe from attack, they went hunting for Angel. When they found him, he had barricaded himself in an underground cavern and was in the middle of a very dark spell that had drained him of most of his energy. The spell was stopped, but there was no way to heal Angel’s body. Seriously weakened, it took him several years to recover from the damage caused by the interrupted spell.
Angel used what little strength remained in his body to stalk Buffy. Every once in a while he would try to convince her that Spike was evil and couldn’t be trusted, but eventually he seemed to give up. After a few years, he left town and the group lost track of him. Nobody knew where he was, and nobody knew what he was up to.
Buffy and Spike decided to enjoy the peace and quiet, but both secretly believed that one day Angel would be back, and would try to separate them again.
The years went unnoticed by Spike and Buffy, possibly because neither of them visibly aged, though the Scooby gang was clearly growing older. Buffy was still a fresh-cheeked seventeen year old, and Spike hadn’t aged a day since Drusilla turned him all those years ago.
One day, Buffy was transported to a visit with the Powers in her dreams. She looked around for Spike, but he wasn't there. Buffy wasn't used to being without him. Being alone made her feel unsure, scared even. The bond they shared seemed to be blocked.
She turned around in the white room. “Will someone tell me what the bloody Hell is going on?” Her fear made her quick to lash out, and her years listening to Spike made English-isms common in her vocabulary.
“It's time.” A woman in a golden dress was standing before her.
“Time for what?” Buffy was ready to attack if necessary.
“Relax. There is no danger here. I'm a representative of the Powers. You have accomplished the impossible. Therefore, we have agreed to get you started on your reward early.”
“What reward?”'
“You'll have it in about nine months.”
“Nine months? What....? You mean?” Buffy's face shone with an inner light. “You're sure?”
She nodded. “It has already started.”
Buffy woke up with a start, looking over her shoulder before moving closer to Spike. She went back to sleep, after pulling his a hand protectively over her lower stomach.
The next day she went to buy a home pregnancy test. It was positive. Spike could feel Buffy was hiding something from him but, though she desperately wanted to share with him, she was determined not to say anything until she was sure.
Buffy was a human, so she considered doctors to be the ultimate authority for such things. She had to wait a week for her appointment.
Spike was going mad. He was picking up on some of Buffy’s emotions, but they were all over the place. He never knew what to expect from her…she was running the gamut from happy, to sad, to excited, to terrified and back again, so fast that he was barely able to keep up.
Finally, the day for her appointment arrived. That morning, she snuck out of the house while Spike was sleeping, not telling him where she was headed. When she finally came home from her secret outing, Spike cornered her. “Tell me. I have to know. What's going on? Please, I can't stand it.”
Buffy could feel how scared he was. She pulled him close. “I love you,” Buffy whispered in his ear. “Come upstairs and I'll tell you.” She pulled him behind her. Spike followed with a tight grip on her hand, as if he was afraid she would disappear.
Buffy led Spike to the bed, and urged him to lie down. After retrieving a small shopping bag from her purse, she lay down as well, snuggling up close to his side. With a gentle smile, she passed the bag to her lover, and waited for him to open it. Spike seemed to have other plans though, and simply looked at the bag while clutching Buffy just a little bit tighter.
“Open it, Sweetheart. It won't bite.”
Spike tossed a sceptical look at the packet. “Are you sure?”
Buffy just smiled softly.
Slowly, Spike opened the bag. “What?” He looked puzzled as he pulled out a tiny sleeper and held it up. “Sorry, Kitten, but I think it’s way too small for either of us.”
“It'll fit.” Buffy took the little sleeper and placed it on her stomach. “Baby will grow into it over the next nine months.”
When Buffy looked up, her breath caught at the sight of beautiful blue eyes, shimmering with tears. She wasn’t worried though…the love and joy coming through their bond was unmistakable, and she knew everything would be alright.
THE END
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I know it’s a sudden end. I worked on this story for almost two years before posting the first chapter, almost hated it by then, but since I hate unfinished fics even more, it’s only right that I end mine. There might be a sequel at some point, have started one but when or if it'll be finished is impossible to say. Thank you for reading.
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