Chapter 9

“You bloody stupid git! You brought this wanker here, and then you just take off once he finally shows up? She got hurt because of you!”

Buffy placed a calming hand on Spike’s arm. “It’s not his fault. Someone needed to get Sookie out of there. Besides, he came back when it counted. I might be dead right now if it wasn’t for him.”

Spike turned his glare on her, figuring that she would take his side.

“I am sorry for what happened, I never meant for anyone to get hurt. I could give Miss Summers my blood; it would help her to heal.”

“Not bloody likely!” Spike claimed.

“That’s okay, Eric. I heal pretty fast, but thanks for the offer.” Buffy didn’t want to say that the idea of drinking his blood really made her cringe, ever since the whole Dracula episode. That just wasn’t so appealing to her. “Why don’t you go check on Sookie?”

He nodded, vanishing to the basement, where he brought Sookie when she was hurt.

Buffy dragged Spike upstairs to her room, not letting him go until they were inside. “Okay, what’s really going on?”

Spike gave her a look, letting out the breath he’d been holding. “I hated feeling helpless tonight. Ever since I got this sodding chip in my head, that’s all I’ve been feeling, but tonight it was worse. Logan is a vampire, I should have been able to rip his bloody head off, but I couldn’t move. He threw me to the ground, and I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t get to you. I never want to feel that way again. You could have died, and it would have been all my fault. I guess I just needed someone to blame.”

Buffy gripped his hand, giving it a light squeeze. “I have something that might be able to help.” She picked up the jewelry box on her dresser, taking a small ring out and handing it over to him.

Spike’s eyes widened. “The Gem of Amara? What are you doing with this? You said Peaches destroyed it.”

“Well, that didn’t exactly happen. Angel sent the ring back to me; he said it would be safer if it was in my protection. He didn’t really have the heart to get rid of it, and since his soul is so unstable, he said it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to keep it. I was actually surprised, but I’ve kept it here ever since. I didn’t want anyone to know, but now I’m giving it to you.”

Spike couldn’t believe that she had the ring this whole time, and that she would actually trust him with it. He placed the gem on his finger, feeling the power surge through him. Spike flashed her a grateful smile, which quickly faded at the sudden frown on her face. “What’s wrong? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s just that Logan is after the ring. Giving it to you would put you more at risk; I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

He took her hand now, kissing her knuckles. “He’ll have to cut my finger off in order to take it from me. With this ring, I’ll be unstoppable; his magic won’t even be able to work on me. This may be just what we need to kill him. Also, he never once said what the gem looked like. For all he knows, it could be anything.”

“I guess you’re right,” she replied, but still couldn’t help the worried feeling that she had.


* * * * *


“I don’t need more of your blood, Eric. I’ll be fine.”

He wasn’t convinced, but decided to let it go.

“We never talked about what happened,” she said after a moment of silence. “That night at the hotel in Dallas, after Godric’s sacrifice.”

Eric looked away. “You know I don’t like to speak of that.”

Sookie nodded. “You don’t have to talk about him if you don’t want. He was your maker and I could imagine how hard losing him must have been for you, but we need to talk about what happened in your room.”

He smiled. “I thought you never wanted to discuss that again. Is that not what you said? It was just about comfort, Sookie. I wasn’t expecting anything.”

“It was more than that and you know it. I chose to go to your room instead of mine and Bill’s. I wanted to see if you were okay. I could have just left after I saw you. I didn’t have to kiss you, that was my choice. Yes, it could have gone further than that if I didn’t panic and run out, but I don’t want you to think that because of my reaction it didn’t mean anything. I admit I was avoiding you afterwards, and finding out the real reason of why Bill was even interested in me didn’t help. It’s hard for me to trust anyone again after that. He was my first real everything, but what I feel for you, I can’t even seem to put in to words. I was confused, wondering if what I felt was real, or if it was just because of the blood bond.”

“You do not have to,” he told her. “Just know that I will be here for you, whether we are bonded or not. I will destroy Logan, and then we will return home. I won’t let anyone hurt you again, not even Compton.”

She kissed him then, believing what he said to her. “I heard Spike yelling at you. He was pretty upset.”

Eric agreed. “I would have been the same way if someone were to put you in danger.”

Sookie rested her head against his hard shoulder.

“Are you still in any pain?”

She glanced up at him, seeing a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Not really, what did you have in mind?”

A sly grin was her only response.


* * * * *


Spike stepped outside the next morning, feeling the sun warm his face as he shut his eyes, basking in it.

“I wonder if you’ll freckle,” Buffy said from behind him.

He grinned, turning to look at her. “This time around, I’ll do things right.” Spike wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to his side. “I didn’t appreciate it before, seeing you in the sunlight, but things are different now. Once Logan is gone, and we’re free of your two houseguests, I say we take a trip to the beach. I saw this tiny bikini in your underwear drawer during my stalking phase; you would look delectable in that.”

She hugged him close, smiling against his chest. “It’s a date.”