Chapter 7

“All right, the worst is over now,” Tara revealed, removing the shield that surrounded Buffy, along with her restraints.

Spike immediately went to her side, taking her hand in his. She looked so small and pale lying there, but her eyes were back to normal.

“She’ll still be in some pain, but she’ll be thinking more clearly.”

Spike nodded. “Thanks for everything, love.”

Tara nodded as well, giving them some privacy.

He turned back to Buffy, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

She gazed up at him, feeling utterly exhausted. The words she spouted earlier suddenly came back to her, tears filling her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any of it.”

Spike graced her with a smile, feeling tears of his own. “I know you didn’t, sweetheart. It’s all going to be okay now.”

Buffy winced as another sharp pain hit her, taking in a deep breath. “It hurts.”

“I know it does, but it’ll be over soon. You know I never meant to hurt you, pet. I just didn’t know what else to do, you had me bloody terrified.”

“I never meant to scare you,” she responded hoarsely. “I just wanted to feel like I was worth something. I wanted to feel special.”

Spike kissed her forehead, shaking his head adamantly. “You already were special. I never once doubted that, Buffy. You’ve always been my wonderful, special girl. Nothing could ever change that.” He lightly squeezed her hand, trying to take her mind off of the pain. “You were dancing at the Bronze the first night I saw you. So young and beautiful, not a care in the world. I knew then that I had to be a part of your life; I had to know this amazing girl. That’s why I decided to alliance myself with Faith; I did it to get closer to you. It was never about her. It’s always been you, baby.”

The tears were streaming down her face at his words. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” he whispered, kissing her lips tenderly and resting his head against hers, shutting his eyes. “When this is over, I’m taking you away from here for a while. I think we could both use a vacation.”

She laughed through her tears, rubbing her nose against his. “I won’t argue with you there.”

He knew the second she started to feel more pain, squeezing her hand even tighter. It wouldn’t be much longer now.


* * * * *


Faith was ready to attack when the crypt door flew open, glaring at the intruders.

“God, how could anyone live like this? Oh, right, the owner is dead. Look, we’ll make this simple. You hand Buffy over, and no one will get hurt,” Amy explained.

The Slayer rolled her eyes. “You’ve seen one too many movies, kid. My sister’s not going anywhere; she’s no longer under your influence.”

Amy nodded, her lips twisting in a smile. “The hard way it is.” She raised her hands, but another voice stopped her.

“Get out of here,” Buffy said, coming to stand next to Faith, Spike right by her side. “You’re not welcome.”

Amy lowered her hand, giving the blonde girl a look of hatred and betrayal. “So, that’s how it is? You think anything will be different? That your bitch of a sister will suddenly realize you exist and pay attention to you? You’ll still be nothing to them. We gave you a home, a family, and this is the thanks we get?”

Buffy shook her head. “I finally know where I belong and who my real family is; you’re not a part of that. I know all about your dad’s great plan. He only wanted to use me against my sister. It was never about me. I never mattered to any of you. We’re done here; I don’t want anything else to do with you. It would be best if your family got out of my town. His illegal establishment won’t be much of a secret anymore if I go public with it, and then where will you be? I know powerful witches, far more powerful than you could ever imagine. If you don’t want to be stripped of all your powers, you’ll never show your face here again.”

“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted her. We should have just stuck with our own kind,” Michael spat.

Amy ignored him. “My dad won’t be happy about this.”

Buffy shrugged. “I’m finding it hard to care. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out,” she finished cheerfully.

With one last scowl, Amy stomped out of the crypt, pulling her brother with her.

Buffy sighed in relief once they were gone. “Hopefully that’s the last we’ll see of them.”

Spike wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck. “My brave girl.”


* * * * *


“I can’t believe this is what I’m resorting to,” Buffy complained, the pencil floating before her in the air.

“You wanted to learn to be a proper witch, no shortcuts. You have to start somewhere.”

She pouted, the pencil dropping to the floor. “Yeah, but I started fires. I had the strength of ten men, and now I can hardly lift a pencil without feeling tired.”

He could never resist when she did that, taking her bottom lip into his mouth and sucking on it.

“You are so not distracting me,” she muttered against his lips.

Spike grinned. “I have other ways of distracting you.” He tickled her sides, causing her to fall over in laughter. The sound was music to his ears.

“Okay, I give, stop torturing me already.”

He let her up, but kept his arms securely around her. “You don’t regret giving up your powers, do you?”

She sat up, a frown on her face. “That’s not exactly how I would put it. More like I was forced to give them up, but no, I don’t regret it. I might not be here with you right now; I’d still be trapped with people who I thought cared about me. I was hurting all of you, not to mention myself. I hated the person I was becoming. Even though all I seem to be able to do right now is float pencils, I’m still happy with how things turned out. I’m happy that I get to be with you and not have to hide it. I swear, Faith is a completely different person now; she’s not on my case about everything. I can spend time with you in my room, and she won’t have a cow over it.”

Spike hugged her closer to his side. “We both had a lot to think about the last few days. She was really worried for you. Faith acts tough most of the time, but inside is a very insecure little girl. In some ways, she’s a lot like you.”

Buffy thought about that, deciding to change the subject. “What did you find out at Rack’s?”

“The place was completely deserted, there’s nothing left. I searched all over town to feel if he moved, but I didn’t pick up on anything. I guess he took your threats seriously.”

She agreed. “I really hope so. I haven’t seen Amy or Michael at school, either. A part of me misses them, I thought they were my friends and they gave me a chance when no one else did, but I guess it wasn’t real. I’m back to being loner Buffy.”

“With the added bonus of one very sexy boyfriend,” Spike commented, pecking her on the cheek. “You’ll never be alone again, love. I’m not going anywhere.”

Buffy gazed up at him. “You promise?”

He smiled. “Promise, I still owe you a vacation.”

She smiled as well, leaning back against his chest. “I could definitely get used to this.”