Disclaimer: I don't make any money from this, just playing with Joss Whedon's characters.

Sorry about the wait between chapters - stupid paid employment!


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Chapter 8 – Road Trip
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“Do you have the number written down?” Buffy asked anxiously for the third time.
 
“Buffy, I told you, it’s right here on the fridge,” Dawn said with a roll of her eyes. Buffy was rushing through the last of her preparations for their journey. She had bought a prepaid cell phone so that Dawn could contact her and vice versa. Tara had agreed to help keep an eye on Dawn. Dawn had pleaded with her until Tara gave in and agreed to move into Buffy’s bedroom for the duration. Willow was torn between being secretly pleased that fate had put her and Tara under the same roof again, even if only for a little while, and being alarmed that this whole plan was actually being carried out.
 
“Willow, you and Tara are going to put the wards on the house, right?” Buffy asked. She was checking over her to-do list and making sure that nothing had been overlooked, much to the annoyance of Dawn
 
“Of course we will,” Tara soothed. “Try to relax. We’ll manage fine – you just concentrate on getting there and back.”
 
“Sorry, guys,” Buffy said. “I just want to make sure nothing gets forgotten.” She had loaded the car with maps, provisions, clothes, and weaponry during the waning afternoon hours, and now that the sun had set she was anxious to get underway.
 
“Then maybe you want to go get, I dunno, the vampire?” Dawn said with another eye roll.
 
Buffy stopped dead for a moment. It was true. She was about to dash off to cure Spike while Spike sat in her basement, waiting for some assistance in getting up the stairs. “That would have been pretty embarrassing,” she muttered, shaking her head. She took her purse out to the car, double checked everything once more, then made her way downstairs to where Spike sat, leaning against the wall and waiting for her with a bemused smirk.
 
“Forget something, did you love?” he quipped.
 
“Shut up, or I’m sending you UPS,” Buffy retorted. “And hey, you’re sitting up. That’s an improvement.”
 
“That last long feed seemed to help a bit,” Spike admitted. He did not admit that it had taken about fifteen minutes of effort to haul himself upright, and that he had dozed off for about ten minutes afterward. But he had considered it a small victory nonetheless.
 
“I guess it’s time to go,” Buffy said. “How should we do this? Can you stand do you think?”
 
“We can try, I guess,” Spike replied doubtfully. Buffy bent down and put Spike’s arm around her shoulder and heaved him up off the bed, but his knees buckled almost immediately, and Buffy had to scramble to catch him before he hit the ground. “I guess the answer is no,” he grumbled.
 
“Time for a piggyback ride then,” Buffy said. Spike wound his arms around her shoulders and she hoisted him up. It was extremely awkward, given her small stature, but her Slayer strength served her well as she struggled up the stairs with her burden. Dawn and the others watched in astonishment as she carried the vampire through the kitchen and out to the car, settling him in the passenger seat. The others had followed them out to make their farewells. “I guess we’re off then,” Buffy said.
 
Dawn hugged her sister, trying not to cry. “You’d better come back, or I’ll… I don’t know what,” Dawn threatened.
 
“Shh, Dawnie,” Buffy said, looking into her sister’s eyes and stroking her hair. “We’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Promise.”
 
Dawn released her and bent down to hug Spike as well. “Get better, okay?”
 
“Will do, Nibblet,” he responded affectionately.
 
Tara also hugged Buffy and said, “We’ll keep an eye on everything. Don’t worry about us.”
 
Willow faced Buffy, chewing on her lip nervously. “I really hope you know what you’re doing,” she said.
 
“Just keep everyone safe, okay?” Buffy said. Willow, resigned, nodded her agreement. Buffy looked around at the three women, and her house then took a deep breath. “Okay, we’re out of here. I’ll call you when we get somewhere tomorrow.” She closed the passenger door on the vampire and got into the driver’s seat. With one last wave, she drove off, leaving Tara, Dawn and Willow in their wake.
 
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“The next exit is the one for the interstate,” Spike told her as he studied the map.
 
“Thanks,” Buffy muttered, concentrating with all her might on the road ahead of her. She knew the route to L.A. fairly well, but she truly had never really driven east, out of California. Other than an occasional visit to relatives, by plane, when she was younger, she had hardly ever been out of California. As she merged onto the interstate heading east, she found that she would rather face a nest of a dozen vampires than a cross country road trip, at least with herself in the driver’s seat.
 
“Relax, Slayer,” Spike said, noticing how white her knuckles were as she gripped the steering wheel. “You’re going to wear yourself out being all tensed up like that.”
 
“Sorry,” she said, trying to obey his command. Now that she was on the road heading east, with much less traffic than near town, she did her best to take a few deep breaths and unclench her hands a little. “I’ve never been comfortable with this whole driving thing.”
 
“Big scary Slayer, bane of the existence of all demons, and you’re afraid of getting behind the wheel?” Spike snorted.
 
“Sworn to protect the innocent, remember?” Buffy retorted. “If I crash into someone I’m sorta betraying my calling.”
 
“Ah, you’ve just never had a good teacher,” Spike said. “I could turn you into a good driver in three or four lessons.”
 
“I don’t know. Aren’t you the guy who took out the Sunnydale sign when he first got here?” Buffy said slyly.
 
“Hey, I’m evil, not incompetent. Besides, the sign had it coming.” He smirked a bit as he remembered that tidbit coming up in some conversation. It had been the night that Buffy got drunk in his crypt. Given her state that night he was surprised that she remembered.
 
“It’s sort of a shame we have to do this at night,” Buffy said after a few minutes of companionable silence. “I finally get a chance to see the country, and it’s all at night.”
 
Spike looked at her curiously. “Where have you visited outside of sunny California?”
 
Buffy shrugged. “We went to Mexico on a vacation once. When I was eight or so we visited my aunt in Florida. We visited some cousins in Dallas at some point too. But other than that, I haven’t really seen anything else. I’ve been stuck doing the Slaying gig since I was fifteen. Doesn’t leave a lot of time for world travel.”
 
“Bloody unfair that is,” Spike said, shaking his head. “Whole big world out there and you’re stuck on hell’s half acre.”
 
“Well, not all of us can have a few lifetimes to travel in. Some of us have to live with being mortal and all.”
 
“If it’s any consolation, I haven’t seen much of the world in the daylight either,” Spike replied. “I had been to the countryside a few times, but London was pretty much my world until I was turned.”
 
A thought occurred to Buffy. “Spike, how old were you when you were turned?”
 
“Twenty-eight. Still living at home caring for my mother without any particular prospects,” he said with a touch of chagrin.
 
“Was that her picture? In your memory box?”
 
Spike laughed a little. “Saw that did you? William in all his sodding pathetic glory. But yes, that was her. She was a fine lady. Your mum reminded me of her quite a bit.”
 
Buffy hesitated, then asked, “What… what happened to her?”
 
Spike sighed and closed his eyes. “She was ill. She had consumption and it was killing her.”
 
“Consumption?” Buffy interrupted.
 
“What they call tuberculosis nowadays,” Spike explained. “It was heartbreaking to watch her suffering, coughing up blood. Nasty disease. Probably would have ended up developing it myself if I’d lived long enough.” The memory of his mother and her turning pained him, and he fell silent, not wanting to speak of it.
 
Buffy sensed that the subject was a touchy one, and despite her curiosity, she decided not to press him on the subject right then. Reverting to the earlier subject she said, “So what’s on your short list of places to visit before you die? Or in your case, after you die.”
 
Spike thought for a moment. “Paris is amazing at night. Lights along the rivers, great theater. Actually let Angelus drag me to a ballet there once. Thought it was going to be a bloody waste of time, but I found myself completely fascinated. Nearly moved me to tears, great ponce that I was.”
 
Buffy had a thought. “Is that why you had a bow tie in your box?”
 
Spike raised an eyebrow. “How much time did you spend cataloging my things, Slayer?”
 
Buffy blushed slightly. “Not much. But a few things stood out. Like that bow tie. It’s really hard to imagine you in a suit.”
 
“I guess you’ve only ever seen me in punk mode,” Spike said. “But although I threw off the shackles of Victorian clothing as fast as I possibly could, I did occasionally have to dress up. I’ll have you know I looked rather well in a tuxedo when the occasion demanded it.”
 
“You’ll have to model that for me someday then, because I can’t picture it at all,” Buffy laughed.
 
They drove on through the night. After a couple of hours, Buffy stopped to use the restroom and get some caffeine, but otherwise there was no break from the endless miles of blacktop unrolling in front of them. Spike kept her spellbound with tales of his travels. He described Rome, Amsterdam, Geneva, Berlin, and many other cities so well that Buffy felt she had no need to actually visit them. After a while Spike grew tired and dozed while Buffy drove on. She glanced at him, asleep with his pale skin and white hair glowing in the darkness. In his sleep, William’s gentle face tended to show itself, with a small smile replacing the usual smirk. Still hard to picture him in a tux, she thought. But she had to admit, to herself if not to him, that he was beautiful when he slept. These thoughts led to another recurring thought: What’s going to happen to us if we do manage to cure him? They had gone from enemies, to drinking buddies, to fuck buddies, to exes to…? She had no idea what they were now. Well, I guess I have about two thousand miles to figure it out.
 
She pulled into a motel around five in the morning. Spike woke when the car stopped, sitting up and rubbing his face. “I take it we’re stopping for the day?” he asked blearily.
 
“Yeah. Sunrise is coming, and I’m getting tired.”
 
“Where are we?” he wondered, looking out at the nondescript motel.
 
“Somewhere in Nevada, I think,” Buffy said. “I wasn’t really paying attention the last hour or two.” She gathered up her purse and said, “I’ll go get us a room.”
 
“Here,” Spike said, fishing a roll of money out of his coat pocket and handing some to her. “I had Nibblet go fetch it from my crypt while you were out. Mean to pay my way as much as possible.”
 
“Thanks. That will help,” she replied. She went into the small, shabby lobby and found the clerk dozing in his chair. He sat up when she cleared her throat and ran his eyes appreciatively over her body in a way that made Buffy want to shower for a week.
 
“How can I help you, miss?” he asked with a leer.
 
“My friend and I need a room for the day,” she answered, hoping that the mention of a companion would keep him from doing something stupid that would require her to break his arm in three or four places.
 
The clerk looked out the window and saw the leather clad vampire fixing him with an icy stare through the car window. Even as thin as he was, he could manage a rather fierce look, and the clerk decided to change his tone. “Okay, do you want one bed or two in the room?” he asked with a more businesslike tone.
 
Buffy hesitated for a moment, then said, “Two beds, if you’ve got it.” She wasn’t sure that sharing a bed would be a good thing right now. That would lead to no end of badness and mixed messages. She handed over the requisite cash, received the room key, and muttered, “Thanks.” She headed back out to the car, knowing full well that the creepy clerk was watching her ass the whole time.
 
She got in and drove the car down the length of the building to the end. “That guy seemed like a prince among men,” Spike observed.
 
“Typical sleazy creep,” Buffy said.
 
“Want me to eat him?” Spike said.
 
“Nah. He’d just give you a headache and indigestion,” she said. “Thanks for the offer though.” She parked the car, slightly crooked, Spike noticed, and shut it off. “Let’s get you in there first, then I can grab my stuff.” She opened the hotel room door and pocketed the key before coming around to Spike’s side. She got her shoulder under his arm and locked her strong arm around his waist. “Hold on tight. Let’s see if we can get you inside semi-upright.” With a heave, Buffy pulled him to his feet. She clumsily half dragged him into the room, his legs barely supporting him, until she was able to drop him gently on the bed. He flopped on his back, exhausted, while Buffy brought in some food and her duffle. When she had brought everything in she said, “I’m going to take a shower, then have something to eat, then feed you before I sleep. Need anything right now?”
 
With an irritated sigh, Spike said, “You can help me get further up on the bed and hand me the remote.” Buffy knew that his irritation was at his own limitations, not at her, and she helped him get situated without saying anything. “You go have your shower, Slayer. I’ll be alright now.” Nodding in agreement, Buffy grabbed her things and closed herself in the bathroom. Spike flipped on the television and surfed rapidly through the channels, but nothing appealed, so he turned it off again. With a bit of an effort, he managed to get his shoes off and tossed them and his duster haphazardly on the floor next to the bed. He was half dozing when Buffy emerged from the bathroom, in a pair of sweats and a tank top, toweling her hair. He roused himself and tried to sit up a bit. “Feeling better love?”
 
“Much,” she said. She padded over to the cooler she had brought in and pulled out a couple of sandwiches and some Gatorade. As she sat cross-legged on the bed she talked in between bites. “I think it works best if you have a good long feed right before I go to sleep. Knocks me out, and it gives time for the Slayer healing to kick in.”
 
“You’re getting pale and skinny, love,” Spike said with concern. “Not sure this constant blood donation is good for you.”
 
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “You seem to be just that little bit stronger every day, and that might come in handy if we do manage to find her.”
 
“Maybe when you check in with the gang you can have them do another locator spell, just to make sure she’s still there,” Spike suggested.
 
“Good idea,” she agreed. She finished her meal and cleared away the garbage, then came and sat next to Spike. “Soup’s on,” she joked, holding out her arm.
 
Spike kissed her wrist slowly and sweetly before he vamped and drank. He held her hand like it was something sacred, like a man going to communion. She closed her eyes as the slow, lingering warmth moved through her body. God I could come from this, she thought. Finally, after what felt like an amazingly long time, he stopped, and kissed her wrist again. Looking up at her he marveled at her beauty, with her head thrown back and her lips parted slightly. Goddess. She’s an absolute Goddess, and I don’t deserve her. “You still with me, Slayer?” he asked softly after a few moments of silence.
 
Buffy opened her eyes and came back to herself, blushing a bit. “Yeah, I’m here,” she said. “That… feels really good.”
 
“I know,” he purred. Their eyes locked for a long, long moment. Buffy leaned down and kissed his lips, gently, like she had after Glory had used him for a punching bag. “What was that for, love?” he asked quietly.
 
“For putting up with me. For protecting Dawn. For all the stuff I never thanked you for, because I was fucked up,” she said in a low voice.
 
“You’re welcome,” he replied. He took her hand and kissed it in true Victorian fashion. “Now get some sleep. Got a long road ahead of you.”
 
“You get some rest too, okay?” she said as she moved slowly over to the other bed.
 
“Goodnight, Buffy.”
 
“Goodnight, Spike.” With that, she turned off the light and drifted off to sleep in about five minutes, with Spike following her shortly afterward. 

TBC