REPLAY







Chapter 13- And the Bad is a Comin



Buffy lurked through the cemetery. She clutched her stake tighter. She scanned the darkness for movement. Suddenly she whirled around, stake raised.



“Ooo, evil vampire, should I kill it?”



Spike circled her. “Give us your best shot,” he taunted.



She lunged at him, making a lame attempt with her stake. Spike ducked out of the way. He straightened, smirking.



“That your best try, slayer?”



Buffy lowered her stake. She pouted. “No.”



“Why not?”



“I wanna hurt you but . . .” Her eyes roamed over his body.



“Can’t resist my sinister attractiveness?” he filled in.



Her eyes lit up. “Exactly!”



“You know, you should be afraid of me. I’m bad.”



“You are. You are very bad.”



“Ooo, look at that lip.” Spike grabbed her around the waist. He pulled her roughly to him. Her stake slipped from her fingers. She moaned as she felt something poke into her. “Gonna get it.”

Buffy squealed as he bit her lip. She wriggled in his grasp when she felt his hand slip under her shirt.



Breaking away, Buffy said, “Spike, we’re never going to get any actual slayage done if we keep playing games.”



He turned his head to the left and than the right. “There aren’t any big bads out tonight. Come on, pet,” he pleaded.



Before she could protest he kissed her. It was hard, their tongues tangling together, hot and cold mixing. Spike’s touch became feistier. They tumbled and fell to the grass. Buffy let out a muffled laugh. Something whizzed through the air where they had been. Buffy and Spike parted. They saw that it had been a stake. The wood had imbedded itself in a tree trunk nearby.



The couple turned to confront a demon. He had the head of a shark and wore a flashy suit. A couple vampire minions stood behind him.



Buffy scrambled up. She grabbed her stake. “Great,” she mumbled.



“Easy, boys. No need to get physical-like,” Sharky told his followers.



Spike got up to stand next to Buffy.



“Is there, Mister Spike?”



“Whadda you want? If you couldn’t tell I was busy having a good time with my girl,” Spike said.



Buffy rolled her eyes. She really didn’t want to have to deal with this. She had conveniently put everything Spike had done without a soul out of her mind. She was going to have to have a talk with him. He couldn’t go around getting himself into trouble that she had to bail him out of.



“You know me, uh ... there are a lot of things I would like, Mister Spike.” Sharky pulled the stake out of the tree. “A house in Bel Air ... with a generously sized swimming pool ... and of course, the forty Siamese that you owe me.”

Sharky didn’t look happy. Buffy turned toward Spike. “Forty?” she repeated.



Spike ignored her. He kept his eyes on the demon. Sharky wrapped his arm around the vampire’s neck.



“Take it easy, you'll get your kittens,” Spike assured him.



“Oh, I trust you, Mister Spike.”



“What is it with you guys? Why can't you just use money like everybody else?” complained Buffy.



“She's funny. I like funny in a girl,” Sharky told Spike.



“I just need more time,” Spike said.



“Time, time, time! Is what turns kittens into cats! Look, I don't wanna see anyone get hurt.” He spun around and addressed his minions. “Boys.”



Buffy let them go. She looked over to see Spike flee the scene. She shook his head.



Spike was a demon. Maybe Xander was right. Maybe a piece of metal couldn’t change a demon’s nature. But she still loved him . . . Even though sometimes she wished she didn’t.



+ + +



Willow and Tara sat on their bed. There was a large space between them. Willow stared down at her hands.



“When things get rough, you ... you don't even consider the options. You just ... you just do a spell. It's not good for you, Willow. And it's not what magic is for,” Tara explained.



“But I ... I just wanna help people,” choked Willow.



“Maybe that's how it started, but ... You can’t summon some happy demon or go poof and make all the bad things go away.”



Willow kept silent.



“I don’t know if this is gonna work,” Tara softly said.



Willow raised her head. Her green eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “Hey. It is, i-it's working. Tara, please. I need you, baby. I need you. I don't need magic, I-I don't, I ... let me prove it to you, okay? I, I will go a month without doing any magic. I won't do a single spell. I swear.”



A moment passed. Then Tara nodded.



“Go a week. One week without magic.”



“Fine. Fine, that's easy!”



“I don't know, I just ... think we both need some ... I don't know, space. Oh, I can’t believe I’m saying this.”



Willow’s face fell again. “Are you saying you’re going to leave me?”



+ + +



The knock jarred Willow from her stupor. She had been thinking about nothing. Nothing kept the pain away.



“Wh-Who is it?” Willow asked.



“Me.”



Willow sat up in bed. She brought her pillow close and hugged it to her chest. “Come in.”



Buffy stepped into the darkened room. She shut the door gently behind her.



“Hey,” Buffy said.

“Hey.”



“I think we should talk.”



Willow just stared. She couldn’t believe this. She had just gotten a dose from Tara and now she was going to get a double whammy from her best friend.



“Willow?”



Willow turned her head away.



“What you did was wrong,” Buffy continued. “Xander never should have given you that necklace, but you never should have used it. You’re smarter than that. The Willow I used to know would have done some computer hacking before attempting it.”



“Well I’m not the geeky Willow you used to know!” Willow spat.



Buffy was taken aback.



“Just go away. I can’t take this from you right now,” Willow commanded.



Buffy nodded. She turned and left.



+ + +



Buffy sat Indian-style on a floor mat. She gazed up at Giles in shock.



“What?”



“I don't want to leave-“



“So don’t!” Her voice rose louder than she intended.



Quickly she got up. She went over to sit beside him.



“What did I do wrong this time?” She was near tears.



He seemed a tad confused by her statement. “Buffy?”



“I did everything on my own. I got a job. I’m helping Dawn to keep out of trouble. I don’t understand. Is it Spike?”



“What?”



“Something must have triggered you leaving me. I want to know what.”



Giles’s expression was too calm. He didn’t understand what this meant.



“You don’t need me. I’ve been watching you these few weeks. Not just you, all of you. You’ve all grown into miraculous and capable adults.”



Desperate, Buffy said, “What about Dawn?”



“She has you.”



“But . . . I can't do this without you.”



“You can. That's why I'm going.”



“You don’t understand!” Buffy stood up. She ran a hand through her hair. There had to be some way to get him to stay.



Giles gave her a tender look. “I know you don’t think so now, but this is for the best.”



“No, it really isn’t. Bad things will happen, Giles. Total badness. You have to stay!”



“I've taught you all I can about being a slayer and your mother taught you what you needed to know about life.”



“It’s not enough! I need help. Things are going to end up just like they did before.”



Giles narrowed his eyes. “Before?”



Taking a deep breath Buffy said, “The first time when you went away.”





Really I hadn’t intended for Buffy to tell him. But then as I was writing it BOOM I realized that was the course I wanted to take.