A/N: I want to thank my betas, Slaymesoftly and Mabel Marsters, for sticking with me for the whole story, for their quick returns of chapters, and for their honesty and encouraging words. More author's notes at the end of the chapter.



Soul Survivors

Chapter Nineteen: The Start of Eternity


The jet engines roared around them, causing the baggage underneath to shake continuously. It reminded Spike of the time in the early 80’s, before they’d gone back to Europe and the hotels that he and Dru had stayed at while criss-crossing the States. Vibrating beds. He sighed. They just don’t make things like they used.

His hand rested on Buffy’s head in his lap. They were at least ten hours into their flight, and she’d fallen asleep a couple of hours ago. She had been exhausted. They’d had to rush their trip to Paris, and Buffy had lamented the fact that they couldn’t stay overnight. He took her first to the Eiffel Tower where he derived much delight from her oohs and aahs at the view. Never once taking his eyes off her, he’d agreed that the view was indeed beautiful.

Thanks to the Metro, they were able to make it across town for the highlight of their trip. The Sacre Coeur sits on a high point of Paris and he knew she’d like the view from there as well. It wasn’t as spectacular as being on the Eiffel Tower, but they stood on the steps of that old church, embracing. She’d let him kiss her there and he marveled at the freedom he now had with her. He could be tender and loving because she soaked it all in with abandon.

Later, they sat in one of the outdoor cafes that line the streets near the Sacre Coeur. He bought her chocolate crepes, but she really didn’t enjoy them. She thanked him anyway, telling him that at least now she could say that she’d eaten crepes in Paris. After spending some time watching the people go by, they left there with just enough time to take a walk along the River Seine before they headed back to London.

Andra showed up the next afternoon as they were packing for the trip home. Buffy tried to convince her to go with them, but again, she refused. After the two girls hugged each other goodbye, Spike walked with Andra to the basement, where she had come in.

He told her about Torch wanting to know about Africa and how he’d asked for contact names there and directions. Andra smiled, with tears in her eyes, and thanked him for telling her, but told him that she already knew. She’d gone through Torch’s pockets while he’d slept the night before he saved their lives. She’d seen the napkin Spike had used to jot down the information and had guessed that that was what it was for.

Before she left for the tunnels, she hugged Spike and thanked him again. He didn’t think he’d ever forget her parting words. “I’m not sure Torch loved me enough to do what you did for Buffy, but I’d like to think he did. I’ll never know for sure. Be good to her.” Then, she went off into the dark sewers under London.

~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~


Luggage littered the entry of the house on Revello Drive. Spike followed Giles in with the last piece and kicked the door shut. The three of them cringed as the house shook with the force of his kick. “Sorry,” Spike whispered.

Buffy was wide-awake after her long nap on the plane, but she didn’t think Faith and Dawn would appreciate the rude wake up call at five am. They’d just picked up their bags when Dawn, in her robe, trampled down the stairs. Faith, moving a little slower, peered down at them and then past them, but she followed Dawn down until she was just a few steps from the ground floor.

“You’re home. Yay!” Dawn screeched and threw her arms around Buffy. Just as quickly, she let her go and started moving the luggage around. “What did you bring me?”

Spike rubbed her head affectionately and chuckled, “We just got in, Niblet. Give us time to get our things sorted and we’ll find your presents soon enough.”

“Now! Now!” She jumped up and down.

Buffy searched the pile for her backpack and pulled out a small box. “I got this for you the other night while I was in Paris.” She smiled at her sister who grabbed for the box.

“I’m so jealous. I wanted to go so bad,” The lid for the box tumbled to the floor as she squealed in delight. “Perfume! I have perfume from Paris.” She jumped on Buffy again. “Thank you.”

Dawn ran up the stairs going on about how her friends would just die when they saw it.

“Did you get anything for me?” Faith joked.

“Actually, we did,” Buffy said. “But you’re a big girl; you can wait, right?”

Faith smiled at Buffy from the stairs and rubbed at her messed up hair. “Yeah, I was up late last night and I could use a little more sleep.” She peered past them again. Curiously, Buffy looked over her shoulder, but there was nothing there.

Giles picked up his two bags, but Faith went down the last of the steps and took them from him. “I’ve got it.” As she went up the stairs with Giles behind her, Faith said over her shoulder, “I’ll see you guys when I get home from work.”

Buffy glanced at Spike and their eyes locked. “Home,” she said.

His warm smile turned her insides to mush. He hadn’t gotten much sleep on the trip over, but she knew he’d be up for a little fun when they got downstairs. With their arms loaded with luggage, they made their way to the basement door. Spike paused before turning the handle, dropping his bags.

“What?” she asked.

He motioned for her to follow him towards the kitchen, so she dropped her bags and stepped over his. When he stopped suddenly, she tumbled into his back and could feel his deep chuckle.

“I thought I heard an extra heartbeat,” he said.

Buffy moved to his side and peered into the dark kitchen.

“Hi, Buffy,” Willow said quietly with a small wave.

The redhead was partially hidden behind the island with a mug in her hand, looking guilty as sin and wearing Faith’s favorite dark blue flannel robe.

Spike kissed Buffy on the forehead and said, “I’ll just go put our stuff away. Don’t be long.” With a short wave, he said, “Nice to see you, Red.”

Buffy felt silly standing just inside the kitchen with her mouth open. She snapped it shut and took a seat on a stool. “Um…”

With her eyes on her mug, Willow set it down, sat next to Buffy, and said in a small voice, “I’m weak.”

“So that whole speech you gave me on the porch was…what?” Buffy couldn’t help but tease her friend.

Willow put her hands over her face, but Buffy knew she was blushing. “I…oh…a…I had a moment of weakness, okay. It’s not going to happen again. It was just a thing.”

“You stayed the night,” Buffy gently prodded.

“No. I mean, yes, I did, but I just fell asleep. This is not going to be a habit, I swear.” Willow shook her head.

Buffy smiled at her embarrassed friend. Willow really seemed to mean it, but she remembered saying that same thing to herself, once upon a time, about Spike.

She put a hand on Willow’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s none of my business what you do. I was just teasing.”

“Willow,” Faith called out softly from the stairs. “Are you coming?”

Standing up quickly, Willow’s blush deepened as she grabbed her mug. Buffy stood up as well.

“I brought some things back from London for you. Can you swing by tonight?”

Willow nodded and left the kitchen in a hurry, spilling some of her coffee.


Candlelight spilled out of their open bedroom door and onto the walls of the narrow staircase. Buffy could faintly hear Spike humming some tune and moving the luggage around. When she came into the room, she kept her eyes on him while pushing the door shut with her back. His duster was hanging on the coat rack by the door and she ogled him in his tight black t-shirt. She turned the deadbolt and leaned back against the door.

He had the suitcase open that held all the gifts they’d bought for their friends and Dawn. One by one, he placed the items on the dresser in a neat row. Replicas of Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower, postcards, key chains; the usual stuff.

“Willow have a good night, then?” Spike turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

“Looks like,” she told him with a grin while she strolled over to the dresser to pick up a Big Ben.

“Good for her.”

“You know,” Buffy said while examining the little plastic model. “The only bad part about being the one to go on a trip is that you don’t get any presents when you get home.”

“Who says you don’t get presents? My girl always gets presents,” Spike told her, trying to sound insulted that she would think otherwise.

Her eyes lit up as she surveyed the dresser. “What did you get me?”

“Patience, love. Let’s get all this stuff unpacked first.”

Buffy got closer to him and she was thrilled when he inhaled deeply to take in her scent. “You can’t tell me that you got me a present and then make me wait.” Her hand found its way under his t-shirt and up his chest. “That’s just cruel.”

He gazed at her with unchecked love and adoration while he slipped his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to give you this at just the perfect time, but I’d probably botch it up somehow.”

Her curiosity was piqued now and she glanced around, trying to figure out what he was talking about. He took a step back to hold out an upturned fist at her.

“I got this put away just before you picked out that necklace of my mom’s.” His voice was shaky, his eyes glistening.

Her hand automatically went to her chest where she fingered the pendant that she treasured, because it had been his mother’s. She tore her gaze from his eyes and stared at his fist as he looked at it. Slowly, he opened his hand and in his palm was a gold ring that matched the necklace. The emerald in the middle was the same size as her emerald and little diamonds surrounded it.

“It’s beautiful.”

“My father bought her a complete set with earrings and a bracelet as well. You might remember seeing them when you picked out the necklace.”

She nodded.

“We can always go back to London some day and get those, too,” he told her as he put the ring on his pinky. It went as far as his knuckle.

Spike grabbed her left hand and turned the skull ring that had become a permanent part of her everyday wear. “I know this is a nostalgic reminder of our magically induced engagement, but would you wear my mom’s ring for a real engagement? A promise for the future.”

Frowning, she looked at the skull ring. She thought they’d done the “real” engagement when he’d slipped the skull ring on her finger a few weeks back.

She looked up at his hopeful face and said, “No.”

He dropped her hand and stepped back in confusion. “Why, Buffy? I love you; you know that. I know you love me, too.”

If only she was good with words. She sighed. “Of course I love you. With every fiber of my being.” She held up her hand and pointed at her skull ring. “This is a real engagement ring as far as I’m concerned.

He watched as, with her other trembling hand, she pulled the skull ring off and then put it on her other ring finger. “What are you doing?”

“If you put your mother’s ring on my finger now, it’s got to be for the wedding.” His shocked face hurt her, but she went on. “The claim. The forever. I want it with you. Now. Then you can put that ring on my finger.”

He turned his back to her and she watched him inhale and slowly let the air out before he turned around with a stern expression on his face. “A claim is forever. You can’t ever take it back. There is no demon divorce court that can break it with a signature on a piece of paper.”

She knew that it was the tears threatening to spill from her eyes that softened his expression when he said, “You have to be absolutely sure, Buffy.”

She stood tall, looking him in the eyes. “I’m sure. Aren’t you?”

“I am sure,” he told her emphatically. “I know that you are the one, Buffy. There’ll never been anyone else for me, ever. I’ve known it for years now and that’s never going to change.” He stepped in, gently placing a kiss on her lips. “We have time. Give yourself time. To be sure.”

An indescribably intense need overtook her. An instinct so strong that she could not fight it- didn’t want to fight it- propelled her forward. She grabbed his shoulders and kissed him hard. Her soul wanted the commitment. The “I do.” But something clicked inside her, and she realized that a claim is just that. A claim.

He kissed her back with fervor and intense need of his own as he helped her get his shirt off. They broke the kiss and hurriedly fumbled with each other’s pants, then their shoes to get them off as well.

An instinct she didn’t know she had took over her and without a shadow of a doubt, Buffy knew now that a claim was a forceful kind of thing. Not hearts and flowers and white gowns. If she bit him and said the word, he’d respond back. She just knew it.

They stumbled over the suitcases to get to the bed, where she tore away from his kiss to throw the open suitcase off, not caring about the mess it made as clothes went flying across the room.

He stood waiting for her, gloriously naked, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he took in unneeded breaths. She yanked her top off and slowly unhooked her bra while keeping her eyes on him.

“You are so perfectly stunning. Come here,” he said, tenderness in his eyes as he motioned for her to come closer.

She jumped at him, shoving Spike onto the bed. If he thought this was just another coupling by two lovers, he was in for a big surprise. He loved it when she got rough and demanding anyway. They exchanged moans with their kisses as hands roamed and hips moved.

Buffy was ready for him, positioning herself and slamming down onto Spike to take him in all at once. He thrust up into her and they moved together. She watched him as he thrashed his head from side to side with the pleasure.

Spike made a small sound of protest when she stopped moving on him. Her heated gaze caught his undivided attention as her face altered before his eyes.

“I love you, Spike. You belong to me, don’t you?” she asked as she moved her hips slowly.

He lifted his head up in alarm, finally getting where she was going with this. “Yes, but--”

“Then there is nothing left to discuss,” she said quickly to stop his protest. “I’m going to take what is mine. Are you going to try to stop me?”

Those blue eyes of his gleamed with an underlying delight as he slowly shook his head. She took in the sight of him beneath her. His beautiful white chest, his toned and tight stomach that rippled with clenched muscles. The only problem was, now that it was time, she hoped she could do it right.

It was taken out of her hands when he morphed into his demon. She responded to that in an almost feral like way and let out a roar of possession that surprised even her.

“Mine!” she growled.

Their eyes met for a brief moment, but she couldn’t wait any longer. She needed to sink her teeth into him; to be a part of him, in him. Buffy grabbed his hair, yanked his head to the side and bared her fangs as they met his neck. She buried them deep, and a shiver flowed up her spine as she drank from him. Three deep pulls and his body relaxed beneath her.

She released her hold on his hair, removing her teeth from his neck at the same time. Again, she growled, “Mine.”

“Yours,” he answered back in an unwavering voice, even though he looked at her with wonder as a single tear slipped out of the corner of an amber eye. “I’m yours, Buffy.”

Leaning down, she pressed her chest to his, resting her head over his shoulder and staring at the bite marks that proved he was hers. Her eyes rolled back with pleasure when he began to move beneath her, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing tightly.

Suddenly, he pushed her off and she found herself flat on her back. He entered her again and began to thrust at a frenzied pace. Then he slowed and gazed at her, his vamp face tight with the building of his upcoming release.

“Mine,” he said with a clarity she didn’t think he could possess in the state he was in.

She turned her head to the side and he slowly lowered his mouth to her smooth neck.

There was no pain when his fangs entered her; only a sense of perfect rightness. She groaned with the pleasure of it as Spike took blood that she freely gave him. He pulled out from her neck to gaze in to her eyes.

“Mine.”

“Yours.” Buffy smiled at him. “Yours, Spike. All yours.”

In tandem, they exchanged their vamp faces for their human ones. Then, it was as if the bed had disappeared beneath them, and they were turning slowly while floating downward. They continued to move as their pleasure built to a fevered pitch and then, together, they cried out in release.

They slowly came down from the high of the experience, clinging together, each unwilling to let the other one go. Spike rolled to the side, but hugged her against his body and they stayed that way for minutes. She leaned her head back so she could look at him, while she caressed his neck.

She smiled at him in wonder and was glad that she wasn’t the only one in shock at how amazing the experience had been. He let go of her and they sat up together.

Spike placed a hand on her cheek and gazed lovingly into her eyes as he said, “There’s no turning back now.”

Buffy’s smile brightened at the thought. “No turning back.”

He took the ring off his pinky and she held her hand out for him as he slipped it on her ring finger, saying, “We belong to each other for all eternity.”

“Forever,” Buffy agreed with a hint of giddy happiness coming through her solemn tone.

After a long and tender kiss, they climbed under the covers and started eternity by making love to each other once again.

The End

A/N: This is it! The end of Soul Survivors. For those of you who have read and reviewed, thank you so very much. I write for the pure enjoyment of it and because I can't get enough of Spike and Buffy, but the reviews are a HUGE bonus. It's a little bit of an addiction to wake up in the morning and see review notices in my inbox. They really spur my muse on as I write more.

I have plans for one more story in this Universe that is a continuation of the story. I've also written a story that takes place in the past. You can read Torch's story, Torchair Air Eideadh, here:
Click Here for Torch and Andra's Story

I'm currently working on a Season Four Spuffy story. I'll keep everyone informed of my progress on my Livejournal. I'll began posting it when the story is complete in rough draft form and when I have a few chapters back from my betas.