A Demon In My View
He was dreaming about her again. He hated this. Feeling this way about her, his mortal enemy. Spike was in love.
"Buffy I love you." He said drowsily, not fully awake yet.
"What the hell did you just say!"
Then Spike woke up. Harmony was lying beside him in bed, an expression of pure fury on her face.
"I said I love you" Spike quickly lied, trying to look as innocent as possible.
She got up, still angry. "You love the Slayer! I can't believe you would want that, that, bitch! She can't even pick a half-decent outfit!" She suddenly slapped him.
He felt the pain searing into his skin. It was his turn to get angry. He got up and glared at her. "Well when you went after Buffy I was pissing myself laughing. You the big bad? You're not even the calorie-free bad. The only chance you would have had, was if Buffy blew a blood vessel laughing!"
Harmony glared right back at him. "Well at least I'm not a big freak loving the Slayer!"
Spike realised then he'd had enough of Harmony. Even her voice was irritating the hell out of him. He decided she had outstayed her welcome. He grabbed her naked body, and then literally threw her out of his crypt. He banged the door shut as hard as he could. He suddenly felt much better now he didn't have to deal with that whinging slut anymore. He began to smile.
"I'm naked out here! Give me my clothes you big freak!" Harmony called from behind the door.
"If you come back in here ever again, I guarantee you won't need clothes ever again!" Spike retorted with as much venom as he could. There was no way, he promised himself, Harmony would ever get back into his life. He started to pick up her clothes; he was going to burn them. He didn't want a single trace of her left in his crypt.
Outside Harmony was freezing. It was possibly the coldest night ever. It didn't look as though Spike was going to let her back in anytime soon. She was going to have to kill some one to steal their clothes. Even if it was Willow, whose fashion sense was even deader than she was.
She couldn't understand how her blondie bear could do this to her. After all she had done for him. She had tried so hard to make him happy, but he had always treated her as second best to Dorkas. And now the Slayer. This hurt a lot more than Dorkas; at least she had been a vampire. But the Slayer was the natural enemy of vampires and demons. Harmony had gone to school with her, before she had been turned. She couldn't even stand her when she was alive. She wondered if she should tell Buffy about Spike, before realising Buffy would stake before she could speak. Snacking on Willow and kidnapping her sister was probably not the best way to get Buffy's attention.
Harmony suddenly spotted a figure in the distance; it looked female, and fully clothed. She started to run towards the figure. She yelped as she slipped on some mud left over from the last night's rain, and fell on her back.
"Oh what else can go wrong!" Harmony whined to herself. Suddenly a stiletto heel came down, transfixing her heart. Harmony looked down at the foot. "Oh great, killed by Gucci." Then she was dust.
Spike had just finished getting dressed. He reached for his coat when he heard a noise behind him. He rolled his eyes. It would probably be Harmony begging him to take her back. Well not this time. He was sick of her.
"Harm, I'm giving you five seconds to bugger off, before I do something you will regret." While he was speaking, he picked up a stake that she had hidden and thought he didn't know about. He turned round, stake in hand. He dropped the stake and stared in shock. "Say hello to your Princess." Said Drusilla.
Spike simply stared, unable to say anything. He was very confused, on one hand he thought he loved Buffy, on the hand here was the woman who had been the great love of his life. Seeing her had awakened all kinds of feelings. Including anger as soon as he remembered what she had done to him.
"Dru, why the hell are you here." Spike demanded, the anger plain to see on his face.
She pouted. "You're not pleased to see your Princess?"
"You left me. Twice. The second time was for a Chaos demon which are, might I add, not exactly known for its looks. So you'll forgive me if I don't jump up and down with joy."
She spoke again, in a little girl's voice. "All the dark things whisper that you've lost your way. The bee in your bonnet is making you human." She smiled brightly. "I'm going to remind my pet who he is."
Spike recoiled as if Drusilla had punched him. "I'm still the demon I ever was. Just can't bite."
"Then why do you talk to your food instead of killing it? You think I can't smell the love that reeks from you? The Slayer is the root of the problem. You're not the demon I loved anymore." Drusilla replied sadly.
"You think I love the Slayer! You're wrong Dru. I never loved her. I hate the bitch. Truly, madly, deeply. I'm still demon!" Spike replied, more to try to convince himself than Dru, who he could see wasn't buying it.
"Spike." She said, shaking her head. "You're a big boy. Naughty to be playing with girls' dolls."
Spike winced. Drusilla had spotted the mannequin that he used to practice his conversations with Buffy. This was going to take some explaining. Spike started to. "Well you see the reason why that's there is because... Bugger this. How can I prove to you I'm still demon?"
Drusilla smiled sweetly. "The night air is whistling sweet little melodies in my ear. Let's go see what we can find."
With that Drusilla strode into the night, with Spike following at her heels.
The night was cool and breezy now, and Spike was getting more and more worried. Drusilla seemed to be leading them towards one of the Slayer's favourite haunts. The Bronze was a shabby nightclub in Sunnydale. Unfortunately it was the only place worth going in town. So naturally the Slayer and her friends frequented the place. He didn't fancy their chances if the Slayer caught them. On the other hand, it might give her something to think about, seeing him with another woman. Spike reminded himself this was Buffy he was thinking about. She would probably too self-absorbed to care. As usual.
Buffy stood in a telephone kiosk outside the train station. Being the Slayer usually meant she wasn't easily shocked, but she was now, after what she had just seen. She was speaking to Giles on the phone. "It was a vamp. Nastier than the usual kind. It killed everyone on that train and didn't care if it got caught or not. Cop on the train had his heart ripped out."
Giles spoke, his voice crackling. "I don't suppose the assailant left any clue to his or her identity?"
"No, I'm going to patrol tonight. It shouldn't be too difficult to find. It's not exactly Mr low profile we're dealing with. I'll swing by the Bronze and check on the gang, I want them safe. I'll call you there."
With that she hung up the phone and started to make her way towards the Bronze.
Outside the Bronze, Drusilla's eyes lit up with glee. She turned excitably to Spike. "In there pet! I can feel it, the throbbing of young souls waiting to be plucked. Oh take me inside!"
Spike replied slowly. "Dru love, that's the Slayer's favourite place. Even if she's not there, one of her annoying friends is bound to be. I can't fight with this sodding chip in my head."
Drusilla smiled serenely. "Don't worry pet. Princess will deal with the nasty Slayer for you. Now come." With that she swept into the Bronze. Spike shrugged helplessly and followed her in.
Inside the Bronze was quieter than normal. The music was light on the ear and surprisingly catchy. Spike quickly scanned the area for Buffy and her friends. He couldn't see any sign of them. That didn't mean they weren't here though. Just he hadn't spotted them yet. He turned and saw Drusilla writhing to the music. She smiled seductively at him. "Dance with me?" He smiled and held her close. They began to dance. He hadn't held a woman he truly loved this close in a long time. He started to remember all the good times they had, and blot out all the bad. He started to relax in her arms.
"And then he said he could do it without hands." Anya said.
"Anya, we're really going to have to have one of those little talks again." Xander replied wearily. His friend Willow was there too, hand over her mouth to stop herself laughing. They were chilling to the latest band to rock Sunnydale. It had been a heavy week for the gang, so they felt more than entitled to take it easy.
"We're always having these 'little' chats." Responded Anya petulantly. Her eyes alighted on something. "Say isn't that Spike dancing with that girl?"
"Spike! Dancing!" Said Xander and Willow simultaneously. They swivelled round to where Anya was looking. They couldn't see who Spike was dancing with at first, as the woman had her back to them. Then she turned her head to regard them. Xander blinked. "Drusilla. This is bad. Very bad."
"Who's Drusilla?" Anya asked.
Spike was having a good time. He was fully relaxed. Even the music was beginning to sound good. He was a little stiff in dancing; he had been a bit out of practise. He had even started to stop worrying about being seen at the Bronze. Until that is, he saw Drusilla staring at something to the side. "What is it Dru?" He said, not wanting to look. "There's that boy who tricked your Princess into loving him. Think I'll teach him some manners."
"Xander?" Spike replied, having to think a minute. She was referring to an occasion where a spell had gone wrong and made Xander irresistible to women. Fortunately the spell had been reversed. "Time to go love. That probably means that the Slayer's around or will be soon." He started to steer her round, then stopped. "Oh bollocks." He said feelingly. Buffy was dead ahead, and she spotted them.
"Spike. You should have told me your ex was back in town. We could have arranged a party." Buffy said, talking to Spike but staring at Drusilla. Her tone was so cold, you could have froze water with it.
"I love parties, me." Drusilla replied playfully. "The music, the dancing, and the drink." She said, looking all around at the bodies.
Spike managed to keep the panic from his voice. "Here's what we'll do. Me and Dru will leave quietly. Then she'll leave town"
Buffy spoke. "Not going to happen. The only way she's leaving is through a vacuum cleaner."
Spike searched her expression for clues. Then asked wearily. "What did she do?"
"Killed everyone on the 9.15. So she's not going anywhere else."
Drusilla then suddenly shoved Buffy out the way and ran past her. Buffy was taken fully by surprise and landed on her backside. Spike started to follow Drusilla, but stopped. He tried to help Buffy up and received a punch in his face that sent him sprawling. Buffy spoke coldly. "Stay there, I'll deal with you later." Then she was off after Drusilla. Spike got back up and tried to follow, but lost them both in the crowd. He desperately looked for them both, but couldn't see any of them in the teeming mass of flesh.
Drusilla was waiting patiently for the Slayer outside the Bronze. She had left by a side exit. The Slayer would be here shortly; she hadn't made it too difficult for her to follow her. Drusilla knew what she had to do, to make Spike all better again. Suddenly the door burst open and the Slayer strode out, her hair flowing back behind her. She held a stake in her hand. She smiled in that oh-so cocky way she usually did. "Party's over for you."
Drusilla hissed in fury. "It hurts my pet just to look at you. You're going to suffer."
Buffy shrugged. She didn't know what Drusilla was getting at, but she did know that only one of them was going to be left standing. It was going to be her; she wasn't going to lose to Spike's ex.
Buffy quickly stepped forward and rammed her stake towards Drusilla's heart. Drusilla hissed and caught the stake with her left hand an inch away from her flesh. In reply she slashed Buffy's left shoulder with her nails. She cooed in pleasure as she drew blood. Buffy winced in pain, it had been a deep cut and it was bleeding. She didn't let it distract her though, and while Drusilla was gloating, she kicked her legs out from under her. She followed through, preparing to stake Drusilla on the ground. Her stake only touched stone however, as Drusilla rolled away to the side. Buffy turned to face her opponent. She saw Drusilla staring intently at her. Buffy found herself returning the stare. Then Drusilla intoned. "Be in my eyes.... Be in me." Buffy tried to fight the sudden paralysis that came over her. She succeeded in throwing it off when Drusilla hit her full force in the face. As she fell into darkness she was afraid, not for herself, but for her family and friends.
Spike finally burst out of the Bronze. He had found somebody who had definitely seen Buffy come this way. He was frantic with worry. What made it worse was he wasn't sure who he wanted to win if there was a fight. Why did he have to have feelings about both of them? Things had been so much simpler when he had only been trying to kill Buffy. Dru was probably right about the chip, it had buggered everything up. He wished that things could be back the way before he had that sodding chip put in him. He began to calm down when he saw nobody was around. Perhaps Drusilla had out run Buffy. Then he saw the blood.
He knelt down, started to smell the blood. There was no mistake. "Buffy." Spike said softly.
"What the hell have you done to her!" Came Xander's angry voice Willow and Anya had followed Xander out. Willow was looking concerned, and Anya had the same nonchalant expression she always had. Xander started up again. "What were you thinking, bringing psycho-girl back?"
Spike retaliated. "First of all Dru came back herself. I didn't do anything to Buffy, though she gave me a fair old whack. I don't think Dru killed her either, there'd be at least some body left. If I can track them down, I just might be able to talk Dru out of killing her."
Xander sneered at Spike, the distrust clear in his eyes. "Oh yes, you'll do it, because you're such an upstanding member of the community."
"I've had enough of this." Spike snarled back. "It's always the same with you bloody scoobies. No matter what I do, you think I've got an ulterior motive for helping you. Well I've put my ass on the line, got beaten up, can't even mix with my own kind all on your account."
"So what, you're Angel now?" Xander sarcastically added.
Spike considered this. "No, I'm not. It's a lot harder for me to do good than soul-boy. Plus I'm better looking." He paused a minute, then pointed at Anya. "Look at her. She did as much damage I did, probably more as she was in the game longer than I was. Yet just because she's shagging one-minute boy, everything's hunky-dory? All I'm asking is that you for once in your lives, trust me. If Buffy's still alive I won't let her die. I better be off then."
Xander grabbed Spike's arm. "I'm going with you."
Spike shook off Xander gently, to avoid setting off that damn chip. "No you're not, as I don't give too much for your chances if Buffy's down." He smiled at Xander. "Dru remembers what you did to her."
Xander looked guilty then. "The love spell? That wasn't even meant for her!"
"Wait up. What love spell?" Anya demanded.
"I can see you two have a lot to discuss." Spike grinned. He nodded to Willow. "If those two start fighting, there's a fiver on Anya. Right I have a Slayer to save!" With that he strode off.
"Now there's something you don't see everyday." Willow commented. She could see Anya and Xander were beginning to fight. "Cut it out guys, we have to tell Giles everything." They stopped arguing, then made their way to Giles'.
Buffy woke up with a massive headache. She was in Spike's crypt; her arms tied to the ceiling. She couldn't work out why she wasn't dead. "Alive. Good thing." She said to herself.
"Silly girl!" Said a voice from behind her. Drusilla came into view, smiling brightly. "If I killed you my Spike would never be free."
Buffy wasn't so sure being alive was a good thing. She struggled against the tight ropes. Drusilla stopped smiling and smashed the back of her hand into Buffy's face again. The dark came as blessed relief to Buffy.
Spike stood outside his crypt. Buffy's trail ended here. He had a perplexed expression as he tried to work out what was going on. "Dru, what the hell are you playing at?" He wondered out aloud. He nodded to himself grimly and entered the crypt.
At Giles' house, the gang had just finished explaining everything to the ex-librarian. He was understandably upset. "So you let Spike go alone to find Buffy, who he has tried to kill several times in the past. As well as that, Buffy has been possibly kidnapped by Drusilla, with who Spike had enjoyed a long romantic association. Bravo. That was genius."
"Well... Hey! That was sarcasm!" Xander replied.
"Giles." Willow began. "It's not like we had a choice. We couldn't go after Drusilla by ourselves. It's not like Spike can go all grr-face on Buffy. Well he can, but he can't hurt her."
Giles sighed. "I'm sorry Willow. I'm just afraid for Buffy. I don't like the thought of her in the clutches of that creature. Not after what she did to me." He shuddered, as he remembered how Drusilla used her hypnosis, to make him think she was his dead lover. "We had better come up with a plan of action"
"Never mind that. I want to know about that love spell." Anya cut in.
Xander sighed. "Anya, that was well before I met you. It was a crater size mistake. Drusilla nearly turned me into her vamp boy-toy, and all of the female population ended up trying to kill me. Except Cordelia, on who the spell was supposed to work."
Anya frowned. "So what you're saying is that you love Cordelia more than me!"
Exasperated, Xander replied. "No! Why would you think that?"
"You never tried to cast a love spell on me." Anya said accusatorily.
Xander's eyes widened. "Why would I cast a love spell on my girlfriend?"
Anya replied petulantly. "Oh, just cause I'm your girlfriend, means you don't cast a love spell on me!"
Before Xander could reply, Willow butted in. "Guys I think Giles is getting cranky. I think we better listen to what he has to say
"Thank you Willow." Giles said primly. "Here is what we will do. After arming ourselves from the armoury, we will as a group, search for Buffy."
"Oh, oh! I could do a location spell to find her! Need to go down to the magic shop for supplies though." Willow put in excitably.
"Yes, well you better hurry. We can't imagine what Buffy is going through now." Giles replied.
Spike took in the scene slowly. In front of him was Buffy, tied to the ceiling of his crypt. She had a black eye and her right shoulder was bleeding. She stared at him in the familiar defiant way. Beside her stood a smiling Drusilla. She glided towards him. "Once the kitty bleeds to death you can drink your fill. Then everything will be purified. All those nasty love feelings will disappear." Spike saw Buffy look in surprise at the mention he loved her. Then a scowl darkened her face. Oblivious to this, Drusilla continued on. "Love to stay and watch, but I have to follow fourteen blackbirds that flew on by." Her voice became more tender. "Always love you Spike, but can't be with a man who can't kill."
Spike nodded sadly. With this chip in his head he was only half a vampire. He didn't belong in Dru's world now. It wouldn't be right to even try. "Love you too Princess" He said softly.
They shared a final bittersweet kiss then, before Drusilla pulled back, smiled and left.
Spike turned to face Buffy, a nervous grin on his face. "So now you know."
"So you had your girlfriend do the one thing you could never do, beat me!" Buffy spat out, the poison plain in her voice.
"No! It wasn't like that! Spike protested.
"Spare me the crap 'bout you loving me. You think I could love a monster who did the things you did?"
"You loved Angel." Spike pointed out, a deadpan expression on his face.
"That was different." She said. "He has a soul, and at least he fights for right."
"Hey I changed." Spike said, a touch of anger coming into his voice. "If you haven't noticed I've been helping! Who put up Joyce and Dawn, who helped you look for your sister when she ran off, and who got knocked out on your behalf fighting the Big Bad?" He stopped and pretended to think. "Oh yes, that was me."
"Only cause you thought it would make me like you. The only reason I haven't staked you, is that you're too pathetic to stake. You'll be nothing but a demon in my view." Buffy said scornfully.
Spike turned away then. He didn't want Buffy to see the hurt and pain on his face. Slowly this turned to anger, as he realised she had thrown everything he had done back at him. He didn't even feel his face harden as he turned to face her. "A demon in your view? Let's not disappoint you."
With that he strode over and held Buffy. She didn't put up much of struggle. The fight with Drusilla had drained her. Spike leered. "Always wondered what you tasted like." He started to lick her open shoulder wound, slowly at first, as he wanted to savour every bit of her blood, gradually increasing in speed as he had to have more. Buffy let out a low whimper.
Suddenly Buffy fell. Spike had cut her down. He looked down on her, the contempt clear on his face. "Who's beneath who now?" He said, tossing her the knife he used, so she could do her ankles as well. He left then, with a spring in his step that had been missing for quite sometime. Buffy looked up. "Spike?" She said longingly. "Spike!"
Giles and the gang had found her, not long after she finished cutting herself free. She made up a story about how Drusilla left her there to bleed to death. She left out the Spike part, and even denied he was involved. There were holes in her story, but fortunately everyone was too concerned about her to notice. After a brief visit to the hospital where her wounds were treated, she was released.
And now she was here. In front of the mirror in the bathroom. This was something she had to practise. "Spike, I'm sorry." Stopped. Smashed the mirror. Looked down and saw her hand was bleeding from the glass. She hated this. Feeling this way about him, her immortal enemy. Buffy was in love.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
And all that remains are the thanks. Thanks to Caroline for letting me use her spoilers. Thanks to my beta readers Lady Macbeth and Spikelover. Last but not least, the lovely people at jamesmarsters.com/msgboard
He was dreaming about her again. He hated this. Feeling this way about her, his mortal enemy. Spike was in love.
"Buffy I love you." He said drowsily, not fully awake yet.
"What the hell did you just say!"
Then Spike woke up. Harmony was lying beside him in bed, an expression of pure fury on her face.
"I said I love you" Spike quickly lied, trying to look as innocent as possible.
She got up, still angry. "You love the Slayer! I can't believe you would want that, that, bitch! She can't even pick a half-decent outfit!" She suddenly slapped him.
He felt the pain searing into his skin. It was his turn to get angry. He got up and glared at her. "Well when you went after Buffy I was pissing myself laughing. You the big bad? You're not even the calorie-free bad. The only chance you would have had, was if Buffy blew a blood vessel laughing!"
Harmony glared right back at him. "Well at least I'm not a big freak loving the Slayer!"
Spike realised then he'd had enough of Harmony. Even her voice was irritating the hell out of him. He decided she had outstayed her welcome. He grabbed her naked body, and then literally threw her out of his crypt. He banged the door shut as hard as he could. He suddenly felt much better now he didn't have to deal with that whinging slut anymore. He began to smile.
"I'm naked out here! Give me my clothes you big freak!" Harmony called from behind the door.
"If you come back in here ever again, I guarantee you won't need clothes ever again!" Spike retorted with as much venom as he could. There was no way, he promised himself, Harmony would ever get back into his life. He started to pick up her clothes; he was going to burn them. He didn't want a single trace of her left in his crypt.
Outside Harmony was freezing. It was possibly the coldest night ever. It didn't look as though Spike was going to let her back in anytime soon. She was going to have to kill some one to steal their clothes. Even if it was Willow, whose fashion sense was even deader than she was.
She couldn't understand how her blondie bear could do this to her. After all she had done for him. She had tried so hard to make him happy, but he had always treated her as second best to Dorkas. And now the Slayer. This hurt a lot more than Dorkas; at least she had been a vampire. But the Slayer was the natural enemy of vampires and demons. Harmony had gone to school with her, before she had been turned. She couldn't even stand her when she was alive. She wondered if she should tell Buffy about Spike, before realising Buffy would stake before she could speak. Snacking on Willow and kidnapping her sister was probably not the best way to get Buffy's attention.
Harmony suddenly spotted a figure in the distance; it looked female, and fully clothed. She started to run towards the figure. She yelped as she slipped on some mud left over from the last night's rain, and fell on her back.
"Oh what else can go wrong!" Harmony whined to herself. Suddenly a stiletto heel came down, transfixing her heart. Harmony looked down at the foot. "Oh great, killed by Gucci." Then she was dust.
Spike had just finished getting dressed. He reached for his coat when he heard a noise behind him. He rolled his eyes. It would probably be Harmony begging him to take her back. Well not this time. He was sick of her.
"Harm, I'm giving you five seconds to bugger off, before I do something you will regret." While he was speaking, he picked up a stake that she had hidden and thought he didn't know about. He turned round, stake in hand. He dropped the stake and stared in shock. "Say hello to your Princess." Said Drusilla.
Spike simply stared, unable to say anything. He was very confused, on one hand he thought he loved Buffy, on the hand here was the woman who had been the great love of his life. Seeing her had awakened all kinds of feelings. Including anger as soon as he remembered what she had done to him.
"Dru, why the hell are you here." Spike demanded, the anger plain to see on his face.
She pouted. "You're not pleased to see your Princess?"
"You left me. Twice. The second time was for a Chaos demon which are, might I add, not exactly known for its looks. So you'll forgive me if I don't jump up and down with joy."
She spoke again, in a little girl's voice. "All the dark things whisper that you've lost your way. The bee in your bonnet is making you human." She smiled brightly. "I'm going to remind my pet who he is."
Spike recoiled as if Drusilla had punched him. "I'm still the demon I ever was. Just can't bite."
"Then why do you talk to your food instead of killing it? You think I can't smell the love that reeks from you? The Slayer is the root of the problem. You're not the demon I loved anymore." Drusilla replied sadly.
"You think I love the Slayer! You're wrong Dru. I never loved her. I hate the bitch. Truly, madly, deeply. I'm still demon!" Spike replied, more to try to convince himself than Dru, who he could see wasn't buying it.
"Spike." She said, shaking her head. "You're a big boy. Naughty to be playing with girls' dolls."
Spike winced. Drusilla had spotted the mannequin that he used to practice his conversations with Buffy. This was going to take some explaining. Spike started to. "Well you see the reason why that's there is because... Bugger this. How can I prove to you I'm still demon?"
Drusilla smiled sweetly. "The night air is whistling sweet little melodies in my ear. Let's go see what we can find."
With that Drusilla strode into the night, with Spike following at her heels.
The night was cool and breezy now, and Spike was getting more and more worried. Drusilla seemed to be leading them towards one of the Slayer's favourite haunts. The Bronze was a shabby nightclub in Sunnydale. Unfortunately it was the only place worth going in town. So naturally the Slayer and her friends frequented the place. He didn't fancy their chances if the Slayer caught them. On the other hand, it might give her something to think about, seeing him with another woman. Spike reminded himself this was Buffy he was thinking about. She would probably too self-absorbed to care. As usual.
Buffy stood in a telephone kiosk outside the train station. Being the Slayer usually meant she wasn't easily shocked, but she was now, after what she had just seen. She was speaking to Giles on the phone. "It was a vamp. Nastier than the usual kind. It killed everyone on that train and didn't care if it got caught or not. Cop on the train had his heart ripped out."
Giles spoke, his voice crackling. "I don't suppose the assailant left any clue to his or her identity?"
"No, I'm going to patrol tonight. It shouldn't be too difficult to find. It's not exactly Mr low profile we're dealing with. I'll swing by the Bronze and check on the gang, I want them safe. I'll call you there."
With that she hung up the phone and started to make her way towards the Bronze.
Outside the Bronze, Drusilla's eyes lit up with glee. She turned excitably to Spike. "In there pet! I can feel it, the throbbing of young souls waiting to be plucked. Oh take me inside!"
Spike replied slowly. "Dru love, that's the Slayer's favourite place. Even if she's not there, one of her annoying friends is bound to be. I can't fight with this sodding chip in my head."
Drusilla smiled serenely. "Don't worry pet. Princess will deal with the nasty Slayer for you. Now come." With that she swept into the Bronze. Spike shrugged helplessly and followed her in.
Inside the Bronze was quieter than normal. The music was light on the ear and surprisingly catchy. Spike quickly scanned the area for Buffy and her friends. He couldn't see any sign of them. That didn't mean they weren't here though. Just he hadn't spotted them yet. He turned and saw Drusilla writhing to the music. She smiled seductively at him. "Dance with me?" He smiled and held her close. They began to dance. He hadn't held a woman he truly loved this close in a long time. He started to remember all the good times they had, and blot out all the bad. He started to relax in her arms.
"And then he said he could do it without hands." Anya said.
"Anya, we're really going to have to have one of those little talks again." Xander replied wearily. His friend Willow was there too, hand over her mouth to stop herself laughing. They were chilling to the latest band to rock Sunnydale. It had been a heavy week for the gang, so they felt more than entitled to take it easy.
"We're always having these 'little' chats." Responded Anya petulantly. Her eyes alighted on something. "Say isn't that Spike dancing with that girl?"
"Spike! Dancing!" Said Xander and Willow simultaneously. They swivelled round to where Anya was looking. They couldn't see who Spike was dancing with at first, as the woman had her back to them. Then she turned her head to regard them. Xander blinked. "Drusilla. This is bad. Very bad."
"Who's Drusilla?" Anya asked.
Spike was having a good time. He was fully relaxed. Even the music was beginning to sound good. He was a little stiff in dancing; he had been a bit out of practise. He had even started to stop worrying about being seen at the Bronze. Until that is, he saw Drusilla staring at something to the side. "What is it Dru?" He said, not wanting to look. "There's that boy who tricked your Princess into loving him. Think I'll teach him some manners."
"Xander?" Spike replied, having to think a minute. She was referring to an occasion where a spell had gone wrong and made Xander irresistible to women. Fortunately the spell had been reversed. "Time to go love. That probably means that the Slayer's around or will be soon." He started to steer her round, then stopped. "Oh bollocks." He said feelingly. Buffy was dead ahead, and she spotted them.
"Spike. You should have told me your ex was back in town. We could have arranged a party." Buffy said, talking to Spike but staring at Drusilla. Her tone was so cold, you could have froze water with it.
"I love parties, me." Drusilla replied playfully. "The music, the dancing, and the drink." She said, looking all around at the bodies.
Spike managed to keep the panic from his voice. "Here's what we'll do. Me and Dru will leave quietly. Then she'll leave town"
Buffy spoke. "Not going to happen. The only way she's leaving is through a vacuum cleaner."
Spike searched her expression for clues. Then asked wearily. "What did she do?"
"Killed everyone on the 9.15. So she's not going anywhere else."
Drusilla then suddenly shoved Buffy out the way and ran past her. Buffy was taken fully by surprise and landed on her backside. Spike started to follow Drusilla, but stopped. He tried to help Buffy up and received a punch in his face that sent him sprawling. Buffy spoke coldly. "Stay there, I'll deal with you later." Then she was off after Drusilla. Spike got back up and tried to follow, but lost them both in the crowd. He desperately looked for them both, but couldn't see any of them in the teeming mass of flesh.
Drusilla was waiting patiently for the Slayer outside the Bronze. She had left by a side exit. The Slayer would be here shortly; she hadn't made it too difficult for her to follow her. Drusilla knew what she had to do, to make Spike all better again. Suddenly the door burst open and the Slayer strode out, her hair flowing back behind her. She held a stake in her hand. She smiled in that oh-so cocky way she usually did. "Party's over for you."
Drusilla hissed in fury. "It hurts my pet just to look at you. You're going to suffer."
Buffy shrugged. She didn't know what Drusilla was getting at, but she did know that only one of them was going to be left standing. It was going to be her; she wasn't going to lose to Spike's ex.
Buffy quickly stepped forward and rammed her stake towards Drusilla's heart. Drusilla hissed and caught the stake with her left hand an inch away from her flesh. In reply she slashed Buffy's left shoulder with her nails. She cooed in pleasure as she drew blood. Buffy winced in pain, it had been a deep cut and it was bleeding. She didn't let it distract her though, and while Drusilla was gloating, she kicked her legs out from under her. She followed through, preparing to stake Drusilla on the ground. Her stake only touched stone however, as Drusilla rolled away to the side. Buffy turned to face her opponent. She saw Drusilla staring intently at her. Buffy found herself returning the stare. Then Drusilla intoned. "Be in my eyes.... Be in me." Buffy tried to fight the sudden paralysis that came over her. She succeeded in throwing it off when Drusilla hit her full force in the face. As she fell into darkness she was afraid, not for herself, but for her family and friends.
Spike finally burst out of the Bronze. He had found somebody who had definitely seen Buffy come this way. He was frantic with worry. What made it worse was he wasn't sure who he wanted to win if there was a fight. Why did he have to have feelings about both of them? Things had been so much simpler when he had only been trying to kill Buffy. Dru was probably right about the chip, it had buggered everything up. He wished that things could be back the way before he had that sodding chip put in him. He began to calm down when he saw nobody was around. Perhaps Drusilla had out run Buffy. Then he saw the blood.
He knelt down, started to smell the blood. There was no mistake. "Buffy." Spike said softly.
"What the hell have you done to her!" Came Xander's angry voice Willow and Anya had followed Xander out. Willow was looking concerned, and Anya had the same nonchalant expression she always had. Xander started up again. "What were you thinking, bringing psycho-girl back?"
Spike retaliated. "First of all Dru came back herself. I didn't do anything to Buffy, though she gave me a fair old whack. I don't think Dru killed her either, there'd be at least some body left. If I can track them down, I just might be able to talk Dru out of killing her."
Xander sneered at Spike, the distrust clear in his eyes. "Oh yes, you'll do it, because you're such an upstanding member of the community."
"I've had enough of this." Spike snarled back. "It's always the same with you bloody scoobies. No matter what I do, you think I've got an ulterior motive for helping you. Well I've put my ass on the line, got beaten up, can't even mix with my own kind all on your account."
"So what, you're Angel now?" Xander sarcastically added.
Spike considered this. "No, I'm not. It's a lot harder for me to do good than soul-boy. Plus I'm better looking." He paused a minute, then pointed at Anya. "Look at her. She did as much damage I did, probably more as she was in the game longer than I was. Yet just because she's shagging one-minute boy, everything's hunky-dory? All I'm asking is that you for once in your lives, trust me. If Buffy's still alive I won't let her die. I better be off then."
Xander grabbed Spike's arm. "I'm going with you."
Spike shook off Xander gently, to avoid setting off that damn chip. "No you're not, as I don't give too much for your chances if Buffy's down." He smiled at Xander. "Dru remembers what you did to her."
Xander looked guilty then. "The love spell? That wasn't even meant for her!"
"Wait up. What love spell?" Anya demanded.
"I can see you two have a lot to discuss." Spike grinned. He nodded to Willow. "If those two start fighting, there's a fiver on Anya. Right I have a Slayer to save!" With that he strode off.
"Now there's something you don't see everyday." Willow commented. She could see Anya and Xander were beginning to fight. "Cut it out guys, we have to tell Giles everything." They stopped arguing, then made their way to Giles'.
Buffy woke up with a massive headache. She was in Spike's crypt; her arms tied to the ceiling. She couldn't work out why she wasn't dead. "Alive. Good thing." She said to herself.
"Silly girl!" Said a voice from behind her. Drusilla came into view, smiling brightly. "If I killed you my Spike would never be free."
Buffy wasn't so sure being alive was a good thing. She struggled against the tight ropes. Drusilla stopped smiling and smashed the back of her hand into Buffy's face again. The dark came as blessed relief to Buffy.
Spike stood outside his crypt. Buffy's trail ended here. He had a perplexed expression as he tried to work out what was going on. "Dru, what the hell are you playing at?" He wondered out aloud. He nodded to himself grimly and entered the crypt.
At Giles' house, the gang had just finished explaining everything to the ex-librarian. He was understandably upset. "So you let Spike go alone to find Buffy, who he has tried to kill several times in the past. As well as that, Buffy has been possibly kidnapped by Drusilla, with who Spike had enjoyed a long romantic association. Bravo. That was genius."
"Well... Hey! That was sarcasm!" Xander replied.
"Giles." Willow began. "It's not like we had a choice. We couldn't go after Drusilla by ourselves. It's not like Spike can go all grr-face on Buffy. Well he can, but he can't hurt her."
Giles sighed. "I'm sorry Willow. I'm just afraid for Buffy. I don't like the thought of her in the clutches of that creature. Not after what she did to me." He shuddered, as he remembered how Drusilla used her hypnosis, to make him think she was his dead lover. "We had better come up with a plan of action"
"Never mind that. I want to know about that love spell." Anya cut in.
Xander sighed. "Anya, that was well before I met you. It was a crater size mistake. Drusilla nearly turned me into her vamp boy-toy, and all of the female population ended up trying to kill me. Except Cordelia, on who the spell was supposed to work."
Anya frowned. "So what you're saying is that you love Cordelia more than me!"
Exasperated, Xander replied. "No! Why would you think that?"
"You never tried to cast a love spell on me." Anya said accusatorily.
Xander's eyes widened. "Why would I cast a love spell on my girlfriend?"
Anya replied petulantly. "Oh, just cause I'm your girlfriend, means you don't cast a love spell on me!"
Before Xander could reply, Willow butted in. "Guys I think Giles is getting cranky. I think we better listen to what he has to say
"Thank you Willow." Giles said primly. "Here is what we will do. After arming ourselves from the armoury, we will as a group, search for Buffy."
"Oh, oh! I could do a location spell to find her! Need to go down to the magic shop for supplies though." Willow put in excitably.
"Yes, well you better hurry. We can't imagine what Buffy is going through now." Giles replied.
Spike took in the scene slowly. In front of him was Buffy, tied to the ceiling of his crypt. She had a black eye and her right shoulder was bleeding. She stared at him in the familiar defiant way. Beside her stood a smiling Drusilla. She glided towards him. "Once the kitty bleeds to death you can drink your fill. Then everything will be purified. All those nasty love feelings will disappear." Spike saw Buffy look in surprise at the mention he loved her. Then a scowl darkened her face. Oblivious to this, Drusilla continued on. "Love to stay and watch, but I have to follow fourteen blackbirds that flew on by." Her voice became more tender. "Always love you Spike, but can't be with a man who can't kill."
Spike nodded sadly. With this chip in his head he was only half a vampire. He didn't belong in Dru's world now. It wouldn't be right to even try. "Love you too Princess" He said softly.
They shared a final bittersweet kiss then, before Drusilla pulled back, smiled and left.
Spike turned to face Buffy, a nervous grin on his face. "So now you know."
"So you had your girlfriend do the one thing you could never do, beat me!" Buffy spat out, the poison plain in her voice.
"No! It wasn't like that! Spike protested.
"Spare me the crap 'bout you loving me. You think I could love a monster who did the things you did?"
"You loved Angel." Spike pointed out, a deadpan expression on his face.
"That was different." She said. "He has a soul, and at least he fights for right."
"Hey I changed." Spike said, a touch of anger coming into his voice. "If you haven't noticed I've been helping! Who put up Joyce and Dawn, who helped you look for your sister when she ran off, and who got knocked out on your behalf fighting the Big Bad?" He stopped and pretended to think. "Oh yes, that was me."
"Only cause you thought it would make me like you. The only reason I haven't staked you, is that you're too pathetic to stake. You'll be nothing but a demon in my view." Buffy said scornfully.
Spike turned away then. He didn't want Buffy to see the hurt and pain on his face. Slowly this turned to anger, as he realised she had thrown everything he had done back at him. He didn't even feel his face harden as he turned to face her. "A demon in your view? Let's not disappoint you."
With that he strode over and held Buffy. She didn't put up much of struggle. The fight with Drusilla had drained her. Spike leered. "Always wondered what you tasted like." He started to lick her open shoulder wound, slowly at first, as he wanted to savour every bit of her blood, gradually increasing in speed as he had to have more. Buffy let out a low whimper.
Suddenly Buffy fell. Spike had cut her down. He looked down on her, the contempt clear on his face. "Who's beneath who now?" He said, tossing her the knife he used, so she could do her ankles as well. He left then, with a spring in his step that had been missing for quite sometime. Buffy looked up. "Spike?" She said longingly. "Spike!"
Giles and the gang had found her, not long after she finished cutting herself free. She made up a story about how Drusilla left her there to bleed to death. She left out the Spike part, and even denied he was involved. There were holes in her story, but fortunately everyone was too concerned about her to notice. After a brief visit to the hospital where her wounds were treated, she was released.
And now she was here. In front of the mirror in the bathroom. This was something she had to practise. "Spike, I'm sorry." Stopped. Smashed the mirror. Looked down and saw her hand was bleeding from the glass. She hated this. Feeling this way about him, her immortal enemy. Buffy was in love.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
And all that remains are the thanks. Thanks to Caroline for letting me use her spoilers. Thanks to my beta readers Lady Macbeth and Spikelover. Last but not least, the lovely people at jamesmarsters.com/msgboard