Disclaimer: This is just a piece of fan fiction. All characters, rights, privileges, etc. belong to Joss Whedon.
A Midwinter Tale
Spike called out from the shadow of the tree line where he had been watching her as she sat on the step of her back porch.
"Hello, Slayer. Taking a bit of the night air?"
"It's you again. Everywhere I turn there you are."
"I can't help myself, haven't you heard, I'm crazy about you."
"You're pathetic. How many times do I have to say it? It's not you, it will never be you."
"I hear your words, but everything else about you tells me otherwise. You can wish for a normal life, Slayer. You can run after a normal life. Hell, you can bloody well chase after a helicopter full of normal lives…"
She interrupted him, "Don't even go there, Spike."
"Tell me…what do you think would have happened if you had caught up with him?"
"I don't know, but I expect you're going to tell me. No. I want you to tell me. What if Riley and I had made up and he stayed instead of leaving for South America."
"Ok, let's play pretend. Let's pretend you caught up with Riley and begged his forgiveness for catching him with a vampire whore. At first he'd be as happy as a clam. You're quite a trophy you know. Some men like to take strong women and turn them into playthings. You'd eventually have to give up slaying, of course. He'd come home from whatever keeps mortal men out of the house all day and you'd greet him at the door with (mimicking her voice), 'Oh, you big strong man, what important things did you do today? What worlds did you save?' Then you'd get old and he'd leave you for someone half your age."
"Or, you'd stay the Slayer and day by day he'd feel himself getting smaller and smaller. Before you know it he'd go back to doing anything it takes to make him feel like the man he use to be—drink, drugs or other women. Then he'd weigh you down like an anchor. You'd start hating him and blame yourself for everything--again. Look what happened in the short time you've known him."
"That's enough, Spike. Get out of my face. Leave now, or you're going to be sorry you ever opened your mouth."
"Too tough for you Slayer? Not the happy ending American princesses are brought up believing?" She drew back and hit him in the middle of his face.
He reeled back from the punch, but continued, "Did you think you could ride off into the sunset and turn your back on your destiny? There is no white knight coming to rescue you."
"Shut up!" She screamed at him and started to pelt him with kicks and punches. He grabbed her wrists so that he could finish talking.
"Your only happy ending is the freedom your death will bring you at the end of your last glorious fight. Ask Giles how many Slayers ever lived beyond their twenty-first birthday."
Those words brought her to a complete halt. She stared at him with horror.
"How many?" She asked him.
"None, sweet Slayer," he released her hands and stroked the side of her face as he repeated the word. "None."
"Then you'll be rid of me."
That hurt him more than any of her punches. "I don't ever want to be rid of you." He said softly.
She sat back down on the porch and placed her head on her knees. "What should I do, Spike? Sometimes everything gets to be too much." Buffy's words turned into silent, heaving sobs.
He sat on the step beside her, and just let her cry herself out. When she was finish she looked up into his face and clearly saw for the first time the way he looked at her. "So in the end am I to be all alone?" She asked.
"Not this time. I'll be at your side, from here to hell, if need be." He took her small but powerful hands, brought them to his cold lips and kissed them.
"You're tired, why don't you get some sleep," he suggested. The demons will keep for one night."
"No one's home but me." She said in a small, quiet voice. "Dawn is spending the Christmas weekend with Xander and Anya. With mom still in the hospital I was too depressed to get a tree or anything."
"Why don't I help you upstairs and put you to bed?" He placed his arm around her and guided her inside and up to her room. While she was in the bathroom washing her tear stained face and changing into nightclothes, he stood by the window looking out on what passed for winter in Sunnydale, California. What he really missed at Christmas time was a mug of hot mulled wine with friends gathered around a big fireplace for the burning of the Yule log. It had been a very long time since that memory had surfaced.
When she returned freshly scrubbed, he uttered a deep sigh and thought, "How come Father Christmas never brought me something like that." Out loud he said, "Don't you look like a shiny new penny." He tucked her into bed and sat on the floor across the room watching her try to sleep.
Tossing from one side to side she become more agitated by the minute. He got up from the floor and walked over to the other side of the bed saying, "If you keep spinning around like a top, you're going to break something." He lay down beside her. She didn't seem to mind, snuggling up beside him and finally falling into a deep sleep.
Just before daylight, she awoke in his arms. During the night he had made his way under the covers. Their close contact and the bedding had brought his body temperature up to normal. She looked up into his face and found his eyes watching her every move. His lips were smiling ever so slightly.
"Did you sleep at all or were you watching me all night," she asked.
"Oh, I slept off and on. I like looking at you. Think the Council might let me become your Watcher. He kissed her lips gently expecting an outburst from her at any moment.
She surprised him by running her hands down the front of his jeans. As she began to stroke him he grabbed her wrist and said, "Are you sure about this? You're not going to kick my ass the next time you see me?"
"Spike, are you asking me if I'll respect you after we have sex?"
"No, I've dreamt of this for months. I'll be your dirty little secret if you want, but I won't be your punching bag anymore."
Buffy answered by continuing to unfasten his belt and climbing on top of him. She held her hands above her head as he pulled off her nightshirt. They made love between napping most of the day and rose from the bed just as the sun was setting.
Buffy had plans to visit her mom before going on the Xander and Anya's place for Christmas Eve and Spike headed back to his crypt.
Walking through the cemetery he noticed a tall figure embracing a smaller one toward the end of the path. He approached cautiously not knowing who or what it was. Before reaching them the taller one turned and moved rapidly toward Spike. It was Riley.
"Back so soon? Your blood too bland for South American vampires?" Spike couldn't resist taunting him.
Riley snarled, "I should have finished you off before I left."
"And now you're back to even the score? If she meant that much to you why did you throw it all away by cheating behind her back in the worse way possible?"
Riley was filled with murderous rage. I'm going to kick your ass from here back to hell and then I have a little surprise for Buffy."
"You'll have to go through me to get to her."
"That's precisely the idea." He pulled out a wooden stake. "This one's the real thing."
An enraged Riley, with his longer reach and military conditioning should have done serious damage to Spike. Perhaps he was weakened by all his bloodletting. "Still playing with the ladies are we?" His punches were ineffectual against Spike.
Rolling his left ankle on a stone, Riley fell to his knees and Spike was on him without hesitation. Holding Riley's head in the crook of his arm, he twisted suddenly until he heard the big guy's neck snap. Then all he was holding was dead weight. He waited for the blinding headache. Nothing happened. Could it be? He grabbed the stake from Riley's hand and shoved it through his former rival's chest. Riley was dusted.
Spike heard a woman shrieking nearby. Harmony ran up to him and began pounding on his chest shouting, "How could you do that, how could you, Spike. I finally get a decent boyfriend and you killed him! I just turned him last night and we were on our way to get rid of that darn Slayer. How could you kill him? I never get to keep any of the cute guys."
"That's about par for you Harmony."
"Wait 'til I tell Buffy you killed her old boyfriend. What do you think she'll do to you then?"
" I can't have you doing that, luv."
"How do you plan to stop me?"
He reached into his coat, pulled out a stake and thrust her through with it. The dust that was once Harmony mingled in the night air with that of Riley's. Spike stepped over them both and headed for his old crypt and a good bottle of port he had been saving for a special occasion.