SOMETHING OLD
Part one in the "Dangerous Liaisons" series
By: Osiris
Send comments to: Trinity1256@aol.com
No flames, please!
"Here I come, ready or not." Buffy said softly. She slipped a stake out of her sleeve and closed her eyes, searching for anything unusual. Her eyes snapped open as she sensed a vamp. Now her whole demeanor changed. She was a predator on the hunt. The man watching her had to admire that. She almost underwent a physical change, like the creatures she was hunting.
Buffy approached the grave silently, ready to fight. It was old, with a cherub balancing on top of a marble block. She stood; stake in hand, her gaze never leaving the grave. When the vamp came, she was ready. She thought. The vamp didn't come out of the grave, as she had expected, but from behind her. And there was more than one vampire.
The first vamp, a tall black man, hit Buffy squarely on the back of the head. He didn't last for long. She whirled around and staked him before he even realized what had happened. Then another vamp appeared, almost out of nowhere. She was followed by more of her kin. Buffy was everywhere, staking and kicking. At first it seemed that she might win, but then she made a mistake. She stepped back into the middle of the group. They instantly converged on her.
Her shadow knew that she needed help; besides, it had been a long time, and he could feel the need to hunt throbbing in his veins. Putting on his game face, he picked up a stake that had been haphazardly thrown near him, and charged into battle. Taking out the first two vamps was the most refreshing thing Spike had done since arriving at SunnyHell. Buffy gave him a surprised look, then turned her attention to the vamp that was attempting to attack her.
When there were only four left, it happened. Spike was backing up, taunting the two fledglings that were going after him, when a third suddenly attacked. He didn't see it coming. He was thrown backwards into the old gravestone, and the cherub toppled from its precarious perch. Buffy winced at the sound of bones breaking as the statue fell on his chest. Spike's face vamped. The two fledglings fled.
"Spike… are you okay…?" Buffy dropped the stakes and ran over to Spike, kneeling beside him. He forced his face back to normal, and gritted his teeth. * I. Will. Not. Bloody. Scream. In. Front. Of. The. Slayer. *
"Yeah, pet." His voice dripped with sarcasm. He groaned, and pulled his arm free, wincing. "Let's get this bloody thing off me."
Together, they managed to lift the heavy stone off him. However, getting Spike to stand up was going to be harder than lifting the stone.
His first attempt to get up failed miserably. When he finally managed to get up, it was with Buffy's help and a loud string of curses. He leaned heavily on the smaller slayer, one hand on his stomach, the other on the slayer's shoulder. She just shook her head, and began to half-drag him out of the graveyard.
"Where we going, Slayer?"
"My house."
Spike was too tired and in too much pain to argue with the slayer, she would invariably win, anyway. He sighed and slumped against her shoulder, letting her lead him to her home.
Joyce Summers was surprised to find her daughter at her door with a strange man, but she let them in without any questions. Spike silently thanked whatever deity had chosen to bless him. He didn't even want to think of Mrs. Summers' reaction if she knew that Buffy had brought her mortal enemy home.
"Mom, can you help him? I think that one of his ribs is crushed."
Buffy's voice was faint and far off, as if from a distance.
Then warm fingers gently pushed down on his chest, feeling for injuries. He stiffened, and vamped. Mrs. Summers jumped back as if she had been burned.
"Mom? I can't find the…" Buffy's voice faded as she came face to face with a fuming Joyce.
"Were you planning on telling me that your friend here is a vampire? Or were you just going to stake him as soon as he healed?"
"Mom, I-"
"You lied to me, that's what."
"Please, mom, I didn't want you to be scared."'
"And you think that I'm not going to be scared- terrified, actually- when your friend suddenly changes?" Mrs. Summers looked like she was going to stake her daughter herself.
Instead of answering, Buffy walked over to the couch where Spike was lying. He had passed out when his face was still vamped. He did look terrifying. On an impulse, she reached out and ran her fingers over the ridges and wrinkles that covered his face. Under her touch, they smoothed out and disappeared.
Joyce stared as a handsome young man appeared from underneath a beast at her daughter's touch. It reminded her of a fairytale in which the handsome prince was cursed to be a beast, until the lovely princess freed him from his curse. She bit her lip, feeling suddenly sad for some reason.
"It must be a slayer thing." Her daughter murmured, not noticing the tender look on her mother's face, or the tear running down Mrs. Summers' cheek.
A/N: This is a Buffy/Spike fic. It deals with their romance, and other's reactions to it. No flames, please!!!