Spike lay on the hard stone where the boy and the watcher had tried to make him if not comfortable, at the very least, not in too much pain. That was a joke. He still couldn't believe he was alive, undead, whatever. After the things Glory had done to him it was a wonder he hadn't opened his mouth and spouted every last bit of information he had on her blasted key and anything else that came to mind. Just as an added bonus. Spike had to admit the look on her face when she discovered she couldn't suck his brains out through his skull was almost worth the agony of her hand gouging out a great bloody chunk of his chest. He cut off the chuckle that formed when it caused the ends of his ribs to grate unpleasantly together. Fuck that hurt. The pain and the wet sucking sounds which went with it, made him suspect that his lung left had been punctured, maybe both. He slowly slid up an arm to wrap around his middle causally observing his bruised and twisted fingers as if they belonged to someone else. His body wanted to drift off into a healing torpor but he knew there wasn't enough blood in his system to allow it. He was starting to wonder if this was actually it. If he was going to die, alone, lying here in this filthy excuse for a home.
He heard the distinct sound of his door scraping across the rough stone floor as it opened. He gingerly turned his head being careful not to jar anything and cause himself even more pain. It almost worked. He didn't feel any pain but his head swam and his vision blurred. He watched as a large shape which vaguely resembled Xander crossed the room. The boy was carrying something large in his arms. He set whatever it was out of Spike's line of sight and crouched down.
"Hey Spike."
Oh. That was better. Spike could see Xander's face now. Was that concern he saw? He scowled and opened his mouth to tell Xander to fuck off. The soft hazel eyes were his undoing. He closed his mouth without saying anything, closed his eyes and turned away. Spike listened to the noises the boy was making and he willed away tears of self pity. He was concentrating so hard the damp, soft cloth came as a surprise.
Spike turned back and opened his eyes. Xander smiled and ran the soft cloth very gently over the skin of Spike's forehead. Xander leaned down to rinse the cloth and came back up. He paused with the cloth in his hand when he saw the puzzled look on Spike's face.
He shrugged and cleaned the blood off one bruised cheek. "I just thought you'd feel better if you were clean." Another pause and Spike heard more splashing. "Well cleaner."
Spike carefully moved his head slightly up and back down. He tried to relax and Xander tried not to hurt him too much. It seemed like a fair trade.
Spike must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, he was being carefully rearranged on a fluffy pillow and covered with a lovely silky soft blanket.
"Sorry," Xander said. "Didn't mean to wake you." Xander's face took on a pinched, troubled look. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Spike managed the small breath he needed to speak. "No," he whispered.
"Good," Xander replied. He gave Spike's shoulder a gentle pat before kneeling to rifle through his magic box of wonders. He came back up with a silver flask. He twisted off the cover, poured out some of the contents and held the cup to Spike's lips.
Spike could smell the blood but was surprised when he tasted it and realised it was human. Xander shrugged again. "Glory really did a number on you. Thought you could use the good stuff for a change."
Spike accepted the explanation and gulped down the rest of the blood. Xander poured and Spike drank. By the time they reached the final drops, Spike was feeling pleasantly full and drowsy. He could feel the healing starting and knew it wouldn't be long before he drifted off into a true healing sleep. He struggled to stay awake for a few minutes longer.
"Thank you." It was still only a whisper but Spike's voice had regained some of its strength.
Xander leaned forward and surprised Spike by caressing his cheek. "Least I could do. You did good Spike." Xander closed the last few inches between them and placed a light, sweet kiss to Spike's lips. "Sleep. I'll stay for a bit."
Spike closed his eyes, his lips still tingling. Bloody hell. What was that? He remembered Buffy's kiss from a few hours before Xander arrived. It didn't even come close to the way Xander's kiss had made him feel. Spike knew he never really had a chance with Buffy but that truth didn't hurt as much as he'd thought it would. Spike drifted off knowing he was safe and wondering if he'd finally found what he'd been looking for after all. He was glad Xander was staying. He and the boy were going to have a lot to talk about when he woke up.