A/N - There is dialogue taken from Season 2 Episode 3 'School Hard' and mentions of Season 4 Episode 3 "The Harsh Light of Day' in this chapter. So far, everything is revolving around Spike, so no Buffy yet. For Spuffy fans, sorry, but there are several mentions of a Spike/Drusilla pairing. It won't be like that for long, but it'll all be explained in this chapter. I hope you like this chapter, and please let me know what you guys think!
Chapter 2: Home Sweet Home
Spike wasn't sure exactly what had happened after he agreed to being sent back in time, but he did remember seeing black again. He blinked a few times, closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he saw a road. Spike looked down at himself and knew that this was his corporeal body. Cigarette in hand, he lit it and inhaled deeply, allowing the old sensation to pass through his lungs again, as he hadn't enjoyed this experience in awhile. Not when The First was so close.
He noticed the 'Welcome To Sunnydale' sign flat underneath his old DeSoto, sticking out from under his tire. He looked at the town he had literally just destroyed not too long ago. Everything was new and fresh in his eyes again, not a thing looked out of place. He chuckled to himself.
"Home sweet home."
The bleached blonde drove to the old factory that he and his Dark Princess had lived in before. She was in the passenger seat next to him, weak and not too aware of her surroundings. He looked at his sire, and knew that no matter how he felt for the Slayer now, he would always hold a place in his heart for Dru. He was here to protect Buffy, but he felt that he owed it to the raven-haired beauty to make her strong again. After that mob in Prague, she was terribly fragile, and not even this older Spike could leave her like that.
He entered the factory, remembering how it would play out. He waited as he listened to the vampires talking, waiting for his cue.
"The Master is dead. Someone has to take his place," a bigger vampire stated.
A leaner vampire responded, "As long as the Slayer is alive, whoever takes his place will be sharing his grave!"
"Then let the soul who kills her wear his mantle."
"Can you do it?" The Anointed One asked the bigger vampire.
"Yes. This weekend, the Night of Saint Vigeous, our power shall be at it's peak! When I kill her, it'll be the greatest event since the crucifixion. And I should know. I was there."
Spike chose that moment to make himself known, "You were there? Oh please."
He strolled in, eyeing everyone with amusement. He got in the bigger vampire's face. "If every vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock!"
"I ought to rip your throat out," the vampire spit.
Spike wrinkles his nose. "Would it kill ya', little mouthwash every couple hundred years?" Spike moved on, purposefully turning his back on the big vampire, and looked at the others, glancing at a metal cage, some meat hooks, and old chains hanging from pulleys in the ceiling. Spike continued, "I was actually at Woodstock. That was a weird gig. Fed off a flower person and spent six hours watching my hands move."
The vampire whom Spike had just mocked just moments before came at him from behind. Spike ripped a chain from the pulley, whipped it around the vampire's neck and yanked, chaining his face against the iron bars of the cage. Spike wasn't even out of breath.
The bleached blonde knew he had made a statement. "So, who do you kill for fun around here?"
The Anointed One was confused, with a hint of being impressed. "Who are you?"
This was where Spike changed the scene in the middle of the act. He thought that maybe he could feign big talk about killing this Slayer, but Spike knew that he had no intention of doing just that. These guys were just waiting to be big piles of dust, the annoying one being number one on the Master vampire's list. He decided to keep it simple this time, "Spike."
"What do you want?"
Now wasn't that a loaded question. He wanted the Slayer, and not to kill her as he had wanted to the last time around. Of course, things would not be too easy. Spike still had to kill these vampires, without risking Drusilla, as she would be walking in any moment now, so that pushed back his window of opportunity. He also knew that his grandsire would be hanging around Buffy, so he had to find a way to contact the Slayer without the Poof figuring out he was there. During his thoughts, he realized that several beats had past since the question was asked, so he answered with the next truth. "I'm here to restore my Black Goddess back to health."
Just as he finished that sentence, the aforementioned vampire wandered in. She was looking at everything around her with a child-like fascination. "Drusilla," Spike let go of the big vampire after he returned to his human visage. "You shouldn't be walking around. You're weak."
"Look at all the people. Are these nice people?"
"We're getting along."
Drusilla moved over to the Anointed One, but she was still talking to Spike. "This one has power. I could feel it from outside."
"Yeah, he's a big noise in these parts. Anointed, and all that."
Drusilla addressed the vampire child, "Do you like daisies? I plant them but they always die. Everything I put in the ground withers and dies." Drusilla looked up and spoke to her childe, "Spike, I'm cold."
He whipped off his coat and laid it around her shoulders, holding her as he did. "I got you."
"I'm a princess…"
"That's what you are."
She ran her finger along his cheek, drawing blood. It trickled down Spike's face. He didn't flinch, and Drusilla gently licked it off. He turned to the others.
"Me and Dru, we're moving in. Anyone wanna test who's got the biggest wrinklies around here, step on up."
Spike and Drusilla had settled in a room of their own, with Dru quietly sleeping in the bed. Spike hadn't made any promises to the Anointed One this time about killing the Slayer, but he hoped that he'd still make a big enough impression to not become a target.
The bleached blonde had brought all of Dru's dolls into their room, along with the few supplies they had. It was almost peaceful watching the dark beauty sleeping, and for a moment he could forget that she was dying. That he needed to help the Slayer instead of trying to kill her. But he knew that he could not hold onto his sire forever and that Buffy should be his top priority.
Last time, Drusilla had told him that she would lose him to the sunshine, and he had not known exactly what that had meant until she came back to town. He had tied her up, along with Buffy, and confessed his feelings for the Slayer, and the raven-haired vampire had known all along.
That time, along with every other time he tried to profess his love, had come to bite him in the arse. And now that he was here, with nothing to do but think, he wondered about the Slayer's confession to him right before he perished.
She had thrown him a bone, the one thing he wanted to hear from her since falling in love with her. Buffy had cared for him, he knew that, but did she love him? On some level, he thought it was true, that somewhere inside of her, she had loved him and may have not fully realized it until the threat of his death.
But at the same time, there was that inkling that she didn't. He had told her that she didn't because he wanted her to survive and to get the hell out of there. His first reaction when he heard those words had been hope, but he knew it was too late for anything. He had to let her go. She had to live, so one of them was living. He remembered singing that to her, at a time when she didn't want to live.
After being torn out of Heaven, she had been emotionless with nothing to live for. Those potential girls, protecting and training them to fight, had given her a new purpose. And while she had never been quite the same since being brought back from the dead, she was at least far from being the walking zombie she had been since her resurrection.
Buffy said that he was the only one she could be herself with, but he knew that he couldn't really help her, not the way he wanted. She was self-destructive, and in her quest to punish herself, she destroyed him as well. Given the circumstances, it was not a healthy relationship at all. Had things been different, they could have been so much greater for each other. At least that's what he hoped.
He blinked at the spot he had been staring at on the floor. He realized then that everything he knew of, was about to change. No need to dwell on the past that wouldn't happen, now that he was there to make sure that things changed for the better. He had to make a plan now, but he knew that he couldn't prevent everything on his own.
Spike had to find a way to contact Buffy and convince her of everything he knew of. He needed to approach her in a way that wasn't alarming and talk her into a private meeting before revealing his identity. He wasn't going to follow her around with cryptic messages like his Poof of a grandsire, but at the same time she needed to know that he wasn't a threat to her.
On the off chance that she figured out that he was a vampire before he could tell her about his soul and used her 'stake-first-ask-questions-later' method, he needed insurance that he would still be alive. He couldn't fulfill his mission from the Powers is he was dust. With that, he decided to unearth the protection he needed. He was going to dig up the Gem of Amarra again.
Spike had all the blueprints, tools, and everything else that he needed for his dig. He hired five bone-headed vampires to start the work on the tunnel. It took nearly five days last time to locate the crypt, but this time, Spike knew exactly where it was. Hopefully with this knowledge and the extra man-power, he could have the Gem by midday.
They worked hard for several hours straight, tearing at rock and earth with tools and bare hands. Spike was so close and yet so far. He had left his princess sleeping, taking off right away to execute his plan almost as soon as he made it.
It worried him that a vampire should sleep so long, but he knew that even in her weakened state, Drusilla would wake up soon and find him gone. He left word with one of the Anointed One's minions that should she wake up hungry, Drusilla would be brought someone to feed on. Spike may not kill anymore, but nobody needed to know that, least of all his sire.
At last, his pick-ax brought a chunk of stone clanging to the ground. He had reached the crypt! He pulled himself up through the opening into the chambers. The dark room brightened with the kerosene lamp the vampire carried. He looked around the room, remembering all the jewels and antiques.
He never knew why he never sold the extra possessions, as they were sure to fetch a pretty penny each. He searched for the tiny ring, locating it with ease and slipped it on his finger. For good measure, he put on a few other rings to distract from the out-of-place green stone next to his sliver skull ring.
Spike noticed the convenient stake he had used on Harmony when she had been in here, running her mouth like there was no tomorrow. He took the stake and dropped through the hole in the ground. When one of vampires asked about their share of the riches, Spike turned him into dust, and dispatched the remaining four workers. Spike couldn't risk anyone else learning of the crypt or what he had been looking for inside of it.
The bleached blonde made a mental reminder to come back again for the rest of the valuables. He hid the entrance as best he could, and made his way to the surface.
Spike closed his eyes as he relished in the suns rays and took a deep, unneeded breath. He knew that he had to return to the factory soon, but he wanted to enjoy these uninterrupted moments first. Last time, Spike had never fully taken advantage of the Gem, but he was going to make the most of it this time.
After he was done indulging himself, the vampire made his way back towards the tunnel and into the sewers. He traveled back to the factory and went to his bedroom. Drusilla was sleeping, but the dead pizza guy in the corner indicated that she had in fact woken up earlier and was given something to eat. He hated that his sire was killing, but for now, it was all she had to keep her strength up.
Spike laid his head down on the pillow and relaxed on the bed beside the sleeping beauty. He knew he still had much more to do to prepare for his first meeting with Buffy, but for now he could rest. After all, he needed to be at the top of his game in order to think clearly. And he only had this one chance to make a second impression.
