A/N: Sorry for the ridiculous delay on this. I had my birthday a little over a week ago, and since then I've been busy. I want to thank everyone for their reviews!! I've been given such a warm welcome into the Buffyverse, it's incredible!! So in this chapter I am writing all the scoobies together for the first time. I hope it works! Of course there will be Spuffiness, and triangle stuff, but come on! There is no triangle really. Oh and there is a small dream sequence. Don't let it confuse you or anything. Enjoy!!
Chapter 3: Your Heart
"Come on, pleeeeeaaaase!" The man with dirty blonde hair begged the one with much lighter locks.
"No. Bloody hell, I thought you were supposed to be cool like 007 now." Spike observed in irritation.
"I am cool. You're the one who isn't cool because you won't battle me. You're afraid I will pulverize your vampire ass!"
Spike gasped in mock fear "Yes, I'm shaking in my boots."
"You should be. I have spent many hours training with the girls." Andrew asserted.
"That I can believe." The vampire smirked at his slight jab.
Andrew didn't seem to notice the insult "Yes, the ladies love me." He paused in pride for a moment before speaking again "And I know I would destroy you!"
"What's going on?" Buffy asked as she entered the room flanked by Xander and Angel.
"Andrew wants to duel with light sabers." Spike's eyes rolled.
"Aaaww Spike, Andrew wants to bump swords with you. It's beautiful. I just knew you two crazy kids would make it." The ever-witty Xander Harris grinned as wide as the Cheshire Cat. There weren't many things he enjoyed in life more than tormenting Spike.
"Well, you would know all about sword play, wouldn't you Harris?" Spike replied.
"Hey!" Xander squeaked, not having a proper comeback.
"I know!" Andrew shouted in an appalled voice "the light saber is so much more than a sword, Spike!"
"Kind of missed the point Andrew." The dark haired man grimaced at his friend. The two nerds had bonded over the past year.
"Well, you kids need to behave. Giles should be here any minute, and you know how he feels about your bickering over 'trivial matters such as this'" Buffy spoke with a fake English accent, imitating her watcher.
Xander chuckled "Yeah, 'Would you all discontinue this frivolity, there are important matters at hand'" As he finished is mockery of the Englishman, Xander could feel a presence behind him "He's right behind me, isn't he?" He asked nervously.
Buffy nodded and Xander smiled nervously, turning to face an unimpressed Giles "Giles!" He enthused "You're looking fit! Been working out?"
The Brit simply rolled his eyes "You should know, that accent was terrible."
"Tell me about it." Spike agreed.
Xander simply laughed uncomfortably. Buffy walked briskly up to her watcher, hugging him tightly.
"It's good to see you Giles." Her voice was soft.
He smiled "Yes, you too. I only wish it was under better circumstances."
"Me too, but what kind of reunion would it be without a pending apocalypse? Where's Willow? I thought she was in London with you?"
"I'm here!" Willow announced as she pulled open the grandiose door to the massive library of the slayer school.
"Hey Will!" Buffy and Xander chirped. They hadn't seen their friend in two months.
"Hi guys!" She surveyed the room "Whoa Angel…Spike…gee golly!"
"Those were my thoughts exactly, except they were more of the 'Oh no, not these guys again' variety" Xander quipped, of course earning him an eye roll from the blonde vampire.
"Well, this can't be good. Not that it's not nice to see you both. You really are quite attractive. I mean, if I still thought of guys that way, you'd sure be at the top of the list. Not that I thought of you that way when I was into guys…" The redheaded witch yammered nervously.
Buffy smiled, "It's okay, Will. Where's Kennedy?"
"Oh she was on assignment in the states. She should be getting in tonight."
"Aren't you going to ask about your favorite girl, B?" A very familiar voice spoke out.
Buffy turned to come face to face with her counterpart, Faith Lehane, "I'm sorry Miss, but I'm not sure who you're referring to." She replied, a slight smile crossing her lips.
The dark haired slayer smirked "Nice setup you got here, B. Looks more like a place old Giles would hang in than a hot slayer."
"I beg your pardon?" Giles spoke in offense.
Faith turned her leather clad body to face the watcher "Sorry, G. If it helps you're pretty damn foxy for your age."
"Okay, this has gone to a very creepy place." The eye patch clad man grimaced as he spoke.
As the beautifully deadly woman eyed her surroundings, she was shocked to see a couple familiar faces "Angel, Spike…I thought you two croaked."
"Uh duh, Faith. These guys croaked centuries ago." Xander replied.
"I've had just about enough of your lip for one day, Blackbeard." Spike chided.
"I don't have a…Hey! That was an eye patch joke!"
"Oh aren't you the bright one. It's almost as though you have a hole in your head…Oh wait a minute!"
"I don't even think Blackbeard had an eye patch…stupid bleached vampire…"
Buffy's eyes rolled "Seriously guys, enough already!"
"Nah man, this is pretty good entertainment." Faith cheered with a grin.
"Well, we aren't here for entertainment. We're here to discuss the possible vacation of all people to hell. I hear it's nice and toasty there this time of year." Buffy added sardonically.
"Gotcha, B. What are we up against this time?"
"A demon called Exmanigan and his vast army of Orkanus demons." Angel answered somberly.
"That's it? We just gotta fight a bunch of lame ass demons. What's the big?" Faith asked cockily.
"The big is that Exmaunigan has found a way to open a porthole that could send every human being to hell dimensions in less than two weeks." The tall, dark, and handsome vampire replied.
Her eyes widened slightly "Okay, guess it's kinda big. How do we deal?"
"They have to drop human blood into the porthole during the eclipse. We have to just hold them off until it's over." The blonde slayer spoke resolutely.
"We just fight 'em off. Now that's something I can get into." Faith said with a nod of her head and a crack of her knuckles.
"It won't be that simple. This army…they're not just common demons. They were created with the specific purpose of destroying anyone or anything that stands in the way of their leader's goal." Angel sighed "Exmaunigan is not to be taken lightly. He is very powerful and very smart. He will find a way to foil our plans."
"I think it's safe to say, you're not known as the optimist of the vampire race." Xander broke the tension Angel's words had caused.
Buffy sighed "Look, We'll go down to the location of the porthole and do some recon. We'll assemble all the slayers who are ready to fight, and we'll give Exmaunigan one hell of a battle until the eclipse is over. It's our only option."
"Well, let's not be so hasty. There's always another option." Xander jumped in and Buffy glared at him.
"I thought we went over this last night Xander…that is not an option."
"What's he talking about, Buff?" Willow asked her best friend curiously.
Buffy swallowed hard before Angel spoke up "If demon blood is spilt in the porthole during the eclipse than every demon will be sent to a different dimension instead of every human."
Giles eyes lit up "Well, now that would be…" As he locked eyes with Buffy, it occurred to him what she was thinking "Oh yes, I see."
The redhead looked puzzled "What? Shouldn't catapulting all demons to some other dimension be good?" She looked around the room, realizing her mistake "Oh! Yeah we can't do that."
Buffy sighed. There was no way she would go through with a plan that would likely send Spike and Angel to hell. After all, not all demons were bad, and it was her job to protect all things good, not just humans. She refused to admit to herself that her concern went deeper than that…much deeper.
"So when do we get to see this porthole thing?" The brunette slayer asked.
"We're going tomorrow. Apparently it's in some cathedral about ten minutes from here."
"A porthole to hell in a cathedral…that's ironic. I knew there was a reason I hated going to church on Sundays." Xander mused.
"Ooo the cathedrals here are so pretty. The stained glass makes me tingly."
The entire room faced Andrew with a look of disgust, "What?! Deny it all you want, but you all get just as excited by Italian craftsmanship as I do."
"I don't think we get as excited about anything as you do." Xander responded dryly.
"Anyway, why don't you all get settled in. You must be tired. We'll head to the church tomorrow morning." Buffy addressed the group.
Spike raised his hand as if in a classroom "Uh slight kink in the plan, pet. I think you'll have a harder time fightin' off the demon army if me and Captain Forehead are big piles of dust."
She frowned "Oh…well…"
"Me and Spike will check out the place tonight." Angel resolved.
"Oh goody. I've been dying for one of our evening strolls. It's much less romantic wandering the streets of Rome with someone you actually like." The blonde vampire's voice dripped with insult and sarcasm.
"Gee Spike, when I was being tortured in the Amazon for months, I really missed your charm." The elder vampire replied.
"Are you two quite sure you can remain civil?" Giles asked concernedly.
Angel sighed "There are more important things happening here than Spike's inferiority complex."
"My inferiority complex?! You're the one who turns up here just as soon as I found my bird and was about to make a move."
"Excuse me?" Buffy interrupted "I hope by 'your bird' you don't mean me."
Angel grinned at his long time counterpart "Looks like she shot you down."
Spike huffed "She just doesn't want to hurt your feelings, you poof."
"Will you two kindly restrain yourselves? There are more pressing issues at hand than your romantic quarrels." The ever-wise British man reasoned.
"Yeah, like I am in desperate need of a bath. There were a bunch of bratty little kids on the plane, and I think one of the monsters sneezed on me." Faith grimaced.
"Andrew can you take everyone to their rooms, so they can get settled, please?" Buffy asked.
They followed Andrew to their respective rooms, leaving Buffy and her two exes in awkward silence.
Buffy cleared her throat and walked over to a massive desk. She flipped her long blonde locks over her shoulder as she walked, and both vampires inhaled her scent. Spike sighed slightly in contentment. It had been far too long since he had smelled her. Angel pulled a vile out of his pocket. It glowed blue. He eyed it carefully as Spike eyed him. Placing the vile back in his pocket he addressed the blondes.
"I'm still feeling a little tired. I think I better lay down for a while since Spike and I are heading to the cathedral tonight."
His ex-girlfriend smiled "Okay. Have a nice rest."
He nodded as he left. Buffy's green eyes met Spike's blues, and she quickly broke the glance.
"So…how is it you're not thinking of droppin' in some demon blood in that hole? It'd solve all your problems."
"How can you ask me that?" She was appalled. He could hear it in her voice.
"I get it. Trying to protect your love, right?" he asked snidely.
"Yes, protecting my love." As she replied, their eyes locked. They both understood the poignancy of her words, though neither addressed just which "love" she referred to.
Spike cleared his throat "No worries, love. I have a feeling it's all going to work out for you and the ponce."
She sighed heavily "Spike, what the hell are you talking about?" Her voice was strained and stressed.
His sad eyes found hers "Nothing really, just…have hope. I think you're going to get everything you want."
"You have no idea what I want." Buffy's words bordering on angry. She hated being told what she wanted or didn't want.
"I suppose you're right, pet. I only know what I want." He answered back.
She could feel her breath and heart rate speeding up "And what's that?"
He leaned in til he could feel her breath on his face "The only thing I will ever want. Naturally, the only thing I can never have."
His hand stroked her blonde waves once before he turned and walked out. Buffy's chest heaved as it always did when he came in contact with her. For the life of her, she never understood the effect he had on her body. Not to mention her mind and soul…
Before him stood a heavenly vision. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his many years. She was dressed in flowing white. Surrounding her were a million flowers of every shape, size, and color. If he had breath, it would have been stolen from him in that very instant.
"It's you." he spoke out, barely managing the words.
"Well duh, silly. No one else could pull off this outfit." She answered, showing him her pearly smile. God, he had missed that smile.
He took a seat next to her on the bench made of marble. All he could do was stare into her exquisite face.
She smiled "I missed you, Broody boy."
He smiled in kind "You have no idea how much I miss you everyday."
Her eyes looked away "I know. I can see your heart. I've always been able to see your heart."
"Sometimes I forget I even have one. It doesn't beat. It's empty."
She looked angry at his words "Don't you ever say that. Your heart…empty couldn't be farther from the truth. It may not beat, but your heart is the fullest I have ever known. Your heart is extraordinary."
He sighed in peace. She always had this effect on him, a calming effect, "What do I do?"
She wrapped her arm around him "You do what is in your heart. I told you it's a good one. It'll tell you what you need to know."
"That's just it. I'm not sure I can hear it."
"When the time comes, you will, loud and clearly. Trust me."
"I trust you. You are my dearest friend. You give me hope." He stared at her, simply soaking her presence in.
"And you gave me hope and strength. I'll be there with you on that day, like I always am. You won't see me fighting with you, but I'll be there. You'll feel me."
Their eyes locked as she cupped his face in her hands. He leaned into her touch as he felt sparks emanate his entire body. They were floating…floating above and beyond the clouds and the moon…floating…
That night, after Dawn returned from school and had the chance to hug Spike to the point where if he were breathing, he'd have suffocated, the two immortals walked the streets of Rome in silence. They both had many things on their minds: Fighting demons, A certain slayer, and a small glowing vile of blue liquid.
"So mate, were you planning on sharing the little bit of information you're keeping from me?"
"Spike, what are you talking about?" Angel asked irritably.
"I'm talking about that stuff you're carrying around in your pocket." He replied.
Angel's demeanor stiffened "What stuff?"
"Oh come off it. I'm a vampire too, you know? I can sense what that is." Spike spoke with determination. He wasn't one to back down, especially with something like this.
"What do you want to know, Spike?"
"Well, it is what I think it is then?" He asked.
Angel sighed "Yes."
"Bloody hell…"
"I know." The older one responded.
"I suppose that tiny bottle's all you got…" Spike tried to hide the hope in his voice.
"Yeah, and there is no way of making more."
"So, exactly when were you planning on telling Buffy that everything is going to change for her forever?"
To be continued…
A/N: I hope you liked it!! Please leave a review!! I love them and you!!
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