Part IV
A/N- Sorry I wasn't very specific in the beginning as to when this takes place!! My big oopsy. It takes place quite a ways past season six, Spike has a soul, obviously from the first 3 chapters Willow and Xander are vampires. I'm working in the story on how they became vamps and what is up with Tara. Sorry!!!!! L
Spike walked out of the office. He had gotten one room, making sure there were two double beds in it. Buffy was still sitting on the ground, her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging them to her chest.
"C'mon luv. Let's get you inside, get you a nice bath and into bed. We both need some sleep." He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the sleazy room. It reeked of cigarette smoke and mold. Carefully he set her down on one of the beds, shut the door, and pulled the curtains shut tight. "What's wrong pet?" Her eyes had never left his form.
"You, I don't understand you. With everything I've done to you, you're still here, helping me, caring about me. You went to Africa in hopes that a soul would help prove to me that you were really in love with me. I pushed you away, but you still held on, why? Why do you love me so much?" She quietly watched him as he took off his duster and sat down on the bed opposite her. He took her hand as he spoke.
"I don't know why Buffy. I wish I did, I just do. I can't let you go because I don't think I'd make it on my own without you luv. I can't seem to break away from you. I'm stuck. You don't know how many times I've just wanted to leave you and go back to the way I was. So many times I was ready to just give up on you, but I couldn't. I don't know why but I just couldn't leave. I feel that there is something between us even if you don't want to admit it. I can't leave you, you've been through so much, I worry about you. I care more about you than anything else in this world Buffy. I love you, I will always love you, don't forget it." He smiled at her, not a cocky grin but a loving smile. She realized he had used her name, he never did that unless he was completely serious. She looked in his eyes. His eyes were welling up with crimson tears he was obviously trying to hold back.
"Thank you. Thank you for everything Spike." Buffy couldn't bring herself to say anymore words. She was afraid of what she might unconsciously say.
~ Sunnydale Fall 2003
Anya wandered over to where Dawn was sitting with a book on magic.
"Hey, you're supposed to be helping here. Get up and put those books in order." Anya pointed to a stack of boxes that lay on the newly rebuilt magic shop floor.
"Fine. What about Willow? She's not helping." Dawn glared at Willow who sat up in the loft flipping through the restricted books.
"Said she's got some research to do. I think she wants to bring Tara back like she did with Buffy." Anya's voice lowered at the second sentence.
"Oh, she's going to go insane just sitting there. She needs to get out." Dawn said lifting up one of the boxes, carrying it over to the back of the shop. Empty bookshelves toward over her waiting for her to slowly fill them.
"I'll get Xander to talk to her. It's dark and you can't take her on a walk. Vampires are out. Where's Buffy?" Anya looked around for the blonde.
"Patrolling, I think. I can take care of us. You all treat me like a helpless kid." Dawn threw one of the books on a shelf. Buffy was never around anymore. She always sat in her room, went to work, went patrolling and then nobody knew where she went.
"OK, Xander, Xander I need to talk to you!" Anya wandered towards another area of the shop. "Willow needs to get out of the loft, take her and get some coffee of something. Please!!! If you see Buffy tell her she needs to come get Dawn."
"OK Anya. I'll get Willow out of your hair. If we see Buffy, which you know is very unlikely, I'll tell her to come get Dawn. Want anything?" He began climbing the ladder to the loft.
"No, just something to get this shop together." Anya said as she went back to placing items on display shelves behind the counter.
"Will, what's up?" Xander bent over the redhead. She had her nose buried in a book.
"Nothing. Will you help me do a spell? The same one I did to bring Buffy back, I want to bring Tara back." She looked up at him. Her eyes were tired of reading she knew how to do the spell, she just needed someone around to help her do it.
"Will, let's go grab some coffee, or hot cocoa. You need to get out of this place for a little while. Come on, up you go." Xander lifted her to her feet.
"Fine, but help me please?" Willow climbed down the ladder, and walked to get her coat. She swiped some herbs off of the counter as she swept by.
"We'll be back." Xander called as he followed her out of the shop. Stake in hand, he matched her pace as they walked down the horribly lit street.
"Why is Buffy never around anymore? Dawn is always with us at the shop." Willow spoke, breaking the creepy silence that surrounded them both.
"Who knows. When Giles left again she basically became a robot. She didn't seem to take the news about Spike disappearing to well either. Woah, stay right there." Xander ducked forward as a vampire appeared from an alleyway.
"Watch out, they're all around!" Willow screamed at him. "HELP!!! BUFFY!!! HELP!!!"
"She doesn't care, here Will, hold this out to them." He tossed her a cross, and sprayed the vamp he was fighting with Holy Water.
"I don't want to die. Don't let me die." She watched in horror as one vampire punched Xander right in the gut. He immediately fell to the ground. They trudged over to her and surrounded her. She began chanting the words of the spell she had been working on to bring Tara back to her. IT would at least scare them and make them run until they figured out it wasn't meant for them. Xander watched in pain as Willow began chanting. The vampires backed off afraid of what was being said. Her body raised up off of the ground and began glowing. She spun in the air twice and soon was screaming in terror.
"Willow!!!" Xander jumped to his feet as she fell unconscious to the ground. "Oh my god Will, what did you just do?" He shook her frame a little. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him puzzled.
"Tara's come home. The stars say so. My lover is coming. They whisper to me." Xander couldn't understand her; she sounded as though she had lost her mind.
"Will, stay with me, you're losing me, come one Will, say something." He was scared out of his mind. Something in her spell had gone terribly wrong.
"The slayer doesn't care about us, she's letting us go to them, to die. My love will bring death to us but we shall live forever so it is whispered. The trees and stars whisper in their sweet voices to me." She smiled up at him. Xander heard footsteps behind him, stood up, scooped Willow up into his arms and began running. "No, we cannot leave Tara behind. No!" She reached back grabbing at the air.
"No Willow, we're getting away from here, she's made you lose your mind, I'm getting you help. Now."
"STOP!" the voice from behind him sent shivers down Xander's back. He froze in place. Slowly he turned around and saw Tara, surrounded by vampires and demons of all kinds. "Meet my friends I brought back with me my love." She gestured towards Willow. Her eyes going dim when they connected with the red head's. "What happened to you?"
"You! We are getting out of here, you and you're little freak show can just move on." Xander said soon regretting his words.
"No, I didn't do this to her. I couldn't have. She brought me back, but I-" Tara paused in thought. "She brought back a demon, an evil demon, it ruined her mind." She sunk to her knees petting a dragon that had nuzzled her foot. "Go get them, they must join us! I want my Willow." Tara pointed towards Xander and a hoard of vampires ran after him. "Don't let him take her. Turn them both. They need to be like us. The slayer needs to fall, and I need my Willow." The vampires easily overtook Xander. He screamed as he felt fangs pierce his skin, he felt his life slipping slowly out of him, then he was forced to drink from the wrist of another. He spit out the first of the metallic liquid but soon it was forced down his throat and he passed out. Two vampires carefully picked up Willow and brought her over to Tara. "I'm so sorry baby. I didn't think you'd try it. Buffy did this to me, us, she made me die, we need to kill her. Do you understand baby?" Willow watched as Tara's eyes flickered red.
"Tara, you're here, I did it. The trees told me I could." She grinned up at the blonde. "Buffy doesn't care anymore. The stars say she'll fall without us." Her eyes flicked around wearily.
"Shush love, we can get rid of her easily. Now, let's go change you. You'll be better tomorrow, I promise." Tara kissed Willow's lips and handed her off to a waiting vampire. "Be careful with her." She hissed.
Buffy sat curled up on the bed she had once shared with him. He wasn't there anymore, he had left, but the sheets still smelled of him, cigarettes and a hint of spices. A smell that was uniquely Spike's. She pulled the covers up to her neck and began to cry. He had been so good to her. Always watching out for her and Dawn. Taking care of all of them, no matter how much he said he hated Xander or another one of the Scoobies. He was there for them, but now he was gone. She cried herself to sleep.
She felt the water rush over her. The shower was doing her good; she had calmed down a little and was in the middle of reflecting on what Spike had said earlier. He would always love her, he said, and weirdly she believed it. Everything he had said was true, and it hit her once again, he wasn't just going to abandon her like Angel had. He wasn't going to make excuses how she deserved better or he was just a monster. Spike knew what he was and what he had done, but it didn't change him into thinking he wasn't worth dirt. True at times she probably made him feel like dirt, but he knew that she didn't always mean it. It just happened. She had used him but he was still there, he was helping her run away from the police. Spike won't leave me; he makes me feel like I'm worth everything. I can't admit it, but, I- I-
"Pet? You all right in there?" Spike knocked on the bathroom door, interrupting her thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'll be right out." She said shutting off the water. She grabbed the towel off the towel bar and tossed on the T-shirt and shorts she had brought to sleep in. Spike was lying on top of the covers watching a re-run of Passions.
"I've already seen this one. Bloody hell, wake up Timmy's not dead!" He yelled at the TV screen. He noticed Buffy and soon looked quite ashamed of his actions. "Sorry, turned on the telly to see if anything good was on but it's all repeats. You sure you're OK luv? Look a bit confused." He sat up and turned the TV off.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking about some things. I'm too tired to really think about anything right now. Gonna catch some Z's. Night." She climbed into the other bed. And wrapped the covers around her. Spike took off his shirt and laid it across the chair. He grabbed a set of boxer's he had bought on the road and headed into the bathroom to slip them on.
"Need to learn to wear these." He said to himself once in the bathroom. Quickly he pulled off his jeans and yanked on the plaid shorts. He trudged tiredly out into the room. "Does plaid make me look fat?" He joked. Buffy just looked at him and giggled then snuggled into her covers. He hopped under his, turned off the light and fell asleep. Buffy watched the bed where he slept, unsure of whether he was asleep or not, since she didn't hear any breathing. Her bed felt very large, she realized there was no one else in it. No person or stuffed animals to surround her. Slowly and quietly she climbed out of her bed and climbed into his. She snuggled up against his cool body, appreciating the company. What am I doing? She thought as she fell asleep against him.
A/N - long chapter I know, I got kinda bored and just kept writing. If you're wondering, Tara became evil when she died, just because I figured a demon would. I know she came across kind of psycho but that's what happened when I began writing. SORRY, I love Tara but I just got angsty. Now you know the story behind Willow's and Xander's changing. Moving on to writing chapter 5. Should be fun, I'm having fun.
