AN: Out of fear you guys would stone me to death, I'm writing this one and ch.10 together. Back to back. No waiting. And thus, no time for you to get really, really pissed. *grin* Lots of surprises in this, thankfully, so be sure to read and review it!
Disclaimer: All characters (w/exceptions) belong to UPN, Mutant Enemy, and the all-powerful Joss.
With Candy Hearts
"Spike?" Dawn frowned at the vampire slumped by her feet. "You're…not poofing."
He opened one eye, looking around in obvious surprise. "Guess not." He looked back down at the stake again before looking up at the vampire in front of him. "Plastic?"
It said nothing. The fear in its eyes said it all.
"Right." He sighed, tentatively pulling the wood from his flesh. Dawn winced at the ensuing slurp noise.
She kneeled down, looking at the wound. "…Does it hurt?"
"What do you think?" He snapped. The blood, now free from its limitations, poured steadily down his chest. Already he was feeling light-headed. Since when do I feel light-headed?
"Hey." One of the now-forgotten vampires glared at them. "Are we going to do this or what?"
"Oh yeah." The master vampire shook his head. He grabbed onto Dawn's arm.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Rona warned as she came out from the alley. "That girl can really scream if she wants to."
The clan growled as the other Slayers came out from their hiding spots.
"Let's do this." Kennedy ran through the crowd, leaving a trail of dust.
Vi easily ducted a blow, staking two vamps in the process. "It's almost too easy when there are this many," she mused.
"Har har." Spike coughed. "Hey, anyone think they could lend a hand?" He let his question go unanswered. Sighing, he managed to drag himself over to the shadows to watch the fight. Not much else I can do at the moment. He removed the duster, tearing at his sleeves to press into the hole in his chest. This is interesting. Very interesting. Without batting an eye he staked a vampire that stumbled into his lap.
"Seven…eight nine ten…" Shannon called out gleefully. "Eleven…" A grunt escaped her as she fell to the ground.
"Stake!" Rona held her hand out as her weapon was kicked across the street.
Vi threw one, managing to catch another vampire in the process.
"Twelve…"
"How many are there, anyway?" Kennedy asked.
"Sixty," Spike muttered quietly. This was really starting to hurt. Great. I'm not going to explode into a cloud of dust. I'm going to die the old fashioned way. He watched the vampire that held Dawn intently. Hey you.
The vampire's head shot up.
Well well well… Spike smirked. A psychic vampire. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?
He looked around before settling his gaze on Spike. You will know death.
I know it quite well, actually. He struggled to his feet. Let the Bit go. Laughter filled his mind.
You think you can defeat me? I am more powerful than anything you have ever dreamed. He gripped the terrified teen tighter. Thanks to that little red snack.
Spike took a deep, unnecessary breath. Willow.
Oh, is that her name?
Damn, forgot about that. He tilted his head. Tried desperately not to think about the Slayer who was creeping up behind him. You think you're the Big Bad?
We will rule this town. Glaring at Spike, he didn't notice Dawn's awareness to Rona and her stake.
That's what they all say. He smirked at the shocked expression on the vampire's face as he turned to dust. Dawn, now free, jogged over to where he leaned against the building.
"Are you alright?" Her fingers rested gently against his chest as if she was afraid of hurting him. He shrugged, wincing at the pain it caused him. "We have to get you cleaned up."
"No." He pulled two stakes from his duster, handing her one. "We finish this." He turned to look out into the construction site.
"Seventeen…"
"Will you shut up?" Vi staked her last opponent, annoyed, not ready to admit the only reason she wanted her to shut up was because she had only killed twelve.
Rona looked around, confused. "I thought there were sixty."
Kennedy blushed crimson. "I, um, killed twenty..."
Rona started calculating. "Twenty. And I got nine..." She turned to the other girls.
"Eighteen!" Vi jumped up, flushed from her fight.
"Twelve."
"That gives us…" She paused, working the numbers in her head. "Fifty-nine."
Spike suddenly spun around, staking the vampire that was creeping up behind them. "Make that sixty." The girls looked at him, loosing their congratulations at the sight of his stake wound.
"I think we need to go home," Dawn suggested, letting the weakened vampire lean on her.
"Good idea." Kennedy beckoned to the other girls to head on back to the apartment. She paused at the funny look Spike was giving her. "What?"
"Red," He said, hating the way her face paled. "That vampire said he drained Red." Now whether he drained her physically or mentally is a whole other problem…
The girl nodded. Without a word, she walked faster towards their building. And their phone.
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*** She was standing over her, smiling. Her hair was the color of spun gold-her features soft and child-like. Gently brushing the hair away from her face. "You have to wake up now, dear."
"Why?" Buffy pouted, sitting up in the small, warm space.
The girl smiled again. "You are not meant to be here yet. It isn't time."
"Time?" She peered up into the bright face. She didn't understand.
"You have to go back," she purred softly. "It wouldn't do any good now, after all we've done, would it?"
Buffy squinted at her. "Do I know you?"
She laughed. It was high and silvery. "Let's just say I'm a friend of an…acquaintance of yours." Coming closer, she laid a hand upon Buffy's shoulder. "But I won't always be there to save you."
"Wait!" She reached out, clinging to her arm. It felt like she was leaving…she didn't want to leave… "I don't understand. Why are you here?"
The girl backed away, the light surrounding her. "You will know. In time, you will know."***
"Thank goodness, you're awake." A man approached her bed. "I was beginning to think you'd sleep forever.
Buffy blinked at the harsh hospital lights. "Faith…" She sat up abruptly. "Where's Faith?"
"The girl you came in with? Down the hall."
"Is she alright?"
"Yes."
"Where am I?"
The man grinned. "Benin City Hospital."
Her eyes widened. "How'd I get down here?"
He laughed. "You've been asleep for three days. You were at a local hospital in Kano, but they flew you here for better treatment."
"Oh." She looked around the room.
"That reminds me…" He reached over, taking a letter and a cell phone from the table. "Your cell phone has been going off the whole time. Not just one or two calls a day, we're talking constant. And this letter arrived for you." He slowly handed them to her. "If you feel up to it, you might want to tell your loved ones you're alright."
"Thank you," she said quickly as he left. Holy crap she thought, looking at the messages. Then she looked to the envelope. I know this handwriting…With shaky hands, she opened it.
Dear Buffy-I don't know what to say. No words could really fit what I want to tell you. So before I go off on some poetic babble, I think I should be blunt. You know I love you. I think you've become quite used to it, actually. I've always dreamt of someday holding you, kissing you, having you. I've always wanted that more than anything. Hell, I gave up my life for you. And reclaimed it for the same reason.
Buffy, my heaven was hell without you there. Literally. Being without you and knowing I wouldn't be there to watch you live, it was unbearable. I couldn't exist without you. You're my life. I'm a stupid wanker who will probably never be able to admit that orally, but it doesn't make it any less true. You changed me.
I know you far better than you think I do. I know you're scared of getting hurt again. I know you don't like people knowing you're not Super Girl. I know you'll hide every negative thought in your pretty little head until you explode. I know you don't like having to live in the gray of what should be a very black and white world. I know you're sexy without meaning to be and you can't, for the life of you, figure out why. And I know that you don't want any one person to know it all-you don't want someone near you, for fear of them not loving what they see. And I know you hate to be scared. Wait-don't rip this into little shreds just yet. I have a point. I know you inside and out; every quirk, every fault. And I love you all the more for them. I love the little y's you put on the end of every other word and your hyper activeness. I love how everyday life confuses the hell out of you. I love how your lip trembles when you're scared and how it curls when you're upset. I love that cute, innocent little Buffy you keep hidden so well behind your tough Slayer shell. I love the fact that you would rather suffer than disappoint the people you love. I love your annoying sense of morality. And god knows I love the way you blush and look away when you're embarrassed.
Well, this has turned into a bit of a sonnet. I could go on for hours, if you wanted. But why do it in the security of a letter when I could do it face to face in all its embarrassing glory? Come home soon, love. I'll be here. With candy hearts.
Spike
She refolded the letter in a daze. He…He… She looked at the cell phone. She could call Xander. Or Giles. Or Willow or the girls in Cleveland. She dialed her own home.
BRRRING
BRRRING
"Hello?"
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Spike looked up as the phone rang. "You got that?"
"Yes." Giles picked up the phone. "Hello?" He started choking.
"What?" He watched the Watcher intensely.
"Are you alright?" Giles said quickly. He looked over to the anxious vampire on the couch. "Buffy," he whispered.
Dawn reached out to grab him as he sprang up. "Hold on." She pulled him back down, picking up the alcohol swab again. "I'm not done." Using one hand to hold him down, she dabbed at his chest.
"Don't see why you're doing that," he grumbled while watching the phone. "What with my 'amazing healing abilities' and all." Actually, he was surprised at how slowly the wound was healing. Nearly four days after he was injured, it was still troubling him enough for his Nibblet to be looking after.
She tried to read his face as she taped a new patch of cotton to his skin. It was etched with worry and apprehension. "Spike?"
She really needs to get out of here more often, he thought as he looked at her. The girl had seen things no one should ever see, been through more apocalypses than she could count, and cleaned more vampire wounds than possible. He offered her a trademark smirk.
"Spike." Giles stood, holding the phone out.
Hi Buffy. Glad you're not dead. No. Buffy! Are you okay? Well, obviously…He wracked his mind for something clever to say as he took the phone.
"Spike?"
"Buffy." The word came out more like a long, happy sigh than an actual name.
"Hi." She sounded weak.
"Are you okay?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.
"I…I think so. I don't really know what happened."
"Two legs? Two arms? Twenty digits of various types?" He couldn't help himself. Anything just for a laugh. Anything just for a smile…
Her giggle could be heard across the ocean. "Yup."
"Good." He smiled to himself. "That's good."
"I…um…" He could hear her soft breathing against the mouthpiece. "I got your letter."
He stayed silent. If she really has something to say, I'm sure not going to interrupt her. He noticed, with another smile, she had realized she had been breathing into the microphone. Even though she kept it away from her mouth, he could still hear the gentle rush of air escaping her lips as she waited for his response. "Oh."
She sighed softly. "I'm coming home."
"Oh?" He frowned. Was she really that badly hurt? "Sure you're alright, love?"
Silence.
"Buffy."
"…I won't be winning any beauty contests for awhile," she decided finally. She's trying to soften the blow. She's hurt.
"Like you even need to try." Clearing his throat awkwardly, he forged on. "You'll both be back, then?"
"For awhile." Another pause. "We need to figure out what to do with these things."
"Like you should have in the first place." He let his anger towards her rash decision show for the first time.
"Huh?"
"Do you realize how easily you could have been killed?" The words tasted bitter on his tongue, but it was the way he felt.
She sighed again. "I…I just want to come home. We can talk about it later."
"I'm not forgetting," He warned her.
"I know."
He smirked, looking over at Dawn and her medical supplies. "We have a lot to talk about."
There was a smile in her unusually quiet voice. "Really now? Don't tell me you all got into trouble when I was away."
"You don't know the half of it."
"Great," She said sarcastically. "I'll call again with the flight information later."
"Alright." He paused, suddenly very aware of the people in the room. "Love you," he murmured.
She smiled again softly. 'In time, you will know…' "I'll be home soon." With an afterthought, she added, "With candy hearts."
Spike barley noticed as she hung up. He was too busy grinning like an idiot.
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See? I didn't kill him! Yay me! *stands up and does The Happy Dance*
Do you like where I'm going?
Are you curious about what's going to happen?
What do you think should happen?
Please, be merciful and tell me!