Chap.13: Fights

She woke up in the middle of the night with dried throat and sweated body, she obviously didn't remember a thing, but by the pain she felt in each body's bone it hasn't been a good experience.

She stayed still staring in the darkness for who knows how much, maybe if she could think about anything she would fell back asleep.

When her hands started quivering uncontrolled, she gave up.

She stood up slowly and went into the bathroom in order to wash her face.

Her reflection into the mirror showed her terribly pale, with swollen red eyes like she cried for hours.

It has to be a very horrible vision, Julien was happy not to see it.

Nausea reached her sudden and unexpected, a cramp upset her stomach forcing her to empty it… on her clothes.

Seeing covered with that disgusting stuff and feeling the acre smell of it made her kneel in front of the toiler, throwing up twice.

Because of the effort the head started to hurt too.

Like she was in trance she changed her pajama and washed again her face, washing good her teeth trying to erase the bitter taste.

She went downstairs huddling up on the sofa, with her knees on her chest.

She could pretend someone was embracing her, she didn't even remember what it felt to have a hot body close, and be soothed from someone.

Suddenly the pain was no more just physical, she stayed like that… into the dark and silent room, crying and sobbing for a pain that now was coming somewhere from her.

A pain she couldn't tell about to anybody… and that nobody would never understand.

"Well, I guess she can start again from we have been interrupted yesterday in the afternoon… so…"

Giles gave her the Latin's book, it seemed she had to face again her friend Cicero… it seemed that her headache was about to become worse soon.

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale"

"No, I'm fine… I'm just tired… you know, after the mission yesterday"

"If you say it. I go making some tea, do you want it?"

Julien nodded distant, while all her energies was concentrated on the book she had in front.

The truth was that she felt like a wet rag, it happened to her to wake up and feel bad, but effects had never last this much, she couldn't understand what it meant, was the danger bigger than always? Or was her body starting to feel the dasila's effects? Did she already reach the limit?

The worst was that now she had not even someone to ask it to, Sam was the only one who knew about her visions, but now he wasn't there anymore.

Maybe it was her destiny to keep them hidden, everybody who knew about it despised her or died… thare was surely a reason.

Maybe there was some curse on her… like her mother told.

Her sad thoughts was interrupted by the appearing of Spike who burst into looker's house, gasping and with a burning blanket on his head.

When he saw Julien he threw the blanket on the ground and went nearer the table

"What are you doing here?" the brunette asked mistrustful

It was weird to Spike to go and bore Giles, he always made it for money, but he didn't need it anymore… if he hadn't already laying out all.

"I have to talk to the English… I've got a big thing for the slayer… the real one.. are you studying Latin?" he asked, analyzing with disgusted look the dictionary

"Yes.. is an agony"

"What are you doing here? Again…" Giles went out the kitchen with two steaming cups, he put one on the table in front of the brunette and he kept the other

"I have to talk to the slayer, do you know where she is?"

"You can talk to me"

"I don't think so, this is important stuff. I'll tell just to the queen bee in person and if the trade succeed I'll give you some first class information"

"About Adam?" the brunette interfered looking bad at him

Didn't he have a kind of contact with her? She thought she pay him for this, not to go and selling out information to third.

"Probably. There are some disks at the organization, I know where they are and how to get them, but in trade I wanna be paid good... protection, blood for a year and other things"

"Done" Giles said cleaning his glasses, but Spike laughed amused "Like I trust your word, I wanna talk to Buffy"

"I'll tell her this"

"Like she hear you"

Julien was always more confused, Spike wasn't just trying to bypass her so manifestly, but know he wanted to be picketed by Giles too… he was always more weird… maybe the chip was frying his brain… at least that would mean the vampire got one.

"He treats you like an old pensioned librarian and…"

"Spike why don't you just get those disks for us? We'll tell Buffy"

The blond analyzed her thoughtful, maybe remembering their talking last night, maybe noticing at last that his behavior was weird.

"Okay, but I want to be paid then" he ended up at last, he rose his blanket and went out without looking back

Giles seemed suddenly depressed, he put down the tea cup and replaced it with a brandy... what was happening? Maybe he was upset about the pensioned librarian thing… she must reassure him… sooth him… "nah"… she wasn't able to, it was better to pretend everything was okay, and then Giles was an adult, he didn't need such childish things.

"Do I have to call Buffy? Or Xander?"

"Yeah…yes" he answered without listening to her "We'll do this" he sat on the sofa staring at thin air and filling his glass with more liquor… and more

"Ah yes, he's actually an adult nothing to say"

"You shouldn't drink so much" she just restricted to express loud, but the man didn't seem to hear her at all.

"So let's do whatever you like…"

"Xander should have a uniform, tell him to bring it to Spike for his mission"

Julien really hoped that someone was supposed to save her.

"Not a pensioned librarian, we're already at mummification…" she thought.

At least with Giles drunk on the sofa her history's lesson skipped one more time.

Willow and Tara reached for her that afternoon with the pc.

They would control the disks content.

"Why is Mr. Giles drinking?"

"I think he's a bit depressed because of Spike's not guessed comment"

"Spike? But we all know he do this just because he can't bit anymore… that's his way to give vent to his feelings" Willow seemed to justify the vampire, she really was too sweet, but Julien thought that story was always less probable.

Okay, it was Spike… and to have some fun he annoyed people, but go to Giles home just to insult him was a bit over his limits, wasn't it?

And what about the disks?

Until the night before he didn't know a thing and now… taa-dan… disks with information the were looking for… it was really too much absurd.

In a few hours things at Giles's instead of becoming better, seemed to become worse.

The looker, totally drunk, was up with everybody, Tara and Willow tried bravely to ignore him, but they was on their limit, and Spike coming was the drama upheaval.

The vampire came in running and gasping like he had a monster back… "When did vampires start gasping? What's that? A Spike new oddity?"

He gave some disks to Willow and moaned about his paying.

"They're encrypt" the red haired passed judgment, passing them to the pc and turning her nose up annoyed

Giles sighed and went upstairs "Could you open it?" Tara asked Willow in the vain trying to lighten the mood, exploit underdog the brunette thought.

"Oh sure… decrypt a government code with my personal… practically impossible"

"I thought…"

So the blond decided to do another of his stupid things… "He's surely in mood for it today" the brunette thought leering him.

First he insulted Willow for her missing of abilities in using pc… and no one ever dared doing this.

Then, seeing that his sweet comments seemed to go on thin air he thought to hit her tastes too. Tastes Julien didn't even know.

"Your friend were talking too, they said this new thing is distracting you, but that it's just passing" he said, like someone who was talking about the weather.

"What thing?" the red haired stammered in evident embarrass

"The one between you"

At this point Julien coughed and goggled… between them? Willow and Tara? Tara and Willow? …well… Tara and Willow?

Was she the only one who didn't know about that? Why was she the only one who didn't know? Why did Spike knew and she didn't? wasn't she trustworthy?

She thought she was nice to Willow… but maybe she made a mistake… but Willow liked Spike! Willow liked everybody!

"Xander said it was just up to date"

So Xander knew too, and if he knew Anya did too… she was sad, really sad… she thought she was part of the group, the buddie, instead she was only the stranger, the one more…

"well… amazing…" s they could even kill each other, she didn't care, nothing… at all.

"Well, call me when you'll end up with something and be sure to have my payment ready" the vampire ended oddly satisfied of himself before he left leaving a weigh atmosphere.

With Anya and Xander's coming, a few after, things didn't become better.

Xander hadn't got a better look than Willow… maybe Spike revealed something to him too.. "Surprise"

At the end, Buffy came too, she just had an ugly meeting with Adam into a cave, it seemed the robot kicked her good…

"I don't need the disks this way" she mumbled clearly with very bad mood to Willow.

"Well…" Julien thought feeling higher tension "today everybody got the Pms… it has to be some contagious virus…"

"Okay… maybe if Julien and I went back to that cave…"

"Being killed" mumbled Xander from the sofa she sat on, sulk

"Ehi!" Julien moaned

"Adam is going to remove your arms" Willow marked up.

They were exaggerating, they didn't even fight with this Adam and they already thought she was loser? They were totally undervaluing her.

"You can't come, it's too dangerous" the blonde said

"Sure, so when you'll both come back in pieces we could be soothed by the fact we didn't come"

"Ehi!" the brunette tried again, but no one was paying attention to her.

Anya carried her out from an arm

"It would be better to go before the struggle start" Tara explained going with them in Giles bathroom.

So now she was perched on basin's border, listening to the magnificent trio that was screaming

"Do you think we'll stay close here long?" Anya asker a few after

"I hope not… I got an important movie to see"

Some minutes after the shouts suddenly stopped "Do you think someone's dead?"

Tara looked at her worried, Anya seemed to think seriously about that "I don't think so… we would here someone falling on the ground"

The door was noisily closed… someone left.

They tried to go out silent, into the living room there was only Willow and Xander, clearly enraged and without any will to talk about it.

"Let's go" the hissed unison toward their companions, which followed them greeting Julien.

Remained alone, seeing that Giles hadn't came down anymore, Julien decided to go to her home.

Spike wasn't obviously there and nothing had been touched into the fridge… he didn't come even for the blood… she sighed.

Maybe the night before she made a mistake by accuse him so clearly. Maybe the vampire wasn't hiding something.

"And maybe Santa exists"

The brunette drunk her medicine, a bit sad, and she went to bed even if it was soon… hoping for a better tomorrow.

tbc