Chapter 14 – Bandages

(Spike POV)

I ease down onto the couch in our flat. Angel's put us all up at Wolfram and Hart for protection because he doesn't think it's safe at the hotel. Yeah, me either. I'm still so bandaged that I look like an extra in a mummy movie, but things are finally healing. My back is the worst, still. I have to sit sideways and lean my side against the back of the couch to avoid putting any pressure on my stitches and Buffy usually sits in front of me and lets me lean on her a bit. She looks better, but she's still a little pale. I'm only drinking from her once a day now. The rest is bagged blood from the blood bank. I'm back on human blood until I'm completely healed.

The mini slayers have been shipped across the pond to England to start their lessons at the rebuilt Watcher's Academy. It wasn't really set up to train Slayers, but they're adjusting. Gonna have to. More new Slayers show up every day. Must number in the hundreds by now. Dawn and Andrew went with them to train as Watchers. Dawn didn't want to go until after the baby was born, but we all decided it was best to get her somewhere safe.

Someone's knocking. Giles. It's time to talk about what happened and what to do about it. I've been out of hospital for almost a month, but Red, Harris, and Giles were in England getting everyone settled and didn't get back until early this morning.

"Come in, Watcher." The door opens and in walks Giles, Harris, Willow, and Kennedy. The whole gang. Well almost. Yep, there's Angel with Wes and Gunn. "Where's Fred? Shouldn't she be here, too?"

Angel nods back over his shoulder. "She will be. She was finishing up something in the lab. She said about ten minutes."

"Kennedy, what are you doin' here? Thought you'd be trainin' with the others."

"I didn't want to stay over there when Willow is here. Giles said I could train with Gunn."

Willow goes to the kitchen and rounds up drinks for everyone as they get settled. We chat about daily stuff until Fred breezes in and plops down on the floor in front of Wesley's chair.

It's time, but no one quite knows where to begin. Finally Giles speaks up. "Does everyone here know about the prophecy we're currently dealing with?" Mostly nods, one or two shrugs. "I'll recap then. Buffy's Slayer scythe and Spike's talisman are linked. They were forged together and they're tied to a prophecy that says the Night Child, which we have ascertained to be Spike, and the Immortal Slayer, Buffy, are to protect the child sired of the demon from the Great Evil. If the child dies, the world will be plunged into 1000 years of darkness. Questions so far?"

No one speaks.

"On then. We have found the child in question, and we believe the Great Evil is what attacked us at the hotel. Willow did a good job of knocking it back, but it wasn't destroyed, so we will have to deal with it again in the future. When, we're not sure, but seeing that it wants the child, it will probably be sometime after it's born. The prophecy states that it will take its form from the mind of its foe."

"Where is the child?" Fred asks.

Oh, not everyone knows about this. Great. Here we go again. "Red, I believe that's your cue, but can we get the Reader's Digest condensed version this time?"

Willow smirks, "Um, ok. Buffy is pregnant. Spike is the father. Their baby is the child. Condensed enough for ya?"

"No need to get shirty, Red. Just gettin' tired of rehashin' this."

Fred looks confused. "Um, how is Spike the father? I didn't think vampires could have kids."

I shake my head, "Normally we can't, but short version; my talisman healed my seed and made it viable again. Tada, Vampire Daddy."

"Um, ok."

Giles nods. "Moving on then. At the end of the attack on the hotel, the smoke demon surrounded Buffy and Spike. Wesley and I believe it was at this time it found the child and the foe. After Willow rescued them and drove the demon off, she was healing Buffy when Spike passed out and started having seizures. During the seizures, something was attacking him and injured him quite badly; injuries he has yet to fully recover from nearly six weeks after the fact, even on a diet of Slayer blood."

Fred speaks up. "I thought vampires healed rather quickly, especially if they're well fed."

I smile down at her, "If I'd gotten these injuries from a human or your run of the mill demon, I would've been healed inside a week, ten days tops, even on pig's blood."

Giles asks, "What happened when you were unconscious? Do you remember any of it?"

I snort, "Yeah, I remember bleedin' all of it. I woke up in a field with a rabbit. The rabbit told me it was gonna get the child. I said like hell you are and punted it across the field. It went Incredible Hulk on me, kicked my arse and I woke up in hospital." Wide-eyed stares all around. "Oh, it also said The form is set, foe right before it stomped me into the dirt."

Xander's eyes are as wide as saucers as he asks in a horrified, trembling voice, "You turned the Great Evil into a bunny rabbit? Why?"

"Didn't do it on purpose, ya git. Anya and her bunny phobia was the last thing we talked about 'fore the shit hit the fan. I kept thinkin' 'bout evil bunnies; picturin' 'em with claws and fangs and whatnot. Probably why it pulled that picture out of my head."

Giles pulls out a notepad. "Please describe this thing for us, if you would."

"About four meters tall, razor sharp fangs and claws. It doesn't have the typical bunny tail; it's long and covered in sharp spines. Regular ears and fur. No armor or anythin' like that. Not very fast. I think if I had a weapon and could stay away from the claws and tail, I could kill it. Fists and fangs won't be enough."

Giles nods as he writes furiously on the pad. "Hopefully it will be some time before we have to test that theory and hopefully you won't have to fight it alone."

Xander shifts uncomfortably in his chair, "Shouldn't we try to find it and kill it before it comes after Buffy?"

Giles sighs, "We could try, I suppose, but it's been my experience that prophecies generally play out as they are written. Having said that, I don't think it could hurt to try. Wesley, Willow and I will research and see if we can do anything. In the meantime, I suggest that Spike and Buffy don't leave the building on the off chance that Evil Bunny tries to advance the timetable."

I nod emphatically, "Done, Rupes. Don't fancy being sliced up again anytime soon." That seems to bring the meeting to a close and everyone gets up and heads for the door. Angel opens it and startles the nurse standing in the hallway about to knock.

She looks shyly at the floor. "Um, Mr. Angel, sir, I... I'm here to change Mr. Spike's bandages."

Angel steps back motions toward the living room, "Please come in." The nurse slips in and stands quietly by the door while everyone else files out. Wes closes the door behind him and the nurse doesn't move so Angel gently takes her elbow and guides her away from the door. "Just call me Angel. Spike's on the sofa."

"Come on over, pet. I don't bite… well… not anymore." She looks a little confused and walks toward me slowly, glancing back at Angel.

Angel sits back down as Buffy gets up and places a straight back chair in the middle of the room for me to sit on. I get up and straddle the chair with my arms up on the back. The nurse moves around behind me and starts to unwind and peel off the bandages. I wince and grip the chair back several times as the tape is pulled off. "I'm sorry, Mr. Spike. I don't mean to hurt you."

"S'ok, pet, not your fault, and please call me Spike. The beautiful lady in the kitchen is my Buffy, and you've already met Angel. What's your name, luv?"

"Melinda Jenkins."

"Nice to meet you, Melinda. How long have you worked for the poof?" Angel glares at me.

"The poof, sir?"

"Angel."

"Oh, I was hired last week. Today is my second day."

"What made you want to work for a vampire?"

"Sir?"

"Angel. He's a vampire. So am I."

"You… you're both vampires?" Her voice shakes just a bit and I can feel her fear. "Nobody told me that, they just said to come up here and change your bandages. Nobody told me Mr. Angel was a vampire either."

I turn to look at her, "If you didn't know about any of this, then how'd you hear about the job, and how did you know who Angel was?"

She blushes and looks down at the floor, "Uh… there was an ad in the paper. I wondered why a law firm needed a nurse, but I figured I'd check it out, and the money is good. I know who Mr. Angel is because the nurse that gave me my orientation yesterday showed me a picture of him. She said to stay out of his way."

I chuckle, "I think your life's about to get a lot more interestin', pet."

Her voice is getting shakier and she moves away from me slightly, "You're a vampire? Like a real… vampire?"

I smile at her in what I hope is a reassuring manner. "Don't be afraid, luv. Not gonna hurt you. Don't eat humans anymore, I'm reformed, I am." She glances nervously over at Angel. "Peaches won't hurt you either, pet. No need to be afraid." She giggles a little when I say 'Peaches' and Angel throws me another glare.

She finishes pulling off the bandages and gently cleans the wounds. Buffy comes out of the kitchen with a Polaroid and snaps a shot of my back. Melinda puts new bandages on my back and asks me to turn around so she can bandage my arm, shoulder and stomach. Buffy comes back in with two mugs of blood and sits down in the chair beside me. Angel and I sip the blood and I try not to wince as she pulls the tape off.

Buffy asks, "So, Melinda, have you ever seen a vampire before?"

"N… No. I mean, I've seen pictures and movies, but never a real one."

"Spike, why don't you show her your game face?"

"Melinda, would you like to see? I don't want to frighten you, luv."

"O... Only if you want to, sir."

I bring forth my demon and she gasps and pulls back just a little. Her eyes travel over the bumpies on my forehead, settle for a moment on my eyes, then she leans in and focuses on my fangs. "Does it hurt when you bite? I mean, does it hurt the person you're biting?"

Buffy shakes her head. "Only if he wants it to. He's a Master Vampire, so he has a lot more control of his demon than younger vampires, called fledglings, do. It doesn't hurt at all when he bites me."

Melinda's eyes get wide. "H... He bites you?"

Buffy leans forward, moving the shirt away from her neck, to show Melinda my mark. "He bit me because I wanted him to. It's called Claiming. We're Mated. It's kind of like marriage, but vampire mating is for life. He also bites me sometimes if he's hurt, because my blood will heal him faster than any other."

I look at Angel and smirk. I think the birds have forgotten we're here.

"So, you're a vampire too?"

"No, I'm the Vampire Slayer." Buffy laughs. "It's complicated. Normally, Slayers don't fall in love with vampires; they dust them, but Spike and Angel aren't your average vampires. You couldn't go up to any vampire on the street and expect them to be like these two. They'd just drain you and dump your body."

"Why are they different?"

"They both have a soul. Other vampires don't and they kill with no remorse at all. Spike and Angel both killed lots of people before they got their souls back, but now they're fighting against evil and don't kill humans anymore."

Melinda nods then looks at me, "How old are you, sir, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I was born in 1852 and turned in 1880. I've been round the block a time or two. Angel's even older than I am; he's got just over a century on me. He's my Grandsire."

"Grandsire?"

"Our family line. If I were to turn you into a vamp I'd be your Sire and you'd be my Childe. I was sired by Drusilla who was sired by Angelus, so he's the Sire of my Sire. Like your father's father."

"Who's Angelus?"

"That's what Angel was called before he got his soul."

Melinda leans in very close to me and whispers, "He's very quiet."

I whisper back, "Yeah, never was much of a talker, that one, but he's a good bloke, if you can get past the broodiness." I hear Angel chuckle quietly.

She whispers so low I almost don't hear it. "Is he seeing anyone?"

I chuckle, "No, but I thought that other nurse told you to stay out of his way."

She shrugs, "Never was much good at listening to dried up old biddies. He's cute and seems nice. I think she's just scared of him." I smirk over at Angel who grins back at me and nods.

Melinda smiles and leans back. "Ok, sir. I'm done with these, now I need to change the one on your leg." She motions shyly towards my pants. I'm only wearing a pair of sweats. I don't mind shucking them off and sitting there bare-arsed, but I'm afraid of frightening the bird. For a nurse, she seems to be pretty nervous.

"Excuse me a mo', would ya, pet?" I get up and go to the bedroom to find something else to put on.

Buffy follows me and starts rummaging around in a box in the corner. "Found them!" She holds up a brand new package of tighty whiteys. I shuck off my sweats as she rips open the package and hands a pair over to me. I put them on and look down at myself.

"Gah, I might as well be starkers!" Tighty doesn't even begin to describe it. These things hug me so close a person could tell my religion from twenty paces. I duck into the bathroom, grab one of the huge fluffy towels off the shelf, and wrap it around me so that the opening is on the leg with the bandage. "That's better."

I turn toward the door and hear low voices. Angel is asking Melinda if she wants to go for coffee or something. I smile as I head back out to the living room, plop down on the chair, and uncover the bandage so Melinda can get to work. She pulls off the bandage and cleans the wound. "This one doesn't look too bad. We probably don't need to re-bandage it, unless you think your clothing might irritate it."

* I don't plan on you wearing any clothes for a while, so leave it off. *

I swallow and try to bunch the towel up over my suddenly hard length. "Uh… I think we can do without it, luv."

"Just let me know if it starts bothering you and I'll put a bandage on it." She stands and extends her hand to me. "Thank you, sir, for telling me about vampires, I really enjoyed our conversation." She nods to Buffy. "And thank you, ma'am, for answering my questions. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Melinda, and you really don't have to call us sir and ma'am. Spike and Buffy is just fine. If you have any more questions or just want to hang out and talk, we'll be here. It was nice talking to you too."

Angel helps Melinda gather up her supplies and opens the door for her. She smiles shyly up at him as she walks out. He takes her elbow and they walk up the hallway, talking quietly. Buffy locks the door behind them and turns back to me.

She crosses the room, takes my hand and pulls me out of the chair. She pulls off the towel and tosses it on the couch then steps back and looks me up and down. * Mmmm. * She licks her lips and motions for me to turn around, then steps up behind me and wraps her arms around me, careful not to press into my back. She caresses my chest around the bandages, then slides her hands down my sides and over my hips, gripping my ass through the underwear. * Such a nice ass. * Her hands slide around the front and start rubbing me through the cloth. She uses her fingernails to scratch over my cock and trails them down to tease my balls. This is incredible. I never knew wearing knickers could be so... pleasurable.

She moves around to the front and reaches up to kiss me then tangles her hands in my hair and pulls me closer while my hands find the bottom of her shirt and pull it over her head. I caress down her sides and back up to cup her breasts, teasing the nipples with my thumbs as she moans and leans into my hands. I slip my hands into the waistband of her pants and ease them down her hips. She shimmies until they fall to the floor then steps out of them and kicks them aside. My turn to look. I step back and look her up and down. Faint red scars cover her from head to toe but she's still so gorgeous. I curl my tongue behind my teeth and leer down at her. * My beautiful Slayer. * The scent of her arousal suddenly gets stronger.

She steps forward, hooks her thumbs in the waistband of my knickers and quickly slides them off. She pulls me to the chair, sits me down and positions herself over my waiting shaft then wraps her arms around my neck and slowly guides herself down onto my cock. "Oh God, Buffy!" I moan as she slowly rides me. I grip her round the waist and thrust into her. She moans, "Harder, Spike!" but I can't get the right leverage without putting too much pressure on my back.

I hook my arms under her legs, stand and press her against the wall near the door. Bracing my hands on the wall, I thrust harder, slamming into her hard enough to rattle the door in the frame. "Spike... aaahhh... Spike! Bite me!" I lean in, release my demon and sink my fangs into her neck as I thrust into her. She screams my name and comes; her walls convulsing around my cock. I thrust once more and explode with a roar. I thrust a few more times as I lean in and lick the blood from her neck then collapse against her. She raises my head away from her neck and gives me a long, slow kiss. "I love you, Spike. Always."

"I love you too, Buffy. Longer than always." I smile at her and she giggles and kisses me again.

My legs start to tremble, so I pull out of her and set her on the floor. "Need to sit down, pet. My legs don't want to hold me up anymore." I turn towards the couch but she takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom.

"You need to rest, Spike." She gets me settled in with the remote and leans down for a long kiss. "I'm gonna take a shower then I'll get us some lunch. You'll need your strength for later." She trails her fingers down my chest and nibbles at my earlobe then jumps up and goes into the bathroom.

Rest. Yeah, right. How am I supposed to do that with a cock suddenly standing at attention? I shift and try to find a comfortable position that doesn't put too much pressure on my back, flip on the telly and start the next episode of Passions. I'm asleep before the opening credits finish rolling.