Good evening, everyone!
Thanks *so* much for all the feedback. I have also changed my settings so that if you'd like to leave an anonymous review, you can. Please keep it coming, so I know you like the story:)
I will be traveling over the weekend, so, alas, no weekend edition. The next chapter should be out next Tuesday. That is my hope at least.
Thank you all so much for reading.
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Buffy, and a widdle Spike, and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Countdown (The Evil Within - Chapter 21)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (with, of course, the exception of Emma, who belongs to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: William explains to Spike what will have to happen to save Buffy. A conversation between the two of them finally mends the chasm between old and new. Spike is brought back and readies to embark upon the search for his daughter. But will he be in time to save her?
Countdown
The door to the house on the tree line opened before William had even reached the front step. Joyce stood in the doorway, nervously chewing on her fingernails and pacing like a caged bird. "William, where were you? There's not much time. We need to figure..." Her words trailed off as she saw her daughter start up the walk, tucked neatly under Spike's arm.
Spike stopped in his tracks at the sight of her. The one person who had shown him real, human compassion in even his darkest days. He stood in the walk, blinking up at her with almost childlike, wide, blue eyes.
"Spike?" Joyce gasped, still standing in the doorway. Buffy smiled up at him as he nodded, speechless. Joyce rushed down the walk as Buffy let go of her love, moving over next to William.
"Spike, how did you..." she began, embracing the Vampire as if he were her own blood. He felt himself tearing, feeling her arms around her. Didn't realize how much he missed her until he saw her once again.
"Had to find her, Joyce. Have to get her home," he whispered into her hair. The same smell of vanilla surrounded her that graced Buffy and their daughter. A comforting, familiar scent that somehow made everything bearable.
Joyce pulled from the embrace. "We'll take care of her, Spike. But there's not much time. They have Emma and the spell has begun."
Immediately, Spike's heart began to thump in his chest as if he'd run a marathon. His face blanked and all of the tranquility of the In Between began to squeeze in around him like a vice. Buffy had not heard her mother's comment. She had followed William into the house, leaving Spike alone with Joyce on the walk.
"Listen to me, Spike. Her voice snapped him from his fear and anger. She planted her hands on his shoulders and trapped his eyes in hers. "We need to go inside and figure a way through this. It's not Buffy's time yet. She has more reasons that you know to get back. But you can't lose control now, alright?" Spike nodded, listening to her, watching her lips form words and feeling them smack into him like a physical blow. "Emma isn't alone and it *can* be stopped, but we need to do things the *right* way, not the first way that comes to mind."
She knew him better than he thought. His first reaction was to grab Buffy and plunge through the doors, taking his chances with impending doom and forcing their way back into their world. But she was right. Impulsivity would be the death of them. Literally.
"We can't upset her now. We can't let her give up," Joyce finished. Spike studied her face. It was comforting and soft. Pretty, wise eyes gazed at him, almost eye level. She smiled at him softly. That gesture alone almost made it alright. Joyce had been all but a perfect mum... to both of them.
"Right then," Spike said, mustering as much bravado as he could. "Tell me what to do."
*****
Spike was tucked into the love seat next to Buffy, her hand enveloped in his. The thought of letting go of that warmth, that solace, was enough to send him into a raging oblivion, but he fought his nature and just held on. William sat on a chair across from them, sleeves rolled to his elbows, leaning over with his arms braced on his knees. Like a doctor giving a couple news. Good or bad was all in how one looked at it.
"So, what you're telling me is that there's not really anything we can do?" Spike said, frustrated with the facts that William had laid before him. Joyce came in, setting tea in front of Buffy and William, and hot chocolate with the little sodding marshmallows in front of Spike. He almost smiled, nodding his appreciation at Joyce as she nervously paced out of the room.
"There is and there isn't," William corrected. "I think that it has been agreed that Buffy needs to go back," he continued, a note of regret in his tone. "So, her death is not a viable option in saving Emma."
"I would say not," Spike huffed, indignantly.
Buffy squeezed Spike's hand. "Hear him out, Spike. He's trying to help us."
Spike sighed, closing his eyes a moment and gathering his thoughts. "I know. Just don't need to waste time on the bloody obvious." He turned his attention back to William. "What else?"
"The equally non-viable option is to let Emma perish. *None* of us would stand for that, so all that leaves us is blood sacrifice."
"Whose blood?" Spike asked. "If all they want is death to stop his, then I will die for them."
William was silent. He knew his twin told the truth. William himself would have died for love. More readily than he had died for lack of it. "I think that Buffy would find that option equally repugnant," William commented. "And it won't do much to reunite your family, so I would ask that you avoid dying at all costs."
Spike looked at William, a half smile breaking on the Vampire's face. "So, what then? I'm assuming you have this all sussed out."
"The Fates will choose a sacrifice. The sacrifice must be willing. If this chosen soul will give his or her life in return for the child, the ritual ends and the child is freed."
Spike was silent for a long moment. "Will I have to kill them?" he asked, hesitantly. "I will if I haf to but I had broken that nasty habit."
Buffy looked at Spike, studying his expression. It amazed her every day how much he had changed. She had no doubt that Spike would do what he had to in order to save Emma, but voicing reservation about killing a human was a new twist.
"You may," William answered softly. "It is up to the Fates, and to Draconius."
Spike looked at Buffy. Her face was worn, but resolute. He couldn't lose her, no matter what the task. He couldn't lose his child. Killing had once been his nature, and if he had to revive that demon he would, even if he couldn't bring himself to admit it.
"I don't find the concept particularly pleasant either," William interjected. "But were I in your shoes, I would have to say that the risk was well worth it, both for the sake of your family, and the sake of the world in which you live." William stared at Buffy for a moment, then back to Spike.
The Vampire nodded, understanding what William had offered.
Absolution. Absolution from a creature of Heaven.
"What happens then?" Spike asked quietly.
"If the sacrifice is willing and complete, the child will be freed. To save Buffy, you will have to reach her with the child before her mortal body fails. Emma will be able to save her in the Peacemaker's name as she did with you, provided you reach her before her heart takes its last beat."
Spike swallowed, thinking of the slow, empty thud of her heart. The bruising and countless wounds and broken ribs. He looked over to the woman next to him, so solid, alive, vibrant. Spike wanted her back. Needed her. "How do I get there?"
"Go home," William answered simply. "Then follow the trail they left. You will enter through the same portal by using the Key."
"Dawn?" Buffy asked, sitting forwards in the chair
"She will not be harmed," William answered. "Once you have the child, the portal home will open on it's own. Take the immortal with you as he will know the way."
"Cyrus?" Spike asked, taking in a sharp breath. "He's not involved in what happened to Emma?"
William sat back, crossing his legs. "Not in the way that you are thinking. He's an immortal, but on the side of good. He fought with our father, Spike. And with many good men before him. But there is no time for stories. It has begun."
"What has?" Buffy stuttered. Spike looked at William with pleading eyes. Begging him not to upset her further. William nodded, reading his thoughts.
"The countdown," William answered. "Spike's time here is short."
Buffy looked up at her lover, her eyes filling with hurt and loneliness. The expression made Spike's heart fall in two. He wanted to take her. Or to stay in this place. Never leave her alone. Keep that promise.
"William, speak to you alone?" Spike asked, squeezing Buffy's hand and leaning in to kiss her nose. "Be right back, Pet,"
Buffy nodded up at him, her overwhelming fear and dread flooding into his mind and weighting his legs with lead.
*****
"What is it, Spike?" William asked, curiosity lacing his tone. He closed the front door behind them, leaving them alone on the porch. As Spike looked around, it dawned on him that it was Buffy's porch. Theirs. The In Between was going to make it hard for them to leave.
"Can't say I understand the choices that the Powers make," Spike sighed, sizing up his doppelganger. "Mean, I understand her mum, but you?"
"She trusts you to protect her," William answered. "You are the only one she does trust. The Powers sent me to give you a head start. To keep her believing in you long enough to hold on."
Spike was silent, thinking of how to word the thoughts that ran through his mind. "I know you must love her," he finally said, no possessiveness or jealousy left in his voice. "It was you that fell for her to begin with."
William sighed, equally caught in the wording of his answer. "But it is you that she needs. You that she loves. My... affection... for her is one sided. Like a child to his mother A painter to his muse."
Spike snorted. "You really are a poof." But he held out his hand towards what he once had been.
"And you really are a Wanker," William responded, shaking solemnly.
"You'll watch out for her? Keep her safe here?" Spike asked. "Don't let her give up on us... I mean to say... oh, bloody hell... I'm in love with the girl and I need her there. Don't think we'd make it without her."
William nodded. "I will." The resignation was gone from his tone. Somehow, he fit into their lives, but it was not as her leading man. That position had been rightfully taken. "You've done quite well, Spike."
The Vampire stared at him, feeling a tug on his wrist where the silver strand tightened. Spike began to feel less ... solid. Real. William's statement caught him off guard. Trapped him between honour and shock. Never would he have imagined the man he once was approving in any way of the thing he'd become. Slowly, he nodded at William, not able to answer in any meaningful fashion.
"Buffy," Spike said softly, the band growing tighter against his skin. William nodded in response, pulling open the door and silently escaping into the house.
Joyce stood in the entryway, peering out the open door. It was a vaguely familiar feeling. Being on the outside of this house, of this life, with no one left to talk to save her. "Safe journey, Spike. We'll keep your family safe."
Buffy rushed to the door, past her mum, heading towards Spike. He craned his head to see Joyce, to thank her, but she was gone. Just like the night she had died. Standing outside that house, staring in. Hoping to say something to express his gratitude, but by the time the words came out, she had been gone.
And what was left was even more painful.
Buffy stood in front of him, tiny and fragile, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders where William's suit jacket had been. She wasn't the Slayer here. She was small and feminine and breakable. But she was his Buffy. His everything.
"Spike, I..." Buffy began, the tears starting to fall from her glittering green gold eyes.
"No goodbyes, Pet," he interrupted, feeling the silver strand tug harder at his wrist. Spike moved closer to her, resting his palm on her cheek. Tracing her cheekbones with his thumb and brushing away tears. She closed her eyes, but the silent drops still escaped one by one against his hand. I can't leave her, he thought, panicking.
I have to, he completed in his mind.
"Listen to me," Spike said, pulling her face up so his eyes caught hers. "I have to go find Emma in order to bring you back. But you have to hold on a bit longer. Alright, Love?" Buffy nodded, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mind your mum and William and don't give up on us. Can you do that, Pet?"
Buffy nodded. "I want to go home." It was soft, sweet, almost a whispered confession. She seemed so much like a child So innocent and trusting in this place.
"I know, Buffy. I want you there. I *need* you there. Emma needs you. So you have to stay here no matter what happens until it's safe. Don't give up. Besides, William couldn't handle you that long." He smiled at her, knowing that their time was up.
Buffy chuckled, squeezing his hand. She pressed up on her toes and leaned in to kiss him. It was soft. Delicate. Like a feather brushing his skin. "Please find Emma," she whispered against his lips.
"I promise, Love." It tore Spike's heart from his chest to leave her there, Her beautiful eyes were so needy and tired. "I will find her."
"Good."
"Promise me she'll have her mum when we get back," Spike sighed in response, letting his lips brush hers once again.
"I promise."
Spike felt the silver thread go taut and began to back away from her. Down the stairs of the porch. "I love you, Buffy."
"I love you too," she answered, nervously brushing tears from her cheeks.
"Always," he called up, backing further away.
"Every day."
And he was gone.
To be contd.
Thanks *so* much for all the feedback. I have also changed my settings so that if you'd like to leave an anonymous review, you can. Please keep it coming, so I know you like the story:)
I will be traveling over the weekend, so, alas, no weekend edition. The next chapter should be out next Tuesday. That is my hope at least.
Thank you all so much for reading.
*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue
"As sick as it sounds, in my little head, there's a little Sunnydale, and a widdle Buffy, and a widdle Spike, and Spike wubs Buffy." James Marsters 14 July 2002
Title: Countdown (The Evil Within - Chapter 21)
Author: Nimue
Rating: PG -13
Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.
Feedback: Yes, please
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (with, of course, the exception of Emma, who belongs to Buffy and Spike)
Summary: William explains to Spike what will have to happen to save Buffy. A conversation between the two of them finally mends the chasm between old and new. Spike is brought back and readies to embark upon the search for his daughter. But will he be in time to save her?
Countdown
The door to the house on the tree line opened before William had even reached the front step. Joyce stood in the doorway, nervously chewing on her fingernails and pacing like a caged bird. "William, where were you? There's not much time. We need to figure..." Her words trailed off as she saw her daughter start up the walk, tucked neatly under Spike's arm.
Spike stopped in his tracks at the sight of her. The one person who had shown him real, human compassion in even his darkest days. He stood in the walk, blinking up at her with almost childlike, wide, blue eyes.
"Spike?" Joyce gasped, still standing in the doorway. Buffy smiled up at him as he nodded, speechless. Joyce rushed down the walk as Buffy let go of her love, moving over next to William.
"Spike, how did you..." she began, embracing the Vampire as if he were her own blood. He felt himself tearing, feeling her arms around her. Didn't realize how much he missed her until he saw her once again.
"Had to find her, Joyce. Have to get her home," he whispered into her hair. The same smell of vanilla surrounded her that graced Buffy and their daughter. A comforting, familiar scent that somehow made everything bearable.
Joyce pulled from the embrace. "We'll take care of her, Spike. But there's not much time. They have Emma and the spell has begun."
Immediately, Spike's heart began to thump in his chest as if he'd run a marathon. His face blanked and all of the tranquility of the In Between began to squeeze in around him like a vice. Buffy had not heard her mother's comment. She had followed William into the house, leaving Spike alone with Joyce on the walk.
"Listen to me, Spike. Her voice snapped him from his fear and anger. She planted her hands on his shoulders and trapped his eyes in hers. "We need to go inside and figure a way through this. It's not Buffy's time yet. She has more reasons that you know to get back. But you can't lose control now, alright?" Spike nodded, listening to her, watching her lips form words and feeling them smack into him like a physical blow. "Emma isn't alone and it *can* be stopped, but we need to do things the *right* way, not the first way that comes to mind."
She knew him better than he thought. His first reaction was to grab Buffy and plunge through the doors, taking his chances with impending doom and forcing their way back into their world. But she was right. Impulsivity would be the death of them. Literally.
"We can't upset her now. We can't let her give up," Joyce finished. Spike studied her face. It was comforting and soft. Pretty, wise eyes gazed at him, almost eye level. She smiled at him softly. That gesture alone almost made it alright. Joyce had been all but a perfect mum... to both of them.
"Right then," Spike said, mustering as much bravado as he could. "Tell me what to do."
*****
Spike was tucked into the love seat next to Buffy, her hand enveloped in his. The thought of letting go of that warmth, that solace, was enough to send him into a raging oblivion, but he fought his nature and just held on. William sat on a chair across from them, sleeves rolled to his elbows, leaning over with his arms braced on his knees. Like a doctor giving a couple news. Good or bad was all in how one looked at it.
"So, what you're telling me is that there's not really anything we can do?" Spike said, frustrated with the facts that William had laid before him. Joyce came in, setting tea in front of Buffy and William, and hot chocolate with the little sodding marshmallows in front of Spike. He almost smiled, nodding his appreciation at Joyce as she nervously paced out of the room.
"There is and there isn't," William corrected. "I think that it has been agreed that Buffy needs to go back," he continued, a note of regret in his tone. "So, her death is not a viable option in saving Emma."
"I would say not," Spike huffed, indignantly.
Buffy squeezed Spike's hand. "Hear him out, Spike. He's trying to help us."
Spike sighed, closing his eyes a moment and gathering his thoughts. "I know. Just don't need to waste time on the bloody obvious." He turned his attention back to William. "What else?"
"The equally non-viable option is to let Emma perish. *None* of us would stand for that, so all that leaves us is blood sacrifice."
"Whose blood?" Spike asked. "If all they want is death to stop his, then I will die for them."
William was silent. He knew his twin told the truth. William himself would have died for love. More readily than he had died for lack of it. "I think that Buffy would find that option equally repugnant," William commented. "And it won't do much to reunite your family, so I would ask that you avoid dying at all costs."
Spike looked at William, a half smile breaking on the Vampire's face. "So, what then? I'm assuming you have this all sussed out."
"The Fates will choose a sacrifice. The sacrifice must be willing. If this chosen soul will give his or her life in return for the child, the ritual ends and the child is freed."
Spike was silent for a long moment. "Will I have to kill them?" he asked, hesitantly. "I will if I haf to but I had broken that nasty habit."
Buffy looked at Spike, studying his expression. It amazed her every day how much he had changed. She had no doubt that Spike would do what he had to in order to save Emma, but voicing reservation about killing a human was a new twist.
"You may," William answered softly. "It is up to the Fates, and to Draconius."
Spike looked at Buffy. Her face was worn, but resolute. He couldn't lose her, no matter what the task. He couldn't lose his child. Killing had once been his nature, and if he had to revive that demon he would, even if he couldn't bring himself to admit it.
"I don't find the concept particularly pleasant either," William interjected. "But were I in your shoes, I would have to say that the risk was well worth it, both for the sake of your family, and the sake of the world in which you live." William stared at Buffy for a moment, then back to Spike.
The Vampire nodded, understanding what William had offered.
Absolution. Absolution from a creature of Heaven.
"What happens then?" Spike asked quietly.
"If the sacrifice is willing and complete, the child will be freed. To save Buffy, you will have to reach her with the child before her mortal body fails. Emma will be able to save her in the Peacemaker's name as she did with you, provided you reach her before her heart takes its last beat."
Spike swallowed, thinking of the slow, empty thud of her heart. The bruising and countless wounds and broken ribs. He looked over to the woman next to him, so solid, alive, vibrant. Spike wanted her back. Needed her. "How do I get there?"
"Go home," William answered simply. "Then follow the trail they left. You will enter through the same portal by using the Key."
"Dawn?" Buffy asked, sitting forwards in the chair
"She will not be harmed," William answered. "Once you have the child, the portal home will open on it's own. Take the immortal with you as he will know the way."
"Cyrus?" Spike asked, taking in a sharp breath. "He's not involved in what happened to Emma?"
William sat back, crossing his legs. "Not in the way that you are thinking. He's an immortal, but on the side of good. He fought with our father, Spike. And with many good men before him. But there is no time for stories. It has begun."
"What has?" Buffy stuttered. Spike looked at William with pleading eyes. Begging him not to upset her further. William nodded, reading his thoughts.
"The countdown," William answered. "Spike's time here is short."
Buffy looked up at her lover, her eyes filling with hurt and loneliness. The expression made Spike's heart fall in two. He wanted to take her. Or to stay in this place. Never leave her alone. Keep that promise.
"William, speak to you alone?" Spike asked, squeezing Buffy's hand and leaning in to kiss her nose. "Be right back, Pet,"
Buffy nodded up at him, her overwhelming fear and dread flooding into his mind and weighting his legs with lead.
*****
"What is it, Spike?" William asked, curiosity lacing his tone. He closed the front door behind them, leaving them alone on the porch. As Spike looked around, it dawned on him that it was Buffy's porch. Theirs. The In Between was going to make it hard for them to leave.
"Can't say I understand the choices that the Powers make," Spike sighed, sizing up his doppelganger. "Mean, I understand her mum, but you?"
"She trusts you to protect her," William answered. "You are the only one she does trust. The Powers sent me to give you a head start. To keep her believing in you long enough to hold on."
Spike was silent, thinking of how to word the thoughts that ran through his mind. "I know you must love her," he finally said, no possessiveness or jealousy left in his voice. "It was you that fell for her to begin with."
William sighed, equally caught in the wording of his answer. "But it is you that she needs. You that she loves. My... affection... for her is one sided. Like a child to his mother A painter to his muse."
Spike snorted. "You really are a poof." But he held out his hand towards what he once had been.
"And you really are a Wanker," William responded, shaking solemnly.
"You'll watch out for her? Keep her safe here?" Spike asked. "Don't let her give up on us... I mean to say... oh, bloody hell... I'm in love with the girl and I need her there. Don't think we'd make it without her."
William nodded. "I will." The resignation was gone from his tone. Somehow, he fit into their lives, but it was not as her leading man. That position had been rightfully taken. "You've done quite well, Spike."
The Vampire stared at him, feeling a tug on his wrist where the silver strand tightened. Spike began to feel less ... solid. Real. William's statement caught him off guard. Trapped him between honour and shock. Never would he have imagined the man he once was approving in any way of the thing he'd become. Slowly, he nodded at William, not able to answer in any meaningful fashion.
"Buffy," Spike said softly, the band growing tighter against his skin. William nodded in response, pulling open the door and silently escaping into the house.
Joyce stood in the entryway, peering out the open door. It was a vaguely familiar feeling. Being on the outside of this house, of this life, with no one left to talk to save her. "Safe journey, Spike. We'll keep your family safe."
Buffy rushed to the door, past her mum, heading towards Spike. He craned his head to see Joyce, to thank her, but she was gone. Just like the night she had died. Standing outside that house, staring in. Hoping to say something to express his gratitude, but by the time the words came out, she had been gone.
And what was left was even more painful.
Buffy stood in front of him, tiny and fragile, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders where William's suit jacket had been. She wasn't the Slayer here. She was small and feminine and breakable. But she was his Buffy. His everything.
"Spike, I..." Buffy began, the tears starting to fall from her glittering green gold eyes.
"No goodbyes, Pet," he interrupted, feeling the silver strand tug harder at his wrist. Spike moved closer to her, resting his palm on her cheek. Tracing her cheekbones with his thumb and brushing away tears. She closed her eyes, but the silent drops still escaped one by one against his hand. I can't leave her, he thought, panicking.
I have to, he completed in his mind.
"Listen to me," Spike said, pulling her face up so his eyes caught hers. "I have to go find Emma in order to bring you back. But you have to hold on a bit longer. Alright, Love?" Buffy nodded, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mind your mum and William and don't give up on us. Can you do that, Pet?"
Buffy nodded. "I want to go home." It was soft, sweet, almost a whispered confession. She seemed so much like a child So innocent and trusting in this place.
"I know, Buffy. I want you there. I *need* you there. Emma needs you. So you have to stay here no matter what happens until it's safe. Don't give up. Besides, William couldn't handle you that long." He smiled at her, knowing that their time was up.
Buffy chuckled, squeezing his hand. She pressed up on her toes and leaned in to kiss him. It was soft. Delicate. Like a feather brushing his skin. "Please find Emma," she whispered against his lips.
"I promise, Love." It tore Spike's heart from his chest to leave her there, Her beautiful eyes were so needy and tired. "I will find her."
"Good."
"Promise me she'll have her mum when we get back," Spike sighed in response, letting his lips brush hers once again.
"I promise."
Spike felt the silver thread go taut and began to back away from her. Down the stairs of the porch. "I love you, Buffy."
"I love you too," she answered, nervously brushing tears from her cheeks.
"Always," he called up, backing further away.
"Every day."
And he was gone.
To be contd.