37
"Anything?" Willow was asking her. Jade shook her head, and the witch looked back, mystified at her. It wasn't the first time the redhead had asked her that, and she made a slight 'hmm' sound as she continued to stare at Jade as if working to solve a math problem.
"What does it look like now?" Rupert, or Giles as he was called by Willow and most of the younger adults, asked from where he stood by the side of the room, his nose practically in a book. Willow had been explaining the tear in Jade as she saw it, as the older man couldn't see it himself.
"It's open. But inactive. I think. I don't know. Maybe Tara…" Willow stopped herself, looking helplessly at Jade, wringing her hands. She wanted to talk to Tara again, but nothing was happening. Willow had tried a couple of spells, but they had tired Jade out more than anything else. And hadn't worked in the slightest. But she hadn't been possessed again, not in the hour sitting in the room with Giles, Willow and Spike. Spike was looking less interestedly at the books, but even he was making an effort to flip through a few tomes.
"Maybe it's sealed up for good." Spike put in from where he stood. Jade's eyes were drawn to him. His black duster jacket was resting on the back of one of the chairs, and he was wearing a light gray longsleeved shirt that was tight over his muscled torso, a bit too distracting for Jade's liking. She shook the flustering thoughts from her head. This was serious.
"No. The tear's still there. Just like. A doohickey in front of it," Willow fluttered her hands, bewildered. She screwed up her face in concentration, and a sigh came from Giles' corner.
"Words, Willow. Describe it to me. What does it look like, this blockage? And you don't think it's permanent." Giles said, flipping through another page, looking exasperatingly at the book. Jade had offered to help research as well, holding a heavy book in her hands, but she didn't even know what she was looking for, and most of it wasn't even in English she could understand.
"Blockage. Very good word," Willow chipped in animatedly. "Oh, I don't know, Giles. I thought I knew magic, but…" She chewed her lip. "I don't understand it at all."
"And we've been here an hour," Giles sighed, glancing down at his watch. "Buffy will want us back in the meeting room."
"No, look," Spike spoke up, for which Jade felt a feeling of gratitude, although helplessness herself. Spike was trying to keep Giles and Willow around for a little while longer, keep them working on whatever it was, but they were getting nowhere, and there were other things to worry about. Things a lot bigger than her. "I'll go, distract Buffy for a bit. You keep working longer, yeah?"
"Well—" Giles took off his glasses, glancing up at the white-haired vampire. "I'm not sure if we—"
"Yeah, that's a good plan," Willow consented. "Tell her we'll be there in.. .twenty minutes. That might appease the general." She said the last part affectionately, not critically. Buffy and Willow seemed rather close. It made Jade a little jealous. She'd never really had a best friend that was a girl. She'd always had Bennett. He was the closest friend she could have, so much part of her life that she felt as if she had been missing half of herself after he died. More than half. And Jade didn't think Lyth counted. They weren't exactly die for each other type of friends, though Lyth had saved her and Spike. By killing her sister, but it was the thought that counts.
"'Preciate it, Red." Spike glanced back at her, nodding encouragingly, and then stepped out of the room. Jade flipped through a couple more pages, the three of them in silence. Willow muttered to herself, scribbling something on a piece of paper. Giles let out another light sigh, reading through another couple pages.
"I don't know why you need me, Willow. Your powers have only grown," Giles observed after a moment of quiet.
"No, that's not it at all, Giles. I still need you." Willow protested in a young-sounding tone, as if a child whose parent didn't want to read to her any more, citing she could do it on her own. "You still know more about this stuff than me."
"Not a lot of good it's doing. It would be nice if we could solve at least one problem, instead of having more pile up," Giles commented, with a bit of frustration in his voice, despite saying so calmly.
"You're not wron—Hey. The doohickey," Willow exclaimed suddenly, looking at Jade. Jade caught her gaze immediately, frozen with apprehension. "It's gone. Just the tear right now."
"Shouldn't that mean—" The older man's contemplative thoughts were interrupted by Jade. Still frozen, but then moving, not of her own volition, she felt an aura wash over her, not sweet and loving like Tara, a more mature, and then almost coquettish feeling taking over her.
"Hello Rupert," Jade said in a calm, coy voice. She saw all the wrinkles pronounced in Giles' face smooth, a look of bewilderment on his face, his mouth slightly open.
"Tara?" Willow tried, but there wasn't much certainty in her tone. Jade turned towards her with a light smile, shaking her head.
"No, Willow," she chided softly.
"Jenny." Giles said after a pause. He was staring avidly at her, not warm, not angry, but just careful.
"Here I am," Jenny-Jade confirmed. "It's been a while. Have you forgotten about me already?"
"Never, Miss Calendar," Willow reassured immediately. "I'm so sorry about… the whole Angel thing."
"But you figured it out, didn't you? You put back his soul. You were always a bright student, Willow. But you haven't been a student in a while. You're all grown up now. And you, Snobby." She turned her head towards Giles, who was still staring at her, perplexed. There was affection in her voice as she spoke the nickname. "You've gotten a lot older."
"Yes, well. It happens to us all," Giles finally spoke.
"Not to me," Jenny-Jade said, a bit softly. "But you wanted to see me, Rupert, and here I am. And I wanted to see you too."
"Should I… should I leave?" Willow asked, suddenly occurring to her that she was interrupting a lover's reunion, like her own the night previous, but Giles was shaking his head.
"It's quite alright, Willow. We needed to observe the process."
"R-right." Willow cocked her head back to her paper, and then to Jade, scribbling something else down.
"Don't want to be alone with me, Rupert? Is that anyway to treat a girl?" Jenny-Jade teased him, drawing her lips into a friendly smile. "Sorry to stir up old ghosts, then."
"No," Giles responded, a little quickly. "I am… thankful to talk to you again. I just find I don't quite know what to say. How much do you know of what's passed?"
"Some things I should, some I shouldn't. I'm not omniscient. But I know it isn't quite what I left. And Willow. This magic you're doing with this woman, it's just making the tear a little wider each time. You'll have to try something else. I don't know what." Jenny-Jade shook her head. "But the tear lets us bleed through from our spirit dimension. Gets a little wider each time someone goes through. But you wanted me here," She said again to Giles. "Am I going to get a proper goodbye?"
"I'm sorry for the way… things turned out. And what happened to you. Jenny, if I could have stopped it…" Giles had been careful with her, keeping himself at a distance, but the vulnerability showed through in his eyes. Jenny-Jade reached out, taking her hand in his.
"Shh. It's okay now. I know all that. I just wanted to see you. And while I don't know how this tear happened, I know it started in a spirit dimension. Hopefully that helps. I've got to go. So, now. Here it is. Goodbye Rupert," Her hand reached up to cup his cheek, and he stayed still, letting her.
Jade regained control of her body to feel it go limp. She toppled downward, caught at the last second by Giles, who held fast to her, supporting her weight until he could lean her back in the chair. "Are you alright?" He asked her, keeping care to keep the suspicion from his eyes and put consideration in there instead. Jade nodded, a little numbly. Her forehead felt sticky, and she wiped the sweat off with the back of her hand, noticing her fingers were trembling.
"Another old friend?" She asked, her throat hoarse. Willow wordlessly offered her a bottle of water, while glancing to Giles, who merely frowned, looking contemplative.
"Perhaps. Using our loved ones against us… this wouldn't be the first time." He glanced meaningfully at Willow.
"The first evil?" The redhead asked. "Yeah. The claiming to speak for the dead definitely rings familiar. But I don't know, Giles. I think that was really Tara I talked to last night. And that felt… and sounded like Miss Calendar."
"Yes, well. We can't rule anything out. Our options are quite varied at the moment." Giles sighed, looking introspective, and maybe even a tad remorseful, but he hid it well. Jade took a deep gulp from the water bottle, screwing the cap back on.
"I don't really like the sound of first evil," Jade said after a moment.
"Not to worry. There are… other options. That one is first and foremost in our minds. It was not a restful time." Giles said, running his hand along his jaw. "But as it is, we have other things to do today." He glanced at Willow.
"Yeah. Mystery central," Willow agreed. "I just wish…"
"Now hold on a minute," An irate voice sounded on the other side of the door, and Spike burst in, following an even more aggravated Buffy. "Give them a chance to—"
"Plenty of chances. Of time. There are other things to worry about, Spike," Buffy said pointedly. Willow glanced up at the blonde Slayer a little guiltily.
"Coming on back, chief," Willow spoke, to which Giles rose his eyebrows, nodded his head and sighed, all in one very fluid, practiced notion.
"Well, while I'm here," Buffy spoke in an irritated tone, that made Jade think Spike had prodded her to try, "Have you found anything out?" She gestured to Jade, while Spike stepped over to the sitting Slayer, his dark eyebrows raised.
"You look worn out. Have another visitor from the beyond?" He asked her in a quiet murmur. Jade nodded, her eyes half-lidded.
"Not so much, I mean we have but—woah." Willow's eyes widened a bit, looking back at Jade, at the tear only her with her mystic eyes could see. Jade wished she could have the same spell on herself, to see just what Willow was looking at, but perhaps it was best to have as little magic cast on her as possible for the time being. "That little…blockage is back."
"Well, she did just have…a session." Giles added, hesitating for a lack of a better word. He had stood up, his hands fluttering around his book. "Perhaps that is why."
"I don't know. I don't think… Spike. Leave the room." Willow said, with sudden inspiration.
"Bit rude, innit?" Spike said incredulously, to which Willow shot him an imploring look.
"Please? Just for a minute." Spike let out a light sigh, stepping past Buffy, who shot an him an impatient glance, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she glowered in Jade's direction. She was clearly not happy about giving up her 'generals' for his little detour. Jade's head hurt to think about it, looking at Willow as she gazed at her, watching a triumphant look pass on the witch's face.
"I've got it! Well, part of it." Willow amended after Spike had left the room. "I think I know what the little doohickey is. Spike, you can come back in. Aha!" Spike returned obediently, crossing his own arms in front of his chest. Made his muscles bulge all the more. God, Jade was tired, if her thoughts were drifting like that. She tried to focus on the excited witch instead. "Spike's the doohickey."
"What did you just call me, Red?" Spike looked affronted and rather confused. Buffy made an impatient noise in her throat, and Giles simply stared.
"Care to elaborate, Willow?" Giles asked, patience laden in his tone.
"Well, from what the spirits have said… counting for the fact that they're not the first evil, this happened to Jade recently. Spike said they were sucked into a dimension, but there are more than just hell dimensions."
"Like a Spirit dimension, as Jenny—er—Miss Calendar said," Giles nodded, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. "So you believe something came back with them, with Jade?"
"Hitchhikers from other dimensions. Not as uncommon as you think," Willow said, still in her happy explanation mode.
"Hang on," Spike interrupted. "I was in that dimension too. How come I'm not all possessed?"
"Oh please tell me I'm not going to have another crazy Spike on my hands," Buffy groaned. "Once was quite enough. More than enough. Over enough."
"Yeah, I get the point," Spike muttered at her.
"Well. Tara said something too. Which makes sense. Jade's a living thing. That's what the spirits need, a living connection to get through. So they can't use Spike, since he's already dead." Willow explained. "And, not only that. I think he actually repels them." She turned to Jade. "Have you had the spirits take over you while Spike was in the room with you?"
Jade shook her head slowly. "No, I haven't. He might even make it stop when he comes close. I think it happened at least once, he came into the room and it was over. I could be wrong. It was brief."
"There we go. It's-it's not a solution, by any means. But it's a start. Spike stays near you, and and you don't have to worry about multi-personality disorder." She tried to comfort Jade, noticing Jade's slower nod. "And we will figure this out, don't worry."
"Perfect. Slap them together for a while, crisis averted. We can get back to the big problem we have on our hands," Buffy interrupted, clapping her hands together, the once.
"It might not be that simple, Buffy," Giles was beginning to say.
"It's alright. I understand. I'm fine, really. I don't mean to be a problem." Jade spoke up, her tone even.
"You're not. Well, you are, but it's not your fault," Willow said with a reassuring smile. "And I will check on you in a bit, okay? We'll get this figured before too long. And I'll bring Sophie. Some of the girls are babysitting her right now, but she was excited to hear you were here. I'll come around in a few hours. Or a while." She amended after a glance from Buffy. Jade nodded.
"Sounds good," She said. She glanced over to Spike, who hadn't said anything, a quizzical look on his face, his brow furrowed. His thinking face, as Jade had determined it.
"You're alright with staying?" Willow said, a little softly to Spike as Buffy and Giles left the room. Spike nodded without looking at Jade.
"'Course," the vampire said. Willow gave another encouraging smile to Jade as she bobbed out of the room. Jade ran her fingers through her hair, feeling the tangles there.
"Sorr—" Jade started to say, to apologize for the disgruntled expression on Spike's face. She tried to stay away from the piteous feeling of being a problem again, but there it was, nagging at her. She was being possessed with Spirits, and now she had the exact opposite of a restraining order with Spike. He had to stay nearby. She didn't want to force him to do anything or be anywhere he didn't want to.
"Don't apologize, you git," He snapped back, brusquely, and Jade stopped as he said. She felt a pang. He was angry. "It wasn't your fault we got sucked in to that bloody dimension, now was it? You were helping me with the Doc, that was the only reason you were there."
Jade stared at him, realisation and a little bit of disbelief fettering through her. He felt guilty. Felt bad that this was happening to her. "It's alright—"
"It's not alright," He retorted. "I can hear it all. Your heart's beating weaker. You're tired, and you're breathing heavy. Been that way since last night, and it's getting worse."
"Just takes a bit out of me is all. Spike, I wanted to help you with Doc. You didn't force me along, you asked and I said yes. I'd do it again, possession or not. And don't forget, you nearly got dusted because of me and my problems. So we're even on the endangering front. I don't regret it, so don't worry about it. And you happen to know the best people for reversing it, so I don't have that much to worry about." Jade countered with more vehemence than she thought she could gather. Her voice sounded stronger, and she was determined. Spike looked back at her, slightly bewildered, but at least he wasn't angry. He relaxed a little.
"Guess we do find trouble easily, don't we?" He spoke more mildly, although there was still a tenseness to his muscles.
"Never boring," Jade agreed, smiling a little. He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded.
"Come on, let's head over to the cafeteria. Get you some human food. Not that it really reaches the mark. Ton of broads here, and no-one can cook." He made a comical face, and Jade let out a short laugh.
"Those broads will kick your ass if they hear you saying that," She warned him, pushing up from her chair. She was slow and unsteady, and he noticed, his eyes narrowing only lightly, but he hid it well.
"They can try."
"I'm fine. It works out better this way. Get my sleeping schedule back to normal, and you aren't trapped for the day and night. I'll be sleeping." Jade said to Spike as he lingered in the doorway of the room. She was sitting on the edge of the bed. She was feeling better. They hadn't done anything extraneous all day, for which she was grateful, but she figured it would be damn boring for Spike. Thankfully, the vampire hadn't complained. Since the Slayers were also suffering from cabin fever, as Buffy wasn't letting anyone leave the hotel in groups smaller than twenty, Jade and Spike had watched them train. Jade was tempted to, and one of the Slayers, the one in charge of the training, a redhead named Vi, who was perky and nice, had invited Jade to join, but Spike had declined for her, saying she was weak. And he wasn't wrong. The visitations of Tara and Miss Calendar—Jenny—had really put a strain on her. She hoped it was temporary, and that good rest would clear it up. At least with Spike there, she didn't have to worry about it getting any worse. Didn't stop her from feeling guilty that she was hindering him, but he didn't complain, even remarking how he wasn't one for the researching talking gig anyway, and while there was still no action to send him towards, he was just fine playing nursemaid.
But he was still hesitant to leave her. Jade knew he wanted to go. Why wouldn't he? Staying guard all night during the hours where he could move along freely was one hell of a buzz kill. So saying she was tired, which wasn't a stress of it at all, they had returned to Jade's guest room. She was sitting down on the bed as Spike hesitated, finally nodding his head in acquiescence.
"Right. Get yourself some sleep, then. You look bloody pale still."
"Says the vampire," Jade returned cheekily, earning a light smirk from Spike.
"And as a vampire, I'm supposed to be pale. What's your excuse?"
"Genes, and no palette between white albino and tomato red, so lots of sunscreen and indoors."
"Right," he said with a bit of a snicker, shaking his head a bit at her. At least she could make him laugh, though it was at her more than with her. It'll do. He shut the door behind him as he left, and Jade let herself fall back onto the covers for a few moments. She really was worn out. But she hadn't gotten much of a break lately, ever since Spike had shown up. Heck, before that. Bailey was there all on her own. So it was Slayer fight to Doc fight to dark shadow dimension fight to demon draining to secondary doc fight, although admittedly, she didn't do much for the second one, and then fighting Spike due to sisterly possession. Her chest raised with a wry laugh. Definitely not boring. Thank god for her Slayer healing and endurance. If she was plain human she'd be in bed for a week. Or more. Jade brought her fingers across her neck. A much smaller scab was covering it, and it didn't ache nearly as well. Thank you Slayer healing again.
But it couldn't help everything, like the way she felt after each spirit reared its head. And they hadn't done much except talking, but she felt so worn out. Each time it happened she was whammied with a whole lot of feelings and thoughts, and memories, and it was wearing on her body. And her spirit, and mind. The whole trifecta. She pulled off her jeans, her shirt long enough to cover half her thighs just in case, but she was not sleeping in those again. When she had shared the room with Spike that had been uncomfortable enough, but she hadn't dared strip down with him in the room. And even now, she kept that modesty with her, just in case someone burst into the room, she didn't like showing that much skin. She bounced underneath the covers, lulled by the comfort and warmth, and with her weariness, it didn't take her long to fall asleep.
She woke sometime in the early night. It was still dark out, but lightening somewhat, and she had an overwhelming urge to pee. She threw off her blankets and headed into the bathroom. She was still tired, but the sleep had helped. She glanced at the mirror as she washed her hands. She still looked pretty terrible, but that was also due to the not so great lighting for her pale-ass skin. She glanced out the window, where the blinds were mostly covering it, except for a crack, so that Spike wouldn't get burned alive when he came into the room if there was still sunlight. Sun would be up in about an hour. Jade glanced to her door, looking out through the peephole. The hallway was empty, which wasn't too surprising for this time of morning/night. She was tempted to head out, but she had to wait for Spike. Trying to find him wasn't an option, at least not a smart one. She had to stay here, alone and without anyone that the spirits would be tempted to hijack her for. She was about to take her eye away from the peephole when suddenly she heard a voice. She didn't recognize it, a male.
"Yeah, I'll be right down there in a couple minutes. Just going to remind the girls that bacon is something that can be served every breakfast," A man was walking down the hall, speaking to someone, although Jade could only hear a muted reply that got further away. The man however, was moving nearer to her door, passing it casually. He had thick brown hair, and an eye-patch, which was probably what gathered her attention the most. He was whistling to himself. Jade didn't know who he was, hadn't met him, but then she felt an overwhelming urge of familiarity, and her hand immediately reached for the lock, pulling the door open, Jade's inward refusal negated as she no longer had control of any of it anymore, her mouth, her words, her body. She shunted out into the hall a bit clumsily, and the one-eyed man turned towards her after he jumped a bit, startled.
"Oh, hello there. Give a man a heart attack, why don't you," He said a bit uneasily, but with a more easygoing, reassuring smile.
Jade took a deep breath, glancing down at her body and pulling her long shirt just a bit more down her thighs, smoothing out the inevitable wrinkles. She looked placidly at the man, and then frowned, screwing up her lips in a displeased fashion. "Xander, it's me." She spoke with some irritation, and the man named Xander stared at her, a bit clueless now. He moved his head in a circular gesture, lips moved in a flat line as his eyebrows arched.
"You, who?" He spoke, then snickered a little bit. "Cindy-loo? I get it. I'm a genius. You can laugh too." He looked back at her, still unassuming, bobbing his head a bit awkwardly as Jade stared back, impatient now. She put a hand on her hip, flipping her hair. Such long hair, though it was tangled and rather messy.
"It's Anya, you idiot. Who else would it be? I came all the way here, and you don't recognize me because it's not my body. Well if that's the exact opposite of true love I don't know what it is." She spoke in a snappish way, and then Xander's jaw dropped, realisation taking over his face.
"Anya. Willow did mention…Oh, jeez."
"Jeez? Jeez? I'm here, after everything and you say jeez?" Anya-Jade snapped irritably. "Of all the nerve—" Her voice rose a pitch, shaking her head. But Xander was calmer, managing to close his mouth and not having it hang open so much. Not the most attractive of gestures, but quite a usual one with him. He looked back at her, his voice soothing, a instructor's tone.
"Well, Ahn, honey. You've just yelled at me since you've, uh. Arrived."
"Well, of course I have. I have so much time to make up for. Since I wasn't here." Anya-Jade shook her head, as if stating the obvious.
"Ahn." Xander responded, evenly, calmly.
"Damn you Xander, I get angry so I don't get sad. You know that." There was an annoying tear trying to make its way into her eye, and she flicked at it impatiently, shaking her head, pouting out her bottom lip in exasperation.
"I do."
"That's all you can say? After all this time? No sweeping me into your arms?" Anya-Jade asked, indignant.
"You don't look like you. You kind of sound like you, but…"
"Well use your imagination, Xander. I'm here. Second guessing it, but I'm here."
"I'm glad." He said it after a moment's hesitation, but it looked genuine, a small, sad smile on his silly lips.
"Good." Anya-Jade sniffed. "I hoped you would be. Not that I thought all that much. There's not that much of the thinking, really."
"So you haven't seen Tara? Willow said she visited too."
"No, God no. It's not like we're gathering around a table throwing ideas at each other. Had enough of that in my human life, thank you. Had a lot more to my life than you scoobies you know. A long, long life. But no, there's not so much people there. Can't really explain it." Anya-Jade played with another wrinkle on her sleeve, making a tsk noise when it wouldn't flatten the way she wanted it to.
"I see. I'm glad you came. I wish… Well that is I really didn't get a chance to…" Xander was at a loss of words, looking at her with those puppy dog eyes.
"Ah, it would have just made it harder. Nope, it was quick and I was dead. Andrew lived, didn't he? That lucky little shrimp. Unbelieve that he made it and I didn't. So what have you been doing now, you demon magnet? I bet you moved on quick."
"Ahn." Xander reproached her, but gently.
"I know, I know. I'm jealous. For no reason. I'm dead. But it's hard, letting go. I loved you, I really did. I hated you for a long time, but that didn't make the love go any less. Just… made it hurt a little more. Do you think if I lived, we would be back together now?" She started out bitter and a little resentful, then her voice softened near the end.
"I don't know, Ahn." Xander shrugged helplessly.
"I don't know either. I mean, our sex, that was always fantastic. But apparently a good relationship needs something else a little lasting. But who really knows. Vengeance demon, not prophecy demon. So, come on. Tell me about your life, while I'm here. Tell me about my replace—tell me about your special woman. I won't judge. She's probably at least half demon, or partial demon. Maybe bug wings." She looked contemplatively up at the ceiling, screwing up her face in thought. Xander hesitated, then just nodded his head and spoke.
"Dawn." He said simply. Anya-Jade was continuing her spiel, listing off demons she thought might have entranced Xander when her head snapped back to him quickly, inattentiveness replaced by focus, her eyes widening in disbelief, lips parted in a small o.
"Or like—Dawn? Xander, she is a child. That is disgusting."
"Couple years have gone by, Ahn. She's grown up." He shrugged his shoulders, but there was no masking of the affection in his tone.
"Ew. Not any less disgusting. Ew. Ew." Anya-Jade blanched, sticking out her tongue.
"Ahn." Xander sighed.
"Oh, no judging. Right. Well I am happy you've found someone. One that was just a child when we were together. Just don't leave her at the altar. That is a terrible thing to do to someone."
"I won't. Ahn, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being ready back then. For pretending that I was. It was wrong to do to you." Xander sighed, looking remorseful. Anya-Jade reached out with a hand, reaching for his arm, and giving him a squeeze that was actually meant to be more reassuring than painful, though it was with a Slayer's strength.
"Yes it was. But it's okay now, because I'm dead. And I really do forgive you. Part of my moving on and not dwelling thing. But—" Anya-Jade's head was bobbing up and down, trying her best to sound sincere. A voice sounded from down the hall, angry and forceful.
"Hey, git! Get away from her." It was Spike, striding through the corridor with purpose, his eyes narrowed, looking considerably angry. Anya-Jade turned towards him with reflection, and then back to Xander, quickly.
"Oh. It seems like I have to go. This is good bye, Xander. I wish you the best. Well. I was the best. So I wish you slightly less than best." She barely managed the last word, and her eyes rolled back. Jade felt cognizant again, just barely, feeling like a hole was ripped right through her, deep in her bones. Her legs wobbled, and could no longer hold her up at all. She plummeted to the ground, dimly aware of Xander trying to catch her before she did so.
"Catch her, you bloody nimrod." Spike snapped as he strode up to the both of them, where Xander was half crouched, his arms around Jade in a clumsy attempt to keep her from hitting the floor. He had stopped the descent barely, and now struggled to lift them both back up.
"Stay away, catch her, will you make up your damn mind, Spike?" Xander retorted to the vampire before looking back at Jade. There was some bewilderment in his gaze, uneasiness there as well. Spike stepped in, wrapping an arm around Jade and letting her lean into him instead, glaring belligerently at the one-eyed male.
"You alright, there, Slayer?" Spike asked Jade in a murmur. She was a bit numb, slow to react. Too many things all at once. She nodded, dimly, and Spike turned back towards Xander. "Thought you'd fancy a night-time visit, did you? Go and see your long lost demon lover? Don't you have the Bit at home? Isn't that enough?" Spike sounded angry—he was angry.
"Hey now, that's not it at all." Xander protested, defensive. "I was just walking past the door."
"Likely story," Spike snorted.
"It's true." Jade breathed softly. "It's true. I was just looking out the peep-hole, and Xander was walking by. By, not to," She asserted more firmly. "Then I was opening the door against my will. Sorry about that," She murmured to Xander. "I'm Jade, by the way," She added as an afterthought, an embarrassed smile on her lips. Her hands were still shaking and she balled them into fists. She was aware of Spike holding her to him, almost protectively, and the feel of his muscled shoulder against her back. And his arm was supporting her by being wrapped around her waist. Oh dear. She blushed a little, looking down at her mostly bare legs. Thanks, Spirit, she thought sarcastically. Couldn't run to get some pants, could you? Spike looked down at her, a little gruff, seeming more than willing to tear another piece out of the one-eyed man if he could. He noticed the color on her cheeks, and wordlessly shifted his position, drawing her close arm over his shoulders instead, moving his hand to rest on her far shoulder instead of her hip. She wished she could tell him that she could stand by her own, but her legs still felt weak, not responding to her commands. Not that she didn't like being this near to him, but it was a little too close. Hard to think properly.
"Pleased to meet you." Xander said with an lively head nod, after shooting a triumphant, 'I told you so,' look at the white-haired vampire. "So you're our resident Xchange. That's a movie. Body hijacking," Xander added a little unadroitly.
"That's me." Jade nodded. "For now."
"Don't you worry. Willow will fix you up good. It's just been a little crazy right now," Xander added in reassuringly, doing a good job at ignoring the glaring vampire. Jade didn't think it had anything to do with her. She sensed a bit of antagonism between Spike and Xander, and more than that, she felt like she had experienced it a little. With all the visitors, Tara, Jenny and Anya, she felt more flashes, more information, little bits and pieces of memories that weren't his. No, she wasn't able to write a biography on Xander any time soon, but she could understand him a bit better. This would almost be worth it, the insider's look, if her head didn't throb so badly and her vision blur. And there was the matter of not being able to stand without support. It was aggravating. She was a Slayer. She was strong, so strong, more than any normal human. And she was strong for a Slayer, her sister had never skimped on the training, as deplorable as it was. She was out of practice yes, but she was still strong. Powerful. She hated feeling like this, weak and feeble. Like a human woman who barely passed a hundred and ten pounds. But it wasn't the time to be haughty and superior. She just needed to rest, to avoid confrontations like the one she just had, and get better.
"Should get you back to bed, Slayer," Spike told her, less of a suggestion and more of a command, but she wasn't in the position to argue, and she didn't want to shoot him a look, feeling that Xander would jump all over that, and she did just want to sit down.
"Nice to meet you. Sorry it had to be like that," Jade floundered awkwardly, not sure how to broach on the subject of a dead ex. She'd think she would have some experience on the matter, but the body possession thing was taking it to a whole other level.
"No, no. Thank you for the opportunity. Okay, Spike. I'll get out your hair." He flashed another friendly smile at Jade, and then a narrowed glare at Spike before hurrying his way down the hall. Jade heard Spike's muttered "Wanker," under his breath as the vampire maneuvered Jade back into her room.
"Now, what have we learned?" Spike spoke in a patronizing tone, but Jade was too tired to take offense. Spike sat her on the bed, cupping a hand on her back to support her as he gathered pillows for her to lean against. It was strangely considerate of him. She had seen the battle Spike, the one who loved the violence, found glee in it, the Spike who was humorous and snarky, but this gentle Spike was a whole different ballgame, and she didn't know how to react to it.
"Stay away from windows and peepholes?" Jade said wearily as she lowered herself into the pillows. "I really didn't mean to—"
"Yeah, well, obviously can't leave you alone," Spike said his almost acerbic tone undoing his tenderness as he sat back into a chair. He was comfortable in the shadows, sitting there as Jade pulled the blankets over her once more.
"I guess not," Jade said with a weary sigh, shooting him a guilty smile. "Sorry."
"Yeah, well. When you rest up a bit, we can at least leave this damn room. Not one much for cells, dressed up fancy or not."
"Deal. And do you think… when we're out, could we find some paper and pencils? If I'm going to be bed-ridden for a while, it would be nice to get some drawing done."
He was silent for a moment, then glanced at her, although she could barely see it, only through the trace of light coming up into the room. "Yeah," he agreed after a moment. "Could manage that."