Disclaimer: I own Keith, the other unnamed vamps, and the plot. The rest belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB, etc.
Finished: December 15, 2000
~~ Cordelia's Men ~~
~~ Chapter Seventeen ~~
"Turn me?" I questioned. He just nodded. "But I love Spike now, what makes you think I'll stick around with you?"
"Because, you will feel a strong bond to me. I will be your sire and you will respect me." he said, running his hands through my hair.
I pulled away from him but didn't get very far since the ropes were short. "That's not always the case...I never saw Harmony with her sire...she was always running around with whoever would look at her twice."
Keith slapped me hard. "Don't talk about Harmony like that!" he screamed.
"And what do you think I'll say when I'm evil...that she was a nice, sweet girl? If I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up." I said. She was his weakness, just as Dru was Spike's.
"With each insult, your life expectancy decreases." he threatened. I didn't care; Spike would find me in time...I hoped.
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Spike was frantic. When he'd come home that morning, Cordelia was gone. The table was knocked over and the candles were strewn all over the floor. His jacket was on the floor in front of the couch and Cordelia's suitcase was still beside the couch. There was a familiar scent in the air...something he remembered from when Harmony came back to him, but it couldn't be her, he had killed her himself. The night was almost over but he had to find her. The sun wasn't up yet so he ran to Cordelia's car. Shoving the keys in the ignition, he turned the keys and the car roared to life. He sped over to Buffy's apartment. He stood at the door for five minutes before Riley answered his buzzing.
"Who is it?" he grumbled.
"It's Spike," he said quickly. "I need to talk to Buffy...now."
"She's sleeping," Riley said.
"I don't care...it's about Cordelia," Spike said. "Let me up."
"Okay," Riley punched the button to let Spike in and in less than five minutes he was on the third floor knocking on Buffy's door.
Buffy answered the door and invited Spike in. "What's wrong with Cordy?" she asked.
"She's gone," he said. "I went out to look for some information about this vampire and when I came back to my place, she wasn't there."
"What vampire?" she questioned.
"It's a long, personal story that she told me about and I went to go find him...but someone found her first." he said.
"Are you sure she didn't just leave?" Riley asked.
"She didn't have anywhere to go...a vampire broke into her motel room and I knocked him out." Spike explained.
"Did you stake him?" Buffy asked.
"No, I didn't have my stake with me," he answered. "It looks like there was a struggle at my place. Someone knocked over the table...her suitcase is still there."
"I'll be ready in two minutes," she said before turning and walking into her bedroom.
"She'll be fine," Riley said. "She's strong."
"Yeah," Spike agreed. "But I'm not. If something happened to her I don't know what I'd do. I'd rather die than go on without her."
"You won't have to," Buffy said, stepping out of her bedroom with a bag full of weapons. "We'll find her."
"What's with all the weapons?" Riley asked Buffy.
"We don't know if we need to fight anything yet," Buffy said. "Just being prepared." Spike swallowed hard. "Relax," she reassured him. "There's no monster that scares me."
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After Keith left the room that morning I cried for about an hour. I didn't want to die. I was finally happy in life with Spike and now this selfish bastard was going to take that away. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I tried to slip out of the ropes that held me in my deathbed but they were tight and dug into my hands. I yanked at the ropes, hoping that the force could break the headboard but it didn't do much, only cut into my wrists more. If I caused myself to bleed any more, Keith might smell it and wonder what I was trying to do. I couldn't let him find me crying. It would prove that I was weak...that I was surrendering.
I sighed loudly and looked around the room. My purse was lying on the table. I perked up a little...there was a nail file inside of it, unless Keith had gone through it and removed it. I picked it up carefully with my feet and brought it onto the bed. I leaned forward and grabbed the strap with my teeth. Pulling my head back sharply, I was able to land the purse in my hands. I quickly opened the zipper and dumped the contents out into my lap. I tossed my makeup aside until I found the nail file. I began sawing at one of the ropes. I wasn't making much progress, but I didn't let up. Slowly the rope began to fray and a few minutes later, my left hand was free. I pulled the rope through the headboard and started to untie the knot around my right wrist, again, using the nail file to weaken it. No sooner did I get my wrist free and clean up my stuff off of the bed than the doorknob started to turn.
~~ Chapter Eighteen ~~
I quickly hid my hands behind my back, pretending that they were still tied. "Hello, Cordelia," Keith said, walking into the room. "How are you feeling? A little hungry perhaps?" I glared at him and gripped the stake that Spike had given me behind my back. *Men can be so stupid,* I thought. *He didn't even steal my stake from my purse.*
I watched as he snapped his fingers and a man brought a tray of food over to my bed. He quickly left the room and closed the door behind him. Keith walked over to the bed and sat down beside the tray. "Since you can't use your hands, I'd better feed you," he said. "We don't want you to get sick now do we?"
He lifted a spoonful of soup to my mouth but I pressed my lips together. I had no clue what he might have put in it and I wasn't going to take any chances, even though I was starving.
"Cordelia!" he yelled. "What is your problem?"
I waited until he put the spoon down before I opened my mouth to speak. "You're not Spike," I said angrily. "I will never love you, even if you turn me, it won't be me...it will be a demon. Which makes sense because only a cold-blooded killer would want to be around you!"
I was about to stake him when he grabbed my arms and vamped out. "I think we've waited long enough don't you?"
He buried his fangs into my neck and I felt myself grow weaker as he drank. Suddenly his head pulled away and he looked down. I had managed to shove the sharp stake into his heart and he looked up at me with a surprised look on his face as he exploded into dust. I let out a huge sigh of relief and tried to sit up. I was weak and could barely hold my head up. I dropped the stake as I forced myself to stand and slowly stumbled to the door. I gripped the handle and it took all of my strength to twist it. The door made a loud click as it opened and I peered out the door. There were guards everywhere. *Dammit!* I thought. *Even if I had the strength to try and run, I couldn't make it.*
I silently tried closed the door but one of the guards turned his head and saw me. I let out a slight squeal as he started charging at me. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I slammed the door shut and propped a chair under the knob. I knew it wouldn't hold for long so I had to think of a plan of escape. I went into my purse and found the small vial of holy water and poured it on the floor in front of the door...if anything, hopefully they would slip and fall on it. I looked around, there were no windows but there were a few large paintings. Then I remembered a scene of a script I read where a window was hidden behind a painting. I ran to one of a woman riding a large black horse through a field of daisies. *How pretty.* I thought before pushing it up and off the wall and dropping it on the ground. No window. I heard the guards ramming against the door and I knew I'd be dead if they caught me.
I moved to the next painting. A woman and a man sitting on a park bench feeding the pigeons. *How romantic.* This painting was a little bigger and I grunted as I lifted it off the hooks. The painting clattered to the floor and sunlight poured through a small window. Not enough light to protect me from the vampires inside, but big enough that I could fit through. I unlocked the window and pushed it open. A cool breeze hit my face and I breathed in the fresh air. Two guards broke through the door and three followed behind, all in their game faces. As one slipped on the water, I heard his hands sizzle as he screamed in pain and quickly stood up.
I jumped up and leaned my stomach on the window ledge. I swung my left leg over the ledge and I thanked God for the balcony below me. A guard grabbed my right foot and tried to pull me back inside. I yanked my foot out the window with surprising strength and with it came his hands into the sun. They started smoking as he fought me and then they burst into flames. He let go of my foot and I nearly fell over the balcony ledge. I heard him screaming, trying to put his hands out as I looked down to the ground.
It was a long way down...at least three stories. I was safe in the sun and sat down on a chair to catch my breath. But I was still trapped. There were no stairs and nothing to break my fall below. I looked over the edge, trying to find a drainpipe or a trellis I could climb down but there was absolutely nothing.
As I looked down, I saw my car drive by. I waved my arms at the driver, I couldn't see who was in the car but I hoped that it was Spike. I yelled out his name and the car screeched to a halt. The driver door opened and Buffy stepped out to look up at me. "Are you okay?" she hollered.
"Yeah," I yelled back. "I'm trapped though! There's at least five up here!"
Buffy turned off the ignition and She ran to the sidewalk. She opened the passenger door and someone stepped out under a blanket. My heart skipped a beat. Spike! I thought, smiling to myself. I was safe now. Buffy and Spike would come upstairs and rescue me. They entered the building and I turned around to face the guards, but they were gone. I peeked my head through the window but there was no sign of them. I carefully stepped back into the room. My purse was still on the table and my stake was lying on the bed.
I crept noiselessly over to the bed and grabbed the smooth, stake that Spike had made for me. I walked slowly towards the door and peered out into the hallway. No guards out there either. I suddenly felt very scared. It was daytime so where would the guards have gone? My question was answered when one sneaked up and grabbed me from behind. I screamed and elbowed him in the stomach. I spun around, not even thinking twice about where I got the sudden burst of energy. I held up the stake and tried to bury it in his chest but he slapped my hand away and punched me in the stomach. I took a couple steps back and sucked in a deep breath.
"Now you've made me really mad," I said. I kicked the vamp between the legs with all of my strength and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain. I quickly pierced his heart with my stake and he turned to dust. I continued to catch my breath as Buffy rounded the corner.
"Cordy, duck!" she yelled. I fell to the floor as she flung a stake above my head, I heard a groan and turned around as I saw another guard behind me gripping the stake embedded in his chest.
"Nice shot," I said as he quickly fell to dust. Buffy walked up to me and helped me stand up. She gave me a quick hug.
"You've been bitten...are you okay?" she asked, inspecting my neck.
"Yeah, I'll live," I replied. "Is Spike here?"
Buffy nodded. "He's down the hall fighting a vamp and told me to come find you."
"That means there's two more out here somewhere," I said. "Five ambushed me in the room."
"I already got one other on the way here," she said. "Cordy...did you stake a vampire?"
I smiled proudly. "I got two of them." I said. "One was feeding off of me and I staked him and then before you came around the corner I got another one."
"Good job," she said, turning and motioning for me to follow her. "Did you learn to fight in LA?"
"Yeah, Angel taught me," I replied. "He taught me a few moves...until I broke a nail and had a hissy fit. I scared him pretty good."
Buffy laughed. "Well he was never really good when it came to my complaining," she said. "He always tried to avoid it and would do almost anything to make me stop," I smiled at her as she continued. "Like kissing me...it usually worked pretty well, too. There was never any complaints when it came to that part of the relationship."
We rounded the corner and saw Spike fighting with a vampire at least twice his size. He held Spike off the ground by his jacket and punched him repeatedly in the face. Buffy ran up and landed a kick on his side and he dropped Spike. He fell to the floor and tried to stand. I ran over to him and helped him up.
"C-Cordy," he said weakly. Blood poured from his nose, lower lip, and from a cut under his eye. "Are you okay?"
I nodded as a tear fell from my eye. "Now I am," I said smiling. I looked over at Buffy who was making quick work of the vampire. She punched him twice in the face and he picked her up by her arms. The used the height advantage to kick him square in the face. He dropped her on the ground and tried to step on her but she rolled out from under his foot and swept his feet from under him. He fell to the ground with a loud thud and a picture fell off of a wall. Buffy whipped out her stake and tried to dust him but he kicked it out of her hand and down the hallway. He stood up as she searched for another one. She looked up just as he swung a left fist. She ducked under it and responded with a quick uppercut, which sent him stumbling back into the wall.
"Buffy, catch!" I said tossing her my stake. She did a full 360 and caught the stake without even pausing and buried it in the vamp's heart. He exploded into dust and she finally stopped to catch her breath.
"That's a nice stake, Cordy," she said, inspecting it as if it were a priceless antique. "Are you guys okay?"
"I am, but I think Spike's a little out of it." I said.
Buffy walked over to us and lifted Spike's left arm around her neck while I took his right. We got into the elevator at the end of the hall and headed down to the ground floor.
"You smell like Harm," he mumbled. I had no clue what he was talking about.
I looked over at Buffy and she shrugged her shoulders. I held the car door open for Buffy and she held the blanket above Spike as he climbed into the backseat. I sat down and he laid his head on my lap. As Buffy drove to my new apartment, Spike fell asleep.
~~ Chapter Nineteen ~~
Spike slept for the whole day on my bed. Buffy had helped me bring him inside and stayed for a little while to make sure I was okay. I assured her I was fine and she went home to get some well-deserved sleep. I lay down on the couch and I too fell asleep, only to be awakened by Spike a few hours later.
"Hi," he said softly. "I missed you."
I sat up and hugged him tightly, afraid that if I let him go, I'd be kidnapped again. "I love you, Spike," I said. "I was worried I'd never see you again. He said that he was going to turn me."
"Who?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Keith," I answered. "He said that you stole Harmony from him and that he wanted to steal me from you."
He looked into my eyes. "I would never let anybody steal you from me," he promised. A flash of recognition crossed his face. "Keith and Harmony...she told me about him when she came back to me. That's where I knew his scent from. It came from Harm and now you. Did that bastard bite you?"
I nodded and then started to cry as I laid my head on his chest. "He's the same guy that came after me in LA," I sobbed. "He wanted to turn me to get back at you...when he bit me, I got so angry and I staked him."
Spike didn't say anything for a while. When I looked up at him I noticed that a tear was falling from his eye. "Did he try anything again?" he asked, clenching his teeth.
"No," I said shaking my head. "He just brought it up a lot until I staked him."
He cupped my chin with his cool hand. "I love you, Cordelia," he said softly.
I almost melted when he said it. I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. I pulled him closer to me and kissed him. "You were so brave today," I said. "You took on that big vamp for me...you could've died."
"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you either, Cordy," he said. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again.
"Then make me dinner," I said, smiling. "I haven't eaten all day and I starving!"
He laughed. "The only thing I know how to make is blood, blood, and, oh yeah, blood!"
"It's really easy," I told him. "There are these books with a bunch of measurements and ingredients and they tell you how to make stuff. They're called cookbooks."
"You'll have to teach me to cook so I can surprise you sometime," he said.
"Starting right now," I said. "Lesson one, always do what the head chef tells you to...if you follow my orders, then you get treated better."
He nodded. "What should I do first Ms. Chase?" he asked me in a businesslike voice.
"Well, let's see," I said. "We need to find out what we have to work with, find a good recipe, and wash the food before we start cooking. But first and most important step: You have to kiss me."
He saluted me. "Yes ma'am!" he said. He put a hand on the back of my neck and pulled me towards him. "I think I might enjoy this cooking thing." He kissed me as I pressed him back onto the couch.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you will," I chuckled before kissing him again. "But the best part is making dessert."
He grinned mischievously. "Well, what if I want my dessert first?" he asked.
"Then you have to ask me nicely," I said. I stood up and walked towards the bedroom. Spike stayed sitting on the couch and looked over at me. "That's an order, buster!" I said.
Spike smiled and stood up. I disappeared into the bedroom and a few seconds later, Spike followed. He wrapped his strong arms around me and captured my lips in a passionate kiss. Food was the last thing on my mind.
Finished: December 15, 2000
~~ Cordelia's Men ~~
~~ Chapter Seventeen ~~
"Turn me?" I questioned. He just nodded. "But I love Spike now, what makes you think I'll stick around with you?"
"Because, you will feel a strong bond to me. I will be your sire and you will respect me." he said, running his hands through my hair.
I pulled away from him but didn't get very far since the ropes were short. "That's not always the case...I never saw Harmony with her sire...she was always running around with whoever would look at her twice."
Keith slapped me hard. "Don't talk about Harmony like that!" he screamed.
"And what do you think I'll say when I'm evil...that she was a nice, sweet girl? If I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up." I said. She was his weakness, just as Dru was Spike's.
"With each insult, your life expectancy decreases." he threatened. I didn't care; Spike would find me in time...I hoped.
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Spike was frantic. When he'd come home that morning, Cordelia was gone. The table was knocked over and the candles were strewn all over the floor. His jacket was on the floor in front of the couch and Cordelia's suitcase was still beside the couch. There was a familiar scent in the air...something he remembered from when Harmony came back to him, but it couldn't be her, he had killed her himself. The night was almost over but he had to find her. The sun wasn't up yet so he ran to Cordelia's car. Shoving the keys in the ignition, he turned the keys and the car roared to life. He sped over to Buffy's apartment. He stood at the door for five minutes before Riley answered his buzzing.
"Who is it?" he grumbled.
"It's Spike," he said quickly. "I need to talk to Buffy...now."
"She's sleeping," Riley said.
"I don't care...it's about Cordelia," Spike said. "Let me up."
"Okay," Riley punched the button to let Spike in and in less than five minutes he was on the third floor knocking on Buffy's door.
Buffy answered the door and invited Spike in. "What's wrong with Cordy?" she asked.
"She's gone," he said. "I went out to look for some information about this vampire and when I came back to my place, she wasn't there."
"What vampire?" she questioned.
"It's a long, personal story that she told me about and I went to go find him...but someone found her first." he said.
"Are you sure she didn't just leave?" Riley asked.
"She didn't have anywhere to go...a vampire broke into her motel room and I knocked him out." Spike explained.
"Did you stake him?" Buffy asked.
"No, I didn't have my stake with me," he answered. "It looks like there was a struggle at my place. Someone knocked over the table...her suitcase is still there."
"I'll be ready in two minutes," she said before turning and walking into her bedroom.
"She'll be fine," Riley said. "She's strong."
"Yeah," Spike agreed. "But I'm not. If something happened to her I don't know what I'd do. I'd rather die than go on without her."
"You won't have to," Buffy said, stepping out of her bedroom with a bag full of weapons. "We'll find her."
"What's with all the weapons?" Riley asked Buffy.
"We don't know if we need to fight anything yet," Buffy said. "Just being prepared." Spike swallowed hard. "Relax," she reassured him. "There's no monster that scares me."
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After Keith left the room that morning I cried for about an hour. I didn't want to die. I was finally happy in life with Spike and now this selfish bastard was going to take that away. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I tried to slip out of the ropes that held me in my deathbed but they were tight and dug into my hands. I yanked at the ropes, hoping that the force could break the headboard but it didn't do much, only cut into my wrists more. If I caused myself to bleed any more, Keith might smell it and wonder what I was trying to do. I couldn't let him find me crying. It would prove that I was weak...that I was surrendering.
I sighed loudly and looked around the room. My purse was lying on the table. I perked up a little...there was a nail file inside of it, unless Keith had gone through it and removed it. I picked it up carefully with my feet and brought it onto the bed. I leaned forward and grabbed the strap with my teeth. Pulling my head back sharply, I was able to land the purse in my hands. I quickly opened the zipper and dumped the contents out into my lap. I tossed my makeup aside until I found the nail file. I began sawing at one of the ropes. I wasn't making much progress, but I didn't let up. Slowly the rope began to fray and a few minutes later, my left hand was free. I pulled the rope through the headboard and started to untie the knot around my right wrist, again, using the nail file to weaken it. No sooner did I get my wrist free and clean up my stuff off of the bed than the doorknob started to turn.
~~ Chapter Eighteen ~~
I quickly hid my hands behind my back, pretending that they were still tied. "Hello, Cordelia," Keith said, walking into the room. "How are you feeling? A little hungry perhaps?" I glared at him and gripped the stake that Spike had given me behind my back. *Men can be so stupid,* I thought. *He didn't even steal my stake from my purse.*
I watched as he snapped his fingers and a man brought a tray of food over to my bed. He quickly left the room and closed the door behind him. Keith walked over to the bed and sat down beside the tray. "Since you can't use your hands, I'd better feed you," he said. "We don't want you to get sick now do we?"
He lifted a spoonful of soup to my mouth but I pressed my lips together. I had no clue what he might have put in it and I wasn't going to take any chances, even though I was starving.
"Cordelia!" he yelled. "What is your problem?"
I waited until he put the spoon down before I opened my mouth to speak. "You're not Spike," I said angrily. "I will never love you, even if you turn me, it won't be me...it will be a demon. Which makes sense because only a cold-blooded killer would want to be around you!"
I was about to stake him when he grabbed my arms and vamped out. "I think we've waited long enough don't you?"
He buried his fangs into my neck and I felt myself grow weaker as he drank. Suddenly his head pulled away and he looked down. I had managed to shove the sharp stake into his heart and he looked up at me with a surprised look on his face as he exploded into dust. I let out a huge sigh of relief and tried to sit up. I was weak and could barely hold my head up. I dropped the stake as I forced myself to stand and slowly stumbled to the door. I gripped the handle and it took all of my strength to twist it. The door made a loud click as it opened and I peered out the door. There were guards everywhere. *Dammit!* I thought. *Even if I had the strength to try and run, I couldn't make it.*
I silently tried closed the door but one of the guards turned his head and saw me. I let out a slight squeal as he started charging at me. Adrenaline pumped through my body as I slammed the door shut and propped a chair under the knob. I knew it wouldn't hold for long so I had to think of a plan of escape. I went into my purse and found the small vial of holy water and poured it on the floor in front of the door...if anything, hopefully they would slip and fall on it. I looked around, there were no windows but there were a few large paintings. Then I remembered a scene of a script I read where a window was hidden behind a painting. I ran to one of a woman riding a large black horse through a field of daisies. *How pretty.* I thought before pushing it up and off the wall and dropping it on the ground. No window. I heard the guards ramming against the door and I knew I'd be dead if they caught me.
I moved to the next painting. A woman and a man sitting on a park bench feeding the pigeons. *How romantic.* This painting was a little bigger and I grunted as I lifted it off the hooks. The painting clattered to the floor and sunlight poured through a small window. Not enough light to protect me from the vampires inside, but big enough that I could fit through. I unlocked the window and pushed it open. A cool breeze hit my face and I breathed in the fresh air. Two guards broke through the door and three followed behind, all in their game faces. As one slipped on the water, I heard his hands sizzle as he screamed in pain and quickly stood up.
I jumped up and leaned my stomach on the window ledge. I swung my left leg over the ledge and I thanked God for the balcony below me. A guard grabbed my right foot and tried to pull me back inside. I yanked my foot out the window with surprising strength and with it came his hands into the sun. They started smoking as he fought me and then they burst into flames. He let go of my foot and I nearly fell over the balcony ledge. I heard him screaming, trying to put his hands out as I looked down to the ground.
It was a long way down...at least three stories. I was safe in the sun and sat down on a chair to catch my breath. But I was still trapped. There were no stairs and nothing to break my fall below. I looked over the edge, trying to find a drainpipe or a trellis I could climb down but there was absolutely nothing.
As I looked down, I saw my car drive by. I waved my arms at the driver, I couldn't see who was in the car but I hoped that it was Spike. I yelled out his name and the car screeched to a halt. The driver door opened and Buffy stepped out to look up at me. "Are you okay?" she hollered.
"Yeah," I yelled back. "I'm trapped though! There's at least five up here!"
Buffy turned off the ignition and She ran to the sidewalk. She opened the passenger door and someone stepped out under a blanket. My heart skipped a beat. Spike! I thought, smiling to myself. I was safe now. Buffy and Spike would come upstairs and rescue me. They entered the building and I turned around to face the guards, but they were gone. I peeked my head through the window but there was no sign of them. I carefully stepped back into the room. My purse was still on the table and my stake was lying on the bed.
I crept noiselessly over to the bed and grabbed the smooth, stake that Spike had made for me. I walked slowly towards the door and peered out into the hallway. No guards out there either. I suddenly felt very scared. It was daytime so where would the guards have gone? My question was answered when one sneaked up and grabbed me from behind. I screamed and elbowed him in the stomach. I spun around, not even thinking twice about where I got the sudden burst of energy. I held up the stake and tried to bury it in his chest but he slapped my hand away and punched me in the stomach. I took a couple steps back and sucked in a deep breath.
"Now you've made me really mad," I said. I kicked the vamp between the legs with all of my strength and he fell to the ground, writhing in pain. I quickly pierced his heart with my stake and he turned to dust. I continued to catch my breath as Buffy rounded the corner.
"Cordy, duck!" she yelled. I fell to the floor as she flung a stake above my head, I heard a groan and turned around as I saw another guard behind me gripping the stake embedded in his chest.
"Nice shot," I said as he quickly fell to dust. Buffy walked up to me and helped me stand up. She gave me a quick hug.
"You've been bitten...are you okay?" she asked, inspecting my neck.
"Yeah, I'll live," I replied. "Is Spike here?"
Buffy nodded. "He's down the hall fighting a vamp and told me to come find you."
"That means there's two more out here somewhere," I said. "Five ambushed me in the room."
"I already got one other on the way here," she said. "Cordy...did you stake a vampire?"
I smiled proudly. "I got two of them." I said. "One was feeding off of me and I staked him and then before you came around the corner I got another one."
"Good job," she said, turning and motioning for me to follow her. "Did you learn to fight in LA?"
"Yeah, Angel taught me," I replied. "He taught me a few moves...until I broke a nail and had a hissy fit. I scared him pretty good."
Buffy laughed. "Well he was never really good when it came to my complaining," she said. "He always tried to avoid it and would do almost anything to make me stop," I smiled at her as she continued. "Like kissing me...it usually worked pretty well, too. There was never any complaints when it came to that part of the relationship."
We rounded the corner and saw Spike fighting with a vampire at least twice his size. He held Spike off the ground by his jacket and punched him repeatedly in the face. Buffy ran up and landed a kick on his side and he dropped Spike. He fell to the floor and tried to stand. I ran over to him and helped him up.
"C-Cordy," he said weakly. Blood poured from his nose, lower lip, and from a cut under his eye. "Are you okay?"
I nodded as a tear fell from my eye. "Now I am," I said smiling. I looked over at Buffy who was making quick work of the vampire. She punched him twice in the face and he picked her up by her arms. The used the height advantage to kick him square in the face. He dropped her on the ground and tried to step on her but she rolled out from under his foot and swept his feet from under him. He fell to the ground with a loud thud and a picture fell off of a wall. Buffy whipped out her stake and tried to dust him but he kicked it out of her hand and down the hallway. He stood up as she searched for another one. She looked up just as he swung a left fist. She ducked under it and responded with a quick uppercut, which sent him stumbling back into the wall.
"Buffy, catch!" I said tossing her my stake. She did a full 360 and caught the stake without even pausing and buried it in the vamp's heart. He exploded into dust and she finally stopped to catch her breath.
"That's a nice stake, Cordy," she said, inspecting it as if it were a priceless antique. "Are you guys okay?"
"I am, but I think Spike's a little out of it." I said.
Buffy walked over to us and lifted Spike's left arm around her neck while I took his right. We got into the elevator at the end of the hall and headed down to the ground floor.
"You smell like Harm," he mumbled. I had no clue what he was talking about.
I looked over at Buffy and she shrugged her shoulders. I held the car door open for Buffy and she held the blanket above Spike as he climbed into the backseat. I sat down and he laid his head on my lap. As Buffy drove to my new apartment, Spike fell asleep.
~~ Chapter Nineteen ~~
Spike slept for the whole day on my bed. Buffy had helped me bring him inside and stayed for a little while to make sure I was okay. I assured her I was fine and she went home to get some well-deserved sleep. I lay down on the couch and I too fell asleep, only to be awakened by Spike a few hours later.
"Hi," he said softly. "I missed you."
I sat up and hugged him tightly, afraid that if I let him go, I'd be kidnapped again. "I love you, Spike," I said. "I was worried I'd never see you again. He said that he was going to turn me."
"Who?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Keith," I answered. "He said that you stole Harmony from him and that he wanted to steal me from you."
He looked into my eyes. "I would never let anybody steal you from me," he promised. A flash of recognition crossed his face. "Keith and Harmony...she told me about him when she came back to me. That's where I knew his scent from. It came from Harm and now you. Did that bastard bite you?"
I nodded and then started to cry as I laid my head on his chest. "He's the same guy that came after me in LA," I sobbed. "He wanted to turn me to get back at you...when he bit me, I got so angry and I staked him."
Spike didn't say anything for a while. When I looked up at him I noticed that a tear was falling from his eye. "Did he try anything again?" he asked, clenching his teeth.
"No," I said shaking my head. "He just brought it up a lot until I staked him."
He cupped my chin with his cool hand. "I love you, Cordelia," he said softly.
I almost melted when he said it. I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. I pulled him closer to me and kissed him. "You were so brave today," I said. "You took on that big vamp for me...you could've died."
"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you either, Cordy," he said. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again.
"Then make me dinner," I said, smiling. "I haven't eaten all day and I starving!"
He laughed. "The only thing I know how to make is blood, blood, and, oh yeah, blood!"
"It's really easy," I told him. "There are these books with a bunch of measurements and ingredients and they tell you how to make stuff. They're called cookbooks."
"You'll have to teach me to cook so I can surprise you sometime," he said.
"Starting right now," I said. "Lesson one, always do what the head chef tells you to...if you follow my orders, then you get treated better."
He nodded. "What should I do first Ms. Chase?" he asked me in a businesslike voice.
"Well, let's see," I said. "We need to find out what we have to work with, find a good recipe, and wash the food before we start cooking. But first and most important step: You have to kiss me."
He saluted me. "Yes ma'am!" he said. He put a hand on the back of my neck and pulled me towards him. "I think I might enjoy this cooking thing." He kissed me as I pressed him back onto the couch.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure you will," I chuckled before kissing him again. "But the best part is making dessert."
He grinned mischievously. "Well, what if I want my dessert first?" he asked.
"Then you have to ask me nicely," I said. I stood up and walked towards the bedroom. Spike stayed sitting on the couch and looked over at me. "That's an order, buster!" I said.
Spike smiled and stood up. I disappeared into the bedroom and a few seconds later, Spike followed. He wrapped his strong arms around me and captured my lips in a passionate kiss. Food was the last thing on my mind.