Disclaimer: I own nothing but this chapter of the challenge started by Zekkers. Everything else belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and the WB.
Finished: May 9, 2001
~~ Just A Spoonful of Sugar ~~
"You have toyed with their lives enough," a deep voice said. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You were meant to help only her. That was the bet."
"Look, M'ferver, I know these two belong together," the man persisted. "I just need to set them on their path."
"You've had three chances and they've all failed." M'ferver replied.
"At least let me give the vampire a last wish to set things back to normal," the man pleaded.
M'ferver considered this carefully. "Alright," he agreed, nodding his head slowly. "You will be allowed to grant one last wish, then you must give your power source back to me until I deem you worthy enough to have it back."
The man looked down at his ring. It contained the power to grant wishes, just as Anyanka's had been in her necklace. Without it, he was just another human. But this couple was well worth the sacrifice. They needed each other and he had to show them that. "Deal." the man agreed.
With a flash of light, the man was back in Spike's crypt. He watched as the vampire stared out the window after his destiny. The man smiled and spoke up. "Didn't quite think of the repercussions, did you?"
Spike turned around and shook his head sadly. "I just want her back the way she was before. That's the Slayer I love." He picked up his discarded shirt and pulled it back on.
The man nodded. "So you have a last wish and only one," he explained. "Then you won't see me around for a while...make it a good one. No, make it a perfect one. Think about it extremely carefully and I'll come back in the morning."
Spike nodded. "Will we remember anything of the wish?" he asked.
"She won't, but just as she remembers hers, you will remember yours," the man replied. "Good luck."
In the blink of an eye, the man disappeared. "Stop doing that!" Spike yelled into the empty crypt. Frustrated, he sat down on the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do I want?" he asked himself. "I want the Slayer, but I want her to be herself. I want to earn her respect and love, if it ever comes to that."
He stood and paced around the small room until he decided to go for a late night patrol. Making a quick sweep of the major cemeteries and finding only three vamps, he returned home having finally decided what to wish for and with a few hours to spare before sunrise. He lay down on the bed deciding that he needed those couple hours of sleep to prepare for the morning's wish.
He fell into a deep sleep and awoke several hours later to a light tapping on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw Buffy standing over him. "Bloody hell." he muttered under his breath.
"Good morning, honey," she cooed. "I'm sorry if I did anything last night to upset you, but I've done a lot of thinking and I want you to know that I love you and I'll do anything to have you in my life again...anything." she said with a seductive smile.
She lay down on the bed beside him and ran a hand down his arm. Spike stared at her and hoped the wish-granter would arrive soon, he didn't know how much longer he could resist her.
As if on cue, the man appeared. "Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?" he asked.
Spike pushed Buffy's hand away and sat up. "Definitely not. Now please fix this." he said hurriedly.
"You're the man that granted me my wish, aren't you?" Buffy asked the man who nodded in return. She then looked over at Spike with a worried look. "Fix what, Spike? Are you hurt? Please tell me what's wrong."
Ignoring her, Spike continued. "I know what I want my wish to be and there won't be any problems like last time...I hope."
The man smiled. "Okay, what is it?"
Spike thought for a second and took a deep, unneeded breath. "I wish that Buffy wasn't in love with me, but that she respected and trusted me and saw me as the person that I'm trying to be for her." he said.
"You don't want me to love you, Spike?" Buffy asked with tears in her eyes.
"Ssh." he quieted her as the man began talking.
"Is that it? Anything else?" the man asked.
"Can you get this sodding chip out of my head?" Spike asked hopefully.
"Sorry, if it's not regarding relationships, I can't change it." he replied.
Spike shrugged. "It was worth a shot," he said. Buffy took hold of Spike's hand and smiled at him. He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Well, let's get on with it."
The man chuckled and nodded. "Good luck, Spike." he said before disappearing.
Buffy shook her head as if trying to clear it. Looking over at Spike, it took a couple of seconds to realize where she was...and whose hand she was holding. She jumped off the bed and spun around to face Spike. "What's going on, Spike?" she asked hurriedly, looking at her surroundings. "And how'd I get here?"
Spike looked at her. "Long story. You wouldn't be interested." he said flatly.
"Wanna bet?" she challenged. "Last thing I remember is sitting in my room getting ready to patrol...last night. Now it's morning and I was just sitting on your bed. What happened?"
Spike thought quickly. "Well, Slayer, we went patrolling yesterday and you got knocked on the head by a vamp. You were a little out of it so you stayed here overnight...but absolutely nothing happened between us. I guess that hit did a number on your memory."
Buffy thought back to the previous night but she couldn't remember anything. Still, she had this strange inclination to trust Spike and believed him. "Well, thanks for letting me crash here, I guess," she said, walking toward the door. "I'll see you around."
After she left, he fell back on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's over," he said to himself. "At least she didn't stake me."
Spike rolled over and fell asleep. That night he would go patrolling and 'run into' her, just to see how she would treat him.
When evening arrived, Spike walked aimlessly around 'his' cemetery pretending to look for vampires, but was actually looking for Buffy. A few minutes later, he heard sounds of a struggle and went to check it out. He found Buffy fighting two vamps and having trouble with them. He ran over to help her just as one of the demons threw her over a headstone. Spike knelt next to Buffy and helped her up as the vamps came after them. One threw a punch at Buffy but she dodged it and kicked him in the stomach as Spike punched the other in the face.
It wasn't long before both were dusted and Buffy stood beside Spike. "Where're your pals?" he asked. "They're usually out here with you."
"Busy," Buffy replied simply. "They're at the Bronze. I'm heading there after patrol."
Spike nodded. So far so good. She hadn't said one mean thing to him yet. Maybe the spell wouldn't backfire this time. *But the night's still young.* Spike thought to himself. "Want some backup?" he offered.
"Why not. I could use the company," she answered as they began walking through the graveyard. About an hour later of finding no other vampires, Buffy spoke up. "I'm going Bronzing...um, you wanna come with?"
Spike was surprised. Buffy was actually inviting him to go out with her. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a date, but it was good enough for him. "Sure." he said.
They arrived at the Bronze and found the Scoobies sitting at a table. "Hey guys," Buffy said with a smile when she and Spike reached them.
"Hey Buff," Xander said, then he looked up. "And Spike? What the hell is he doing here, Buffy?"
"I invited him." she said.
"Um, okay, but two days ago you were chained beneath his crypt and--"
"Xander, it's fine," Buffy interrupted. "I know what happened, I was there, but it's cool now." She sat down and offered a seat to Spike who accepted, but not without giving Xander a smug look first, which went unnoticed by Buffy.
Willow gave a confused but supportive smile to Buffy before getting up to dance with Tara as a slow song began playing. "I hope she knows what she's doing." Willow whispered to her.
Anya stood as well and took Xander's hand. "Can we dance now?" she asked.
Xander nodded and stood up. Giving one last glance to Buffy they headed to the dance floor, leaving Spike and the Slayer alone. Without any vampires to slay or demons to kill they were left simply with each other...not a common occurrence between the two and Xander began to think it might have been a bad idea to do so. Who knew what could happen?
Finished: May 9, 2001
~~ Just A Spoonful of Sugar ~~
"You have toyed with their lives enough," a deep voice said. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You were meant to help only her. That was the bet."
"Look, M'ferver, I know these two belong together," the man persisted. "I just need to set them on their path."
"You've had three chances and they've all failed." M'ferver replied.
"At least let me give the vampire a last wish to set things back to normal," the man pleaded.
M'ferver considered this carefully. "Alright," he agreed, nodding his head slowly. "You will be allowed to grant one last wish, then you must give your power source back to me until I deem you worthy enough to have it back."
The man looked down at his ring. It contained the power to grant wishes, just as Anyanka's had been in her necklace. Without it, he was just another human. But this couple was well worth the sacrifice. They needed each other and he had to show them that. "Deal." the man agreed.
With a flash of light, the man was back in Spike's crypt. He watched as the vampire stared out the window after his destiny. The man smiled and spoke up. "Didn't quite think of the repercussions, did you?"
Spike turned around and shook his head sadly. "I just want her back the way she was before. That's the Slayer I love." He picked up his discarded shirt and pulled it back on.
The man nodded. "So you have a last wish and only one," he explained. "Then you won't see me around for a while...make it a good one. No, make it a perfect one. Think about it extremely carefully and I'll come back in the morning."
Spike nodded. "Will we remember anything of the wish?" he asked.
"She won't, but just as she remembers hers, you will remember yours," the man replied. "Good luck."
In the blink of an eye, the man disappeared. "Stop doing that!" Spike yelled into the empty crypt. Frustrated, he sat down on the bed and ran a hand through his hair. "What do I want?" he asked himself. "I want the Slayer, but I want her to be herself. I want to earn her respect and love, if it ever comes to that."
He stood and paced around the small room until he decided to go for a late night patrol. Making a quick sweep of the major cemeteries and finding only three vamps, he returned home having finally decided what to wish for and with a few hours to spare before sunrise. He lay down on the bed deciding that he needed those couple hours of sleep to prepare for the morning's wish.
He fell into a deep sleep and awoke several hours later to a light tapping on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and saw Buffy standing over him. "Bloody hell." he muttered under his breath.
"Good morning, honey," she cooed. "I'm sorry if I did anything last night to upset you, but I've done a lot of thinking and I want you to know that I love you and I'll do anything to have you in my life again...anything." she said with a seductive smile.
She lay down on the bed beside him and ran a hand down his arm. Spike stared at her and hoped the wish-granter would arrive soon, he didn't know how much longer he could resist her.
As if on cue, the man appeared. "Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?" he asked.
Spike pushed Buffy's hand away and sat up. "Definitely not. Now please fix this." he said hurriedly.
"You're the man that granted me my wish, aren't you?" Buffy asked the man who nodded in return. She then looked over at Spike with a worried look. "Fix what, Spike? Are you hurt? Please tell me what's wrong."
Ignoring her, Spike continued. "I know what I want my wish to be and there won't be any problems like last time...I hope."
The man smiled. "Okay, what is it?"
Spike thought for a second and took a deep, unneeded breath. "I wish that Buffy wasn't in love with me, but that she respected and trusted me and saw me as the person that I'm trying to be for her." he said.
"You don't want me to love you, Spike?" Buffy asked with tears in her eyes.
"Ssh." he quieted her as the man began talking.
"Is that it? Anything else?" the man asked.
"Can you get this sodding chip out of my head?" Spike asked hopefully.
"Sorry, if it's not regarding relationships, I can't change it." he replied.
Spike shrugged. "It was worth a shot," he said. Buffy took hold of Spike's hand and smiled at him. He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Well, let's get on with it."
The man chuckled and nodded. "Good luck, Spike." he said before disappearing.
Buffy shook her head as if trying to clear it. Looking over at Spike, it took a couple of seconds to realize where she was...and whose hand she was holding. She jumped off the bed and spun around to face Spike. "What's going on, Spike?" she asked hurriedly, looking at her surroundings. "And how'd I get here?"
Spike looked at her. "Long story. You wouldn't be interested." he said flatly.
"Wanna bet?" she challenged. "Last thing I remember is sitting in my room getting ready to patrol...last night. Now it's morning and I was just sitting on your bed. What happened?"
Spike thought quickly. "Well, Slayer, we went patrolling yesterday and you got knocked on the head by a vamp. You were a little out of it so you stayed here overnight...but absolutely nothing happened between us. I guess that hit did a number on your memory."
Buffy thought back to the previous night but she couldn't remember anything. Still, she had this strange inclination to trust Spike and believed him. "Well, thanks for letting me crash here, I guess," she said, walking toward the door. "I'll see you around."
After she left, he fell back on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. "It's over," he said to himself. "At least she didn't stake me."
Spike rolled over and fell asleep. That night he would go patrolling and 'run into' her, just to see how she would treat him.
When evening arrived, Spike walked aimlessly around 'his' cemetery pretending to look for vampires, but was actually looking for Buffy. A few minutes later, he heard sounds of a struggle and went to check it out. He found Buffy fighting two vamps and having trouble with them. He ran over to help her just as one of the demons threw her over a headstone. Spike knelt next to Buffy and helped her up as the vamps came after them. One threw a punch at Buffy but she dodged it and kicked him in the stomach as Spike punched the other in the face.
It wasn't long before both were dusted and Buffy stood beside Spike. "Where're your pals?" he asked. "They're usually out here with you."
"Busy," Buffy replied simply. "They're at the Bronze. I'm heading there after patrol."
Spike nodded. So far so good. She hadn't said one mean thing to him yet. Maybe the spell wouldn't backfire this time. *But the night's still young.* Spike thought to himself. "Want some backup?" he offered.
"Why not. I could use the company," she answered as they began walking through the graveyard. About an hour later of finding no other vampires, Buffy spoke up. "I'm going Bronzing...um, you wanna come with?"
Spike was surprised. Buffy was actually inviting him to go out with her. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a date, but it was good enough for him. "Sure." he said.
They arrived at the Bronze and found the Scoobies sitting at a table. "Hey guys," Buffy said with a smile when she and Spike reached them.
"Hey Buff," Xander said, then he looked up. "And Spike? What the hell is he doing here, Buffy?"
"I invited him." she said.
"Um, okay, but two days ago you were chained beneath his crypt and--"
"Xander, it's fine," Buffy interrupted. "I know what happened, I was there, but it's cool now." She sat down and offered a seat to Spike who accepted, but not without giving Xander a smug look first, which went unnoticed by Buffy.
Willow gave a confused but supportive smile to Buffy before getting up to dance with Tara as a slow song began playing. "I hope she knows what she's doing." Willow whispered to her.
Anya stood as well and took Xander's hand. "Can we dance now?" she asked.
Xander nodded and stood up. Giving one last glance to Buffy they headed to the dance floor, leaving Spike and the Slayer alone. Without any vampires to slay or demons to kill they were left simply with each other...not a common occurrence between the two and Xander began to think it might have been a bad idea to do so. Who knew what could happen?
