part4

When We Are Weak - Part 4 to "All that Heaven Allows"

by: Isabelle

-Disclaimer: All of the main characters are owned by Josh Weddon and the WB. Lyrics are Dreaming my Dreams by The Cranberries.

-Rated: Pg-13 (Language, Adult Situations)

-Summary: Fourth part of Spike and Buffy series. S/B related. Spike and Buffy are taken by a rich underground demon-group with the purpose of being sold in an auction for millions. The plot thickens as they grow closer to each other and try to find a way back home. This story is set right after Season 4, so Season 5 hasen't happened, and won't happen.

-Author's Note: Please send feedback! Tell me what you think, I am far from done, many surprises ahead! My email is bih80@yahoo.com

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//KNOCK//knock//

"Come in."

"Moa, Kapitan."

"Oh Lawrence, my boy, come here." Roderick signaled for him to join them.

Lawrence braced himself and walked in confidently.

"Highnesses, this is Lawrence Maltevilla, son of Parisiano Maltevilla." Roderick said proudly as the young man entered.

Lawrence bowed in the presence of the royals.

"Magesties." he said looking to the ground in reverence.

"My lord Sethos, my lady Kamilah, this is the young noble we've been working with for our special project." Roderick said as the young man took the adequate chair.

Kamilah studied the handsome man and smiled. Her purple eyes twinkled in delight. "Really? Tell me sir, how are they?"

Lawrence looked at the princess, she looked like a replica of Princess Jasmine from that Disney movie he had seen long ago. She was gorgeous, and she knew it. Lean, toned, body, exposing a hard stomach. Eyes large and purplelish, hair as black as the night, long and straight, it went down to her waist. She wore fine jewels and gold, but not excessively, just right. She was standing by a dark window, her frame stood, proud and elegant.

He smiled. "They are very much upset by their position."

She frowned. "Upset? I would think that they would be honored. Don't you think brother?"

Lawrence looked at the quiet figure that was seated on a large golden chair by the fire. He looked young, his features were soft and elegant, passive. He looked almost kind. His thick black hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck were it hung mid-back. He was dressed in a khaki suit, so fine was the cloth it, shinned. His eyes were the richest, darkest black it settled an unerving peace.

He glared at his sister and sighted. "I suppose so, my sister."

Lawrence clearly saw who ran the royal court as she grinned almost evily at her dominance.

"Tell me Mr. Maltevilla." she started. "Are they a handsome couple?"

Lawrence was taken back by her question and her almost purring sound. "Y-y-e-yes, I suppose they are, majesty."

"Suppose?" she asked raising her eyebrow.

"Well, I know, I mean she is, majesty, very beautiful." he stammered. He was getting uneasy by the moment. This woman was a black spider, beautiful and dangerous.

"Beautiful, really?" she asked almost annoyed.

"Not as lovely as you, my lady." Roderick said from his side of the room where he watched amused as the scene before him was played out.

Kamilah paused and looked up at her secret lover smiling, "No need for reasurrance, Roderick." she turned her attention back to Lawrence who was sitting stiff as a board. "Tell me about the master vampire, is he handsome?"

Buffy seems to think so. He thought bitterly remembering how she had held his hand for reassurance.

"She does, does she?" Kamilah asked smiling.

Lawrence's head shot up, startled at how easily the woman had read his thoughts.

Kamilah smiled at the unexperienced youth and turned to Roderick. "Darling, you had not informed me things were getting interesting."

Roderick smiled at her intuition. She fascinated him, she was probably the only creature on earth more dangerous than him.

"A slayer, trusting a vampire?" she asked amused in delight.

Roderick simply nodded as he stood up with an evil smile on his face.

"What about the vampire?" she asked amuzed. "How does he feel about the slayer?"

"Oh, he's definitely stricken." Lawrence pipped in. "Majesty."

A delightful smile crossed Kamilah's face. "How perfectly ironic."

"Takes an interesting turn in events, does it not?" Roderick smiled as he reached the feminine figure.

"Do you really think you should mess with matters of the heart, sister?" Sethos asked from where he was sitting. He was annoyed at the malignant power his sister possessed.

She turned to the prince. "Brother, don't be such a slump." she turned to Roderick. "What delicious goody do you have planned for them?"

Roderick cocked his head. "Something so delightful, they won't know what hit them."

Lawrence shivered at his master's words, he hated the idea of Spike and Buffy, but seeing them everyday had shown him their comaradeship and devotion, whether they admitted it or not. So at the mention of their suffering an acid feeling reached his gut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reality was something she coveted at this moment. She had forgotten who she was, where she was, and who were all these people looking at her so intently.

Then she remembered. Buffy........................

Her daughter had been missing for almost two weeks, the others tought her alive, but she felt her dead.

Cordilia had a vision the day before, that had the others searching frantically for something that would lead to clues to where Buffy and Spike were at.

She moaned internally as she sunk her head further into her pillow. Her baby, her little girl was out there.

Take care of her Spike,....Please.............

She knew he would.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She watched as Taqa slept. He was so peaceful, so fullfilled, she envied him.

Today was Spike's operation and they had no idea what was to be expected. She had been granted permission to be with Spike during the operation and she intended to do just that, she was not leaving his side until he came awake.

Lawrence said it was going to be painful but again, they had no idea what to expect.

She sat alone in the little room that Taqa's withered body occupied. He was so fragile, she could break him so easily, but in a couple of days she would be as helpless as a kitten.

She shuddered at dread of the coming hours.

Right now she had to be strong, strong for Spike, right now he needed her, and she was going to play the part.

Although he had not said it, she felt he too was scared. Scared of what might happen, of never waking up, of leaving her behind, and of many forbidden topics that were off limits to their conversations.

"Love,...." the small figure whispered from the bed.

Buffy immediately jumped up and reached for Taqa's hand. He liked feeling their touch, her's and Spike's.

But she was alone, Spike said he had business to discuss with the immortals, she let him. The other prisoners felt their own fate press on their shoulders and made little quarrel with each other.

"Taqa?"

"Oh little one......how grand life is." he said softly looking at her. Strong tired eyes that held her gaze and read her inside out."Your fear has woken me."

"I'm sorry....."

"No, I will not have it." he said squeezing her hand lightly.

Buffy smiled at the old wiseman.

"You must not fear for William, he is a good man." he said looking at her eyes. "He will come back, he always does."

She smiled sadly. "Yes, he always comes back, doesn't he?"

The man smiled and nodded. "A good one, William is." he exhaled lightly.

"Yes, good........good."

"Child," he began "You remind me of an old proverb. It says: Once bitten by a snake, she is scared all her life at the mere sight of a rope."

Buffy's brows wrinkled. She hated ancient talk, it reminded her of Giles and his prophecies.

He smiled at her frustration. "It means that those who are discouraged by their first failure are afraid of trying again."

She understood and saddly nodded. Angel, her fear was Angel. Loving a vampire, suffering for it. Afraid of letting go, afraid of being left all alone, again. Searching in the wrong places. A tear slid down her face.

"But Spike is evil, he's....he's not sorry for anything. Would that not also be going against my destiny, against my path." her voice was soft and quivering.

"William" he smiled. "That one is a deceiver with a mouth of a dager and a heart of Tofu."

She laughed lightly at his analysis that became all too real.

"Life, life is a grand path. It can be beautiful, it can be deadly. To spend your life calculating what is right and wrong will lead you to death. To spend your life listening to your heart and allowing it to guide you will lead you to beauty. Beauty that does not fade, beauty that does not go away. Death can be right in your face, yet all you will see is beauty."

"He is death..." She whispered in realization and her eyes widened.

"Yet, all you see is his beauty."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part of him was jumping for joy at the thought of the events that were moments from occuring. The other part of him wanted to bolt from the room and get her out of there before he would loose his chances of getting her out. He knew she was no defenseless kitty, but it was the instinct in him that drove him into this overprotective state of despondensy.

They entered the lit room and Buffy gasped at its contents. This was no place to hold an operation as delicate as she knew this would be.

The room looked like a revisitation of old classics movies from the forties. With mildew green color for its walls, and heavy metal instruments placed in a tray next to a stiff hospital-like bed.

She gulped, scared that perhaps she had too many hopes and expectations.

Behind her Spike was not far from her anxiety. This place looked un-healthy. This was no ER. This was just some clean room in an underground facility that was used for miscellaneus purposes, not for a brain surgery like this one.

The nurse asked him to come with her to another room so they could disinfect his head, and Buffy was taken to another room were she had to scrub down her arms if she wanted to remain throughout the operation.

The separation made her itchy, but he gave her a reassuring look and she gathered her wits for him.

Once again they were back together in the room with the white table and heavy metal tools that looked like torture devices. The doctor appeared and asked him some questions before leading him to a mini x-ray room.

After taking some pictures of the position of the chip they were ready to continue with the actual 'work'.

By this time Buffy was trembling, she hated hospitals, and this one, though older, made her skimmish.

The nurse asked Spike to lay on the rigid operating table and he complied taking off his coat and handing it to Buffy.

Buffy stood watching, not sure of what to do, but she was addressed by the nurse who brought an old chair for Buffy to sit next to the patient.

Buffy looked at Spike who was now getting an anesthesia shot in the inside of his arm. She tried to read his features but was unable to figure it out. She usually could. She frowned and he caught her.

"Hey. No worries." he said looking at her.

She shook her head and smiled. "None at all."

"Good."

The doctor place a curtain like device that stoped on top of Spike's forehead so he could work privately and Buffy would not faint at the sight of the open skull procedure.

He was getting groogy, but he fought it, afraid that these last minutes would be his last, and he was truly not prepared to leave this world he liked so much.

Buffy sensed his nerves of hesitation and steped in instinctively. She took his white cold hand in her warm one and bend over so he could clearly see her.

His blue eyes were dreamy and foggy. He was fighting the urge to close them, wanting to see her one last time. He gently squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"I'll be here when you wake up." she whispered and placed her free hand on top of his firm chest rubbing it lightly in a comforting gesture.

He managed a small smile "Good." he whispered. He was leaving, he felt it and his body when in instant panic. He didn't want to leave, there was much to do much to say,......something was wrong.

She felt his body start as a swift tremble and now it was shaking uncontrollably.

"Try to relax, Spike." The doctor said from his position at the end of the table. "You have to relax, sir. If not, you can go into a seizure."

Alarms went off in Buffy's head at the thought of him dying like this.

"It's ok, Spike. Look....I'm here." she said in a soothing tone leaning in closer on him. His eyes were barely open but he could see her, she was worried.

"Keep talking to him, he needs to relax." The doctor said concerned. The patient was now in convulsive shivers.

She reached up and started lightly rubbing his scar eyebrow. "Relax, Spike, please......you need to relax.......calm down.......its ok." she said in soothing murmmurs.

Spike could hear her, so soft, so sweet, he was sure he was in a dream. She was being gentle, comforting, touching him with out pulling away.

Yes, it was definitely a dream.

She looked so beautiful above him, dreamlike, angelike, so soft and pure. He wanted to reach out and touch the golden hair that fell lightly around her face.

His eyes were drifting, again he couldn't fight it.

Then he heard her, so far away yet so clear. Whispering lighly on his ear.

"All my past life is mine no more; The flying hours are gone,

Like transitory dreams given o'er, Whose images are kept in store

By memory alone.

The time that is to come is not; How can it then be mine?

The present moment's all my lot; And that, as fast as it is got,

Phillis, is only thine.

Then talk no more of inconstancy, False hearts, and broken vows;

If I by miracle, can be This live-long minute true to thee,

'Tis all that haven allows."

He drifted, giving up his fight, the last thing he heard was her sweet voice whispering in his ear. The last thing he felt was her warm hand soothing his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the things you said to me today,

Change my perspective in every way.

These things count to mean so much to me,

Into my faith, you and your baby.

He walked in the sun. It felt like tingling glimmers that burned him in a pure and suptle way. He looked at the blue heavens, how he missed their color.

A blue so exquisite, so radiant, that he had never forgotten it. It called to him, luring him to come play with them.

The grass was cold and soft on his bare feel and he felt like running and shouting of happiness. Behind him, he heard the light laughter of a little girl, shrieking with happiness.

There she was in a field full of fresh spring daisies running to her mother. Something so right, so pure and so envious of this picture panged in his heart.

The woman was petite but strong, dressed in a long white dress that flowed in the breeze yet clung to her body. Her golden hair was loose, soft waves caressing her mid-back. She squated down and held her arms open for the little girl to run happily in to them.

The child was an angel. Couldn't be more than four years old, he thought. She was dressed in a dress the color of the purest blue sky. Her hair was strong waves of brown that clashed her pale, almost white skin. But her eyes, they were the brightest blue, large and clear, there was something familiar about those eyes as if he had seen them so long ago.

The child ran to the golden woman, dimples forming in multiple places on her face while she giggled when her mother picked her up and spined her in the air.

So pure, this is perfecion, he thought.

Then the golden woman turned to him, and his jaw almost dropped when he saw that it was a smiling Buffy. A smile so real, so pure, he had only seen it once, and she was under the 'will' spell.

But here she was, smiling at him with nothing but love in her eyes.

"Come on, my love." she said looking at him, still smilling.

The child smiled at him brightly. "C'mon, daddy! Mommy's making us lemonade." The child said brightly.

He could just stand there and be lost in the moment. How cruel a vision could be. This here, was something he would never have. Not in the sun, not in the grass with flowers, not with a loving-smiling Buffy, not with a child that resembled him so much.

He noticed that Buffy's stomach was swollen lightly, indicating months of pregnancy.

His heart droped and he felt tears of rage in his eyes. This vision was tearing him apart. He would do anything to have this life. To stay in this moment for eternity. Just to float with these ghost of never-never land that he so loved.

The scene before him froze and Buffy was left motionless, smiling at him with their child at hand. The child was left looking at him smiling with the clear blue eyes that reflected his own, dimples describing her little face.

This was heaven. He felt his heart crumble underneath his skin as he watched the 'photograph' standstill before him.

"Beautiful aren't they?" asked the man who walked up behind him.

He glanced over to find a walking, healthy Taqa, smiling at the scene before them.

"Why show me this, Taqa, why torture me?" he said growing in anger at his vision.

"No torture."

"YES TORTURE! How could you?" he asked enraged. "You know this is something I could never have."

"Why not William?" the old man asked looking at him.

"You know why! I am a vampire! She's a slayer! She's alive, I am NOT!" He ran his trembling hand over his blond hair.

"Look at her, she looks so happy." Taqa commented looking at the woman.

"I know." Spike said biterly.

"You made her happy."

"This is a mirage, a vision, something that is not true." he almost screamed in frustration.

"You know." the man begun. "You're only man who has been able to make her that happy."

Spike shook his head in defeat. "That was a spell, its wasn't real, our feelings weren't real, its was a cruel joke."

"Ah,....yes, a spell." he said nodding. "What was the spell?"

Spike took an unneeded breath. "Willow willed us to be engaged."

"Where you in love?" the man asked.

"Of course I was, I was days from walking down a bleeding altar with her."

"But that was not the will of the spell." the man asked looking at Spike.

"What are you implying?" Spike asked curiously glaring at the wiseman.

"Only that one does not need love to be married, yet you two where very much in love."

Spike shook his head in painful surrender. "She's not in love with me. She's too hard headed, like me."

"In that you're right."

"Then again, why show me this....this....this illusion?" he said saddly.

Taqa held out his hands showing off the pasture, making Spike look around. "Do you like this life, William?" he said loudly.

Spike looked around in appreciation. The grass was perfect green, the sky was perfect blue, and his women were perfect in everyway.

"It's heaven." he gasped almost in a whisper.

"Then make heaven allow it, William. Fight for it!"

Spike was flying again, in pure black mist, fight for it, fight for it, fight for it....................

It's out there, It's out there.

It's out there, If you want me I'll be here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(July 14 @ Sunnydale, CA)

"You need to eat something."

"I know." Angel said from his large armchair in the masion. Him and Cordilia had moved in there the day they came to Sunnydale. He looked up at her. She was leaning one hand on the wall and the other was gently placed on her tilted hip.

"But you still haven't eaten." she stated. She was worried. He was usually broody, but this was something else, she wondered if there were psychologist for vampires.

"I know." He repeated looking back at the window. It was light outside so he was confined to stay within the walls for a few more hours.

"A penny for your thoughts." she said moving across the room and taking the chair next to him.

He looked at her, yup, definitely worried.

"You know what I am thinking." He said looking back at the window.

"Do you think he'll hurt her?" she asked.

"Spike?"

She nodded.

"No, I don't think he would." he said looking at her.

"Why not?" she inquired, she definitely did not trust the blonde vampire.

"I know Spike, and I know the William in him,......he's too much of a hero." he said slowly.

"A hero?" she stated "Angel, he's a killer, I mean, I know you're worried as it is, but everyone has failed to notice that she's not with a 'good' guy, she's with Spike, the homocidal killer..."

"Cordy, I know." he said leaning foward. "But again, I know Spike. When he's around a woman long enough he'll grow protective of her, the last thing he'll do is harm her, on the contrary what I am afraid is the opposite."

Cordilia came into realization and her jaw dropped. "OH, OH.............well.....that is definitely something new."

Angel's jaw tightened. The tought of Buffy with Spike made his stomach churn, but at least she wasn't alone. Spike,.....if you let anything happen to her,....I swear I'll drown you in Holy Water. He talked silently to the vampire.

"I know." he repeated.

"Will you stop with the 'I knows'?" she said wearily. "Angel, listen to me, wherever they are the fates don't want us to know, not yet, anyways. So please for once, just for once, trust your childe,.............and I can't believe I just asked you to trust Spike, but I am, and we should ask the others to do the same."

Angel looked up at her and smiled, a real smile, the smile that only Cordy could bring. "You know in your moments of 'Fendi-lessness', I actually think you're smart."

Cordy gave him an irritated look. "Don't compliment me, cowboy, you can't afford me" she smiled at her quick comeback. "Now come on, go drink your blood, I mean not literally,.....well you know what I mean."

"Yeah Cody, I know what you mean." He said and followed her to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll be dreaming my dreams with you

I'll be dreaming my dreams with you

And there's no other place,

That I'd lay down my face.

I'll be dreaming my dreams with you

The doctor had sewn him up about two hours ago and the nurses had placed him on a wheelchair and rolled him down to their room. They had layed him carefully on his bed.

Buffy had taken off his some of his clothes to make him more comfortable. He was now lying naked from the waist up with a thin white sheet that covered his legs up to mid-waist.

He looked deathly pale.

The doctor had said that he would be out for a couple of hours, just to keep an eye on him, he was a vampire and would recover very fast.

So she waited.

At first she had pulled a chair next to his bed and sat there talking to him, while holding his hand and rubbing his chest lightly.

But after an hour she felt she needed more contact, she needed to feel him alive.

He was a corpse at the moment. He, Spike, was not there.

So she stood and layed next to him placing his dead arm around her waist and leaning her head on his shoulder, while her fingers drew lazy pictures on his bare chest.

He felt so cold and this frighten her. The doctor said he would awake with a lot of pain in his head, but it would swiftly go away in a couple of hours. Buffy hated the doctor, he was so impersonal, treating Spike like a side hobby he did when he was bored.

She had asked him about Spike's strength, and the doctor said that was gone when they gave him the "special" anesthesia. Buffy fumed, they gave him no warning! He was going to wake up weak and in pain.

She braced herself for the vampire's temper, that she knew would explode at the discovery.

"Did I ever tell you about the time when I burned down my old high school's gym?" she asked the body. She lifted her gaze to his still face.

His hard lines seemed softened. He looked innocent, he looked young. Peaceful. She thought.

She traced her finger lightly around his face memorizing everyline. "You are so beautiful..."

His cheekbones where hollow and lifted at the same time. She knew that this is what gave off his bad ass appearance and smiled as she remembered the first time she saw him. He had scared the crap out of her.

When at first he had moved out of the shadows in the alley behind the Bronze she saw him as dangerous. But the type of danger you want to love. Like the adventure you're dying to go on, the wild ride that he would bring. Fine as hell. Was her thoughts, she remembered. But then he had to ruin it all being....a vampire and all cocky and conscided does that.

She felt fire when she was near him, like you wanted to dust him and kiss him at the same time. His entire body language had been suggestive. Almost as if he had said that first day "What happends Saturday?", "I shag you."

Well that would have taken a different turn in their relationship.

She would have never liked him in an 'I hate you so much' type of a way. Probably would have killed him that very night.

Every guy she had met up to that point have swooned over her. Even Angel, in their first meeting she had seen the want in his eyes. But not Spike, yeah it was foreplay, but in a 'look what you ain't getting' type of foreplay.

He pissed her off so much that it burned her. Then she remembered when she had dropped that organ on him.

She cringed.

"Sorry" she whispered. "Well you deserved it, and besides, if I hadn't done it you would have never come to me for help with Angelus, then Drusilla would have never left you, and you would have not tried to get the gem of Amara, then you wouldn't have come back to Sunnydale to be captured, and you wouldn't have that chip in your head, and I wouldn't have been 'engaged' to you, and right now I would not be in love with you."

She gasped.

What if he heard her? She couldn't believe that she said the forbidden words out loud.

Damn. She cursed herself silently.

It's out there, It's out there

It's out there, If you want me I'll be there

But looking at him now, all the past seemed not to matter. Right now he looked defenseless, vulnerable, begging to be loved. She reached up and kissed his lips lightly, enjoying the coldness of them. Good on a hot summer day. She thought smilling.

"Spike,......if you can hear me at all,......please........I need you to come back......I need you Spike, we'll make it through, you and I, if we make it here, we can make it anywhere."

A tear slid down her cheek and landed on his nose, she bent down and kissed it off, pausing briefly to smell him.

He smelled so good, just like him,.....musky and manly.

"Do we really need weapons for this?" ,"I just like 'em. Make me feel all manly." She smiled, remembering.

"We have a twisted history, Spike, dont we?" she asked. "Let's continue it, please,....don't let this be the last page." she gulped her tears back. "I want to.....I want to take that adventure with you, that wild ride,.......that escape that only you can give me, please, my love." she was trembling with fear. "Don't leave me,........it's not our time,.....it's not your time." Tears were coming freely and slidding down her flushed cheeks. "Wake up and tell me you love me, I know you do." She pressed her nose to his cheekbone. "Wake up and tell me everything's gonna be ok." she sobbed.

I'll be dreaming my dreams with you

I'll be dreaming my dreams with you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He said that?" Roderick asked the young man in front of him.

"Yes, Moa Kapitan." Lawrence nodded.

"Well my nephew's mouth always had a way of running away with itself." He said lighting his cuban cigar and exhaling dark smoke into the room.

"Nephew, master?" Lawrence asked interested.

"Yeah.........unfortunately he's the childe of Angelus, who is the childe of Darla, my 'sister' since we were both sired by the master." He seemed bored with the conversation and Lawrence decided not to press him any more.

"What would you like me to do with the 'specials'?" he asked turning his body to point at the screen of two forms lying in bed.

"Let them be, he'll soon wake up. They'll get what's coming to them." he said as smoke engulfed the room. "The princess is not as mercyful as me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And there's no other place,

That I'd lay down my face

I'll be dreaming my dreams of you

The first thing he felt was warmth. Sweet human body warmth, then he heard a steady heart beat and the enticing sound of blood running through veins.

He stirred.

Then it hit him, like a thousand waves of holy water pouring and simmering in his head, he was in pain, real pain, pain he had never before thought possible. This was worse than when Drusilla had pulled him from beneath that bloody organ.

He squeezed his eyes shut trying to block it away, but the ardor was taking over his self-control.

She felt him move underneath her and almost jumped.

He was semi-conscious. She could tell by the way his lips had pressed together in contortion of pain. His eyes, though closed, were jumping underneath the clear tender skin of his eyelids.

"Spike?" she asked softly.

He heard her and wanted to call out to her but he was afraid he would loose the little control he had managed to hold on to. Then he felt her fingers interlock with his.

He squeezed her hand.

She nearly jumped at the tight pressure. His pressure on her bones hurt and she winced.

He wanted to let go of her hand but his body needed a escape chamber.

"Are you in pain?" she asked.

Concentrate, mate, let her know you still alive,........for now. He thought.

With all the strength he could gather, he slowly opened his eyes to focus on her.

His eyes were glazed with pain, his jaw was so tight she thought he might crack it.

"A lot?" she asked placing one hand gently on his cheek.

He nodded lightly.

Buffy reacted instantly and sat up and lifted Spike's limp body, craddling his head against her chest, enveloping one arm around his cold bare back and her other hand came up to his hair.

She rocked him lightly back and forth while he shivered in pain, whispering soothing words in his ear. She softly combed her small fingers throught his blonde head. The insition was completely healed and the only trace left from the operation was a small scar that had lost the hairs in it leaving a clean bald spot.

Her comforting contact brought the pain down considerably. Maybe it was wearing off, maybe it was the fact that she held him in such an intimate embrace. He felt her heart beat on his ear, and her skin burned against his. The tingling sensation of her small hands caressing his burning head was absorbable.

Those tiny hands that he had fought for so long, only feeling them in rough fists hitting his body to cause him pain, were now healing him.

Then her soft whispering words drowned him in ecstacy and he cursed not being able to roughly take her in his arms and kiss her. To be all weak and vulnerable was not bad, the pain was possible..... if she just held him like this, he would make it a daily routine to be in pain.

He didn't recall how long she held him, rocking him back and forth, whispering, stroking, hugging,....he just knew he wanted to stay like that forever. Here in the arms of his mortal enemy, here in the arms of the woman he loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning rays had woken him and now he made his way carefully to the door for the morning newspaper. His eyes not yet fixed or in prime shape, he carelessly bent to pick up the paper, surprised to have it missing.

He groaned and looked at his watch, 9:24, the paper should have been here hours ago. He thought

Looking back down at the brick entrance he saw a manila envelope.

Without thinking twice about it he bent down and picked it up.

Carelessly he moved to the kitchen to start his tea, he needed to awake. After filling the kettle with water and placing it on top of the crimson circle he turned his attencion to the unexpected package that sat looking at him from the counter.

He picked it up and inspected it, no return address, no stamp, nothing only "To: Rupert Giles"

Stange. He thought

He ripped the package open and out of the manilla envelope fell a piece of plain white paper. He turned it to see what on earth this could mean. All it said was:

"Four Days Till the Auction"

He reread the note over and over, when out of realization a sick feeling settled on his stomach. He felt bile rise to his throat and ran to the bathroom to expell the substance.

After of few minutes of shakingly composing himself he ran to the phone, thinking quick he dialed the appropriate person.

After a few rings the sleepy voice came through the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Angel?"

"Giles, what's wrong?"

"It think I know what happened to Spike and Buffy."

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